One positive thing that has come out of this uncertain world economy is that it has paved the road for incredible personal development within us all. Many of us are getting “back to basics” and remembering what is important in life.

In times when people are forced to step out of their comfort zone, true personal growth and fantastic breakthroughs can occur. But, how do you know if you’ve actually begun to change?

Some people wouldn’t change anything about themselves and I think that is great! I am not suggesting anyone make changes, but for those that are on a constant journey of growth and change, here are my notes from that pivotal speech.

Here are 10 signs that real change has begun in your own life:

1. Growing craving for nature (when trying to connect with yourself, you inherently crave nature)
2. Growing discomfort (uneasiness about what the future holds)
3. Growing sense of loneliness
4. New skills emerge that you didn’t know you had
5. New relationship with time (instead of psychological time, which is worrying about past or future – You enter clock time, which is living in the moment)
6. You no longer crave for the old bad ways of life
7. The depression and exhaustion doesn’t make sense anymore
8. New sense of self-curiosity
9. Suddenly you feel like everything that happened in the past is irrelevant
10. Instead of praying for “things” you start to pray for “strength” or “truth”

If you are feeling any of these things, you are on your way to achieving more personal satisfaction in your life.

Regardless of your job, role, or organization – and, no, it doesn’t matter what your political beliefs are – keep these 3 management rules front and center when making plans for the future:

1. The strategies most likely to win are the ones that are the easiest to understand. If the situation is complex, figure out a way to make it understandable. Otherwise, you’ll end up being another one of those really smart people who has no followers, no success stories, and no promotional future.

2. Emotion wins over logic 9 times out of 10. When we get emotional we generate energy and enthusiasm within others. An emotional team can get a lot done, they’ll work longer hours, and help make converts. It can beat a larger or better-equipped team without emotional buy-in. You’ll accomplish what you intend.

3. The best deals come together fast. You’ve probably experienced this before like when you were buying a car, or being hired for a new job. Things just fell into place and everyone walked away feeling good about the deal. It’s the same for new programs, or changes in business direction: If you find that the same things need to be addressed repeatedly, it’s a warning sign. It may be time to cut bait.

In many companies, and in life generally, some great projects are shelved while other poor ones get the green light. We see it with choices for technology and vendors all the time. Usually such decisions have more to do with how each side made their case, and less to do with logical comparisons of features and prices. It’s often the same, by the way, for decisions affecting who gets promoted and who doesn’t.