I want to try to work on the paradigm that the rich get richer. The reason people are rich is because they value education, and not just formal education; self education. Very successful people do not shy away from personal development, however the working class tends to have a skewed view on it .I am trying to figure out why people feel they don’t need personal development(or personal growth. They’re both interchangeable). It is really a strange concept to me, , but in my opinion the issue arises with what they associate it to.
Our sub-conscious mind is very good at associations. That’s why good marketers are really good at getting your attention; they make their product appeal to a positive association. However, on the flip side our sub-conscious mind is very good at negative associations. For example lets take the swastika, it is almost always associated with Nazi’s, but very rarely is it thought of as a symbol that’s been around for thousands of year; this is a negative association. Where a large yellow “m” is almost always associated with the corporate behemoth McDonald’s. Our mind takes simple phrases or symbols and associates it with an opinion we can relate to.
When the words personal development are brought up a lot of people automatically assume that this is only for lesser people; people who are struggling or “not all there”. This association is one of the largest societal hindrances that 21st century earth has to offer. Like I said before, this association truly confuses me. Lets break this down:
The term is comprised of two words.
- Personal
- Development
Here is where I get confused because it is as simple as it sounds! The first word personal, simply pertains to yourself and that’s it. Secondly, development simply means getting better. Think about it in terms of professional athletes, they go thru skills development all the time. Personal development is similar. While they’re developing their skill sets for their specific sports personal development is developing our skill sets with the way we interact with people, the way we handle personal issues(external and internal), our leadership abilities, and other internal skills. Personal development is all about creating character.
To back my point up about and to add some credibility lets look at the types of the companies that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring in top leadership experts to speak to their C level employees. If fortune 500 companies, professional sports teams, The White House, bring in experts to facilitate the growth of their leaders how come we, as the masses, are so hesitant to do so?
The masses are hesitant because they don’t understand, the association of personal growth is wrong and needs to change. Having a plan for personal growth is essential. The rich don’t get richer because they get all the breaks and scam the poor. The rich get richer because they grow and become better leaders.
I was going to write a sentence to close this post, but why? I can think of a quote by personal development legend Jim Rohn that sums it up perfectly.
Formal education will make you a living; Self-education will make you a fortune.
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