Pre-order Personal Development for Smart People (Blog)

[Steve Pavlina]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Pre-order Personal Development for Smart People

[Dan.Linehan]

Instant Order Update for Dan Linehan. You purchased this item on May 23, 2008.

Sounds like a real win Steve -- can't wait to read it.

[carenkh]

OK, I’ve blabbed enough about the book for now.

I was actually disappointed the article was coming to an end! Your excitement is contagious. I'm really looking forward to reading it!

[Sam988]

I think i might not agree with everything in the book but hell i'm sure steve has come up with something better than at least 95% of the other PD books.

[akchang]

I am looking forward to reading this book. Even though I've been reading this website for a while, I am wondering if Steve Pavlina has ever written about truth in regards to how people use truth only when it serves them. In other words, when "truth" is used to rationalize behavior which may not be rational.

[Steve Pavlina]

Since I'm sure some computer game players will notice the connection, I'll say that the computer game Ultima IV was definitely one of the many inspirations for this book. That game presented a system of virtues that includes honesty, compassion, valor, justice, honor, sacrifice, humility, and spirituality, which are based on different combinations of truth, love, and courage. You can learn more about it on this Wikipedia page.

I really liked the Ultima virtue system when I first encountered it. But the main problem was that this system was too heavily slanted toward social interaction, so its virtues weren't truly universal. For example, the principle of justice won't readily help you improve your health. I also thought the virtue of sacrifice was questionable, and the virtue of spirituality seemed way too nebulous.

I thought Richard Garriott (creator of the Ultima series) had gotten close to something that could have far more universal applications. Interestingly, I came up with a similar triangular structure to what he devised, even though this exploration took me in many different directions before the final solution began to emerge. Coming up with a simple structure like this is a lot more difficult than it may appear.

I actually met Richard Garriott at a conference many years ago (long before I started blogging) and told him how much I liked the structure of the virtue system he came up with. I had a brief conversation with him about how he came up with it. Basically it amounted to a lot of trial and error, which was essentially the same approach I ended up using.

Somehow I think it's very fitting that I should draw a bit of inspiration from a video game for my first book.

[Holistic Star]

Oh wow - if that's just you talking about the book then reading the actual book itself is going to blow my socks off!

It's my husbands birthday the day it is released. Do you think he'll mind if I spend it reading your book! Or maybe that's not the principle of love - darn....

[frntk]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

I came up with a similar triangular structure...

Speaking of triangles, I've read about 60% of the content of your blog, and always thought that diagrams/images would be an excelent way of making more clear the most trickier concepts. At least for some people... like, well, me.

Obviously it is more time consuming, but you could outsource it. Ask your daughter if she's interested.

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

I should draw a bit of inspiration...

See? you said it yourself.

I'm really, really, REALLY looking forward to read your book!

[Jake Birkett]

Ultima rocks! And Richard Garriott is going to go into space soon. He is a big dreamer and has achieved a lot.

Anyway look forward to the book.

[Dave Kaminski]

Steve, you're a hell of a salesman.

That said, I too am looking forward to reading the book. I'm glad to hear you're happy with the final product

[Anand Dhillon]

For those of you in Canada, you can preorder steve's book for less than $13 at chapters.indigo.ca: Personal Development for Smart People

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Dave Kaminski

Steve, you're a hell of a salesman.

I learned a long time ago that selling is very easy when you have a good product that you believe in. All you have to do is explain how it will benefit people.

700+ articles for $0 has been fairly easy to sell.

[Erinn]

Okay, I've preordered your book, Steve. When is Erin's coming out?

[Erin Pavlina]

Boy I'm itching to write a book But I won't self-publish this time, I want to go with a publisher. I was approached by Llewellyn which is interesting because I grew up reading tons of books by them so I knew them well. But the time is not quite right yet...

[Dave Kaminski]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

I learned a long time ago that selling is very easy when you have a good product that you believe in. All you have to do is explain how it will benefit people.

Selling is easy when you believe it's a good product. Let's not forget how easy it is to confuse what we think is good from what is! Good thing we have religion to do that for us.

Honestly though, if your articles are any evidence that this book will have a great impact, this book will have an awesome impact. Thanks in advance for all the hard work you put into the first copy of this book.

Think we'll see a 10th anniversary edition? 2012 is right around the corner after all... :P

[Tuumble]

While a 30,000 initial print run probably makes sound business sense in the circumstances I suspect it will turn out to woefully short of what will be needed. I have a feeling in my water that the members on here are privileged to witness the very beginning of a project and see the launch of an international best seller in the seven figure bracket.

Remember where you heard it first!

How I will enjoy telling my grandchildren I submitted two rejected covers for a million seller personal development book!

[Adrienne]

I too can not wait to read it!
Steve,
Any idea of there will be a kindle version (amazons ebook reader) of it?

Adrienne

[Lenie]

been prouder of anyone I've personally not met. Seriously, maybe being here fosters a sense of ownership. Because I can not notfeel proud of Steve.

I'm so excited. I can't wait for it to come out - I'm soo looking forward to when I get to read it. Anticipation's fun

[Lenie]

Erin - you on Llewellen seems just - perfect!
I can't wait to buy yours, too!

*throws confetti*

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Adrienne

Any idea if there will be a kindle version (amazons ebook reader) of it?

The timing of the release of various versions is up to Hay House, but they do have the ebook rights, so a Kindle version is certainly possible. I'll certainly push for a Kindle version.

I'd especially love to see the book translated into other languages. Hay House is an International publisher with branches on several continents, and they have the ability to license the book rights to other publishers for territories they don't cover directly.

My web traffic was built on referrals, so I expect the book will do really well in the long run. I just wish the brick-and-mortar book business moved at the speed of blogging.

[Steve Pavlina]

The Amazon sales rank is up to 970 right now. That's the best I've seen it. A big thanks to everyone who pre-ordered it.

[Hunter Nuttall]

"Even though I'm left-handed (and supposedly right-brained), I tend to be very left-brained and analytical in my writing..." - Steve

Here's an interesting Washington Post article about left-handedness:

Leading With Their Left

"The brain and the body are cross-wired, so it's often assumed that all left-handers are 'right brain'-dominant. Yet neuroscience has revealed that the majority of lefties are left-hemisphere-dominant, just like righties. In neuroimaging studies, however, the brains of lefties tend to be more symmetrical, an indication that certain functions are less restricted to the left lobe. Motor skill is one such function; speech can be another."

The printed version of the article included a list of 10 tasks that researchers observe people performing in order to determine their true handedness:

- Writing
- Drawing
- Throwing
- Cutting with scissors
- Using a spoon
- Using a knife (without a fork)
- Using a broom (upper hand is dominant) or brushing one's hair
- Opening a box or a jar lid
- Brushing teeth
- Striking a match

Strong handedness is defined as using the same hand for all 10 activities.
Mixed handedness is defined as using the other hand for even 1 activity (other than scissors, which are often designed for right-handers).

The U.S. population breaks down like this:

Strongly left-handed: 2-3%
Mixed left-handed: 7-8%
Mixed right-handed: 35%
Strongly right-handed: 55%

I thought I was left-handed, but I only use my left hand for 6 of the 10 tasks!

Oh, and I ordered the book! Can't wait!

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Hunter Nuttall

- Writing
- Drawing
- Throwing
- Cutting with scissors
- Using a spoon
- Using a knife (without a fork)
- Using a broom (upper hand is dominant) or brushing one's hair
- Opening a box or a jar lid
- Brushing teeth
- Striking a match

Strong handedness is defined as using the same hand for all 10 activities.

I do all 10 of those things with my left hand and never with my right. It would feel awkward to even attempt any of those things right-handed.

[Fullcrum]

This'll probably be the first book I ever pre-order.

I wasn't old enough for the Harry Potter craze.

Good look with the book! I'm sure it's content rich - I personally love very dense and hard-hitting books. Like where you can turn to a page, read a couple lines and feel "realigned" with what you know is right and to be true. Few things have that ability.

[MasterD]

But it’s rare that you’ll encounter money-oriented books that successfully incorporate the principles of love and oneness. What you often get is a cold, largely heartless approach to making money centered on greed and pushing yourself to succeed. If you’re a fairly conscious person, such strategies will only make you nauseous, and you’ll fail to achieve the level of financial abundance such books promise.

Does a darkworker has to align himself with love and oneness?

Since we’re dealing with problems of consciousness instead of physical objects, the solutions aren’t as crisp and precise as mathematical formulas, but I think they’re as close as we can reasonably get.

In physics you have statistical physics and quantum mechanics if you want to describe the dynamics of a substance with an incredible amount of molecules. In a mascroscopic sense this averages out to thermodynamics; which is not precise, but very close to.

By the way, ordered the book, what's the highest amount of books sold before it was published ever? I bet you can beat that number.

[Steve Pavlina]

With respect to how polarity (lightworking, darkworking) overlaps these concepts, that would take a whole other book to explain in detail. I've been thinking about writing a book on polarity too. It's hard to do the concept justice with a series of articles. A rich subject like polarity really requires more clarity and organization than I'm able to offer in a blogging format.

The simple answer is that you can apply all of these principles as either a darkworker, a lightworker, or a non-polarized person. However, there's a big difference in how they'll be interpreted and applied.

For example, a lightworker experiences oneness by sensing a pre-existing connection with everyone else. Another word for this is unconditional love. A darkworker, on the other hand, achieves oneness by controlling and dominating others (picture Darth Vader). You could think of this as unconditional control. In both cases the lightworker/darkworker experiences an expansion of self.

Again, I'd need to write a whole book to explain this properly, but maybe I could start by writing an article about polarity and the principles at some point.

[MasterD]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

With respect to how polarity (lightworking, darkworking) overlaps these concepts, that would take a whole other book to explain in detail. I've been thinking about writing a book on polarity too. It's hard to do the concept justice with a series of articles. A rich subject like polarity really requires more clarity and organization than I'm able to offer in a blogging format.

The simple answer is that you can apply all of these principles as either a darkworker, a lightworker, or a non-polaried person. However, there's a big difference in how they'll be interpreted and applied.

For example, a lightworker experiences oneness by sensing a pre-existing connection with everyone else. Another word for this is unconditional love. A darkworker, on the other hand, achieves oneness by controlling and dominating others (picture Darth Vader). You could think of this as unconditional control. In both cases the lightworker/darkworker experiences an expansion of self.

Again, I'd need to write a whole book to explain this properly, but maybe I could start by writing an article about polarity and the principles at some point.

That would be great; since polarization is probably the most misunderstood concept on your entire blog. This polarization concept; is that something you made up, or are there already good books out there explaining this concept?

[Trezker]

Originally Posted by Hunter Nuttall

L- Writing
L- Drawing
R- Throwing
B- Cutting with scissors
L- Using a spoon
L- Using a knife (without a fork)
L- Using a broom (upper hand is dominant) or brushing one's hair
L- Opening a box or a jar lid
L- Brushing teeth
R- Striking a match

I always try to use scissor with left hand, but when the pain from using righthanded scissors becomes too much I switch to right hand. I'm very good at using it with the right hand though so if only the scissors are neutral I'm pretty much equally good I think.

Anyway, when does this book come to Sweden? Also, I'd like to say that I'd prefer to read it in English. A lot of meaning can be lost in translation.

[Peek]

Well to Book or not to Book.
I'll wait until they make a movie of it.

[WilliWibald]

I just ordered mine and amazon says the current rank is 496. Amazing.