Personal Development. The More Things Change….

When looking at the history of theories and teachings in personal development,  I often think of the phrase “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”  This is not to discount any of the work that has been done today.  It is more to honor the pioneers such as Dale Carnegie and Napoleon Hill that addressed many of the areas that are focused on today.  Although the language has changed, the foundation around what it takes to become successful has remained constant.  The belief in a “sixth sense” in the 1920’s is no different than our focus on the importance of intuition today.  The focus on a “defininite chief aim” is no diiferent than the attention paid to the importance of goal setting today.  Many of the skills that are developed with Emotional Intelligence training today were first addressed by Dale Carnegie when he discussed tools for making friends and influencing people as well as gave insights on how to stop worrying.  Again, this is not to take anything away from the systems and advovates for personal development today.  This is to honor the pioneers from almost one hundred years ago.  Thank you for blazing a great trail that we all have the ability to follow.