Let’s talk about personal development.
It’s oftentimes the one thing that you’re not investing in by spending your time, utilizing resources, and educating yourself, and yet everyone else that’s successful, that you’re looking at as a best practice and someone that you want to emulate, is (really!).
A holistic approach to your knowledge + growth capability
So let me be very clear, personal development has to do with a holistic approach to your knowledge. So that applies to everything from your money, your finances, your business or your career, your love and your life, and everything in between. You see, I take a very holistic approach to success, which means I actually believe that in order to be successful in one area of your life, maybe professionally, it’s important that you also balance that focus with other aspects of your life, like maybe your relationships or your body or your mind.
And so this is where I think oftentimes the information that you’re given is misguided. I do not think it’s important that you only invest in one aspect of improving your life. Instead, if you look at success on a continuum, right, every aspect of someone’s success is predicated by decisions made in not just that one area of their lives. That means you can have tremendous personal success, but struggle on the financial side. You can also have tremendous business success and personally be a hot mess. That’s how I was by the way, for a very long time, until I met my husband – kidding… ok ok not kidding!
Side note: You should know I’m all about keeping it real… even and especially as it pertains to my own successes and missteps!
Become well-versed, that’s the real goal
And so I really believe that the most well versed, the most successful from an internal and an external perspective, and the people that are doing it right, are focused on general, overall, holistic betterness.
So what does that look like? Typically by the time you’re hearing me talk about this, there is a part of your life, a part of your health or wellness, a part of your career or business, or just an aspect of who you are that comes to mind. It could be an area that you’ve been trying to improve in for some time, or more often it’s an area you’ve been sticking your head in the sand about and not focusing on for fear that maybe you won’t be able to improve or conquer, or that you just are who you are and it’s not able to be improved or developed.
I actually believe that everyone has the capacity to improve. The difference is I also believe that not everyone wants to improve or wants to put the effort, energy, investment and resources towards that.
So if you are that other type of person, that person who’s maybe laser focused on business or financial success, you may be looking at the other side of your life saying “I’ve invested a lot into business and career, and I’d like to kind of pivot a little bit and still be successful and also be successful in my personal life.”
I am with you, I absolutely believe it’s possible because I’ve lived it, and I can tell you authentically, there’s no better joy than experiencing the height of your career alongside the best life you could possibly have from an emotional and a relational perspective.
Also true is the opposite, which is, maybe in your personal life you’ve got the support, structure, and people, but you’re really having a hard time feeling good about the work that you do. Maybe you’re struggling with certain aspects of your business or your career is kind of at a place where you need to do something different, you want to be better or evolving, and you’re just feeling kind of stuck.
You see, I do believe that there are some things that the most successful people do that they don’t often speak about. Sure, one of those things is to read books and to self-educate. But I also believe that you cannot DIY every aspect of your life. And trust me, I am known as the Duchess of DIY. If there’s something I can do myself, I absolutely will.
Use an expert to accelerate your success
However, when it comes to your personal development, this is where I’m always an advocate of bringing in an expert, not just because I’m an expert myself by the way, but because I practice what I preached, and I’ve actually invested in people to help me to grow in the areas in which that I was stuck, where I needed some strategic advice and support, and where I definitely wanted to be better, but had no idea how to do that myself with the accountability and the intentionality that was needed.
So if you’re in that position, it’s got to be more than reading books and journaling. The thing that most people don’t tell you about is the investment that they place into that level of development. So this is everything from, yeah of course, paying for coaching and consulting, but also understanding the right blueprint for where you want to go and having a strategy to get there.
No really, but use an EXPERT, not some b.s. guru or course
You see, this is the thing that most people get wrong. You know, you can invest in all these b.s. gurus and online courses, and still do nothing. In fact, here’s a fun fact. 97% of online courses are never completed. So you spend the money, you know the $97 or the $47, and you have all the intention of getting to the next step and the last step, and most people never do. So there’s a kick in the pants to help you to think differently.
But I really believe that those who put a structured, intentional approach and strategy towards whatever that end outcome is, or they want it to be, are always successful. It’s because they have accountability, they have someone who’s been through it, someone who’s helping them and guiding them and supporting them. But they also have someone who can foresee the pitfalls, prevent the areas where they’re going to hit a wall, right, keep them from throwing spaghetti at said wall, and give them an actual blueprint that makes sense for their personal situation and that has been done before, that’s replicable.
Improve personally and professionally (it’s possible to do both!)
So if you’re in the mindset that you want to improve from a personal perspective, again whether it’s personal, professional or anything in between, I believe your next step is to determine, are you serious enough to put some resources behind it? Those resources may be financial, they may actually not be.
And I implore you that if there is a path that you want to be on and you’re not quite there, this may be the time to invest. Invest of your time, invest of your dollars, and invest in your ability to get the success that you’ve always wanted because it’s actually available for you.
So when you think about those elite people, right, those top 5, and 10% of the world, or the top 1% of the world, the thing that they invest in that most people have the “Ain’t nobody got time for that” mindset and approach to, is the time and the outcome. So you don’t just go wasting your time because you can, and you don’t just choose someone who can’t get you to the outcome, but you’re hoping because they’re affordable that you can. But you put those two things together and you think who can help me get their fastest, most authentically, and with the accountability, goals and structure that I need to be successful. If you’ll only do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always be who you’ve always been. Which path is for you?
Let’s talk more about this, soon!
xoxo KK
Personal development is the ultimate accelerator… the more you improve, the less time it takes to achieve your goals! -KK FIT TIP #100