Personal Development: Like Picking Through Discount Auto Parts

// November 25th, 2008 // Personal Development

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On automobiles, disc brakes are often located ...

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Sometimes we think about personal development and building your brand in terms of the tools we use. We talk about Twitter, FriendFeed, Blogging, Digg, StumbleUpon, and RSS Feeds. The issue with this is that tools are not useful in the wrong hands. Even in the right hands, your tools are useless unless you have raw materials to create something.

If you want to sell hammers, write about how to make holes

The above quote has been done to death, but it seems nobody really reads it. Did you ever buy a hammer just because it looked nice and shiny in the hardware store? (if you answered yes to that, it’s ok. I won’t tell anyone)

On the same note, personal development is not about arming yourself with a bunch of tools. It’s about developing yourself. Pimping your ride, if you will. You are a basic frame, a chassis with a double-wishbone suspension. You’ve got massive amounts of discount auto parts to pick and choose from to make yourself just a little better. Think of these parts like pieces of knowledge or nuggets of wisdom. The ones that fit you best, you stick them under your hood or snap them onto your interior. They become part of you.

Now, this process is obviously not about looks. You may grab parts from different niches that have nothing to do with each other. Honda auto parts with different colored doors, rims that don’t match, and a leopard-skin interior. Maybe some BMW auto parts, a little network marketing, some door-to-door sales, some software development, a dash of humor, and a sprinkling of geekery.

It doesn’t matter what parts you pick. What matters is that those parts are the best fit for your vehicle. Pick the best parts to develop your brand, broaden your mind, and increase your value. Don’t just pick stuff because it’s shiny and new.

No matter how shiny your tools, how many books you have on your shelf, how many conferences you attend, your value depends on how well you are able to incorporate and use those parts.

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Matt

Hey Rasheen! Matt here from Rejaw. I love how you summed up your post, and how much thought you put into the Post, Although I miss your days when you used DISQUS

Rahsheen

Disqus/Intense Debate same difference, right? LOL

Glad you liked the post and thanks for the comment ;)

Rahsheen

(Someone requested a non-metaphorical example, so here was my response)

Well, we can use Twitter as an example. Twitter is an awesome tool for building your brand online and bolstering your reputation. It allows you to build an audience and expand your network. Once you have that audience, you can share your content, marketing materials, links, music, or whatever it is you provide.

Now, as a tool, most people get the gist of how Twitter works. Just like everyone knows a hammer is for beating on stuff. That doesn't make those people any good at actually using Twitter to accomplish any of the things I stated above. Twitter has to become a part of what you do, not just some tool you whip out and bang on stuff with when the mood strikes you.

If Twitter is just something your brand is using and not something that is a part of your brand, you're doing it wrong. Think of all the high-profile brands on Twitter that just use it as a billboard and compare those to people like @the_real_shaq and @MCHammer. Huge difference, and people can spot it a mile away.

Da Vinci

Thanks for the great info and updates. Happy Thanksgiving...keep up the good work. Stay blessed!

Discount auto parts

Great post with excellent examples! I like the way you make it so easy to understand by just blending tangible auto parts with intangible personal development elements -marvelous!