Personal Development Recommended Reading

Found two articles this week that gave me that "zing!" that lets me know I've hit on something truthful. Both beautiful and important... Check them out.

Top Five Regrets of the Dying (Link goes to the cached version; main site seems to be down.)
Lovely, meaningful article that echoes and condenses a lot of the best advice I've ever heard. Lining up quite well with my re-read of Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck, which is one of my favorite personal development books. Both worth checking out.


I'm Christian, Unless You're Gay
And this is just flat-up important. And made me cry. And by Dan Pearce, whose blog is awesome. “Oh, but you’re not gay? You’re clean, and well dressed, and you have a job? You look the way I think you should look? You act the way I think you should act? You believe the things I think you should believe? Then I’m definitely a Christian. To you, today, I’m a Christian. You’ve earned it.” I hear that implied statement way too much, and this article does a beautiful job of addressing the problem.

Best Blog Articles I've Read Recently

I love blogs. I've been on a real blog kick the last couple of days, and here are some of the best.

Adults in Cradles from Advanced Riskology
This addresses that worrying trend of adults living with Mom and Dad until they're 30. I've noticed this a lot among my friends, and I do not understand it. I do, however, understand the fear of becoming a real adult with all the responsibilities and risks that entails, and this article covers that subject too, with directness and warmth.

"Shut Up And Call": How I Saved #175 on My Verizon Cell Phone Bill from Man vs. Debt
Great article on the power of just asking. Has lots of tips on negotiation/getting discounts/getting what you're after when you're on a customer service line. Ever-so-slightly manipulative... but if the situation ends up win/win, well, groovy.

Welcome to the Real World from The Art of Nonconformity
On why everything everyone says about "the real world" is crap. I love this blog.

Write Epic Shit from ThinkTraffic
This is one I'm still working on. I think perhaps my thoughts are insufficiently epic...? Whatever. The point is, this is an awesome article. Feel free to replace "Write" with whatever verb suits you best.

Why Your Ideal Career is Hiding From You from Everyday Bright
Confession: I think maybe I just liked this one because I haven't had a dose of solid self-help crack in a while and this felt good. Buuuut in addition to that, it had some great insights into finding a career/life path. Definitely worth a read if that's where you're at in life (or if it's where you want to be).

The Inescapable Truth of About Every Book, Guide, or Blog Post You'll Ever Read (Including This One) from Blog of Impossible Things
The main point of this article: "They don't do the work for you." Worth remembering. With that, back to real life. See ya'll later!