You just bought your next personal development program/book and now what do you do? They say that only 10% of people even get past the first CD/tape/chapter, let alone finish.
Would you like to know how to get at least 90% more on all the personal development programs you just bought? And no, I’m not telling you to only listen to them 5 times.
Yes, that would increase your results, but not as much as what I am going to share with you. Besides, who has time to listen to their shows 5 times? How about getting more out of the first time?
Let’s say you’re one of the few people who actually makes it to the end of one of those personal development programs. Would you like to have a system to ensure that you implement all the good things you just learned? How many times have you heard some really great ideas, only to find yourself 4 weeks later without applying any of them?
Your first step is to set up a system to make sure you actually finish the show. It won’t do you any good if you never hear the message. These steps may seem cumbersome, however, at the end of this article, I will introduce you to a tool that will make these steps easier.
The first step is to hold yourself accountable to someone that you will finish the program. Now this is a very easy step to ignore, but committing to another person will send a very powerful message to your subconscious mind and eliminate a lot of future mental mishaps.
Let your Accountability Buddy know when you will complete this program and that he will provide you with weekly updates on your progress. Next, I’ll explain what you’ll put in those weekly progress reports.
You now have a system to give you the best opportunity to complete your personal development program. It’s time to start. Choose a time when you want to learn the program.
Each day that you are scheduled to listen to the program, write a Yes or No to the question “Did you listen to my personal development program today?” Next, write down the most important information about the program that you learned.
These two pieces of information are going to be what’s on the progress reports you give your Accountability Partner each week.
Once you complete the program, review your progress reports and celebrate your victory with your Accountability Buddy.
Why does this work?
There are a couple of forces at play here. The first is accountability to someone else. We all want to look good with our friends, so being hooked to complete the show will definitely make us stretch. We may not be 100%, but we would definitely do a lot more than if we didn’t hire our accountability partner.
The next force in play is tracking what we’re doing. Life will no longer be a blur of events that are lost in the past. We will have a very specific history of where we are slipping and we will have the opportunity to make course corrections along the way.
We all make mistakes and slip up sometimes. It is only when we have no idea when it is happening that we can find ourselves in big trouble.
Lastly, you’re employing a super-learning system called spaced repetition to lock the new information into your long-term memory. First, you listen to the material. Later that day, you write down the most important point anchoring that information in your mind.
Upon completion of the program, it locks the information into your long-term memory with your final review, not to mention it’s always there if you need a quick update.
After your personal development program is over and locked in your long-term memory, it’s time to put it into action. Follow the exact same system you used to end the program in the first place.
1. Find someone who will take responsibility for implementing the new information in your life.
2. Configure the days that you will work on the system implementation.
3. Write down the key thing you did to implement the new information that day.
4. Share your progress reports with your Accountability Buddy.
5. Celebrate your success and review your progress reports when they are complete.
If the new information you learned will take a long time to implement, feel free to break it down into chunks so you can celebrate along the way and review your progress. Now be responsible and get going.