I was 22 when I bought my first self-help kit. I’ll never forget watching the TV and seeing this older gentleman talk about his life’s accomplishments. I connected with this person because he built things and I wanted to build something too. While he was full of wisdom, I was a young buck full of enthusiasm and determination. One of the greatest things I learned from him was that the simplest of activities can change your life. He told me to write down on a piece of paper things I would accomplish today, tomorrow, in one week, in one month and in one year.

At first, I thought it would be easy, but I realized after investing an hour or so in thought that I better really know what I want. I did write it down and then I had to write a promise to myself that I would do them and then sign and date it. Little did I know the gift that was given to me that day. I stumbled upon that paper today and realized how much this impacted my life. He taught me to start with small wishes and promises. One of them was to fix a broken door handle in my car … can you believe it? That was something very important to me back then.

I learned what it means to fulfill promises to myself, and it led me down a path of fulfilling promises to others. I have come to realize that the greatest reward I will ever have in life will be seeing people grow (like students the first day they arrive at school and then those students upon graduation) and seeing ideas grow (like the napkin sketch that arrives with little hope that, when dreamed about and built upon, turns into a product on the shelves).

Lesson: You can grow you. Write down what you want to accomplish. You should start small, build on your little successes, grow your belief in you, and keep writing them down with a promise signed by you, to you.