Now that I’ve started studying, reading and listening to a lot of self improvement audios, videos and books I’m beginning to see why some people think that it’s all smoke and mirrors designed to line the pockets of the fast talkers of this world. Heck, 20 years a go I probably would have said the same. I was into Amway for a while and went to a couple of seminars. They were very upbeat and quite motivating – and then the enthusiasm subsided an hour or two after we left the convention center.

I have to be honest and say that I didn’t really ‘get’ it back then. I was one of the ‘mystery’ people. Jim Rohn, when asked why some people totally change their lifestyle and some don’t simply answered ‘it’s the magic and the mystery’. He said you can have 2 people who attend a seminar and when they leave the building one will say ‘I’m really going to change my life’ – that’s the magic -  and the other will say ‘I’ve heard it all before’ – that’s the mystery.

Perhaps some people are too caught up on the notion of ‘the power of positive thinking’. Positive thinking is great but it alone will not get you rich. Napoleon Hill gave a lot of clues in his book ‘Think and Grow Rich’. All through the book he talks about DESIRE and the examples of people who achieved great success shared one thing in common. They had a goal, a dream or a desire and failure simply wasn’t an option. That’s not to say that some of them didn’t fail along the way- of course they did – but they didn’t allow that failure to destroy their dreams and desires. They carried on until they found success.

I can tell you though, if all you do is read a book on motivation or positive thinking then don’t expect to change your life for any longer than it takes you to read that book. There’s a lot more to it than that. I’ve only been doing this for a little over a week and I was fortunate enough to find 2 courses that contain a whole lot more than just a ra-ra-ra session. Removing the negatives is important – there’s no question about that – but it’s just as important to:

• Take responsibility for everything that has led you to where you are today.
• Study every day. Read books, listen to audios.
• Set some goals – short term and long term.
• Don’t associate with negative people.
• Don’t be lazy! DO the things that are easy NOT to do.

There are many more but you probably get the idea. Hopefully you will be as fortunate as I and find a course, a book or a seminar that really is about personal development rather than just motivation. Personal development is about giving ourselves the knowledge and the skills to motivate OURSELVES. We shouldn;t need someone else to do that part!

I’ll finish with another quote from Jim Rohn:

“Learn to work harder on yourself. If you work hard on your job you can make a living. If you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune.”