January 31, 2014

6 Ways to Improve Your Productivity

Want to improve your productivity this year? Want to boost your performance at home and at work? Check out these 6 free audio & video learning resources on ways to help you manage your time and boost your productivity. These videos, podcasts, and audio books contain a wealth of information for productivity improvement from productivity experts.

1. Time Management

Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch is best known for his talk “The Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” which he gave while he had terminal cancer about a year before he passed away on July 25, 2008. After that lecture he gave another great lecture at the University of Virginia in November 2007 on “Time Management”. Pausch clearly learned from the best when it came to time management and in this hour long talk he packs in advice on time management for almost every area of your life such as prioritizing tasks, managing meetings & phone calls, delegating assignments, dealing with email, and also taking time to say thank you. He ends the lecture with a poignant reminder that the more efficient you are the more you can spend time with the ones you love because some day you might wake up and find out you don’t have much time left.

2. How to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Make an effort to more effectively manage your time! Listen to this short motivational audio book by British author Arnold Bennett. Written in 1910 this manual for managing your time contains ways to not only increase your productivity but also improve the quality of your daily life. Bennett addresses white-collar workers who begrudgingly work the standard 40 hours per week and see little time for anything else.

He points to ways people can take advantage of the extra time they have away from work to improve the quality of their lives. He suggests waking up earlier, reading or reflecting on the train to work (or in today’s case listening to audio books during your commute!), and taking advantage of the evenings and weekend time to improve yourself through reflection, the arts, and literature. It is a great examination on how we use our time and it’s only 1 Hr. 30 Min. long. It is well narrated by Mark F. Smith at LibriVox.org.

3. Daniel Goleman on Focus: The Secret to High Performance and Fulfillment

Daniel Goleman is the author of the bestselling books Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence, and he now has a new book out: Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence. He recently gave a talk on this book at Intelligence Squared in London. In this talk Goleman speaks about our digital age and the ability of technology to continually distract us and steal our attention. He goes into the psychology of paying attention to ourselves and others, and how the ability to focus and pay attention is essential to success in our personal and professional lives. He speaks briefly on mindfulness and the importance of practicing paying attention, particularly among the technologically-obsessed youth. After his talk Goleman fields tough questions from the British audience. This talk is available on the Intelligence Squared YouTube channel.

4. David Allen: Getting Things Done

In this Google Talk David Allen introduces some of the ideas in his bestselling book and time management system Getting Things Done. He provides advice on dealing with email, creating to-do lists, and getting into the right quadrant in order to get the most done. He includes many nuggets of wisdom from the decades he has spent studying and perfecting his system of time management. This 45-minute talk is available on streaming video on YouTube.

5. Get-It-Done Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips to Work Less and Do More Podcast

The Get-It-Done Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips to Work Less Podcast offers weekly ideas on how to enhance productivity. Whether you are trying to organize your desk, want help prioritizing your workload, or need advice on how to fit in exercise time, these podcasts offer clever solutions to everyday obstacles. The host delivers his valuable insight with a snappy sense of humor and a knack for finding clear solutions that you can begin applying immediately to your work and life.

6. Authors@Google: Marci Alboher & Tim Ferriss

Work Less & Do More! In this @Google Talk Author Tim Ferriss discusses his bestselling book The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. Also featured on the talk is Marci Alboher, author of One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success. Both authors discuss the ways in which individuals can stop being overloaded with work and start doing the things they’re really passionate about.

Ferriss tells his story about how he went from working 70 hour weeks to traveling the world and becoming a world champion kickboxer and tango dancer all while keeping his job and learning to delegate his workload. Alboher talks about how she went from being an overworked lawyer to becoming a part time lawyer and part time writer while living in different parts of the world. They give tips about how they accomplished their multifaceted lives and encourage listeners to not delay pursuing their passions until retirement.

July 30, 2013

Earl Nightingale’s The Strangest Secret for Free on MP3

The Strangest Secret

Today’s free audio book is a short but powerful message from the “Dean of Personal Development” Earl Nightingale. This recording is actually one of the recordings that helped to launch the spoken word industry. Produced in 1956, the spoken word record The Strangest Secret sold over a million copies, making it the first spoken-word recording to achieve Gold Record status.

In only 30 minutes, Earl Nightingale lays out the secret for achieving success in life. Speaking against conformity and aimlessness in one’s career, Nightingale encourages us to set goals and put all our thoughts and creativity upon these goals. He quotes from many of the greatest thinkers of all time who have pointed to this formula for success. He closes the record with 5 steps for achieving success, along with ways to overcome doubt, negativity, and fear.

We’ve linked to the original recording on YouTube, along with a free recording available on streaming audio and MP3 download on markvictorhansen.com. In this free version you’ll also get an introduction and commentary at points in the audio program by personal growth author Mark Victor Hansen who provides examples of how he used ideas from The Strangest Secret to achieve his own success. Also on markvictorhansen.com you’ll see a free download of Mark Victor Hansen’s eBook, “Chronic Profitability – How to Make Money All the Time”. If you scroll down you’ll see the audio version of The Strangest Secret.

Nightingale was a true believer in the power of audio learning! In fact he cofounded the audio & video learning company Nightingale-Conant with Lloyd Conant in 1960. Enjoy this classic recording from Earl Nightingale!

The Strangest Secret

January 29, 2013

8 Great Talks About the Science & Art of Happiness

Our month of motivation continues today with eight great talks on happiness! What is happiness? Can someone sustain it, or must it always be fleeting? Learn more about finding happiness with this list of free videos from the happiness experts. Collected here you’ll hear from Matthiew Ricard on the habits that lead to happiness, Nancy Etcoff on the surprising science of happiness, and many more. Learn how to find happiness in even the most troubled times, how to minimize worry despite outer stress, and how to achieve lasting fulfillment in life by clicking any of the links below:

1. The Art of Happiness in Troubled Times by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

In this hour long talk, His Holiness the Dalai Lama reminds the audience that it has always been troubled times, and that while the kinds of suffering changes throughout history, the suffering still remains. He discusses training oneself in compassion in order to overcome self-centeredness, fear, anger, and hatred towards others. His prescription for happiness is keeping oneself open for love and compassion no matter what problems may arise. Watch this talk on streaming video.

2. Don’t Worry, Be Happy Now: The Science and Philosophy of the Happiness Movement

In this talk from UCTV, James Fallows, National Correspondent for The Atlantic, interviews The Happiness Project author Gretchen Rubin. Her book is subtitled “Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun”, and in this talk Gretchen Rubin talks about all the things she attempted in her year-long pursuit of happiness, and all the ways towards happiness she has learned from others since her book was published. Acknowledging that different things make different people happy, she does have one piece of sage advice to make everyone happier: “Make your bed in the morning.” 🙂

3. Understanding Happiness

In this dialogue from bloggingheads.tv, American psychologist Martin Seligman and British economist Richard Layard take a macro view of happiness and how societies can attempt to measure happiness and achieve greater levels of happiness as a whole. Layard has pushed for governments to start analyzing GWB (General Well-Being) along with GDP and other indicators for how well a country is performing. Seligman questions him about how this is measured and advocates measuring according to his own acronym PERMA (which Seligman laid out his in latest book Flourish). PERMA stands for Positive Emotion, Engagement, Positive Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment/Achievement, and Seligman expounds on these points. Seligman and Layard then both take a look at the role public policy can play in leaning toward the greatest happiness for the greatest number. This dialogue can be watched on video or downloaded on MP3 audio.

Here are some more talks on happiness that we’ve featured in the past. A number of them are from the TED conference:

4. Nancy Etcoff on the Surprising Science of Happiness

In this fast-paced talk from cognitive researcher Nancy Etcoff she looks the science of happiness and the many ways in which it is achieved along with the ways that it eludes us. She describes in basic terms the neuroscience of happiness including the importance of neurotransmitter dopamine and the hormone oxytocin. She also talks about the rise of stress, depression, and anxiety in the modern world. It’s an interesting overall view of some of the recent findings in the science of happiness.

5. Dan Gilbert: Why Are We Happy? Why Aren’t We Happy?

Check out this TED talk from Harvard psychologist and the author of Stumbling on Happiness, Dan Gilbert. Gilbert provides info from studies that reveal that what we often think will make us happy is the opposite of the case. He shows that because we have the ability to consider the future, we are much better prepared for the results and can usually be happy regardless. This talk is available on streaming video and MP3 download from the TED.com website.

6. Matthieu Ricard: Habits of Happiness

Biochemist turned Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard examines happiness and well-being in this TED talk. He differentiates between pleasure and happiness as pleasure is fleeting and reliant upon circumstance. He feels that true happiness is found by training the mind to be happy regardless of the situation we find ourselves in and by tapping into the deeper happiness of the awareness that we are more than our fleeting emotional states. This talk is available on streaming video and MP3 download from the TED.com website.

7. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on Flow

Check out this TED talk from psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who authored the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Csikszentmihalyi talks about how he became interested in psychology after World War II when he heard a lecture by Carl Jung. Csikszentmihalyi eventually began his psychological study of how average people become extraordinary which he attributes to the idea of “flow” when one become completely involved in an activity for its own sake. Csikszentmihalyi provides many examples of individuals who have tapped into this “flow” state.

8. Hardwiring Happiness: The 7 Essential Strengths

Starting September 23rd, 2013, Entheos.com is offering a free virtual conference called “Hardwiring Happiness: The 7 Essential Strengths”, hosted by neuropsychologist Rick Hanson. In this online conference, Dr. Hanson will be interviewing 7 experts on different strengths that can help you find happiness. The interviews feature Joseph Goldstein on “Mindfulness”, Stephen Porges on “Resilience”, Todd Kashdan on “Imagination”, Marci Shimoff on “Courage”, Sharon Salzberg on “Love”, Kristin Neff on “Confidence”, and James R. Doty on “Contentment”. You can stream the videos, and video and audio downloads will be available following the launch of each video interview. Sign up with your email address to get access to the conference and get updates as new interviews become available.

Enjoy these talks on happiness and learn how to be happier today!

April 11, 2012

15 Best Psychology TED Talks on Happiness, Motivation, & More

Today we present our picks for the 15 best TED talks covering the topics of psychology and neuroscience. With talks on positive psychology, autism, behavioral economics, electroshock therapy, and more you’ll hear some very interesting insights from thinkers on the cutting edge of ideas about the mind and brain.

1. Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stroke of Insight

In this moving talk delivered at the TED conference, brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor provides a first-person account of her own stroke and the experience of losing control of her bodily functions as well the functions of the left side of her brain. Instead of it being a painful or frightening experience, she said the stroke put her in a intense state of bliss and nirvana. Sharing this experience became her motivation for recovery.

2. Martin Seligman on Positive Psychology

In this TED talk Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology and the author Authentic Happiness and Learned Optimism, looks at ways healthy people can lead happier, more engaged, and more meaningful lives. While Seligman acknowledges that psychology has done a pretty good job over the past 50 years of making miserable people feel less miserable, he shows that there is a whole other realm of positive psychology which he and a group of other psychologists are only beginning to study. Seligman tells some of his findings on what contributes to healthy states of mind and what fosters genius. Going beyond the conventional pleasure seeking form of happiness, Seligman points to practices that truly give life meaning.

3. The Surprising Science of Motivation

Learn how to better motivate yourself and others in this recent popular TED Talk. In this talk writer Daniel H. Pink lays out the facts about what drives the best results in business. In study after study any work that requires creative problem solving does not benefit from external rewards such as money. Only mechanical tasks benefit when there is reward and punishment, but when creative solutions are required, workers are more motivated when they feel there is intrinsic value to what they are doing. Pink lays out some of the ways businesses have benefited by implementing policies to encourage the best in right brained, creative thinking.

4. Helen Fisher: The Science of Love, and the Future of Women

In this TED talk, anthropologist Helen Fisher discusses a study she was involved in which examined the brains and biochemistry of people in love. She points out the ways in which we have evolved in order to trigger love, lust, and attachment to a mate. She also examines the changes of women’s roles in society and how she feels this will ultimately lead to the happiest marriages.

5. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on Flow

Check out this TED talk from psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who authored the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Csikszentmihalyi talks about how he became interested in psychology after World War II when he heard a lecture by Carl Jung. Csikszentmihalyi eventually began his psychological study of how average people become extraordinary which he attributes to the idea of “flow” when one become completely involved in an activity for its own sake. Csikszentmihalyi provides many examples of individuals who have tapped into this “flow” state.

6. Matthieu Ricard: Habits of Happiness

Biochemist turned Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard examines happiness and well-being in this TED talk. He differentiates between pleasure and happiness as pleasure if fleeting and reliant upon circumstance. He feels that true happiness is found by training the mind to be happy regardless of the situation we find ourselves in and to tap into the deeper happiness of the awareness that we are more than our fleeting emotional states.

7. Vilayanur Ramachandran: A Journey to the Center of Your Mind

In this TED talk, neurologist Vilayanur Ramachandran provides some neuroscientific explanations for puzzling psychological and physiological phenomena. He covers why after certain brain injuries patients cannot visually recognize their mother, how to amputated patients can overcome the pain of phantom limbs for only $3, and why certain people see colors when they look at numbers and letters.

8. Temple Grandin: The World Needs All Kinds of Minds

In this TED Talk, Animals in Translation author Temple Grandin discusses her autism and the wide spectrum of autism, and how she has used her insights into autism to help her relate to the inner worlds of animal. Her autism leads to hypersensitivity to noise and other sensory stimuli and she correlates it to how animals perceive the world through their senses.

9. Dan Gilbert: Why Are We Happy? Why Aren’t We Happy?

Check out this TED talk from Harvard psychologist and the author of Stumbling on Happiness, Dan Gilbert. Gilbert provides info from studies that reveal that what we often think will make us happy is the opposite of the case. He shows that because we have the ability to consider the future, we are much better prepared for the results and can usually be happy regardless.

10. How Ordinary People Become Monsters… or Heroes

Renowned social psychologist Philip Zimbardo talks about the ideas in his book The Lucifer Effect which explores how good people turn evil. He looks at Abu Ghraib prison scandal which he was called as a witness to, and he compares it to the influential Stanford prison study which he conducted in the early 1970s. In both these circumstances normal individuals were given power without oversight over the prisoners. Zimbardo emphasizes the importance of circumstance when it comes to the potential evil, indifference, or heroism in all of us. Note: Zimbardo shows some graphic imagery of Abu Ghraib in this video.

11. Why We Think It’s OK to Cheat and Steal (Sometimes)

In this TED talk Dan Ariely, author of the bestselling book Predictably Irrational, talks about his experiments in cheating in an attempt to understand the economic cheating that happened during the Enron scandal and later the Wall Street financial crisis. At MIT Ariely tested students at various activities and he details the many findings him and his colleagues discovered such as that most people like to cheat a little bit but not so much that it gives them negative impression of themselves as a “cheater”.

12. Nancy Etcoff on the Surprising Science of Happiness

In this fast-paced talk from cognitive researcher Nancy Etcoff she looks the science of happiness and the many ways in which it is achieved along with the ways that it eludes us. She describes in basic terms the neuroscience of happiness including the importance of neurotransmitter dopamine and the hormone oxytocin. She also talks about the rise of stress, depression, and anxiety in the modern world. It’s an interesting overall view of some of the recent findings in the science of happiness.

13. Daniel Goleman: Why Aren’t We All Good Samaritans?

In this brief TED talk, psychologist and author of Emotional Intelligence Daniel Goleman discusses his research into the psychology of compassion and being a “good Samaritan”. He suggests that our emotional response to be compassionate towards others is an automatic response when we see people suffering, and it is only by turning this emotion off through the busyness of our daily lives that we suppress this desire to help others. He then provides some inspirational stories for how we might all work towards being good Samaritans.

14. Sherwin B. Nuland on Electroshock Therapy

In this TED talk American surgeon, author, and Yale professor Sherwin B. Nuland talks about the history of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treatment of severe major depression and other mental illnesses. He then proceeds to tell about his own recovery from major depression through electroshock therapy back in the 1970s. After his first marriage failed he fell into a deep depression until he could no longer function. When no other treatments worked the doctors attempted electroshock therapy which led to a remarkable recovery.

15. Oliver Sacks: What Hallucination Reveals About our Minds

Neurologist Oliver Sacks talks about Charles Bonnet syndrome where visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations. Sacks points out that about 10% of visually impaired people experience these hallucinations, but few mention it because they are often frightened that they are losing their minds. Sacks gives examples of many of his patients who have had these hallucinations and what they often consist of. Through brain scans scientists have actually been able to identify which parts of the brain are activated when such hallucinations occur.

August 11, 2011

Learn to Be A Leader

Want to learn to be a leader? Check out our top 10 podcasts, MP3s, and videos dedicated to teaching you leadership philosophy from the cutting-edge voices that are helping to shape the modern business world. Over the years, we’ve given special attention to sharing the most up to date leadership training available on the web via our Free Resource of the Day Email service. To that end, we’ve selected inspirational audio that covers everything from a history of America’s business masters, to lectures and conversations on how management practices are evolving, to keep up with an ever-changing modern marketplace. With this list, you’ll gather valuable advice from “Good to Great” author Jim Collins, get discipline tips from Stephen Covey, pick up management strategy from Peter Drucker and learn how to track emerging business models with Seth Godin. With these 10 resources, we’re confident you can learn how to be the best leader you can be!

1. Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Podcast

Since 2005 a group at Stanford University has been podcasting talks from some of the most successful people in business and technology. The speaker generally gives an overview of their experiences as an entrepreneur along with advice for anyone looking to start a business. On this podcast you’ll hear from such thought leaders as former AOL CEO Steve Case, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, sustainability architect & co-author of Cradle to Cradle William McDonough, Former CEO of HP Carly Fiorina, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and people from Google, Yahoo, and dozens of other companies you’re probably familiar with. They have all their podcasts up on the feed going back five years. Learn from these successful business & technology thought leaders.

2. Catalyst Podcast

The Catalyst Podcast features an impressive collection of 100 podcast interviews with leadership authors and experts in the areas of business and church ministry. It stems from the Catalyst Conference which is a Christian leadership conference that features many of the speakers that are interviewed on the podcast. Interviewees include Seth Godin discussing his latest book Linchpin, Patrick Lencioni discussing his book The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, Guy Kawasaki talking about his book Reality Check, Tim Sanders talking about his book The Likeability Factor, and John C. Maxwell providing his sage leadership advice. The podcast features Christian leaders like Mark Driscoll, Andy Stanley, Rick Warren, Rob Bell, and many others. On the podcast you’ll also hear from a diverse range of other leaders in other areas such as Jimmy Wales, Tony Dungy, Malcolm Gladwell, Dave Ramsey, Mike Huckabee, and more. A true gem of a podcast that we just discovered. Become a better leader in every area of your life with the Catalyst Podcast.

3. Tribal Leadership

Zappos.com (a popular online retailer specializing in footwear) is currently offering a free audio download of the book Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright (published by Harper Collins in 2008). The book is a result of an eight-year study of approximately 24,000 people in over two dozen corporations focusing on how tribes (groups of 20 to 150 people in which everyone knows everyone else, or at least knows of everyone else) drive organization’s to success. The book examines the five stages of employee tribal development and how an effective tribal leader can drive an organization to success. This audio book is available on MP3 download through Zappos.com. Note: Registration is required on the Zappos.com site in order to download this audio book. For more on Zappos leadership check out Delivering Happiness by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh.

4. JimCollins.com Lecture Hall

Listen to over 50 MP3 downloads in the JimCollins.com Lecture Hall. Jim Collins (author of Good to Great & Built to Last) provides succinct advice for leadership both in business and in the social sectors in this series of MP3 downloads. Everyone can benefit from these lecture snippets which include great ideas such as how to make a “Stop Doing” list and how to evolve into a “Level 5” leader. Enjoy these free MP3 downloads from JimCollins.com. If you like this free title, you might also be interested in Good to Great by Jim Collins.

5. Leadership Podcasts from LeaderNetwork.org

We recently stumbled upon this podcast gem for those of you interested in leadership in any area of your life. Host Brian McCormick from LeaderNetwork.org conducts interviews with some of the greatest leadership experts in business today including Stephen Covey, Ken Blanchard, and Patrick Lencioni. He also interviews some of the all-time great coaches such as Lou Holtz and the late John Wooden who both provide a lifetime of knowledge about how they achieved success and inspired their teams. The podcast even features a lengthy excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s “Acres of Diamonds” audio program. Enjoy this excellent leadership podcast from LeaderNetwork.org.

6. Marshall Goldsmith Podcast

Listen to this podcast of interviews featuring leadership & management expert Marshall Goldsmith. Since serving as a board member of the Peter Drucker Foundation and learning a lot from the management authority Peter Drucker, Goldsmith has gone on to write dozens of books on leadership & management. In these interviews he discusses one of his latest books What Got You Here Won’t Get You There which confronts the cutting edge of today’s rapidly changing business world. From his executive coaching experience, Goldsmith discusses how one of the main issues with business leaders is their unwillingness to accept anything less than success and their refusal to listen to criticism. He also talks about leadership from the bottom up and ways for employees to lead their companies by influencing up. These podcasts provide insight into the ideas of one of today’s top management consultants.

7. A Conversation with Richard Branson

Entrepreneur, adventurer, political activist and all around firebrand Richard Branson sits down to talk about his plans for the future in this interview hosted by Bob Schieffer at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Starting with the formation of his company Virgin, Branson talks about how his uncompromising attitude and complete willingness to risk big has led to a worldwide reputation for innovation. He also gives a tantalizing glimpse at his latest venture, Virgin Galactic, the first large scale attempt to make private space travel a reality. This talk is available on streaming video from FORA.tv.

8. The Surprising Science of Motivation

Learn how to better motivate yourself and others in this recent popular TED Talk. In this talk writer Daniel H. Pink lays out the facts about what drives the best results in business. In study after study any work that requires creative problem solving does not benefit from external rewards such as money. Only mechanical tasks benefit when there is reward and punishment, but when creative solutions are required, workers are more motivated when they feel there is intrinsic value to what they are doing. Pink lays out some of the ways businesses have benefited by implementing policies to encourage the best in right brained, creative thinking. This talk is available on MP3 download and streaming video from TED.com.

9. The Business of America: Masters of Enterprise – Lecture 1

Download Lecture 1 of this Modern Scholar course entitled Masters of Enterprise: American Business History and the People Who Made It taught by award-winning professor and historian H.W. Brands. In this first lecture called “The Business of America” Professor Brands gives a brief overview of the course and then proceeds to cover 200 years of American business history in 20 minutes from 1776 to the 20th century. He covers the importance of business in colonial times and its influence on the American Revolution. He then examines the 19th century which brought in industrialization and finance as important factors along with the central issue of slavery and its relation to business. And in the 20th century he briefly covers how businesses shifted their focus to the consumers who would buy all of the products that industrial capitalism was producing. This free lecture is available as an MP3 download or on streaming audio through LearnOutLoud.com.

10. Seth Godin on the Tribes We Lead

In this talk from the TED conference, best-selling business author Seth Godin shows how revolutionary business ideas have changed over time. Over the course of history we have moved from a factory model of business to a mass marketing model and now to a model based on tribes. A tribe model of business requires a leader who can connect all the people who are passionate about a specific product or movement and unite them to promote their passion. Godin provides examples of leaders who through the internet and other means of mass communication have arisen and created lasting change in business and society through the power of leading their tribes. This 20-minute talk is available on streaming video and MP3 download through TED.com.

Enjoy these leadership lessons from the leading leadership thinkers and leaders in the world!

April 5, 2011

Top Nightingale Conant Audio & Video Programs

Nightingale-Conant has established itself as one of the world’s foremost publishers of self help and business strategy programs. They now publish and sell over 400 audio & video programs covering many aspects of self development as well as strategies for business and attaining wealth. Nightingale-Conant titles are not stereotypical audio books written by the author and then narrated by someone else. They are usually presentations or seminars recorded specifically for audio and delivered by the authors themselves. Their programs are designed to guide you to success whether it involves your career, your emotional development, your relationships, or your personal wealth. They are now available on CD, DVD, and many of them are now on audio download.

We’ve just added over 180 of their latest releases to our site which you can browse:

Browse Over 400 Nightingale-Conant Programs

For the most part we don’t currently sell these programs directly. We just link to Nightingale-Conant as an affiliate. They’re so good we definitely wanted to highlight some of the new ones we’ve added in this newsletter:

New Nightingale Conant Personal Growth Titles:

eyeQ by Infinite Mind, LLc

Gary Null’s Perfect Health System

Life, Hope And Healing by Bernie Siegel

Sound Health, Sound Wealth by Luanne Oakes

Earl Nightingale Video Classics

Creating Lasting Change by Anthony Robbins

Putting Your Creative Genius to Work by Michael J. Gelb

Roger Love’s Vocal Power

Success Mastery With NLP by Charles Faulkner

The Peaceful Warrior’s Path to Everyday Enlightenment by Dan Millman

This I Believe by Vic Conant

The New Dynamics of Goal Setting by Denis Waitley

The 90 Second Rule by Jim Fannin

Optimal Health by Jim Loehr, Nick Hall, and Jack Groppel

The Awakening Course by Joe Vitale

Choice Point 2012 by Gregg Braden

New Nightingale Conant Business Titles:

Getting Things Done with Work-Life Balance by David Allen

John Cummuta’s Wealth Generator System

Power Negotiating for Sales People by Roger Dawson

Dream Job by Dan Miller

Empires Of The Mind by Denis Waitley

Innovation Revolution by Tom Peters

The Entrepreneurial Challenge by Paul Zane Pilzer

The Jim Rohn Classic DVD Series

Wealth Without a Job by Andy Fuehl

The Seven Years to Seven Figures System by Michael Masterson

Lots of great new audio & video learning programs from the godfathers of personal growth: Nightingale-Conant!

January 12, 2011

Best Self Help Authors

Over the past five years we’ve accumulated over 5,000 audio & video resources in the self development. We’ve collected some of our top self development authors on one page to make them easier for you to discover the exceptional personal growth resources they have offer.

Here you can also find listed some of the greatest minds in the varied fields of self development. Whether you’re looking to improve your health & nutrition, you’re interested in learning meditation, or you just want some powerful motivation for your life, these authors will empower you to develop yourself into your full potential!

LearnOutLoud.com Self Help Authors Page

We’ve added a number of new author pages to this page which you’ll want to check out:

Tony Alessandra

Ken Blanchard

Gary Chapman

Pema Chodron

John Gray

Brian Johnson, CEO of PhilosophersNotes.com

Caroline Myss

Bob Proctor

Ken Wilber

Browse these resources of publishers and authors bringing you the best in personal growth on audio & video.

January 7, 2011

Professional Development Courses, Seminars, & Books on Audio

It’s never been more important to enhance your professional skills and we’ve just added a wide range of titles to help you succeed in your business life. Whether you’re looking to improve your leadership skills, utilize the best new practices in marketing, trying to build your wealth, or are looking for a fulfilling career we’ve released 100s of new titles on audio download that we think you’ll find useful.

We’ve recently added to our download catalog over 200 new audio downloads from Gildan Media, a leading publisher in the area of personal & professional development:

Gildan Media Downloads

Many of their programs feature bestselling authors and established professional development speakers teaching about skills in all areas of business. We’ll start off in this section with some of the best professional development audio programs we’ve added according to category:

Business Strategy:

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne

The Worst-Case Scenario Business Survival Guide by David Borgenicht & Mark Joyner

Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow by Chip Conley

Career Skills:

Acing the Interview: How to Ask and Answer the Questions That Will Get You the Job! by Tony Beshara

The Unemployed Millionaire: Escape the Rat Race, Fire Your Boss, and Live Life on YOUR Terms! by Matt Morris & Wallace Wang

The Job Search Solution by Tony Beshara

Leadership & Management:

A Class with Drucker by William A. Cohen

The Leadership Challenge by James M. Kouzes & Barry Z. Posner

Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life by Stewart D. Friedman

Sales & Marketing:

The Go-Giver: A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea

The New Rules of Marketing and PR

How to Sell When Nobody Is Buying

Entrepreneurship:

The Small Business Bible by Steven D. Strauss

You Need To Be a Little Crazy by Barry J. Moltz

Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle by Dan Senor & Saul Singer

Tech Business:

Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs by Brian Halligan & Dharmesh Shah

Twitter Power 2.0: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time by Joel Comm

Wired for Thought: How the Brain Is Shaping the Future of the Internet

April 21, 2009

Free Self Help Downloads

Interested in self help, but unsure of where to start? For years, LearnOutLoud has built a name for itself collecting the best self development audio & video resources from across the web. With this list of 20 free resources we showcase the biggest authors in the field, such as Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Steven Covey and more. Here you’ll find success advice from coach John Wooden, get healthy living tips from Andrew Weil and learn important Law of Attraction concepts from Wallace D. Wattles. Self Development is one of the pillars of LearnOutLoud.com’s ongoing mission, and we pride ourselves on providing the best ways to help you realize your best self. Click below to get started on your path to self improvement:

Self Help Free Audio & Video Directory

Self Help Podcast Directory

You can check out the top 20 free self help downloads by clicking below:

1. Inspiring Words of Encouragement Podcast
Zig Ziglar is one of the great motivational speakers of our time, and he’s been inspiring listeners to achieve their goals for over 35 years. This podcast contains excerpts from Ziglar’s recordings with advice and anecdotes on many topics. He began podcasting in 2006 and he’s kept all his podcasts up on his feed. Listen to dozens of Ziglar’s motivational podcasts today.

2. Tony Robbins Asks Why We Do What We Do

Self development expert Anthony Robbins speaks at the TED Conference on what motivates people. Robbins insists that he isn’t a motivator, but instead he is out to find what motivates people and what is it that makes the difference in the quality of people’s lives. He discusses briefly the core human needs that drive people. This talk is available on streaming video and MP3 download from TED.com.

3. 18 Self-Healing Exercises from Sounds True

Listen to 18 Self-Healing Exercises from Sounds True with their Guide to Energy Healing. In these exercises you’ll hear teachers such as Andrew Weil, Cyndi Dale, Caroline Myss, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and many more. Listen to Andrew Weil teaches his most powerful breathing technique for relaxation or to Shiva Rea as she leads a 20-minute yoga relaxation exercise covering the entire body. Enjoy these free self-healing exercises on streaming audio from Sounds True.

4. The Chopra Center for Wellbeing Podcast

From the The Chopra Center for Wellbeing in Carlsbad, California comes this podcast featuring a number of high quality meditations. The podcast of guided meditations is typically hosted by davidji, the master Chopra Center educator. He leads meditations complete with soothing sounds and music. In one podcast Deepak Chopra leads a Global Peace Meditation and Lecture. Listen to these soothing podcasts from The Chopra Center.

5. Personal Development for Smart People Podcast

One of our favorite personal development bloggers is Steve Pavlina. His popular blog at www.stevepavlina.com attracts over two million monthly readers. He also has a podcast featuring over 20 episodes which address many different areas of personal growth. Pavlina does not believe in any quick solutions to personal growth and knows that it takes a lot of time and hard work to improve in any area of your life. In his first podcast he presents his own story of personal growth which began over 15 years ago in a jail cell when he was 19 years old. These early podcasts can be played at www.stevepavlina.com/audio. In recent podcasts that are on the podcast feed he talks about finding your purpose, achieving your goals, nurturing loving relationships, and more. Enjoy these free podcasts from www.stevepavlina.com.

6. A Peaceful Warrior Brings His Zaadz to Life: Brian Johnson Chats with Dan Millman

In this special LearnOutLoud.com interview Philosopher Notes CEO Brian Johnson chats with Way of the Peaceful Warrior author Dan Millman. The discussion is around finding your life’s purpose and finding ways to get paid doing what you love. Brian and Dan share many stories about their path including a number of the setbacks they experienced along the way. Dan talks about the many teachers he has had including the person he met which is the character of “Socrates” in his book Way of the Peaceful Warrior. Enjoy this free conversation on MP3 audio download exclusively on LearnOutLoud.com.

7. The Game of Life and How to Play It

This free audio book download from Librivox is a self help classic. Florence Scovel Shinn was a New Thought spiritual teacher and in this book she teaches of the game of giving and receiving. With chapters on prosperity, love, karma, intuition, and more, she teaches how to apply the game of life to these areas. Throughout the book she gives real life examples of these principles in action. This 3-hour audio book is available on MP3 download from Librivox!

8. John Wooden on True Success

Hear some wisdom from a man who is often considered the greatest college basketball coach of all time: John Wooden. The legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden passed away last year at the age of 99. Under Coach Wooden, UCLA won a record ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period. John Wooden left a legacy of leadership wisdom through his numerous books including his conception of “The Pyramid of Success”. In this talk delivered at the TED conference a few years ago, Wooden talks about true success being the satisfaction of knowing you that put forth your utmost effort in the game despite whether you win or lose. He readily quotes poetry and other sources of his inspiration throughout his life. This 20-minute talk is loaded with wisdom from a lifetime of success, and it is available on streaming video and video download from TED.com.

9. Gary Renard Podcast

Listen to the Gary Renard Podcast co-hosted by professional voice artist Gene Bogart as he talks with author Gary Renard about the ideas in his books such as The Disappearance of the Universe and Your Immortal Reality: How to Break the Cycle of Birth and Death. Renard’s books draw heavily from the ideas of A Course in Miracles and he provides insight into many teachings from A Course in Miracles in these podcasts. Renard has been podcasting for years now and there are now many podcast episodes to listen to. Check them out!

10. Be Unstoppable: The Essential Laws Fearless Living Podcast

Be Unstoppable: The Essential Laws Fearless Living Podcast features podcasts with speaker and best-selling author Guy Finley. Focusing on spiritual and emotional development, Guy Finley touches on issues which affect us all: relationships, fear, addiction, stress/anxiety, peace, happiness, and freedom. Listen to podcasts from Guy Finley on the Be Unstoppable: The Essential Laws Fearless Living Podcast.

11. The Art of Original Thinking

Author Jan Phillips is currently offering her audio book The Art of Original Thinking: The Making of a Thought Leader for free on MP3 audio download directly through LearnOutLoud.com. This unabridged 6-hour audio book sets out to inspire new thought leaders for the new global paradigm we are entering. She provides many insights from her own life and quotes other unique thought leaders to aid us in creatively thinking outside of the box. She also explores the new thinking that is emerging in the areas of business, politics, religion, the environment, and more. Download this free audio book generously offered by author Jan Phillips and feel free to check out her website: www.janphillips.com.

12. The Science Of Being Great

From the author of The Science of Getting Rich, we’re pleased to offer this free version of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Being Great available on MP3 download from LearnOutLoud.com. This success classic explores how all individuals can be great through the use of their thoughts and actions. This special edition of the audio book is read by motivational author & musician Michele Blood. After each chapter she provides commentary and a snippet of her motivational music. We sincerely thank Michele Blood for offering this title for FREE on LearnOutLoud.com and we highly encourage you to download it!

13. Do What You Fear & Grow Stronger

Get this free 13-minute podcast by Project Management trainer & author Michael Greer. In this podcast Michael Greer begins with some quotes on overcoming fear and the importance of facing your fears. He tells a personal story of how he went from singing in the shower to singing for a rock band as a teenager, and the various steps he took to overcoming his fear of singing in front of a crowd. He also relates these methods of tackling fear to leadership & management and the ways leaders can encourage their teams to overcome fear. At the end of the podcast Greer recommends to get the audio book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers on LearnOutLoud.com (thanks Michael!) and to check out the wisdom he’s gained from PhilosophersNotes.com.

14. The Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

You can now watch Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture on “Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” in its entirety on YouTube. If you’ve not heard of this lecture it was a lecture delivered on September 18, 2007 by Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch who had been diagnosed with a terminal case of pancreatic cancer. In this lecture Professor Pausch talks about how to live your life through the many lessons he had learned in his quest for achieving his childhood dreams. With humor and upbeat energy, he also talks about the many ways in which he inspired his students to achieve their dreams, many of which he lived to see come true. Professor Randy Pausch passed away on July 25, 2008, yet this lecture continues to inspire millions through Pausch’s enduring lessons about life.

15. Law of Attraction Tips Podcast

Learn about the Law of Attraction on this podcast hosted by Karen Luniw. For many years now Karen has been sharing her experiences and tips about applying the Law of Attraction in everyday life. She also interviews people who’ve successfully employed the Law of Attraction in their own lives such as Bob Doyle from the movie The Secret, Bishop Christopher Wilson, and Multi-multi-multi Millionaire T. Harv Eker. This podcast includes video and audio podcasts on the feed. Learn about the Law of Attraction with Karen Luniw.

16. Monday Again?!: Four Essentials For A Healthy Lifestyle

Start your Monday with this free audio book titled appropriately enough Monday Again?!: Four Essentials For A Healthy Lifestyle by Marquese Martin-Hayes. In the 1-hour book Marquese lays out strategies to use thinking in order to change our perspective on Mondays and on everyday. Marquese published this titles through our TeachOutLoud service. It sounds like a very good listen.

17. Stephen R. Covey on Living a Principle-Centered Life

Dr. Steven Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People gives an outstanding address at Montana State University on living a principally-centered life. He explains how those who live without principles tend to evaluate themselves according to what others think. He also encourages the incoming freshman he is addressing to not cram their studies in order to just get by in college, as that is a bad habit that Covey confesses he had which robbed him of much of the value of his early college education. This one is streaming video only on YouTube, but you have to watch it.

18. 25 Life Purpose Lessons from Sounds True

Sounds True has launched a wonderful new section of their site that features 25 Life Purpose Lessons to help you grow in your passions, your career, and your wealth in the coming year. With 5-15 minute audio lessons from Sounds True’s best business & wealth teachers such as Rick Jarow, Mark Albion, John Mackey, Fred Kofman, and Vicki Robin, these 25 life lessons will propel you with vision & motivation. Enjoy these 25 lessons from Sounds True! Note: These lessons are streaming audio only and not downloadable.

19. Thresholds of the Mind Podcast

Bill Harris is the creator of Holosync (an audio technology designed to enhance meditation), founder & director of the Centerpointe Research Institute, and a featured teacher in the movie The Secret. In his podcast Thresholds of the Mind, Harris lays out his ideas regarding personal growth and the stages one goes through in their human development. In the first podcast he describes his proposed stages of development including preconventional, conventional, postconventional, and transcendental stages. In subsequent lectures he elaborates on these ideas drawing from diverse thinkers such as Ken Wilber, Swiss psychologist & philosopher Jean Piaget, and the 9th century Zen master Tozan. Throughout the podcasts Bill Harris is quite articulate about these ideas and they are very interesting to listen to.

20. 11:11 Talk Radio Podcast

Browse 100 podcasts on the 11:11 Talk Radio Podcast hosted by Simran Singh who also publishes the 11:11 Magazine. She interviews many key authors in the areas of personal empowerment. In a recent interview author and Inner Visions Institute founder Iyanla Vanzant talks about her book Peace From Broken Pieces. Iyanla tells some of her remarkable story about how she rose to be the guru from the ‘hood’ and about the healing process she recently went through after the death of her daughter. Also on the podcast feed you’ll hear from Marianne Williamson who talks about her bestselling book A Course In Weight Loss. You’ll also find podcasts from authors like Gay Hendricks, Julia Cameron, Michael Bernard Beckwith, Sonia Choquette, Joan Borysenko, Thomas Moore, Dr. Zhi Gang Sha, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola-Estes, Sylvia Browne, Don Miguel Ruiz, Neale Donald Walsch, Debbie Ford, and many other living luminaries.

We’ve been sending out our Free Resource of the Day Emails for many years now. If you’ve not subscribed yet, we highly encourage you to do so.

April 15, 2009

Learn How To Meditate with Free Meditations

LearnOutLoud.com invites you to learn about meditation and the different ways to meditate with this top ten list of free meditational resources culled from our Free Resource of the Day Emails. Over the years, we’ve featured several guided meditations, relaxation exercises, and mindfulness practice lectures as a part of our Free Resource of the Day Email service. From these emails we’ve compiled a brief selection of audio guides, videos, and podcasts that cover topics such as mindfulness in everyday life, transcendental meditation techniques, Christian-based practices and more. With these ten resources, you’ll not only learn how to meditate, you’ll also get the latest science on the health benefits of daily meditational practice. Click the links below to begin the process towards a more mindful, present-oriented life:

1. Meditation Class 1: Learn to Meditate

The Meditation Society of Australia has recently put up a meditation class on our site. This free program offers seven keys to meditation that will help those beginning meditation to reach what is referred to as the “intuitive state”. After the lesson, you are guided through a meditation with relaxing music to help you along. This program is available as a free MP3 download on LearnOutLoud.com.

2. Mindfulness as a Foundation for Health

Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh recently led a 3-hour workshop on mindfulness at the Googleplex and this entire workshop can be viewed on YouTube. After about an hour of music and introductions, Thich Nhat Hanh gives a talk and answers questions for two hours. He provides many insights of how people can incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives from walking to eating to washing the dishes. Listen to the wisdom of 85-year-old monk Thich Nhat Hanh and his message of mindfulness and peace.

3. Introduction to Your Mind: Two Guided Meditations

Start you day off with these two free guided meditations. They were published by Mi Ka El Mindchanger through our TeachOutLoud self-publishing tool. Through these two 10-minute meditations Mi Ka El leads you through the practice of mindfulness meditation with insights on how to transcend your thoughts & feelings and come into awareness of your true Self. These excellent meditations can be downloaded on MP3 through LearnOutLoud.com and listened to again and again. Thanks Mi Ka El for this great free resource!

4. Alpha Break

Listen to this free 12 Min. MP3 download offered by Effective Learning Systems. This spoken word program is designed to put listeners in a relaxed state both mentally and physically. It can be used again and again at any time during the day. Download this free MP3 from LearnOutLoud.com.

5. Ceaseless Society: Is 24/7 Good for Us?

In this lecture from MIT, author & meditation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn shares his perspectives on a society that is busy all the time. He provides insights into how we can regard time from the perspective of mindfulness, and suggests that in our effort to be technologically connected to everyone, we often lose connection to our true self. This lecture is available on streaming audio & video as well as MP3 download.

6. AM Focus

Listen to this 13-minute visualization & relaxation process for focusing in the morning from Dr. Patrick Porter. Dr. Porter guides you through positive affirmations for your day. Combined with soothing music, this audio program is a great way to begin your week. This free audio download is available on MP3 download through LearnOutLoud.com.

7. Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain

Filmmaker David Lynch shares his passion for Transcendental Meditation (or TM for short) in this lecture released on downloadable audio from WGBH in Boston. In a style uniquely his own, Lynch explains how the creativity displayed in his work over the years has been a direct product of TM; arguing that expanded consciousness necessarily leads to expanded creative insight. It is his impassioned belief that if more people used these meditation techniques, the effect would rub off on everyone else and consequently much of the world’s turmoil would cease. This talk is available on streaming audio & video and MP3 download from the WGBH Forum Network.

8. A Quiet Mind Podcast

Listen to spiritual wisdom from Robert Jackson on A Quiet Mind Podcast. He’s been podcasting for years now and all of his podcasts are up on the feed. Each podcast confronts a different spiritual topic, in relation to our striving for peace, happiness, and fulfillment. Browse all these podcasts on LearnOutLoud.com.

9. Coming to Our Senses

For decades now Jon Kabat-Zinn has been teaching mindfulness meditation as a technique to help people cope with stress, anxiety, pain and illness. Along with his teaching, he’s also written the classic Wherever You Go, There You Are and most recently Coming to Our Senses. In this lecture from UCTV, Kabat-Zinn speaks about reintroducing you to yourself, and developing an awareness of this moment in a fast-paced, technologically advanced world. This video lecture is available to stream through YouTube.

10. The Meditation Experience

Sounds True is currently offering a free self-guided course entitled The Meditation Experience: Eight Pathways to Open the Heart and Mind. This eight session course features readings and guided audio & video meditations to teach you various methods of meditation. The course is taught by excellent meditation teachers including Shinzen Young, Jack Kornfield, Mark Thornton, Arjuna Ardagh, Rick Jarow, Anodea Judith, Kim Eng, Reggie Ray, and Lama Surya Das. It requires you to register on SoundsTrue.com as you will go through the stages of the course on their site. The audio & video meditations are available to stream and download.

We’ve been sending out our Free Resource of the Day Emails for many years now. If you’ve not subscribed yet, we highly encourage you to do so.