There was a time I wanted to learn how to speak German. I got a book, Teach Yourself German, but when I learned how to say, “Ich liebe dich” to a lady, that was the end of my German lessons, and quite frankly, I hardly remember anything else in German apart from, “der wind ist kalt“. By the way, Ich liebe dich means, ‘I love you.’ Have you said it to your spouse today? 

There are several skills you can develop that could bring fun and development to your life: Learning a new game or sport; Learning to communicate better- inter-personally and publicly; Taking on photography as a hobby; Improving your leadership skills; You can finally take on learning to play the saxophone that you have been playing in your dreams since forever; You can learn a new language.

Recently, I heard someone say, that by learning a second international language, you could double your income and triple it by learning a third one. Oh, I wish I had continued with my German lessons! The list is endless.

Several years ago, I read the book Sign Posts on the Road to Success, written by E. W. Kenyon. Inspired by it, at the time, I made a personal commitment that, every year, I would either learn a new skill or improve on one I already had. 

I became voracious at reading. I was fierce at this one after I got informed of a statistic that the average university graduate reads about less than five books the rest of his life after graduation. Books that have to do with their profession are only consulted on rare occasions, such as when seeking promotion through an examination. I also learned to play two musical instruments. I began improving my writing skills, among others. I must confess to you that I had been a bit slack on that commitment until recently.

What were some of the excuses for this slackness towards a commitment that was bound to transform my life and make me a better person and in some cases improve my income? Those things I now call thieves of personal life development.

One thief was the cares and the affairs of this life (Matt 13:22) -legitimate needs and commitments that leave you with no time for anything else. I have this to do and that to do! 

Have you ever been greeted with, Old-Boy, you have not changed? Legitimate cares and needs have a way of making you remain the same for years. Personal development takes second a place or even no place at all. After all, the reason you went to school was to get a certificate that would help you earn a living. Is it not? Wrong! You went to school to get an education that would equip you with skills for the learning process of living life. 

Living is about loving and learning, not just existing. If you have stopped loving and learning, you are on your way out. And if your entire life priority is about the cares and affairs of this life: What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? (Matt 6:31) -you need to restructure.

I have observed that if you really want to do something, you would create time for it. It could take a little re-prioritizing and restructuring of your programs and schedules, and perhaps even your life-values. 

I am learning the hard way to strike a balance between, what is urgent, what is important and what is both important and urgent. 

Learning to say ‘no’ to what is unimportant, ‘wait’ to what is not urgent and ‘let’s take it on,’ to what is urgent and important, is becoming a time and lifesaver for me.

Another thief was procrastination. Ask my wife I was a master at putting off things that I needed to do for “two weeks.” I woke up from that one after she asked me one day, “What is it about you and two weeks?” Trust me; I could not place my finger on that one. But what was clear was that I had unwittingly developed a dangerous habit. 

Procrastination is not only a thief of time, it is also a thief of your life. Anything that steals your time also steals your life. You procrastinate when you put off till another time, something you can do right away if you are committed to it.

Three things can fuel the flames of procrastination- fear, laziness and foolishness. These three things can steal from your life. Find out which of them is holding you back from doing ‘important’ things NOW! It could be something else though, but get rid of it, nevertheless. 

Yet another thief was the absence of time-bound goals. Almost everyone has goals, dreams and visions. It is not what you want to do that often poses a problem, but how and when you want to get it done.

Your goals are more likely to be accomplished when you set them into task-target frames. For example, “I would read Solomon’s blog first ten minutes of my lunchtime every Tuesday and review it on Thursday at the same time.” “I would practice on my saxophone for thirty minutes from 9:00 pm daily.” “My wife and I would put money aside every month to make sure that our first house would be built, by January 2023. Setting a time frame for your goals puts fire in your bones. It ignites your passion, especially when you are clear about your reason for it.

Finally, I became infrequent at attending what I call ‘banquets of personal life development.’ What are the banquets of personal life development? For me, these are short training programs, seminars or short courses that help you acquire new knowledge and skills that improve your life.

There are hundreds of courses one can take online these days, and many of them are free. I have attended some of these banquets that made me ready for opportunities that came up a few weeks afterwards. I was ready, and I made extra income. 

Even a trip abroad for pleasure and unwinding can double as a banquet of personal life development- learning about different people and places. After all, living life is about loving and learning!

And yet, another finally! one of the most dangerous thieves of personal life development is the lack of a personal, consistent and fervent prayer life. Solomon, please do not get religious here. Friend, read my lips! You do not need this one in your life! 

Without a consistent and fervent prayer life, you will often move three steps forward and two steps backwards. You could spend your life climbing a ladder, only get to the top of it to find out that you have spent your entire life climbing the wrong ladder. 

Like a thief in the night, this one is surreptitious. It creeps up on you and steals your fellowship with your Heavenly Father. It steals your very life because you would be making the wrong decisions often in your life. 

A consistent fervent prayer life sets the compass of your life to True North. Without it, the compass will always give wrong readings. 

None of us has been through the path of life before. Our creator made us, and He alone knows the reason why. It is in Him that we live and move and have our being.                

Prayer connects you with your creator. When you have a consistent prayer life, you are always in communication with Him. When you kneel in the quiet of your closet; when you walk down the street; when you are cutting a good business deal. 

It matters not where you are or what you are doing, you are in touch with your creator. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows the way to go. Do your best to avoid the lack of a personal, consistent and fervent prayer life. Your very life depends on it. 

So, my friend, have fun at personal life development. You would be glad you did. 

Thank you. Do not forget to keep living, loving and learning. 

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