The Concept of Personal Development

by Darren Roberts, Contributing Author

Personal Development is understanding where you are, knowing where you would like to be and the action of bridging this gap. Before you embark upon something new you really need a successful attitude to make the most of everything in your business and personal lives.

When you first think of the two words pinned together "Personal Development" what are your thoughts?

Do you picture a child making mistakes being corrected from his parents? Do you visualize it as climbing the corporate ladder at your place of work? Do you see it as something which is silly as you're happy with your life situation? Or do you see it as an avenue to pursue and achieve those things most dear to you?

It could be any of the above. Personal development is so misunderstood these days. Unfortunately many people see it as a silly concept that isn't for them. Others go overboard and drown themselves in info until they don't know what to believe anymore. It's probably healthy to be somewhere in between - perhaps leaning a little more to the latter but not too extreme. One thing is for sure - the concept cannot be forced upon you. If someone tells you that you need to develop yourself in this regard then you'd probably jump on your high horse and tell them where to go in no uncertain terms.

Understanding where you are, knowing where you would like to be and the action of bridging this gap is what I would call "Personal Development". Let's walk through the following example.

Currently:
House With Mortgage
JOB (Just Over Broke)
Small 3 Cylinder Car

Would Like To Be:
Mortgage Free
Self-Employed Owner
Of A Nice Mercedes

The above may not be your ideal situation but for arguments sake today let's say it is. As you can see there is quite a gap between today's situation and the one we would prefer. To actually get yourself into the preferred position of standing you need to develop your abilities accordingly.

Developing ones abilities involves tons of things. If you're a tennis player of fairly good ability but your goal is to repeat André Agassi's performance at Roland Garros in 12 months time. i.e. win the French Open then to bridge this gap you're going to need training, coaching, practice, error correction, dedication, persistence, diligence, staying power, strength, to maximize your fitness, to minimize your alcohol consumption etc. Basically you would be looking to increase your abilities in all aspects to give yourself a shot at the top.

Going back to our example. You want to pay your mortgage, leave the 9 to 5 grind and update to a suave Mercedes. A high goal? Maybe - but very achievable. In a nutshell all you have to do is become more valuable, develop your own product line and undertake total responsibility for your actions. What I've noticed since the inception of my ezine some 33 editions ago is that many people get caught up in the marketing of their product (or the marketing of products belonging to others through affiliate programs) without an overall plan.

Don't get me wrong I know and understand the value of marketing all too well and I am sure you do too but marketing is simply just a part of personal development. In our above tennis example marketing could be equated to training and coaching but there are still many components left to attaining our target that need to be taken into consideration.

Reducing the mortgage to nil and buying a nice Mercedes Benz are really just by-products of the second aspect; leaving one's job for self-employment and succeeding at the transition can eventually lead to the other two targets being accomplished.

This is a major transition. To leave ones job and the associated security is not a decision that can be taken lightly this is why personal development is all encompassing. Are you prepared for the transition? Are your targets real or just puffs of smoke? Will you stick it out??? Tons of questions with really only one answer. Personal Development is all about becoming better at what you want to do. If you don't want to do it then that's not development, that's pain.
This topic is so broad and my favorite as it involves a lot of self-understanding, patience and desire. As you begin to notice that you are bridging this gap you will gain a momentum that can only get stronger; thus your target in effect becomes easier to reach...

Before you embark upon something new you really need a successful attitude to make the most of everything in your business and personal lives.

It's really pretty simple: If You Want To Earn More - You Have To Learn More!

About the Contributor: Darren Roberts is the Publisher of "AAvenues 2 Your Success." He is a marketing consultant at the helm of Topliving Consultancy. Subscribe to Darren's popular "Success and Self-Motivation" Weekly publication, "AAvenues 2 Your Success". It's packed with this sort of material each week.