Posts Tagged ‘lifelong learning’

It’s a Personal Business First Post

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

Well, here goes… my first ever WordPress blog post – the first of many, no doubt! I’ve been itching to do this for sooooo long… And here I am at last… :-)

The aim of this site is to encourage the exchange of  ideas between small business owners / entrepreneurs. Step inside and come on a journey of discovery with me as I develop and grow my new business! (More about that later – another time - another article…)

If you’re open to improving your situation in life, I’d like to help you find a happy, healthy and fulfilling work-life balance that’s the right one for you, and I’d like you to help me to do the same, by sharing what has worked for you…

In my view, all business is personal because it’s about relationships… Let me (try to) explain…

Depending on your age and where you are in your business “career”, you may – or may not… yet – have recognised that much business “success” stems from confidence in yourself… And in turn, that confidence comes from:

  • Your practical and thinking skills (acquired over time);
  • Your “conversations” with yourself (usually inside your head!) - also known as your attitude, thoughts or “internal dialogue”;
  • The relationships you build with those around you (in your personal and professional life) - sometimes called your interpersonal skills.

(Did you notice that I used the word “life” in that last sentence, not “lives”? Read it again. It was a deliberate choice.)

Because however hard you try to separate your business life from your personal life, you’ll find the task almost impossible. In my opinion, your personal life and your working life are inextricably linked…

Which brings me neatly back around to the beginning again…

My personal definition of “success” is to lead a balanced, healthy and fulfilling life – and here I’m talking about a personal and professional view of life. To me, success is not about “stuff” like cars, houses and the latest gadgets and gizmos (I’m not saying I don’t like those things, but they are not the most important things in my life…).

When I look at successful entrepreneurs, I see many things they have in common. And the one quality they all seem to have is an unshakeable self-confidence which, I believe, comes from their never-ending quest for self-improvement and an interest in their own personal development.

If I could offer you a gift today, it would be to share my belief in (and love of) the power of  lifelong learning, personal improvement, and continuing professional development (CPD).

Please share with me your stories about your own personal journey to continual and never ending improvement (to re-phrase a term used by Tony Robbins!).  Let’s travel that road together…

And before I sign off, here’s one of my favourite quotes about personal and business success:

Success is a journey, not a destination. – Ben Sweetland

With my warmest wishes for your personal and business success,

Gill Clark
www.ItsaPersonalBusiness.com

Now, please share your considered thoughts on the following questions (please stick to the topics dicussed!):

  • How do you define personal and business success?
  • What’s your opinion about the importance of personal and professional development to business owners and entrepreneurs?
  • What role do you believe confidence plays in leading a happy and fulfilling business and personal life?

(Polite Note: all comments are moderated before posting. Any outright “spam” comments will be deleted immediately… Not that you would do that, of course, dear reader!)

;-) With apologies to Charles Dickens, my old English teacher, and anyone else who is annoyed by my use of the phrase “dear reader”…