“Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.” These are the words of St. Augustine who was neither a life coach nor a scientist and yet, how full of truth his words were.

The whole concept of a personal development plan relies on these words. Men take for granted what they are given by nature and they unconsciously assume that they know very well what they were given. Unfortunately, life is a lot more difficult these days and people soon discover that their only tool to succeed is themselves. They understand that they need an action plan to move on with their life within the context of career, education, and relationships. They need life coaching.

A personal development plan is part of life coaching and the two concepts are often times confused. People somehow imagine that a personal development plan is all it takes to get their life on the right tracks. They also forget that a PDP is not a way to get back on the tracks but it is a way to explore and discover the right tracks you should follow. Some people understand the need of life coaching in implementing a PDP, others don’t.

But why do people need a personal development plan or life coaching as a matter of fact? Well, essentially, they need such a plan because they feel that something is wrong with their life and something is not working properly for them. They do not know the answers to some simple questions:

– Do you know who you are and what you want most in your life?

– Are you aware of the special gifts which you were personally and uniquely endowed with?

– Can you identify the obstacles which prevent you from achieving your goals?

– Are you aware that there is a difference between you and the higher you?

Most people do not know the answers to these questions. Life coaching has the very role of identifying these answers accurately so that you can use them towards self improvement and personal achievement in all respects of your life. Life is simple when you know what solution to use for each specific problem but the solutions are within yourself and unless you know yourself you will confront life with the wrong solutions, making it more difficult than it already is.

A leadership development plan is a special part of personal development plan. More and more people become leaders and not necessarily because they choose to. Many assume that leadership is just something that you have or you don’t have. The fact is that even if this principle were true, how could you be sure that you don’t have it unless you’ve looked for it?

Life coaching is the only way to find out what you can do and how far you can go in your life. Knowing your limits, your strengths and your weaknesses, will reveal the path you need to take whether it is in your profession, personal life, or education.

Helen Ollerenshaw is a leadership development plan specialist and member of Stanford Who\’s Who Business Social Network

Helen Ollerenshaw http://helenollerenshaw.info is a leadership development plan specialist and member of Stanford Who\’s Who Business Social Network http://www.stanfordwhoswho.com

Author Bio: Helen Ollerenshaw is a leadership development plan specialist and member of Stanford Who\’s Who Business Social Network

Category: Business Management
Keywords: life coaching,personal development plan,leadership development program