The

things that are internal are usually more powerful than those that are external. Think about it. Even a nuclear bomb, one of the most powerful and devastating weapons on earth operates on this principle.

The fact is that self-deficiency is an internal job. There could be some external things that we could do in order to stem its tide, but if there is no internal working or internal solutions, we would be fighting a lost battle.

Peter J Daniels

I keep referring to the story of one Australian Billionaire by the name of Peter J. Daniels. Mr Daniels was scolded at school (we dealt with this in the previous article) and generally labelled “uneducable retarded”. Would you belie that? The same was said of Einstein and Les Brown, but I digress.

The worst part about this labelling is when you accept it hook, line and sinker. Therefore at the age of 26, Peter J. Daniels was a bricklayer whose greatest ambition was to become a championship boxer.

Enter Billy Graham

One day he attended a Billy Graham Crusade where Mr Graham must have said in passing something to the effect that God made everyone equal. That inspiration lit of something in Peter’s mind who realized that the self-deficiency he was operating on stemmed from his culture as we saw in the previous article.

In order to change his self-deficiency, Mr Daniels set out to re-educate himself. He started with the Dictionary, purchasing there of them. He taught himself English. Then he studied history. The read as many biographies as possible, by their thousands.

The Power of The Human Mind

To his list of self-development, Mr Daniels added Commerce and Mathematics. The most interesting thing that propelled this man was his own initiative. In his estimation, he says that he “never had the misfortune of going to a University”. His learning is totally different from an average human.

He is so much in love with the human mind. At times he normally says that when they invent brain surgery and he has to receive a brain, he would ask for that of a Christian because it is seldom used…but I digress.

Self-Ignornance=Self-Deficiency

Self-deficiency is directly proportional to ignorance. No, I am not talking about academic ignorance, but I am talking about the darkness of the mind about oneself.

• He was unaware that he was powerful. That fed his self-deficiency
• He was unaware of the potency of his mind especially after being labelled uneducable. That literally cemented his self-deficiency
• He was content or probably resigned to his fate. That meant that he used his self-deficiency to operate in life.
• He did not have a great outlook or a great vision about his life. The results he was getting in life were directly derived from his self-deficiency.

Operating on Illusions?

I tell you, self-deficiency can put you at a great disadvantage. If you look at it carefully, it really is an illusion. It is an illusion that you are unable, do not have potential, cannot excel and cannot amount to anything. I firmly believe that every human being alive is so powerful that if they deployed themselves fully, this world would be lit up in an astounding manner.

One of the answers to curbing self-deficiency is nothing else but self-education. I think it was Jim Rohn who said,

“Formal education will earn you a living but self-education will give you a fortune”

I couldn’t agree more. The problem we have worldwide with Jim Rohn’s quote is to focus more on the fortune in the quote. If you are going after self-education ostensibly to get the fortune, you might be disappointed.

Self-Education

Self-education must first of all obliterate our self-deficiency before enabling us to earn the fortunes that we are looking for. In other words, the fortune is a byproduct of personal development and not the target.

There are five or so reasons why self-education (personal development) goes a pretty much long way in stemming the tide against self-deficiency.

1. Puts you in the Driver’s Seat

   Control is something so potent. Every time someone seems to lose control of their life, their self-deficiency is multiplied and cemented. Every time someone regains control of their life, their inner belief is strengthened.
   Self-education is you taking charge of your destiny. It sends signals to your brain that you are valuable and that you are needed and that you are equipping and fortifying yourself.

   One of the easiest ways to fortify yourself these days is through self-education. The more you get of it, the more you are dealing severely with your self-deficiency.

   In today’s world, technology has made learning so easy. For example, if I wanted to find a free book, all I have to do is to go to the net. If I wanted to find information about stocks, sales, marketing, branding, purpose et all, I just have to go to google. There is no excuse whatsoever.

2. Focuses on What You Are Passionate About

   One of the reasons why people hate school is because at times they are forced to study what they hate. What made no sense yesterday is what they have to contend with today, tomorrow and for the next three years.

   This results in one interesting thing: Formal education produces, instead of curtailing, self-deficiency! Here is someone who is not equipped to learn sciences but they have to go through it. All the time they are forced, they are actually trudging through it. That doesn’t help.

   However, self-education gives you the ability to focus on that which you are passionate about. You see, self-education is not all about academics, but it is about life, purpose, meaning and impact. That is why you can get immersed in it even if you are an academic dwarf.

3. Increases Your Confidence

   Self-education being informal, does not have any end. Formal education does come to an end especially when you realize that you will no longer be examined and certificates conferred upon you. Every time you accumulate knowledge, you gain confidence.

   Some kind of darkness is dispelled from your mind and in turn, your self-deficiency is dealt with a massive blow. That’s what you need.

4. Carves out a Niche For you

   You know, self-deficiency is created at the core when you believe that you do not matter. However, when you embark on self-education, you will zero down on an area of interest. You will identify with it. This identity goes a long way in solving issues related to your self-deficiency.

   You see, someone who does not have any “niche” identity is someone who is prone to feel self-deficient. The clarity of your “niche” in life opens your mind up and gives you motivation. I never saw someone who knows what they are about having to deal greatly with issues of self-deficiency.

5. Makes you an expert

   Someone might argue that formal education does make you an expert too. I disagree. What formal education does is to seek to create very many experts in one area. What self-education does is to create as many experts as there are people on earth.
   This is because an expert can be an expert in just about anything, whether they are recognized formally or not. The driving force behind this expertise is not making a fortune, but deploying one’s purpose and serving humanity in the process. I can tell you here and now that you won’t find an expert who is battling great issues with self-deficiency.