In the Beginning there were 10 Goals.

The Art of Self Development, my brand new blog that I have felt compelled to create. The idea of a self development blog has been in my head for a while, but I have always made excuses not to do it. Mainly along the lines of 'Why should anyone want to believe what I say?' or 'Shouldn't you be a millionaire first?'. However, having studied success philosophy for a number of years now, I want to put out and discuss some of the ideas I have come across along the way, that I believe lead to a happier, more successful life.

One of the things I find hard to get my head round when looking at self development authors, is their background. Are they telling us all they really could? Did they suffer much and were driven, or did they get a lucky break along the way? This is one of the reasons I created this blog, for the very reason that I am not a 'career success'. I earn roughly the average person's salary per year, and though that is a respectable amount to many people, it is barely enough to cover my mortgage and all the costs of living that go with it. The career is only one aspect of success of course. I do consider myself a domestic success, having married last year and being happily married at that. There are many types of success to consider, but what we should be continually aiming for is not the money, but the happiness and joy we aim to derive from life, for surely that is the simple reason we do most of what we do? So this self development is a journey with myself, whilst also giving out all I can to any readers I am lucky to get, all the wisdom and ideas I learn along the way.

So, based on the fact there is much I want to accomplish in life and that I consider my own self development journey only really just beginning, I have listed 10 things below, I would like to become. Now, setting goals is a topic I could discuss all day, such as do we need them, and why do nearly all authors insist we will get nowhere unless we have them? However, I will save that discussion for another blog post. In the interest of kicking off this blog, and to keep it a simple exercise, here are 10 goals I have for life (and no they are not in any particular order):

To speak Polish
To speak French
To be a professional photographer or writer
To eat a healthy diet and not be afraid to try new foods
To be more organised
To be more pro active
To read at least 1 hour a day and apply what I learn
To be a better businessman
To be tidier and cleaner
To have a new TV

Ok, so the last one looks a bit materialistic and silly, but I am truly am disappointed with the TV I bought last year. I made the mistake of buying it straight from the net, basing my decision on good reviews. Anyway, months later now and I've decided I really don't like it. The brightness control especially is pathetic, can't adjust it to any level I like. So yes I want to 'earn' a new TV.

But you will notice that most of the goals are about becoming something. Simply because the real value  of success is the person you become along the way. Jim Rohn was all over this one - "The greatest value of becoming a millionaire is not the million dollars you have, but the person you have to become to achieve that". I completely get that. All you have at the end of the day is yourself, that is why The Art of Self Development is all about what you become, not what you achieve.