Came across two great post today on personal development plans from google reader.  The first was  a simple question from Jesse Phillips at Catablog, “What is your personal development plan? share it!” I did not share mine because I don’t have a specific plan.  I read a lot of books and piggyback them off of each other, I read the bible and pray, I spend quiet time before the throne of God,  but I have not had a specific plan for a couple of years.

Luckily Ron Edmondson is where Jessie got the question from.  Ron had posted on his blog  Three Questions to Write a Personal Development Plan.  I immediately went to Ron’s post and scoured the article.  Ron is a leader and leaders help those around them.  I am not going to put Ron’s three very simple keys on here because I want you to go to his site and read them for yourself.

So do you have one?  Post it here, or over at Catablog.  If you are like me and don’t have one let’s get started together.

Pinnacle Balance was started in 2007 as a Christian personal development website.  Not long after I started it I broke off another website called Spiritual Teamwork.  As they both developed separate identities I wanted to bring them back to one blog.  Without just doing it, there is no way to do it so…   Now the time has come to bring the two back together and finish what I started.  I will be uploading the contents to Pinnacle Balance in the next day or two.  Much of the content on Spiritual Teamwork is spiritual disciplines and spiritual growth if you are interested in those two subjects I want to invite you to stay on as a subscriber, if you are not interested in those subjects and decide to drop our feed we will miss you, and we thank you for supporting us to this point.

Being flexible with your body or mind is not an easy thing to come by.  Body flexibility may actually be easier because you can see the progress as you become flexible.  Mind flexibility is not as noticeable, nor is it as sustainable until it takes hold in your actions and habits.  Learning to be flexible in your job or family can greatly reduce your headaches and heartbreaks.

Forest Gump said,”Stupid is, as stupid does.”  So do your best not to be stupid.  But when those times come that you are not flexible. When your humanness just jumps right out and bites you on the butt. When you just become stupid.   There are things you can do to Reconcile Your Stupidity.

Take Responsibility For Your Stupidity

Sounds simple enough.  Well it’s apparently not.  I like many of you have been caught red-handed in blazing stupidity and just let it ride. The phrase “I don’t know what you’re talking about” comes to mind.  Really? When you think about it, why would anyone try to own up for some of the stupid things people do?  I love the TV show “Cops.”  It’s the only reality show I watch and I only get to watch it once or twice a month.  When some one is caught with drugs, or speeding, or drunk driving, or name the offense.  Rarely do they own up to what they have done. These people are caught on camera committing a crime, and refuse to take the blame for their stupidity.

Cops is not the only place you can see this.   It happens in offices, it happens in homes, it happens in religious institutions.  It happens everywhere.  So the next time you do or say something stupid, and you know there will be a next time because you are human.  Take responsibility for it.  This isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of maturity.  Owning up to your mistakes will show that you are willing to learn from them.   When you learn you grow.

Deal With It Immediately

Getting past your blunder in the fastest way is always the best way.  Once you have taken responsibility, find out how you can make it right.  Saying your sorry is a great way to start, but is not the last thing you should do.  Find out what you can do to make it better and really do it.  You’ve been caught in your stupidity, so now is not the time to try to get off the easy way.  Comedian Ron White said, “You can’t fix stupid.”  while I agree with Ron on that, you can at least make it better after you have done it.

Realize It Is Not The End Of The World

Some times our stupidity gets the best of us and we lose jobs, homes, and friends.  When that happens you have to realize that tomorrow will come and this is not the end.  Your final forgiveness comes from a place not seen by human eyes.  You also have to forgive yourself.  Many times that is the reason we hide from our stupidity.  It is harder to forgive yourself than anyone else. Once you say your sorry, and if you genuinely are, and there is nothing more you can do you have to move on.  Give it to God and start again.

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No one has ever been able to truly show what success is because it can neither be seen nor held.  While it can’t be seen , I believe that success can be defined as: doing what you were created to do.  Notice I did not say anything about money or things which is how most people define success.  The truth is I know many people who are successful but have very little monetarily. So if success is doing what you were created to do, how do we do that?

Do Your Best

Doing your best  is part of doing what you were created to do. You can not do better than your best, and you can only do your best at what you were created to do.  We are all unique, and have been given abilities to do things that no one else can do, and be someone no one else can be. You may not have been able to decide where you were born, but you can decide what you do with the life you have been given.

Think Small To Grow Big

We were all created for a reason.  While I can’t tell you what you were created to do,  I can tell you that you have a natural ability that only you can use.  You are in control of yourself, and you are in control of whether or not you use your gifts.  Our tagline is, “Get There, Stay There, And Pass It On.”  I use it because I know the only way to get to the top of the mountain is to start the climb.  Mountain climbers know that training and climbing smaller mountains is the key to success when climbing bigger mountains.  You will never climb Everest, if you have not first climbed a hill.  The same goes for your life, if you are not willing to do your best and climb the smaller hills first, you will never be a true success.

Thrive Where You Are

If you are beginning a small business or working from home, don’t give up the job you have now if you are not willing to do it to the best of your ability.  I see many people who are not happy where they are.  They have a bad boss, or bad people around them, or they just hate the job they have.  If this is you; my suggestion is to learn to do the job as best you can and if you are starting a business let the job be your seed money.  I know many other career/business coaches that will tell you to get out now if you hate the job because the pressure of being unemployed will drive you to do whatever it takes to get the business off the ground.  That may be true, but if it takes a year or more, you may run out of money  and in today’s economy you may not get a job if you need one.  So learn to do your best at the job you have, and do your best at the career you are creating until it can support you.

Give Only 100%

Many times we are hampered in doing our best by believing that doing more, is doing our best.  If you are trying to do more, or even less than you can, are you really doing your best?  If you do more than 100% you are probably skipping things and are out of balance in one or more areas of your life.  If you are doing less than 100% you are getting the benefit of someone elses work and that is just like stealing.  Give 100% to whatever you do.  If you can’t give 100% cut out things until you can give it to all you do.

Practice, Practice, Practice

This may seem childish but it is the only way to become the best at what you do.  If you want to speak in front of audiences then get in front of the mirror and talk.  If you want to play golf then get on the range and hit.  Michael Jordan didn’t learn to shoot playing video games, he went out and shot tens of thousands of baskets.  You have to as well.  If you want to teach a subject you have to read books and take notes.  The process is long but it has to be done.  Dr. John C Maxwell said this, “There is a price to pay for everything. You can either pay it now, or you can pay it later, but there will be a price paid.”

Success is built one accomplishment at a time. If you never do anything you will never accomplish anything.  So as you stand at the bottom, or the middle, or wherever you are on the mountain of life remember this.  You and only you can figure out what you have been created to do.  You and only you can decide to be a success at the job you have.  And, As long as there is breath in your lungs you have a choice about how high up the mountain you go. Decide what success looks like and start the climb today.

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