I’ve always believed that in order to grow and reach the next level, you must learn from the best.

You’d want to learn from the mistakes that successful people make (so you can avoid them) and also understand how they achieve the phenomenal things they do.

With that, let me leave you with a speech by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple and Pixar Animation. Now Steve is a remarkable man who has gone through a lot of ups and downs. I am quite sure you will be able to learn much from him.

Do share with me the insights and “AHA’s” you managed to get from the video in the comments section. Feel free to email me too to chat!

Photo by Ennor

Today marks the end of an interesting year - A year where I made the decision to stray from the conventional path to pursue an infopreneurial route.

Yes, it’s not easy. But I’m still hanging on… and that’s because of readers like you.

You see, I have a vision… My vision is to touch the lives of as many people as I can, through my writings. People who are interested in improving their lives… People who want to find more meaning and joy… People who are enthusiastic to learn new things and apply them… People like you.

Now, you may be wondering… what does that get me? How would helping you help me in any way?

Well it helps me find and refine my own meaning in life. Often, when you give, you get back more in return… it may be intangible but you know the feelings are worth their weight in gold.

So without further ado, let me present to you my best personal development articles in 2007… Continue Reading »
The Best of RichGrad.com in 2007

Welcome to the September 2, 2007 edition of the personal development carnival! This is the first time I am hosting the personal development carnival and I want to thank everyone for your overwhelming support! Please take your time to read through these quality empowering submissions…

Chris_SS presents Introverted Traits That Can Hold Back Your Social Success posted at How to have more social success.

Matthew Paulson presents Have a Will and a Living Will? You’re Not Done Yet. posted at Getting Green.

Golbguru presents The (Lack Of) Relationship Between Intelligence And Wealth posted at Money, Matter, and More Musings, saying, “Of the ingredients essential to become wealthy, “intelligence” isn’t one of them. Ambition, willpower, discipline, and emotional stability are necessary and they essentially do not depend on intelligence.”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Does Size Matter: How Small A House Are You Willing To Live In? posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Some people are able to live simply and frugally to the point of even downsizing their homes. Living smaller is certainly better for the environment but is this something we can handle?”

FitBuff presents Out of Body Experiences: Medical Mysteries or Scientific Explanation? posted at FitBuff.com’s Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, “Out of body experiences have long been a medical mystery, but a new study broke new ground in actually being able to trigger the phenomenon on demand. The implications of this research could apply to everything from life-saving technology to virtual reality video games. But, do you think there is more to some people’s out of body experiences that can’t be explained quite so easily?” Continue Reading »
The Personal Development Carnival, September 2, 2007 Edition

“Networking is Fun!” Callum Laing from MobyElite International exclaimed, as he assessed the audience intently, in a talk I attended last Friday.

“I remembered my very first networking event,” he continued. “I read every single book on networking out there and I felt ready and confident. But when I got there, everybody was talking to each other like they were old friends and I felt totally out of place. I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible!”

As Callum started building rapport with the audience, he introduced the four levels of networking.

1. Fear
We all start at this level. Some of us are naturally shy and it’s hard to step out of our comfort zone. If you are currently at this level, Callum’s advice is to turn fear into courage:

• Understand what’s the worst that can happen - If you fail to connect with someone, what’s the worst that can happen? Excuse yourself, move on and approach another person. Treat failure as feedback to improve your next interaction.
• Focus on the benefits - What will a bigger network mean? More opportunities, fun, career prospects, mentors, interesting stories, potential dates and money! Hands up those who still can’t see the benefits!
• Make a decision, take action and get involved - “To know and not to do is not yet to know.” Take action! Start talking. You can’t learn networking without practicing. Get out there and do it! Continue Reading »
  Networking for Success, Practical Tips from Callum Laing
  If you like this article, buy me a fruit juice!

I was just speaking to a good friend on Tuesday and she was asking me about the number of seminars that I would be attending in the next few months. When I started to list them out, she immediately blurted out “Seminar Junkie!”

You see, I have already committed close to $20,000 on various self-improvement, personal development and wealth creation seminars. No, I don’t have truckloads of money to burn (Not yet anyway). The reason for my supposedly irrational behavior is simple: I see it as an investment in myself rather than an expense.

Now, different people attend seminars or seminar previews for a variety of diverse reasons. Some of them are forced to go to accompany their friends/spouses. Others attend because they are curious.

Then there are those who are genuinely interested to learn and apply at least a tiny fraction of the knowledge gained, so that they can improve their lives. It is no wonder then that the same seminar can have such drastically disparate results on each and every one attendee!

For those who want to get the most out of any seminar, allow SJ the “Seminar Junkie” to share with you some proven tips: Continue Reading »
5 Proven Tips to get the most out of any Seminar