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May 19, 2014

Free Guided Meditations on MP3 from UCLA

Free Guided Meditations from the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center

Listen to and download free guided meditations offered on MP3 from the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center. These eight introductory guided meditations are led by Diana Winston who is the Director of Mindfulness Education at the Mindful Awareness Research Center. Try out breathing meditations, body scan meditations, and loving-kindness meditations.

And if you want to download many more guided meditations check out:

Free Meditation Podcasts at the Hammer Museum

These 30-minute guided meditation sessions are conducted weekly at UCLA’s Hammer Museum. Download over 60 of these sessions on MP3. The guided meditations cover a wide variety of meditation topics from working with equanimity, gratitude, joy, pain, and much more. They are also lead by Diana Winston.

And if you are new to mindfulness meditation or would like to watch an introduction to it, then check out this video by Diana Winston:

Introduction to Mindful Awareness

Enjoy these free mindfulness resources from the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center.




February 12, 2014

5 Free Relationship Advice Resources

With Valentine’s Day coming up, many people are turning their hearts and minds towards that special someone. For many, this time is not only a celebration of love, but it also gives us a chance to ponder how we might further cultivate romance in our lives. We’ve decided it was a great time to collect some of our favorite videos, audiobooks and podcasts centered around the search for lasting love. Whether you are still trying to find your soul mate, need some pointers on how to communicate with your partner, want to energize your intimacy, or pine for a commitment that will last, these selections can guide you along the path to true romantic fulfillment.

1) John Gray Relationship Advice Videos

Bestselling “Mars and Venus” author John Gray presents a series of short relationship advice videos on his YouTube channel. Each segment takes on a specific topic and dissects what the basic emotional underpinnings are that might be causing trouble. Whether you are looking for advice with unrequited love, feel bored in a current relationship, or are facing a communication problem that has stopped you from growing with your significant other, Gray’s videos provide a warm outlet for guidance. In all John Gray has over 140 videos currently to choose from, all lasting about 5 to 10 minutes.

2) Understanding Conversations Between Women and Men

In this lecture linguistics professor and bestselling author Deborah Tannen describes many of the basic differences between in communication between men and women. She starts with an example she discovered when examining the conversations of kids and teenagers. Girls tended to talk to each other face to face while boys generally sat at angles or parallel and looked around the room while they talked to each other. She mentions many other general patterns of behavior in the communication habits of men and women and hopes that by becoming more aware of these differences we can become more understanding in our communication with the opposite sex.

3) This is Your Brain on Love

Helen Fisher, one of the world’s leading experts on romantic love, identifies four broad personality types, each governed by different chemical systems in the brain. Love is no longer blind, thanks to pioneering scientific research, based on her unique study of 40,000 men and women. Fisher explains each type, shows you how to identify your own type, and helps you use nature’s chemistry to find and keep your life partner.

4) The Love Language Minute Podcast with Dr. Gary Chapman

Noted relationship counselor Gary Chapman hosts these short daily insights based on his bestselling book The Five Love Languages. Each episode is under a minute and touches on the various barriers people face in the way they communicate their feelings with one another. Framed within a spiritual perspective, these podcasts offer valuable tips on how to speak more freely and love more fully.

5) Deepening Intimacy: A Free Course from Sounds True

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Sounds True has launched a new FREE video event series entitled “Deepening Intimacy: Essential Insights for the Most Important Relationship of Your Life”. This 16-part series features Sounds True founder Tami Simon speaking with relationship experts like John Gray, Harville Hendrix, and many more. In the first interview which lasts about 50 minutes, Tami interviews Harville Hendrix and his wife Helen Hunt as they discuss ways to keep a relationship vital. Their emphasis is on bringing zero negativity to a marriage and the ways they worked with negativity in their own relationship. Join in on watching this 16-part video series to help you enhance your intimate relationships.




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

EntrepreneurialThoughtLeadersblog.jpgWant 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

931-1.jpg 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

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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