Meet your walking encyclopedia of personal development
In 2010 I fully got the personal development virus. After reading the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People from Stephen Covey I went all-in on personal development. You see, some people have a natural talent for simple things like striking a conversation. Others, like me, have to learn it some other way. Therefore I was reading a lot of books and following many online courses.
Something interesting happened when I was reading more and more. I became a “natural” in a lot of areas in my life. But I wasn’t a natural. Above all, I learned how to “activate” certain skills when necessary. My business friends even call me a walking encyclopedia of personal development.
Activating your personal growth skills
In my business coaching and growth consulting practice I meet many entrepreneurs. All of them get stuck somewhere in their business journey. This happens from startup founders to billionaires I’ve helped. Most importantly, focusing on their personal growth and mindset at that point is what get’s them unstuck. But to few go all-in on getting unstuck.
Where most business growth get stuck or accelerated
The most successful entrepreneurs understand that they are on a constant learning journey. You need to learn new skills every time your business reaches the next level. To clarify, what you will see is that every level has a growth devil. What got you here, won’t get you there. As a result, you need to understand what stops you at each level, but also what is necessary to get to the next level.
The business Growth Mindset
Business Growth equals Personal Growth is one of my fundamental beliefs. Consequently, when an entrepreneur is not focusing on their own personal growth I see this as a red flag. This business is doomed to stop growing at some point in its life. Therefore my book: Structuring for Extreme Revenue Growth is a business growth and a personal development book. These things go hand in hand. Meanwhile, few people understand the difference in mindset that is necessary.
Two different types of mindset
There’s one mindset that will help you greatly with your personal development. Above all, you need to have a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset. The growth mindset is all about embracing failure and knowing that you are on a constant learning journey. In contrast to the fixed mindset, where you believe all your skills are fixed. For example, some believe that writing is natural skill. But others believe that you can learn this skill with consistent practice.
How should you think about personal development?
Personal growth is an area where it’s important to have a clear strategy. Most importantly, you need to know where you want to go and how personal development can help you get there. Many people buy courses and read books without a plan. Consequently, clients call me to help them be strategic with their choices. The most important decision you can take is knowing where you want to go. What’s the end game you’re playing? Moreover, can you picture this end in mind.
What’s the end game you’re playing?
One of the biggest struggles I see with many people is not knowing what their ideal life looks like. They don’t know exactly what success looks like. But when you don’t know the exact picture of success, you’re making it harder for yourself to create the easiest path. Therefore you need to know where you’re going.
How do you know your end goal?
Firstly, understand that your goals will change over time. In other words, what you want when you are 20 years old will be different when you are 40. And yes, when you are 20 right now you won’t take this advice from me. My 20-year old self didn’t believe it. However, I’m now 35 and my goals have changed massively. Not the essence, but the manifestation of how it would look like has especially changed since the moment we got kids. You start to value other things.
Secondly, the more clarity and specificity the better. Every time my goals became more clear, it was easier to reach them. For example, when I knew that I wanted to make a minimum amount of 625 euros per hour for my consulting work, I reached that goal within one quarter. In contrast to just saying that I wanted to raise my rates, I was very specific about the outcome.
What’s the fastest path in personal development?
I’ve read hundreds of books and followed countless courses. Therefore I can quickly see which book or course can help you reach your goals faster. In my book Structuring for Extreme Revenue Growth I share many actionable tips and strategies which you can follow.
Which books should you read?
I’ve started my journey with the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. This book give you a very good basis for personal growth. This book is an evergreen foundation for personal development. When I read it in 2010, I had a dream where one day I would work together with the Covey organisation. In 2019 this dream came true and I was advising Covey Benelux with their Marketing Strategy. In addition, me and my team got some very interesting executive coaching to get the most out of agencies.
The second personal development book I read back in the days was the 8th Habit by Stepen Covey. This book is all about finding your spark.
Building in public
Make sure to come back often to this page, as I will regularly update this page. When you want to get help to get the most out of your personal development, feel free to visit my Business Coaching page. I’ve helped many entrepreneurs with one-on-one coaching. In conclusion, personal development will make or break you.
Get my Growth Lever Cheat Sheet
Working on your business is an important form of personal development. Therefore, I’ve created a growth lever cheat sheet where you can find mindsets that will impact your business.
