Develop Skills

Over the years, you have acquired a certain set of soft skills, way of thinking, and even automatic reactions, among other things. Regardless of your current age, your way of thinking has been influenced by various sources that also helped you acquire your current skills:

• parents
• school and university
• relatives and friends
• neighbours and acquaintances
• books you have read
• documentaries and films you have watched
• etc.

What matters most, in my opinion, are the following:

• which ways of thinking do you have to unlearn?
• which ways of thinking do you have to learn?
• which skills do you have to acquire?
• to a lesser degree, which automatic reactions do you have to develop?

The reason is that, most likely, what has helped you survive this far, might also be the obstacle to further improvement and self-development. Another reason is that if you are satisfied with your status quo, you will stop growing, which leads to demise.

I believe that the sure ways to develop your skills among other parts would be via:

• Reading good books. My current two favourites are Robert Greene and Jordan Maxwell. Greene is fantastic at telling historical stories and helping you learn from them. Maxwell is great at explaining his way of thinking to you, and you, in turn, can learn from that.
• Watching good movies. Never underestimate the wisdom you can devour from a good, thought-provoking film.
• Socializing with people who are as good or better than you are; “good” and “better” here refer to soft skills and thinking. Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Learning from others is natural, so be careful with whom you are spending time.

There are various other ways to acquire and develop soft skills and advance your ways of thinking, such as dedicated training and specialized self-help books. Find out what works best for you.