Recently I discovered some excellent new self improvement podcasts, and in doing so I was reminded just how beneficial podcasts have been my development. Apart from the interesting and insightful content they can contain, podcasts are a perfect way to work in multiple positives. That is, they give me the opportunity to feed my brain with self improvement material while commuting to work, going for a walk, working out or a number of other activities.

The following is a list of my 10 favorite self improvement podcasts (in alphabetical order). It includes some old favorites (Steve Pavlina and Robin Sharma), as well as the new discoveries that prompted this article (Genius Types and We The Change). Enjoy… Click here to continue »

How many “training sessions” have you sat through where you’re eyes started to roll into the back of your head and you couldn’t stay focused no matter how hard you tried?

I’ve sat through too many sessions like this, and frankly, can’t stand it any longer. I don’t even fault the presenter. Many times people gain valuable experience in a topic or technique and are asked to put together a presentation and “train” a group of people. The problem is, the presenters are rarely trained in teaching techniques or learning theory. Click here to continue »

No, you don’t need to rent a campus, hire professors and start charging tuition. Setting up a personal university means taking your self-education as seriously as any schooling you manage pay for. While regular university is expensive and stops when you get a degree, your personal university continues indefinitely and can be run for free.

I’ve always been educating myself. From learning basic programming languages in my pre-teens through to reading about quantum physics and world religions in my spare time today. But it has only been in the last few years that I’ve gotten serious about my self-education. In that short time I went from reading a handful of books each year to over seventy.

But forming your personal university isn’t just reading a lot of books, just like getting a degree isn’t the result of taking random classes. Taking a more well-thought approach to what you learn in your spare time can give you an edge over the haphazard learner. Click here to continue »

Longtime PickTheBrain reader Marc recently contacted me with the following request:

Hi John. Just wondering if you’re going to post any articles on the importance of quantitative reasoning or perhaps tips on studying math - much like your articles on reading and writing. I think it would be a great idea.

I completely agree. Actually, I’m surprised that we’ve never covered this area before. As a former engineering student, I’ve been through my share of difficult quantitative courses. Although they require many of the same skills as qualitative learning, there are few strategies that don’t overlap. Click here to continue »