Welcome to JimmieBurroughs.com.You will find that this site is different from the norm in personality development. It may, in fact, go contrary to the ordinary tips that you read on the Internet about personal development. For example, you will find dozens of articles on forming new habits in 21 days on the Internet. There is no solid scientific proof to back that, even though repetition over time certainly does cement an action. It usually takes much longer than 21 days.
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Much of what you read here is from my own personal experiences of a lifetime of trial and error. My journey through life has included success, failures, struggles, and a lot of what I teach has been learned through “the college of hard knocks”. I know that building the kind of personality that will take you where you want to go is a journey that has a beginning but no ending. Personal development is a lifetime journey. It is my objective to take my readers through a journey that will take them to being who they want to be and living the life they want to live if they are willing to pay the price, not in dollars, but in time and effort.
The purpose of life is the personal development of your soul as well as your inner self. No one stays neutral: you are either strengthening the positive elements, or you are strengthening the negative ones. Anyone can become a better neighbor, husband, wife, or person. Becoming the best person we can become is the secret to great success in life.
One of the great leaders in personal development, Jim Rohm, once made a statement that has become a classic quote, he said, “Success is attracted by the person that we become”. Every successful person that I know about has emphasized the importance of personal growth and its direct ties to success. What a person becomes is more important than what they have. The wise person is the person who has used knowledge to become the best they can become. The wisest man who ever lived said:
“Take my instruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest gold.
For wisdom is better than jewels;
And all desirable things cannot compare with her.”
-Solomon, 1000 BC
Wisdom can’t be given; it must be gained and it is gained one decision at a time, one step at a time, day by day. Wisdom hungers for knowledge, and using it to develop each person into their highest potential. Wisdom is of God Almighty.
Personal development is improvement by just one small step at a time
Consistent improvement mounts up over time to huge gains. For example, if you improve just one half of a percent each week, that amounts to a 26% improvement for the first year. By using the rule of 70, that means that your improvement level will double in 2.7 years and over a period of 10 years you will have improved by a whopping 1004%. This is the formula for all great success stories, whether in music, sports or business. Incremental improvement is easy to accomplish; just like the saying, “By the yard is hard but by the inch, anything is a cinch!” “Success is achieved through inches of progress not miles”. Darren Hardy, publisher of SUCCESS magazine
The importance of personal development:
Many today are beginning to realize the importance of personal development. Some are paying personal development Gurus, like Tony Robbins, large sums of money to learn their techniques. Some even pay upwards of a million dollars a year for personal coaching from Tony Robbins. I find that to be ironic when you can learn much of what is needed on your own, although it may not lead to becoming rich in material things it can lead to becoming rich in those things that give true purpose and contentment that will last for eternity.
Most people have yet to discover how very important personal development is to not only their financial success but also to their quality of life, relationships, pleasure and every aspect of life in general. Our purpose in life is to make a contribution to others and to live life to its fullest rather than just existing in a meager, mundane and mediocre way, and I must add selfish way.
The comprehensiveness of personal development:
Personal development is a journey that encompasses every facet of your life, from your spiritual beliefs, to your health, family, finances, emotions, relationships, habits, career, appearance, and anything else that I might not have mentioned here. It is actually a transformational process that takes you from where you are now to where you know you would like to be. It takes into consideration the way you think, whether hap hazard or with precision; it takes into consideration your feelings, your thoughts, your skills, gifts, and your actions which all work in harmony to bring about the kind of lifestyle that you desire.
The soul searching aspect of personal development:
Personal development takes a lot of soul searching; you must be willing to look deep within yourself and see yourself as you really are, as well as what you would like to become. What we may appear to be on the outside is not always what we really are on the inside. I remember the story of a man who went to a psychologist and asked him how that he could be happy and the Doctor said, “There is a famous clown in town and I recommend you start by going to one of his shows.” The man replied, “Sir I am that clown”. Bringing your external person into harmony with your inner self is the object of personal development.
Personal development requires new behavioral patterns:
The problem in incorporating new behavioral patterns is replacing those that are already embedded behavior patterns that have been adopted by the brain as the norm. The behaviors were learned from childhood up from various sources: from family, the street and from many other sources of contact. People therefore have their own set of unique behavior patterns, the behavior that has worked for them. These behaviors have been reinforced for decades until they are firmly grounded and have become a part of the personality. These are the comfort zone behaviors even though they may not be desirable, and could be holding you back the meaning in life you desire.
Common behaviors have become so called hard wired into the brain. Technically, they have become the neuronal pathways of the cerebral cortex. I know that is technical, but necessary sometimes to understand a point. What this means is the behavior was repeated over and over and therefore neurons grew dendrites that extended out to other neurons to make the connections needed to make behavior patterns automatic. These cells are coated with what is called a myelin sheath; it is like the insulation on electric wire. This makes an extremely efficient connection. As a result, the behavior patterns feel comfortable, natural, and second nature and become very hard to dislodge. This is why personal development is hard to accomplish and even impossible in the fullest sense of the word, but what’s impossible with us is possible with God.
Personal development is a lifelong journey:
Personal development is a journey that continues throughout life; it isn’t easy; it requires a lot of hard work. It does not happen overnight, but takes time, consistency, and patience. There are no quick fixes; you can’t just shine up the outside a little and expect real life changing benefits.Change takes place on the inside and then becomes apparent on the outside. The formula is T+CB=PD: Time+Changed Behavior=Personal Development.
Some of the topics covered in personal development:
- Truth: Learning how to distinguish truth from untruth and accepting reality
- Love: Learning the true meaning of love
- Wisdom: Learning to make wise decisions
- Motivation: Learn how to move yourself forward
- Unity: How to live in harmony with life events
- Authority: Learning to be in control of your own life and make right decisions
- Courage: Learning to overcome fear and live in contentment
- Intelligence: Learning to tap into your potential and be creative
- Perception: Learning to feel your existence in a special way
- Happiness: How to find true happiness
- Fear: How to deal with fear and overcome it
- Success: How to have success in your life
- Spirituality: Getting in touch with your spiritual side
- Health: developing new habits that will build a strong body
- Habits: Breaking bad habits and creating new positive ones
- Finances: Learning to create wealth and preserving it
- Calling & Purpose: Discovering your purpose and pursuing it
- Relationships: Grow new relationship and develop old ones
- Family: Building a stronger family
Life Skills
- Communication skills
- People skills (Knowing what causes people to respond)
- Relationship skills
- Time management skills (Time is the greatest asset)
- Leadership skills
- Managerial skills
- Decision making skills
- Stress management skills
How to Begin:
First, if your desire is Personal development at its best then start by having a relationship with God. Second, start by Discovering the Purpose For Your Life. Once you know your purpose, then you can put together a plan of study. I suggest starting with the improvement of the basic life skills listed above. Also include the general topics mentioned above which tie into the development of life skills.
Don’t expect a quick change; even after a year you may notice little. This is a long haul makeover. In 5 to 10 years there will be a total turnaround from where you started, but there must first be a starting place and you must be the one to decide because no one else can make that decision for you. Your progress will be the result of reading and putting into action the concepts you learn. Plan to spend a few minutes each day to read and study a topic and then meditate on how you can incorporate its precepts it into your life. Practice learned precepts with family and friends. Incorporating learned concepts of personal development into your life is crucial to the improvements you desire and will take time.
Remember that knowledge is of little benefit until we take the appropriate action. If you don’t have time to read a complete topic, feel free to print it out and go back to it when time permits; break time, or on occasions when you have to wait for something, like in a doctor’s office etc.
About the author: Jimmie Burroughs is a motivational speaker and author who has been involved in teaching Christian Personal Development for more than 30 years. There are hundreds of articles to help you on this website, Website Contents , in your person growth. Be sure to take vantage of the FREE offer to get the “Personal Development” eBook while available.
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