Self-Development: The Key to Wealth Creation

In discussing this issue, we shall be considering the following questions:

• What is self-development?
• How do you develop yourself?
• What are the consequences of not developing yourself?
• How do you create wealth through self-development?

What is Self-Development?

Self-development can be defined as a process by which an individual discovers his or her areas of strength and weakness and then consciously works towards fortifying those areas of strength and improving on the areas of weakness. It also involves developing a mindset that impacts one's lifestyle and relationships with others positively.

From the definition above, you'll realize that self-development begins with knowing who one is. It is by knowing who you are that you can work towards developing your personality. To know who you are, you need to ask yourself salient questions such as,

• What do I like and dislike about myself?
• What beliefs and perceptions about myself and life, do I hold dear?
• What am I passionate about?
• What stirs up fear and anxiety in me?
• What brings out the best in me?
• What brings out the dark side in me (undoubtedly, we all have this side)?

These and many other questions will surely reveal your true self. You will discover your strengths or potential and then work towards developing them for your own benefit and that of others.

How Do You Develop Yourself?

You develop yourself in the following ways:

1. by becoming a student of life. This means you learn from the happenings around you. You learn and develop from the experiences of others, the works of nature, and your observations.
2. by getting educated. This will help you discover disciplines and ventures in which you can channel your strengths or potential in order to impact yourself and others positively..
3. by reading self-improvement and religious (I recommend the Bible) books. This will infuse in a person, a positive mindset that improves one's lifestyle and relationships with others.
4. through constant self-assessment. You have to always assess yourself to discover if you are becoming a better version of yourself or not. This you can do by asking people who are objective and truly interested in your development, to write down both the desirable and negative qualities you have manifested over a given period. This will provide you with details on what aspects of your personality to improve upon and those to nurture.
5. through positive self-affirmations. This involves saying positive things about yourself. Positive affirmations tend to transform beliefs and perceptions about yourself and life generally.
6. by setting achievable self-improvement goals and targets. You can set goals to improve both your desirable and negative qualities.
7. by being accountable to someone. Whenever you set self-improvement goals and targets, there should be someone to hold you accountable. This will ensure commitment to them (goals and targets).
8. by channeling your energy into ventures you are good at.
9. by stepping out of your comfort zone to face and overcome what you fear most.
10. by frequently asking yourself quality questions and searching the recesses of your mind for answers.

What are the Consequences of not Developing Yourself?

Failure, whether deliberately or not, to develop oneself will result in

1. lack of self-fulfillment.
2. expression of inferiority complex or self-deprecation.
3. a state of dependency.
4. one being dominated by people that are better off.
5. one having limiting beliefs and perceptions about oneself and life generally.
6. inability to meet one's basic needs.
7. one seeking shortcuts to success.
8. stagnation in career and endeavours.
9. regret in not taking steps to improve oneself.
10. one missing opportunities to better one's fortune.

How do you Create Wealth through Self-Development?

Before we consider how self-development can enable one to create wealth, we need to understand two things about self-development:

1. The purpose of self-development should be to impact oneself and others, positively.
2. The person who engages in self-development should benefit more from it than others.

This implies that if you must benefit maximally from your self-development efforts and create wealth, then most of your efforts must be channeled into building your business ventures. In other words, engaging in self-development and appropriating it for oneself is what will lead to wealth creation.

Going back to the question, self-development can result in wealth creation by

1. imparting one with the right mindset and beliefs about wealth creation.
2. equipping one with skills that attract and create wealth.
3. making one self-reliant and resourceful.
4. positioning and making one eligible for wealth-creation opportunities.
5. helping one attract like-minded people that one can partner with to build wealth.
6. assisting one to establish or invest in business ventures that will turn around one's financial fortune.
7. instilling in one the patience and persistence needed for wealth creation rather than seeking shortcuts.
8. making one do what he or she is enthusiastic about and at the same time, create wealth.
9. instilling in one the confidence and boldness to take calculated risks needed for wealth creation.

The importance of self-development in wealth creation cannot be overemphasized. In one of his speeches, Jim Rohn said, "Formal education will make you a living, but self-education will make you a fortune." Therefore, if wealth creation is your dream, then you need to engage in activities that will improve your human capacity.