August 8, 2006

The 4 Most Dangerous Words In Personal Development

Wow! I got a lot of feedback from last week’s Success Accelerator newsletter.

So much so, that I wanted to address a common question among many of the emails I received.

Essentially, people wanted to know whether they should do more courses in order to develop new business skills or qualify themselves for a better or new job.

My response is emphatically YES.

If you want to upgrade your business know-how, change careers or
advance within your current career, and you need to acquire specific skills or knowledge to do so, then by all means do a suitable course.

Now, I said “suitable” course: it must teach you what you need to
know and should be well-regarded within your industry.

And, of course, I would urge you to keep learning and developing yourself in general.

Read books… attend seminars, conferences and workshops… subscribe to newsletters… read newspapers and journals… and,
yes, even surf the Net. (That’s how you came across this newsletter, right?)

I guess I’m preaching to the converted, but if there’s one thing I’m absolutely passionate about, it’s LEARNING.

Including learning entirely different, non-work-related things to give your brain a workout and discover the diversity and richness life has to offer!

In fact, I would be wary whenever you feel you have “mastered” 
anything.

What are the four (4) most dangerous words in personal development?

“I already know that”

Nothing slams the door on new ideas, new possibilities and personal growth faster than those four words.

Is it any surprise that the people who claim they already know something are often NOT the ones who are actually out there DOING it?

Meanwhile, the true experts - in any field, be it sports, business, the arts, science, etc - are the ones who often say they’re “always learning”?

Who’s right? The arm-chair critic or the guy or gal on the field DOING it?

In my experience, there is ALWAYS something more to learn!

And when you are learning… you are growing.

And that is the essence of life: growth. (After all, what’s the opposite of growth…?)

So, yes, do what you can to improve and develop yourself. By all means take appropriate courses… but also embrace books, seminars and all the other wonderful learning tools available.