NFIB

Checklist for Self-Development
03/ 12/ 2004

by Jeffrey Moses

If you're like most small-business owners, you dedicate a tremendous amount of time and energy to improving your company. Often overlooked, however, is the importance of improving yourself so that your business ability, self-confidence and level of motivation continue to grow over the years.

Usually, self-improvement is a matter of awareness: if you don't think about it, you don't spend much time on the subject. The following checklist can help focus your attention on ways to personally grow and can point out some simple but powerful self-improvement tools that are often neglected during our busy schedules.

1. Take a few minutes to write down all the areas of your life and business in which you would like to grow -- i.e., become more efficient, delegate more effectively, become less easily distracted, learn to speak in front of groups, etc. Use this basic list as the foundation for many of the following suggestions.

2. Realize that no one else can take responsibility for your own improvement. It's a do-it-yourself job. Commit yourself to making time each day for some form of self-improvement.

3. Buy one or more books that can help you improve in at least one of the areas on your basic list. Make time to read daily (even 10 minutes will be valuable). Dedicate yourself to completing any self-development exercises or training suggested by the book.

4. Organize a group of like-minded individuals who also desire to improve and grow. Meet monthly to set personal goals and review results. Included in this group can be family members, friends and business associates. These gatherings should be considered business meetings. Wear appropriate clothing to encourage a businesslike atmosphere.

5. Watch one hour less of television daily and spend the time working on something included in your basic list.

6. Enroll in classes or seminars that can help you work on areas in your basic list. You may respond better to a classroom situation than to a book.

7. Examine business mistakes you've made in the past, and determine how you can improve your activities in these areas in the future. Still, don't become caught up in negative thinking about the past. View the past as a learning experience -- don't carry negativity into your future. Self-improvement depends on maintaining a positive attitude.

8. Play instructional cassette tapes or CDs while traveling. These are especially valuable for longer trips by car or plane.

9. As you begin to work on improving areas in your basic list, go out of your way to become involved in situations that can help you practice what you've learned. For instance, if you've committed yourself to becoming more effective and comfortable speaking in front of groups, join Toastmasters or other organizations that encourage this type of development. Don't back away from your fears or shortcomings.

10. Pick a successful, historical person and read all you can about him or her, incorporating the person's attitudes, techniques and goals into your own life. This person can be a well-known figure in business, politics, the military, the sciences, etc.

11. Make a list of ways you waste time while at work and systematically work on eliminating them. Focus on one per week, then on the next for a week and then the next until you have your entire list under control.

12. Select your friends and associates carefully. Spend time with others who are positive, goal-oriented, trustworthy and honest. This will encourage the development of these same qualities in you.

13. Keep a journal of your growth. Record ways you meet or fall short of your goals. Be honest but nonjudgmental of yourself.

14. Spend an extra two hours a week working on a special project that could bring future financial rewards. Over the course of a month, this will mean that you've added an entire day to your work time.

15. Fear of failure holds many people back. Analyze what that fear means to you personally, both on individual projects and in the larger scope of your entire business career. It's likely that you'll realize complete failure is unlikely, and that tiny obstacles can be looked at as learning experiences.

16. Maintain confidence that your self-improvement efforts will result in personal growth. When you look at your basic list of areas in which to improve, feel assured that every hour you spend improving your abilities and attitude will bear fruit.

27. Celebrate your successes. Discuss them with family, friends and associates. Go out to dinner or treat yourself to something special. When you make progress toward your personal goals, it's just as tangible and important as material accomplishments.

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