If you plan on becoming successful in any aspect of your life ... You need to make a lifelong commitment to developing your mindset and skill set.
You need to make a lifelong commitment to personal development.
It doesn't matter how great you become...
Winning consistently over the long term requires constant evolution and growth.
If you aren't progressing...
You're regressing.
It's that simple.
The talents and skills you have today may be enough to get you a few wins...
But eventually, you will get passed up and absolutely smashed by the people who continue to show up and refine their skill set.
Personal development is about taking the necessary actions to improve yourself.
It's improving yourself mentally.
It's improving yourself physically.
It's improving yourself spiritually.
It's building your skill set.
It's doing these things consistently.
...and it's doing these things with humility and the understanding that no matter how great you become ... You will always have more to learn and improve upon. This is how all real winners think.
It's also understanding that you cannot win if you are not constantly working to become your absolute best.
Do you think Apple would still sell as many iPhones if the model they sell today was the same one from its release in 2007?
Of course not.
The reason the iPhone is so popular is because Apple is always working to improve it. If they didn't, we'd all be walking around with a different phone in our pockets. Guaranteed.
The iPhone keeps getting better and better and better.
So ... What makes you think you're going to win or continue to win if you aren't doing the same?
It's an extremely arrogant thought to even have. Eventually, you will lose to someone who continues to get better through their commitment to personal development and growth.
That's reality.
You may wonder what personal development and "getting better" is going to look like for you. That's understandable.
An iPhone upgrades its features and capabilities to improve. That's obvious.
But, what about us? How do we build skills and become better?
What are the tasks, habits, or personal development activities we can engage in to become better?
Most people don't know where to start when it comes to personal development.
They may want to be more efficient...
They may want to be more skilled...
They may want to develop their mindset...
But once it comes to executing on the tasks necessary to improve in these ways ... They lack the discipline and commitment to take action.
This is exactly where I recommend you start with your personal development journey.
The number one thing anybody can do to jumpstart their commitment to personal development and self-improvement is by investing in their mental toughness.
Nothing will benefit you more in a relatively short amount of time.
When you focus on mental toughness, you are investing in the foundation of what every other skill is built upon.
Mental toughness.
Grit.
Fortitude.
Developing these skills is where all of your self-esteem, confidence, and self-belief will come from.
...and when you intentionally invest in this one area...
You will develop very rapidly in many other areas.
What does this look like?
It's stepping outside of your comfort zone consistently and keeping the promises you make to yourself in an aggressive and uncompromising way.
That's regardless of the external conditions and circumstances...
That's regardless of how you feel...
That's regardless of how hard it is...
There can be zero compromise.
Mental toughness is exercising control over your mind in moments of weakness. It's winning the conversation against the weak voice in your head that tells you to cut corners or take it easy.
That's mental toughness. If you want to build it, I recommend you commit yourself to what it is you're trying to accomplish.
Make a plan and execute on that plan every single day. No exceptions.
If you're looking for a way to build your mental toughness in a systematic way ... Start with 75 HARD.
It's a 100% FREE transformative mental toughness program. It has helped hundreds of thousands of people take complete control of their lives and build the skill of mental toughness.
When it comes to personal development and every skill you need to build to win ... Mental toughness is the foundation.
When it comes to literal activities you can do on a daily basis for your personal development...
There is nothing better than reading.
No, I'm not telling you to go out and read the same books everybody else reads.
I'm telling you to go out and read books that will help you develop your mindset, skill set, perspective, and knowledge.
No book will be a waste of your time.
As long as you can pull even just one idea that makes you think about something differently...
It's worth it.
Some books have the potential to completely change your mindset, perspective, purpose, and direction in life.
Some books have taught me lessons that have saved me years of frustration in my life and businesses.
Some books have given me actionable items to help improve my skill set.
Some books have strengthened my relationships and my ability to better lead the people around me.
...and even though I've been reading 10 pages of a book every day for the past 25+ years of my life...
Not a single one has been a waste of my time.
The same will be true for you.
There is no better habit you can build for your personal development other than reading.
These are invaluable lessons and experiences from people who are much further down the road than you are.
Make the commitment to reading 10 pages a day, and your life will transform.
Just understand that you can absorb as much information as you want from books...
If you do not go out and apply the information ... It's useless.
One of the most important things you can do for your personal development is actively pursuing your goals.
The journey of accomplishing anything of real significance ... and the journey of building a life of true greatness ... Is a path that will present you with one obstacle after another.
You'll get your teeth kicked in ... repeatedly.
You'll make mistakes.
You'll fail.
You'll be laughed at.
You'll look stupid.
All of these are unavoidable and should be an expectation of yours when you choose this path.
But as you continue to show up and execute in spite of the challenges that present themselves...
...and as you continue to overcome these obstacles...
You will develop as a byproduct of the lessons and experiences you derive from the journey.
Personal development will be a natural part of your progression when you're in pursuit of more.
You'll also quickly realize that personal development is a necessary element for achieving your biggest goals and dreams.
This is the value of making a commitment to your goals. The longer you pursue them ... The more you will develop out of necessity and experience.
Understand that pursuing your goals also requires a commitment to a plan.
This goes hand in hand with what I want to talk about next...
Reaching your goals requires a plan. Expecting your goals to materialize without knowledge of the necessary steps to reach them is ineffective. That's an understatement too.
The truth is, your goals won't be possible for you without a plan.
Start with what your goals actually are. Not the goals you think are attainable for you either ... I'm talking about the goals and dreams in your heart that you're too scared to tell anyone about.
Make sure these goals are extremely specific. Anything less will shortchange your ability to accomplish the things you ultimately want to accomplish in life.
"Making more money" is unspecific.
Making a million dollars in a calendar year is specific.
"Growing your business" is not specific.
Growing your business to 100 full-time employees is specific.
"Getting in good shape" is not specific.
Having an exact goal weight and body fat percentage is specific.
Getting a $1 raise is "making more money." This means technically, you'd be able to argue that you met your goal. But, is that what you ultimately want? I doubt it.
Being extremely specific with what it is you want to accomplish is the only way to hold yourself accountable and measure your progress.
It's also the only way you can break down your goals into the steps necessary to reach them.
Consider what these daily critical tasks are going to be. Write down 5.
Now commit yourself to executing these 5 tasks every single day. Complete all your critical tasks for the day, and you win the day.
Fail to complete any one of your critical tasks for the day, and you lose the day.
Win enough days in a row, and you build momentum and habits out of your critical tasks.
As these tasks become habits, keep them, but add new critical tasks to form habits out of.
This is the Power List. It's a tool I developed to create the habit of winning.
I would argue that building this habit and building yourself into a winner is the ultimate form of personal development.
Want to build an amazing life for yourself? Set specific goals so you can reverse engineer them into critical tasks to execute on every single day.
Build the habit of winning with the Power List.
Your body and mind are tools you use every single day to create the life you want.
...and while most people think these things are completely separate from each other...
That couldn't be further from the truth. Your body and mind are interconnected.
Personal development implies that you are taking care of your mind and body to the absolute best of your ability.
Are you drinking enough water?
Are you putting the right foods in your mouth?
Are you training ... and training hard?
Are you exercising good sleep habits?
Are you avoiding alcohol and other substances that numb your mind and body?
You can try to act like none of this matters or is relevant ... But I promise you that is false.
Personal development and becoming your best means making sure these tools are as sharp as they can possibly be.
That requires discipline and a commitment to forming good habits and routines around your health and fitness.
Do not neglect this portion of personal development.
You cannot be your best in poor health.
I touched on this earlier, but it's too important not to revisit.
You must understand...
No matter how great you become and no matter how great you believe you are...
Personal development is a commitment you must maintain if you are looking to win long-term.
Refusal to do so is an inevitable loss to someone who does maintain that commitment. You aren't that good. I'm not that good either.
We have, and always will have, a lot to improve on. Thinking otherwise is arrogant.
Developing this understanding for yourself is critical for personal development. Without it, your ego will consume you and be your downfall.
If you want to continue to get better, this also requires self-reflection.
Take a look at yourself in the mirror and have an honest conversation with yourself about where you need to improve. Do this as often as you can.
Personal development requires an ability to tell yourself the truth and recognize areas you can improve.
If you already think you know everything ... You cannot learn.
If you already think you have all the skills you need ... You cannot build new skills.
If you already think you're the best ... You will not get any better, and you'll more than likely go in the opposite direction.
Control your ego and exercise honest self-reflection regularly.
Failure to do so will completely block you off to personal development and growth.
Don't lose to your ego. It's embarrassing.
Do not expect to go out ... spend the next 6 months getting better ... and completely transforming your life.
Yes, you can make a lot of great progress in 6 months. That part is true.
But committing to your personal development for the next 6 months only to take your foot off the gas and coast afterward will send you back to square one in no time.
Personal development is a life-long commitment.
You're either getting better...
Or you're getting worse.
There is no maintaining.
There is no coasting.
It's forward or backward.
If you're actually serious about going out and building the life you say you want for yourself...
Personal development must be a constant. You will never be done.
The tasks, habits, and personal development activities I gave you are exactly where you need to place your focus.
Take care of your health and fitness.
Exercise self-reflection.
Read books that develop your mindset, skill set, and perspective.
Commit to your goals.
Build the habit of winning.
...and invest in your mental toughness.
Your personal development is in your hands.
Want the quickest and most effective way to jumpstart your personal development?
Want the quickest and most effective way to create the momentum necessary to adhere to this commitment long-term?
Build mental toughness. Mental toughness is the foundation for every other skill and habit necessary to reach your goals and build an incredible life.
Start with 75 HARD. I also highly recommend you read my book, The Book on Mental Toughness.
This is a complete guide to help you develop the skill of mental toughness, navigate 75 HARD, and build yourself into someone who is capable of literally anything you set your mind to.
It's a tool.
If you take full advantage of it by reading the book and completing the 75 HARD program exactly as I detail it with 0 compromises and 0 substitutions...
You and your life will never be the same.
Commit to your personal development.
Build your mental toughness.
...and never stop.
If you're looking to accomplish anything of real significance in life...
Or if you're looking to go out and build yourself and your life into what you dream about...
Those goals and dreams will not come true for you if you are unwilling to pay the price.
That price is the same price that everybody else you look up to has...
The biggest difference between the people who win in life and the people who don't comes down to daily execution.
Success is not complicated.
It's actually a very simple equation.
It's inputs and outputs...
We all know life moves fast.
Even if you think you have all the time in the world to reach your goals ... I promise you this is not the case.
With as quickly as life can pass you by, it can be easy to choose the "fun times" over the difficult tasks that will ultimately create success and better times in the future.
If you have big goals and dreams in life...