“We need to up our game, think differently, and expand our horizons. Elevating our consciousness and becoming better humans, loving more, taking care of our environment—that’s what represents the best you.” – Bernardo Moya

I had the pleasure of speaking with Bernardo Moya, a personal development expert renowned as the founder of the Best You Expo, one of the world's largest self-improvement events. 

Born in London and raised in Spain, Moya merges his entrepreneurial spirit with a passion for human potential. He's also the author of several books, including The Question: Find Your True Purpose and A Man Evolving: Confessions about Monogamy, passion, and broken hearts.

We discuss: 

• Exploring personal development beyond its application in sales and business
• The secrets of personal development success
• Staying the course with self-development amid an accelerated world

Exploring personal development beyond its application in sales and business

Bernardo started his personal development journey in the business world, aiming to be a better salesman and communicator. From reading classic books such as Rich Dad Poor Dad, and attending developmental-based conferences, he dug in deep to discover the marks of success. 

“With NLP, what happened is that I read the first book, Change Your Life in Seven Days, by Richard Bandler. And I read it because a friend of mine was working with him. I wasn't expecting it to be as great as it was,” he shares. “And that's where NLP came up. I’d never heard of it before.”

NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) is a way of changing someone's thoughts and behaviors to help them achieve their desired outcomes. The book challenged Bernardo to re-examine his life and change the way he thought, setting him off on a new journey of discovery. 

“I remember standing in the middle of a room, thinking, I thought I knew something, but I know nothing. I'm learning these things in my mid-30s. Why? And I wanted to do something different. I knew I wanted to change careers and do something that had a lot more meaning,” he continues. 

The secrets of personal development success

The worst-kept secret about development of any kind is that failure is one of the most sure-fire ways to improve and learn. Not every idea will be a winner, and not every business launched will make it to the moon. But the value remains regardless of success.

“There's no doubt that NLP helped me because I would try to control the way that I would think to not focus on the negative, and focus on the positive, “Bernardo says. “That has been in my nature anyway, I've always been a solution-driven guy, I never really listened to people telling me I couldn't do things. I've always been like that. But NLP gave me some additional skills.”

When we experience a failure, it’s an opportunity to focus on everything we have to be grateful for—a roof over our head, food on the table, loved ones, free breaths. Failure is a chance to reframe our reality, remember our blessings, and hone in on what really matters.

To spread this truth and more, Bernardo developed the Best You Expo, which focuses on bringing people together and creating a more cohesive experience than the fragmented world of most personal and professional development conferences. 

He and his team are dedicated to spreading the word as far and wide as possible, and they’re just getting started.

“We need to provide the resources to so many billions of people around the world, and there are 10s of 1000s—hundreds of 1000s, millions of speakers, coaches, trainers, authors, entrepreneurs, that have stories that need to be heard, and they need to be learned,” he explains. “That's what I'm trying to do in a very small way.”

Staying the course with self-development amid an accelerated world

In this age of AI, automation, and digitization, there is a constant thrum of accelerated operations and learning that can be dizzying. It’s worthwhile to determine ways to stay the course of what matters to us vs what the world tells us to care about.

That said, technology should not be a source of fear. Training our thoughts to reach for positivity is a sizable step in self-care. 

“Just by saying the word scary, your cells, your mind, your brain, your thought process—everything's going to be negative, and you're going to start thinking of all the terrible things that could happen with AI,” Bernardo says. “On the other hand, you could think, ‘Oh, my God, this is so exciting.’ And if you think it's so exciting, all of a sudden, your whole body, your energy, and your mind start shifting and changing.” 

One simple shift like that can make all the difference in how we experience the world. Unknowns become curiosities, and failures become opportunities. 

“We need to expand our horizons,” he continues. “A lot of the things that were done or seen or presented to us, and the way that they were in the past doesn't have to be the way things are moving forward.”

The best version of ourselves is the one willing to grow, take care of others, care for the environment, and authentically embrace tomorrow.

Have you experimented with NLP? What is one way you’ve trained your thoughts for the better? 

Be sure to check out Bernardo’s full episode for further insight on personal development and learn more at BernardoMoya.com!