Writing my own PD book

[Mounds]

The idea

This idea came up a few days ago and it's been lingering in my mind since. It had such a profound impact on me that immediately after reading about it, I set a goal in GoalPro to have an outline done by Monday.
I'll just talk about what the idea is not for a second. It's not to create a PD book that I will give away or sell. It's to create a PD book that is custom tailored to my life.


The vision

I did a bit of searching on this idea to no avail. All I ended up finding was how to create a vision book, which sounded like an LOA practice. So, I came up with my own vision.
My vision for this book is that I'm going to really consider all the things that work for me. I want to include the things that don't work as well, lest I forget. I'm going to include a bucket list. My vision is that this book will serve as a guide as well as a map.


The plan

I did some brainstorming last night, just threw down a bunch of ideas. A couple of things that I want to include are my base/currency idea (time, energy, money), a heirarchy of values and chapters based on particular areas of my life (health, career, social, ect.). Within those chapters, I hope to identify what I call weak spots. Are there areas that I can improve on or am I satisfied with them for the time being?
Once I'm done with this thing, I'll probably print a hardcopy that I can keep in my nightstand. Leave a few pages for notes, just in case things come to me.

The proposal

Anyone else want to get in on this? I believe I read that James is on board. I'd love to hear about your own visions and plans for getting it done. I plan on keeping my posts fairly general so there's no need to share explicit details. Look forward to what you guys add.

-Tim

[Acting Like Godot]

See, Mounds. Let me explain what I see as the limitations of your idea.

It can be a useful thing. For some time. Then you have to shed it, or parts of it, and move on. The tricky phase is the period of time between:

(i) the point when it starts to lose its usefulness; and
(ii) the point you decide to start the shedding.

From your other posts, I understand your perspective on these things. You think that there is some finite set of principles or tools, and that if you can just pinpoint that set, you can apply it and thereafter your life runs on automatic. Finances, health, career, whatever.

But based on my personal experience (and of course it is only MY own personal experience) it generally doesn't work like that.

The reason is that if you succeed in what you want to do, you end up outgrowing yourself. What worked for you to get you to a certain point ... will stop working when you've reached that point. Then you have to adapt, revise and evolve.

-------------------------------

Coincidentally today I am just cleaning up my old personal blog, and preparing to set up a new one.

I have done this so many times. I will set up a blog, use it in certain ways. I start off with a specific theme or structure in mind. Something to do with setting goals; brainstorming; tracking progress; recording intentions; setting up LOA experiments; using positive images etc etc.

Then after X number of entries, I will sense that it's time to end the blog. Just doesn't fit anymore. Time to set up a new one. Time to have a new approach. I leave the blog and do a new one.

(It just happens that it's that particular kind of season for me, now).

Why does it happen?

The reason is my own successes, my own growth. Those successes, that very growth, means that my reality has changed. I've become different.

The stuff that got me to this point - some of it I may not need it anymore; some of it will in fact become a drag and a drain. I'll be needing to move on to something else.

----------------------------

I believe that you may eventually face this problem with your own PD book.

So don't spend too much time on the editing and the proofreading. You'll be chucking it aside, before long.

Ironically the faster you grow and the greater your success, the sooner you'll need to do the shedding.

[James81]

In my case, its something I'm writing for me but something I'm also envisioning sharing with others in some capacity as well.

Interestingly, todays exploration produced an interesting model for personal development that relates to the five senses. Writing it out produced a real sense of clarity as to the roots of experience. It was wildly satisfying because I'm seeing myself generate my own model of personal development rather than relying solely on others models.

I think the end result will lead me to my own coaching style. And that's exciting to imagine.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by James81

In my case, its something I'm writing for me but something I'm also envisioning sharing with others in some capacity as well.

That reminds me of my own blog phases.

I've gone through all of these stages:

- "This is just for my own personal records and planning. It's not meant for other people to read, but it's ok if they want to."

- "I want to have some regular readers, so that I can benefit from their feedback and suggestions and encouragement"

- "I am writing for an audience, so that they can get some value and useful ideas from reading about how I go about achieving my goals."

- "I am not interested in having any readers at all. I value my privacy."

I kinda oscillate through the phases. But currently what I'm very sure that I'm not interested is a kind of PD blog where I am writing for an audience and trying to make some money from Adsense.

[James81]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

That reminds me of my own blog phases.

I've gone through all of these stages:

- "This is just for my own personal records and planning. It's not meant for other people to read, but it's ok if they want to."

- "I want to have some regular readers, so that I can benefit from their feedback and suggestions and encouragement"

- "I am writing for an audience, so that they can get some value and useful ideas from reading about how I go about achieving my goals."

- "I am not interested in having any readers at all. I value my privacy."

I kinda oscillate through the phases. But currently what I'm very sure that I'm not interested is a kind of PD blog where I am writing for an audience and trying to make some money from Adsense.

Hmm, you sound kind of conflicted there. Do I sense a bit of confusion from you on the nature of exploring yourself for an audience?

In my own case, I oscilate between lots of writing and little writing. I almost always write for an audience.

[Lioness]

ALG, I remember your blog and it was very inspirational! It served as an excellent tutorial based on what was happening with your own life and your goals. Any chance of letting us tag along with you again?

Mounds, I think your PD book is a very good idea, because even as your life evolves, you can go back and refer to things that worked in the past. I agree with ALG that as life goes on your PD needs will change and some of the things in the book will become obsolete, However, most PD books, you can re-read years later and refresh your memory about what works in certain situations, core principles, etc. I like the permanancy of the hardcore basics that you can always go back to. While a personal blog can better evolve with you, It may not be as easy to find the real meat and potatoes when you want to refresh your memory or seek inspiration.

I'm going to do somthing less intensive, like "The Greatest Hits of PD". A guideline that I can post somewhere to remind me of tried and true principles. I hope someone will add to my thread below and give me some more pearls of wisdom.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by James81

Hmm, you sound kind of conflicted there. Do I sense a bit of confusion from you on the nature of exploring yourself for an audience?

It's not confusion, it's a circular sort of evolution.

Writing for an audience requires more work. For example, let's say I write:

"John's very pleased with my work on the project. I think we need just another two months to wrap this up. This is going well, I believe I am going to achieve the goal right on time."

If I were writing for myself, this could be a complete post in itself. After all, I know the context and background.

If I were writing for an audience, I'd need to spend time explaining who John is, and what's the project, and why I want it to be completed in two months. Then I might write another three paragraphs on time management tips or project management methods that I know about. Just so as to make the post more generally relevant to more readers.

The question is - do I want to bother with this extra work? It really goes back to why I am blogging about it in the first place. Am I writing primarily for myself, or for the readers?

---------

The next thing is the distraction that readers can cause.

If a blog is written for other readers (and if it succeeds in its aims), then inevitably the readers will expect some interaction. Eg they post comments, they ask questions.

These readers come from different backgrounds and starting points. They won't necessarily understand all the stuff I'm writing about - eg if I blog about using some esoteric LOA technique - so quite naturally they may ask questions.

Again then the question is whether I would want to spend time explaining to them what I'm doing. If my blog is meant for other readers, then I would. If my blog is meant for myself to sort out my own thoughts; clarify my own intentions; do my planning; evaluate my own progress - then I wouldn't want to spend time explaining myself to others.

[Acting Like Godot]

When I talk about oscillations, I don't mean just about whether writing for myself or for others. But a very wide range of other things.

For example, there have been periods in my life where I have decided to simultaneously pursue a large number of goals, some bigger, some smaller. Then there have been periods where I have felt that it was "right" to focus on no more than three or four goals at a time.

Then there have been periods in my life where I have felt it was "right" to take a lot of action. This oscillates with periods of my life when I felt it was "right" to just use the pure-mind LOA approaches a lot.

Then there have been periods in my life where I have felt drawn to "deeper" sorts of goals - of the metaphysical/ spiritual sort. And other periods when my goals are quite materialistic and "earthly".

And every time I go through one of these transitions, I just feel it's time to shed a blog / diary / journal / iPad / goal-tracking software, and get started on a new one.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Lioness

I like the permanancy of the hardcore basics that you can always go back to.

I'm wondering whether there are really any permanent hardcore basics that you can always go back to.

I do believe that there are some basics which are of a more "enduring" or "long-lasting" nature than others.

But again if you are very successful with a particular tool, then this probably means that you've already ingrained it into your mindset. That got you to where you are (and could well be enough to keep you there). But if you want to grow further, you'll probably need something else.

[Lioness]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

The question is - do I want to bother with this extra work? It really goes back to why I am blogging about it in the first place. Am I writing primarily for myself, or for the readers?

As a very successful person, perhaps in a spirit of generosity you might feel led to open your blog to the public without enabling any comments. You don't have to explain who John is. The context would provide enough information, I think.

Well, Mounds seems to have disappeared for now, so maybe he's busy creating his book. I'll be curious to see what he comes up with.

[metamorph]

@Mounds: who are you writing your book for? Beginners?, PD junkies? etc... I think there are already too many books for beginners covering the basics. Who needs another book? I think the more advanced PD readers all get to a point where the further developement is quite individual. So, the strategy that worked for you, may not apply to them. You could write a PD autobiography for your children (born or unborn) and update it from time to time.

[Cado]

Originally Posted by metamorph

@Mounds: who are you writing your book for? Beginners?, PD junkies? etc... I think there are already too many books for beginners covering the basics. Who needs another book? I think the more advanced PD readers all get to a point where the further developement is quite individual. So, the strategy that worked for you, may not apply to them. You could write a PD autobiography for your children (born or unborn) and update it from time to time.

No matter how advanced you get, a lot of the most effective strategies can be broken down to key principles. Those principles, when studied and adapted by the individual, are invaluable.

Remember that we're more similar than different. Strip away the outer layer and the wiring is almost identical within each of us. There are subtle differences but we tend to zero in on those and miss the bigger picture. This, coupled with a constant need for challenge on the path of growth, means that new material will always be valuable.

[metamorph]

Originally Posted by Illustro Cado

No matter how advanced you get, a lot of the most effective strategies can be broken down to key principles. Those principles, when studied and adapted by the individual, are invaluable.

Remember that we're more similar than different. Strip away the outer layer and the wiring is almost identical within each of us.

Agreed. As I said, there a tons of books on the basics (7 habits, Awaken the Giant, The Secret, bible, bhagavad gita, I am that, psychocybernetics, as a man thinketh, power of now etc). I read those books with different eyes every time I go back to them, and they have a different meaning.

How about rather than writing yet another book, he could invest the energy into weeding out this forum and extracting the gems onto 200 pages: give us the most significant quotes/threads/ideas.
Because sooner or later the posts on this forum will end up being nothing but information garbage for new members (there are simply too many....)

I would be ready to pay for that

[VinceG]

Originally Posted by Illustro Cado

No matter how advanced you get, a lot of the most effective strategies can be broken down to key principles. Those principles, when studied and adapted by the individual, are invaluable.

Remember that we're more similar than different. Strip away the outer layer and the wiring is almost identical within each of us. There are subtle differences but we tend to zero in on those and miss the bigger picture. This, coupled with a constant need for challenge on the path of growth, means that new material will always be valuable.

I love this about PD. All the advanced stuff is just the basic stuff, taken in a broader fashion. What this means is that anyone getting defensive about one method is missing the point, anyone constantly looking for the next big thing is missing the point.

Everything you need is right there, been there all along. You just have to look harder at it.

[Lioness]

Originally Posted by metamorph

@Mounds: who are you writing your book for? Beginners?, PD junkies? etc... I think there are already too many books for beginners covering the basics. Who needs another book?

He's writing the book specifically for himself, tailored to his own life, for his own continuous reference. It's not for an audience, although that may be a later possibilty. I think that saying there are too many books on the subject is like saying there's too many varieties of food in the supermarket. But his idea for the book grew out of him feeling that there is too much clutter info out there and not enough that was valuable to him in particular.

How about rather than writing yet another book, he could invest the energy into weeding out this forum and extracting the gems onto 200 pages: give us the most significant quotes/threads/ideas.

Love this idea. Tried to start a thread below for people to post their PD gems, but no one responded. WAAAH!!. Maybe this is a job for you. Mounds seems to be off writing his book for now.

[Daffy Duck]

Originally Posted by metamorph

How about rather than writing yet another book, he could invest the energy into weeding out this forum and extracting the gems onto 200 pages: give us the most significant quotes/threads/ideas.

This is one thing I hoped to have the community help with if I setup a wiki for the forum, but that idea never seemed to gain much steam.

I'm sure if I just went ahead and started one anyway, and got something going, people would see the benefits and pitch in. But meh... I don't care enough anymore.

[metamorph]

Originally Posted by Lioness

Love this idea. Tried to start a thread below for people to post their PD gems, but no one responded. WAAAH!!. Maybe this is a job for you. Mounds seems to be off writing his book for now.

I would be nice if we could tweak the forum software in a way that we could actually give individual posts a mark (e.g. from 1-5). Then, at least in the future, people could search for the top rated posts.

[Mounds]

I've considered on several occasions to roll together entire chunks of the forum and sell it as an ebook. Of course, it seems easy until you try it. It's massive undertaking. Now that I'm creating my personal book, I'm kinda putting monetary projects on hold anyway. Writing this personal book is going to create some serious clarity for where I want to end up and I don't think more work is the key.
What I am thinking about is a PD workbook/course. That would be a handy resource. Little bit of theory, followed by some exploration. The beauty of that is I'm practically creating the product by writing my personal PD book. I'm solving my problem and in turn, I might be creating something that others can use to solve their problems. Ironically though, one of the things I've written down so far in my brainstorming is to stop scheming. It doesn't get you anywhere. Either do something or just stop.
I thought about the PD Wiki. I think it would be quite handy since the topic of personal development is a disorganized mess. You could also get a quick idea of how things connect together. If someone else started it, I'd do some contributing.

-Tim

[metamorph]

Originally Posted by Mounds

I thought about the PD Wiki. I think it would be quite handy since the topic of personal development is a disorganized mess. You could also get a quick idea of how things connect together. If someone else started it, I'd do some contributing.

-Tim

I could imagine something like that (just for PD):

[Lioness]

Originally Posted by Mounds

I've considered on several occasions to roll together entire chunks of the forum and sell it as an ebook.

I would think all forum posts would be under Steve's copyright. He probably wouldn't care if someone culled the top threads, posts and/or articles and put them somewhere on the forum, but not for sale. Even creating a permanent space for this (other than just another thread) would probably have to be OK'd by the site administrators.

I thought about the PD Wiki. I think it would be quite handy since the topic of personal development is a disorganized mess. You could also get a quick idea of how things connect together. If someone else started it, I'd do some contributing.

Can you or Daffy explain this WIKI thing? Would it just be a topic in Wikipedia? You know another great resource would be a synopsis of the best most timeless PD books of all time.

[WarrenG]

I'd have thought forum posts were copyright of the author.

[Mounds]

I'm not suggesting that we should sell entire portions of the forums. There is, however, a lot of value in these forums. You could easily write an ebook using the information talked about here.

[Lioness]

Originally Posted by WarrenG

I'd have thought forum posts were copyright of the author.

I believe membership includes an agreement that you're giving up dominion of what you post to StevePavlina.com. Maybe a moderator will answer this. If every member retains copyright of all their posts, that would be even more problematic to repackage them in any other form.

I guess I misunderstood you, Mounds. I suppose you could use some forum info as a springboard for an e-book but I feel it would still have to have some authorization from this website unless you used site info only in very general terms.

A lot of folks here have more exact copyuright law knowledge. I think that the Zen Habits guy, for example, does not prohibit anyone from republishing his site info in any form they want. I don't know if Steve has this policy also.

[Mounds]

I've got no intention of directly ripping off what's on the forums, although it does happen all the time. For all anyone knows, some anonymous person is getting 3/4 or all of their research from these public forums. To me, that's like using the library to research your book.
I even read about an e-book that encourages you to infiltrate particular forums (people trying to quit smoking, people struggling with a divorce) and write an e-book catered to these types of people.
@Metamorph - something like that is what I had in mind. Handy for a quick overview.

-Tim

[Daffy Duck]

Originally Posted by Lioness

Can you or Daffy explain this WIKI thing? Would it just be a topic in Wikipedia?

It would be its own Wiki. It would look and work similar to Wikipedia, but would be independent of Wikipedia.

[Lioness]

You mean it would be a website and people could add to it and someone would edit it as necessary?

[Lioness]

Mounds, you were exploring on another forum about making passive income a la property rental income. This website was linked by a new member and it looks like something you'd be interested in. Passive Income: The Smart Passive Income Blog

[Daffy Duck]

Originally Posted by Lioness

You mean it would be a website and people could add to it and someone would edit it as necessary?

Right, that was the idea.

[James81]

I forgot that I installed this on my site a long time ago, but anybody who wants to do personal development wiki, here ya go:

The Soul's Asylum Wiki Page

[Mounds]

Originally Posted by Lioness

Mounds, you were exploring on another forum about making passive income a la property rental income. This website was linked by a new member and it looks like something you'd be interested in. Passive Income: The Smart Passive Income Blog

I've got this one in my RSS feed actually! It's extremely inspiring and after reading a few posts on there, you start to feel like a chump for working a normal job. Many months, he clears $15,000, just working from home.

I'll tell you guys what's on my mind as far as extra income goes. Currently, I'm building an agriculture business. The way it works is that there is income for four months out of the year, when you sell your product. This business has monster potential but the allure of side jobs keeps dragging me back in because the reward is so immediate. To be totally straight with myself, it's a waste to use up my time on all sorts of side projects that will never culminate into something large.

This leads me to another thing. I read a book a while back that had an interesting scenario. A country in Europe (Sweeden?) was looking for a town to host a chemical waste warehouse. They asked nicely and found that the majority of a particular town was in favor. They wanted more people in favor so they decided to sweeten the deal with cash incentives. Favor for the warehouse fell immensley. They went up to somewhere in the neighborhood of $10k/year/person. Nobody budged. It was determined that doing things out of the goodness of your heart and doing things for money activate different parts of the brain. When the people were offered money to host the warehouse, they refused because the brain did not consider it worthwhile.
Now take that with all my scheming. I will write a personal PD book for myself in a heartbeat but I can't be bothered to write a single article that I could sell for $15. I honestly believe that this is why Steve says to focus on providing value, whether he realizes it or not. When you do something with the intent of providing value, you are simply much more likely to actually follow through with it. If he said, "Create it in order to make lots of money", would anyone actually be motivated to do it? I think you'd get lots of second guessing ("Is my work good enough?", "Is it worth my time?"), procrastination and a big ol' lack of motivation.
Just look at that. I've posted over 2300 articles on this board. How many articles could I have churned out with all that typing? The difference is I don't do this for cash. I do it because I enjoy the socializing, I enjoy making people laugh and I enjoy providing some insights. If I did it soley for monetary gain, I'd be long gone

-Tim