Many people would say that Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. And some are saying that Patrick Mahomes is on his way to claiming that title.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, both of these great athletes have something in common. They are surrounded by coaches and personal trainers who have helped them become the greats that they are.

They are dedicated to working out, practicing the game and studying video to become the best at what they do. For every 3-hour game they play, there are countless hours of preparation that fans don’t see happening behind the scenes.

But this isn’t an article about football. (I was just leveraging their celebrity and the upcoming big game as click bait! 😜) This is an article about personal development.

Stay with me! Allow me to show you that, just like Tom and Patrick, you’ve got to make time for training, and you should surround yourself with great coaches and trainers.

Of course, I would say that. I make my living as a sales trainer and I spend my free time promoting personal development. You might say that I’m a bit of a junkie. It’s my passion to help people become better versions of themselves, whether that means making more sales at work or becoming a better spouse.

And it all comes down to a commitment to personal growth.

While a lot of careers require ongoing education and certification, most don’t. And there are certainly no required courses for being a better husband, wife or parent. To that end, most of us don’t crack a book or attend a class after graduation.

So, is there a case for ongoing training? According to Deloitte, a professional services and research company:

Dedicating 1% of the work week (that’s about 24 minutes) enables employees to stay up to date with best practices and industry developments.

Only 24 minutes? That’s less than 5 minutes a day! Sure, it can be hard to sit down and watch a half-hour webinar, I know. Stuff comes up. You have an endless to-do list and maybe a boss breathing down your neck. But 5 minutes a day seems pretty reasonable. You probably spend more time than that scrolling through social media.

Deloitte goes on to say that :

Comprehensive training leads to a 218% higher revenue per employee.

Have I gotten your attention now? If you’re in sales, or a manager who is responsible for production and revenue, I’m betting I have. According to The American Society for Training and Development,

When employers spend $1500 per employee (per year) on training, their profit margin increases by 24%.

 

That one is interesting, and I feel obligated to point out that not all training costs money. There are tons of great articles, podcasts and free webinars on nearly every topic you’d ever want to learn about available online. There are still local libraries where you can get a free book on any subject of course. (Personally, I don’t mind spending $15/mo for an Audible subscription.)

As for personal growth and its impact on relationships, I can only share what I have learned from my personal experiences – that I was on the verge of losing my wife and kids until I went on a journey of personal growth by reading self-improvement books every day for nearly a year.

Self-improvement, personal growth, training… whatever you want to call it – has propelled my career and saved my marriage.

So yes, I’m a junkie. I believe that a person should dedicate a little time every day (1% sounds like a low bar to me) to becoming a better version of themselves, whether that is in their career or in their home.

Do you agree? I’d love to hear what you do to be better at your job and your relationships.

Thanks for reading. – David