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Personal Development

“Learn to work harder on yourself than on your job.”

Jim Rohn

The launching pad to a great career is the understanding that what we become is far more important than what we get, what we become influences directly what we get.

Personal development is the lifelong process to always work at becoming more than what we are.

Personal Development

Personal development is defined as a way for people to assess their skills and qualities, consider their aims in life, and then set goals to realize and maximize their potential.  In summary, personal development is about becoming the person you want to become.

As business leaders and entrepreneurs, we need to understand that personal development is a multi-faceted undertaking.  In the business world, it is about developing the skills to make you and your dreams more attractive to the marketplace.  It is developing the knowledge, temperament, and attitude to be effective in your business—and beyond.

Jim Rohn divides personal development into three parts.

Part one is spiritual.  It is our spiritual qualities that make us different from all the rest of creation.  Spiritual and ethical values will help build a strong foundation beneath your drive for success.

Part two is physical.  The mind and body work together as a team.  For your mind to have the stamina to strive, your body should be in as good as shape as possible.  1 Corinthians 6:19 says your body is a temple, and we need to treat it as such.  We need to care for our physical appearance, but not to the point of self-consciousness.

Finally, part three is mental.  Stretch your mind.  Develop good thinking habits and good study habits.  Pursue ideas and try to find ways to apply them to human behavior and the business world.

How to Manage Your Personal Development

Here are five steps to help manage your personal development

  1. Develop a Personal Vision. Although personal development can be for fun, most of us find it easier to motivate ourselves to learn and improve if we have a purpose in doing so. Develop a personal vision that details a clear idea of where you want to be in a few months, a few years, and at the end of your career.
  2. Plan Your Personal Development. Once you are clear about where you want to be, you can start planning how to get there. Drawing up a personal development plan is not essential, but it does make the planning process more realistic—plans well executed bring reality to life. Be sure to research, write, dream, discuss and envision your success.
  3. Start the Improvement Process. There are several different ways in which you can learn and develop. It may help to answer these three questions:

“What can I do?”

“What can I read?”

“Who can I ask?”

Based on your answers, develop a step by step action plan to start your improvement process.  Be prepared for alterations and adjustments as you move through the learning process.

  1. Record Your Personal Development. Keep a record of your personal development. By writing down key developments in your learning and development as and when they occur, you will be able to reflect on your successes and use those milestones as you refine your personal development plan moving forward.
  2. Review and Revise Personal Development Plans. Regular review of your personal development plans and your development activities will ensure that you learn from what you have done. It will also ensure that your activities continue to move you towards your goals and that your goals and visions remain relevant to you.

The Bible

Every creature in God’s creation naturally strives for maximum potential.  Every tree tries to grow to its maximum potential height, and every cow strives to produce as much milk as possible.  There are no lazy lions, roses, or sparrows.

That is except humans.  We are the only creation given a choice to settle for less than the maximum potential of our God-given gifts.  We, however, have been given the Bible to use for our personal development.  One of our gifts is to be able to read, understand, and learn from the hundreds of stories in the Bible about how we are to interact with the God who created us and loves us.

Joshua 1:8-9 says.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Part of personal development is learning who we are, where we came from, and what the plans are that God has instituted for us.  What better way is there to become the person we want to be than relying on God to help us find and develop that person.