Revolutionize your life and career through self-managed development!

If we do not manage our own development, no one else will.

What is Self-Managed Development?
Self-managed development (SMD) is the process whereby you take responsibility for, and control of your own learning and self-improvement.

Each one of us is a unique individual, having unique talents that perhaps require special development to realize our full potential. Self Managed Development (SMD) is about you taking responsibility as an individual for the direction, pace and process of your learning to benefit from opportunities that may arise.

Why is Self-Managed Development Important?
Few concepts from the previous century have been so devalued as that of the "job for life". Most of us accept the reality of the new world where managerial work is not guaranteed – unless one remains competent at all times, continuously develops oneself in the face of constant and rapid change and consistently gives high performance. This is the single most compelling reason as to why self-managed development is important for you and I.

We need to sharpen our focus on ensuring our own "employability for life" , whatever happens. Aside from death and taxes, the only other certainty in life is change. Circumstances change, and consequently, the skills and knowledge needed change too.

None of us can afford to be complacent. We need to regularly monitor not just how good we are at our present jobs, but perhaps even more important, what else should we be learning for the future.

While an organization nominates its employees for various training programmes and development initiatives on the basis of identified needs, we ourselves need to play a more proactive role for our own development. “If you do not feel yourself growing in your work and your life broadening and deepening, if your task is not a perpetual tonic to you, you have not found your place.” - Orison Swett Marden

Self-Managed Development - make a beginning
Periodically, do a pro-active personal self-assessment of your skills, knowledge and capabilities: What have you learned in the last six months? How much have you usefully implemented? What have you implemented from the training workshops that you may have attended in the last two years? When was the last time you read the material provided at the workshop as well as your handwritten notes? How have you changed and developed?What can you now do differently? How do you need to develop? What do you need to learn?
Make your plan for development and implement it.

It's your life, it's your career. Schedule time for learning and self-managed development. Start today, start now!

It’s never been easier to find the information you need. These days, there’s no excuse. The internet is a tremendous resource for learning whatever you choose. You can learn about anything in the comfort of your home by parking yourself in front of the computer screen. You can read books and also use self-learning CDs and DVDs.

If we reach the end of a year, we should be able to look back and see that we can do something new, different, better, faster or at a higher level, otherwise we are in danger of stagnation.

If we want to ensure that not only do we have work in the future, but also that the work is rewarding and fulfilling, we will have to consciously manage our own development towards that end.

Remember, if we do not manage our own development, no one else will.

http://www.braincorp.com.au/courses/13311/Self-Managed-Development-Pocketbook
http://www.ashridge.org.uk/Website/IC.nsf/wFARPUB/The+Self+Managed+Development+Pocketbook?OpenDocument
http://ezinearticles.com/?Do-You-Have-A-Self-Managed-Development-Guide-(SMDG)?&id=178168




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"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life" Confucius

If you do not love what you do & do what you love,
are you doing your life’s work . . . or Just a Job?

Relatively few people have ever taken a time-out from the rat race to THINK and to ask themselves, “Is my work just a job or visible love?”

“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it.” - Henry Ford

“Enthusiasm is unmistakable evidence that you’re in love with your work.” – Anonymous

For most people, a job is something they have to do. It’s not a “want-to” ..... it’s more of a “have-to.”

However, your general health and well-being depend upon choosing work that is in tune with your passion and values. Your personal satisfaction and healthy self-image depend on it. After you have determined WHAT you love, look around for examples of people who have made a living (and a life) by doing that. Learn what you can from others and then proceed in your own unique way. The next step is to make an intention to discover ways to make your living (and your life) while actively engaged in your favorite activities. When you are absorbed in activities related to your passions, you feel inspired.

You shouldn’t choose a career based on what it pays or how practical it seems. If you do, your life is reduced to a vicious cycle of work and pay. You should do what interests you.

Playing at Work
“The man who does not work for the love of work but only for money is not likely to make money nor find much fun in life.” - Charles Schwab

After awhile, the line between work and play dissolves. You get in the "flow", the "zone" and time flies by.

“The fact remains that the overwhelming majority of people who have become wealthy have become so thanks to work they found profoundly absorbing. The long term study of people who eventually became wealthy clearly reveals that their “luck” arose from dedication they had to an arena they enjoyed.” - Srully D. Blotnick

Those of us interested in on-going personal growth intend that our lives continue to get better and better, as our outer actions continue to get into better alignment with our inner being. How do we do this?

A good start is to do what you love.

“When work is a pleasure, life is a joy! When work is a duty, life is slavery.” - Maxim Gorky

“It is the first of all problems for a man to find out what kind of work he is to do in this universe. Blessed is he who has found his work; let him ask no other blessedness.” - Thomas Carlyle

So, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life" - Confucius

Please retain your child-like curiosity and enthusiasm; your passion; your innate goodness and the desire to explore, play, enjoy and have fun. Love Agape, anyone?


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