Three Steps to Help You Reach Your Full Potential

In 2008, I was not in a good place at all. The details don’t matter but I will never forget the confusion, the despair and the darkness. One day I picked up an old hardcover book I had purchased in Wilmington, N.C. and began to read it. It had been in my bookshelf for over two years, but apparently I wasn’t ready for it, yet. However, when I was, within a couple of weeks everything inside me began to shift and life has never been the same since. 

I’ve only shared this story two times in a public way. I’m not telling you what book I read because the point of my story isn’t about what worked for me. It’s about you doing what works for you by investing in yourself for your personal and professional development. A couple of months ago I read something that the billionaire investor Warren Buffet said when asked what was the best type of investment everyone should consider. Mr. Buffet answered, “The most important investment you can make is in yourself.” 

When I read his advice it took me by surprise, but it makes perfect sense. You might expect me to say that, since my life’s work (first as a psychotherapist and now a coach) comes from companies and individuals who invest in their own growth and potential. Yet, long before I began my career, I invested in both my personal and professional development. 

In college I borrowed enough money from a bank to take the Evelyn Wood’s Speed Reading Course one night a week for three months. Long before that, I bought books and audio programs and went to seminars. In 1990, I invested a little over $1,000 for a personal development program on VHS tapes. I’ve always believed that if I didn’t invest in myself and believe in myself why should anyone else?

In my mid-twenties I discovered Jim Rohn and read his books and listened to his audio programs. He taught me, “Work harder on you than you do on your job.”

Few people choose to do that, but if you do, it will change your life over a short period of time, relatively speaking. Because I believed, during the most challenging time in my life, in investing my time and energy in my own development and growth, I came out of a very dark period forever changed.

I’m not saying that a single book can change your life, although for some people, that has been the case. We live in an incredible time with resources all around us. A great coach can help you do more in one year than you’re likely to do in five years. 

Yet unless you’re an “important” person in your company, you’re not likely to be assigned a coach. And few will pay out of their own pocket, like a few of my clients do. The good news is, there is so much you can do if you’re not ready to work with a coach. 

First, you have to make a commitment to yourself. You have to get serious about learning, growing and changing. How do you do that? Here are three suggestions:

Start simple and easy:

Set aside ten minutes a day for your growth and development. Read three pages from a book, listen to a recording or watch a TED Talk. Don’t let your enthusiasm tell you to commit to an hour a day. Make ten minutes a day a habit and build from there.

Use resources at hand:

Start with books or audiobooks from your library or buy one from your favorite bookstore. Read relevant magazine or journal articles. Tap into the wealth of knowledge on the internet. Go to learning events at your local community college, university, chamber of commerce or to professional association meetings in your industry.

Get the support you need:

I’ve participated in what’s called a Master-Mind Group for about twenty-five years. It’s simply a group of two or more people who meet on a regular basis (weekly or bi-weekly) to support, challenge and inspire each other. The best way to do this is in person but you can also meet via a tele-conference, Skype or a Google hangout. 

Think about it this way. To learn, grow and transform we need to be exposed to different thoughts, beliefs and experiences. If you don’t entertain new perspectives, beliefs and knowledge, you’re left with the same thoughts and beliefs you’ve always had. You can be different. Start small and see what happens. Make a commitment to yourself to discover who you can become and see what kind of outrageously wonderful life you can create for yourself.

- Alan Allard, Executive Coach