Mentoring

June 30, 2005 |

A well-known shortcut to goal achievement is to enlist the help of a mentor — someone who’s already been down a path similar to yours who can help guide you. One of the problems I faced when endeavoring to become a professional speaker was that I knew very little about the business side of speaking.…

Lessons from Star Trek

June 29, 2005 |

One of the best examples of the fulfillment of human potential can actually be found in the Star Trek universe created by Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry was more than just a TV producer — he was a futurist who spoke at NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, and many universities. His vision began to take root in the…

The Meaning of Life: Conscious Evolution

June 24, 2005 |

In this final post in the Meaning of Life Series, I’ll attempt to present a broader view of why personal development is so important and why I believe that investing in your own growth is the best investment you can make. Conscious Evolution When I used the word “evolution” to describe my world view, I…

The Meaning of Life: Transitioning

June 23, 2005 |

Once you’ve defined your purpose and identified some goals and projects based on that purpose, most likely you’ll find that you’ll have to move in a very different direction. You may have been trekking down your current path for years, and now you’ve set a whole new direction. It’s possible that almost every part of…

The Meaning of Life: From Purpose to Action

June 22, 2005 |

Once you’ve identified your overall purpose/mission, the next step is to turn that purpose into achievable goals, projects, and actions. I’ve written extensively about this subject already, so I don’t have anything profoundly new to share within the scope of this “meaning of life” series. This entry will mostly be links to previous content. Once…

The Meaning of Life: Discover Your Purpose

June 21, 2005 |

Do You Have a Pre-Encoded Purpose? Many books I’ve read seem to assume that we’re either genetically or divinely encoded with some sort of built-in purpose, and all we need to do is take the time to discover it through private introspection. You just sit down one day and write a mission statement and trust…

The Meaning of Life: How Shall We Live?

June 20, 2005 |

How shall we live? What shall we live for, if anything? How can we decide right from wrong? Is there any reasonable way to answer these questions that doesn’t require us to fall back on blind faith? Let’s Ask the Old Greeks People have been striving to answer these questions literally for thousands of years.…

The Meaning of Life: Intro

June 19, 2005 |

What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? Is there a God or isn’t there, and if there is a God, what is its nature? Of all the world’s religions, which one is the most correct? Is there an afterlife? Are we primarily physical beings or spiritual beings? People have struggled for millennia…

Working in Unusual Places

June 17, 2005 |

I recently read that Malcolm Gladwell wrote most of his book Blink while away from his desk. He wrote at coffee shops, restaurants, and other public places. I’ve only done a little of this myself, but I’ve always found it a valuable practice. If I feel stuck in a creative rut, working in a public…

The Meaning of Life Series

June 14, 2005 |

On Sunday, June 19, I’ll kick off a new multi-part series that tackles what is perhaps the biggest issue in personal development — your overall philosophy of life and what you believe is the meaning of life itself. Here’s the basic outline: Sunday: Intro. Why this question even matters. My quest for meaning/truth. How my…