Free Personal Development Resources You're Missing Out!

 

 

1. Mindbloom

Mindbloom.com is a nifty personal development web application. Think of it as a social network for your personal development.  You create a tree with branches representing the elements of your life you want to work on.  It encourages you to nurture your tree through inspiration (sun) and action (water).  There’s a lot built into this tool, so go check it out if you’re curious.

2. Udemy

Lately, it seems there have been hundreds of eLearning websites popping up across the web.  One of my favorites however is Udemy.  The structure is clean, the classes are well organized, and the instructors are top-notch.  Although they have plenty of academic courses available, there are a number of personal development ones worth checking out such as: How to Enjoy Work More, Discover The 1 Thing You Were Born to do in 5 Easy Steps, or Getting Things Done.

3. Gympact

There are plenty of ways to motivate you to work out, but the app Gympact does something quite clever and unique.  They hit you where it hurts…right in the wallet.  The concept behind Gympact is that you set a monetary consequence for when you miss your work outs, typically a $1 or so.  Then anytime you miss a work out you committed yourself to, you pay the fine.  But it doesn’t stop there.  What if you’re a good boy or girl and hit all of your workouts that week?  Well friend, you get a share of all the slacker’s fines that week.

4. TED

Okay, so plenty of you know Ted already, but do you remember the first day you discovered it?  It was amazing right? If you’ve heard about TED but never checked it out, now’s the time.  It’s inspiration on steroids.

5. Stumbleupon

Stumbleupon is another excellent resource for personal development.  I recommend stumbling interests such as: self improvement, personal development, career planning, spirituality, productivity, or motivation.

 

6. The Habit Factor

This is the world’s bestselling, #1 “Goals & Habits App” on iTunes.  It combines the book by the same name with a neat app that helps you track your goals and keep up with your progress.

7. Lumosity

Lumosity is your one stop shop for brain training.  If you want to have an easier time remembering names, learning new subjects, or maintaining focus – this is the place to hang out.

8. Remember The Milk

If you are a list person, this is a must have.  Remember the Milk let’s you manage your lists anywhere.  It will send reminders to your email or text, sync to your calendar and more.

9. Blogs

This one is a bit tricky since there are sooo many blogs out there dedicated to personal development.  Thankfully, others have already done the research for you by listing posts and blogs to checkout.

10. Lifetick

Lifetick is a web application for tracking your goals and keeping you focused.  Their status widgets, charts, and reports make this the dream app for any detail oriented goal-getters.

11. Evernote

Have you ever been out in public shopping, watching a movie, or eating a burger when you were suddenly struck with a brilliant idea?  You hope to hold onto it long enough to make it home where you can write it down, but by then you’ve moved on or forgotten it completely.  Evernote is a handy app for recording written or audio notes on your phone or pc that you can take anywhere.  All your ideas are stored in one place and it’s easy to use.

12. Pinterest

People are always surprised to learn Youtube is the world’s second largest search engine.  But Pinterest works in a similar way.  Just as you can search Google or Youtube for personal development content, you can do the same for Pinterest.  Put in productivity, self-help or personal growth, and you’ll find hundreds of pictures, articles, and posters related to the topic.

13.  Books

The great thing about books is that there are always new ones coming out to help you with your personal development needs.  Over the years, Lifehack has written a number of posts featuring their favorite book recommendations.
We Ask, You Answer: Productivity Books
Your Favorite Productivity Books
10 Inspirational Non-Fiction Books Worthy of Digital (or Actual) Bookshelves

14.  Podcasts

One of the things I look forward to every day is listening to podcasts on my way to work.  Thankfully, there is a wide selection of excellent podcasts in the personal development arena.  For starters you might check out Achieving Predictable Success, Great Work Interview

15. Youtube

It took some time for me to warm up to Youtube. At first it was difficult to find quality videos on the subjects you were interested in, but that’s not the case anymore.  Even in the personal development world, there are many amazing Youtube channels and videos you can follow.  Whether it’s classics like The Last Lecture or How to Have Your Best Year Ever or newer ongoing channels such as TedEd and ZeFrank there’s something for everyone.

16. Ignite

Ignite is a global event run by volunteers where speakers are given five minutes to talk about their ideas, passions, or interest on 20 slides for 15 seconds each.  The format may seem rigid, but the presentations go quickly and you hear only the good stuff as a result.  The best way to find videos put on by this organization is to either go to their website and search, or look up your local ignite organization on Youtube.

17.  Live Happy

Live Happy is more than an iPhone app, it’s a “happiness boosting positive psychology program.” Based on the book, The How of Happiness, the app helps you carry out the concepts taught in the book.  Things such as journaling, giving thanks, or savoring a beautiful moment.

18. Vision Board

Happytapper has created a virtual version of one of coaching’s favorite tools – The Vision Board.  It’s an easy way to give yourself some quick inspiration and motivation wherever you are.