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Dedicating to yourself to your personal development goals is a great step in the right direction. When I talk about personal development, it means dedicating time to learn work on your mental fitness, health, skills and knowledge.

Upon completing these goals, you may notice that you have gained some sideline spectators as well. In most cases, you are catching their attention because of the changes you are making. I frequently think that success breeds more success. This means that when we have achieved a small level of success with our work, we tend to have people attracted to what we do. For example, when I started gaining small successes in the speaking industry, I started to get more offers to speak in different countries and seminars.

By gaining someone’s attention, you are serving as an inspiration to others. This often happens naturally and is another big commitment. You have committed to be consistent with your actions and to serve as a role model for others to follow.

If you want to make the most out of this occurrence and really impact other people’s lives positively, you can use the steps below. These steps are designed to create an amazing life:

1. Passion and excitement: A person will usually only serve as an inspiration to others if they are passionate and love what they do. It is a known fact that the more excited someone is about something, the more they will excel in their work. What makes you passionate? Does it excite other people to pursue theirs as well?

2. Goal Setting: Always set goals for what you are looking to achieve. The use of goals has proven to be very effective and allows for a greater commitment factor. It is important to make them detailed so you know when you have actually reached the goal. You can then celebrate the accomplishment of that goal and move on to create another. This will not only keep you motivated, but show others that goals are attainable. In addition, this will get people to draw their inspiration from you and desire for more out of their lives.

3. Go big or go home! You need to set goals to push your limits. By doing so, you will achieve more and really shine to yourself and others. The important thing to keep in mind is to make sure you are not creating goals that are unrealistic. There is a distinct line between goals that are challenging versus those that are just not plausible (eg. walk on the moon without a breathing apparatus).

Another aspect to keep in mind with very challenging goals is to make sure you measure them by performance. In other words, the outcome might not have been the outcome you wanted but you gave your best performance in achieving it. This means that you might fail at times, but knowing that you have given your best shot at it, it is alright to fail. You just need to change completely or modify your strategy and take massive actions on it. Which leads to the point 4 below.

4. Consistency and Persistency: To be truly exceptional, you have to make sure you are reaching goals. Be continuous in your efforts in reaching challenging goals. The harder you work for the goal, the more you will appreciate it. Moreover, persistence, as seen from an outsider, is what really motivates and inspires someone. This persistency in handling problems is what is termed as Adversity Quotient (AQ), where you demonstrate resilience in tough situations. It is not talented people who succeed all the time, but people who have strengthened their AQ over time and are able to keep moving forward even when situations seem bleak or rough.

In my life, I do not always have all the answers, but I know that it is just a matter of time before I find the answers that I seek. I just need to be consistent and persistent in my quest. In my line of work, I never knew it was possible for me to be invited to speak in seminars or even give keynotes because I started out doing small group training (I first started out with only three people in front of me and now it has grown to hundreds) The question I feel is never whether you can or cannot do it, it is always “how can I do it?”. Persistency will pay off if you keep at striving for different ways to make it work. Will you decide to be relentless?

5. Share what you know: It is important, as an inspiration to others, that you share knowledge you have. Let people know how you did it and encourage them just the same. I have personally found that some people just need you to light the fire in their hearts and they will start their search for greatness.

It is important to remember that you need to keep a positive attitude and always look to the future. With doing this, you will not only enrich your life, but you will do the same for others. No man is an island, everything we do affects another person.

Make a decision to inspire someone today! Who will they be? Do leave your comments.

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Kenneth speaking to 120 of Becton Dickinson's Asia Pacific Staff

Do you personally think that motivational talks are important? Or is it some kind of high energy rubbish designed to make people feel good for one day and before it dissipates next day?

So… What do the experts got to say?

First of all, I’m a Certified Behaviourial Consultant and according to motivational theory, it is believed that we cannot ‘motivate’ another person. A person can only motivate himself/herself. Therefore, we cannot ‘change’ a person, but we can influence them. We can influence them to a set of thinking patterns and help them create more empowering belief systems that will make them be more resourceful in life. This leads to them becoming more successful.

People have asked me whether motivation really works and my magic answer to them is:

“It depends….”

It depends if this person is open to change.

It depends if this person is currently happy with the results that he/she is getting.

It depends whether this person at this stage of his/her life is hungry to learn.

I have given many talks to multi-national corporations and government agencies. In my experience, no two people are similar in their appetite for learning and growth. One person can be so fired up and talking about the philosophies that I have just shared, while the other person next to him just claps his hands and asks when is lunch break?

Kenneth sharing a personal story

But one thing I know, I can influence a crowd to relook at their lives, look at where they are and how much greater they can be. What I am doing is creating a desire for change and it will be up to them to decide how they want to change their lives. When people understand that they have the power to change and make a difference, they will not want to be the same again.

When you truly empower people, the results are phenomenal. I have a lot of people usually coming up to me at the end of the seminar saying that it has changed the way they think and the principles taught are really useful for the workplace.

CAUTION: Let me warn you… motivation is like eating. You need to feed yourself with a healthy dose of it every day. I mean… can you survive a week just by eating a day? Some people have this weird belief that motivation is a one day thing that will TOTALLY change your live. I see it as a process where we find out what motivates us and bathe in it every day to get the results that you want.

So… back to the question, does motivation really change you and make you successful? It depends whether you choose to let it and then take massive action to make things happen.

PS: If you need someone to get people to be pro-active and change mindsets, you can engage me to speak for your organisation.

Related Readings:

The One Decision That Changed My Life

How to Motivate Yourself for Greater Heights!

Importance of Surrounding Yourself With the Right People

How Do You Change Yourself?

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It is true that the past has an impact on who you are today. If you look at yourself today, you will either see someone who has overcome obstacles positively, or someone who has maybe let the obstacles overcome them. In any case, we all have situations in our life that we might have wanted to play out differently. There are some incidents in my life that I am not proud of, but I have to remind myself that what matters now is the future and I can’t change my past.

Even if I could change it, why should I? It has served as a learning experience and, therefore, it is something that contributes to my development.

So how can you take those not so pleasurable experiences and make them into something usable? Allow me to suggest some pointers when you are looking to leave the past behind you.

1. Do not allow your past to creep up into decisions where it dictates your life. If your past has held you back before, it has no bearings in the future.

2. Let it go and embrace the changes you can make today, tomorrow and years to come. Instead of looking back a year ago, look ahead a year. Set goals that will allow you to accomplish something you have wanted to do. Those goals will lead to more goals. Pretty soon, you will look back over your shoulder and see only positive and smile.

3. If you have gone through a traumatic experience in your life, it is unfortunate. You need to make peace with your past and no longer allow it to control you. It has already got you once- why let it keep bringing you down?

4. Think positive: Make sure you cast out negative thoughts. These thoughts can only bring you down and pierce your personal development achievements.

5. Get rid of physical evidence:  Even though something might cause us pain, we still seem to keep reminders around. For instance, a broken relationship might yield gifts given and pictures. Put them out of sight. Seeing past situations that hurt only make the pain worse.

Conclusion

The only way you can move forward is to accept the past, know you cannot change it and let it go. This will allow you to continue with a bright future with the past lifted off your shoulders.

If you like this article, please subscribe to our blog by getting the Free Report on “7 Transformational Secrets to creating a Dynamic and Cohesive Team”. If you have comments, I would love to hear them. Please post them below.

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Have you ever run across those people who always seem happy? These people have become very few over the past few years. Getting yourself to that point of a successful nature takes effort on your part. No one has ever gotten anywhere by doing nothing. To dial in a successful and meaningful life, you first have to gain the mindset of a successful person.

Getting Your Mindset in Order

There are a few things you must do in order to get your mindset to where it needs to be. Throughout the years you have been training yourself just the opposite in most cases. The first piece of advice is to be patient.

When you begin focusing in on personal development, here are some aspects you need to consider:

1. Keep your mind open

Think out of the box and never shut your mind to ideas. People who succeed are those that overcome obstacles, not give up. There is a solution- find it.

2. Keep Learning

Truly successful people have realized they can learn from anything. Even witnessing something done completely wrong will pave the way for avoiding the same mistake in the future. By the same token, accept that mistakes do and will happen. There is no avoiding this fact. Learn from mistakes to contribute to your personal development. Pick up something motivational to read rather than a tabloid. There are many resources available that will keep you on the right track. I have personally been using this personal development website and it has taught me many new lessons that have shaped the way I think and act.

3. There is no luck

Successful people in the right mindset will make sure they set themselves up to be in the right places. When most people attribute being in the right place at the right time to “luck”, successful people view it as an achievement.

4. If you want to be successful, act and believe you are successful

If you do not believe in yourself, who will? To really commit to this notion, surround yourself with people who are successful. Being around people you aspire to become can only help. Seeing people in action with the right mindset will aid you in your personal development as you build confidence in your efforts. There were many times I was so encouraged by their energy and mindset that could overcome all obstacles.

As you can see, having the right mindset relies on many factors. The only person that can make this change is you. Creating a solid mindset will be the foundation of your personal development goals.

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Motivating yourself is often times the most difficult aspect of personal development. The concept of personal development is to improve the overall well being, attitude and actions of a person. In doing so, you will run into many obstacles and how they are met is dependent upon you. I have made many mistakes by constantly thinking that other people can motivate me, but in essence, only I can motivate myself. Others can only create an environment for me to motivate myself!

What happens when you jump start yourself with a little motivation and then start to plateau? From there, you do not feel like you are getting anywhere, and then you start to slip. Keeping yourself motivated is a hard task, but can definitely be done.

Outlined below are some ways you can coach yourself into success.

1. Goal setting

The first and most important aspect of personal development. This is where it all starts. Without a goal, you have no direction. Without a direction, you have no purpose. Lay out your goals clearly and with detail. Once you have a goal with defined values, you will know when you achieve them. Seeing success is the best motivator around. When I set one of my goals to create my own training video this year, I finally achieved it in March! It is indeed every trainer’s dream to have their own training video! This would not have happened if I did not write down my goals and review them almost every night!

2. Write it out, Draw up a plan!

Do something! You have to make your goals and aspirations visible to you. You need to make sure you have our goals on your mind every day. Each day is a different set of goals looking to achieve a bigger goal. If you want to take a cruise to the Bahamas, but do not have that extra cash right this minute, work to get there. Put a picture of a beautiful beach on your nightstand so you see it every time you wake up in the morning and every time you go to bed. Plan out how you are going to get there and follow it.

3. Take Action!

There is no sense of making goals if you are not going to do anything about them. Take action on your checklist! Make it a goal to get a certain amount of tasks done every day that is out of your normal daily schedule. Shift it around, make it more exciting; enjoy meeting goals and then celebrate when you achieve them. If you have to, make them smaller so you can reach them easier and then graduate to larger goals. This works for me and gives me confidence when I constantly achieve smaller goals.

4. Surround yourself with the right people

Being around people that are supportive and positive can really make or break success in personal development. You need to make sure you have people around you that want to see you succeed. They will be there for you and offer positive words of encouragement. They are also the people that are around when you celebrate success. Anyone who offers negativity has no place in your personal development goals.

With all these tips in mind, stay focused and positive. There will be roadblocks in the way; there always are. Keep track of your past achieved goals and review them when you doubt yourself. Stay Driven!

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When you are on the road to personal development, take a look of who is around you. Are these the people that inspire you? Are these the people that make you want to succeed?

It is important to understand why having the right people around you will make all the difference in the world. Success is measured by actions. If you never get around to the actions, you have not succeeded.

Here are the reasons why the right people around you will be more fulfilling and enriching to your personal developmental needs.

1. Some people cause stress

To be more precise, some people cause consistent stress. People that cause consistent stress should not be around you. In all, stress devours will, drive, motivation and a positive outlook. A person can only have so much stress before they begin to cave in. If these are the types of people you surround yourself with daily, what are you doing to yourself?

2. Drainer versus Provider

Do the people around you lean on you for things, or do they spark your interest and motivate you to do things. The best people to be around are those people that constantly evolve and take you along for the ride. Personal development thrives on these characteristics. The idea behind these traits is the fact that it will keep you focused and consistently on the lookout for better or new ways of doing things. More importantly, it will show you how you can personally develop yourself.

3. Find people who ask more from you

One of my favourite shows like Rocky, I can always recall the Rocky’s coach demanding more of him. Words like, “You can do 10 more push-ups or get back to running another 5 laps!” Coaching him to do more than what Rocky has faith in himself. A good friend challenges you to your limit and helps you grow.

Conclusion

People can sometimes help you grow to your potential or they can break you. So, surround yourself with people with the right people who have your interests and you will surely go far.

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A step in the right direction for personal development would be to overcome fear. Fear is what blocks us from being truly happy and content with our lives. In many severe cases, fear has taken such a strong hold it has destroyed peoples jobs, relationships and overall quality of life.

The big question is: How do I overcome fear? The answer, like many things in life, comes with steps. Following the steps below will help you to achieve overcoming fear for a positive and lifelong change toward personal development.

1. You first need to block out what other people say

Every day we have things in our “way” that prevent us from accomplishing our goals. Push them aside! Do not listen to people when they say you can’t do something. Instead, think of all the ways you can make it happen (this I feel is a better question to ask ourselves). Understand what makes you happy and purposeful, then do it. Overcome fear by focusing on these parts of your life.

2. Forget the fear of being rejected and not accepted

The only thing that limits us from being accepted is the fact that we tell ourselves that. Kick that alter ego out of your head and replace it with a positive outlook. Instead of saying “I will never be accepted”, say, “I wonder what new people I will meet”.

3. Settle the Priorities in life

Everyone considers different aspects priorities in their life. Find what is most important to you and accomplish those things happen first. Why do you pay for an expensive car when you could have got a mid range and then still complain that you can’t afford to go back to university? This is a prime example of someone not putting their priorities first.

4. Understand that personal development takes time

Face your fears one by one. The more confidence you build, the less you will fear. You will soon find out that fear is only a manifestation in your mind typically caused by lack of confidence. One of things that I constantly do is to challenge my fears. Since fear itself is illogical, I can challenge it and tell myself that it is not real. I also surround myself with people who challenge me and ask more from me. This helps a lot in my personal development.

These are all simple ways you can slowly overcome fear. The best part about fear is that once you start to have small steps of courage, it will fade away and melt into insignificant portions.

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