Steve Pavlina is  a man on fire.

Well it’s literally true, but Steve Pavlina does have some great ideas. About 9 months ago I was searching the internet for some information about my calling/purpose in life and what I should do with myself and came across Steve’s web site Steve Pavlina.com. There seems to be a lot of great information on this subject out there, which I found interesting and so I thought I would share some of the resource that I found and thought were useful. Steve Pavlina’s was one that I liked a lot for a number of reasons and I like to promote sites that I think are useful and helpful.

I got really involved in this site for a while and still regularly go back there when I am looking for resources or inspiration, as Steve Pavlina seems to have a down-to-earth approach about what he is doing. First and foremost it’s about helping people move forward and valuing themselves. His book and tag line is “Personal Development for Smart People:” and the book was a really good read. On his site you will find lots of posts, (I believe over 3000) and some podcasts as well. There are a variety of subjects, from finding your purpose in 20 minutes, raw food diets, self discipline, to creating a blog and much more.

This is where I got my inspiration to build my own blog. Steve Pavlina’s site may not be the definitive resource on all these subjects but I found it a great place to begin and get my mind thinking. Some of the titles are very intriguing and I tend to go along with Steve’s philosophy, such as “Ten reasons you should never get a job”. As I have worked for myself mostly for the last twenty years, I’m not sure how well I would work for someone else in a 9-5 job. I think it might be a little confining and then there is always the bit, where I will probably be told what to do rather than blazing my own trail, for better or worse.

It’s a little like tuning into a reality show at times on Pavlina’s site and very dramatic, although it is simple and low key with not a lot of hype. Whether he is encouraging people to take the next step with courage, talking about religion, money, career, meditation or one of his experiments that he is performing, usually on himself, it’s all good. There are also Pavlina’s more personal stories, such as his polyamorous relationship (open marriage) with his wife and their eventual separation. Pavlina shares his learning in the process of doing these things and his willingness to share the results, and be open to the feedback that comes his way. I always learn something from my visit. I really like the fact that he does not try to hide or pretend, that what he is doing is anything else but that which it is. From reading his posts I find that he’s a very what you see is what you get kind of guy, which is kind of refreshing in a world where it is often hard to know where people stand and whether what you see and hear is fact or fiction.

He claims to make money doing his blog, but by his own admission he is not very greedy. Steve Pavlina explains his reasons for promoting a few select products, most of which are to help you get ahead but he does have other motives and I quote him,  ”Of course my sinister ulterior motive is that I need to make sure you have enough money to buy my book , not to mention copies for all your friends and family! I know… I’m evil, but it’s a good kind of evil.”

So my thoughts are that he gets two thumbs up for his site and his approach, and it is well worth the time to go check it out. It would be interesting to hear your comments on Steve Pavlina’s site, so please feel free to leave a comment about your experience there.