October 21, 2020-What’s the number one thing you can do to increase your book sales, make more money, and live the writing life you’ve always dreamed of? Personal Development. What does that mean? According to Wikipedia, Personal development is defined as activities that improve: awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitate employability, enhance the quality of life and the realization of dreams and aspirations. Personal development can take place over the course of a person’s entire life.
Here are some things you can do to help with your own personal development:
- Read in your field. Studies show that reading one hour per day in your chosen field of work will put you in the top 10 percent of your industry within one year.
- Audiobooks and podcasts. People spend around 240 hours per year (approx. 30 days) driving to work. Did you know that if you listen to podcasts and audiobooks during that time, it would add up to the same time it takes to complete a university class? Use your time wisely and build your knowledge.
- Seminars/Continuing education. There are tons of free classes, seminars, and workshops that you can take to improve your skills. Check out your local library or college/university to see what they offer.
- Find a mentor. Mentors can prove to be invaluable. They can give you advice, help you troubleshoot issues, and introduce you to new people, ideas, and help you brainstorm.
- Study the greats. So, you want to write like Stephen King? Have you read his books? Have you read On Writing? What does he do to be a best seller? How many bestsellers does he have? How does he market himself? What does his social media look like? Do you follow him? You get the point.
The bottom line is success leaves clues. We live in a world where we can access whatever information we choose within fractions of seconds. The good news is, whatever you want to do has probably already been done before! That means that if you want to be a best-selling author, for example, you can find out what other best-selling authors did to get there. If we continually improve ourselves and expand our knowledge base, there’s nothing we can’t do!