By Daniel Becerra

Steve Pavlina gets to the core of Personal Growth, not just the surface. His book ought to be an award.

I’m honored to be review this book, and although it is a little late, I wanted to make sure that I’m absolutely fair with what I’d write. I have read the book “Personal Development For Smart People” by Steve Pavlina, twice. The first time to learn as much as I could, the second time to check for anything I may have missed. It took me longer than I expected. As you will learn when you buy this book, it is necessary to stop, clear your mind, absorb the concepts, and then continue to fully grasp the philosophy of this book. So much is cramped on it, that is hard not to miss something at first sight. Not to praise Steve, but credit should be given where it’s deserved.

As a young man fascinated by personal development, I can tell you that this book has exceeded my expectations by far. In order to make things easier for you, I will not describe the principles of the book in this blog (although they will later be discussed in the forum), but rather I’ll give you a different perspective and why I believe this book is a must in every library. Not just a self-improvement one, but in all Universities, High Schools, and maybe even Middle Schools. Although I believe this book is not for everyone, I will urge every single person who a) Has a minimum curiosity of living a fulfilling, conscious life; b) Has been into Personal Development for some time now; c) Doesn’t believe in Personal Development, to read this book. Although Steve does an genius work in bringing the seven principles of conscious growth (truth, love, power, oneness, authority, courage, and intelligence), I think that he excels furthermore in connecting all of them. And even beyond that in connecting all the Personal Development philosophies out there.

I can not think of it in any other way, his book is what connects the dots. It really makes sense as you read it. Yes, it is packed with helpful information about self-growth, journaling, goal setting, life purpose, and so on; but what is amazing about this book – in my opinion – is that it connects everything together in such a beautiful way. It connects things not just within the book, but with everything that I’ve read before. I furiously wrote ideas, realizations on my journal (which hopefully should soon be switched to a software journal ) as I read the book, and I assure you that if you find a quiet, peaceful place to read this book, your experience will be similar to mine.

As Steve puts it on his book’s cover. The book is a guide for conscious pursuit of personal growth. I’m almost sure that you will be inspired by the book’s content, but realize that inspiration comes from realizing your possible greatness, and Steve Pavlina’s book does that magical thing – it enables you to realize your greatness. I have personally been more than inspired to keep blogging more actively, to keep reading Personal Development books to the kids I mentor (even if the staff wants me to read them fairy tales), to work on my speaking skills, to contribute to others by living – by really LIVING. As I read the book, I realized that conscious growth is harder than what I thought. It surely takes some serious self-discipline and guts to passionately do the things you love (at least for me). It is very easy to get distracted when so many things are available to you, but with the guide of a great book, things can be done much easily.

The two chapters that really hit home for me were “Chapter 12: Relationships” and “Chapter 13: Spirituality”. If you’re a pick up artist, social skills master (or whatever you ought to call yourself), you shall read these two chapters – they will change your life. As a former Atheist, and now possibly becoming a Christian (not sure yet), the chapter on Spirituality has made it clear to me that no matter what religion I stand on, I’m still me. Furthermore, it has confirmed that spirituality is on giving, loving, and thanking. I’m very thankful for that. As a social skills blogger and coach, I tell you that I knew little to nothing before reading this book. Yes, sure enough I have skills, but it all makes much more sense once you learn how relationships align with Truth, Love, and Power.

Just for the note, I would like to repeat that I honestly believe this book is not for everyone. In a nutshell, it IS for smart people. And by smart I obviously don’t mean 4.0 GPA in school, but rather an open mind, and willingness to experiment. This book can infuriate some people who are afraid to face their fears in one way or another, so be aware when you read those reviews from other people.

Also, Steve’s book is not just empowering, it’s also humorous. If not, just ask him about the time he did Calculus with crayon on a card box. Or you could also ask him about training to run the LA Marathon so hard just to find out that the marathon was the same he was supposed to get married (an evil eye is enough to make a smart decision) . I had a good laugh at those particular stories.

“Personal Development For Smart People” will have a special place on my tiny book shelf and the phrase “Awesome – 5 out of 5″ will be written on a Sticky Note attached to it. I recommend you read his book description, as this review is for it has done for me (it can do the same or more for you), not for its content (too many bloggers have done that already).

(To steal the words of Steve Pavlina) Live Consciously.

Words: Daniel Becerra. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook