You are perfect just the way you are, and you could use a little improvement.
—Shunryu Suzuki
It is true, you are perfect just the way you are now and, like many of us, you could use quite a bit of improvement. At all times, you should be working on yourself. This is true if you are in middle school or celebrating your 61st birthday. The work of improving yourself has no end, as almost no one has ever reached the limits of their potential, not even DaVinci.
The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson.
On December 28, 2009, I made the decision to become a writer. Since that day, I have written and published an article every day, minus the 13 days I was in Tibet. This is my decision. Your decision is up to you. You have to be true to yourself, even if others are unhappy with your decision. You are here for around 4,000 weeks and you get to decide who you will be. One day, I made a decision. Some of my friends were unhappy with my decision, suggesting that I believed I was better than them. The truth was that I raised my standard.
Personal development is the belief that you are worth the effort, time and energy needed to develop yourself.
—Denis Waitley
You are working a job. You may be taking care of your family and doing all the routine maintenance of having a life. All of these things are important, but if you want to improve your life you start by improving yourself. Some who read this will struggle believing they are worth time and energy to develop themselves. If this is you, know that the more you improve yourself, the more you are able to help others. If you want to make a contribution, you need to start by developing yourself.
Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not.
—John C. Maxwell
Most of us get through high school, followed by college, followed by a job. This is where people get stuck, as they stop growing. You were forced to follow this path, but now you are responsible for your own growth path. You must decide what you need to do to continue growing in positive ways. If you don’t have a list of things that will cause you to grow, start by choosing one growth initiative. You can add another growth initiative as you improve on the first initiative.
The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday.
—Anonymous
This is an important idea, and you should do something today to improve in some important way. While this is a good idea, your goal should be reaching your full potential. You can do this by improving yourself from day to day. One action you might take is to find someone who can be a model for you. If they already have what you want, do what they did to grow.
The best investment you can make is in yourself.
—Warren Buffett
This may be the best thing Warren Buffet ever said. You are going to be stuck with yourself for your entire life. At any time, you are free to invest in improving the person you are now and in the future. The more you develop yourself, the more effective you are, and the more you are able to make an impact on your life and others. If you have children, know that they will not do what you tell them to do; they’ll do what they watched you do.
The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.
—Mortimer Adler
Adler is a hero of mine. He wrote the book about how to read a book. He was a wise man, and he left us with this idea that the purpose of learning is growth. He believed that humans could continue to grow throughout our lives. I am writing in my office, surrounded by thousands of books. There is no better deal on earth than a book. For around $25 and six hours you can acquire what another person spent their life learning. If you have the means to buy a book, find one that can help you to grow in a meaningful way.
The key to personal development is to be able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't.
—Anatole France
Those of you who read my work will know about my concept of being One-Up or One-Down. If you are One-Up, you are competent. When you are One-Down, you don’t know what you don’t know. Your job is to recognize that there are things you need to know to make an improvement. It is often better to be One-Down.
Change is the end result of all true learning.
—Leo Buscaglia
It is difficult to change. We tend to find our way to comfort. This is why so many fail to grow and thrive. You must trade comfort for its opposite: change. I have a test I use to measure my growth. I write lists of my current beliefs, things I no longer believe, and things I’ve let go. If you haven’t changed any of your beliefs it is likely you haven’t grown. The same is true if you haven’t changed your habits or disciplines.
In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.
—Phil Collins
If you want to accelerate your personal development, teach others what you learned. In fact, you will improve your understanding and your ability to follow through with the changes you need by teaching others.
