How Self Development Helps Develop Your Business

I work with my partner Julian and we have two main spheres of focus; personal development and business development. We see these as two areas which are key to the profitability and sustainability of any business and have shown beyond any doubt, that in order to be truly successful in your chosen business, you need to devote time to personal development. The reason for this synergy is actually very simple, it is our attitude towards it which is in some ways surprising. If you were an athlete, you would be considered foolish not to train your body for your sport. You would be laughed at for attempting an event for which you were not trained and criticised for having the audacity to think you could compete against others, who dedicated so much time to their discipline. Yet if your business, your 'sport', is less physical, you could continue your entire career, sco free, without devoting any time or effort to fine tuning your skills. Much of the problem with this lies in the fact that our values, beliefs and attitudes, the fundamental building blocks which determine how we live our lives, how much effort we put into things and how much we limit ourselves, are formed at a time when we are not able to intelligently evaluate them. We form these mental foundations when we are children and we use them as guidelines for the rest of our lives, unless we challenge them. Many of our beliefs are limiting and prevent us from growing and achieving. For example, the belief that "I am not good enough", which is a frighteningly common one, gleaned at an early age through some childish episode involving perceived rejection or failure, will stop you from attempting things, affect what and how you learn and colour how you interact with others. Make no mistake, it will hold you back. Your unconscious mind processes information by passing it through a series of filters, which incorporate your beliefs, values and attitudes. If you believe you are not good enough, or you can't be successful or you don't deserve to be rich, (three of the most common limiting beliefs) your unconscious mind will find you evidence to support that and filter your experiences accordingly. If that is your predominant thought pattern, it is the point of your focus and your focus determines what you attract into your life and what you achieve. You are effectively placing a huge obstacle in your own way and worse than that you have already decided that you are not going to overcome it! It doesn't make much sense when you see it written down and yet it's one of the most common reasons why new businesses fail. You can have the best system, newest products and biggest brightest ideas, but without the belief in yourself and the mental training to succeed, you will fail. So, what do we mean by personal development? Well, the good news is, that it doesn't have to cost a fortune or take much time. What it does need is a regular commitment and a mental investment on your part. In its most simple from, personal development can involve reading books, articles and self help guides. Chosen wisely these can offer new ways to see things, new perspectives and tools to help you find new solutions to old problems. A next step is to learn to control your focus better, ensuring that you are focusing on what you want to achieve, rather than what you want to avoid. An instructional video guide to help with this can be found in the personal development section of my website. In addition to this you should construct a well formed goal, which will further develop your focus, give your unconscious mind clear instructions to follow and a precise target to aim for. This exercise alone can significantly increase your progress. You can download a written guide on goal writing on my site and an accompanying video can also be found there. If you feel that you want to invest a more substantial amount of time to your development, then you may want to employ the services of a personal development specialist or a coach or mentor. You can find these online very easily and will need to make sure that you find someone you feel comfortable with and able to trust. Where Can You Get Resources to Begin With? All the tools mentioned here can be accessed free of charge at http://julianandamanda.com/resources/personal-development/free-resources/ along with some free ebooks and reports. There is also a selection of business development tools, including a free 7 day video bootcamp which covers all aspects of setting up your own online business.