As we develop ourselves, all else follows
Self-improvement or self-development as it so often is called has been a massive part of my life for over 40 years – for me, the quest to discover, know and understand myself, my needs, quirks, desires, my passion and the triggers that pull me out of balance with myself so that these could/can be overcome have been at the core of everything that I am and have worked towards…
The basic principles of self-discovery, self-improvement, or self-development have been equally important not only to my personal development, but have also been key to my entrepreneurial journey. Over the past 25 years when supporting new entrepreneurs I have time and again stressed the importance of self-development.
There are numerous systems of self-development out here in the world so there is a lot to choose from – one of the key things that I have discovered in my journey is that there is no-one system that will help solve all the issues we have to face in life; so it’s important to keep and open and experimental attitude to the ongoing learning process – learning to take what works for you from a range of self-development systems… and amalgamating all the different things that work for you and develop them into your own system… This is how I came up with my system; yet in all this there are some fundamental principles which are universal and will work for everyone.
So why is self-development so important?
- Self-development will provide you with the insights to know yourself; the source of your why? That place where passion, innovation and creativity from within the self if born. The ideas that will guide your life course and if you are entrepreneurial the ideas from which your ventures will be seeded and born. Knowing yourself well will have many positive impacts in your life, not just in the world of your work or entrepreneurship, but also in the deepest personal aspects of your life and relationships.
- Self-Development in the main enables us to be able to express ourselves with confidence, honesty and authenticity. This is of particular importance to budding entrepreneurs as people buy people … so it doesn’t matter how good your product or service is – if you can’t relate to your why, your potential customers and clients will sense this and will go elsewhere.
- Self-development and the knowledge of self that comes with it, enables us as people to develop the resilience we need as we journey through life. The quirky thing about life is that is very rarely turns out the way you want or expect it to be. It’s the same if you are on an entrepreneurial journey. The road to success is never a straight line… It’s always full of twists and turns, pitfall and more so you are going to need to work on your resilience as you make your journey from where you are now to your ultimate success… Most people when they see a successful entrepreneur only see the tip of the iceberg… they don’t see the sometimes years of “falling forwards” …Self-employed people and entrepreneurs need to be willing to fail their way to success. Without developing yourself, the obstacles and failures you will inevitably meet along the road to your success could stop you in your tracks and make you feel like giving up.
- Self-improvement and self-development provides you with the tools to work on your mind-set. Entrepreneurs think about life, and the reasons for why they do what they do in a different way to the “business person” mindset and very differently to the employee mindset… So if it’s your mission to make the transition from employee to entrepreneur, developing yourself and learning from successful entrepreneurs is going to be key as you shift your mindset and perceptions from where they are now to where they need to be. Developing and maintaining a positive perspective and mindset will protect you from those moments when you might feel that all is lost and will prevent you from giving up when things get tough, Developing the correct perspective and mindset will also enable you to see the opportunities which are disguised as challenges and failure.
- Developing yourself will enable to your develop objectivity and there by free yourself from the potential of making key decisions in life and your entrepreneurial journey based on emotion. Rather the objectivity which you will be able to develop will help you to tap into your instinctive self and make better decisions all round – not just in your entrepreneurial efforts but also in your personal life.
- Self-development helps us to build our self-esteem, our confidence and self-belief. All of which are vital to us as individual no matter what our life or career journey is; or where we may find ourselves in that journey. If you believe in yourself, your mission and your vision – others will be willing to believe in you, and invest their time, skills and sometimes even their money in the projects you are developing.
- Self-Development also helps us to understand when those around us are being toxic in one way or another and provides us with the knowledge and strength require to distance ourselves and maybe even cut out the naysayers from our lives… Creating the space and opportunity for new people to enter our lives.
As the world changes around us – the more we know about ourselves the better able we are to find our path in this world. Whether this be in our careers or our personal lives. Self-development not only teaches us about ourselves it also teaches us how to create our own luck. It enables us to hold on to hope in the face of difficult and challenge so that we can carve out the right path for ourselves which we can pursue with passion, honesty and integrity; to not only become fearless and self-confident successful people at all levels and in all areas of our life; but also empowers us to become the best version of ourselves and operate at a higher level, intellectually, morally and ethically.At Insights with Anna, we have years of experience in the consulting industry. We specialize in providing top-notch services in areas such as marketing, strategy, and operations. Our expertise can help take your business to the next level.