Personal Development Tips

I am often asked if I have any tips I can give on how best to organize personal development.

The field is massive, and there are so many things you can do!

Try to begin with the end in mind.  I say "try" as the reality is none of us really knows where we will end up, and usually when you look back after many years of personal development you realize the journey has been quite different from what you initially envisaged.  But it is important at the outset at least to have a rough idea of what your goal may be.  Without knowing that you will not really know the direction you should be going, and without knowing the direction you will probably choose the wrong tools.  It would be a bit like starting on a journey, trying to follow a map, but not actually knowing where you want to go!  So spend some time thinking about what you want to become.  No limits.  Write down all your ideas as they come to you.  Then when you have enough written down try to feel which ones seem right for you.  This should help identify the right direction of travel for you.

When you are thinking about what you want to become, don't be frightened of aiming for the stars.  We are all made of star dust anyway, so aim for those stars!

That's for the big picture.  Long term, don't accept any limitations.  There are no limitations.  Or, rather, the only limitations are the ones you create for yourself.

Now you know where you are headed, start to think about the steps you can take to move in that direction.  These can be very small steps.  In fact, they should be.  They are things you know you can achieve.  You probably have no idea how you are eventually going to reach your long term goal, but that doesn't matter, as you will eventually reach it if you keep taking the right steps in that direction.

Keep an open mind.  You never know when the next opportunity is going to knock or which direction it will come from.  Often it is entirely unexpected.  Also opportunities will often appear and you will fail to spot them.  Do not be discouraged by this.  The more you open your mind, the more you get focused on what it is you want to achieve, the easier it will be to start spotting those opportunities.  You will certainly miss some, but that is not the end of the world as (contrary to what you may have read) similar opportunities will arise again.

Join groups of similarly minded people.  Ideally they will be people nearby, but this is not essential.  If there are no such groups near you then look for "virtual" groups on the internet.  Gain both encouragement and new ideas from the groups.  Ask others what tools they have used to achieve their results.  You will be surprised at how much information you can get and how helpful those new friends can be.

The corollary is to avoid, where possible, people who try to discourage you and tell you that you will never achieve what you are trying to achieve.  There are many such people around, and they are really toxic.  You do not have to put up with this - just avoid them.

A lot of what you need will be available for free.  Take advantage of this.  You will be amazed at just how much good free information is out there.  If you subscribe to my newsletters you will find masses of such free help, as I spend a lot of time looking at what is available and finding out what is the most helpful.  If you have not already subscribed, go to www.beallican.com right now to claim some free personal development e-books and join my newsletter list.

What you will also find, though, is that as you start to develop in a particular direction you will probably have to start paying for further help.  View this not as a cost but as an investment.  The most important investment you will ever make - an investment in you, your future, and your happiness.  I recommend you start keeping aside 10% of whatever you earn to use as an investment in you.  Start right now, before you even know what you will need to invest in - put this money aside, hopefully earning a bit of interest, so it is ready to use when you need it.

Don't get confused by the huge variety of material out there.  Often you will find very similar systems offered by different people and organizations, all promising to help you reach your goals.  As long as the system is good, just go with whichever feels right to you.  There are many paths to the same destination.  As for whether or not it is good, do some research first.  Or let someone prominent in the field search through everything and come up with selective recommendations - which is what I do for my subscribers.

Enjoy your journey.  Remember that you will never reach the end, as your goal will start to change as you begin the journey and well before you reach it you will find you have come up with more goals even further ahead.  So take pleasure from the journey itself - otherwise, what is the point?

Finally, do not become discouraged.  I can promise you there will be setbacks.  That is simply a part of the rich tapestry of life.  Accept the setback, see what you can learn from it (that is very important!) and then move on.  If you adopt this attitude then even the setbacks can be regarded as an essential part of the great journey you are taking, as they teach you essential lessons.

Wherever your personal development journey is taking you, bon voyage!