
Basics of Personal Development
Like many skills, personal development is something to be learnt. Also like other skills, there are basic ideas and concepts that should be covered and understood before progressing to more advanced topics.
In this Basics of Personal Development, we cover the fundamental tools and techniques. Starting with some of the basic rules.
Rules of Personal Development
Rule #1 – It’s personal
The clue is in the title. This is about you, for you and of you.
Rule #2 – It’s a conscious pursuit
Be actively engaged, and make a conscious effort to DO personal development.
Rule #3 – Be honest with yourself
Honesty with yourself is vital to seeing things as they really are.
Rule #4 – Commit
Make a commitment to yourself that you will put in the time and effort to be all you can be.
Rule #5 – Be accountable
Take responsibility for all areas of your life, your obligations, your actions, your results.
Rule #6 – Be kind to yourself
Treat yourself with kindness, as you would treat a close friend.
Notice how these rules are all ‘mental’ in nature. Each one is about helping us have the necessary mindset for a successful personal development journey.
State of Mind is one of the three vital elements in the Personal Development Equation for achieving results. State of Mind is, arguably, the most important of the three elements. Without the right mindset, your intentions and actions will never amount to anything useful
The Personal Development equation
Below is the equation presented by Eric Plantenburg in his “The Anatomy of Results” TED Talk
Intent x State of Mind x Action = Results
Question: Why does the equation multiply the factors?
Answer: Because if just one of the factors is zero, then the Results = Zero!
No Intent, no Result . . . Wrong Mindset, no Result . . . No Action, no Result.
This Basics pathway discusses the foundation steps for Personal Development.



A brief timeline of events relating to personal development
The evolution of ideas relating to the Self and to Personal Development started many years ago with the Ancient Greeks, and maybe in Mesopotamia before them. Here we list a few of the key events, to give you a sense of who has come before us.
More reading
Self
The self is an individual person as the object of its own reflective consciousness.
Personal Development for Smart People - Steve Pavlina
Personal Development for Smart People The conscious pursuit of personal growth "Probably the best book ever written on personal growth"- Amazon.com reviewer
Commit - 'Success is a Mindset'
THA 6 STEPS TO A MINDSET FOR SUCCESS