Comments on: A principled life according to Steve Pavlina

By: Swaroop

Swaroop — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 10:19:15 +0000

@Mohammed Ali : Yes, that was a good podcast. I’m sure you’ll find the book thought-provoking too

By: Mohammed Ali

Mohammed Ali — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 08:42:16 +0000

Thanks for writing this review, as I was considering getting this book but wasn’t sure what to find in it!

I recently heard Steve’s podcast on Purpose:

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/06/stevepavlinacom-podcast-015-what-is-your-purpose/

I found it to be quite good!

By: Swaroop

Swaroop — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:07:34 +0000

@Sridhar I have found Steve’s interpretation of the words ‘love’ and ‘power’ to be different from the dictionary meaning, so maybe reading the book will explain the terminology used.

By: Sridhar Ratnakumar

Sridhar Ratnakumar — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:42:54 +0000

I find it strange that Steve defines 'Intelligence' as Truth + Love + Power. Intelligence is a neo-cortex thing, while love/power are affective energy from amygdala. Or, am I missing something here?

I agree with Ankesh on the usefulness of studying psychology/neurology and especially evolutionary psychology, but a subjective investigation would do even more good that a mere intellectual understanding.

By: Swaroop

Swaroop — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:01:20 +0000

@Pramod : Heh, Perhaps a “For Dummies” one would

@Karthick : Yes

@Girish : It’s taken from the book.

@Ankesh : Interesting. I hadn’t considered reading neurology text books!

By: Ankesh Kothari

Ankesh Kothari — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:35:43 +0000

Thanks Swaroop for talking about personal development.

Pavlina’s stuff is usually top notch - but haven’t read the book yet. Will have to get it soon…

The best personal development book I’ve read is “Success is just one wish away” by Jon Spoelstra. (I think its pdf version is available for free from Jon’s website too…)

But most of my personal development breakthroughs have come by reading psychology and neurology text books and understanding how our brains function.

By: Personal Development for Smart People Book Reviews

Personal Development for Smart People Book Reviews — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:00:39 +0000

[...] http://www.swaroopch.com/blog/a-principled-life/ [...]

By: Girish

Girish — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:37:55 +0000

Wow… truly informative. The data in the triangle is great..

By: Karthick

Karthick — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:19:45 +0000

I don’t have the traffic yet to avail a free book :/. Do you think it’s worth buying a hard copy of it ?

By: Pramod Biligiri

Pramod Biligiri — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 14:13:24 +0000

I was wondering, If there’s a book called “Personal Development for Dumb People”, would anyone buy it?