“Growing Up” to Your Highest Potential

Posted by Michael S. Broder Ph.D.

Despite your chronological (or numerical) age, it’s quite normal to feel like you still

need to grow up in certain areas of your life. Whether you’re feeling disconnected in

your relationship, your career seems mundane and unrewarding, or your spiritual life is

unfulfilling, you can begin to take the steps to “grow up” to your highest potential in any

part of your life. Many adults will ask themselves (or someone close to them) —sometimes

in jest— “what do I want to do or be when I grow up?” If this rings a bell, it may be a

comment that’s more grounded in reality than you think. In my new book Stage Climbing:

The Shortest Path to Your Highest Potential, I explain that there are a variety of reasons

why individuals often get off the path to reaching an optimal level of maturity in certain life

areas. It may be fear, anxiety, or self doubt that’s preventing you from making the most of a

given part of your life, but as soon as you allow yourself to be aware that it’s time to make

changes, these inner conflicts no longer need to control your life.

Here are some first steps to jump starting your maturation process in any part of your life

where this dilemma sounds familiar:

Asking questions: Begin by asking yourself what part of your life could be better? In

which area could you feel happier or be more motivated? In which area do you feel like

you have not yet fully “grown up”? As you bring these questions to mind, notice what

part of your life seems most important to address first. By simply comparing what your

life is now to what it could be, you have taken a very powerful first step in reaching your

potential.

How A Business Can Operate By the Stages

Posted by Michael S. Broder Ph.D.

Obviously, businesses must make profits to survive and prosper. I believe that the best-run business organizations are those that can hit their goals in the crucial—make or break— profit area while operating from the higher stages whenever possible. With this in mind, it makes sense that all things being equal, an operation that emphasizes optimal motivation of its employees and other target stage values will have the best long-term profit potential.

Some Stage Seven Strategies for Getting Beyond Yourself

Posted by Michael S. Broder Ph.D.

If there is a recipe to make Stage Seven your default stage, it is to let the combination of your passion (to manifest something new) and your gratitude (for that which you already have), be the forces that guide you. Here are a few things to think about and try in order to do that:

The Secret for Achieving True Happiness: Get Beyond Yourself

Posted by Michael S. Broder Ph.D.

The title of this blog says it all. In Stage Climbing terms, this is Stage Seven—the highest attainable stage, where self gratification alone just plain doesn’t do it anymore. And that’s the secret. When you stop chasing happiness for yourself and instead focus on helping others to attain it, that’s when it’s most likely to come back to you, and in a lasting way. The strategy here, is to perform acts of benevolence without expecting anything for yourself in return.

Life at the Target Stages: How Good Can It Be?

Posted by Michael S. Broder Ph.D.

Sometimes I find that it’s helpful to have a glimpse of what’s in it for you to work on your Stage Climbing process. The mission of Stage Climbing is simple: To help you live any aspect of your life at the target stage(s) you have chosen. Your target stages represent the optimal life that you either are living already or can be living very soon. You are in the target stage zone whenever you are operating at your highest potential. For most aspects of life, you will most likely aspire to Stages Six and Seven. Those stages also represent your unique and most authentic self. They are you at your best and happiest, because at Stages Six and Seven, you are guided by your passions, living beyond your ego, and solidly aligned with your purpose. Your target stages define you as a “grown-up.” They are where your heart is, as opposed to where you or someone else thinks it should be. In that sense, your target stages can even define why you are here.

Remember, any success, victory, or windfall can trigger great feelings in you—temporarily. However, as you have probably noticed many times, a frame of mind that depends on external factors does not last since you are always subject to the next life event or occurrence, and then the next one, and the one after that. The good news: As humans, that state of fulfillment characterized by your target stages is in fact part of your natural state of being―a state that will not fluctuate with external events. In other words, you have inside of you all you will ever need to live a gloriously fulfilling life right now … No batteries are required. Getting there is where Stage Climbing fits into your life.

Using The Basic Stage Climbing Drill

Posted by Michael S. Broder Ph.D.

Putting Stage Climbing to work for you in any area of your life is a lot simpler that you might think. Here is the basic drill, which is a protocol you can apply to an issue in any area of your life:

Two Sources of Mentors

Posted by Michael S. Broder Ph.D.

If you could have any mentor in the world (who is ether alive today or has ever lived), who would that person or those persons be? Take a current dilemma or situation you are considering or with which you are now struggling. When you have something in mind, write a short essay—even a paragraph or two—on how that person would handle (or advise you to handle or resolve) your issue or dilemma. What do your “mentors” believeabout your circumstances that you would be much better off believing? Keep in mind the fact that you can have as many of these kinds of “mentors” as you want—even different ones for different aspects of your life. With this exercise, think of them (your “mentors”) as your “strongest self” (or even the voice of your highest potential) which you can access 24 hours a day.

Connecting With Your Source of Your Passion

Posted by Michael S. Broder Ph.D.

To the extent that you believe, as I do, that the most powerful answers and guidance you seek reside inside of yourself just waiting to be accessed, it’s crucial to find a regular practice to tap into this precious source of information, passion, and peace. Examples include regular meditation, yoga, long quiet and reflective walks, visualization and journeying, or a combination of them that uniquely suits you. They all provide excellent tools to deepen your conscious connection with your inner core. Whatever gets you there is the best intervention at Stages Six and higher. There are numerous sources of information available to help you develop and enhance these practices as staples in your life. Some of the best books as well as places where meditation and other practices are taught can be found right here at StageClimbing.com/resources.

A Roadmap to Fulfillment

Posted by Michael S. Broder Ph.D.

We’re fortunate to live in a world that makes progress and doesn’t usually allow things to be the way they were. Thus, there is more opportunity, equality and encouragement for everyone to follow their dreams and passions.But then what?

The first real step to maximizing your potential is to ask yourself, “What do I really want?” That’s the question I asked when I wanted to move from my early accounting career. I realized that what I really wanted to do was tohelp people resolve non-financial life issues. This lead me to go back to graduate school to become a psychologist.

Ideal Attitudes for Stage Climbing, by the Stages

Posted by Michael S. Broder Ph.D.

These are some ideal attitudes for removing a lower-stage hook and climbing to a higher stage that you have chosen for virtually any area of your life, according to the stage you are operating at presently. Tweak them to fit you exactly and then use them as motivators whenever you need to throughout your Stage Climbing process: