PhotoReading at 59% Off

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I recently made arrangements with Learning Strategies to reintroduce the 59% discount for PhotoReading. The last time they offered this discount was a few years ago, so they don’t do this often.
The discount will run for 30 days only, through October 15, 2010. This will save you about $300 if you get the Deluxe program, which is the version I have.
I also added ?a couple videos to the PhotoReading page. The first video shows some people talking about their experiences with PhotoReading, and the second one shows a news anchorman going through the process and reporting on his experiences with it.
Since I wrote the original review of PhotoReading, I’ve also had the opportunity to meet Paul Scheele, who created the program. He knows a great deal about accelerated learning and is very passionate about transforming the education system with whole-brain learning methods.
It was a little surreal talking to Paul in person because I’m so used to hearing his voice on audio programs… almost a dream-like experience.
PhotoReading on a computer (like with a PDF) is easy. It works just as well for electronic documents as for print books — actually better in my opinion.
I have an Kindle device for reading e-books, but I’ve never been able to PhotoRead with it. The Kindle’s electronic ink technology makes the page turning too slow for PhotoReading to be practical. I can do some of the PhotoReading steps but not all of them. I suspect the same problem will occur with other devices that use e-ink technology because it can’t refresh the pages fast enough. Technically you can still do it, but I find the experience frustrating. Another drawback to the Kindle is that you can’t scroll or zoom; it’s a one-page-at-a-time device.
For similar reasons I wouldn’t try PhotoReading on a smart phone. The screen is too small, so you can’t take in much text at a time.
Last month, I got an iPad, and since it has an LCD screen, the page turning is very quick. Consequently, it’s easy to PhotoRead with it.
I know the iPad is more expensive than a Kindle (and much more versatile), so it’s not just an e-book reader. I simply want to point out that some devices lend themselves better to PhotoReading than others. The main issue is how quickly you can turn the pages and how much text is visible on each screen. The iPad has a decent screen size, so it can show a lot of text at once, and the page turning is speedy and responsive.
I think it’s actually easier to PhotoRead on an iPad than with a regular book since the page turning doesn’t require as much dexterity. You never have to worry about your fingers slipping if you try to turn the pages too quickly. You just tap, tap, tap in the margin to keep turning the pages.
See my?PhotoReading review for the details. PhotoReading makes an especially nice holiday gift if you know someone who could benefit from accelerated learning techniques.

Pacific Northwest Road Trip

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Rachelle and I are planning a 3-week road trip to the Pacific Northwest (USA and Canada). We’ll be leaving from Las Vegas sometime next week.
We’ll begin by driving north to Reno, then west through Sacramento to San Francisco, north to Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, and east to Calgary.?Rachelle will be doing her play in Calgary on October 8th (one performance only), after which she’ll return to Winnipeg for another show. Then I’ll return solo to Vegas, visiting Salt Lake City on the way home.
We’ll probably stay in downtown Reno for one night only, then head to San Francisco the next day. We might stop in Sacramento for a meal along the way, but I don’t expect we’ll stay the night there.?I’d like to spend a few days each in the Bay Area, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver.
Our only significant constraint is that we have to be in Calgary by October 7th at the latest. Otherwise we have some flexibility in how we do the trip.
I’ve never done an extended road trip before, nor has Rachelle. This is something we both wanted to do for the experience. The timing works well for our schedules, and the weather should be nice at this time of year.
My car has only 5500 miles on it, so this trip will add a few thousand more.
I’ve been to Reno once before, and I’ve been to the Bay Area many times, including living there from 1989 to 1991, so I know some cool things to do in those cities. But this will be my first time ever visiting Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, and Salt Lake City, so I’d love some suggestions on what to go/see/do in those cities, including where to stay and potentially interesting stops along the way. We have a place to stay in Calgary, but we still need to make arrangements for the rest of the trip.
I’m not planning to travel-blog about the trip. I tried doing that for my 3-week Canada trip earlier this year, but I found it tedious and uninspired, and the feedback was a bit ho-hum too, so I don’t see much value in doing that again. I may still blog along the way if I feel inspired to write, but I’d rather blog about personal growth topics and use trip stories to illustrate points only if it seems to fit. Otherwise I prefer to focus on experiencing the trip as opposed to documenting it.
Have you ever gone on a road trip? If so, what advice would you have for us? Did you enjoy the experience?

Steve Pavlina Facebook Fan Page

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By popular request (i.e. constant nagging for the past year), I finally created a Steve Pavlina Facebook fan page. If you have a Facebook account, please feel free to friend me there by clicking the “Like” button on that page.
My regular personal Facebook page has been maxed out at 5,000 friends for more than a year, so I’ve been stuck with an ever-growing queue of hundreds of friend requests I can’t approve. I’ve only been able to add new Facebook friends as people drop off, but the waiting list always grows faster. I’m also unable to add new friends of my own choosing. Even when I drop down to 4980 friends or so, Facebook says I’m still too close to the limit to let me send out any new friend requests.
The nice thing about fan pages is that they provide essentially the same functionality as a regular Facebook page, but as far as I can tell, there’s no limit on the number of connections you can have. The best part for me is that I don’t need to manually approve requests to follow a fan page — as you might imagine, doing that for a page with thousands of requests can get a bit tedious.
I just put the Facebook fan page up within the past hour, and dozens of people have already connected to it. I suspect it will eventually overtake my personal Facebook page in terms of the number of connections.
I’m not sure what to do differently with the fan page vs. the personal one, so for now I’ll probably clone the status updates on both. In the long run, I’ll probably pay more attention to the fan page as the number of connections grows, using it as a place to stimulate discussion and feedback on a variety of ideas.
I’ve been into online social networking since 1994, so I’ve been very active on Facebook and Twitter. If you’ve seen my personal Facebook page, you’ll know that it’s quite lively.
The catalyst that finally pushed me over the edge to create a fan page was reading the book The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World by David Kirkpatrick. This is a fascinating read if you care to learn about the history of Facebook. I purchased and read it on my iPad.

Why I Love Self-Help Books

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Wow! Lot's of people sure do hate self-help books. One of my former coworkers had a mini-tirade when she saw a self-help book on top of the New York Times Bestsellers List. According to her, those kinds of books don't deserve national attention. And another friend of mine never hesitates to tell me how useless self-help books are. According to him, self-help books are only beneficial to the people who get rich writing them.
What's wrong with helping someone solve a problem that's obviously causing emotional or physical pain? Everyone needs help every once in awhile, and it's not always possible to speak with a person. And even if there is someone to talk to, that doesn't mean they can help. When you're surrounded by negativity and people who can't even begin to give you advice, then self-help books are useful.
I'm not ashamed to admit that self-help books have helped me tremendously. The Power of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale, encouraged me to venture away from small town life to explore life in New York City. Beauty for Ashes, by Joyce Meyer, taught me to overcome emotional baggage collected from years of verbal abuse. These are only two examples out of many. These books provided the guidance and information I needed to make positive changes in my life.
People who say self-help books don't work miss one very important fact: No one can help a person who refuses to be helped. A person can read hundreds of books on overcoming child abuse, but that doesn't mean anything will change. The books aren't junk just because the reader doesn't change overnight. Adjusting thought and behavior patterns takes time. It's not as easy as switching to a different television show.
I'm not naïve. A number of self-help books are junk. It's true that you can't believe everything you read. The advice may be useless, unrealistic, or just plain bad. There's good and bad in any industry. And there's always someone waiting to cash in on a trend. However, that's no reason to trash an entire industry because of a few con artists.
Another criticism I hear often is that self-help books are for stupid people who need common sense in a book. That's ridiculous. There are things that require much more than common-sense knowledge. If you're an alcoholic who wants to quite drinking, common sense says just stop drinking. But does anyone honestly believe it's that easy? A self-help book could be the first step towards sobriety.
I think the world would be a better place if more people read self-help books. I'm not suggesting we become self-help book addicts, and spend more time reading than living our lives. What I'm saying is that personal-growth is beautiful, and can make life better for everyone. No one is harmed if a self-help book provides the help a person needs. And if you would laugh at a person for trying to better themselves, then maybe you need to read a few a self-help books as well.

Self-Help Strategies For Building Self-Esteem

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Depressed feelings are triggered when maltreated or by individual self-assessment. Self-help for building self-esteem is highly recommended for people suffering with low self-esteem as it creates depression, anxiety, phobia and also leads to mental illness in extreme cases.
The need for self-help becomes inevitable as such traumatized people cannot enjoy work or life and fail to attain any personal goal. This makes them think negatively. However, prior to considering the strategies and actions involved in raising self-esteem, it becomes essential to recognize the valid reasons behind depression. This recognition of reasons helps in undergoing physical treatment and doing worthwhile activities and in self-development.
Self-help for building self-esteem includes strategies such as eating healthily, performing plenty of exercises, watching fun movies, spending valuable time with friends, practicing or reading hobbies of choice. Raising self-esteem is easily done by paying best attention to the wants and needs of their own body, heart and mind. It entails taking appropriate care and this depends on having healthy food consisting of five to six helpings of fruits, vegetables, cereals, grains and also non-vegetarian food of two servings including meat and chicken. Self-help procedure focuses on body movements and regular exercises. Doing outdoor exercises and scheduling time for exercises is very important.
Self-help for building self-esteem is the right way of coming out of a withdrawn shell. It is the best as one can come out of a trauma only when they desire for it. Certain things that include actions and have some strategies are riding, playing games, walking, climbing staircase several times and definitely listening to good music. Self-help for building self-esteem can be ensured by learning new things such as actively participating in fun activities. Such actions display positive results over a period of time. It also needs the support of confidence and this can be increased by focusing in the abilities and talents, as this helps a person in recognizing their own value and builds self-confidence.
Investing in purchasing good clothes and dressing well certainly has a great impact on people suffering with weak self-esteem. Compatible friends who are energetic and lively keep the depressed people happy. Self-help for building self-esteem meant that such people should be occupied continuously. Even simple actions such as making the living space attractive create a feeling of well-being. Displaying personal achievements augments the self-confidence that is essential to increase from the low self-esteem. Self-help behavior should bring out every action of their creativity in open and this may include even making meals or discussing pleasant topics or also creating a good ambiance.
Self-help for building self-esteem is a tricky path as you have to steer and lead towards improvement on your own. This can be best done by diverting towards learning new skill sets as it boosts the levels of confidence in a person. Initiating with small things that does not demand much of their activity gives them a comfortable feel and working on a diet plan is also a must.
Self-help for building self-esteem is best basically when self-appearance is improved, as it depends on the self-confidence. Smiling, volunteering for simple tasks and speaking few words kindly will certainly build self-confidence when such actions are done consistently. The changes get incorporated and allow rejuvenating making life more enjoyable.

Self-Esteem Self-Help Programmes

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There are still not that many self-help programmes for self-esteem on the market, but fortunately, awareness about self-esteem is increasing and the number of self-esteem self-help programmes are increasing too. In order to help you to decide which programme to choose I will write about some different aspects that can be good to keep in mind when you are looking for a self-esteem self-help programme.
First of all, you need to be aware of what it is that you want to get out of the self-esteem home study course or self-esteem distance course. Do you want to know why your self-esteem has become as it is today? Do you want learn practical self-esteem exercises? Do you prefer writing exercises? Do you want to learn about the different aspects of your self-esteem and about which aspect that is most beneficial for you to focus on? Once you know exactly what it is that you want to get out of the self-help programme you can start to evaluate whether the specific programme that you are looking at will fulfil your wishes. Some programmes, such as those in the "Self-Esteem Toolkit"-series that I have created, provide a mixture of all of these things. Compare the programmes to make sure that you get the mixture that you want.
You also need to decide in which way you would like to learn? For example, if you like learning from videos, my 10 week distance course in self-esteem would be good. If you like doing pen and paper exercises, then one of the Self-Esteem Toolkits would be better. Also, do you want your programme to include personal one-to-one support or do you want to do it all anonymously on your own?
Different self-esteem programmes are created for different lifestyles. For example, when I created my self-esteem programmes, I made sure to include one "for busy people". This "self-esteem toolkit " mostly contains audio files that can be listened to on your way to work, while you're working out in the gym, while you're cooking etc. It also contains portable objects that you can keep in your pocket and use whenever you have a spare moment. If you are working at home or have plenty of time, you may want to choose another programme in which you will get more physical papers to read or other materials that you cannot bring with you so easily.
Finally, different self-esteem programmes are suitable for different people. There is not one self-esteem self-help programme that is best for all. One size doesn't fit all - not when it comes to raising your self-esteem. Some of my self-esteem coaching clients love raising their self-esteem through interacting with others in group coaching sessions. Others prefer personal coaching. Some people want to do it entirely on their own. They buy the book The Self-Esteem Toolbox, the Self-Esteem Game, or one of the Self-Esteem Toolkit home study packages. To get want you need you have to figure out which is the best method for you.

Why Aren't You Using the Secrets of Self Help to Be Happy?

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Now that you are reading this article, chances are, you are looking for tips and self help to be happy in your life. In today's hectic world, there are many people who are stressed out so this is not unusual. The real object of human existence is after all to be happy. In fact, this is why we want more money, more quality time, more comfort and so on. As the Dalai Lama said "The purpose of life is to BE HAPPY".
Because the sad part is that there are many people who do have more money, more quality time and more comfort but still feel unhappy.
One of the biggest information searches is for free self help ebooks and personal development articles to help people to be happy.
There is many a free self help ebook online. The key is to find something that feels right for you at the time of your search. There are self help books that were written many years ago by authors of a different era, some were written about a decade ago and some, only a few years ago. The self help books of long ago may be interesting, but these are cumbersome in the fact that the English used is more complex than what we are used to now.
Getting the self help to be happier in life should be simple and straight forward. Like C. Kingsley said "We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really HAPPY is something to be ENTHUSIASTIC about."
I have found a self help website created by Helene Malmsio that has around 200 free self help books in many subjects to suit the various areas of your life that needs some self improvement. It is unusual, as this site doesn't need you to register or pay membership fees, or even to subscribe to a newsletter, to be able to download as many self help ebooks as you want. Some sites actually require you to be a registered member in order for you to use its online self help features which you can access through the links on the site, or through an interface.
The following is an excerpt from the site to help you better manage your emotions:

You might look at the following strategy and think "Oh No! Not more of this simplistic - quick fix - nonsense". Please don't discard this powerful concept just because it is so SIMPLE. Simple doesn't always mean EASY. You have to apply yourself - consistently - with a genuine desire to improve your emotional wellbeing, THEN you will get powerful results.
Go on - Try this straightforward self help exercise - answer the questions and notice how you feel when you think about the answers......
"What am I most enjoying in my life right now?" (as Tony Robbins says, don't say "Nothing!" Instead ask yourself "If I could be enjoying something in my life right now, what would that be?")
Then ask yourself: "What about that do I enjoy?"
Then ask yourself: "How does that make me feel?"
Then next ask yourself: "What am I most happy about in my life right now?"
Then ask yourself: "What about that makes me feel happy?"
Notice how your emotions react to the experience of dwelling or thinking about the good and sweet things in your life. If you like the feeling and want more of it, just keep asking yourself the right questions.

When you start each day asking yourself questions that generate a feeling of pleasure, excitement, enthusiasm, just by the act of answering them, your day gets off on the right path.
Try designing self help questions that suit your life or interests, maybe straightforward ones like
* What am I excited about in my life now?

* What am I grateful about in my life now?

* What am I most looking forward to in my life today?
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to apply this self help strategy, do you? All you need is the DESIRE to improve your day and then make the commitment to actually APPLY it every morning for at least 30 days. It will work.
Any self help tool, no matter how powerful, only works when you work it.

So what is stopping you from using the secrets of self help to be happy? To quote Abraham Lincoln "Most people are about as happy as they make up their mind to be."
Again, the key is to look for places that give you plenty of online free resources and tips on self help to be happy. Then remember, you need the commitment to becoming happier by implementing the tools and technology that you learn from them.