After you’ve put your dreams and goals down on paper, you need processes to help you live an extraordinary life. As you gain more knowledge and plan your steps towards your goals, you need to apply the formula for success to make things happen. It’s the power of self-development.

In one of my previous blogs, I told you about the Dreams X Goals X Learning X Planning X Action = Success formula. This time, I’ll help you take this concept to the next level.

Be X Do = Have

There are three segments in this formula:

  • The “Have” segment includes the dreams and goals that you’ve identified and written down on paper.
  • The “Do” segment refers to everything in the learn, plan, and act formula for life success.
  • The “Be” segment includes the work on yourself necessary to accomplish your dreams.

Who you are, multiplied by the actions you take, determines the things that you get in life.

Work Backwards for Self-Development

If you want to be successful, you need to work proactively on yourself. And the easiest way to do that is by working backwards.

Define what you want to have. When you know your goals, identify the things you need to do to fulfil your dreams; be proactive. Most people have a reactive approach to growth – they go down a particular road because they’ve been told they were good at something.

Being proactive means thinking about who you want to be and working on yourself to become that person. In order to be a better version of yourself, you need to

  • set a goal and identify the skills you need to master
  • analyse the behaviours and beliefs you need to shift.

You Are Your Product

I’ll go back to another phrase that American Entrepreneur Jim Rohn used often.

Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.

Ask yourself this question: “How do I build the best version of me?”

You need to keep reinventing yourself and become better at what you do to grow. If you want your life to change, you need to keep growing.

If all you want to have are the results you get right now, there’s no pressure. However, I’m here to tell you not to expect any growth. Think of big brands that didn’t change with the times – who remembers Blackberry or Kodak?

Every time you achieve your goals, you need to look again at who you need to be to keep growing. Your business is like a tree. It’s either growing or dying. You need to understand that business means change, and you should continuously work on yourself to keep up.

The Benefits of Positive Pressure

So, how does growth happen for people? In short, we need pressure.

Nobel prize winner Ilya Prigogine introduced the notion of perturbation – unless there’s a level of pressure, we don’t get better, so we don’t grow.

Of course, positive pressure is better than negative pressure and that’s why you need to define your dreams and goals. The pressure will drive you forward until you reach the breakthrough that brings you closer to your goal. Another critical thing to notice is that often the breakthrough comes after a breakdown, a breakup, or a break from traditional processes. If you want performance, you need some form of pressure, not just in business, but also in your relationships and family life.

Become Better to Do Better

Self-development is crucial, but it’s not enough to have the things you want. Sometimes, you might have to do things you don’t like and step out of your comfort zone. So, make things enjoyable – some tasks won’t be fun unless you make them fun.

To achieve outstanding, you need to be outstanding and do outstanding.

But, if you focus only on the “Be” segment, things won’t change. If you just work on yourself, you can’t expect the formula to work.

The same is true for people who always do more to have more. They need to work 24/7 to achieve their goals. They get results, but at what cost?

What’s Next?

Take action now.

Who you are multiplied by what you do will determine what you have in life. Invest in personal development to become the person who does things in the best possible way to achieve a brilliant life.

Write down the answers to these two questions:

Who do I need to become in order to do and have what I want?

How can I put myself under positive pressure to grow?

Remember, 1) It should be enjoyable, and 2) You don’t get better by staying in your comfort zone.

If you want to get better, surround yourself with good people who can help you achieve that. If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong place. Find people who started this journey earlier than you and learn from them.

The power of self-development is in your hands, so if you’ve already taken advantage of one of my free coaching sessions, maybe you’d like to sign up to my monthly book club? Reading a book every month is a really good first step and this is a safe, and above all, fun environment to ensure you get the most from your learning and development.