9 Ways to Change your Life!

6.Your number one asset

There is a lot of talk today about investments and getting ahead. In the world of finance., there is much debate about what the best investments are. And while it is important to watch your money and plan how you shall invest it, there is a much greater investment available to you: the investment of time and effort into your own personal development

The knowledge and skills you can gain in your life are your number one asset.

The people who make the greatest gains in life are those who spend time each day, week, month and year investing in their personal development. They spend time reading, learning, gaining new skills and improving themselves from the inside out. Developing yourself mentally is much like building your muscles and becoming physically fit. If you are consistent in your approach, the results start to come. You may not gain much in the short-term but over the longer term the results are noticeable and valuable. Many people who are keen to begin a course of personal and professional development wonder what they should study first.

Here is a list of ways to start to move yourself ahead:

1) Study your language. Learn to speak, read and write correctly. Each
week try to learn a new word to add to your vocabulary. Words are
tools, and the more you have at your disposal, the more effectively you
can communicate and think.

2) Study your profession. After your language, the best way to move
yourself ahead is to study your own profession. Take time to read as
much as you can about your company, type of business, the overall
industry and the future trends. Discover the skills and 'tricks of the
trade' that best people in your industry use. By studying consistently
each year for five years, you can become an expert and move to the
top of your field.

3) Study communication & people skills. You ability to get along with
different types of people will greatly enhance your success in work, no
matter what the industry. By taking time to learn how to relate, listen
and communicate, you will find yourself more popular and more able to
get what you want from your life.

By reading this article, you are one of the precious few who have discovered the miracle of personal development. If you maintain the habit of continual reading, learning and improvement of your skills, you shall find that soon enough you are making more money, friends and gaining more freedom in your life.

To be continued….

9 Ways to Change your Life

5. Responsibility and self-Reliance

For most people, having freedom and control in our lives is very important. We all value our ability to make our own decisions and having the power to choose. Of course, what a lot of us forget is that to have freedom and control in our lives requires a high level of responsibility and self-reliance. Often the best way to tell how 'free' you are is how much responsibility you are willing to accept in your life. Each of us is born totally dependant on other people, usually our parents. As young children, every part of our lives is decided and guided for us. We don't have to find our own food, clothing or shelter; we don't decide if we'll go to school.

Everything we do and everything we are is a result of other people doing it for us.

As we grow into adults, we begin to take more and more of this responsibility on for ourselves. Some of us take responsibility quite eagerly and enjoy the freedom that comes with it. Other people however tend to try to avoid the responsibility that being an adult requires. But avoiding responsibility is simply cheating yourself.

Here are three great ways to take more responsibility: 

1) Remind yourself. The best way to maintain a high level of  responsibility in your life is to continually remind yourself about it. You can say something simple to yourself like 'this is my responsibility' or 'I am responsible'. By doing this you trigger a deeper part of your character and become more in-control of your life.

2) Realise that freedom equals responsibility. Most people want a high
level of freedom in their lives. Unfortunately most people forget that to
truly be free and in-control requires that you take an equal level of
responsibility. Think about when you first moved out of home: for the
first time you were 'the boss' of your life. And as a result of this new
status, you also got to be the chief cook, bottle washer and bill-payer.
Realise that by accepting responsibility for yourself and your life, you
are also enabling more freedom and choice to flow towards you.

3) Admit your mistakes. One of the fatal flaws most people have is to try to hide their mistakes. They think that because they have 'messed up'
that they will cause trouble for themselves. Often they will try to hide
their mistakes by lying, avoiding or blaming. By doing this all they really
do is cause themselves to look foolish and untrustworthy. From this
moment on, resolve to face your mistakes and learn from them. By
admitting a mistake you instantly become more responsible.

Is there an area of your life where you could take on more responsibility? If so, then take it (bring it on) and you will suddenly feel more powerful and in-control.