It’s funny, with such a ridiculous title, you’d think this site is another “get rich quick” scheme.  The fact is, the title is an attention getter, but once that attention is captured, which it is very effective in doing so, the attention is held and often rewarded with great information.

I think the overall purpose of any blog, regardless of it’s premise, is to entertain people.  It’s not enough to simply have good advice.  You also have to be entertaining.  I just finished reading one of Ramit’s articles he did for another site, titled “Why Your Friends Don’t Eat Healthier, Save Money, Or Clean Their Garage.”  It’s about barriers.  Those nasty little excuses we make to justify our laziness or things we do subconsciously to avoid doing what we don’t really want to, even if we know it’s good for us.  This is a great analogy for good advice, because even if the advice will solve a nagging problem and it’s the simplest solution you’re ever going to find, only a small percentage of the people that receive that advice will actually implement it.

Therefore, the need to also be entertaining.  Even though I know the advice is good for me, chances are, I’m not going to follow it unless it fits nicely into my lifestyle.  I’m not willing to rearrange my life unless I have great motivation to do so.

Ramit’s blog is both full of entertainment and great advice.  Like any great writer, Ramit’s style is very simple and straightforward.  He can explain complex subjects in ways those unfamiliar with the subject can easily digest.  These skills are becoming fundamental to success for anyone versed in a complex subject, such as finance.  It’s the ability to take the complexity out of the equation and reduce it to something a lay person could understand.  Lay person in this case being someone not well versed on the subject.

Anyway, I’m rambling.  I like Ramit.  He seems very personable and engaging.  He’s not like most big time bloggers in that he responds to his audience personally.  When I started following him on Twitter, he sent me a personal thank you message.  Those are the types of touches that keep me interested in what he has to say.  I’m not just another annoying reader, I’m a person who he cares about helping.  At least that’s the aura he’s creating.

It’s working.  So go check it out.

I had heard about Seth Godin’s blog a while ago. I checked it out, but I didn’t get it then. I had no idea what he was talking about. I didn’t know that he was a marketing guru.

Now I know, after listening to two of his audio books, Permission Marketing and All Marketers Are Liars.  Now reading his blog makes a whole lotta sense.  When I dismissed him a while back as being a random, clutter contributor, I now see him as somewhat of a genius.  At least he has a good story to tell.

Seth is matter of fact.  His style is short and sweet.  In my opinion, his short pieces are harder to pull off than longer, more elaborate ones.  Communicating a thought in just a few words is much more difficult than having tons of space.  Besides, if you need page after page to explain something, it’s either way too complex or you don’t know what you’re talking about (or you’re an ego maniac).  While I can sense a bit of inflated ego in Seth’s work, it doesn’t matter, because what he says is interesting.  I’m willing to put up with a little ego in exchange for great information.

I would say that Seth is in my top 5 right now.  He writes so often that it’s hard to keep up, but I check in every few days to see what’s on his mind.  He rarely disappoints.  If you’re not familiar with his work, you should be.  So get over there now and see what all the rage is about.

Finger painting anyone?  I’m not sure if they designed the site around the sloppiness or it just kind of evolved that way.  Regardless, the design fits their story well.  It’s intricate without going overboard.

There is something absolutely fascinating about a header image, or any image for that matter, that seems to stretch on forever and ever.  Not to mention the intricacy on display at Corvus Art.  When I first came across this design, I stared at it for 10 minutes without blinking.  OK, that’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but my first thought was “wow!  I want to do something like that on my next design.”

Influential to say the least.  Spectacular is a better superlative.

Mixing martial arts and personal development. More like learning martial arts as a metaphor for personal growth. Or maybe it’s taking lessons from martial arts and applying them to real life. In any event, yin vs. yang gets it right.

As a martial arts practitioner myself, I can relate to most everything yin vs. yang talks about.  Learning to beat someone down and break their arm in 50 different spots before they feel the pain of the first break, is only a small portion of what training in martial arts is all about.  It’s more about making quick decisions to avoid fighting and hurting others than it is about the violence sometimes necessary to take down an attacker.

What yin vs. yang does is take those skills and incorporate them into everyday, western, business life.  You don’t have to be practicing a martial art to get it.  Martial arts is just a setting, a backdrop to their personal development strategies.  The bottom line is, they get you thinking about the decisions you make in every day life, without being preachy or sinking to the “do this, don’t do that” mentality.

Pound for pound (pun intended), yin vs. yang has a lot of interesting material.  I can’t say it’s my favorite personal development resource, but it’s still young and growing.  Those that are familiar with martial arts will appreciate their approach.  Those that aren’t will still find a lot of great value.

Check ‘em out.

Nothing says attention to detail like a little fluid motion.  I like it.  Everything on one page.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, click on one of the menu items.  Sure this isn’t anything new or amazing, but it’s a nice touch.

Unlike Kanye West, who believes he is the voice of the new generation, Joel Spolsky is the voice of the current software generation. At least in my opinion he is.

Everyone listens to Joel.  His ideas on software really aren’t anything special, but he tells such a great story that we think they are.  If you’re a software developer, engineer, programmer, or otherwise involved in the software business, you’ve probably heard of Joel.  He’s not a software developer however, he’s an entrepreneur that is building the next Google or Microsoft.  His business model depends on hiring smart programmers who get things done and building an environment centered on the needs of those smart programmers.  That’s it.  So far, it seems to be working for him.

He’s been blogging about software since the stone age of the internet, since 2000.  His ideas aren’t groundbreaking or industry changing.  He’s not out to invent new ways of computing or solve unsolvable problems.  Like I said, he’s not a software developer and he doesn’t claim to be.

So why does everyone pay attention to him?

Simply put, he has a compelling story.  He’s a subtly phenomenal writer, without trying to be.  Most software developers, who also write about software development, attempt to amaze you with their intellect, by using expensive words and industry jargon that would make Bill Gates’ head spin.  Joel, on the other hand, is just a smart, modest guy that doesn’t resort to high brow tactics in an attempt to impress you with his knowledge and intellect.  He’s someone who truly gets it, no doubt, but he’s nothing special either.

If you’re familiar with Joel’s work, you know all this already.  If you’re not, then you should be.  Even if you aren’t a software developer, you can learn something from him.

So what are you waiting for?  Go give him a read.

Mmmm.  This design makes me feel good.  It’s the simplicity and the subtle touches that make this web design so effective.  Resize the window and watch the clouds move.  When looking at it for the first time, it may not seem like much, but stare long enough and you’ll eventually “get it”.  Happy viewing!

What can I say about Tim.  He’s all over the map.  Compelling, no doubt.  I believe he breaks every single “rule” that professional bloggers say you should and shouldn’t do.

Rule #1:  Short Frequent Posts

Short posts?  Forget about it!  Frequent?  Not quite.  Tim’s posts are usually fairly long and thought provoking.  He doesn’t skimp on quality or quantity.  Since he’s got so much stuff to talk about, this comes very easy to him.

Rule #2:  Pick A Specific “Niche” And Stick To It

While this may work for some, Tim believes being a jack of all trades is a good thing.  I tend to agree with him.  Why focus all your energy on trying to master the final 2% of a trade when you could be mastering 80% of several others?  He writes about fitness, marketing, business, finance, travel, and life in general.  Individually, the topics he chooses seem random and unfocused.  As a whole, his idea is to help you create a more full life.

Rule #3:  Aw, Fuck The Rules!

I think Tim has defined himself as someone who doesn’t like to play by the rules.  Short cuts are the name of the game and why not?  I don’t like the notion of “paying my dues”.  It’s an old, antiquated idea handed down by people who lived by this creed and seem to want to force it on everyone else “as the way things are”.  I think that’s one of the reasons that Tim is so popular, he’s found a way around the status quo.  It’s not about working hard, it’s about working effectively and ignoring the ineffective.

While the notion of a 4 hour work week may be stretching it a little, Tim’s concepts are sound.  If nothing else, he is an inspiration, a truly unique thinker of our time.  It seems so simple once you get what he’s trying to tell you.  Perhaps others created the idea before him, he just came along and articulated it for the rest of us.

Thanks Tim!

Now go read.

I call Steve the personal development madman.  He has a passion for not only growing himself as a person, but also helping others do the same.

Steve covers almost every facet of personal growth and development.  And then some.  His in-depth articles showcase his incredible writing skills.  But writing skills only get you so far.  The ideas behind those skills are what makes Steve so compelling.  At times, you think he’s all about flower power and make love not war and all the hippie crap that seems to be coming back into vogue.  At other times, you think he’s a radical rebel driving a gas guzzling monster truck with bumper stickers that say “Americans Own Guns That I Use To Kill People Who Get In My Way - YEE HAW!!”, or something to that affect.

More realistically, you see Steve as a real person with real struggles.  He’s not afraid to get personal on you, but only if it’s for example or punctuates his point.  I sense a bit of an ego on him, but not to the point of being unpalatable.

The main thing I like about Steve’s work is that he’s not trying to find flaws in you.  It’s what differentiates him from all the other personal development nut jobs.  Where they are so quick to try and convince that if you’re not like them, then you need to change so you can have what they have, Steve just lays back and says you’re perfectly fine where you are.  His growth concepts are not about getting to a certain place so you can begin to live.  He’s all about living now, and gradually growing into the person you want to be.  I like that philosophy.

There’s a little something for everyone on his site.  It is packed with a few years worth of excellent personal development articles.  I like it, so will you.  Visit now.