Investing in your personal development is the best decision you can make for your future success. You were born to be significant. 

As you invest in your personal growth and live a life of significance, you empower others. In other words, the worth, greatness, and value you carry impacts others. 

You are an influencer for the time you live in. 

Recently, I was telling my daughter, Katie, how proud I am of her success in her business. She owns a hair salon and had invested in professional development training to expand her hair extension business. 

Within the first three weeks following the training, she met her first quarter goal. WOW! 

Why is it important to invest in your personal development?

1. Your personal and professional development empowers others. 

Your self-improvement opens possibilities that others may not have considered. It provides them with a role model to follow. 

I quit my corporate job and started my consulting business when Katie was in elementary school. As my daughter watched me invest in my personal development, it gave her a framework for her future success in business as an adult.   

2. Your personal and professional development brings greater meaning to your life. 

A recent survey stated that nine out of ten Americans are NOT living their dream. 

I believe this is because many do not grasp the importance of investing in their personal growth.  

3. Your personal and professional development identifies barriers that are keeping you from moving forward. 

As I began investing in my dreams, I discovered several barriers I had to knock down to reach my goals, the biggest one being the fear of failure!  

Here are four steps you can take to start investing in your personal development:

Here are some great ways to start investing in yourself:

1. Take a walk

2. Read 

3. Watch a “how to” YouTube video in a subject of interest or professional development. 

4. Take an online class that lets you learn at your pace. 

5. Build a new relationship and/or strengthen your current ones.

Another strategy is to begin to track your time. By tracking your time, you will understand where your time goes. 

Tracking your time will also provide perspective for what you can eliminate to have more time for professional development. 

I do a two-week time tracking exercise with every client. Once they have completed the two-week tracking, we analyze where their time is going. 

Because they now understand where their time is spent, they now have the freedom to allocate their time so that they are investing in their personal development. 

Set goals to increase the amount of time and resources allocated to personal growth. 

I often felt guilty for spending money on myself, even if it would bring additional income in the future. After wasting months trying to build my own website, I learned the hard way that investing in my personal and professional development was essential to my future success. 

After a friend knocked some sense into me, I took the leap and hired a firm to build the website for me. It was one of my best business investments.

Another great professional development decision I made was taking a writing class. The financial commitment was significant. I had never spent that kind of money on myself, but it was well worth it! 

Since the class, I have written four books. Several other benefits also came from this personal investment:

My passion for writing became abundantly clear.

My confidence in my ability to write increased.  

My newly sharpened skill enabled me to write blogs, speeches, articles, training classes, and podcasts with content that helps others. 

I have even begun to teach writing workshops to help others get started writing. 

That one investment in personal growth not only improved my life, but it is now influencing the lives of others! 

You are worth the investment in your personal growth! Now is the time to see the significance you carry for yourself and for others around you. 

Check out the following podcast episodes for step-by-step ways to invest in your personal growth: 

• In Episode 3, “Dreaming:” You will learn why allowing yourself to dream is important to your success. 

• In Episode 7, “Resources for your Dreams:” You will discover four ways to unearth the dreams stirring inside of you. Take it a step further by completing the free Dream Worksheet. 

• In Episode 22, “Blueprint for Success,” provides a step-by-step plan of how to map your days to bring success to your year.

Are you living your dream? Take the quiz and find out. 

Use these and other resources to take the first step toward your personal development today. 

Remember, you are the best investment you can make! 

If you would like one-on-one mentoring in building your blueprint for success, including preparing for promotion, fill out the Connection Form so that we can begin the work. 

I look forward to assisting you in the journey of connecting you to your best! 

If you want to invest in your future, find your passion AND the why behind it, sign up for my 6-week online course, Compelled to Change. 

In this class, you will learn practical and repeatable strategies to accomplish your dreams and be unstoppable! 

Learn more here.

Abundant Blessings, Cindy 

Cindy Stewart has a passion for people and helping them connect to their life purpose, discover their passions, and live their dreams. Cindy’s latest book, God’s Dream for Your Life, brings clarity to your purpose while unlocking vision of what is possible in the natural and the supernatural. She is an itinerant speaker, an executive coach, and hosts a weekly podcast on Charisma Podcast Network.  Along with her husband, Chuck, they lead The Gathering Apostolic Center in Tarpon Springs, FL. 

Please email Cindy with any questions or comments to cindystewartauthor@gmail.com. She’d love to hear from you.

Remember, you are the best investment you can make.