personal development
My favorite mentor said: "You can always get better - you're not stuck in one place like a tree!"
Personal development is the foundation of everything you accomplish (or don't accomplish) in your life. If you mark segments in a circle showing the various important parts of your life, it would look like slices of a pie. So, there are several important areas (slices), including your occupation, health choices, spirituality, family & friends, and community involvement, just to name a few.
How do you get better?
One of our favorite trainers once said, "You'll be the same person in five years as you are today, except for the people you meet, and the books you read."
Regardless of whether you grew up in the best neighborhood, or perhaps a not-so-good neighborhood, most of us learned plenty of dysfunctional behavior and unhealthy coping skills. Part of being a child, even in a "good" family is making childish decisions.
So, what's the problem? Most of us don't "flip a switch" when we turn twenty or twenty-five years old and start using more productive and healthy behaviors.
What's the solution?
Get started!
What do you do?
1) First, you'll need to be the kind of person who can take an honest look at yourself.
If you can be that type of person, the next step is:
2) Find a personal development mentor and/or system that help you modify your past life into your new you!
I remember a college course about corporate personalities. Our book was "The Organization Man" by William Whyte. It was an analysis of different personalities found in a large organization work place. I recall being so disappointed that I was NOT The Organization Man!
However, several years later, my big sister sent me a tennis book called, "The Inner Game of Tennis" by W. Timothy Gallway. The tennis book was about the mental side of the game. The author made a statement that changed my life. In writing about the various levels of players, Pro, A, B, and C levels, he said (I'm paraphrasing):
"You may never have "A" level tennis skills. You may not be tall enough, fast enough, strong enough
You might only be a "C" level player.
BUT... you can be the BEST 'C' level player you can be".
I remembered the message from The Organization Man, and realized that even if I couldn't be the "Cool Dude" like in that college book, I could strive to be my best!
From that moment on, I worked at making me the best ME I could be.
Of course, that journey, like most journeys has been a roller coaster, but the track has been mostly upwards.
So, how to YOU begin?
I when I started my journey of self improvement, there were no cell phones (certainly no smart phones), no personal computers, and no Internet!
But I got books, listened to cassette tapes, attended weekend business and personal development seminars. We did utilize the best technology of that time.
Now we have a lot of new resources with the Internet, plus there have been a proliferation of teachers and trainers who can help you create a better life.
You'll want to determine what is your favorite way to learn, but I do recommend that you use a combination of a) written, b) auditory, c) visual and d) interactive resources.
Here are some teachers and mentors.
Jim Rohn (1930-2009) Jim Rohn started as an Idaho dairy farmer, but by age 25 saw that he "was behind on his promises to his family." (Big key: Jim Rohn was looking for a way to do better.)Jim said his mentor taught him how sell vitamins, and then he had two skills: "milking cows and sales. " His income went up. After becoming a millionaire, Jim Rohn gave speeches about his success and eventually was asked by an acquaintance to "teach the people in my company how to do better."
Jim Rohn said: "Wow, I get to tell my story and they PAY me?" Jim became one of the premier speakers on the personal development circuit, was the personal mentor to the founder of Herbalife, Mark Hughes, and motivational speaker Tony Robbins. Others who credit Jim Rohn with helping their careers include motivational speaker Brain Tracey, author Mark Victor Hansen, and Chicken Soup series creator, Jack Canfield.
Personally, I have always enjoyed Jim Rohn's speaking voice and manner, as well as the content of his books, CDs, DVDs, and seminars. I was fortunate enough to attend one of his live events. I hope this paragraph is enough to get you to try him out. You can listen to the Jim Rohn "sampler" CD on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yul1tIJVVHc.
Here are some other teachers we have listened to or seen in person. You should be able to find some links on their websites and YouTube.
Denis Waity (b. 1933) Denis was a Blue Angels pilot and studied psychology, eventually working people ranging from Vietnam POWs, to Olympic athletes. Denis has told some of the funniest motivational stories that I can recall. www.deniswaitley.com
Tony Robbins (b. 1960) Tony is one of the best known teachers and motivational speakers, and continues to produce new material. I have several of his books and have listened to several of this CD albums.
Brian Tracy (b. 1944) We have seen Brian Tracy live at least a couple of times. I would highly recommend you check him out. https://www.briantracy.com/ Brian also has a YouTube channel.
Art Berg (1962-2002) We felt VERY fortunate to see Art Berg a couple of times. With a promising future ahead of him, Art was injured in an auto accident at age 21, and lived the rest of his life as a quadriplegic. Art became the President of the National Speakers association. I attended a couple of Art Berg's live seminars. It is too bad he only lived to age 39. Here is a YouTube clip. Hope you enjoy it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ltMlEBcyeM
Lou Tice, The Pacific Institute
I attended a Lou Tice seminar in about 1980, and recall that it was very, very important for my personal development. You can search the web site for some free resources to see if you like his approach. I can still remember some of Lou's stories all these years later! You can also do a search of "Louis Tice videos" and find several choices. Lou's success came well before the Internet, so it is hard to find his videos. Remember, if Lou (or any other of these people) don't appeal to you, there are lots of good options!
https://thepacificinstitute.com/
Who else? There are plenty of "new" personal development speakers and teachers out there, especially with the Internet.
BUT, I sincerely believe that you can learn from some of your successful clients! Working in the massage industry will get you very close to some very successful people in your city. I remember asking a client: "Did you plan to get rich, or did that just happen?" His reply was educational and fascinating!
But there's a catch: If you ask how to do better, you will probably have to change something. Perhaps add something like doing more reading about success, or starting a physical fitness program. Perhaps you'll have give something up, like over eating, or drinking too much.
Whatever you decide change, please get started!
Here's an activity tracking chart to help you.
