My Personal Development Journey
image: Dee Hudson/Flickr
If someone treats you poorly does this mean that you are defective? We have a tendency to judge ourselves by the way that other people treat us. Is it true that we train others how to treat us? You bet.
Training other people how to treat us does not mean that you will prevent the other person from being a jerk to you, but it will cause them to re-think the next time that they choose to do it.
I have always wondered why people acted the way that they do including me. This is the main reason that I began my personal development journey 14 years ago.
The first PD book that I read was Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
They were always non-fiction books about self-improvement, health, physical exercise, metaphysical, paranormal, alternative history and so on.
My appetite for knowledge grew as I digested and implemented what I learned by reading those books. I also began buying books to add to my home collection and fulfill my dream of having a library full of 1000 books.
I wanted to build a grand library like Harvey Ladew had. Well, that was until I was introduced to the concept of minimalism.
I wound up donating boxes of books to Good Will and The Salvation Army along with other useless stuff that I accumulated over the years. It was refreshing to get rid of all the stuff that was weighing me down.
I didn’t even realize until after I donated at least one-third of my belongings that having less was more. I still keep up the habit of going through my stuff at least every six months and putting everything into a donation box that I no longer use, except for the stuff that my wife won’t let me. 
I also went through an alkalizing phase where the majority of my diet was natural foods that were alkaline in nature. After learning and actually alkalizing my diet I could feel the difference in my health and even my skin and eyes were more clear.
I learned about alkalizing by reading a book called The pH Miracle: Balance Your Diet, Reclaim Your Health
I even went through a phase when I learned about psychic phenomena. I took an online course back in 2003 by Sonia Choquette. It was about learning the basics of using our intuition and Trusting Your Vibes.
I even bought an oracle card deck that had different sayings on it in regards to questions that I would ask. I carried a quartz crystal with me, practiced meditation, divination, pendulums, gave a few psychic readings, automatic writings, contacted my spirit guides and even began having prophetic dreams.
Quick paranormal experience story
One cool thing as a result with my fascination with the paranormal was doing a ghost-hunting experiment in an old run-down 1800′s mansion. My brother was the foreman for the rehab of the mansion and he let a few of us in to have a little look-see. I brought my compass to check for any paranormal activity.
There was no electricity in the house at the time so we had to use flashlights to get around safely. As we were walking through the old mansion I was steady checking on the compass to see if it was moving. This place was huge. I mean it was room after room after room. You could easily get lost in there if you weren’t careful.
As the group was walking through the shared bathroom that connected the two bedrooms my compass began spinning like crazy. I was showing the compass to everyone in our group and they wanted to get the hell out of there.
It turned out that the shared bathroom was where one of the mistresses of the house had killed herself. True story.
I have tons more paranormal stories to share with you but I might wait until Halloween time to write them.
More PD material please
I also bought audio-programs that I could listen to in my truck while driving or when cutting the grass and any other menial chores that I had to do. I listened to Tony Robins, Napoleon Hill, a course on NLP, Robert G Allen’s Multiple Streams Of Income and dozens more.
The funny thing is now I do the majority of my reading online. I think because I am looking at words all day and listening to podcasts that I no longer feel compelled to read more books or listen to more audio-programs off-line.
I believe that reading those books and listening to those programs turned me into the person that I am today. Without them I would probably be living the average life working the 9 to 5 grind and wondering why I am feeling so miserable.
What all of this knowledge did for me was open my eyes and expand myself to the realization that life is not a one size fits all model. We are all uniquely different beings. What works for you may not work for me and vice versa.
Some cool things that I have experienced
Personal development also got me out of my comfort zone and got me to try things that I would have never done otherwise.
Bungee jumping, snorkeling in the Bahamas, scuba diving in the Cayman’s, hand feeding ten foot long stingrays while in the water with them, traveling overseas to Ireland, swimming in a stream in a rainforest in Puerto Rico, buying my first home at age 23, being a father, a husband, becoming alcohol free ( almost 6 years now) forgiving people and myself, voicing my opinion, a political precinct captain, carrying-out a complete rehab of my current home which I did 90% of the work myself and starting this blogging business.
But I digress.
The point is that when life becomes dull, boring and routine that is the signal for us that we are way too deep into our comfort zone. We need some stretching, some growing something new and exciting.
There are plenty of awesome things in life to experience so let’s begin opening up to the possibility of experiencing something for the first time.
What is something that you have been eager to try but feel held back from doing?
Remember: Life begins outside of our comfort zone and we can’t get out of our comfort zone without self confidence. Self confidence is the key ingredient to personal growth. Without it we are too afraid to step outside our comfort zone.
Category: Personal/ Spiritual Growth
About the Author (Author Profile)
I became curious about what motivates people’s behavior and attitudes, and what is the secret formula to success. As a result I got my hands on every piece of material that I could find to answer these questions.
I have immersed myself with knowledge and experience for over 15 years pertaining to the fields of Psychology, Personal Development, Spirituality, Physical Health and Vitality, and Metaphysical Studies. I have read over 700 books, 1000s of blog posts and listened to over 100 audio programs pertaining to personal growth. I’ve made tons of mistakes along the way but more importantly I learned from them.Now it is my turn to share what I know with you. Are you ready? Let’s Rock!
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Justin,
Great story here. Like you, I started my personal development journey in 2002. Since then, I've read hundreds of books and listened to hundreds of tapes. I am a totally new person.
More importantly, I look forward to who I will become in the next ten years. Thanks for sharing your personal growth story.
Chuck
Hi Justin,
I am glad I heard your story. The thing that struck me most is the duration that your have engaged in PD since the time you first read, Susan Jeffer's book. That's a long time. How did you maintain that motivation? Were there times when you find that all this PD stuff was not taking you anyway actually?
Like you, audios are also a very big part of my program now. It's amazing what we can do listening to all those gurus speak. It is truly a great form of learning and I have learnt a lot.
Whenever, I am commuting, I always see people around me gaming, FBing, watching mindless TV or surfing on their iPhones and all. Makes me wonder how much more valuable they will become if they just spend this time listening to PD audios. The world could be so much better.
Cheers
I've read a few of your posts here justin. lol man Im not even going to talk about the content. My friend you are SPOT ON. I can tell you have came to alot of the same realizations i have throughout my life. Feels good doesnt it? You already know this but just keep putting that positive energy out there my friend and you have nothing but fulfillment ahead of you in your life. Good luck manifesting all your dreams my friend.
Thanks so much for your kind words my friend. Life is about learning, remembering and sharing our new found insights with others.
Great stuff here Justin!
Personal Development has been large part of my life and still is. It was only back in 2009 or 2010 when I first heard of the term. Since then, I have learned, studied, and grew as a human more rapidly than I have in my entire life. There's no stopping me now! I am a student in this topic for life! :)
Thanks Brock. PD sure has changed a lot since then. I think it has gotten deeper so to speak. Instead of just telling us what we need to do, we are actually learning to re-program the subconscious mind.
Hi! Justin, I admired you for your good intention to share your valuable things to others, and the other important activity that makes a person's happy. God bless your family.
Thanks Elpidio.
Hi Justin:
I just tried resuscribing several times and the page remains frozen. I tried changing pages and that didn't work. I put in my email and hit subscribe and it doesn't go anywhere. We are pre Mercury in Retrograde :)
- Wendy
Hi Wendy,
I checked my Newsletter stats and I still have you as being signed up.:)
If you use the sign-up form at the top right it doesn't re-direct to another page for some reason. But it does add you to my e-mail list.
The last newsletter that I sent out was on 7/2/11 for the free e-book.
If you want to receive my latest posts via e-mail just sign-up to my RSS feed.http://feeds.feedburner.com/Mazzastickcom
Click get Mazzastick.com delivered to your e-mail located at the top right.
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for signing-up to my newsletter. Is your e-mail set to receive updates from me? Some newsletters end up in spam folders for some reason.
I will send out another newsletter in a couple of days.
Thanks. :) Routine existences start to feel mind-numbing after a while. El Yunque, what an awesome place. I would love to go back there again. The water was so cool and I remember all of these snail shells.
Hi Justin:
I joined your email list a few weeks ago but I don't seem to be getting any updates by email. I did get your ebook though. I guess I need to resubscribe.
I enjoyed your post. Great to read about your journey and the different things you have tried. My personal development journey also saved me from a routine existence. I look at the world completely differently studying the things I have.
I swam at El Yunque as well. Beautiful place.
- Wendy
Wow! What an inspiring story, Justin! I loved learning more about you and I love feeding off of your zest for life. =) Filling myself with information on personal development feels like a phase in my life that I need to make a habit. During that phase, I also bought tons of books and then moved on to audio!
Something that I have been eager to do, but have also feared the most is living in another country. Now that I'm here in Peru, I'm eager to live in another area of the country. In fact, I'm leaving for Ecuador tomorrow and on the way back, I'll be scoping out a possible new place to live. Any kind of change is scary to me, but also exhilarating! =)
Hi Samantha,Thanks. :)
I prefer audio because it is something I can listen to while do other tasks, like driving or cutting the grass.
Up an moving to a new country is one of the bravest things that anyone can do. You have amazing courage.
Moving again? How many countries now is it?
Sounds cool Peter. It feels great when we move pat fears, makes us wonder what we were afraid of in the first place.
I rode a jet-ski in the bahamas and sailed on a 50 ft catamaran in the Caymans. Anything to do with the water is so much fun. :)
Thanks for sharing your adventures Peter.
Thanks for sharing your story Justin and for asking the question - snorkelling, sailing a catamaran and riding a jet-ski recently were three fears I had to face on a recent holiday. I feared the fears and faced my fears - and ended up travelling at 75 kms per hour across the top of the water - on the jet-ski with my daughter hanging on for her dear life behind me....three more fears conquered...where's the next one?
What a refreshing read after slogging through everyone's mud this week! You don't need to go back to the mansion for your next paranormal experience, just come on over here where we had three ghost-type events just today. You'll laugh but I turned on my Ghost Radar app and I swear (for real) that I have been getting actual answers from it (not from ghosts, of course).
Ha ha, I have to check out that app.
Hi Justin. Your quest for knowledge reflects my own voracious appetite for delving deeper and deeper into the nature of being human. Life happens outside of the comfort zone, indeed! I began achieving many of my dreams when I stopped identifying with my doubting self. When we stop slumbering upon ourselves we begin to discover higher and higher levels of possibilities.
Hey Rob,Thanks for stopping by.
My appetite was insatiable and still is. There is just something that I like about trying and learning new things.
I like what you said Rob, You are very wise.
whoa that's a pretty freaky experience. What kind of paranormal compass did you use? I've always been kinda curious about how they were supposed to work. I had a friend that used to carry around a ghost kit with a voice recorder and some type of electro magnetic detector when we would visit spooky sites.
Hi Paul,
It was just a standard compass that I used. I bought it at Sunny's Surplus store which is now out of business.
You can also take a radio and set it to where it is receiving static. Walk around your house and when there is a change in energy the radio will make a louder sound. This is a type of generic EMF device.
Hey Justin,
I believe my first PD book was the same one! I still own that copy. I do want to re-read it again.
Your paranormal story scared me! I definitely believe in spirits and there was no way in the world I would have walked through that mansion. It would have taken six figures worth of money. That just scares me to think about doing that.
I'm glad to hear feeding your brain with PD material has really changed your life.
I really want to experience the feeling of flying. Maybe try hang gliding. Skydiving is someone I'd love to experience but the fear right now is too much for me.
Loved to read about your journey and I'm glad it's made you a better person!
Hey Benny,
I have read 700 books plus but the first one stands out the most.
I will begin adding more "spooky stories" to my blog starting this week. The mansion was listed for sale I am trying to find a picture of it. It was super creepy inside, but cool as hell. :)
I will do skydiving or hang-gliding one day, I am a thrill seeker, I began going on roller-coasters at amusement parks since I was 3 years old. Love it.
Thanks for stopping by Benny.
I understand that feeling Justin. I don't like clutter and I don't like to own a lot of "stuff". I give all my books I don't want to keep to my Mom. She reads them first then passes them to a friend and then they are donated to the hospital. The clothes I weed out go to the Thrift shop which is run by the Methodist women's association. Might as well let them go to good use.
Got a question for you. You said you "went through a phase" of alkalizing your body. Do you not still do that? If not, why? It sounds like that would be a way of life if you could feel such a big difference in your health, your skin and even your eyes.
I also took some courses this past year and learned to speak to my spirit guides. I still do today and get their guidence when I want to know more about a direction I'm considering taking. I'm fortunate to say that I've always been intuitive so listening to my gut has never been a problem. Oh, and I see spirits in my meditations. Not always but it's been a really cool experience.
Thanks for sharing this with us Justin. It makes me realize that we have a few things in common although you are way ahead of me I'm sure in a lot of areas. But watch out, I'll catch up soon. Don't leave me too far behind! LOL!!!
Thanks again,
Adrienne
Hi Adrienne,
I did a complete cleanse of my body several years ago. Buying a Green Drink powder formula that I drank about a half a gallon a day, plus used my JuiceMan juicer to drink fresh fruit and vegetable drinks.
My diet now is alkalizing enough even though I do eat pizza and some other less than healthy things too.
I have a 20x30' vegetable garden in my backyard that i get to eat from. I have yellow squash, cucumber, green beans, onions, tomatoes, green peppers and more. I just eat from there mostly from Late May until October.
During the winter months I buy a green powdered drink formula mix.
I use Ph strips to see where my ph levels are. 7.1 is ideal but you will still be fine if you are in the 6 range.
See my logo, I am an Aries, we have a tendency to go head first into things and then deal with the consequences later. :) It's like hurry up and experience everything that you can before you run out of time,(that is my mind speaking).
That's cool that you mentioned that you talked to your guides. I have a lot of off topic things that I want to write about, it's great to hear that we have things in common.
Thanks for stopping by Adrienne. :)
Hi Andrew,
It's fun to share our growth experiences in life, we all have them.
Good Vibrations to you.
Hi Justin,
This is quite a nice journey. My life has also changed when I got into personal development in 1998. I learned to take responsibility for my life, have a vision and go after what I want, etc... I personally love this journey, it is a never ending process... Thanks for sharing Justin
Hi Dia,
It sure is a process that keeps us ever expanding and growing and doing things that maybe we would be afraid to try.
Take Care Dia...
Hello Justin,
It looks like I have a lot to learn from you. I'm always interested to learn from experiences of those who are on the same personal development path as I am.
Your strange encounters sound really interesting. I have not heard of using a compass. Do we really have to wait till Halloween to read more about them?
Thanks Evelyn, I hadn't really shared much about my own experiences lately, just thought that I would put them out there. :)
I can write some more of my strange encounters. I had so many paranormal experiences in my life that I can share on my blog. Stay tuned and thanks for commenting.
Hi Theresa,
Sometimes the Universe comes in and knocks us on our ass to get us out of our comfort zone.
My way of keeping that from happening to me is to make sure that I am always doing something new that is also a bit uncomfortable at first.
Once people know that we value ourselves they will change their tune when dealing with us.Gotta respect and love yourself first.
Hi Justin,
What a freaky experience with the ghost hunt. I used to do that stuff all the time when I lived in Indiana back in the 90s. There were plenty of old abandoned houses out in the country to go explore.
What was your psychic experience like? Do you still practice those things?
Hey Todd,
My cousin sets up a ghost tour every October with a large group of people. The first two years we did the ghost-hunts in Baltimore City. Last year we went to Gettysburgh PA.
I am a empath so I can feel presences around me and can even see clearly things through my third eye when I am in a slight sleep state.
I do some practical manifestation things and also communicate with my guides and my higher-self to tell them what I need.
My guides and HS tell me to breath and stop being so stubborn at times. Can't help it though being an Aries.
Hey Justin,
I would have both loved and hated exploring that mansion. I think I would have ran the hell out of there once I saw that meter going wild. I recently got rid of a lot of clutter myself, it feels like a cleanse every time I do it.
Nice read:)
Hi Ariana,
I love old spooky houses but it was fun being in there. I would like to get back inside to see how they did with the rehab job.
Thanks...
What others say really matter but in the end, it is all up to you on how you will manage your life. After all, you’re the only one who can control it. If only you could control over things, there’s no words that could move you.
Hi Antonia,
I'm at the point now in my life where the opinions of others about me is none of my business. Unless they are praising me. :)
I never thought about training people to treat me a certain way but when you explained it, I realized that I have done just that. Especially with my kids. I taught them to respect me and to treat me with courtesy. Doing the same towards them, of course. I've done less well in other contexts, but I get your point and will put it to use more skillfully.
Hi Galen,
In a perfect world we wouldn't have to train people how to treat us. But there are some people that maybe weren't raised with the same values as us and we just need to give them a little nudge in the right direction. :)
Hi Justin,
I relate to your journey in many ways.
I own a whole lot less now than I ever have and I also have a lot less need to attach myself to things although I do still have a close relationship with some of my spiritual development books.
Generally I prefer reading actual books to reading online although I do both. I guess when one works online a lot then reading away from the screen is a point of difference and of course old habits die hard.
I do give a lot of books away when the Universe sends me people who have a greater need for the books than I do.
Our conscious awakening is a personal journey and it is a unique one for us all, although bridging the separation between the physical and eternal is the same goal.
What I have learned however is that while people,books, videos, CDs etc have been and continue to be my teachers, the greatest teacher of all is the practice that life offer to us at every moment.
It was great learning more about your journey here Justin. Thanks for sharing this with us.
~Marcus
Hey Marcus,
Once time allows I would love to be able to spend one day a week at the bookstore. There are tons of books out there that I need to sit down and read.
Life is definitely the greatest teacher, I think that books give us a general guideline before we go out into the real world and actually live it.
Hi Justin,
Well I won't say the usual like "that's an interesting read". I think you probably deserve more like "that's a Really interesting read". No seriously you've taken a firm grip on the Personal Development & it's got you places & that's great.I confess to being more "earthly oriented". It's enough to keep me buzzing.
be good to yourself
David
Thanks David, I always like your comments. :)
Hey Justin,
When you were talking about reading only in the non-fiction self improvement niche and wanting to accumulate all these books adding to your knowledge base and lets face it your ego - I thought, "That is exactly what I am doing, and that is exactly and only what I read."
There is something alluring about knowledge, but there is also something about being perceived as knowledgeable (ie. having a book shelf of non-fiction books)
But I've done some reading on minimalism as well and its very, very simple that the less we have the happier we are.
There was an interesting psych study that found people were less happy when participating in leisure activities involving outside resources. The happier people were the ones engaging in conversation, gardening, doing a hobby, or escaping in nature.
I've got to set up a game plan to go through my stuff and get rid of HALF of it. And I believe that's completely realistic.
As for what I've been held back from ..I want to just pick up and move, but haven't harvested the courage for that one yet!
Hey Chris,
It's funny when I first started reading PD books I was mainly interested in solving a problem. While listening to Tony Robbins Personal Power 2 he said that he had a goal at one time to read a book a day or something like that.
He wound up reading 650 or so books I believe. I wound up reading 700 plus as of this moment.
I don't need to read anymore books for ego reasons. Once I learned how to open up and channel information I don't need to go outside of myself much these days because I can download the information to my brain.
I think for us guys at least that knowledge gives us a sense of control.
When I sold my first home three years ago I was full onboard in minimalism. I gave away for free at least half of my belongings, couches, exercise equipment, photos and pictures and much more.
I did place an ad in the paper to sell all of my Halloween stuff. I had full size mannequins of Jason and Michael Myers and tons of other stuff.
When I moved I wanted a fresh start. I slowly accumulated what I needed.
I am still a less is more kind of person though.
Lol...Used to be afraid of ghosts, but not anymore! Isn't the journey amazing when you include new things and experiences in your life? Developing my spirituality has been so key for me...it has not only helped me to grow in that area, but also in every other area of my life too.
Thank you for sharing Justin! :)
Yeah Kenya, It feels good to eliminate the fears that once controlled us, :)
PD is all about growing and expanding ourselves.
Paranormal has a tendency to become plain old normal after awhile.
I have quite a few philosophy books that follow me around. I tend to keep my books because I generally go back into them later to find certain bits and pieces. Philosophy is handy because it is usually timeless--you can read Plato now and it is still as relevant now as it was then.
Hey Joe,
Yeah, I agree with your paranormal statement. Wait till I delve into topics about Aliens, interdimensional beings, and other uncommon topics.
If I find a good book that is timeless then I will buy it and keep it for reference material.David Icke has some really awesome books that I buy because they have 600 pages of material.
Plato is timeless agreed.
