By now, you notice that my definition of success is “the continuous ability to master challenges”. There are myriads of challenges on the road to success, but I would tell you that [ictt-tweet-inline]even before you set off, one biggest challenge to success is the self![/ictt-tweet-inline]

In the few years I have been alive, I have noticed interestingly that not everybody wants to be successful! There are some people who are OK with where they are. Such people, even God himself cannot help!

However, for the hoards of successful people that I know, both in my circle of influence and in the world at large, nearly all of them will tell you that their success began the moment they chose to develop themselves. [ictt-tweet-inline]Personal development is very key to success in whatever niche or area of your life.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

• You want an awesome marriage? Start by growing yourself.
• You want to be an awesome parent? You have to grow yourself.
• You want to be successful at work? You have to develop yourself.
• And here is a big one…You want to have more money? You have to develop yourself!

Personal Development

Personal development tells us that if we have to succeed, we stand a better chance at developing ourselves than taking a chance in a lottery. The only difference is that with a lottery, people are looking at the prospects of winning instantly. With personal development, you win much later on in life, but then again you have grown in stature to such a degree that you cannot shrink back to who you used to be. That is a double winner.

I can tell you this: I personally did not know what I wanted in life. However some years back when I seriously started to develop myself daily, I have increased in leaps and bounds in several areas of my life. Every time I slack on my personal development, people around me will know, because it will show.

The KeyWords

This list is by no means exhaustive. These seven keywords are personal as well as universal. I sure look forward to reading your own list on the comments section.

1.  Awareness

When I am teaching about goal setting, the best place I always start is with Self Awareness. [ictt-tweet-inline]One thing about success is that it is personal[/ictt-tweet-inline]. I cannot use someone else’s definition of success and then be satisfied with the results that it’s pursuit brings. [ictt-tweet-inline]Mostly, to be successful, I have to do it on my own terms[/ictt-tweet-inline]. I have to know my mission, my vision, my purpose and my personal brand. Not someone else’s even if it is my own dad! Next, I have to fully determine what my deepest heart desire is. This point is so critical. If we had people taught about these things early enough and encouraged to focus on them daily, I am willing to bet that less and less people will be calling themselves ‘job-less’. You need to stop all the traffic and determine your level of self awareness. This is the starting point of personal development.

2. Goals

There is no Personal Development book worth its salt that does not mention Goals. Personally I do not think you can speak of Personal Development without a central theme of focusing on personal Goals. If you are considering developing or growing yourself in any area of your life, you ought to have set some goals. Do not wait for the new year to make resolutions. Draw a line in your life right now and declare your new year today. If you do not have knowledge of how you can set goals, I am an standby for free coaching. Believe me, this is the biggest game changer in personal development that I know of. Please note that Goals thrive with time. Do not expect to set goals today and grab success tomorrow. [ictt-tweet-inline]Goals should be the yardsticks through which your growth is measured.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

3. Action

One thing greater than Goals is Action. [ictt-tweet-inline]Goals just help us to focus on the right action.[/ictt-tweet-inline] [ictt-tweet-inline]I personally would champion for any action without goals than no action with goals![/ictt-tweet-inline] If you want to grow, take action. Take immediate action. Take consistent action. Take unprecedented action. Take trailblazing action. Scare yourself with action you have never done before. Repeat it again and again. [ictt-tweet-inline]One of the biggest antidotes to fear, depression and stress is action![/ictt-tweet-inline] Think about it, have you ever seen a depressed athlete on the running track? If you want to grow big, you need to have daily scheduled action points. Notice that by taking action, you are inviting failure. Personally, I would rather fail taking action than fail not trying. Action is one of the biggest keywords in Personal Development. I kid you not!

4. Consistency

It is one thing to take action, it is yet another to be consistent. This word in itself is one of the most powerful words in Persona Development lingo. You have heard it said that a habit is formed in 21 days of taking action. That is where consistency comes in. [ictt-tweet-inline]What consistency does is that it hard-wires the good habits you have created[/ictt-tweet-inline] to such a degree that they become second nature. Anytime you fail to do what you have been doing consistently, you will know. The unease will be there. I dare say that you can select just one habit a year, say, chanting daily affirmations for ten minutes and stick to it. You will be a much better person this year than the last. Try it! Its fun!

5. Focus

I have been talking about leveraging personal development content in your niche of the recent past. This is the power of focus. In our day and age, we have everything seeking our attention. We need to select just one thing and focus our pursuit on it until we become an authority in it. That should basically be something we are passionate about. It should be something that can be found around our vision, mission and purpose. Let me paraphrase a quote for you:

“A champion is an average athlete who has laser-like focus”.

In the world of academia, those awarded a Master’s Degree normally have separated themselves to pursue just one area of study, not all general areas. Focus is so important in personal development that if you just had this alone, you would make ripples in your world even if it was the wrong focus. That is a controversial statement but it is true.

6. Momentum

We can only be great finishers to the degree that we build great momentum of consistent positive action! The battle for momentum in our lives is the greatest of battles that we should wage daily. Dr. Mike Murdock says that if you want to destabilize a visionary, just give them another vision. Break their momentum and focus. I have come to believe that once you get your hands on something and have built a good momentum with it, you should expend all your energies to either maintain the momentum or increase it until it has been done. Babies do this in all their stages. From sitting to crawling to walking and then to running. That is why I have encouraged people to schedule daily what they will do about their personal development. Go a step further and track your progress daily. Know where you reached yesterday. That should tell you what you need to do to maintain yesterday’s momentum or to improve on it. This is a little key that works wonders in personal development.

7. Commitment

We all know that [ictt-tweet-inline]the number one virtue in success is taking full responsibility for it or lack of it[/ictt-tweet-inline]. There can be no room for excuses and passing the buck. All these great points will not be enough if we are not committed daily to personal development. Commitment will call you to action. It will make you keep going even when you have reasons to stop. It is normally good to have this done in the company of a third party: A mentor or coach, a spouse or a loved one, a friend or a work mate. Whatever works for you. Get committed and get accountable.

These, I believe are the biggest keywords in personal development. I believe that any soul that will practice these seven things will be destined to leave legacies behind.

Question: What is your greatest Keyword in personal Development? Share with us.