The key to staying relevant: commitment to personal development

BY DANIEL COLE

Everything everyone knows, they learned it. You are not less intelligent than anyone, you only haven’t taken the time and commitment to learning the things you admire in others. In this information age, ignorance is a choice. Life is fair in rewarding everyone in the proportion of investment they’ve made on themselves and the contribution they are adding to society and Mankind. Growing up a little boy, my mother will always say to me, “Daniel, if there’s anything in life you should be proud of, let it be your intellectual property because no one can take that away from you.” The great Neurosurgeon, Dr Ben Carson once said, “You can take all my possessions away: my car, my house, name it, but as long that I still have my brain, in no time, I will get my possession back.”

It is said, if all the monies in the world today, are evenly distributed, the exact amount will soon return back to the hands of its previous owners. Why? The huge wealth gap we have in our society today is not only about the uneven distribution of wealth, but it’s also the lack of financial literacy amongst the populace. Everyone is responsible for the consequences of their own ignorance. Society rewards everyone according to their level of contribution, you are only as relevant as the quality of the investment you made in you.

It’s not only about formal education, it’s making a long-term commitment to self-development. In the words of the great Jim Rohn, “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” Every week I read a book, be it a paperback format or an audiobook. Every year I take new courses in my field, I seek out new mentors, polymath, thought-leaders, iconoclast, and great thinkers who have a track record of something significant they’ve done with their life. Why? Because you are only as wise and relevant as the books you read, and the people you surround yourself with. You can’t make a major contribution to the world from a place of ignorance. Relationships and connections may bring you certain opportunities, but it always takes skills and competence to make the most of those opportunities.

Commit to excellence, seek innovation, and stay abreast of relevant information in your field. The great Abram Lincoln once said, “I will prepare and someday my chance will come.” Indeed, his chance came. You see, it is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared. When opportunities come knocking, let it meet you prepared. The Good Book (The Bible) says, Proverbs 4:5-8 “Sell everything and buy Wisdom! Forage for Understanding! Don’t forget one word! Don’t deviate an inch! 6 Never walk away from Wisdom – she guards your life; love her-she keeps her eye on you. 7 Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom! Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding! 8 Throw your arms around her – believe me, you won’t regret it; never let her go – she’ll make your life glorious.”

“The new global currency is not digital; the new global currency is knowledge.” You are trading your time, skills, and knowledge. To stay relevant, commit to a long-term self-development plan. The great Nelson Mandela once says, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” George Matthew has rightly said, “You are your greatest investment. The more you store in that mind of yours, the more you enrich your experience, the more people you meet, the more books you read, and the more places you visit, the greater is that investment in all that you are. Everything that you add to your peace of mind, and to your outlook upon life, is added capital that no one but yourself can dissipate.”