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Have you noticed that we live in a culture that seems to prefer flash over substance? Sadly, this mentality has also crept into the fields of life skills and personal development.
Personally, I do not believe in a shallow, one-dimensional approach to personal development. The whole concept of Advanced Life Skills was created specifically to provide the means for a personal evolution that begins deep inside, on a core level. This is where all true personal development starts.
Your priorities really matter
There are dozens of techniques aimed solely at attracting wealth and achieving your goals. I have no problem at all with such pursuits. In fact, I often cover those areas in my articles. What I do have a problem with is any method that promotes the misconception that those life skills alone will give you a life of joy and satisfaction.
Wealth and success are important but they represent the flash of personal development not the substance. Instead of commanding your main focus, such things should be viewed as the natural byproduct of positive changes that occur internally. By definition personal development is about you as a person.
Focus on internal peace and harmony
From my experience, it doesn’t really seem to matter where people are socially, economically or physically. Most people do not feel truly satisfied with their life. Without realizing it, much of the problem is the result of focusing in the wrong direction.
If you focus on the things that contribute to connecting with your true self, your world will change automatically. The more ‘in tune’ you are with your core values, passions and motives, the easier it is to attract good things into your life and live in a constant state of personal development.
Choose personal development substance over flash
Happiness is more desirable than wealth. Relationships are of greater value than a career. And a sense of purpose is more satisfying than secular achievement. Focus on those and the rest will unfold naturally.
I like money as much as the next guy. But I also realize that money only solves financial problems. Please believe me when I tell you that there is no shortage of unhappy rich people. I know this because I have worked with a lot of them in my coaching practice.
Many of these people bought into the illusion that once they acquired enough money their life would be happy and rewarding. Consequently, the attainment of wealth is often a hollow victory. True happiness comes from inside. It comes from a deep sense of inner peace and harmony that is fueled by constant growth on a personal level. That’s why it’s called personal development.
Don’t settle for a life of trade offs
Another popular misconception is the idea of scarcity. Life does not need to be a trade-off. The expression, “that’s the price you pay” is often used with reference to someone who sacrifices their family life in pursuit of a lucrative career. This implies that you need to choose between the two because you cannot have both. This is simply not true.
Losing everything that really matters to you is not the price you pay for making money. It is however the price that many have paid for choosing to put financial growth ahead of personal development.
Creating value opens the door to abundance
As our own awareness and appreciation grows we begin to see that creating value is the fastest path to greater happiness. If you want better relationships, then you should look for ways to add value to the relationships you have. If you want a greater emotional or financial return from any endeavor, learn to contribute more value to it. If you want to grow toward personal excellence, you need to identify and live in harmony with your core values. All of these fit neatly into the concept of personal development.
Once you embrace the idea of giving, you become connected with the flow of abundance all around you. Giving is a very powerful and often overlooked way to bring both happiness and abundance into your life. This is one of the seven steps covered in my book TRUE SELF.
But what if…
Maybe you don’t feel that you are in a position to create value. Maybe you don’t feel very valuable. Let me assure you, the problem is not a lack of value because you are extremely valuable. It’s just that you are not yet fully in touch with your true value. There are specific exercises in TRUE SELF to help you discover your real value and unlock your potential to contribute.
TRUE SELF is designed to teach you specific life skills that you can put to work in your life immediately. These are skills that will enable you to begin transforming the quality of your life right now. Bottom line – I don’t want you to settle for ordinary, you deserve extraordinary!
Why not make this year THE YEAR
What possible reason could someone have for turning their back on simple adjustments with the power to enrich the mental, emotional, physical and financial quality of their life experience? And yet, for some reason many people choose to settle for the life they’ve been handed rather than create one they truly desire.
My personal goal and the motivation behind this blog and my book and my home study course is to create true and lasting value for everyone involved. The more you learn and incorporate these life skills into your thinking process, the more you will experience an increase in the quality of your life.
Rest assured, a life of continued and meaningful personal development is not an impossible dream. It’s really a simple matter of learning and applying Advanced Life Skills.
