I've never wrote a book review before. I don't ever remember reading a book review. In fact, I don't even know what you're supposed to say in a book review!

With that being said, I'd like to write a book review about Steve Pavlina's book, Personal Development For Smart People. But on my terms!

I believe that the best way I could write about something related to the book is to tell you want I learned about it most. Which is exactly what I am going to do below.

These are the key points that really stirred up my thinking and beliefs. I've read several personal development books now and some of the concepts I learned from this book I have never heard before. It's these things, and more, that I would like to share with you now. I hope you enjoy...

The Truth About Goal Setting

The greatest "ah-ha!" moment that I received from the book was Steve's discussion about the purpose of goal setting.

I've seen a lot of things written about goal setting before. But I never heard or fully grasped the purpose of goals better than how this book explained it.

First, understand that in life, the only thing that we are in complete control of is the present. The past is over and done with. And no matter how good or bad it was, there is nothing you can do about it now.

The same goes with the future. What we do right now effects the future. But understand that we can't control or do anything in the future.

With that clarification, let me explain how to really set goals that work. Since you can only control what you are doing this very second, you should have goals that stir up emotion and motivation in you this very second.

If it doesn't do that, you need a new goal.

I've had goals for so long that seem to run dry over time. But I kept them because that's what I thought the purpose of a goal was. To have something to strive towards.

Wrong.

The purpose  of goals is to motivate you to take action today. And take action towards something that you want to achieve. If a goal doesn't excite you, it has lost it's purpose. Remember again that they only thing you can control is right now. Make a goal that stirs you to action right now every time you look at it.

If you can do this, you can finally start using goals effectively in a way that moves you towards the things that you want.

Use Your Success Mechanism

I was in the middle of reading Psycho-Cybernetics when Steve's book arrived at my doorstep. Of course, I had to temporarily stop reading the book because I had been waiting for Steve's book for months!

As I was reading Steve's book, I couldn't help but notice some similarities. Steve mentions a line that seems to be the core message from Psycho-Cybernetics. And that is...

"All you have to do is set a goal, make decisions that you think will lead you in the right direction, and keep taking action."

Similarly, he says that...

"Failure and success are not opposites. Failure is an unavoidable part of success."

Psycho-Cybernetics calls this our "success mechanism." And it explains that every human being has this built inside of them.

Whatever you want to call it, this is truly a mind blowing concept. Our mind is designed to fire, make adjustments, fire again, make more adjustments, and continue this pattern until we have reached our target.

So many people spend all of their time aiming, without having the chance to fire! These are the people that are afraid to take risks. Those that fear failure.

On the other hand, there are some people that keep firing and never adjust. These are the type of people that constantly go after get-rich-quick schemes. They never learn from their mistakes and end up doing the same devastating mistakes over and over again.

Take action. If it works, great! If it doesn't, figure out why. And then take action again based on what you have learned. That is how you unleash your success mechanism.

And this is how you get to the places that you would like to do!

Where Is The Path With A Heart?

Steve's book asks you to answer this question on a number of different occasions. Whether it be in your career, your relationships, or anything else that's important in your life.

Just for the sake of example, let me give you an example of how this has applied to me. And why I believe in this...

I've built several failed websites over the years. And the reason I believe these websites failed was because I didn't follow my heart.

For example, even though I had a movie quotes site that was attracting 400+ visitors a day, I really didn't care all that much about movie quotes. I mean, sure I like movies. But I don't really think that following my heart leads to creating a movie quotes site. Maybe it would be for you, and that's fine!

For me though, I believe that this website gives me the opportunity to truly follow my path with a heart. I have learned so much in only a few short years. And I feel it is my duty to share this wonderful knowledge that I have gained.

I stumbled about personal development by mere chance (you can read my personal development story here.) So I want more and more people to become aware of the great information that is out there.

Following my heart has led to developing this website. A website that I'm sure I will continue working on for the rest of my life.

Find something that you have a long term passion and commitment for. It's not the same for everybody. And only you know deep down what's right for you.

It may take some looking and some "soul searching" if you will. But there's something out there that you can ask the question, "does this path lead with the heart?" And your answer will be an emphatic YES!

Relationship Advice I've Never Heard Before

A unique concept from the book that I had never heard before was that of oneness. Steve mentions that he learned this concept from his wife Erin.

He noticed that every person she spoke with, it was as if she had already known them. She credited this ability to her belief that we are all on this planet together

I wish I could mention the background behind this concept better, but you'll have to read the book to get the full details. I'll simply do my best to explain how you can apply oneness in your daily life...

Basically, have no fear whenever you are meeting someone for the first time. When you see someone in an elevator, introduce yourself and speak to them as if you are already their best friend.

The central idea of oneness is to be yourself. If you be yourself, will some of the people you speak with not like you? Of course! We can't be a perfect match with everybody!

And for those people that you aren't a match with, you can have a nice, short conversation and move on with your day. But for those that you do seem to be a great match with, this can lead to a long term friendship that is based on truth.

When you always be yourself, you start to attract more people that you like and less people that you don't.

Oneness gives you the courage to start speaking and connecting with more people. There's a line in the book that I think summarizes oneness quite nicely. And that is...

"The best way to break the ice with someone is to assume there was never any ice to begin with."

Steve's Biggest Piece Of Advice

In the book, Steve says that if you remember only one thing, remember this...

"The most intelligent thing you can possibly do with your life is to grow."

This is so important to realize and understand. It's something that is repeated over and over throughout this website. Make yourself a little better today. It doesn't have to be much. Just a little improvement.

Over time, these little improvements start to add up to a lot. Just do one more push up each week, and before you know it you will be able to do 100 push ups.

I never thought I would be able to read over 100 personal development books within a 2 year span, but it just happened. And it's all because I took it one book at a time.

Start something today that you can improve upon a little bit each day or week. Stay disciplined and persistent and see just how far it will take you!

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