It is through self-development that you become ready and able to be proactive in all of your efforts, challenges and successes. By being proactive, you are not waiting for success to happen; you go out and make it happen. You may not achieve every goal you set, but as you develop yourself, you are guaranteed to live a richer, deeper and wider life. Making a commitment to your own development is the first step on the path to living your personal legend. The following are the gifts of adopting a self-development mindset:

The experiences you have in life and business can have meaning only if you truly understand them. The path to understanding can come only once you've arrived at some level of self-knowledge. With a solid sense of who you are, you can start planning, designing and pursuing your own identified goals and objectives. In pursuing your own goals, your experience of success and fulfillment comes directly from the liberation you feel from being on your own journey.

Adopting a personal-development mindset is about making the commitment to taking the time to invest in your greatest resource -- you. When you put effort into developing yourself, the rewards are unfathomable. Many people are put off by personal development because they see it as a weakness or something that shows they do not already possess the skills necessary for success. If you assume you already know it all, you will not succeed. The greatest achievers in life and business know the key to success is their ability to manage themselves in a variety of situations. That ability comes through personal development.

The more you develop yourself, the clearer you become on the things you want to achieve. This clarity makes decision-making easier. Having a sense of direction improves your ability to prioritize. You become certain about which objectives are important in the short term and which are necessary for your long term. With a sense of direction, you become focused and effective.

A sense of urgency drives hard work. Urgency creates a mindset to work as if your life depended upon it, especially if you have fewer resources than your competitors. When you are the underdog, you will dig deep inside yourself in order to thrive. Urgency prompts you to activate quickly when making decisions. You get off the dime and do something. Keep in mind that it is easier to steer a moving object, so if you realize you have made a poor decision, a sense of urgency allows you to adjust. If you wait too long, you miss opportunities.

Curiosity creates a longing to know more, do more and be more. It inspires a zest which makes it possible to see any situation as an opportunity for your advancement and learning. When you approach business with a sense of adventure, there is no situation, however limiting, physically or economically, which cannot be filled to the brim with interest in and curiosity about how it will all work out.

Any type of self-improvement begins with a keen awareness of who you are and what are your values, beliefs and the larger purpose you wish to pursue. True satisfaction cannot manifest from chasing someone else's dreams. You have to know who you are and what you want. Take care to remind yourself that you are more than the sum total of other people's opinions of you.

There is nothing that will help you organize your efforts more than being focused. Direction provides commitment. It is difficult to commit to something that has no foreseeable future or path. If you are filled with doubt and a lack of clarity there is no way to launch your ideas. Self-development gifts you with direction and, thereby, the commitment to achieve your ends.

When you are committed to personal development, you find a way to develop the necessary will. Purpose is what gives you the incentive and motivation to get the things done which you need to do in order for you to become successful. Your idea of success and the vision of what that will look like is where your incentive to follow through originates.

Relationships are a double-edged sword. They either lift you up or drag you down. They either bring you closer to your goals or push you further away. When you improve your personal development, you are better able to see which relationships and partnerships are worth investing in and which you need cut loose. You also develop the skills to make the most of those relationships which have the most positive impact on your life, your business and your overall success.

Knowing what you want to achieve makes it easier for you to see the benefits of taking action. Even when the tasks are not enjoyable, seeing the benefit of following through on them makes it easier to take the necessary steps to produce your desired results. There is much truth in the saying, where there is a will there is a way.

To live successfully, you must be deeply curious about all the possibilities your future holds. It is important to have an unquenchable thirst for your advancement. Curiosity inspires you to deliberately push through the unusually painful trials and errors in your business, leading to an acquired self-discipline which teaches you to cast your fears aside. With fears pushed out of your way, you open yourself to the fullest experience life and business can offer.

Urgency is all about getting results quickly and efficiently, but it does not eliminate assessment. If you want faster results, you must assess what is and is not working, then eliminate the efforts you've identified as wasteful. There will be tough times in life and business. Resiliency prevents you from viewing any challenge as the end of the world. Resilience allots you the patience, awareness and fortitude to continue moving forward, even if that means completely changing course. Self-development gifts you with the perception that everything that happens (good and bad) happens for reasons which can only be in line with your best interest. With this type of mindset, there is no obstacle that will hold you back.

When tough times occur, you need the skills to deal with them effectively. Personal development cannot prevent all bad things from occurring, but it will help you deal with them when they do. You will have greater confidence and pliability, along with the personal and interpersonal skills to cope with any challenge you face as you climb the ladder of success.

7 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. There is no greater path to success than through your own self-development. Those who are radically successful are immersed in themselves. They are endlessly curious and passionate about self-education. To rank among them, you must invest in yourself so you may manage your actions effectively, regardless of what life places in your path.

7 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. There is no greater path to success than through your own self-development. Those who are radically successful are immersed in themselves. They are endlessly curious and passionate about self-education.

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Summing It All Up

Intelligence is different from knowledge