Self improvement can be a tricky business and understanding it can be even worse. From my point of view, it can involve relaxing in a reclining sofa and having a well deserved drink but it can mean many different things to many different people. In this article I’m going to look at some well known quotes about self improvement to try and address how different people view the term.

“Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.” – Socrates

What Socrates is really saying is read well and often and you’ll find things easier than others. I am a strong believer of reading; it can act as an escape from day to day life as well as a way of understanding a myriad of emotions, situations in addition to non-fictional information. Self improvement in this form could mean reading more into your work life, for example if you’re a builder perhaps reading Building Construction Handbook by Roy Chudley and Roger Greeno. Equally you can read more into making your home life the way you want it with books such as The Contemporary Garden by Phaidon Editors. Alternatively you may want to dig deeper and learn about why you are the way you are and how to change with books like Why Am I Adraid To Tell You Who I Am? by John Powell.

“People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy.” – Oliver Goldsmith

It’s difficult to improve yourself in any way without a role model, it’s simply too easy to get stuck in a rut of bad habits. The best way to counteract this is to truly get out there. Immerse yourself with people that inspire you and people that make you feel like a better person. Think about the things you admire in your friends and your family and mimic those traits. Practise makes perfect!

“The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.” – Thomas Carlyle

Admit your faults to yourself and admit your faults to your friends. Embrace them. Everyone has imperfections and it’s foolish to believe otherwise. The sooner you recognise and understand your flaws the sooner you can do something to improve them and work around them. For example, I am a fairly stubborn person. The personal improvement that I have made is learning to stop, take myself out of a situation and think “am I in the wrong?” Once you’ve done that it is a lot easier to admit fault without any embarrassment or shame.

“Never neglect an opportunity for improvement.” – Sir William Jones

The most important thing about understanding self improvement is be open to the idea of it on every level. The only way to learn is to want to learn so be prepared to read books on space travel, have dinner dates with interesting people and think hard about what makes you who you are.

1. Onions – Scientific studies have found that onions can help protect your body from cancer because they contain natural plant antioxidants.
2. Raspberries – Raspberries contain ellagic acid which is known to help slow down cancer-cell growth. Raspberries also contain vitamin C and fibre, which can help prevent high cholesterol and heart disease as well.
3. Apricots – Apricots contain beta-carotene, and after eating an apricot your body naturally transforms the beta-carotene into vitamin A, which can help reduce the risk of skin cancer. However, make sure the apricot is firm as once it becomes soft it can lose its nutrients.
4. Tomatoes – Scientific research has proven that tomatoes can reduce the risk of bladder, colon, and stomach cancers by half if eaten on a daily basis. Tomatoes contain lycopene, which is known to be one of the strongest carotenoids, and essentially acts as an antioxidant to your body.
5. Lemons – Lemons contain furcoumarins and vitamin C which are both both known to help prevent cancer. If you’re not a fan of lemon juice, you can try squeezing a lemon on top of your vegetables, fish, and salads.
6. Broccoli – Broccoli contains Indole-3-carbinol and sulforaphane which can help protect women from breast cancer.
7. Avocados – Scientists believe that avocadoes could help reduce the risk of liver cancer, and recommend eating fresh avocado every day for at least three months.
8. Grapefruits – Grapefruits contain monoterpenes, which scientists believe could help prevent breast cancer.
9. Apples – Apples contain both antioxidants and quercetin (a plant chemical) which are both known to help reduce the risks of developing lung and prostate cancer.
10. Garlic – Garlic has sulphur-containing compounds which will not only help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, but also reduce the risks of developing stomach and colon cancer.
11. Squash – Winter squash is packed full of vitamin C and beta-carotene which can help protect women from developing uterine cancer.
12. Peppers – Both chilli and jalapeno peppers contain chemicals that could help neutralize various cancer-causing substances, and may even help to prevent stomach cancer.
13. Tofu – Tofu contains nonsteroidal estrogens which may not only help protect someone from developing breast and prostate cancer, it can also help stall the growth of cells that tumors need in order to multiply.
14. Mushrooms – All of the various types of mushrooms may actually help prevent cancerous cells from multiplying because they contain polysaccharides and lectin.
15. Papayas – Papayas are packed full of vitamin C which essentially acts as an antioxidant, and may help in minimizing the growth of cervical cancer.
16. Sweet potatoes – Sweet potatoes contain various anti-cancer properties, such as beta-carotene, which can help protect our DNA from cancer-causing chemicals.
17. Flaxseed – Flaxseeds contain high mounts of omega 3 fatty acids which could help reduce the risk of breast cancer.
18. Pumpkin – Like squash, apricots and sweet potatoes, pumpkins contain beta-carotene which can help reduce the risk of various types of cancer.
19. Pineapple – Pineapples act as an antioxidant and may actually help reduce the risk of developing breast and lung cancer.
20. Celery – Celery contains approximately eight families of anti-cancer compounds, and can help stop the growth of tumorous cells.

Alexis Bonari is currently a resident blogger at College Scholarships, where recently she’s been researching college student loans as well as scholarships for teachers. Whenever this WAHM gets some free time she enjoys doing yoga, cooking with the freshest organic in-season fare, and practicing the art of coupon clipping.

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When it comes to smart geeks and bloggers, Chris Garrett is at the top of many people’s lists. A former advertising executive turned full-time blogger and Internet marketing strategist, Chris Garrett travels around the world presenting training programs and speaking at conferences on social media, marketing, and blogging. He is also the author of the best selling book, ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income, co-authored with Darren Rowse of Problogger fame. He’s also just released a new free ebook, Killer Flagship Content.

Garrett specializes in non-profits, small business, and major corporations, helping them understand the intricate workings of the Internet.

In his latest ebook, he covers the importance of blog content and messaging as part of your branding and customer reach, part of an upcoming workshop he and Darren Rowse are producing on creating successful blog content.

In 2010, he and his family returned to his birthplace of Canada, finding his new country full of business opportunities and connections. He believes in what he calls “happy accidents” but lives for the risk, which is what motivated him to move from the United Kingdom to a new country.

It was only when we really burned our bridges, when we decided we are definitely doing this and we’re going to do 100% whatever it takes, that’s when everything seemed to conspire to help us. Before then it was slow it was like trying to wade through treacle, but when we were 100% decided, that’s when things changed. So, I think sometimes you do just to have leap and hope you don’t bang on rocks on the way down.

If you don’t take the risks then you don’t grow as a person and you don’t get the awards. It’s not like I was being macho about it I was scared to death at all times. I’m still scared to death. A lot of things scare me but there is some truth to feeling the fear and doing it anyway because if you want the rewards you have to go through what it takes.

I think we’re like sharks. If you’re not moving you’re dying. So, if you’re not taking risks, if you’re not doing new things, if you’re not growing, then you’re not standing still, you’re dying. You’re decaying. So I think that sometimes we have to understand which risks are worth taking and which risks are silly. Mitigate the risk as much as possible but then dive in with both feet. 

A passionate speaker, Garrett has spoken at many conferences and web events such as Blogworld and New Media Expo, the Successful Online Business Conference in Chicago, Think Visibility, Affiliate Expo, Wishlist Member Live, WordCamps, the Netherlands Social Media Congress, and the Institute of Fundraising, along with the dozens of webinars, teleseminars and virtual events annually.

Skier, snowboarder, ice skater, and occasional non-winter sports enthusiast, Garrett’s love of photography helped him connect with Darren Rowse who also produces the popular Digital Photography Tips: Digital Photography School. You can find examples on his Flickr account.

Garrett shares his passion for life and the web in this fascinating interview with host, Kym Huynh, looking at not just risk taking but the lessons he’s learned from more than twenty years online.

Resources

The following are some of Chris Garrett’s most popular posts.

• 10 Reasons Commenting is Good For Bloggers
• Naming Your Blog: How to Create Catchy Blog Names
• 10 Lessons Comic Books Can Teach Us About Blogging and Content Marketing
• Defeating Procrastination: Analysis Paralysis
• How To Create Pen Portraits and Understand Your Target Audience
• Learning From Your Blog
• Selling Information Products: The Four Big Myths of Information Product Creation
• Are You Too Busy to Write? Seven Ways to Blog More Productively — Chris Garrett on New Media

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What does a business coach do when he needs a life? He goes out and gets one.

For over 20 years, Greg Dickson has coached and trained more than 11,000 entrepreneurs in the United States, Canada, UK, and South Africa to manage their businesses.

A long-time professional business consultant, Dickson has worked with startups and mature companies to help them restructure their finances and strategic investments, turning them into successful and profitable businesses. Long hours working, traveling and speaking many months out of every year, writing and publishing books, it takes a toll on anyone. And sometimes even business coaches need coaching.

In this frank interview with Stories of Our Journeys host Kym Huynh, Greg Dickson opens up about the moment when he realized he’d reached his limit. Tired, worn out, recently divorced, he realized that when you don’t love yourself, you can’t love others. You can’t, because you would be giving from a deficit. Nothing left. He knew he had to find that healthy place in his spirit and reconnect with the passion he knew was there inside himself. In 2010, he minimized his life and bought a big motorcycle, sleeping bag and tent and headed on a cross country trip across the United States and Canada. While he had a plan, he let serendipity guide his way.

In his summary of what a difference a year can make, he is proud of his accomplishments. He lost 30 pounds, got off anti-depressant medications, had his first vacation alone, fell in love and found his soul mate, started writing his third book, The Gentle Art of Self Care, and found an inner strength, passion, and clarity he was determined to find, freeing his spirit. He’s returned back to his life coaching business renewed and ready to take on the world.

His previous books, Buying a Business and Writing a Business Plan, continue to sell well, helping people around the world find their own path through the business jungle. His new book is slated for publishing in May 2011 and you can find more information on Dickson, his life coaching, workshops, and consultant offerings on his Self Care Blog.

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At 21, Keith Kurson uses many titles to describe himself: developer, CEO, professional procrastinator. He spends most of his time working at Agoge Incorporated, a company which created the social networking game and community, Subeta, or hanging out with the WIFI at Starbucks drinking Ice Chai Lattes (three pumps of vanilla and non-fat milk, please!).

He’s spent six long years building Subeta, an online community where members adopt virtual pets then fight to the death with them against other players, or just dress their avatar up in pretty outfits and socialize that way. There are auctions, trades, shops, cults, and even journals the members can access to enhance their online experience, building a world around them and their virtual pets. With over 100,000 members, and growing, adding approximately 150 new members daily, it’s entertaining, fun, and an incredibly social atmosphere for people of all ages, but especially for the younger female crowd.

It takes a creative spirit and free thinker to create such social groups on the web, helping young people build communities and interact with each other through inanimate and virtual pets that many become very passionate about. The community sites break down barriers, helping members develop self esteem and confidence through competitive interaction.

Kurson also created Valenth, a fantasy adoptable site where the virtual pets are feed different foods which influences their adoption results and stages, and Squiby, similar to Valenth with more than 22,000 species and over 2.5 million adopted.Kruson knew the pain of isolation through high school. In this rare interview, he opens up about how he was victimized and brutalized by bullies, and how the teachers didn’t actively interfere, leaving him not just feeling victimized but even more isolated and lost. He tells of how his conservative, low-income family couldn’t cope with his non-traditional beliefs and homosexuality, even though he fought hard to live up to “normal” expectations and stereotypes.

He talks of the pain of finally leaving high school, and without support from his family, how he filed for emancipation from his family and moved away from home, giving himself the freedom and time to concentrate on his Internet startup.

When the administration won’t listen, when your guidance counselor tells you, listen, this is how high school is. Everyone gets bullied. You’ll be fine. Just keep going to class. You don’t have someone to turn to. That’s why so many kids turn to suicide, drugs, or drop out. It’s a sad state of affairs when dropping out of high school and taking a job at Burger King has a better light on it than going to school every day. 

In time, he found his community through Twitter, covering entertainment, trends, and world news events such as what Britney Spears is wearing, and through his online community startups, connecting with other lost kids and helping them find their own supportive communities. His friends and fans adore his quirky sense of humor and political satire.

Once he found his sense of self and started living as openly gay, he began reaching out to help with GLBT community projects including It Gets Better and The Trevor Project, helping teens find the support he lacked as a teenager.

Kurson’s story of hope and confidence against social rejection and victimization is one we are honored to share on Stories of Our Journeys.

Links

• Keith Kurson
• Beta
• Valenth

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Listed in Wikipedia, a rags to riches real life story, living the high life as one of the few bloggers to rake in the money, traveling around the world as the CEO of a major blogging network and publishing company, Jeremy Wright has come a long way since he first started playing with websites with Microsoft and IBM in 1993.

Like many in the evolving web industry, Jeremy Wright has had his fair share of wiggles along the path of his story.

According to Jeremy Wright in our interview:

People see the stuff like b5. Hey, I use to be a professional drummer. I pumped gas for a living. I was in the army. I was homeless. I was a youth pastor. I always kinda believed in not just following your heart but taking advantage of opportunities. Not being afraid of taking the next step even if it isn’t conventional.

As one of the founders and former CEO of b5media, he told of the riches early adoption of blog buy-ups and consolidations brought the company in an article in The Star.

Jeremy Wright, chief executive of b5media, prefers to blog for money. Lots of money.

Toronto-based blog network b5media boasts more than 300 blogs written by 200 professional writers. Each month it receives 30 million page views and 10 million unique visitors. Those numbers mean revenue. Large numbers of visitors and page views mean b5media can charge more for advertising. And it’s been working out fairly well. In 2005, for instance, b5media brought in revenue of $70,342 and in 2007 that number had grown 1,798 per cent to $1,328,885. And it continues to grow…

“We launched with 13 blogs in September (2005), then bought another company two months later,” he said. “We were making maybe $4,000 to $5,000 a month.

“But rather than be intimidated by how much they were spending compared with what they were bringing in, Wright and his partners decided to grow the company even more aggressively. “For a period that I have no memory of, we acquired a new property every weekday for four months,” he said.

Realizing they needed professional advice, the founders approached some Toronto investors. “They said we should hire someone to sell ads and that we should have a business plan,” said Wright. “Four months later, we had a business plan – we presented it to investors looking for $50,000 and they gave us $2 million.”

Soon after starting b5media, Wright was traveling around North America and internationally to meet with bloggers, advertisers, investors, and keynote at many web publishing and social media events and conferences. Flying from Canada into the United States in 2005, Wright was held for questioning by immigration in New York because they didn’t believe “someone could be earning a living by blogging.”

Jeremy Wright of Ensight.org, who has gained a measure of fame among bloggers for selling his blog for profit and auctioning his services on eBay, was strip-searched and then banned from entering the US after he tried to visit New York last week… In another post, Wright wrote: “I’m still not 100 percent sure what happened at Customs at the airport. Really, totally unsure. However at the very least I was denied entry and flagged for follow-up any other time I try to enter. As far as I can tell, I am not ‘banned’ from entering. I’m not sure why the border guard said I was, threatened to throw me and jail and seize my assets, etc.”

While the ordeal was frustrating, Wright kept his sense of humor trying to explain to the immigration officer that he was traveling on a business trip to meet someone he’d never met in person, having established a relationship via the web, something taken for granted today, but not only a few years ago.

He was soon traveling outside of Canada, meeting with many more he’d only met on the web, and continued to work with business partners for several years before meeting them in person, too.

He shared many of his insights, expertise, and experiences on running a blog business in the book, Blog Marketing, a business book, also sharing some insights into dealing with bloggers and blog networks.

Bloggers are, by definition, anti-establishment and anti-corporate, and yet, I’ve learned to establish a cooperation with them.

In a public move covered by major blog publishing media, Jeremy Wright stepped down as CEO of b5media causing quite a stir, and a lot of controversy and rumors. Some said he was fired due to something he published on his personal blog. Others said he was pushed out due to burn out.

On his personal blog, Ensight, he shared the truth:

I did it because I was tired, burnt out and recognized that my life wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I was working too much, unhappy at home, unhappy at work and just felt completely blah. Basically I did it because a friend asked me what I wanted my life to be… It was then that I realized not only was I unhappy, but that I had no idea what I wanted my life to be.

Over the course of my time off, I realized a bunch of things, but the relevant one for today was that I was no longer happy, passionate or energized in my work. This wasn’t b5′s fault, or anyone’s fault really. It was really just that I’m a builder and a fixer, and b5 had moved beyond the point of its life where it needed that. Sad? Yes. Tragic? No. In some ways I always knew the day would come where I’d have to step aside and hire my replacement, so while this was a bit of a shock, it wasn’t one of those “zomg I can’t believe this is happening” shocks, it was more of a “wow, huh, okay then…” type of shock.

For those who love to attempt to read between the lines let me save you the trouble: yes this is my choice, no I’m not being kicked out, yes b5 is doing incredibly well and yes the team is absolutely going to kick ass. While sometimes CEOs leaving reflects on the CEO or on the company, in this case it reflects on one thing and one thing only: I need a bit more balance in my life, and I need to find my flow again.

After several months of self reassessment, he shared on his blog some of the insights and self-goals moving into the future:

• Figure out what makes you smile, and do more of that
• Figure out what makes you stress, and do less of that
• Don’t be afraid to fail (I used to live by this, but sometime in the last year I lost it)
• Sleep
• Friends and family matter
• More smiling
• Less stress
• More passion
• More sleep
• More involvement

In our discussion with Jeremy Wright, he shared the deeper story.

You’re not really an entrepreneur if you give up when stuff gets hard. Knowing when to walk away is a skill. Just walking away just because it’s hard, that’s being weak.

The last year of b5… I was a walking zombie, somehow still getting everything done that had to get done. Life was a series of deadlines and deliverables.I had nothing left. Commercially, professionally, creatively, passion-wise.Was letting go heard? Yes. Knowing it was the right call almost made it harder.

I took a step back and realized I wasn’t happy with anything in my life. My marriage was failing. I had a weight high. My doctor said I could die in a year if I didn’t fix my weight issue. I didn’t really have any friends because I stuck myself into the company I was running on all energy for the company… stress… every area of my life I wasn’t happy. I started to take steps to fix that. It was a lot of self-evaluation… I had to deal with depression for a while but it’s not like being able to take a little bit of control and taking that step. The next day you have to take two more and the next day you take three more… I now structure my personal and professional growth around goals, and time lines keeps me moving.

Currently, he is working on netmobs and with Thornley Fallis and 76design in Canada as well as continuing freelance consultancy work.

Resources

• Ensight – Jeremy Wright « A Personal Blog
• 10 Tips for Running a Rawking Project Debrief
• My Rules for Panelists: Discussion Panels
• Startup Lesson #1,218: Making the Tough Calls
• A Whole Lotta Thoughts On Blog Network Success

J.C. Hutchins is an award-winning fiction and nonfiction writer. He’s also the author of 7th Son: Descent and Personal Effects: Dark Art and is the self-publisher and producer of the first podcast/audio book productions on the web. He has had more than 5 million episodic downloads of his fiction to date and is one of the most popular podcast novelists in the world.

J.C. reveals how he did all this and it came down to four basic principles.

J.C. Hutchins Successful Secret #1: Think Like a Businessman

In our interview with J.C., it was evident that J.C. worked very hard for his achievements. J.C. pushed 7th Sun: Descent for five years before it was published; now that’s some persistence.

Whilst J.C. was pushing for publication of his book, he pursued alternative methods of promotion when major methods weren’t available.

J.C. learned early on that if you can’t afford to advertise, you must find compelling ways to cross-promote with those who can so that everyone benefits in some way. So what did J.C. do?J.C. networked for promotion.

The result? Promotion for J.C.’s book was free. Distribution for J.C.’s book was also done for free.

J.C. Hutchins Success Secret #2: Be Your Own Biggest Supporter

You must be the biggest fan of your own work because if you don’t do it, no one else will.J.C. talks about his work and his projects with such infectious passion. In fact, J.C. even convinced his publisher that distributing his book contents for free would boost book sales because he absolutely believed it.

According to J.C., 7th Sun and the trilogy are million dollar books. “This thing has hit written all over it.”

No one can fault J.C. that he is a believer in himself and his works. You need to be your project’s biggest supporter.

J.C. Hutchins Success Secret #3: Don’t be Afraid of Hard Work

People often don’t see the hard work that is mandatory in making a person successful. The truth is, no success is earned without hard work.J.C. will be quick to tell you that he is a self made guy. He did it all himself for three years and he dedicated 80 hours into his projects every week.

The moral of the story? You have to work for what you want.

J.C. Hutchins Success Secret #4: Learn to Move On

J.C. reveals that he bears no ill will, even when his publisher informed him that they would not be publishing his later books.He was crestfallen but he didn’t take it personally. Beyond the disappointment and heartache, J.C. asked himself, “How do you want to spend the next year of your life? Do you want to spend it fretting?”

It doesn’t seem like a wise way to spend your time, creative and emotional energy. It was time to move on.

Now It’s Your Turn

Have a think about any current or future projects that you plan to begin and consider whether there are any areas that you can be improved.It can be anything from putting in the hours to re-framing how your envision and approach your project.For more inspiration from JC Hutchins, check out our Stories of Our Journeys interview with him.