Over
the past 10 years, I’ve read hundreds of books, interviewed 400+
experts on my podcast and attended roughly $100,000
worth of seminars, masterminds, and retreats.
That
being said, I made a LOT of mistakes in my personal development journey
and if I could back and do it all over again, here are a few of the
things I would tell myself.
1. Success Leaves Clues… But it Doesn’t Leave Rules
If you listen or read any popular personal development content, you will likely hear things like this…
- The most successful people in the world get up at 5 a.m.
- You can’t be successful if you don’t go to the gym every week
- Successful people read a lot of books
- EVERY successful person does [xyz personal development habit]
Sure…
There are some habits and routines that generally speaking add a lot of value to your life and increase the odds of achieving your goals.
But personal development is exactly that… PERSONAL.
There are no rules. There are no universal principles that will guarantee success.
I know millionaires and billionaires who:
- Wake up at 11 a.m.
- Smoke weed every single day
- Haven’t read a book in 5 years
- Don’t meditate, chant affirmations, or visualize
- Work from bed
- Procrastinate like hell on everything
Yes,
there are certain guidelines that you should follow if you want to
become successful. But don’t drink the koolaid and believe that what
works for one person will automatically work for you.
Everyone is wired differently and, at the end of the day, what matters isn’t how you go about accomplishing an outcome, it’s that you accomplish the outcome.
If
you have habits and routines that work for you (like sleeping late,
working from bed, smoking weed to get your creative juices flowing, etc)
then keep on rocking and ignore everyone else.
You have to TRY things out before you know if they’re right for you.
Try waking up early and try sleeping late.
Spend
3 months stone cold sober and try out a few months of pounding coffee,
drinking a glass of wine before writing, or smoking a joint before
working on your sales page (assuming it’s legal where you live).
Not
every habit works for every person 100% of the time. Try out as many
different strategies as you can until you figure out what works for YOU.
2. Knowledge Isn’t Power
It’s only power when it’s applied.
Even
though I read hundreds of books, hired dozens of coaches, and attended
dozens of seminars, it wasn’t until my mid-20’s when these things
actually started to pay off.
Ironically, the less I read today, the more successful I’ve become.
I learned along the way that education is only worth a damn if it’s applied.
I don’t care how many books you’ve read… How much action have you taken on the information you’ve consumed?
It’s
better to read 6 books a year and take massive action on ALL of them
than it is to read 53 books a year while taking action on none of them.
I created a personal rule for myself that I…
- Only read books, buy courses, or hire coaches to help with SPECIFIC problems I’m facing (instead of simply educating myself on generalities)
- And anytime I invest in my education I have to take 3 hours of action for every 1 hour of learning.
This simple strategy has prevented me from getting overwhelmed with information and falling into paralysis by analysis.
3. Personal Development and Self Improvement Don’t Have to Be Hard
Some of my biggest epiphanies and breakthroughs have come from sitting on a beach with my friends drinking a bottle of bourbon.
Others have come from watching a movie or playing video games.
You don’t have to make self improvement hard.
By
spending time with the right people and training your mind to search
for lessons you can make personal development an integral part of your
life.
I’ve learned just as much about social
dynamics from watching Hank Moody and Don Draper as I did from
attending bootcamps and reading books.
Learn to find the lessons in all things and you’ll make the journey much easier.
4. Focus on the BIG Rocks First
So many people lose their shit about silly things like:
- Whether they’re meditating the right way
- If they wrote their goals in the proper syntax
- If they’re reading the right books
- If they’re chanting their affirmations properly
They major in minors and spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about minutiea.
If you want to become truly successful, focus on the BIG things first.
In
the same way that 90% of building your best body comes from lifting
heavy weights, getting a little bit of cardio in, and eating the right
types and amounts of food for your goal, 90% of your success in business
and life will be determined by the BIG habits that you have… Not the
small b.s.
There’s nothing wrong with
meditation, affirmations, or anything else, but before you worry about
that, make sure that you’re doing the BIG things that make the biggest
difference.
Before you buy supplements, make
sure you’re getting enough sleep, lifting weights 3x a week, and eating
the right amount of calories from whole foods.
Before
you worry about your affirmations, make sure that you are planning your
days, working diligently towards your goals, and actually taking
action.
Before you worry about meditating or
writing out your goals in the right way, make sure you’re surrounding
yourself with the right people and eliminating bad habits from your
life.
There are only a small number of activities that make a real difference in your life.
So don’t worry about the small stuff.
It won’t get you where you want to go anyways.
5. Have Intentional Personal Development Goals
Most people approach self improvement with a shotgun approach.
They try a bunch of stuff hoping that something will make a difference.
If
you want to create lasting success, then you must identify the most
important areas of your life that need work and commit to one thing at a
time.
What’s holding you back from where you need to be?
Is it your energy levels? Then cut out the caffeine, get better sleep, and exercise more.
Is it your mindset? Then try journalling, CBT, and reading the right content.
Is it your lack of marketable skills? Then commit to practicing a high income skill for 2 hours a day.
Find the hidden lever points that will help you accomplish ALL of your goals faster and then go all in on those.
Leave pointless generalities to the politicians.