Ever wondered how the most successful people in this world got to where they are? At what point did they transcend mediocrity? The answers to these questions are very simple – the path to success has been laid out clearly by those already there.
To transcend mediocrity and join the path to success you must be committed to lifelong growth – this is the difference between the average and the best.
Stop wasting time on meaningless activities that are not contributing to your growth:
- Watching TV
- Engaging in social media
- Meaningless gossiping
When you become a student of life you have committed to lifelong learning not just for the good of yourself but the good of people around you.
You will benefit in a number of ways when you incorporate the philosophy of self-development:
- Improved career opportunities
- Better social skills/more friends
- Respect from others
- Improved health, happiness and well-being
- Money
So what should you be making the time to do? How can you become a student of life? Here are 3 activities that are essential on your journey to self-mastery and life-mastery:
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Read
“A person who won’t read has no advantage of someone who can’t read” – Mark Twain
Without a doubt, the best way to inform and expand your mind is through the thoughts and ideas of others. Literature gives us the unique opportunity to learn and discover how some of the best minds past and present achieved success in their chosen field.
Unfortunately fiction novels aren’t apart of your curricular when it comes to project life mastery – I compare them to watching a movie, a good way to unwind and disconnect but not a tool for developing life skills. Stick to non-fiction and biographies for now.
You want to begin by selecting books that have stood the test of time, books that still sell copies today even though they were written decades ago. This is a great indicator that the information in there is useful – study these books inside out. Some examples would be:
- Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- The Magic Of Thinking Big by David J.Shwartz
- Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiosaki
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Write
Writing is one of your primary forms of communication yet so many people rarely put pen to paper after their last day of school. Unfortunately, in these modern times technology has replaced most of the need to put pen to paper but research has recently shown physically putting pen to paper brings important cognitive benefits.
The best way to utilise the benefits of writing is to keep a journal of your thoughts.
Morning journaling is a great way to bring your thoughts to paper, when you physically writing them down this allows the movement of thought to align with your hand giving you a therapeutic effect.
Stephen R Convey acknowledges the importance of writing in his book 7 habits of highly effective people – ‘Keeping a journal of our thoughts, experiences, insights, and learnings promotes mental clarity, exactness, and context’.
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Serve others
The only guaranteed way to sustain life-long happiness and fulfilment is serving a cause greater than yourself.
Your success is not determined by how much money you make or how big your house is, it’s determined by the quality of your contribution.
When you commit to improving the lives of others you will notice a direct impact on the quality of your own – your life becomes more meaningful.
Find your own way of giving in this world, it doesn’t have to take the form of money. Time and knowledge can be the most impactful things you can give.
If you find yourself feeling down or having a bad day, chances are you are stressing about yourself – turn your attention to someone else and make an effort to improve their day, the quality of yours will follow.
Enjoy the process
The best way to become a student of life is to immerse in the wealth information life has provided you. Life gives you experiences so we can learn and grow from our mistakes – books can give us the power to learn from other people’s mistakes – writing them down ensures we don’t make the same mistake twice.
The process of your own growth and development is the greatest gift you have in this world.
“Intellectual growth should commence at birth only cease at death” – Albert Einstein
Enjoy this process, life will give everything you need to fulfil your destiny.
Jordan
jordancandlish.wordpress.com 