insakanet

Personal Development

  • Inspiring and Empowering Others to Help You

    “For changes to be of any true value, they’ve got to be lasting and consistent.” ~Tony Robins.

    “Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives” ~ Tony Robins.

    No man is an island. Personal success and development cannot be achieved in isolation. God has abundantly blessed us with people in our lives that we can rightly use to achieve our life’s purpose and goals.

    Each and every person you have come across in your life has a part to play and it is entirely up to you to recognise that and help them to help you move closer to your life’s purpose.

    In this article I discuss three important ways to empower our associates.

    Firstly let me make mention that there are 3 groups of people in our lives;

    • Close relationships – these will include your family, your friends, your spouse, and your children.
    • Your work relationships – these will include your colleagues, workmates including your boss.
    • Others – included in this category are people you come across every day.

    You need to know how to interact with these people in order for them to help you achieve your desired life’s purpose and goals. The key areas I have identified are listed below.

    Appreciation

    There is no single person I have come across in my entire life that does not like or rather feels bad when they are appreciated. Appreciation is perhaps one of the most important aspects of getting people to like you and to inspire them to support and help your cause.

    Develop the habit of expressing gratitude, even for the smallest acts of kindness. A genuinely simple smile and a heartfelt “thank you” goes a long way in lifting the other person’s spirit. The more thankful you are the more people are inclined to support you.

    Always acknowledge the effort, even if what you received isn’t exactly what you requested. Make the other person feel appreciated for their service and assure them that their effort was valued and not wasted.

    Appreciation lifts the self-esteem of human beings. The feeling of appreciation is an intense one and can make or break someone’s self-esteem. Imagine yourself working for a boss who does not seem to appreciate whatever effort you put into your work.

    Imagine the frustration of dedicating countless hours to an assignment, only to feel completely unappreciated.

    Now, contrast this with the feeling of being appreciated, even for your smallest efforts. You’ll find yourself willing to invest extra time because you know your work and presence truly matter.

    Approval

    Remember, everyone is primarily emotional.  Everything that people do, or choose not to do, is largely driven by their deeper emotions.

    Your job is to connect with their higher and more positive emotions so they feel so good about you that they want to help and please you in some way.

    If you are in a supervisory position it will really help you to spend more time with your subordinates inviting their feedback and comments on their work. To achieve this, you must create a trust worthy environment.

    This I believe is one of the best methods to get their work approved as they will understand what is expected of them.

    There is nothing quite like the satisfaction of having your work approved by your manager. It makes you feel a true sense of ownership and pride in what you have accomplished.

    Believe me, having a highly motivated worker can yield results beyond your imagination. The quality of your subordinates can make or break your success.

    If your personal goal is very dependent on other people’s input you need to devise methods that are consistent and gain respect from other people.

    You need to be nice, friendly, and courteous. I encourage you to read more on people management.

    In life, you always have a choice. You can either do everything yourself or you can get others to help you do some of the work. Delegating work is surely key to helping you achieve more with your time.

    Attention

    The third and final aspect of empowering others is attention. Just like every one of us loves attention in one way or the other. Learn to listen with keen interest.

    Pay attention to the details that keep people motivated and work to improve them.

    If you have a difference with say a work colleague. Do not argue with them but reason with them. Listen to their explanation and make sure you understand the reasoning behind it. If you do not agree with them be polite in letting them know that you have a different viewpoint.

    I have experienced this, especially with women. Even when they know that you cannot help them, they just want you to listen to them. All they are looking for is someone who can at least give them an audience.

    The fact that you will give them the attention they need, will greatly improve their self-esteem. If you are married that is lesson number one for you. Give your wife all the attention she needs. Listen to her.

    Conclusion

    Your ability to delegate effectively, which requires that you inspire and empower others to help you willingly, will determine how fast you move ahead. 

    It will determine how much you earn in your job; this will also determine the quality and quantity of your productivity; it will determine your ultimate financial success in life.

    The key to all of this is your ability to empower others. Life was meant to be lived with people.

  • You Have Something to Give

    “When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice” ~ Indian Proverb.

    “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give” ~ Sir Winston Churchill.

    Each of us is uniquely created with a distinct design. We are all meant to thrive through interdependence.

    No one in this world can truly claim to be completely independent and not in need of others.

    I want to remind and encourage you of how important and relevant you are to humanity. I want you to realize that you have something to contribute to the well-being of the world.

    No matter what your situation or background is, you possess something that is uniquely yours.

    I am deeply concerned about some of the negative questions being raised on a prominent website.

    To make matters worse they are coming from kids as young as 15 years of age. Most of the questions are to do with giving up on life.

    Imagine a 15-year-old who feels overwhelmed by life, ready to give up before truly beginning to live. How sad indeed.

    I often ask myself this question: What if Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Thomas A. Edison, and many other great inventors and discoverers had given up before making their breakthroughs? How different would the world be today?

    Your gifts and talents may not amount or match the great discoverers and inventors of the past, but it plays a very significant role in the advancement of humanity.

    You have a very significant and important role to play on earth. Myles Monroe says the richest place on earth is the graveyard.

    This is where you discover inventions that never came to be; dreams that were never fulfilled; songs that were never sung; buildings that were never constructed and many other things that the world has been deprived of.

    I pray and hope that you will not be a graveyard statistic but will leave a meaningful and positive legacy that endures.

    Ask not what the world will do for you but, what you will do for the world. Stop thinking from within the box and in fact, remove the box altogether.

    The human race is like a body. The body cannot function properly with a missing part, it may function but with a lot of difficulties.

    Do not be those missing parts. Do not rob the world of your talents and gifts. Do not deprive us of your contribution to humanity. We greatly need them. You are not living by accident or by chance but for a reason and for a greater purpose.

    If you are almost giving up on your life sit down and thank God that you are still alive. Many are struggling to hang on to life yet you have it for free. The fact that you are still alive means that you have something to give.

    There are so many things to thank your creator for and let alone obey his guiding words by dedicating your life to contributing to the wellbeing of humanity.

    No contribution is too small; everything adds up to make a difference. It’s high time you started using your mind constructively.

    You see everything is conceived in the mind. Our minds are the workshops for all that we see.

    Our minds are power engines of our lives. The real secret of power is the consciousness of power.

    The more conscious we become of our unity with this mind, the less conscious we shall become of conditions and limitations, and as we become emancipated or freed from conditions we come into a realization of the unconditional.

    We have become free! We have removed the box. We have evolved.

    The ability to eliminate imperfect conditions depends upon mental action, and mental action depends upon consciousness of power; therefore, the more conscious we become of our unity with the source of all power, the greater will be our power to control and master every condition.

    Conclusion

    Every human being including is as important as the next one and the one before. I want to encourage you not to look down upon yourself.

    You were created to contribute to humanity and your contribution is valuable.

    This all starts with you realizing and appreciating how important you are to the whole world. DO NOT rob us of your gifts and talents.

    Just like you have benefited from the inventors of computers we also want to benefit from you.

  • The Dawn of a Season

    “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending” ~ Carl Bard.

    Take heart and give way to the new season. This is my first article for this New Year since my website was hacked.

    Time flies and waits for no one. Whether you like it or not time will not wait for you.

    We have just been ushered into a new season and it is still the right time to start afresh or build up on the gains achieved from the past season. 

    If you are like me and like to set new goals please go ahead and set them. Set this season as the turning point that will see you grow your weakest areas of your life.

    In order to grow you must obtain what is necessary for your growth but, as you are at all time a complete thought entity, this completeness makes it possible for you to receive only as you give; growth is therefore conditioned on reciprocal action just the same as like attracts like.

    The challenge for you this year is to obtain what is necessary for your growth; to stop those detrimental habits; to build on your business skills; to improve on interpersonal relationships and to grow spiritually.

    The Challenge

    “How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you will become after the game, whether you are a winner or loser” ~ Lou Holtz.

    Think for a moment, what you would be if you were not a husband or wife, father or mother, or brother or sister, if you were not interested in the social, economical, political or religious world.

    What then would you be? Think about what you were last year; how much you achieved; and how much more you did not achieve; do you want to stay in the same position or do you want to climb the ladder of self-improvement or would you rather take a few steps backwards?

    The challenge therefore, for is to find the right combination and balance of tools or rather characteristics for a more fulfilling personality.

    The target should be to find the right ingredient’s necessary for growth. In order to grow you must then, obtain what is essential for growth.

    Your growth then is dependent on what you take in. Remember first that all growth is from within and that you are the source of that growth. Note that you are also the source of your own growth. 

    To ensure that you reach the optimum growth levels for this year you must make sure that you develop the right mental attitude. This will mean a constant renewal of the mind. One must make a deliberate policy to buy and read self-improvement and development books. It also means that you need to focus more on the positive things in life.

    Manage Your Thoughts

    It is very amazing to know that all things in the world began as a thought. Even at creation I believe that, God must have first thought before speaking.

    The saying “as a man thinks so is he in is heart” holds water for me. You always produce what you think. Your outside world is a true reflection of your inside world.

    If you think cheap you come out cheap. If you set your mind on mediocrity you get exactly that and vice versa.

    I can challenge you that nothing in this world has ever been invented without first being conceived as a thought or an idea by someone.

    Noticed that the world has a way of giving us back what we predominantly harbour as thoughts.

    This then makes me realize that one of the most important tool we have as human beings is the mind which is the thinking organ.

    If you can master the thoughts you hold, believe me, you are destined for greatness. In this new season, challenge yourself to begin mastering and managing your mind.

    Be Proactive and not Reactive

    The human nature is that of being reactive. Meaning we always wait for the situation to happen and then react after wards.

    This means that most of the time we are firefighting. That is the difference between successful individuals and those of us that are struggling with life.

    If you want to be ahead you must be proactive and not reactive. I used to be like this and I can confess that this firefighting syndrome has not completely gone away.

    The best way to handle life is to be prepared for every eventuality. To be proactive is to take measures in advance for an event that will occur including the unexpected.

    Like I said this is a new season and with it comes a new tide of everything. The challenge this season is to build on the little gains achieved for being proactive and not reactive. Being reactive is a sign of laziness and no lazy person can be successful.

    Conclusion

    As per tradition for me every New Year is a new season and I always make resolutions and set goals for it.  This is one of the best tools I use to measure my progress towards reaching my personal development goals.

    I hope and trust that you have formulated one for yourself to keep you going.

  • Business Unusual

    “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand” ~ Vince Lombardi.

    I am sure that most of us have heard the saying “business as usual,” am also pretty sure that the heading to this article does not make much sense to some of you.

    Maybe you are thinking the title should have been “unusual business” or something related or maybe you think it is a mistake, NO!!!.

    The title is perfect and suits the article very well as you will see. The quote by Vince Lombardi basically sums up the activities of what, successful people do.

    On the contrary, though I would like to disagree with the phrase “business as usual” to me it simply means business without improvement.

    If you are in the habit of the business-as-usual syndrome, then chances are that you are stagnant and not improving in whatever you are doing. You need to change.

    Do Things Differently

    To succeed in life you need to do things differently and in a smart way. If you are in business making an improvement on a frequent basis is what will distinguish you from others.

    Especially if you are in the service industry improvement is very cardinal. Well, I have learnt that some things cannot be changed and thus are better left like that.

    But most of the things we do in life can be improved upon. Improving on the smallest of things in your life will result in a total change in your outlook.

    An improvement in your waking up could result in you having more time for other things; an improvement in your eating habits will result in a healthy life.

    These small changes when put together result in big changes. And this is what distinguishes success from failure.

    To do things in an unusual ways means to have a heart and love for what we are doing. If you have a love and passion for whatever business or work you are doing believe me you will always try to improve on it.

    I will give an example of the computer industry; see how computers have evolved from big mainframes to miniature computers with so much power and flexibility.

    This of course is as a result of the passion and dedication the men and women in this industry have put in. The notion that “business as usual” should not be the one for you if you want to be a success in life. Your business should not be as usual it should be different and smartly done.

    Learn the Tricks of the Trade

    “If money is your hope for independence, you will never have it. The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability” ~ Henry Ford.

    You cannot improve on anything without learning the ropes. By this I mean you cannot improve your business or your personal goes without learning and knowing how things are done.

    Learning is perhaps one quality that needs to be improved upon on a very regular basis. I learn a new thing on a daily basis. Never stop learning. The moment you stop learning you will have closed the door to growth.

    You need to have an open mind for learning new things and tricks of the trade. In every niche there are norms, “the dos and the don’ts” learn them and improve on them. This will be your guide to success.

    Even in your quest to succeed I believe that you have a written down life’s purpose, use it as your guide and keep improving on it. There is no limit in acquiring knowledge but, also know that it must be put to use. Knowledge without action is useless. Learning must be followed with action.

    There is no point in learning how say, foreclosure is done in real estate and not put it to practice. Imagine how much time would have been invested in the learning process just to be wasted without being put to use.

    If you have to learn ensure that you will put to use what you have learned. Napoleon Hill says “KNOWLEDGE will not attract money, unless it is organized, and intelligently directed, through practical PLANS OF ACTION.” This is how important action is. Action is the most important of all success principles.

    Having a mentality and doing “business unusual” has many more positive credits than negatives. Just the fact that you are motivated to do something differently gives you an added advantage against your fellow employees if you are in employment.

    Your boss or supervisor will be very pleased with you when he sees the effort of improvement being exhibited. It also goes the same for people running their own businesses. The little efforts being applied will definitely be noticed and appreciated by both would-be customers and current ones.

    Conclusion

    “Business is a combination of war and sport” ~ Andrea Maurois. I would like to encourage you to have a mentality of doing things differently.

    It may be difficult at the beginning but remember that Rome was not built in one day. Start with the small little things that are easy to do and continue on that path for say 3 weeks and see if you will not make a difference.

  • It Pays to Start Small

    “Do not despise the days of your small beginnings” ~ the Bible. “Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still” ~ Chinese proverb.

    Some translations of the Bible say “humble” beginnings. I am sure that we all want to succeed in all areas of our lives more especially in the financial area.

    It is only normal and nature permits it. I believe that all normal human beings have the desire to want to do something that will make them excel and succeed in all endevours’ of life.

    The biggest problem, however, lies in the desire to climb the tree starting from the very top. It is the wish to enjoy the fruit before even taking the necessary step of planting the tree.

    It is like wanting to eat dessert before having the main meal, rushing to experience the rewards without putting in the essential groundwork first.

    We always want to ignore the basics. Many of us do not want to build a solid foundation for our success, be it in business or personal development. We want the easy way out.

    We would rather start reaping from what we have not fully sowed. However, what we do not realise is that ignorance and avoidance of basics is one of the major contributors to our failures.

    Yes, you may experience temporal success but the end is very catastrophic. Cutting corners may just prolong your journey to success.

    Starting small gives you the opportunity to learn the trade. You grow slowly but steadily learning and avoiding big losses.

    This gives you motivation, as you are able to see the small achievements that you are scoring along the way and you keep building on them.

    The Building Blocks

    To succeed at anything you need to have the building blocks put together. In fact, you must first acquire the building materials and then put them together in the right order.

    Most of us have acquired the building blocks and I can assure you that a good number of us have better building materials than successful people.

    The major difference is that we want to jump the gun. We want to start building the house from the roof.

    Simply put we do not appreciate our small beginnings. I like this Chinese proverb that says “a journey of three thousand miles beginnings with one step.”

    For sure every step taken simply means that you have covered a distance. In this case, your building blocks are the steps you are taking.

    As an individual, I have learned to appreciate that for anything that I want to succeed at, the small efforts and inputs that I put in are greatly appreciated and treasured.

    For I know that it is these small little things that give birth to big things. Know that Rome was not built in one day.

    Remember if you are planning to start running your own business do not be discouraged at the amount of startup capital you have.

    Just start and grow with your business. The more you learn how to handle small amounts of money, the more you are training yourself to handle large amounts of money.

    They say “it is the cents that make the dollars.” Put the cents together and you have a dollar. The more cents you put together the more dollars you have. The more dollars you have the more money you accumulate.

    It’s just like the human body; it is made up of small cells. These small cells when put together make each and every tissue, organ, and finally, the whole body is complete.

    When you focus on the composition and makeup of the human body you will appreciate that all growth comes from within; you will appreciate that those small things when put together they add up to something big.

    Start Small

    I know we all want to start big and quickly move in the comfort zone.

    The reality is that even the biggest corporations of today started small.

    A lesson learned from starting small is that you grow with the business and develop a discipline for managing it.

    Nature is such that you will hold dear what you have worked for and have seen grow from scratch. You become emotionally attached to it.

    It is very different to be given a lot of money that you have never handled before in your life, the likely hood of mismanaging the funds is higher than when you have toiled and sweated for the same money.

    They say easy come easy go. Have you ever wondered that most of those who win the lottery quickly become bankrupt?

    Starting small and ensuring steady growth also gives you a sense of pride and satisfaction.

    I am not against anyone who starts big, experience has shown that those who grow their businesses from a small scale are more likely to succeed than those who start big.

    I feel more comfortable starting with something I can handle and improving on it as it grows. It is much easier to handle small things and learn from them.

    Even in the area of personal development, change will not come like manna from heaven. The change will come through the small everyday efforts that you put in.

    Conclusion

    In order to succeed, we must appreciate the days of our humble beginnings. We also appreciate that all forms of living things are made of small components and remember that it is the cents that make the dollars.

    Learn to cherish those days and thank your creator for them. The days of your small beginnings are your learning curve and building blocks for your success.

  • The Secret Source of Power

     

    “The possibilities of thought training are infinite, its consequence eternal, and yet few take the pains to direct their thinking into channels that will do them good, but instead leave all to chance” ~ Marden.

    Before we go further let’s define the word power “it is the ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality.”

    We all possess the unique ability to take various actions. Each of us holds the power to make choices, whether those choices are positive or negative in nature.

    Everyone has some unique ability or talent; no one can truly claim they can’t do anything meaningful at all in life.

    Since all human beings have the ability and quality to do something one would then expect all of us to lead very successful and fulfilling lives.

    This is not meant to happen; the key is understanding the secret and where it comes from: POWER. It’s about how to use this power, apply it, and truly realize its potential.

    The Source of Power

    The question to ask then is, what is the true source of this power? As you read along, you will begin to understand the concept of the source of power more clearly.

    The mind and its attitudes are by far the most important elements of achieving success and fostering personal development.

    What your mind thinks about most of the time, is what you eventually become. In other words, you are in your current position because of the thoughts you entertained.

    The thoughts you harbour in your mind are key to your success. If you want to make lots of money, have the money consciousness.

    The ability to eliminate imperfect conditions depends upon your mental action, and mental action depends upon consciousness of power.

    The more aware we become of our deep connection to the source of all power, the more effectively we will be able to manage and positively influence every situation we encounter.

    This mental attitude is our personality and is composed of the thoughts which we have been creating in our own minds. You see the mind is such a powerful tool.

    Therefore, if we desire a significant change in our current conditions, all that is necessary is to actively change our thoughts and mindset.

    This will, in turn, change our mental attitude, which will, in turn, change our personality, which in turn, changes the person, things, and conditions, or, the experiences with which we meet in life.

    This, however, is no easy matter, but with persistent effort, it may be accomplished.

    The source of all this power is the universal mind, from which all things proceed and which is one and is invisible.

    The Secret of Power

    Now that you understand the source of power, the next crucial step is to learn the deeper secrets behind harnessing that power effectively.

    Like I always say knowledge without action is useless. You need to be conscious of power because whatever we become conscious of is invariably manifested in the objective world; it is brought forth into tangible expression.

    Put simply your thoughts are transmuted into reality. Have you ever realized that even the earth was first a thought according to the bible? “In the beginning, GOD created the heavens and the earth.”

    Correct me if I am wrong but, I believe that GOD thought and visualized what the earth would like before creating it.

    The secret of power is in the consciousness of it. The secret of success is one of the methods of organizing victory, one of the accomplishments of the Master-Mind.

    A person who thinks big possesses a creative mind and often finds it significantly easier to manage and tackle big challenges effectively.

    The mind is just as much present in the infinitely large cosmos as it is in the infinitely small particles of matter that compose our universe.

    Conclusion

    There is a wealth of information available on this blog, and I would highly encourage you to explore various topics that may pique your interest.

  • How to Learn From Failure

    One of the major reasons why we do not succeed is the refusal to learn from our mistakes and challenges.

    People do not realise that failure can be a very powerful tool to assess your performance and find meaningful ways to improve yourself.

    Ask yourself about the day’s failures and successes and what can be gleaned, then hold yourself accountable.

    Take note of those factors that contributed to your day’s failure they surely will not go away without you taking action.

    “I don’t know the key to success but the key to failure is to try to please everyone.”  – Bill Cosby.

    The above quote just summarises everything about our failures.

    Many of us have never attempted to venture out in business or indeed pursue something that we have always longed to do, held back by the fear of failing.

    I know that failing is part of life. The difference between successful people and the average guy is the way failure is handled.

    The successful guys always make it a point to learn from their mistakes and failures, whereas most of us just stop at failure.

    If you don’t make it point to sit down and analyse the causes of your failure you will not succeed at whatever you do.

    Learning from failure is therefore an important aspect of being successful so is taking time to analyse your daily failures (no matter how small).

    The following tips may help you learn from your failures and help to improve on them.

    Ask Yourself Questions

    I encourage you to take a few minutes each day to reflect on your day. This simple habit is highly beneficial and requires just about 15 minutes.

    If you can, get a piece of paper and a pen and write down the points. You will realise that most or some of the important decisions are made in the serenity of your home or just before bedtime.

    When your mind is relaxed. Some useful questions to ask yourself would be:-

    • what failures did I experience today?
    • what are the lessons to be learned from them?
    • how do I change them or improve on them?
    • is there any need for me to have external help?

    At first, it may seem cumbersome to review your day but you will agree with me that every time you have an important decision to make, you will usually sleep over it, and in most cases, decisions are made just before sleeping and reviewed in the morning.

    That’s just how the mind works. You may also want to take note of your successes made during the day.

    Have a Plan and be Accountable

    Draw a plan of action. Remember that those attributes that contributed to your failure will not go away until action is taken.

    If there is one thing I believe in, it is making decisions. They have to be made wrong or right and action taken.

    By taking action you are moving a step closer to successfully achieving your intended goal or purpose.

    In your plan include what behaviours you think you need to improve on or change.

    Secondly, be accountable. If you are in business find a very responsible partner and be accountable to them.

    In my years of work experience, I have observed that accountability is lacking in many individuals.

    You can also be accountable to yourself but please be honest.

    One of the best ways to be accountable to yourself is to put yourself on the other side.

    Imagine that you are the leader and expect results from your subordinate. What quality of results do you want from your junior?

    How would you react if the results are not as you expected and what would you have done?

    Answering these questions may help you be more accountable.

    Let Your Plan Guide You

    Stick to your plan. Let your plan be the guide. If you have a partner you are accountable to, ensure that he is strict on you until you change your daily patterns that contribute to your failures.  

    It takes time patience and repetition to improve. One of the best ways to succeed is by sticking to your plan. Ensure that you have a good plan and keep improving on it.

    Do not be rigid as to not realise that plans can be revised to make improvements.

    Conclusion

    We all fail a little every day. We can learn from those small failures as well as daily successes when we reflect.

    I know that there can never be success without failure. I have not come across a successful person who has never failed.

    Do not feel discouraged when you fail the first time, after all, success is synonymous with failure.

    We all have failed at some point in life and will keep failing every day but always be accountable for your actions and above all “standout be counted.”

  • Is Knowledge Key to Success?

    “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” ~ The Bible. “If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest” ~ Benjamin Franklin.

    The fact is that knowledge is married to success and that there is no success without knowledge.

    I like to compare the co-relationship between knowledge and success with a mobile phone and a sim card they are inseparable.

    In my endeavour to achieve my life’s intended goals, I have discovered that I need to acquire knowledge to achieve them.

    I have also come to understand that knowledge is the key to success. Without knowledge chances of you achieving your intended life’s purpose(s) are very slim if not bleak.

    In this article, I outline why knowledge is key to achieving your success.

    What is Knowledge?

    “The result of man’s ability to think is knowledge” ~ the master key system.

    Put in another way “man’s ability to think is as a result of his awareness; know-how; understanding and intelligence.”

    The Oxford English dictionary defines knowledge as “the information and skills acquired through experience or education; the sum of what is known; awareness or familiarity gained by experience.”

    According to the definitions given above knowledge is gained through experience and education.

    By the way, education does not need to be formal you can be educated informally.

    I believe that not all successful people are “educated.” They have just acquired the right knowledge and experience needed to achieve their personal objectives.

    “There are no secrets to success it is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure” ~ Colin Powell.

    Using Knowledge as a Yardstick

    Knowledge helps us prepare ourselves for the oncoming obstacles as we move towards achieving our objectives.

    It is therefore imperative that you continuously acquire knowledge and improve on your skillset.

    As I have mentioned before in my previous articles that success is a journey and not a destination you will come across many obstacles on your journey.

    The difference between successful people and the rest is that they prevail over obstacles. They have developed the tenacity to overcome obstacles.

    They never give up even when they fail the first time around.

    I am pretty sure that the knowledge and experience gained when faced with different challenges comes in handy at some stage in life.

    I want to encourage you to acquire as much knowledge as you can as you go about working through to achieve your intended life’s purpose. You just never know when you will need to call upon it for help.

    Knowledge can then be best acquired through reading books and experience. These two are some of my best ways of acquiring knowledge.

    You could also attend seminars, listen to recorded messages, and many other ways that are available to you.

    When it comes to acquiring knowledge do not limit yourself. Remember that one of the very few possessions that can never be grabbed away from you even in your death is knowledge.

    I have never heard anything like they downloaded his knowledge to a storage media before he died, never before.

    How Does Knowledge Fit In?

    If knowledge is the awareness gained by experience, I would be right to say that success is achieved by experience and this takes time.

    Clearly, from the definitions of knowledge described above, I can safely say that without knowledge; experience; awareness, or education there is no success. Experience does not come overnight, it takes time to come.

    In my opinion, knowledge is the driving force to success without which it is very difficult to walk down the road of success.

    If you have to succeed in life you will need to spend good quality time acquiring knowledge and skills needed for your intended purpose.

    If it is the driving force, then you must therefore learn to put it to good use. Knowledge acquired without being used is a waste of time.

    Knowledge is acquired for a purpose and not just for the sake of it.

    Conclusion

    In whatever, endevours one may be engaged in, it is impossible to succeed without sufficient knowledge.

    It is therefore key that you strive to acquire the right knowledge for you to pursue your life’s intended purpose.

    Knowledge does not necessarily have to be acquired through established learning institutions such as schools.

    There are various ways and the main one being reading. I will end here and hope you have enjoyed the article.

  • Motivation, the Heart of Self Improvement

    “Have your heart in your life’s work, and be stout-hearted. Do something, act always, and do it now. Don’t be afraid. Many a man has been defeated by his doubts—lack of confidence. Take your risks —you cannot eliminate them, you cannot escape them. You can diminish them by dominating them.” ~ Batten’s Wedge

    This article is an excerpt from the book “believe it and you will achieve it.”

    Pain may sometimes be the reason why people change. Getting flunked grades makes us realize that we need to study. Debts remind us of our inability to look for a source of income.

    Being humiliated gives us the ‘push’ to speak up and fight for ourselves to save our face from the next embarrassment.

    It may be a bitter experience, a friend’s tragic story, a great movie, or an inspiring book that will help us get up and get just the right amount of motivation we need in order to improve ourselves.

    With the countless negativities the world brings about, how do we keep motivated? Try on the tips prepared from A to Z.

    A – Achieve your dreams. Avoid negative people, things, and places. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

    B – Believe in yourself, and in what you can do. You are the only obstacle to you success.

    C – Consider things from every angle and aspect. Motivation comes from determination. To be able to understand life, you should feel the sun from both sides.

    D – Don’t give up and don’t give in. Thomas Edison failed once, twice, more than thrice before he came up with his invention and perfected the incandescent light bulb. Make motivation your steering wheel.

    E – Enjoy. Work as if you don’t need money. Dance as if nobody’s watching. Love as if you never cried. Learn as if you’ll live forever. Motivation takes place when people are happy.

    F – Family and Friends – are life’s greatest ‘F’ treasures. Don’t lose sight of them. Embrace and enjoy their presence.

    G – Give more than what is expected. Motivation and self-improvement happen everywhere—at work, at home, and at school. True growth occurs when you put in extra effort and go beyond the minimum required.

    H – Hang on to your dreams. They may dangle in there for a moment, but these little stars will be your driving force. Your dreams will define the kind of legacy you want to leave behind.

    I – Ignore those who try to destroy you. Don’t let other people get the best of you. Stay out of toxic people – the kind of friends who hate to hear about your success.

    J – Just be yourself. The key to success is to be yourself. And the key to failure is to try to please everyone. The more you try to please everyone the more frustrated you will get.

    K – keep trying no matter how hard life may seem. When a person is motivated, eventually he sees a harsh life finally clearing out, paving the way for self-improvement.

    L – Learn to love yourself. Now isn’t that easy? Probable the easiest thing to do.

    M – Make things happen. Motivation is when your dreams are put into work clothes. Things do not happen without effort.

    N – Never lie, cheat or steal. Always play a fair game. The truth will always set you free. Build trust by being truthful.

    O – Open your eyes. People should learn the horse’s attitude and sense. They see things in 2 ways – how they want things to be, and how they should be.

    P – Practice makes perfect. Practice is about motivation. It lets us learn repertoire and ways on how can we recover from our mistakes.

    Q – Quitters never win. And winners never quit. So, choose your fate – are you going to be a quitter or a winner?

    R – Ready yourself. Motivation is also about preparation. We must hear the little voice within, telling us to get started before others will get on their feet and try to push us around. Remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah build the ark.

    S – Stop procrastinating immediately and take decisive action without delay. Procrastination only hinders your progress and prevents you from reaching your full potential. By overcoming the habit of putting things off, you can increase your productivity, reduce stress, and achieve your goals more efficiently.

    T – Take control of your life. Discipline or self-control jives synonymously with motivation. Both are key factors in self-improvement.

    U – Understand others. If you know very well how to talk, you should also learn how to listen. Yearn to understand first, and to be understood the second. Communication is very key your wellbeing.

    V – Visualize it clearly in your mind. Motivation without vision is like a boat stranded on dry land, unable to move forward or reach its destination.

    W – Want it more than anything. Dreaming means believing. And to believe is something that is rooted out from the roots of motivation and self-improvement.

    X – X-Factor is what will make you different from others. When you are motivated, you tend to put on “extras” in your life like extra time for family, extra help at work, extra care for friends, and so on.

    Y – You are unique. No one in this world looks acts or talks like you. Value your life and existence, because you’re just going to spend it once.

    Z – Zero in with absolute focus on your dream and confidently go for it with determination and passion!!!

    Conclusion

    Zelda Fitzgerald once said “Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold”. That is why when you put your heart to something it stands out.

  • Improve Your Self-Esteem Part 2

    This is the final part of a two-part series. In the first part, I mentioned the importance of having goals; principles, and success experiences and how these impact your self-esteem.

    I will mention the remaining 3 that are compared with others; recognition and rewards and how these affect your self-esteem.

    Comparison With Others

    The fourth element of self-esteem is comparison with others. Leon’s study concluded that in determining how well we are doing, we do not compare ourselves with abstract principles and standards, but, rather, we compare ourselves with people we know.

    To feel like a winner, you must know for sure that you are doing as well as or better than someone else.

    The more you know about how well the others in your field are doing, and the more favorably you compare with them. The more you will feel like a winner, and the higher your self-esteem will be.

    Successful people continually compare themselves with other successful people. In order to succeed, you must have a mentor.

    Successful people think about their mentors and read about them and study their performances, and then they work towards improving their own failures.

    The best competition you can have is yourself. Begin to compete with your previously achieved goals and improve on them. I believe that success is not a destination but a long journey.

    Recognition

    “When we come into a recognition of the Unity of all things and that the source of all power is within, we tap the source of inspiration” ~ Charles Haanel.

    The next element for self-esteem is recognition of the accomplishments by people whom you respect.

    To feel really great about yourself, you need the recognition of people you look up to and admire people, such as your boss, your coworkers, your spouse, and people in your social circle.

    Whenever you are recognized and praised for any accomplishment by someone whose opinion you hold in high regard. Your self-esteem goes up, along with your eagerness and enthusiasm to do even better on the job.

    We all need a pat on the back for the work well done. I am sure you have been to places where even when you have done your very best no one comes to congratulate or encourage you. It feels like you are just wasting your time and energy.

    Recognition is a very nice feeling. Most of what we do if not everything, we all want to be recognized for it. At least I am talking about myself.

    Rewards

    Don’t we all want to be rewarded for our efforts? The final element of self-esteem involves rewards that are consistent with your accomplishments.

    You may work in a field where you receive financial bonuses, status symbols—larger offices, bigger cars—or even plaques and trophies for superior achievement.

    All of those symbols can have an incredible impact on raising your self-esteem and causing you to feel terrific about yourself. Expecting to be rewarded for your efforts comes naturally.

    If, however, your existing situation does not offer the tangible or intangible rewards that are necessary for you to build and maintain your self-esteem. You must create rewards for yourself.

    One of the smartest things you can do is to design a system for giving yourself rewards for both small and large accomplishments as you move progressively toward your goals.

    Whether or not your current environment provides the six elements of self-esteem improvement that is goals, principles, success experiences, comparison with others, recognition, and rewards. You need to establish your own structure and take full responsibility for building and improving yourself up on a regular basis.

    When you have that foundation, you will experience a form of mental fitness and unshakable optimism that will sustain you through failure and propel you to success.

    Conclusion

    Improving your self-esteem should be like physical exercise. To achieve and enjoy your life’s purpose you need to cultivate high self-esteem.

    Generally, people with high self-esteem are more likable and live happier lives than those with low self-esteem.

    Like I always say that personal development of self-growth does not come overnight so is high self-esteem.

    Keep working on your self-esteem. You will never say I have arrived at the destination of high self-esteem it is a continuous journey.

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