You know the feeling. Maybe you want to be more productive, finally tackle that goal of yours, or start waking up earlier. So you go to Google or your favorite personal development blogs. Maybe if you still haven’t found what you’re looking for you try searching for a Youtube video or ask your Facebook friends if they know of any good sites. And that’s it. You’ve exhausted your resources and don’t know where else to look. Sometimes you find what you need, but you still have a sense that there’s got to be more. That you don’t know – what you don’t know. And that’s where you get stuck. Wanting more, but just not knowing where to find it. Today I hope to change that by sharing with you 22 of the killer personal development resources you’re missing out on.
1. Reddit
I know, you thought Reddit was just for gamers, atheists, and students – but that’s a misconception. If you search deep enough you’ll find several subreddits for anyone who wants to grow personally. For starters, you can check out: r/selfimprovement, r/getmotivated, r/iwanttolearn, r/lifeprotips, r/productivity, r/zenhabits and r/selfhelp.
2. Mindbloom
Mindbloom.com is a nifty personal development web application. Think of it as a social network for your personal development. You create a tree with branches representing the elements of your life you want to work on. It encourages you to nurture your tree through inspiration (sun) and action (water). There’s a lot built into this tool, so go check it out if you’re curious.
3. Udemy
Lately, it seems there have been hundreds of eLearning websites popping up across the web. One of my favorites however is Udemy. The structure is clean, the classes are well organized, and the instructors are top-notch. Although they have plenty of academic courses available, there are a number of personal development ones worth checking out such as: How to Enjoy Work More, Discover The 1 Thing You Were Born to do in 5 Easy Steps, or Getting Things Done.
4. Gympact
There are plenty of ways to motivate you to work out, but the app Gympact does something quite clever and unique. They hit you where it hurts…right in the wallet. The concept behind Gympact is that you set a monetary consequence for when you miss your work outs, typically a $1 or so. Then anytime you miss a work out you committed yourself to, you pay the fine. But it doesn’t stop there. What if you’re a good boy or girl and hit all of your workouts that week? Well friend, you get a share of all the slacker’s fines that week.
5. TED
Okay, so plenty of you know Ted already, but do you remember the first day you discovered it? It was amazing right? If you’ve heard about TED but never checked it out, now’s the time. It’s inspiration on steroids.
6. Stumbleupon
Stumbleupon is another excellent resource for personal development. I recommend stumbling interests such as: self improvement, personal development, career planning, spirituality, productivity, or motivation.
7. The Habit Factor
This is the world’s bestselling, #1 “Goals & Habits App” on iTunes. It combines the book by the same name with a neat app that helps you track your goals and keep up with your progress.
8. Lumosity
Lumosity is your one stop shop for brain training. If you want to have an easier time remembering names, learning new subjects, or maintaining focus – this is the place to hang out.
9. Remember The Milk
If you are a list person, this is a must have. Remember the Milk let’s you manage your lists anywhere. It will send reminders to your email or text, sync to your calendar and more.
10. Blogs
This one is a bit tricky since there are sooo many blogs out there dedicated to personal development. Thankfully, others have already done the research for you by listing posts and blogs to checkout.
11. Lifetick
Lifetick is a web application for tracking your goals and keeping you focused. Their status widgets, charts, and reports make this the dream app for any detail oriented goal-getters.
12. 43 Things
Speaking of goals, we all know the chance of completing them comes down to how good of a support group you have. 43 Things is just that. A community of goal minded people dedicated to helping each other reach their goals.
13. Evernote
Have you ever been out in public shopping, watching a movie, or eating a burger when you were suddenly struck with a brilliant idea? You hope to hold onto it long enough to make it home where you can write it down, but by then you’ve moved on or forgotten it completely. Evernote is a handy app for recording written or audio notes on your phone or pc that you can take anywhere. All your ideas are stored in one place and it’s easy to use.
14. Pinterest
People are always surprised to learn Youtube is the world’s second largest search engine. But Pinterest works in a similar way. Just as you can search Google or Youtube for personal development content, you can do the same for Pinterest. Put in productivity, self-help or personal growth, and you’ll find hundreds of pictures, articles, and posters related to the topic.
15. 99u
If you like TED, this is another resource you should check out. 99u has a wide selection of videos delivered by scholars, leaders, and business men around the world on topics ranging from leadership to well-being.
16. Books
The great thing about books is that there are always new ones coming out to help you with your personal development needs. Over the years, Lifehack has written a number of posts featuring their favorite book recommendations. We Ask, You Answer: Productivity Books Your Favorite Productivity Books 10 Inspirational Non-Fiction Books Worthy of Digital (or Actual) Bookshelves
17. Vision Board
Happytapper has created a virtual version of one of coaching’s favorite tools – The Vision Board. It’s an easy way to give yourself some quick inspiration and motivation wherever you are.
18. Podcasts
One of the things I look forward to every day is listening to podcasts on my way to work. Thankfully, there is a wide selection of excellent podcasts in the personal development arena. For starters you might check out Achieving Predictable Success, Great Work Interview
19. Youtube
It took some time for me to warm up to Youtube. At first it was difficult to find quality videos on the subjects you were interested in, but that’s not the case anymore. Even in the personal development world, there are many amazing Youtube channels and videos you can follow. Whether it’s classics like The Last Lecture or How to Have Your Best Year Ever or newer ongoing channels such as TedEd and ZeFrank there’s something for everyone.
20. Lift
Lift is an app that visualizes your goals and progress while combining the support of your friends. Forbes wrote a nice piece on the app calling it “probably the most affordable self-help product ever created.” It relies on an interesting check-in system and helps you focus on taking single steps versus tackling a multitude of challenges all at once.
21. Ignite
Ignite is a global event run by volunteers where speakers are given five minutes to talk about their ideas, passions, or interest on 20 slides for 15 seconds each. The format may seem rigid, but the presentations go quickly and you hear only the good stuff as a result. The best way to find videos put on by this organization is to either go to their website and search, or look up your local ignite organization on Youtube.
22. Live Happy
Live Happy is more than an iPhone app, it’s a “happiness boosting positive psychology program.” Based on the book, The How of Happiness, the app helps you carry out the concepts taught in the book. Things such as journaling, giving thanks, or savoring a beautiful moment.
I hope this list can help you get started. What personal development resources do you use? Featured photo credit: rough structured illustration of a man via Shutterstock
