I have been a fan of personal development ever since I was a teenager and read my first Tony Robbins book, ‘Unlimited Power.’ I discovered this book while I was browsing in a local bookstore and it literally blew me away. It introduced me to a whole different way of thinking and being in the world, which was important at that time in my life as I had faced a lot of adversity in my childhood in the form of racial prejudice.

This initial read led me to discover other prominent personal development and spiritual growth authors at that time, including Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra. I devoured theirs and other authors’ books and have grown and evolved in the process. I became fascinated with authors and speakers and how they have the ability to impact thousands and potentially millions of readers. Little did I know that I would go on to write my own personal growth and healing book, ‘Healing From The Inside Out.’

It was through writing my own book and starting the blog, that you are reading now, that I learned my greatest lesson about personal development. The fastest way to accelerate your personal growth is to teach another. Now I realize that not all of you are authors, speakers, life coaches or healers, but you can all be mentors.

The reason I say this is that there is not a single person on the planet that has not learned important lessons and grown through their own personal challenges. Whether it is in the area of your health, your relationships, your career, your finances or your spirituality, everyone of you has faced some adversity, otherwise you would not have subscribed to my blog. This is why everyone of you has something that you can teach to others to help them in their daily struggles and challenges.

This is especially important at a difficult time like now with all the uncertainty created by the pandemic. It has also been true long before COVID 19 with all the major changes happening on the planet with our greater connectivity through social media and technology, environmental and climate challenges, global economic uncertainty, the greater rift between the rich and the poor,  racial injustice and the loss of trust in our political leaders and systems.

You may now be asking, how do I go about helping or mentoring others? You can do this by looking back on your life and making a list of any adversity you have faced. Once you have listed these, then list everything that you learned from each adversity and how you overcame it. Here you will find the key to what you can teach others. I’m not asking you to write a book, become a speaker or create a blog. You can simply reach out to one person, a family member or a friend, who you know is struggling right now, in an area that you have some experience and knowledge of.

I encourage all of you to take the time to do the above exercise and make the effort to help another person. This will not only fuel your own personal growth and resilience but cultivate your compassion and connection to others. There has never been a greater time that the world needs your wisdom so take the time to scrutinize your past and change someone’s life for the better. You will change yours in the process.

Dr. Nauman Naeem