The ability to translate is the most important skill you can develop in yourself, and teach to others, to facilitate personal development. Without it, you can read every book self improvement book, listen to hundreds of business CDs or watch each and every personal development seminar on DVD–and still get nothing out of it.
I’m not talking about translating from one language to another. What I mean by translation is the ability to take the information presented and apply it to your own unique situation–the ability to take the skills and techniques and adapt them until they are useful for your business, and appropriate your individual personality and talents.
This isn’t as easy as it sounds. I’ve seen many people learn a new skill, then immediately try to apply it directly to their lives without translating it to their own situation. Then, when it fails to produce the desired results, they add it to the growing pile of things that didn’t work for them.
It’s like trying to swallow a gallon of milk, container and all, instead of opening the lid and pouring it into a glass so that you can drink it a little at a time. Life-changing skills are only life-changing when you adapt and apply them to your life.
Success Tip: When you learn new skills or techniques, take time to translate them to your own unique situation. Ask yourself, “how can I best apply this to my business, my relationships, and my life?” Then, take action to adapt and apply these new skills and attitudes to make your life better.
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