I started talking about Personal and Professional Development (PPD) with my employees and colleagues several years ago. This blog is a collection point for some of the basic information I have collected and developed, and for the further development of strategies for personal success. Dreaming about success will not make it happen. Taking action will. This blog is not a step by step guide to success, but rather a starting point for your own personal development journey.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Quote for the week
“For you to be the very best, you cannot allow yourself to become complacent in your comfort zone. You need to be reaching for improvement.” - David Cottrell
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Success comes through change
If you expect your life to change you must change.
People are often not happy with where they are in life. They are not happy with their job, they are not happy with what they make, not happy with where they live, and not happy with what they drive. But few ask the tough questions. They want their life to change and they want answers but the answers only come if you are brave enough to ask the right questions. Because the change that has to happen is the change within. The outside world is not the problem. The problem is internal. The problem is not feeling worthy enough to expect more, to get more out of life. The problem is not being brave enough to ask the questions, to do the homework and truly look at that person in the mirror. To think about and analyze the choices and decisions made in the past and how they have affected and led to today and then on top of that the choices and changes that can be made today that will affect the future. Nothing changes overnight, but everything changes.
In many ways personal development is really an act of bravery. Having the bravery, the strength, the personal fortitude to look squarely at that person in the mirror and ask the hard questions. To do the hard analysis and talk to those in your life about what is going on, honestly with where you are at, and about the changes you are trying to make. You have to be brave enough to share; to not be embarrassed about where you are at, what you are thinking, what your dreams are, what your desires are. Find individuals that are interested in making changes in their lives as well. Hold each other accountable. Help each other find the answers. Share with each other. Doug Blanchard stated many times “None of us is as smart as all of us “. That statement applies to personal development just as much as to operating a business. You need other people’s input to help you see the true reality of yourself. You look in the mirror but you do not always see what is there. And you need someone else to make say “no, no, that is what is in the mirror”, even if it is something you do not want to see, you need someone to help point it out so you can make the changes you need to make. Those same people can let you know when your changes worked. And then you get that rush; that feeling of success, that feeling of change and incrementally you move the needle.
And that is what it is all about. Moving the needle.
People are often not happy with where they are in life. They are not happy with their job, they are not happy with what they make, not happy with where they live, and not happy with what they drive. But few ask the tough questions. They want their life to change and they want answers but the answers only come if you are brave enough to ask the right questions. Because the change that has to happen is the change within. The outside world is not the problem. The problem is internal. The problem is not feeling worthy enough to expect more, to get more out of life. The problem is not being brave enough to ask the questions, to do the homework and truly look at that person in the mirror. To think about and analyze the choices and decisions made in the past and how they have affected and led to today and then on top of that the choices and changes that can be made today that will affect the future. Nothing changes overnight, but everything changes.
In many ways personal development is really an act of bravery. Having the bravery, the strength, the personal fortitude to look squarely at that person in the mirror and ask the hard questions. To do the hard analysis and talk to those in your life about what is going on, honestly with where you are at, and about the changes you are trying to make. You have to be brave enough to share; to not be embarrassed about where you are at, what you are thinking, what your dreams are, what your desires are. Find individuals that are interested in making changes in their lives as well. Hold each other accountable. Help each other find the answers. Share with each other. Doug Blanchard stated many times “None of us is as smart as all of us “. That statement applies to personal development just as much as to operating a business. You need other people’s input to help you see the true reality of yourself. You look in the mirror but you do not always see what is there. And you need someone else to make say “no, no, that is what is in the mirror”, even if it is something you do not want to see, you need someone to help point it out so you can make the changes you need to make. Those same people can let you know when your changes worked. And then you get that rush; that feeling of success, that feeling of change and incrementally you move the needle.
And that is what it is all about. Moving the needle.
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