You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things, the books you read and the people you meet. – Charlie “Tremendous” Jones
We all have that innate desire to grow, develop and make progress in life. We want to live our dreams. We want to reach our full potential in life. Our aspiration is to become more than what we already are and give back to society.
A successful life does not come easy. There are also no quick fixes in life.
When it comes to your personal growth journey and the life you have envisioned for yourself, two important things readily come to mind, people and books. The people who come into your life can either propel you to higher heights in life or be real stumbling blocks to your progress.
Methinks you have to be selective as to who you want to hang out with. You have to avoid toxic personalities. These are people who have that bad habit of always behaving in negative ways. Their negative behavior will negatively impact your life. They are dream killers .They can undermine your self- esteem and self-confidence.
John Assaraf, an accomplished speaker and author advises, “I just do not hang around anybody that I don’t want to be with. Period. For me, that’s been a blessing, and I can stay positive. I hang around people who are happy, who are growing, who want to learn, who don’t mind saying sorry or thank you and are having a fun time.” It’s important to surround yourself with successful people.
Successful people can help you on your success journey. By associating with them, their success habits can rub off on you. They can help you with their knowledge, expertise and experiences.
Their success stories can be a catalyst for your personal development. They can mentor or coach you on how to succeed in your career, profession, trade or your chosen occupation.
From them, you can learn the basics of success and build yourself up. You can enroll and attend their lectures, seminars, workshops, listen to audiotapes, podcasts, video programmes and also take their online courses.
It’s always a delight to surround yourself with achievers and successful people. Find out the qualities that positioned them to succeed. Then embrace and integrate the same qualities into your life. These can be your strong points to move forward in life.
Successful people have such sterling qualities as thinking big, hard work and industry, honesty, integrity, ethics, the use of time to maximize output among others. They are leaders who nurture others to become leaders. They can help bring out the best in you.
The importance of books in our lives cannot be underestimated. They are packed with knowledge.
Within the pages of books, there are life lessons that cover every part of human life. By reading books we connect ourselves with superior minds. We gain knowledge from the outside world. Books teach us about our past, cultures and civilizations.
Books are essential for our personal development and overall growth. Reading books can help in our emotional and mental growth.
They can help stretch our imagination and creativity. They boost our confidence in getting things done.
From books we learn important life lessons. We learn skills that can position us to succeed and make a decent living.
Books can help sharpen your ingenuity and make you a productive person. The quality of your life will depend on the quality of information you use in decision making.
We can read books for relaxation, to ward off stress and relieve us of boredom. Reading can expand your vocabulary and improve your communication abilities.
Reading can make you a great thinker and problem solver. Knowledge is power when we use it to solve problems.
Books can inspire us to take our lives to the next higher levels. The experiences of others can be a source of strength for us to pursue our dreams with drive and determination.
Books help us build better lives. Charles Baudulaire notes, “A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors.”
When we apply the principles used by successful people, we can get the same results they got. We can always get these principles from the books that have been written by successful people.
In a nutshell, we can all make it in life. Associate with the right people and read success nurturing books. Be a star, a world changer and a force for good.
