Curt Rosengren at The M.A.P. Maker blog has developed an interesting take on self improvement. (The M, A and P in the blog name, by the way, refer to Meaning, Abundance and Passion in your life.
In an article titled “Create a Better Life with 30-Day Experiments” Rosengren observes that it’s hard getting himself to do [...]

“So when would be a good time for us to start on your coaching?” Linda asked. Linda was a well-experienced relationship coach interviewing Ann, a potential new client.
“Well… first I’d really like to think about it for a few days,” Ann told her.
Linda gave an ironic smile. This answer was a common one. Many people, [...]

Time management… it’s one of the most widely taught techniques in business. There are a bazillion books on the subject — I once owned at least a dozen of them, but never had enough real interest to read any of them all the way through. (So I gave ‘em away during my last move.)
In today’s [...]

For another very common-sense take on setting and achieving goals, take a look at Gala Darling’s irreverent fashion blog iCiNG. This blog “presents fresh opinions & views on fashion, style, aesthetics & how to live a better life,” which seems quite a useful and practical combination.
What first caught my eye was Gala’s article titled “How [...]

A lot of the folks I know are setting new goals for 2008. But others, like my friend Patricia Zulkosky, have sworn off new year’s resolutions entirely.
Patricia started 2007 by announcing she was adopting a theme for the year rather than setting goals. In other words, she’d be moving toward a direction, rather than a [...]

Are your goals mostly sterile, lacking the germ of life within them? Here’s how to tell — sterile goals will fade away and die without a trace. They don’t get done.You’ve probably set goals (or resolutions) many times in your life. And you probably achieved some of them, while others you didn’t. But the fact [...]

It’s the year end, and most of us are starting to look at the coming year and all of its potential for making changes. We’re thinking about goals, resolutions and objectives.
Did you have goals or resolutions in 2007? If so, you may have missed some of them. And if you did, here’s a suggestion for [...]

Making decisions seems to be a sticking point for most people. The higher the stakes involved, the harder it becomes to choose an action. Simply put, most of us treat decisions as stopping points rather than turning points.
And the bigger the decision, the bigger the stop. But why?
Again, it’s simple. We fear making mistakes. Sooner [...]

There are a lot of ways to motivate yourself, and Anthony Robbins is well known for his mastery of the subject. Posted today at his blog, Easy Motivational Strategies, he provides a list of things you can do to keep yourself focused on forward momentum.

Recently I stumbled upon Donald Latumahina’s excellent Life Optimizer blog, and this article in particular grabbed my attention:
15 Tips to Stay Positive in Negative Situations
Though it’s not easy, it’s important to stay positive in negative situations. Latumahina recommends 15 positive things you can do so you don’t succomb to the negative that may be going [...]

Marcia Yudkin, in her widely read ezine “The Marketing Minute,” tells how only a few people taking screenwriter training ever do anything with their new skills.
When L.A. filmmaker Jeff Bollow moved to Sydney, Australia a couple of years ago, he planned to launch an independent feature film studio but couldn’t find enough commercially suitable screenplays. [...]

Remember Terry Dean? Back in the nineties, before many of us had even heard of the Internet, he was already creating a sizeable fortune online. Starting out as a pizza delivery driver, he went online and, by setting some interesting goals, built a million dollar Internet business.
If anybody knows about achievement, Terry does. In a [...]

You’ll need to let yourself do some dumb things now and then if you really want to succeed.
The story goes that a young employee, just hired, asked the company president how to rise in the company faster than average. The president told him, “You’ll need to let yourself make more mistakes than average.”
We all want [...]

The Japanese describe a big, life-changing decision as:
“Kiyomizu no butai kara tobi-oriru.”
That tongue twister translates as:
“Leaping from the high porch of Kiyomizu Temple.”

If you’ve ever been to Kyoto and visited this temple, you’ll know it’s built high on a steep hillside. You can stand on the wide porch that runs all round the temple building, [...]

“I’m just a slow starter,” Artie told me. “While I’m still getting ready, everybody else is in motion and racking up points.”
I asked him why he thought that was.
“Well, as you know, I’m planning to start a website, but there’s just SO much to learn. And I just can’t start before I know what I’m [...]

Many of my readers run their own blogs or ezines. This means you may be doing a fair amount of writing every week.
If you regularly run into the issue of “what will I write about and how can I present it simply,” go to Tom O’Leary’s LifeGoalAction Blog and read his article (excerpt below). In [...]

A decision is a quiet, little thing.
When Jerry decided to build a house, he told almost nobody.
Newly married, he and his bride were living with his widowed mother. One morning he quietly announced, “I believe I’ll put up a house on the lot out back.”
About a month went by, and he said nothing more about [...]

If you sometimes feel confused about goals and getting things done, it may be a simple matter of biting off more than you can chew comfortably.
A goal needs to be something that fits comfortably and naturally into your mind, into your schedule and into your system of personal values. I’ll write more about those matters [...]

I jabbed my fingers sharply toward Claire’s eyes, but she didn’t even blink. Why would she? I was invisible.
She went on talking to the other class members as though I weren’t in the room - and to her, I wasn’t. I waved my hands in front of her face and spoke loudly over her words. [...]

by Dave Navarro
Problem: “I know I have potential, I’m not as insanely successful as I want to be.” - You
Solution: “I am not the smartest, but I surround myself with competent people.” - Henry Ford
I think it’s safe to say that Henry Ford had more than a mild degree of success. Love him or hate [...]