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Tom over at lifegoalaction asked his readers to post their RSS feeds, as a way to say thank you to those who influence us. So here is the list of Personal Development sites I am subscribed to.

Adversity University Stephen has overcome much adversity in his life, mostly due to a physical disability - he is deaf. His personal experiences, and the lessons he shares are encouraging and often humorous.

be Conscious now Kara Leah is a breath of fresh air with her spiritual insights, and openness. She shares her personal life in a way that many of us wouldn’t be comfortable with.

Breaking Free I have always had a desire to be self employed, and I have a keen interest in internet marketing. I read this site regularly to give me encouragement, and keep the dream alive.

ChangeThis NewsletterA wide variety of authors post “Manifestos” covering many topics in business and personal development. Check out the latest articles, or browse past offerings. You will find many valuable articles here. WARNING: all Manifestos are posted as PDF files.

Cultivate GREATNESS | Leadership Training Travis is an online entrepreneur who started his blog as the precursor to writing a book. Between his insightful articles, and the interesting guest posts, you will find powerful leadership and business lessons here.

Life Learning Today This site is the master of lists. I enjoy reading in-depth, incisive articles, but sometimes an easily digested list is the perfect shot in the arm to help me get reoriented when I get off track.

lifegoalaction Tom is committed to helping others rediscover their passion, their guiding light. He writes articles from a personal perspective, and doesn’t just preach - he practices. You can count on solid insights without pretense from lifegoalaction.

lifehack.org One of the most prolific personal development sites out there, lifehack is a never ending stream of ideas on everything from organization to healthy diet and exercise. There is always something valuable waiting, and the archives are a treasure trove of advice and tools for purposeful living.

monkatwork.com Practical insights into core issues. You won’t find fluff, or lists, or memes, just solid articles that will hit you where it counts.

Personal Growth and Effectiveness at Life Optimizer Another site that specializes in lists. Donald was inspired by his background in computer science and software optimization to apply the same concepts to life.

Pick the Brain: An Analytical Approach to Self Improvement Pick The Brain has become one of the fastest growing self improvement sites, and it is easy to see why. They publish good quality articles with a laser focus on personal growth.

Productivity501 Organization and focus can be a real challenge for me. Productivity501 provides a consistent, valuable feed of tips and reminders to help me in these areas of weakness.

Scott H Young If you want to know why I read Scott’s blog, check out the article Why Atheism. I don’t consider myself an atheist, but Scott demonstrates his willingness to be open, and a desire for real dialog. I just need to participate there a little more.

Slow Leadership Old fashioned leadership be damned. Top down, authoritarian management isn’t what we need. Slow Leadership has a prescription of being authentic, living with integrity and leading with vision that will help redefine powerful leadership, if only our leaders would listen.

Steve Pavlina’s Personal Development Blog Steve is the heavy weight champ of the self development world. His prolific writing is surprisingly undiluted by fluff, even after years of work. If you haven’t heard of him yet, check out his site and the related forums for great discussion.

steve-olson.com Steve is heavily focused on entrepreneurship, and writes with an evident passion. As a budding entrepreneur, I appreciate the lessons he shares.

The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss Tim is the current darling of the personal development world. I am not a Ferriss groupie, and don’t always agree with his views. But, I can always count on ideas from Tim, ideas from left field, ideas that would not occur to most people. Ideas are invaluable, whether I agree with them or not, and I get them anywhere I can.

The Urban Monk Albert Foong, the Urban Monk, was one of the first people to encourage me when I started my blog. He writes articles that combine Buddhist philosophy with contemporary issues, and shares his own experiences with a transparency that is breathtaking. His compassion, and commitment to authenticity keep me coming back.

Web Worker Daily As a technology worker, I find this site a great resource for online productivity tools, and good organization tips.

zen habits Simple HowTo articles focusing on productivity, health and finances. Leo has built a resource that you will keep coming back to as you strive to develop those daily habits that lead to success.

Many of these blogs are similar in focus, but differ greatly in their presentation. I read so many blogs because it is the unique perspective brought by the individuals that make them valuable.

Blogging Around Town - Friday October 12

Taking things personally, assuming we know what the other person thinks, not communicating. All of these things lead to a breakdown in relationships. Christine Kane has some excellent advice on how to avoid these pitfalls.

I love to read, and I sincerely enjoy allowing myself to be transported to new worlds through the power of fiction. Tom at lifegoalaction had a powerful encounter with the novel A Farewell to Arms and shares his struggle in coming to terms with the powerful emotions the arts can invoke.

Our crazy pace can lead us to feel overwhelmed and look for the quick fix for the problems we face. The quick fix is usually not the best fix. We need to develop better methods for managing our personal growth.

When I was in school, I was given dozens of methods for note taking. I thought I did a pretty good job of it, but at 5 million pages, nobody beats Thomas Edison for note taking prowess.

“Fake it til you make it” is a commonly used phrase phrase in personal development. Sometimes it is necessary to pretend to be what you are trying to become while you are in the midst of change. Coincidentally, I ran into an article over at shoemoney.com where a guest post tackles this exact philosophy in developing a business. Tim Ferris had a fascinating article on the adventures of an agnostic who follows the bible literally for a year. This man started out faking it, but details his path to “making it”.

Cultivategreatness.com took a look at the reasons entrepreneurs fail this week. Although it was a little different from the usual fare on the site, the straightforward, in your face presentation was a refreshing change from the friendly hand-holding nature of many articles in this genre.

Have a great weekend, and stop back next week!

Videos That Change - Oct 10, 2007

I really enjoy inspirational videos. They can be a source of quick juice when I start to feel sorry for myself, or feel down about life in general. This week just happens to have a theme of overcoming physical limitations. I didn’t plan it that way, but these videos were a great reminder to me that I often quit too early, and let perceived limitations keep me from achieving all I can. They also helped me remember to be grateful everyday for my physical health.

Nick Vujicic was born with no limbs, but has not let that slow him down a bit. Check out his website lifewithoutlimbs.org where he has more information on his life.

Nobody can resist a cute dog video, and this one is no exception. Dolly only has her two front legs, but continues to play and seems just as excited about life as the other dogs she hangs with.

Jarem Frye, an extreme amputee athlete, invented his own prosthetic leg to make many sports possible for above knee amputee’s. If this man and others like him can engage in extreme sports, I can certainly get off the couch and go for a walk!

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

How you treat others is a direct reflection of how you feel about yourself.
Amber Deckers
, Ella Mental and the Good Sense Guide

Regardless of your spiritual background and beliefs, chances are you have encountered the idea of loving your neighbor as yourself. It isn’t an idea unique to Christianity, although the exact phrase is most often quoted from the Bible. If you google “love your neighbor”, you will find article after article with Bible quotations, exhortations to heed the commandment, and lists of ways to demonstrably show love for your neighbor. What amazes me is how those last two little words are completely ignored - “as yourself”.

Somewhere along the line, the idea was shortened from “Love your neighbor as yourself” to simply “Love your neighbor”. It seems logical, right? We are being called to love the people with whom we share this tiny little rock called Earth. The problem with dropping those two words is that no matter how hard we try to magically create love for our neighbor, it just isn’t going to spring up from the rocky soil of our own self-hatred. If most of us are honest, loving our neighbor the same way we “love” ourselves would involve lots of cursing, berating and put downs. Every mistake our neighbor made would be cataloged, framed, and placed into a database for later retrieval. Our poor neighbor would never get a moment of rest from our “love”.

Our Concept of Self

We all have a mental picture of who we are that was developed from our earliest days. Our understanding of who we are started with our parents and extended family. If we had a healthy family, chances are we have a healthy concept of our own value. If we didn’t have a particularly healthy family, we probably carry a warped self image and have difficulty loving and accepting ourselves.

As we grew into our early teens, our peers became the next major influence on our self image. We tried to fit in to certain groups, and made decisions about who we wanted to be. If we were successful in cultivating close relationships at this point, it most likely made a positive impact on the way we see and treat ourselves. If we ended up feeling ostracized and had difficulty making friends, then we felt more isolated and worthless.

When we reach adulthood, we have a pretty good sense of who we are. It doesn’t matter if the image is accurate, it is simply the image we have developed over our lives. Many people are not carrying a healthy self image, and are incapable of loving themselves.

5 Steps to Healthy Self Love

  1. Stop playing those critical tapes over and over. You can begin to improve the way you feel about yourself immensely if you will just stop being your own worst enemy. Start replacing those negative thoughts of self-loathing with something more positive. Start simple with a little mantra you use to combat those thoughts when they arise - “I am a good person worthy of the love and respect of myself and others”. It sounds simple and trite, and will feel a little strange at first, but you will become more comfortable with this type of thinking if you keep at it.
  2. End relationships that continually put you on the losing end. Do you have a friend who regularly breaks breaks commitments, or is simply a no-show? Does your significant other put you down and ignore your needs? Is there a parent that you have been trying to please for all these years to no avail? Sometimes the healthiest thing you can do is break away from dysfunctional relationships and put yourself in a place of priority. This isn’t selfishness, but working to achieve a healthy self-respect. If you won’t respect yourself, nobody else will either.
  3. Surround yourself with positive people. There is a big world out there, and plenty of people willing to befriend you and treat you with the caring and respect you deserve. Refuse to accept anything less than the best from yourself and others. When you begin to build a support network of people who are sincerely interested in you, you will find it much easier to build a more positive image of yourself.
  4. Take care of yourself. Relationships are a good first step, but don’t forget about all of the other aspects of loving yourself. If you truly value yourself, make time to do the things you enjoy. Take some time for solitude and reading. Prioritize your physical health with exercise and healthy foods. Continue the education you have been putting off because you didn’t view yourself as worthy or able to succeed.
  5. Now serve others. Once you have a healthy self image, you are ready to give to others. You will be giving from a place of strength, with an understanding of your dignity and the dignity of the people you are serving. You will have the love inside of you to pass on to others, and you will be an example to them of the ultimate source of love.

Before we are able to love the rest of the world, we must first cultivate love for ourselves. Not a selfish, navel gazing introverted love, nor a narcissistic obsession with how wonderful we are, but sincere acceptance of ourselves, warts and all. We have to learn to cut ourselves a little slack, and tell that damned voice in our heads to shut up. Once we have this love for ourselves, we will be able to love our neighbor, our enemy, and that guy who cut us off on the way to work this morning.

Seek First to Understand - A Personal Awakening

In the current climate of war and violence, it is easy to build a classic Us against Them mentality. Whether that is America vs Terrorists or Hawks vs Doves or Republicans vs Democrats, we create an enemy, an alien, an other. That other becomes the enemy we strive to defeat.

Unfortunately, making that other the enemy requires that we demonize and dehumanize them. We call them ragheads, liberals, warmongers, and tree huggers - anything but people. If they aren’t people, we can hate them and destroy them. If they aren’t people, it is acceptable to attack their reputations, their homes and their very lives, because “they” are somehow less than “us”.

What makes me better or more valuable than you? What makes “us” better than the religious extremists in the Middle East? From their perspective, we are the religious extremists. We just worship money, material and technology instead of a big scary man in the sky.

From Their Perspective

Perspective is the key word here. We have our own perspective that we love and nurture and treat as a child. We value our perspective, our opinion, above all else. We will even kill and die to defend our perspective.

I was challenged yesterday morning as I listened to Ervand Abrahamian on Wisconsin Public Radio as he spoke of the current situation in Iran from Iran’s perspective. I learned that we rejected an attempt by less radical elements in Iran to negotiate a blanket agreement with the U.S. that covered everything from terrorism to the nuclear question. We rejected the olive branch, and lumped Iran in with the “Axis of Evil”. After that rejection, the fundamentalists were again able to regain control of Iran’s government. I learned that the moderates were gaining power in Iran until we invaded Iraq, and made no attempt to engage Iran or any other country in the region before making our move.

Eliminating Ignorance 

My point is not to get involved in politics here - that is not what this blog is about. My point is that I was appalled at my own ignorance. I had no clue what the situation looked like from Iran’s perspective. And while the conflicts we are facing in the Middle East are large and important, I came to understand that I often don’t understand the perspective of those people closer to home that I may not agree with.

It is easy to engage in conflict, to fight and argue endlessly over our pet issues. We can take up arms, separate ourselves, and mark out our territory, ready to fire at anyone who intrudes. I feel like our whole country is in this position right now, not just internationally, but domestically as well. I believe that if we truly want peace, and not just victory at all costs, we must first seek to understand, then be understood. We must be willing to lay down our arms, at least for a little while, and hear what the other side is saying. We can stand around and wait and insist that “they” listen, insist that “they” be the first to lay down their weapons. Our best move is to be willing to lay down our weapons, whether those weapons are guns, or words, or stony silence, and have the courage to listen - unarmed.

Personality Tests Suck

A quick Google search for “personality test” turns up 7.2 million hits. A long list of snake oil salesmen and fortune tellers promising that their personality profile will give you unique insight into your inner workings, end war and cure cancer. Businesses use these tests to decide if you are a good fit for a position based on 27 metrics cooked up by a consulting firm who made a tidy profit from the deal. Individuals look to these tests to guide them in choosing a career, a mate, or a pair of shoes.

I don’t mean to sound so cynical, but I have never been surprised by the outcome of one of these tests. I have never reached the results of a personality review and said “Oh my, I didn’t know that I am a slightly introverted technology focused control freak”. Have you honestly been surprised by your test results?

On top of the obvious factor, there is this overwhelming need to label, box and shelve people as “human resources”. I am not a resource. I am not a piece of wood, a computer part or a block of steel. I am a human being, not a human resource. I don’t want to be labeled, boxed and shelved so I can be slipped into some machine as a cog to make things run just right. I want to be viewed and treated as a person who brings unique value to any position I fill. I want my singular contribution to be recognized, not because it is more important than any other contribution, but because it is different from any other.

Finally, I object to these tests because they ignore the wonderfully human factor of change. I may test as an INTJ today, but I may be an ENTP a year from now. Maybe I had a life changing experience, or maybe I just developed into a new person because I got tired of being the old person. As human beings, we can make these types of choices, but we may find ourselves stuck in pigeonholes because our pre-employment personality test tagged us as a certain “type” of person.

Realistically, these types of personality tests can help individuals who lack self awareness. They can be valuable in helping people understand where they are now, and where they may want to go, as long as the results are seen as directional arrows and not defined boundaries. In general, though, personality tests do suck. They are shallow, overused, abused and damaging. Managers would be better off investing the money in lunches with their employees than in personality testing.

Hanging on for the Long Haul

Once we start building resilience, we can move forward into perseverance. Perseverance is the character trait that allows us to keep on moving forward with our goals and dreams in spite of setbacks. Perseverance pushes onward in spite of the voices, both internal and external, that want to bully us into giving up. And like resilience, it can be built up through the consistent application of principles.

Perseverance requires 3 ingredients to be effective.

  1. Vision: “Without vision the people perish”. Our dreams and goals require a vision and passion larger than ourselves We must cultivate the habit of focusing on our dreams and not forgetting why we started in the first place. When the going gets tough, we can return to this vision to keep us motivated and moving forward.
  2. Commitment: It is very easy to get all fired up and set a goal of running 2 miles a day. It is a different thing to keep that commitment in the middle of a typhoon. Next time you think you are facing a real challenge in following through on your commitments, remember this story, and do what it takes to make it happen.
  3. Patience: Success rarely comes in great bursts, but is built up by constantly returning to your commitment and vision. One day you will wake up and realize that you have made great strides toward your goals. If you throw in the towel too early, you will never know what you are capable of. Be patient, grasshopper, and you will be successful.

No one succeeds without effort… Those who succeed owe their success to perseverance.
–Ramana Maharshi

Your Resilient Self

Stress and change are an inevitable part of life. To handle these stresses, we must have resilience - the ability to cope successfully in the face of adversity. As the rate of depression increases and the pace of change skyrockets, resilience is becoming a major buzzword for personal health and well being. Unfortunately, this skill isn’t taught in school, and if you don’t seek out the knowledge, you may be missing out on one of the most important tools in your personal development toolbox.

Measuring Resilience
Resilience can be measured by looking at a number of factors in your life

  1. Connectedness means having people around you that care about you and that you care about. This may be family, friends or religious community. It really doesn’t matter what the source of the connection is, it is just important that you are plugged in to strong, supportive relationships that will sustain you through difficult times.
  2. Sense of Purpose means having a clear sense of who you are and what you want to accomplish. This sense of purpose provides direction and focus in the midst of trials, and enables you to move forward in spite of temporary setbacks.
  3. Personal Initiative means focusing on the desired outcomes instead of the obstacles, and then acting to bring those outcomes to pass. The opposite would be focusing on problems and undesired results, which would only bring those negative things into your life. This focus enables you to act on your sense of purpose even when faced with barriers and difficulties.
  4. Personal Flexibility means making room in your life for alternative ideas and solutions. Albert Einstein said insanity is “Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results”. We often act like insane people, getting caught in the same loops of thought and action seemingly unable to escape. If we pursue flexibility, we will always have new tools and ideas at our disposal to bring the desired results into our lives.

Increasing Resilience
Resilience is like a muscle. You won’t go from bench pressing 50 pounds to 250 pounds in the course of a week. But consistently seeking to expand these areas of your life will lead to greater personal resilience. How do you exercise these resilience muscles?

  1. Increase connectedness by turning off the television and getting involved. Join a professional organization, Toastmasters, or volunteer. Look at your existing relationships and decide how you will deepen your connections with those people. Hint - success in relationships is spelled T-I-M-E.
  2. Develop a clear sense of purpose through goal setting and journaling. Goal setting gives you a target to shoot for. Like an expert marksman, you can focus on that target regardless of the turmoil around you. Journaling will help you develop a better idea of the kind of life you want, and the kind of person you want to be.
  3. Develop personal initiative by taking action on the list of goals you developed. Don’t tackle the biggest, most anxiety inducing activity on day one. Just like increasing physical strength, you have to add weight little by little.
  4. Increase your personal flexibility by reading about different perspectives and meeting different people. Try eating at a different restaurant, or if that is too much, just try driving a different way to work. The keyword here is different. When we do the same things day after day, it is easy to believe it is the “right” way. Shifting to a slightly different habit can wake you up to new options and opportunities.

Remember, you will face adversity in your life. The question is, will you put in the work it takes to be ready when it shows up.

The Ultimate Personal Development List

It is amazing how many incredible personal development blogs you can find. You may think it is overkill, but I find value in the unique perspectives each person brings to this valuable pursuit. Anyways, I am a compulsive reader and having so many blogs to choose from is a wonderful buffet. There is an effort afoot to put together a comprehensive list of these sites, and I have been tagged to add any that I have found valuable.

My Additions:
Dan and Jennifer at Ask Dan and Jennifer
Steve Hopson at Adversity University
Kara-Leah Masina at Be Conscious Now

The List:
Aaron Potts at Today is That Day

Adam Alexander at Adam’s Peace

Adam Kayce at Monk at Work

Adam Khoo at Adam Khoo’s Philosophies and Investing Insights

AgentSully at Life Learning Today

April Groves at Making Life Work For You

Argancel at C’eclair (for those who speak french)

Ash aka Mr. Biggs at One Powerful Word

Al at 7pproductions.com

Alan Torres at Made to Be Great

Alex Shalman at AlexShalman.com

Alexander Kjerulf at The Chief Happiness Officer

Alexys Fairfield at Unraveling The Spiritual Mystique

Albert Foong at urbanmonk.net

Alvaro at Sharp Brains Blog

Amber at Random Mangus

Amie Ragan at Psychology of Clutter

Amy Hedin at There is no Maximum to Human Potential

Andrea Learned at Learned on Women

Andrea J. Lee at Money, Meaning, and Beyond

Andy Wibbels at AndyWibbels.com

Anita Pathik Law at Power of four Way

Anmol Mehta at AnmolMetha.com

Anna Farmery at The Engaging Brand

Antonio Thornton at AntonioThornton.com

Ariane Benefit at Neat & Simple Living

Ask Lucid at Ask Lucid Spiritual Development

Barb Melloh at The Law of Attraction Info

Barbara Sliter at Creatorship

Belle Wong at Abundance Journal

Bill Perry at Lucid Blog

Billy Smith at The Organic Leadership Blog

Blogfuse at LifeDev

Brad Isaac at Achieve It

Brian Clark at Copyblogger

Brian Kim at briankim.net

Brian Lee at geniustypes.com

Bob at everyeveryminute

Cam Beck at ChaosScenario

Cara Lumen at The Success Magnets With Cara Luman and Your Second Wind Blog

Carlon Haas at Possess Less Exist More

Chris Cree at SuccessCREEations

Chris Marshall at Martial Development

Chris Owen at Pink Apple

Christine Kane at ChristineKane.com

Clyde at Feeling Good

Colin Beavan at No Impact Man

Conceive, Believe, Achieve at Conceive, Believe, Achieve

Crabby McSlacker at Cranky Fitness

Craig Harper at Motivational Speaker

Curt Rosengren at Occupational Adventure

Cyres at Cyres Matters

Damian Carr at Soul Terminal

Daniel Sitter at Idea Sellers

Darren Rowse at Problogger.net

Dave Schawbel at The Personal Branding Blog

Dave Schoof at Engaging the Disquiet

Davers at Language Trainers Blog

David Allen at The David Allen Company

David Bohl at Reflections on Balance

David Fitch at David Fitch.com

David Richeson at 360 Degree Success

David Rogers at How to Have Great Self Confidence

David Seah at David Seah.com

David Zinger at Slacker Manager

Dawud Miracle at dmiracle.com

Dean Lacono at Law of Attraction for Beginners

Debbie Call at Spirit In Gear

Debbie LaChusa at 10 Step Marketing Collection

Debra Moorhead at Debra Moorhead.com

Denise Mosawi at Destineering.com

Des Walsh at Thinking Home Business

Devlyn Steele at Tools To Life Guide

Dick Richards at Come Gather Round

Dominic Tay at Personal Development for Winners

Don Simkovich at Hey Don

Donald Latumahina at Life Optimizer

Donna Karlin at Perspectives

Donna Steinhorn at Rethinking

Douglas Eby at Talent Development Resources

Dr. Charles Parker at The Core Psych Blog

Dr. Hal at Northstar Mental fitness blog

Drew Rozell at Drew Rozell.com

Dwayne Melancon at Genuine Curiosity

Edward Mills at Evolving Times

Ellen Weber at Brain Based Business

Emily G. W. Lilly at The Science of Waldorf Education

Emmanuel Lopez at The Adventures of Motivatorman

Ellesse at Goal Setting College

Elly Jolly at Jolly Life Coaching

Enoch Tan at Mind Reality

Eric Napier at Quotation Collection

Erin Pavlina at Erin Pavlina.com

Frank Kanu at Frank Uncovers Excellence in Leadership

Frank Roche at KnowHR Blog

Galba Bright at Tune Up Your EQ

Gilad Buchman at Sigsug

Gleb Reys at Personal Development Ideas

Grayson at Modern Worker Blog

Greg Butler at holistic-personal-development.com

Greg Frost at ChargedAudio.com

Gretchen Rubin at Happiness Project

Gustav at Success-is-in-you.com

Guy Kawasaki at How to Change the World

Gyanish at Diethack

Halina Goldstein at The Inner Travel Journal

Hilda Carroll at Living Out Loud

Heather Goldsmith at A Creative Journal

Henrik Edberg at The Positivity Blog

Honman at Open Your Mind to Prosperity

Inkedmn at The Cranking Widgets Blog

Isabella Mori at MoriTherapy

Itzy Sabo at Email Overloaded

Jacklyn Ker at Inspiring and Empowing Lives

Jarle Husefest at The Personal Development Blog

Jason and Michael at Black Belt Productivity

Jason Ivers at A Miracle a Day

Jason Womack at Fit and Effective

Jay White at dumb little man tips for life

Jean Browman at Transforming Stress Into Power and Cheerful Monk

Jeannette Maw at Good Vibe Coaching

Jeanie Marshall at Empowerment and Meditation Blog and DailyAffirm: Positive Affirmations Day by Day

Jeff Lilly at Druid Journal

Jeffrey Phillips at Think Faster

Jennifer at Goodness Graciousness

Jenny and Erin at Jenny and Erin

Jeremiah Owyang at Web Strategy by Jeremiah

Jerry Hart at Blue Print to emarketing

Jerry Lopper at Personal Growth

Jessa at clairvoyantGuidance.net

Jim stroup at Managing Leadership

Jim Walton at Black In Business

JoLynn Braley at The Fit Shack

Joan Schramm at Accelerating Momentum

Joanna Young at Coaching Wizardry

Joanne at I’m Happy Fish

Joe Vitale at Dr. Joe Vitale at Zero

John Pratt at John Pratt International

John Place at John Place Online

John W. McKenna at The Leadership Epidemic

John Wesley at Pick The Brain

Jon at Join The Secret

Jonathan at Smart Wealthy Rich and Freelance Folder

Jory Des Jardin at Pause: Meaningful Work

Josh Bickford at Reach For Magnificence and Reach for Magnificence

Josh Kaufman at The Personal MBA

Judy Martin at The Work/Life Monitor

Julia Rogers Hamrick at Julia’s Blog: Journal of the Journey Home to Eden

Julie Bonner at Declutter It

Kailani at An Island Review

Kammie Kobyleski at Passion Meets Purpose

Karen at Journey with Water Learner

Karen Lynch at Live The Power

Karen Wallace at The Clearing Space

Karl Moore at Karl Blog.com

Karl Staib at Karl Staib.com

Kathy Mallary at Coaching Biz Tips

Keith Ferrazzi at Never Eat Alone

Kenton Whitman at kentonwhitman.com

Kevin Kinchen at Creative Power of Thought

Killeris at Attitude, The Ultimate Power

Kim and Jason at Escape Adulthood

Kim George at Doing What You Can Do

Kirk Nugent at Kirk Nugent.com

Kirsten Harrell at Ipopin

Krishna De at Biz Growth News and Todays Women in Business

K.L. Masina at Be Conscious Now

Leah Maclean at Working Solo

Laura Young at The Dragon Slayer’s Guide to Life

Lee Nutter at bmindful

Leo Babauta at Zen Habits

Life Reflection at Universe in a Single Atom

Linda Salazar at Awaken The Genie Within

Lisa Braithwaite at Speak Schmeak

Lisa Gates at Design Your Writing Life

Lisa Van Allen at Finish Strong

Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Lodewijkvdb at How to be an Original

Lola Fayemi at Real World Spiritual and Personal Development

Lorraine Cohen at Powerfull Living

Luciano Passuello at Litemind.com

Lucid at Spiritual Suggestions

Lumosity at Brain Health Blog

Lyman Reed at Creating a Better Life

Lyndon Antcliff at LyndonAntcliff.com and Cornwallseo.com

MT at MindTWEAKS

Maddy at Illuminated Minds Want to Know

Malathy Badri at Laws of Universe

Manny at Success Books

Maria Garcia at Get Organized Now

Maria Palma at The Good Life

Marianne Williamson at Journal

Mark at The Naked Soul

Mark Forster at Get Everything Done

Mark LaPierre at The Winding Path

Mark McManus at Build Your Life To Order

Mark W Shead at Productivity 501

Martin Avis at Kickstart Daily

Matthew Cornell at Matt’s Idea Blog

Meg Haworth at Life Lessons From Your Soul

Melanie Benson Strick at The Success Blog

Merlin Mann at 43 Folders

Michelle at aMusing My Genius

Michelle Moore at Happiness Blog

Michael Port at The Think Big Revolution

Michael Vanderdonk at TOACH Performance

Mike Janssen at Opgestroopte Mouwen

Mike St. Pierre at The Daily Saint

Mr.Wang at Mr Wang Says So

My Everyday Planner at My Everyday Planner

Nancy Tierney at Unconditional Confidence

Neil Patel at Quick Sprout

Nic Askew at Monday 9AM Blog

Nick Smith at Life 2.0

Nneka at Balanced Life Center

Organize-It at Organize-It

Pamala Slim at Escape From Cubicle Nation

Pamm Larry at My Spiritual Dance

Patricia Singleton at Spiritual Journey of a Lightworker

Patti Digh at 37 Days

Paul at Paul’s Tips

Paul Piotrowski at Self Help Wisdom

Paula Kawal at Paula Kawal.com

Peggy Payne at Peggy Payne’s Boldness Blog

Peter at I Will Change Your Life

Peter Aldin at Great Circle

Peter Haslem at Necessary Skills

Phil Gerbyshak at Make It Great

Philippe Matthews at Shockwealth

Priscilla Palmer at Personal Development Demands Success

Quint Jensen at Win Your Mind

Raymond Salas at Zenchill Powertools

Real Modern Man at Real Modern Man

Reg Adkins at ElementalTruths

Ricardo at Wake Up Tiger

Rich Schefren at Strategic Profits

Rick Cockrum at Shards of Consciousness

Rick Cooper at The PDA Pro

Ririan at Ririanproject

Rob at 7Breaths

Rob Cooke at Leave the Office

Robert at Compassionate Council

Robert at Myselfdev

Robert Ashcroft at PDSS Online

Robin Skeen at Robin’s Reflections

Robin Yapp at Yapp 3.0

Robyn McMaster at Brain Based Biz

Roger Von Oech at Creative Think

Rolf F. Katzenberger at Evomend

Rosa Say at Managing With Aloha Coaching

Ryan Marle at The Alpha Project

S.J. Yee at Personal Development for the Book Smart

Sam at Acquire Wisdom and Live with Passion

Scott Adams at The Dilbert Blog

Scott Berkun at Berkun Blog

Scott Bernadot at Keeping The Secret

Scott Ginsberg at Hello, My Name Is Blog

Scott H Young at Scott H Young

Scott McArthur at McArthur’s Rant

Self Pursuit at Self Pursuit

Senia at Senia.com Positive Psychology Coaching

Seth Godin at Seth’s Blog

Shane Navratil at Zoomstart

Shauna Arthurs at Breathing Prosperity and Follow Your Path

Shaheen Lakhan at GNIF Brain Blogger

Simone at Dynamic Living

Simone and Mandy at Outfit Inspirations

Slade Roberson at Shift Your Spirits and Spiritual Blogging

Sleeping Dude at How to Wake Up Early

Sonora Jayne Case at Positive Realities Coaching

Spike at Organize It

Start Up Coach at Take Charge of Your Life

Stephanie and Jeffrey at Brains on Purpose

Steve Beisheim at Jumping Ship Happens

Steve King at The Green Geek

Steve Olson at Steve-Olson.com

Steve Pavlina at stevepavlina.com

Steve Roesler at All Things Workplace

Stephen at HD bizblog

Steven Aitchison at Change Your Thoughts

Success Current at SuccessCurrent.com

Surjit at Gurushabad

Susan Sabo at Productivity Cafe

Suzanne Bird-Harris at Learning Curve Coaching

Takuin Minamoto at Takuin.com

Ted Demopoulos at Blogging For Business

Terry Starbucker at Ramblings From a Glass Half Full

Thom Quinn at Qlog

Tiffany at Little Red Suit

Tim Ferris at 4-Hour Workweek and Lifestyle Design Blog

Tim Taylor at My Agapic Life

Tom Peters at Tom Peters.com

Tom Spanton at TRCoach

Tom Van Brunscot of Transformation Economy

Tony Chimento at Living Forward

Tony D Clark at Success From The Nest

Torlink at You Create Reality

Travis A. Sinquefield at Disorganizational Behavior

Travis Wright at Cultivate Greatness

Trizoko at Trizoko.com

Trevor Gay at Simplicity is the Key

Troy Worman at Orbit Now!

Tuck Self at Rebel Belle Blog

Tupelo Kenyon at Tupelokenyon.com

Ubertech at Geeks Guide To GTD

Vera Nadine at Vera Nadine.com

Vickie at Contemplate This

Wade Millican at The Middle Way

Wally Bock at Three Star Leadership

Wan Qi at Meditation Forum Mantras

Wild Bill at Passionate Blogger

and these collaborated sites:

Burst Blog

Change This

Change Your Thinking

Daily PlanIt

Did I Get Things Done

GTD Wannabe

Blogging Around Town

I have a baby-blog here, and hope to grow it into a valuable tool for my readers. But there is a wealth of excellent information on personal growth and development out there. Here is a taste of some of the best material I found this week.

Life can become boring and routine. Why not step out now and then for a little adventure? Of course, that kind of living belongs to the popular and wealthy, doesn’t it? If you can reframe your definition of adventure a little, you can plan a string of mini adventures that will bring some excitement into your life.
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/how-to-live-mini-adventures-on-a-small-budget.html

As we interact with people every day, it is easy to focus on what we intend to communicate, and forget that our intentions don’t necessarily line up with others’ perceptions. Mark over at Productivity501 has some tips to help us consider how other people perceive our attempts to communicate.
http://www.productivity501.com/understanding-others-perceptions/297/

I am a pro-crastinator. No amateur crastination here. But successful people have the habit of taking action, and not sitting around waiting for perfect conditions. John over at PickTheBrain gives us 7 ways to grow the habit of action.
http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/grow-the-action-habit/

Do you feel like you are living a life of authenticity? Do you want to move closer to the authentic, and away from the demands of society? Sometimes we just need a little insight and encouragement to get us moving in the right direction.
http://www.tupelokenyon.com/2007/08/17/integrity-through-self-reliance/
http://adversityuniversity.blogspot.com/2007/08/power-of-authentic-people_29.html

Guided meditation and visualization are powerful tools for personal growth and goal attainment. Steven Aitchison has an excellent guided meditation to get you started.
http://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/blog/2007/08/26/guided-meditation-intention-manifestation/

My fried Albert Foong over at UrbanMonk has so many good resources, you could spend hours on his site. His recent article on visualization will help you understand the its power, and how it can be a part of your daily life.
http://www.urbanmonk.net/125/5-weeks-to-developing-the-magic-of-visualisation/

I hope you enjoy these other authors, and find resources to help you on your own journey.

Have a great Labor Day.