Introduction
Shakespeare, Marie Curie, Mozart, President Lincoln, Gandhi and Harriet Tubman are all exemplars of people who achieved a great deal during their lives.
Irrespective of the country in which they lived, or the cultural challenges of their time, they achieved success in their work. Today, Shakespeare’s plays are attended by large audiences, Curie’s advances against cancer continue to save lives, and Tubman’s call for equal rights lives on. These are all important examples of inspirational leadership that has influenced the way we live today.
To help students and those who wish to develop their careers, I have created a Self-Development model to guide their achievement efforts. This is based on a study of over 500 amazing people who made major contributions to our world.
Self-Development
Self-development is one thing that all those who achieve results have in common. By developing a plan based on the key factors in the model, it is possible to improve student’s success rate in education and work.
Achievements are based on one’s determination and effort to convert ideas into successful action. In the process, there are four key areas of focus:-
- Aspirations – We all have hopes and dreams. Those who succeed convert those into plans and performance. What is your aspiration in terms of education and career? Start by writing a list and the dates for achieving your aspirations.
- Attitudes – Those who succeed have the ‘will do’ and ‘can do’ positive attitudes. They take a proactive rather than reactive approach to achieving objectives. How can you give yourself a winning attitude?
- Abilities – Developing the skills to go with your aspirations and positive attitudes is essential to success. Therefore, self-development means learning with and from others. So, choose those people wisely.
- Applications – You will only be as good as the applications you make of your aspirations, attitudes and abilities. Find roles where you can work on projects and gain valuable experience.
Improving Achievement Levels
To improve your level of achievement, as the inner aspects of the model show, you need to find and develop the following –
Challenges – Make sure you look for activities that will stretch you as that is the way to learn.
Plans – Focus on realistic plans based on the time, money and effort it will take to achieve your objectives.
Projects – All those who have succeeded developed practical projects to which they applied their skills and abilities, so what will you do?
Experiences – Rather than doing the same thing each day, look for a range of experiences to develop your career.
Summary
Amazing achievers succeeded because they acted on the points outlined, to develop their skills and abilities through challenges and experience.
We can all learn how to improve our abilities and become more amazing. A start point is to study the lives of amazing achievers and learn how their experience can guide your own life.
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Dr Charles Margerison, founder of Amazing People Worldwide and Amazing People Schools, is a Psychologist. As well as working in educational organisations for many years, he has consulted widely for major corporates in the fields of organizational and educational psychology. He was previously Professor of Management at Cranfield University, UK, and the University of Queensland, Australia. He founded Amazing People Worldwide in 2006 and is supported by a dedicated global team. Dr Margerison is a member of the Royal Institution, Royal Society of Literature, Historical Association, and Association of Business Psychology. He previously co-founded Emerald Publishing Ltd, and Team Management Systems, a team-building tool, which is now used in 190 countries worldwide.