Why You Need To Use Self-Help Programs

Recently i met with a gentleman at a networking event and we got talking about his business, and then we began discussing self help programs and his comment was along the lines: "why do people keep going to motivational events? Can't they just do it for themselves?." It was not so much what he said, but how he said it, his negative tone and disgust at why people would consider spending good money to attend such events.

I had to chuckle at his uneducated comment, and so i asked him: "why are you here today?." In a way, he kind of answered his own question. There was nothing particularly different to the people who just a few minutes ago he had damned and his own reasons for coming to the networking event that night, which was to network, learn from others, share ideas and form potential alliances for business.

You see if you are to be successful in anything in life beit business or your career, you must continuosly educate yourself either by attending seminars, reading books, listening to tapes, visiting social networking events and so on.

There is a massive myth out there in the world today that people can be self-made, it is so far from the truth. No man or woman, not even people in the royal family, can succeed by virtue of their own might, it is simply impossible. A lot of people read and use self help programs and these people i would consider to be smart because they are teaching themselves by learning from the experiences of others, those that have gone before them. There is a saying "A prudent person will learn from personal experience, but the wise person will from others."

At University, after 3 years of reading for a degree in whatever subject you decide to take up, the reading and training does not stop there, if you do then you might just as well stop living and fall back on to the social welfare system for support as i hate to say it, you will not be going anywhere fast. Robert Kiyosaki, author of the international bestseller - "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" said in one of his books, "there is no graduation day". I remember when i completed my degree in Manchester and at the ceremony it was one of the proudest moments of my life, and i suppose at that time i might have been forgiven for thinking naively that that was the end of my education, after all i had completed my degree (studying electronic and electrical engineering in my opinion one of the toughest degrees alongside medicine). But that is how most people still think, even after graduation, they feel that is it now, finito, no more reading, no more learning required and this is so misguided.

If you study the most successful people you will find that they are perpertual learners, it is no wonder the gap between the rich and poor gets wider and wider. Have you heard of a certain Donald Trump? Well i am sure you have, he is the American billionaire real estate mogul, i read recently that he said that success cannot be achived alone, you need the support of other people. Dale Carnegie from the famous Carnegie Institute, author of international bestseller - "how to win friends and influence people" said if you are not succeeding in life it is because you are not gaining the support of others.

So you see, as i said earlier, there is nothing like a self-made millionaire. If there is, i would be most obliged to hear his/her story and how they made it. It is all a marketing ploy, if you have any experience in marketing you will know what i am talking about. This happens to be one of my favourite subjects and i have studied some of the best people in the business - Ted Nicholas, perhaps the most successful copywriter on earth will testify to the argumnent above - success is achieved through the support of others. All the great minds, leaders of this world learnt from their peers, mentors and people that have gone before them. If you read the bible or koran you will find all the prophets all used or had disciples. To accomplish their goal, they needed the support of others, it is a fact which was true centuries ago and will be to the end of man, it is timeless.

Dale Carnegie said in one of his books - 'How to have self-confidence and influence people through public speaking' that in order to improve your memory there are 3 main laws. 1. Impression 2. Repetition 3. Association. I would like to pick on for the purpose of this article no.2 - Repetition. If you wish to be good at anything you need to repeat the habit over and over again only then will it stick. This is why people use self help programs, read books, attend seminars.

David Scwartz in his blockbuster book 'The Magic of Thinking Big' said: 'information is fertlized through repetition.' You have to keep learning and studying. Repetition is the mother of all knowledge. Attending an interview, you have to practice, you could even attend interviews as a mock exercise for when you might actually need a new job, study the company, find out about their needs. Attend seminars on interview skills and techniques. If in business, similarly attend forums, networking events, find a mentor. Keep learning, keep meeting with people, keep networking and soon you too will find yourself being marketed as the next 'self-made' millionaire.

See you soon.

Femi