3/29/09

The Personal Development Pill

The business of personal development has become a multi-billion dollar industry. I liken it to the “diet industry” or “weight-loss industry.” Both the personal development and weight-loss industries have very large markets and both have a long and solid economic future. In our fast food, instant communication world, it has become natural to expect instant results. Everyone wants the instant cure without the normal process of working at it. Who wouldn’t want to take a pill and lose 20 lbs? Who wouldn’t want to take a pill and have instant wisdom and inspiration? I know I do!

All those famous diets like the Atkins, South Beach and hundreds of others are here today and gone tomorrow. People buy them, try them and discard them. Yet all of them work if people will stick with them. The problem is the world around us. It is difficult to stick to a certain regimen when the vast majority of the world around us is not in synch with that. We break the rules once, then again, then often, and then it’s over. It seems that we cannot have the cure without the process, no matter how much we want it. Sometimes the process means ignoring what others are doing.

Personal development is very similar to the weight loss scenario. Many people want to watch one video, read one book, listen to one audio, attend one seminar and have all the answers they need. However, just as the weight loss cannot happen without the process, personal development actually is a process. Just as you don’t go from First Grade to Graduate School in one step, personal development is a lifelong process.

The good news is that this process is pretty easy in today’s world. It is as easy as watching, reading or listening--no sweaty workouts, eating stuff that is so bland it may as well be paper. There are now so many choices of authors, coaches and speakers to choose from and all of them have important things to share. Some will appeal to you more than others. The key is finding those that appeal to you and listen to them so you can get the benefits of their knowledge and inspiration.

The best way to find them is to sample enough to find your favorites. Over the years, I’ve found several favorites like Jim Rohn, Anthony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Harvey Mackay, Brian Tracy, Jack Canfield, John DeMartini, Bob Proctor, Jerry & Esther Hicks, Earl Nightingale and many more. Each one of these have instructed and inspired me and many I have read or listened to for a long time.

Why do I still listen? I need a regular dose of positive, uplifting messages to overcome the other influences that are not that uplifting. It makes a huge difference to me and how I feel about myself and what I am doing. I see opportunities instead of problems. There’s nothing quite like being inspired. Inspiration naturally moves to action and the action changes my life. I want to be inspired every day.

Many are doing as John Mayer’s popular song states: “Waiting on the world to change.” Don’t hold your breath. The odds are far in my favor by not waiting for the world or anyone else, but reaching out and learning on purpose. Until the world actually does change, I will take charge of my own personal development. It makes me more valuable to myself and everyone I meet.

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