Leap of Faith Radio Show Interview Recap

On September 21, 2011, I was interviewed on the Leap of Faith radio show (www.leapoffaithshow.com). The host of the show is Stubbs, an awesome woman who is scouring the community to find musical talent, as well as individuals making a positive impact, to share with the world. Stubbs has hundreds of listeners worldwide. She asked me to talk about this blog and the importance of personal development. I was excited and nervous at the same time because, other than talking to friends, I had never talk to the world about personal development. The night before I could hardly sleep!

The interview aired at 7:30 a.m. (EST). It was live, which probably accounted for my nervousness. I didn’t want to sound like a babbling idiot. It was not recorded so I thought I would highlight some of the questions and answers as best as I can recall for those of you who missed it.

LeapOfFaith: You write a blog which is called My Journey to Me. Could you tell us more about that?

ME: Yes. I started a business a while back that emphasized personal development as part of its business plan and regularly recommended books to read. At first, I didn’t read any of the books because I felt I didn’t need any personal development because I had two degrees. Then one day I read “Failing Forward” by John Maxwell and it completely changed my perception of failure. I began reading more and more personal development books and implementing the ideas and concepts in the books in my life. I started my blog to record things I was learning about myself and share them with others. It made me very happy to find out what I was writing about was helping other people in their personal development.

LOF: What does it mean to go through "Personal Development" and why is it important?

ME: I don’t like the word “through” because it implies there is an end to personal development and there isn’t. It is an ongoing process; something that actively happens daily. God said in Romans 12 for us to be transformed by renewing our minds. The “ing” on the end of the word “renew” means a present action. You never stop personal development.

LOF: Do you think that life in itself is a class on personal development and cause us to find out who we truly are?

ME: It can be if you make the effort to pay attention to what happens in your life and learn from it. By learn, I mean implement a different response to a given situation instead of sticking to the way you have always done it. Keep trying something different until you get the results you like and want.

LOF: What would you say to a person who keeps experiencing difficulty after difficulty?

ME: I would say you keep experiencing difficulty after difficulty because you are missing something. There is some personal development, some lesson (s) you should be learning and implementing that you are not. This is especially true if the difficulty is the same kind. Also stop and ask yourself, “What am I supposed to be learning?” and keep asking until the light bulb goes off. When you ask yourself a good question and you will get a good answer.

LOF: In what ways can one begin to find who they truly are?

ME: One, you must replace all the negative information thrown at you daily by the media (television news, radio news and newspapers), by television programs and by people with positive and uplifting information. Read self-development books. There is a list of books on my blog. And yes, you have the time. You can get books in MP3 format you can download to IPods, IPads and smartphones or you can get books on CD so you can listen to them while you commute. Start with 15 minutes a day and build up. If money is an issue, get books and audio books from the public library. Two, begin to pay attention to how people respond to you. Are they always glad to be around you? Are they always grumpy and short with you? Pay attention to how you respond to people and situations. Three, spend some time with you. Start journaling. Write down what you learn from the books and from paying attention to what is going on in your life. Your journal can be a simple notebook from the dollar store. These steps are important because the constant element in your life as go from person to person and situation to situation is YOU. If something is not right in your life, start with you. You can’t change other people but you can change you and how you respond.

Well, that’s all I can remember. My next live interview will definitely be recorded. Thanks Stubbs for letting me share with your listeners.

Tune into the Leap of Faith Show on Sundays 6 to 10 a.m. (EST) and Monday-Wednesday 6 to 9 a.m. (EST) to hear gospel music from mainstream and independent artists and hear awesome interviews.

FYI: Stubbs announces job openings on Tuesdays. So if you have one, send an email with the details to leapoffaith@yahoo.com.