Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth

Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina is a book that I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. I recommend it to all. After reading Steve's book you will see the big picture with a deeper and broader understanding of the systems and principles underlying personal development. Steve is a phenomenally successful writer and blogger who has been blogging on personal development for over four years at: StevePavlina.com. Along with working on his blog and amassing a huge amount of valuable content, he has read more than 1,000 books on personal development. <br /> <br />Steve Pavlina is a very smart guy. He completed a dual degree in computer science and mathematics in record time, started and ran a successful computer software business, then in 2004, started his blog on personal development. Steve said that after thousands of interactions with his readers he began to detect recurring patterns and themes and began to suspect that there was a "hidden order" beneath "our seemingly chaotic growth experiences." So he set about ferreting out the core principles of personal development that are behind all conscious human development. He decided that these principles would have to be universally acceptable and identified several criteria that would have to be applicable: <br /> <br /> 1. universality <br /> 2. completeness <br /> 3. irreducibility <br /> 4. congruency <br /> 5. practicality <br /> <br />His logic is impeccable. However, as you might expect from a book that is so packed with wisdom, reading it isn't like reading a popular novel. You need to read a little, then stop and think about it. I suggest reading through the entire book this way, then go back and go through the book again for deeper understanding. <br /> <br />This book is reminiscent of Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Steve Pavlina, though, has gone deeper to examine the hidden order beneath the ebb and flow of personal growth and effectiveness. Most of us are very busy people. With the distractions of modern day life many of us seldom take time for deep thinking about personal growth. Steve has done much of that for us as he worked for three years on his new book: Personal Development for Smart People - The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth. <br /> <br />Not yet another "how-to" guide, this book is much more than that. Steve has applied his considerable experience and intellect to identifying the basic core principles that govern our actions and our relationships. Presented in two parts - The first part covers the theory of Steve's 7 fundamental Core Principles of Personal Development; The second part covers application - he shows how the 7 core principles apply to habits, career, money, health, relationships and spirituality. <br /> <br />Just as in physics which has basic principles that apply across the board and are unchangeable, Steve shows us that there are also universal core principles of human behavior. <br /> <br />The three basic universal core principles that he identified are Truth, Power and Love. Combinations of these three principles give us three more principles: Courage, Authority and Oneness. All six of these principles together give us: Intelligence. Taken altogether, these are the seven universal principles underlying our lives and personal growth. These principles apply across the board in our relationships, activities, health, habits, etc: <br /> <br /> * Oneness = Truth + Love <br /> * Authority = Truth + Power <br /> * Courage = Love + Power <br /> * Intelligence = Truth + Love + Power <br /> <br />Although this book is very effective as a stand alone book (it has very little content from his website), it is actually a capstone to his personal development blog and discussion forums at stevepavlina.com and is written in Steve's style: thorough, logical, strong and bold. <br /> <br />The deep thinking that comes from reading this book is preparation for effective personal development and improvement. Once you learn about the seven core principles, study them and observe them you will be well on your way to conscious personal development. <br /> <br />We all are looking to maximize the return on our investment of time and effort. Reading this book will be one of the best investments you have made with regard to your personal development and your own future. You will think about this book a lot and reference it often. It should have a permanent spot on your bookshelf so that when you reach for it you find it quickly. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! <br /> <br />by Kent Beatty (http://kentbeatty.com) <br />

I've been a long time follower [...] and I just couldn't stop myself from buying this - even as some kind of tribute. I'm loving it so far - great book for beginning on Personal Development...

Very well thought out book. I have been a long time proponent of conscious living and this book hits all the major points right on the head. Great read for any one seriously interested in personal development and growth.

Steve Pavlina gets to the core of Personal Growth, not just the surface. His book oughts to be an award. <br /> <br />I'm honored to be review this book, and although it is a little late, I wanted to make sure that I'm absolutely fair with what I'd write. I have read the book "Personal Development For Smart People" by Steve Pavlina, twice. The first time to learn as much as I could, the second time to check for anything I may have missed. It took me longer than I expected. As you will learn when you buy this book, it is necessary to stop, clear your mind, absorb the concepts, and then continue to fully grasp the philosophy of this book. So much is cramped on it, that is hard not to miss something at first sight. Not to praise Steve, but credit should be given where it's deserved. <br /> <br />As a young man fascinated by personal development, I can tell you that this book has exceeded my expectations by far. In order to make things easier for you, I will not describe the principles of the book in this blog (although they will later be discussed in the forum), but rather I'll give you a different perspective and why I believe this book is a must in every library. Not just a self-improvement one, but in all Universities, High Schools, and maybe even Middle Schools. Although I believe this book is not for everyone, I will urge every single person who a) Has a minimum curiosity of living a fulfilling, conscious life; b) Has been into Personal Development for some time now; c) Doesn't believe in Personal Development, to read this book. Although Steve does an genius work in bringing the seven principles of conscious growth (truth, love, power, oneness, authority, courage, and intelligence), I think that he excels furthermore in connecting all of them. And even beyond that in connecting all the Personal Development philosophies out there. <br /> <br />I can not think of it in any other way, his book is what connects the dots. It really makes sense as you read it. Yes, it is packed with helpful information about self-growth, journaling, goal setting, life purpose, and so on; but what is amazing about this book - in my opinion - is that it connects everything together in such a beautiful way. It connects things not just within the book, but with everything that I've read before. I furiously wrote ideas, realizations on my journal (which hopefully should soon be switched to a software journal ) as I read the book, and I assure you that if you find a quiet, peaceful place to read this book, your experience will be similar to mine. <br /> <br />As Steve puts it on his book's cover. The book is a guide for conscious pursuit of personal growth. I'm almost sure that you will be inspired by the book's content, but realize that inspiration comes from realizing your possible greatness, and Steve Pavlina's book does that magical thing - it enables you to realize your greatness. I have personally been more than inspired to keep blogging more actively, to keep reading Personal Development books to the kids I mentor (even if the staff wants me to read them fairy tales), to work on my speaking skills, to contribute to others by living - by really LIVING. As I read the book, I realized that conscious growth is harder than what I thought. It surely takes some serious self-discipline and guts to passionately do the things you love (at least for me). It is very easy to get distracted when so many things are available to you, but with the guide of a great book, things can be done much easily. <br /> <br />The two chapters that really hit home for me were "Chapter 12: Relationships" and "Chapter 13: Spirituality". If you're a pick up artist, social skills master (or whatever you ought to call yourself), you shall read these two chapters - they will change your life. As a former Atheist, and now possibly becoming a Christian (not sure yet), the chapter on Spirituality has made it clear to me that no matter what religion I stand on, I'm still me. Furthermore, it has confirmed that spirituality is on giving, loving, and thanking. I'm very thankful for that. As a social skills blogger and coach, I tell you that I knew little to nothing before reading this book. Yes, sure enough I have skills, but it all makes much more sense once you learn how relationships align with Truth, Love, and Power. <br /> <br />Just for the note, I would like to repeat that I honestly believe this book is not for everyone. In a nutshell, it IS for smart people. And by smart I obviously don't mean 4.0 GPA in school, but rather an open mind, and willingness to experiment. This book can enfuriate some people who are afraid to face their fears in one way or another, so be aware when you read those reviews from other people. <br /> <br />Also, Steve's book is not just empowering, it's also humorous. If not, just ask him about the time he did Calculus with crayon on a card box. Or you could also ask him about training to run the LA Marathon so hard just to find out that the marathon was the same he was supposed to get married (an evil eye is enough to make a smart decision) :). I had a good laugh at those particular stories. <br /> <br />"Personal Development For Smart People" will have a special place on my tiny book shelf and the phrase "Awesome - 5 out of 5 will be written on a Sticky Note attached to it. I recommend you read his book description, as this review is for it has done for me (it can do the same or more for you), not for its content (too many bloggers have done that already). <br /> <br />(To steal the words of Steve Pavlina) Live Consciously, <br /> <br />- Daniel