When FACED with a problem, I only think about the solution, not the “beautiful” solution. But after the problem is solved, if the solution is not “beautiful,” I know I was wrong.

– r. BUCKMINSTER FULLER

Remember when you first became interested in “personal development”? I always remember it was January 1991. I was 19 years old and had just been arrested for grand larceny. It wasn’t my first offense, so I knew I was in big trouble.

Soon after my freshman year at Berkeley, I started stealing. Not for the money, not for the fame, but for the thrill — the adrenaline rush is so good. The desire to steal was so strong that it became part of my daily life. I don’t care what I steal. It’s the act of stealing that seduces me. Sometimes I would steal a bag of sugar and leave it in the common area, imagining someone would find it and eat it. I don’t eat sugar because I don’t think it’s healthy.

For a few days in prison, I called myself an idiot every day, until I broke down. In high school, I was an A+ student, president of the math club, and captain of the academic decathlon team. I was supposed to be a computer scientist with a bright future. Now I’m done. I could be in jail for the next year or two.

When I returned to my apartment three days later, I received a notice from the school. There was no doubt that I had been expelled. Obviously, you skipped class again, and your grades were so bad, the school finally got tired of it. I realized I had two simple choices to deal with my situation: grow up, or give up on myself.

I was numb for months as I waited for the trial. Sleep into the afternoon and binge play video games, sometimes up to 18 hours a day (nintendo’s stand-alone games, not multiplayer online games). It’s hard to stay motivated when you know you’re going to jail.

I eventually found a lawyer and discussed my situation in his office. Before I could speak, he blurted out, “Steve, I read your case. Since it’s your first offense, I’m sure it’s okay. If we don’t object, you’ll just end up doing some community service. I have a good relationship with the D.A., and I’m sure he’ll do this. I strongly advise you to make no other objections, because you’ve been caught and the evidence is overwhelming.”

My mind raced: First offense? Is he stupid? Why does he think IT’s my first offense? He doesn’t know about my previous theft record? Will the rest of the court see it that way? Should I correct him for such an oversight?

As I wrestled with how to respond, a voice came to my mind: “Shut up, silly dog!” I realize that saying it now will only make it worse for me. At worst, the lawyer will call me an idiot, but with any luck I’ll get away with it — grand larceny is a felony! I decided I had to take the risk. Adventure is an all-too-familiar pastime 🤓.

A few weeks later we were in court. I’m so nervous. My plan is to shut up and say as little as possible. Outside the courtroom, I went through my paperwork, and none of my previous convictions were on it. Human error? The computer bug? Either way, I’m happy to see it happen.

There is no doubt that when I entered the court with my lawyer, the court still regarded me as a first offender and dealt with it according to procedure. I pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 60 hours of community service. I rushed out of the courtroom dizzy with great happiness, and the next two years would be my own!

I did 60 hours of community service like it was my dream job, because I was supposed to do 17,520 hours. It’s hard to imagine how happy I was picking up trash at Emeryville Marina. You don’t know how precious freedom is until you lose it. ** I’m so grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given, I don’t even think I deserve it.

I wish I could say that I recovered easily and quickly, but I didn’t. Although he was lucky not to go to prison, life became unimaginably difficult. I left Berkeley, went back to my hometown in Los Angeles, and took a minimum-wage job in a retail store. With a criminal record, I could do with a better job. But I don’t want to. I just want to do a stress-free, quiet, like a grass. Courage has become my enemy.

During this quiet year, I worked hard and gradually developed a new code of ethics to guide me, which blended the concepts of honor, honesty, integrity, modesty, and fairness. This conscious reinvention went on for at least a few years. As time went by and I found myself again, I decided it was time to go back to school. I felt that if I could get a degree in computer science, that would somehow undo the mistakes of the past.

In the fall of 1992, I enrolled at the University of California and began my new life as a new man. The admissions process at Uc was less rigorous, freshmen had a lot of room to operate, I could be guaranteed admission by filling out an application, and they didn’t care if I dropped out of Berkeley. Now THAT I’m 21, some things have changed since I was 18. I am now passionate about “personal development” and I have a strong desire to do my best this time.

I feel like I’ve wasted three years, and I can’t take another four full years to graduate. I know I have to take responsibility for my own situation, and I have a strong desire to progress faster. So I set an ambitious goal of getting my degree in three semesters by taking three times as many courses. People who know me think I’m crazy, but they can’t see into me. I will give 100% and I know nothing can stop me from achieving my goals so that I am worthy of this precious gift.

In order to overcome heavy tasks, I learned a lot of time management skills and applied them immediately. I listen to motivational tapes every day to maintain a positive attitude; I exercise every day to keep my energy levels up, and I’ve found some innovative ways to stay “productive.” I feel limitless energy and motivation because I know I will do my best in the end. I worked hard and skipped grades, even taking an extra math degree. When I graduated, I won the honor of “Computer Science Graduate of the Year”.

In my last semester, I took a part-time job developing several different games for a local game company. I also served as vice president of the school computer club. Despite a lot of effort, I managed to achieve my goal of graduating in three semesters. This success has freed me from the pain and guilt of my past, while leaving behind valuable lessons I’ve learned.

A few months after graduation, I started my own gaming business and started dating my future wife. But “personal development” remains my top priority. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was just embarking on a lifelong path of conscious growth. Over the next few years, I read hundreds of books and listened to countless audio tutorials on personal development: psychology, motivation, success, productivity, careers, problem solving, health, wealth, spirituality, meditation, and more.

But most of it is useless. The authors are enthusiastic, but their ideas are often stereotypical, inconsistent, incomplete, impractical, and even wrong. I suspect that many people overstate their own achievements. If you are an avid reader of such works, you will encounter the same problem. Let’s say you buy a diet book and find out it’s just an AD for diet pills. Still, I struck some gold, giving me new perspective and insights that helped me improve my life. My big breakthroughs, however, have often come from personal experience rather than from reading information.

I’ve been in the game business for many years (sometimes successful, sometimes mediocre), and I still have a strong interest in “personal development”. But over time, I lost interest in releasing games, and the game business wasn’t that satisfying. I thought it was time to turn my “personal development” interest into my main business.

createwww.stevepavlina.com

In 2004, my family and I moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, and in October I officially retired from the gaming industry to start a new “personal development” online business: www.stevepavlina.com. I started blogging, writing articles, and recording audio to share what I’ve learned over the last dozen years in the field of personal development. In three years, I’ve created enough material to fill 20 books, but I still feel like I’m just getting started. I shared everything for free, and the site began to generate revenue through advertising, promotional messages, donations, etc.

Although it started without any endorsement, www.stevepavlina.com spread by word of mouth and quickly became the most popular “personal development” site in 150 countries. Because people who benefit from free content often recommend it to their friends, family, and partners. I didn’t spend a dime on marketing and promotion. Soon, even though I had no products, no employees, no customers, the site was bringing in tens of thousands of dollars a month, which in turn brought in more visitors. Because people want to know, how did I make so much money, or did I do it for free. The free content is still accessible, and I’m adding more.

Running www.stevepavlina.com has been great for my “personal development” because I can talk directly to many people about their unique challenges. In thousands of conversations with readers, I began to see recurring patterns and themes. I’ve also noticed that when I write about a particular topic, it’s not uncommon for someone to take a general concept from it and find a way to apply it to a completely different area. For example, if I write about sleep, someone will figure out how to apply the same advice to their business. I began to suspect that there was a hidden order beneath our seemingly chaotic upbringing.

What is “personal development” for smart people?

Personal development for Smart people is a phrase I use to describe the “personal development” approach. Instead of picking the “easy fruit,” or solving simple questions (like how to eat healthy or make more money), I wanted to answer a very tough question: what does it really mean for us to be conscious? How do we manage this process intelligently?

There are two important threads in my life that have led me to solve this problem. One is my long fascination with the concept of “intelligence” and the other is my direct research into the field of “personal development.”

Along with my science degree, I also specialized in artificial intelligence (AI). After being beaten by reality, I realized how difficult it is to create intelligent programs, mainly because we don’t really know what “intelligence” is. I incorporated some basic AI techniques into my early games, but these programs simply mimicked intelligent behavior and could not be considered intelligent. I quickly asked myself: How do I really know I am “wise”? I couldn’t find an answer that pleased me. Ultimately, my quest for “personal development” led me to create a new definition of wisdom that was both logical and intuitive. You’ll learn this definition in Chapter 7.

Having studied personal development for many years, I’ve realized that the field is very broad and fragmented. Any area of life can reasonably be grouped under the topic of “personal development.” It includes health, career, finance, relationships, spirituality, etc. Each subset of the field has its own “experts” who share different opinions, rules, and recommendations. Relationship experts tell you how to maintain successful relationships, wealth experts tell you how to manage your money, and health experts tell you how to improve your body.

Unfortunately, these experts often slap each other in the face. Some recommend a high-protein diet, others recommend a high-carb diet; Some say success is achieved through hard work and discipline. Others say let nature take its course and let God and the universe handle the details. Some people advise you to change yourself, some people advise you to accept yourself. If you incorporate all of these suggestions into your life, it’s either stupid or crazy.

I quickly realized that a smart “personal development” approach would somehow resolve this inconsistency. The approach must be both logical and intuitive, satisfying both the mind and the heart. It should be logical and satisfy the left side of the brain; It’s intuitive, and it satisfies the right side of the brain.

Characteristics of core principles

The laws of physics are universal, although the applications may be very different. These principles do not change according to geography, culture, or human mood. Whether it’s building rockets or nuclear submarines, these core principles are consistent. Why is the “personal development” field different? Is there no universal law of consciousness?

I decided to tackle the problem head on and do something I had never done before. I set out to identify the common patterns behind all successful “personal development” in order to identify a set of universal and integrated core principles. To define this set of principles, I have listed a set of criteria, including: universality, completeness, atomicity, consistency, and practicality.

First, they must be universal. They must apply to every person, in every place, in every situation. They must be consistent in all areas of life (health, relationships, careers, spiritual growth, etc.); They have to be timeless, they have to be valid even after 1,000 years; Independent of culture, they apply to all people on the planet; They have to work both individually and collectively, so they work for teams of any size.

Second, the principles must be collected in their entirety, and no key principles should be left out. Other valid universal laws of personal development can be traced back to these core principles. Ideally, these principles should encompass themselves in a simple and elegant framework.

Third, the core principles must be indecomposable, similar to prime numbers in mathematics. They must be considered atomic elements of personal development. Therefore, we should be able to combine two or more core principles to form the next level of principles (like atoms to make molecules), and the resulting combination should still be both reasonable and universal.

Fourth, these principles must be harmonious. They must not conflict with each other and are logically and intuitively consistent.

Finally, the principles must be practical. They have to work in the real world. You should be able to use them to identify your own “personal development” challenges and come up with effective solutions. They should accelerate your “personal development,” not confuse you further.

The phrase “love your neighbor as yourself”, for example, does help with “personal development” for many people, but it doesn’t fit most of our core principles, so it doesn’t fit into the basic framework. First, it’s not universal. It’s good for personal relationships, interpersonal relationships, but not for fitness; Second, it’s not indecomposable. This statement derives from the more general principle of oneness, which itself derives from truth and love (see chapter 4). It’s great advice that will help you improve your relationships, but it won’t help you pay your bills. Many of these concepts have positive effects, but do not meet all the criteria, so they cannot be considered part of the basic framework.

It is extremely difficult to find the hidden order behind all conscious “personal development” because the solutions have to be very general and abstract, while being rich in practical applications. Since we are dealing with the realm of pure conscious thought, the solution will not be as clear as a mathematical formula, but it should bring us as close as possible to the ideal.

I examined various philosophical, psychological, and spiritual frameworks that have attempted to address this challenge before. Some clearly identify one or more core concepts, but no one provides a satisfactory explanation of the overall situation. Over and over again, I racked my brain and asked myself: What is the underlying pattern? There are clues everywhere, but the full structure remains a mystery. The task seems impossible, and I can’t even promise to find the answer. I finally gave up on the never-ending process of optimizing part of the solution. It’s frustrating to find a solution that looks good at first glance, only to find it full of bugs.

Brief Introduction to the Seven Principles

It took me nearly two and a half years, but I finally found the solution I wanted. It contains only three core principles: “Truth,” “love,” and “Power.” Four secondary principles are directly derived from the first three: oneness, power, courage, and wisdom. Oneness = truth + love; Power = truth + power; Courage = love + strength. Wisdom = truth + love + strength. Therefore, we can say that wisdom is the way to make you more in tune with truth, love, and power, as you will learn in Chapter 7. This gives us an elegant definition of wisdom: wisdom is the perfect combination of truth, love and power.

If you don’t understand these principles, don’t worry. We will devote an entire chapter to each of them, with additional chapters devoted to their practical applications. Once you learn these seven principles and realize how they work in every area of your life, you will open the door to a new world.

At first glance, some of these principles seem like common sense. Real principles can be intuitively understood by any scientist; The principle of love is common to all major religions; The principle of power appears repeatedly in business and government. Unfortunately, our society tends to separate these principles. ** In early education, we are taught to value the real, but “authority figures” also weaken us; We are encouraged to be aligned with love in our relationships and spiritual practices, but strength and authenticity are ignored; In building our careers and finances, we seek power, and truth and love go unnoticed in these areas. ** This was a huge mistake. These principles are universal, and they cannot and should not be separated unless we sacrifice something more important — our very nature as conscious beings.

The purpose of this book is to teach you how to align all aspects of your life with these universal principles. This requires infusing truth into your relationships, aligning your career with love, and giving strength to your spiritual practices. This is what it means to live as a conscious intelligent person. The more your life conforms to these principles, the wiser you will become.

This book provides you with a new way of thinking about “personal development” from “concept” to “action”. You won’t need any more rules, the core principles of growth won’t move from one area of life to another, and won’t vary from person to person. Once you understand how they work, you can use them to improve yourself.

How to read this book

The book is divided into two parts. The first part explores the seven basic principles of “personal development”, starting with the three basic principles of truth, love and strength. By understanding these basic principles, you will lay a solid foundation for improving all aspects of your life. The purpose of reading this part of the book is simply to understand these seven principles. There are some suggested app exercises that can deepen your understanding, but you don’t need to practice them on your first pass. These exercises mainly aim to show how to apply these ideas through action. Since some of these principles build on previous ones, it is best to read the first seven chapters in order.

The second part is the application part. The second half of the book explains how to apply these seven principles to produce positive and practical results in your life. Each chapter deals with a different area of life, including career, health, relationships, and more. You can read these chapters in any order, so skip right to the parts that interest you most. However, it is a good idea to read all the chapters in Part 1 before moving on to Part 2.

This is a very rich book, full of fresh ideas. ** Read slowly and don’t rush. ** This book is designed to help you pursue “personal development,” and it’s up to you to do that.

If you need additional help, or want to explore “personal development” with like-minded people, be sure to make full use of the www.stevepavlina.com online forum.

Here you will find a supportive community of thousands of growing individuals from all over the world. These forums are completely free, so don’t be afraid to miss out.

By the way, some of the sites mentioned in this book at www.stevepavlina.com will provide you with other free content. Rest assured that the book is complete. These pages are provided as supplementary resources, such as the online forums mentioned above. If for some reason you don’t have Internet access at home or work, most public libraries have free wifi available.

As you read this book, my commitment to you is threefold. First, in accordance with the truth principle, I will be completely honest and frank with you. I am not interested in putting wrong ideas into your head and leading you astray; Secondly, in accordance with the principle of love, I will do my best to establish a “person” to “person” connection with you. I am a friend, a guide, but not an immortal; Finally, following the Strength principle, I will help you embrace your true strength and face your fears. It means that sometimes I will encourage and support you. Other times, I have to question and challenge you. It will not be easy for you to apply what you have learned from this book. It’s not easy for me either. True conscious growth is rare, but it’s worth it.

Now let’s begin the journey of conscious personal development.