Personal Expansion Fundamentals: Part 1

 The Personal Expansion Principle (PEP) is not related to who you know, what you know, the economic climate, or luck. It is the result of a process of adhering to universal laws that have stood the test of time. This process of personal expansion includes learning and practicing 7 fundamental elements of the Personal Expansion Principle: 1) learn from past failures; 2) go above and beyond what people expect of you; 3) show initiative and leadership; 4) exhibit patience and self-control; 5) excel at cooperation; 6) respect and tolerate others; and 7) function with a positive attitude.

   The first of these fundamental elements of the Personal Expansion Principle that you must master is probably one of the most important lessons you must learn early in your quest for personal expansion. You will not begin to experience the personal expansion available to you if you do not learn from past failures.

   Failures will inevitably come to you along the road to your ultimate expansion. Indeed, they are the stepping stones to your expansion. You will never learn from your successes unless they were unforeseen and purely accidental—many successes have come from failures to achieve intended results. With this minor exception, you can only learn from your failures. If you can learn from your failures, that learning itself lays down a solid track record that will aid you in your continued expansion.

   Every expanded person has failed utterly at something. You must understand that part of the process of personal expansion is moving through failure without being discouraged or disheartened to the point of giving up on your dream. Personal Expansion is not for the faint of heart, the cowardly in spirit, or the proud. To expand in every area of your life, you must not be easily intimidated. You must be willing to strengthen yourself. You must fight your fears, admit mistakes, and add to your learning.

   Be self-confident enough to take risks, but wise enough to assess the risks, consider the rewards, and then proceed. If you have done your homework properly, then when you fail you can pinpoint where you went wrong. You may have begun with the wrong assumptions, insufficient facts, or dependence on an unreliable source. Wherever you went wrong, whatever you miscalculated in the environment or whoever you misjudged, overvalued, or undervalued will become the lesson plan you use to learn, grow, and add to your store of wisdom. To learn from past failures is never to lose your boldness and self-assured status on the one hand, and always to gain humility and even more fearlessness on the other.