Online Resources for Personal Development and Excellence

If only we could all plant ourselves in a pot, top it off with some compost, and bloom. The journey of personal development, personal excellence, personal growth, however you may phrase it, is never an easy one. That’s why we never got a handbook for this things called life. There are, however, many online resources for personal development that are over flowing fountains of information, new ways of thinking, challenges to take and questions to ask ourselves. These webmasters or bloggers are in no way perfect, and each idea differs from site to site, voice to voice. Even how you interpret them can be different from the person next to you, but, what they all have in common, is one goal of true personal excellence, reaching your highest potential - and hopefully having some fun along the way.

I've been an avid reader of these blogs for a while now, and I admit, I don't always take onboard the advice, some I disregard if I don't feel it , some I tweak to suit the needs of my own personal   journey. Overall, they have given me much to think about, and hopefully, they will get you thinking, and developing, too.

1. Marc and Angel Hack Life. Practical tips for productive living has been around for sometime now. Their broad range of topics cover, life, hacks, productivity, aspirations, health, work, technology and general self-improvement. Generally updating on a Sunday evening, with all their material free to access, print, and tweet, facebook and pass on etc, they are a duo of knowledge. Some of their most popular posts include; 50 things everyone should know how to do, 70 things to do before having children, 12 dozen places to educate yourself online for free, 26 life lessons learned by age 26 and 50 questions that will free your mind . Their posts are thought provoking, informative and always leave you with a satisfying smile across your face. They are also the founders of Makes Me Think, a community where users can share their daily life stories that provoke deep thought and inspire a positive change.

2. The Personal Excellence Blog - be your best self, live your best life, 20,000 subscribers, read by over 250,000 visitors a month, and categorized in the top 50,000 websites in the world. TPEB as it's known, is run by Celestine Chua, a personal development coach from Singapore. Her goal here is to help others achieve personal development and growth through understanding themselves, knowing their desires and pushing them to pursue them, thus attaining personal excellence. Her blog posts are informative, covering a broad spectrum of personal development, with something for everyone, from those just starting out at college, to the more learned in life. Some of her most noted topics include; How to say NO to others, The 8 habits of highly productive people, 10 reasons you should stop watching TV, Are you sleepwalking your life away? and Finding your inner self . Her website navigates almost like an interactive classroom, she has set up a 'starting page' where she links in order the posts you should start with, then where to go from there to continue your journey. She has also created several 'programs' most of which you can access for free, but there is some charge for e-books and workbooks that correspond with the material. Her 30 Days to a better you and 21 day lifestyle revamp program have been immensely popular, as was her 21 day fast. Her forums are growing in popularity and she maintains a strong presence on there.

3. Life Optimizer -personal growth and effectivnessis all about living to your maximum potential. Living a regular life just won't do, but sometimes we need that spark, that push, to force us towards living a fuller life. There are many aspects of your life right now that you think are ok, just fine and getting by, but why be just OK? Why not strive for something more? Strive for improvement. Run by Donald Latumahina, he regularly posts on such topics as; 7 ways to improve your conversational skills, how to seek and seize life’s opportunities, How to be successful: 5 lessons from Sherlock Holmes, How to overcome shyness and How to invest in your future . His posts are fresh and insightful, causing you to stop and think about how you can instantly, and easily, start improving areas of your life.

4. LifeHack - tips and tricks for getting things done quickly by automating, increasing productivity, and organising. But whats speed got to do with personal development? Isn't it a step by step process ?. Yes. It is a step by step process, it won't happen over night, but what lifehack gives you is ways to get through things quicker and more efficiently, so that you have time . The site has six main categories, 'Productivity', 'Communication', 'Lifestyle', 'Money', 'Technology' and 'Management'. These defined categories make it easier for you to select which area you think in your own life needs a little improvement, and read posts based around that area. Their most popular posts include; Everything you know about weight loss is wrong, 10 ways to improve your memory and boost brain power, How to de clutter your life and reduce stress, and Great ideas for dinner in under 10 minutes. Most posts are from a series of guest bloggers who have links to their own websites, it's like a goldmine of information if you're prepared to do a little digging!

5. The Positivity Blog - improving your social life, health, happiness, productivity and general awesomeness .Running since 2006, this blog belongs to Henrik Edberg of Sweden. He writes motivational yet practical articles on how to improve the life you are living right now. With 41,000 subscribers and over 6million hits since opening, his articles are retweeted 1000's of times over. What’s great about his blog is that he hasn't always been so positive and productive, he has been on the journey (though one wonders if a journey of personal development is ever complete?) and now he uses his own development experiments, discoveries and experiences to help you on your own journey. Some of his most popular topics include; Do you make these 10 mistakes in conversation?, 18 ways to improve your body language, 16 things I wish they had taught me in school , and, How to bridge the distance between you and someone else.

These are just some of my personal favorites. There are many more personal development resources online, and offline in libraries etc and not one person will ever hold the true, one singular answer, but if the above blogs and their content provoke just one new positive thought or one new way of doing something in your daily life, you are already on your way to making the changes you want to make in order to live the best life you can, the life that is right for you!

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