Personal Development Experts

Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Personal Development*

*But Didn’t Know You Needed to Ask

Personal Development Toolkit | Year of Personal Development

A lot of my knowledge of personal development was learned in the school of hard knocks. (That, and a lot of reading) I’m confident I can point you to some great experts in these areas of personal development. For each area, I asked myself the question: “If you could only read one book or listen to one expert, which one would it be?” In many areas, there was a clear stand-out, in my opinion. But in some cases, it was impossible to pick only one. For example, there are far too many in the area of Home Helpers to pick only one. I’m certain there are good choices on the list, but I welcome suggestions for additions, especially in the areas of Financial, Recreational, Physical & Spiritual. The experts vary widely in how active they are on the Internet and how much they freely share. Some are sadly no longer with us. Most have at least one book, which you can probably borrow for free from your local library. So there’s no excuse not to learn!

Big Name Experts in Personal Development

• Jack Canfield
• Dr. Wayne Dyer
• Oprah
• Dr. Phil
• Jim Rohn
• Tony Robbins | TED Talk “Why We Do What We Do”
• Zig Ziglar

Bloggers: see my list of Top Ten Personal Development Sites, and
the sidebar links under Personal Development. There’s a list of 100 top sites at startofhappiness.com.

Purpose

• Stephen R Covey | Website | Book: “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”
• Dick Richards | Website | Book: “Is Your Genius at Work?”
• Strengths: Marcus Buckingham | Gallup
• Motivation: Daniel H Pink | Website | Book: “Drive” | TED Talk “The Puzzle of Motivation” | Kauffman Founders School “Leadership and Motivation”
• Change: Chip & Dan Heath Brothers | Website | Book: “Switch”

Mental

• Goals: Brian Tracy | Website | Facebook | Book: “Goals”
• Productivity: David Allen | Website | Facebook | Book: “Getting Things Done” | TED Talk “Getting Things Done”
• see more at Work Wonders

Emotional

• Albert Ellis | Book: “A Guide to Rational Living”
• Daniel Goleman | Website | Facebook | Books: “Emotional Intelligence” “Focus” | TED Talk “Why Aren’t We More Compassionate?”
• Happiness: Martin Seligman: Books “Authentic Happiness” and more | TED Talk “The New Era of Positive Psychology”
• Shawn Achor: Wikipedia | Book: “The Happiness Advantage” | TED Talk “The Happy Secret to Better Work”
• Dan Gilbert: Book “Stumbling On Happiness” | TED Talks
• Gretchen Rubin | Website | Facebook | Youtube |  Book: “The Happiness Project”
• Anger: W Robert Nay | Website | Book: “Taking Charge of Anger”

Relationships

• John Gottman | Website | Facebook | Book:  “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work”
• Gary Chapman | Website | Book: “The Five Love Languages”
• Dr. Willard Harley | Website | Book: “Give and Take”

Social

• Communication: Matthew McKay | Book: “Messages”
• Networking:
• Scott Ginsburg | Website |
• Tim Sanders Website | Facebook | Youtube | Book: “The Likeabilty Factor”

Career

• Richard Nelson Bolles | Website | Facebook | Youtube | Book: “What Color is Your Parachute”
• Marcus Buckingham | Website | Book: “Now Discover Your Strengths”
• “The Big Book of Jobs”

Organizational

• Kathy Waddill | Book: “The Organizing Sourcebook”
• Regina Leeds | Website | Book: “One Year to an Organized Life”
• see more at Home Helpers

Character

• Book: “Healthy, Wealthy & Wise” by Andrea Rains Waggener
• Rushworth M. Kidder | Book: “Moral Courage”
• William J Bennett | Book: “The Book of Virtues”
• Authenticity: Brene Brown | Website | Facebook | Watch: Brene Brown TED Talk | Book “Daring Greatly”
• Creativity: Steven Pressfield | Website | Book: “the War of Art”
• Self-Esteem: Nathaniel Brandon | Website | Book: “Six Pillars of Self-Esteem”

Financial

• Dave Ramsey | Website | Facebook| Book: “Total Money Makeover”
• Suze Orman | Website | Facebook | Youtube
• Robert Kiyosaki | Website | Book: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”
• Book: “A Year to an Organized Financial Life” by Regina Leeds

Physical

• Book Reviews &  Videos at eatright.org
• Dr. Oz | Website
• Dr. Weil | Website
• Dr. Herbert Benson | Book: “Relaxation Response”

Spiritual

• Don Miguel Ruiz | Website | Book: “The Four Agreements”
• Deepak Chopra | Website
• Marianne Williamson | Website
• Rick Warren | Website| Book: “The Purpose-Driven Life” | TED Talk “A Life of Purpose”
• Joel Osteen | Website |

see also Famous Spiritual & Religious Leaders at thefamouspeople.com

Recreational

• Jon Gordon | Website Book: “Energy Addict” by Jon Gordon

Work Skills

Communication –

• Connection: Sean Stephenson | Website | Video
• Presentations: Nancy Duarte | Website | Video

Leadership:

• Michael Hyatt | Website
• John C. Maxwell | Website
• Simon Sinek | Website | Book: “Start With Why” | TED Talk “Start With Why”
• Inc.com article with Top 50 Leadership and Management Experts

Marketing:

• Seth Godin | Website | TED Talks
• John Jantsch (Duct Tape Marketing) | Website

Entrepreneurship:

• Steve Blank | Website | Kauffman Founder’s School “Startups”
• Guy Kawasaki | Website

Social Media:

• Phil Gerbyshak | Website
• Chris Brogan | Website

Ideas for more from Derek Sivers