Personal Growth... Knowledge pays the best interest (Ben Franklin)

All other core areas of growth are built on personal growth. You could say that all growth is personal. Personal growth begins with parents and what they teach their children (consciously or subconsciously). The vast majority of people have more personal power than they realize, and if more people would focus on refining their personal powers, they could build a better life for themselves and build better communities. 

This page includes, personal growth... 

• What is it?
• Personal Growth Plan
• Best books
• Book references
• Podcasts
• YouTube channels

Any deliberate self-improvement is good; however, to maximize the best use of your time, mind, and emotions, designing a plan to reach your goals can be priceless. Having a plan helps create self-accountability and scheduling the tasks of a plan is proven to help follow through on them. 

You can download and use the one-page pdf below or create your own one-page plan by making a note of your identity or worldview, top three decision guiding values, top strengths, and record a short affirmation of who you are and how you want to show up in life to others. 

Then record your top 1-4 goals with the number one lead measure or the most important action or habit that will help you achieve the goal (and consider scheduling them). 

Then record your most important relationships and maybe have a specific day and time you reach out and connect with them. 

Consider having a section of continued learning where you list what areas you want to learn about and the resources (books you will read or the websites or podcasts you will frequent for such learning). 

Then consider finishing it off with what you are grateful for. Then consider reading it daily, every morning to help with affirmations and visualization. 

The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod provides six proven practices that help most people get their day started well including Silence (meditation), Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing (journalling) which spells the acronym SAVERS. Set your intentions the night before, put the alarm across the room and sleep in your workout clothes if it helps. Earn your morning shower (Hal Elrod).  

• I grew convinced that truth, sincerity, and integrity in dealings between people were of the utmost importance (Autobiography of Ben Franklin)
• If you believe you can change and make it a habit, it can become a reality (The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg). 
• Our life is what our thoughts make it (Marcus Aurelius). 
• When our mindset and mood are positive we are smarter, more motivated, and thus more successful. Happiness is the center and success revolves around it (The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor). 
• Those with the growth mindset found success in doing their best, in learning and improving. And this is exactly what we find in the champions (Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck).
• Scientists realized there must be another reason for success beyond IQ, and years of research pointed to Emotional Intelligence (Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves). 
• All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs (Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins).  
• A wise man should consider that health is the greatest human blessing (Hippocrates). 
• One thing we know for certain, is that chasing meaning is better for your health than trying to avoid discomfort (Kelly McGonigal). 
• We should not ask what is the meaning of life, but recognize it is us who are asked. We are questioned by life, and we can only respond by being responsible (Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl). 
• Decisions rely heavily on human nature. We do not think that people are dumb. Instead, we think that the world is hard (Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein).
• Our emotion plays a larger role in decision-making than many people think it does, and we are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and underestimate the role of chance in events (Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman).  
• The subconscious mind will translate into reality a thought driven by fear just as readily as it will a thought driven by courage or faith (Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill). 
• Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind (Albert Einstein). 
•  Desire reveals design, and design reveals destiny (Epic by John Eldredge). 
• Each person has greater potential for success in their strengths (Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath).
• Successful people change in ways that allow them to take advantage of their strengths (Principles by Ray Dalio). 
• Connection is why we're here. We are hardwired to connect with others, it's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives (Daring Greatly by Brene Brown). 
• About 15 percent of financial success is due to technical knowledge and 85 percent is due to relationship skills (How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie).
• Financial success is about 80 percent behavior and 20 percent knowledge (The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey) 
• Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination or both together go to making genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart). 
• Communication is the most important skill in life (The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People by Stephen R. Covey).
• See them as who they can become, believe in them, encourage them, give them the benefit of the doubt, catch them doing something right, put them in their strengths, trust them, help them set goals, and add significance to their life (Mentoring 101 by John Maxwell). 
• Living happily ever after only works when you make it work (Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts by Les and Leslie Parrott.
• The "Four Horseman" of marriage are criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling (The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman). 
• Clear goals enable you to release your full potential for personal and professional success (Goals! by Brian Tracy). 
• Every time we say yes to something we are saying no to something else (Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt). 
• The highly successful have a kind of ferocious direction and determination that is passion and perseverance, in a word they have grit. Grit is developed by practicing a trade, with specific goals, improving weaknesses, developing purpose, with hope, knowing our effort matters to others (Grit by Angela Duckworth). 
• It's the investment you make in your interactions that will pay off (Linchpin by Seth Godin). 
• Knowledge pays the best interest (Ben Franklin).
• Wisdom is the third level of knowledge. 1. Knowledge is knowing what things do, or knowing a person's personality and strengths, which can be considered truths. 2. Understanding is knowing how or why things do what they do, or knowing a person's background and beliefs that shaped them, which can be considered principles. 3. Wisdom is knowing how to apply knowledge and understanding, to make better choices (Opportunity Truth by Jason A. Krause). 

Personal growth is the foundation for professional growth.

There are more than 200 success principles and many books written on just one principle. Opportunity Truth reveals the system to develop opportunity based on the most important truths and principles. The more community leaders, teachers, influencers, and parents can teach these to their people and kids the better all our lives will be. 

The book is a new look at self-leadership with a 3 level system and 10 keys. It includes priceless personal growth strategies, professional growth strategies, leadership growth strategies, and business growth strategies (including innovation).

You have a few options, go ahead and get the book now, read some highlights of the book on the Opportunity Truth page, or you can read the entire introduction and most of the first chapter, free when you click on the Get the book button, which will bring you to the Amazon page, then click on the cover of the book.

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