Constant Curiosity

Everybody should be looking to constantly update and improve. If you haven't done anything regarding your training, self development or anything similar over the last five years, then your skills are potentially out of date. Heaven forbid it's 10 years since you last did any developmental learning or self improvement. We get so busy doing the stuff that we know, we're really really good at our current tasks or jobs, really good at our coaching, our training or whatever our performance activity is, and we get caught in the day to day. But at some point in time, we have to evolve and develop further. Otherwise we're going to be left behind.

Where is your curiosity to develop? I know people who are in their 40s, 50s, and 60s who have chosen not to embrace new types of technology that have evolved dramatically over the years. Just consider what was going on in the in the world of the internet 20 years ago, and where we're at nowadays, that’s two generations ago. There are people truly struggling because they haven't taken the time to learn, develop and move forward, which means they have regressed, they've gone backwards.

Imagine you're considering a new job. You (person A) are being interviewed along with one other candidate (person B). Both are of a similar age, have a similar background, similar education level, and both people have been working hard for a similar amount of time. So on paper, they seem identical. However, one of them over the last five years, has in their spare time, learnt a language, taken some night school classes or has learned to use a new type of software. They've put effort into their ongoing personal development and as a result of that, when you're looking at A versus B one of them stands out clearly as someone who has worked to deal with life going forward. That person gets chosen and the other doesn't - they are left behind, which in turn means they do not progress forward, and it’s not their fault.

Personally in the world of IT technology, languages and legal issues there is so much more I could do. But is it necessary for me to personally have all that knowledge and skill where I work? Obviously not, this is where I take on partners and collaborative relationships that will complement the business that I have and the way I work. I don't claim to be the best coach in the world. However, I will bring in brilliant coaches in specific areas to work with specific clients because they have greater strengths in these areas. And so we complement each other’s skills making it a very, very powerful offering.

 In the book The 100 year life by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott they predict 50% of the next generation could make it to age 100 and will constantly have to evolve throughout their careers, there is no scope for stagnation. If you want to get to the next level, and you haven't got people asking better questions of you than you can of yourself, then how are you going to know that you've stagnated? How are you going to know that other people are overtaking you because you're in the slow lane. It's very easy when you're in your 20s and 30s to be focused on achieving more and achieving the maximum in your life because you are hungry. Reality states that as you get older, maybe that hunger changes direction and responsibilities and commitments overtake the time you have available to to do this ongoing personal development.

However, that is a choice and that choice is to accept the status quo. In the same way when businesses don't put their prices up and the interest rates are at 3%, 5%, 9% per year. Meaning that, if you're not putting your prices up, on a year on year basis, you are in effect discounting your prices every year. Which means in real terms, if you're still charging the same price that you were five years ago, then you are discounting hugely.

It's the same for you as an individual. If you are not moving forward to person 2.0, 3.1 or 3.4, then you are in effect discounting, making you less dynamic, up-to-date, forthright, or attractive as you could be. And potentially you'll get left behind.

The challenge is to embrace the concept of constant curiosity and personal evolution. If you are not moving forward and developing in some way professionally, personally spiritually, mentally, then you are plateauing and that is a choice. If you're happy with that choice, good, please accept that is a choice. If you're not happy with that, then make a different choice to seek out the right people that are going to help stimulate, challenge and provoke you to achieve more and develop further to become the next dynamic version of yourself. Good luck.