Defining Personal Development

Personal Development is the art of becoming more of "what and who" you are capable of "doing and being."

This is my definition, its simple and gets rid of all the fluff.

Many people call "self improvement" personal development because if you learn to loose weight or quit screaming at the kids or get in touch with your inner sanctum the definition technically works.

There are so many possible definitions to personal development many people have just written it off and turned on the television opting to live their lives vicariously through "fake people" living "fake lives" or through sports icons and other famous people who are actually doing something with their lives. These people are of course not developing their person unless you consider strengthening the butt muscles an activity.

If you're interested in personal development, which by the way comes highly recommended by Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki in a recent book they co-authored called "Why We Want You to Be Rich," then getting a handle on the meaning it has for you is important.

I checked the dictionaries and did a google search or two and the best source I could find for helping define what personal development is can be found by following this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Development

I have spent over twenty years of my life studying and reading materials written by dozens of authors, many are well known names such as Jim Rohn, Bob Proctor, Napolean Hill, Wallace D .Wattles, Dennis Waitley, Andy Andrews, Jack Canfield, to name a few. All of these authors, every single one of them have a slightly different definition of what personal development is. Interestingly however is the fact that when I read these books every single one of them discuss in detail certain "principles" that when applied to a persons life with intention will assist them in dramatically improving their own personal life circumstances.

With this in mind it would be very safe to say that "Personal Development" is "the application of timeless principled behaviors in order to effect change for the better in a person's overall living conditions."

Personal Development is "the systematic elevation of one's own conscious energy by applied actions" that come through learning and being instructed by a mentor.

A pair of books that I highly recommend on the subject of conscious energy were written by David R. Hawkins M.D., Ph.D; "Power vs. Force" and "Transcending the Levels of Consciousness." These books do an excellent job of discussing in lay mans terms exactly what is meant by conscious energy and how science is currently using laboratory experiments to not only prove it exists but measuring its effects in our daily lives.

On the spiritual side of personal development are books such as the bible, the Koran and others less secular like those written by author Deepak Chopra "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" and my favorite "The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire." Native American Indians passed on their understanding of these principles in stories handed down from generation to generation and a book by the title "Seven Arrows" written by Hemeyohsts Storm and "The Sacred Pipe," Black Elk's account of the seven rites of the Ogala Sioux as recorded and edited by Joseph Epes Brown.

All of these books, written by all of these authors (and many more) contain the ancient wisdom of sages long since passed away who taught "principles" for better living. Personal Development has been a passion of mine because these principles are timeless and they know no geographic boundaries. Seers of every culture from the Buddhist temples to the Aborigines of Australia to the Druids of the British Isles, to the native American Indians, Old testament Jews, New Testament Christians we have ALL shared these principles in or teachings.

So with so much material out there about the subject why so much confusion and why are so few people actually using these principles of personal development?

I like to call these principles "The Secret Hidden in Plain Sight." All of these principles work 100% of the time and they work in your life with and without your permission. On this basis you are using them even though you may not realize it or even know that you are. Compare these principles to gravity. Gravity does not require your permission to work, you don't even have to believe in gravity for it to work in your life. Once upon a time mankind did not understand this principle but once we did we created things like airplanes that take advantage of the simple principle of gravity.

Personal Development is all about simple principles. I say simple but I did not necessarily say easy to use "on purpose." Just like taking advantage of gravity took time and discipline and some trial and error, using these principles requires a huge amount of intentional effort. I like to call this kind of effort integrity based actions. I have also found it very useful to find a mentor who will help you progress without going down nonproductive adventures inthe journey. Once learned and applied with integrity a handful of daily principled behaviors can change your life and or the life of any person who uses them from one of mediocrity to one of absolute abundance and prosperity.

Personal Development is not for the weak minded or skeptical thinkers of the world. It is a journey for the strong of heart who know they deserve all the benefits of this life because this life is to wondrous to waste. Personal Development is my passion and my journey and I feel very grateful to share it with you in the weeks and moths ahead.