Young Guns
I read my first book on NLP over 13 years ago. I was on my honeymoon at the time (I know, I’m such a party animal!) and I can’t even remember what the book was called other than it was something to do with utilizing NLP in the sales process.
Soon after that I read Dale Carnegie’s classic “How To Win Friends and Influence People” That was my first taste of self-development and it would be another 3 or 4 years before I would sit down to eat at that particular table again.
At that time of my life I was reading a mixture of sales books and fiction and it wasn’t until I was in my mid to late thirties that I really dived into self development. Around about the same time I was also exposed to my first NLP training, although purely as a sales tool.
Over the following decade I read what is technically known as a shit load of books on self development. I have no idea exactly how many, but I know I still have over 200 books in my possession on life coaching, NLP and self development and I have probably given the equivalent number away.
A few weeks ago I was reading a post on an unnamed self development blog that I had been asked to Tweet about. I was about half way through when I suddenly thought to myself “This is crap! Not only am I not going to tweet it, I’m going to comment and point out what makes it so crap”
One of my greatest frustrations with self development bloggers is when advice that I would consider to be at best poor and in some admittedly rare cases, dangerous, is offered with complete confidence. The former happens quite a lot because anybody can start a blog with a little knowledge, and we all know what a little knowledge is, right?
After I had finished my scathing comment I got distracted before I hit the comment button. It sat as an open tab overnight and when I noticed it the following day was still there ready to wreak its havoc. I read it again and wondered what I was trying to achieve.
Was it to warn people? Well that’s doubtful because a fraction of blog readers go back and read comments unless they are personally in the flow of a conversation.
Was it to humiliate the owner? No of course not, what would that achieve other than making me look like a jackass and creating animosity?
Well maybe it was to make myself look clever? Hmm, that sounded more realistic and what a completely crap reason to post.
At the time I was reminded of a story that Jack Canfield tells in the excellent book, ‘The Success Principles’. It’s few years since I read it and can’t remember the specifics, but it was to do with him reprimanding somebody for not picking up on how to do a task quickly enough. The person in question was not only much younger than him, but had way less experience in what it was he was trying to show her how to do.
Canfield took a step back and reminded himself what he knew at her age. On reflection he realized he’d known much less. So here he was criticizing somebody twenty years his junior for not having as much experience as he did. It’s kind of like mocking a 6 month old for not being able to walk properly.
As I thought about this story it dawned on me that is what I was doing. I was criticizing somebody for not knowing more than they did. Not only that, but I was doing it to somebody that had the guts to put their opinions on the line by blogging about it.
Would I have done that at 25? No. Could I have done that at 25? Probably not.
I have been a Life Coach for the best part 5 years. As such I am constantly talking to people about self development, it’s pretty much all I do. As I said above, I have read hundreds of books on the subject. I have also had thousands of hours of client work, spent weeks on training courses and had 46 (47 next Thursday, don’t forget the cake!) years of life experience and interacting with other people.
It would be really easy for me to sound condescending and patronizing now, and that really isn’t my wish. The question is, should a 20 year old be as well versed in what I do as somebody my age? It’s highly unlikely when you think about it.
All these guys have a belief in themselves and have shown an admirable willingness to act on their dreams A willingness that puts a lot of people twice their age to shame. I doubt any of the following bloggers will lie on their death bed with a journal full of what ifs and regrets.
So today I am doffng my cap to 5 of the best young bloggers on the net in my humble opinion.
Put Things Off - Nick Cernis. This is my favorite blog on the whole World Wide Webtranet bar none.
Old Man Cernis (yes he is the oldest of the group at a doddery 27) is a funny guy and has a similar sense of humor to me. He also mixes that very English humor with a serious message and has some very astute observations on life, the universe and everything.
Other than his occasional writings on productivity, Nick miraculously finds time to run the web design company Goburo with his partner Hayley, and 44Forks, a blog about netiquette. He has even developed a sexy iPhone app also called PTO (Put Things Off), which is a very simple To Do List app that I use myself.
Illuminated Mind – Jonathan Mead. I have had one or two disagreements with Jonathan since I first bumped into him online about 18 months ago when he was just setting up. He wrote some (in my opinion) dubious posts in his earlier days and he has also written some great posts.
What I can say without equivocation though, is that his writing has got better and better and better and he has even landed himself an envy-inducing regular spot at Zen Habits.
He set himself a goal of becoming self employed this year and he has achieved that not inconsiderable achievement. He is the youngest life coach I know or have even heard of and massive kudos to him for doing that. Even if he is a great life coach now, imagine how awesome he will be when he hits 30 and has a load more experience under his belt!
PluginID - Glen Allsopp. Glen’s bio reads like that of somebody that has just turned 30 and been pretty damn successful to boot. When you realize he has only just hit 20, you get an idea of the ability and potential of the guy.
To me Glen is an ideas person. His decision to set up a league table of self development blogs was truly inspired. Especially at is used objective date from Alexa, Google and Technorati to determine the order and thus removed any bias toward personal favorites.
As well as the league table he has also issued a really excellent free ebook called ‘The Blogging Blueprint’ and just launched his first paid product through PulginID called ‘Cloud Living’ I have to admit I haven’t read it fully yet, although I have scanned. However, I would still recommend it without any concerns because I know it will deliver.
Fun Life Development - Vlad Dolezal. How much courage do you think it takes to make a sign saying ‘Free Hugs’ and then wander around the downtown area of your local city holding it aloft? Let me tell you, for 95% of the population the answer is a lot. That is exactly what the slightly mad and very amusing Mr Dolezal did.
My first contact with him was a year or so ago when he e-mailed me asking if I would offer feedback on his ebook. I read it and responded that I thought some areas were lacking and could be improved on.
Some people take feedback like that negatively, whereas others respond positively to it. Vlad took the latter approach because that is the kind of guy he is. I like him because he has a similar approach to me and always seems to be having fun doing what he does.
Unleash Reality – Alex Conway. I don’t really know Alex that well and only found this blog via Glen’s about a month or so ago and it is outrageous to me to think Alex is only 19.
At 19 I am I was still pulling girls hair, getting drunk on 2 beers and watching Scooby Doo. Well maybe not all those, but I do know I wasn’t writing material of the quality that Alex is banging out at the moment.
So there you have it, they are my 5 to watch. I am sure I have missed some others. I did consider Scott Young and Tina Su, but those guys whilst being young, are already part of the blogging establishment.
Feel free to let me know in the comments your favorite young blogger and chastise me for leaving them off my list.
PS The post I referred to was NOT written by anybody mentioned in this post.
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Comment by Glen Allsopp on 16 July 2009:
Hey Tim,
Awesome to be included. I was very curious after your email but awesome to see this.
Thanks for the kind words buddy!
Cheers,
Glen
Glen Allsopps last blog post..Reaching Cloud 9 Doesn’t Require Clouds 1-8
Comment by Glen Allsopp on 16 July 2009:
P.S. Alex and myself are pretty much best friends and he was my partner in crime when I was partying five nights per week in Cape Town (he likes me more than I like him, of course). I hope to be working with him and Diggy (upgradereality.com) in the near future on some video projects :)
- Glen
Glen Allsopps last blog post..Reaching Cloud 9 Doesn’t Require Clouds 1-8
Comment by Karen on 16 July 2009:
Hey Tim,
Great list! You have some of my favorites on there (Glen, Alex, and Jonathan). I aspire to be included in the people to watch in the blogosphere! ;)
I recently have been acquainted with you site, and have really enjoyed your writing.
Karens last blog post..Complaining in Order to Connect to Others
Comment by Deb Owen on 16 July 2009:
I absolutely love the spirit with which this was written, Tim!
I may not be as old (ahem) as you, but compared to those young guns? Um. Yeah. I’ve got a few years behind me.
I remember starting out in training & development at 20 and seeing the ‘old middle aged grumpy (mostly men)’ who seemed to just hate seeing anyone else do anything at all. They just clung to their territory, thrust out their chins, and pontificated about how wrong those of us who were passionate and engaged and eager were.
Then there were the other guys. And those guys? They’d encourage the younger folks, revel in our success (as they should, they were key to our reaching goals that were set for us), and mentored us.
Not only did I make note of this on a professional level, I also noticed the difference in who was happy and who seemed to have lives that sucked.
I decided back then to keep myself in the 2nd category as I myself reached ‘old middled aged’ status.
Good for you for encouraging these guys and giving them the kudos they deserve. I hope I’m like you when I get to be your age.
(HA! Oh. Yeah. I totally have a week’s worth of age-jokes lined up. ;-) )
All the best!
deb
Deb Owens last blog post..you can do it! yes you can! (why motivation isn’t enough)
Pingback by Young Guns | Life Coach Blog: The Discomfort Zone : | Ephemera 21 on 17 July 2009:
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Comment by Nick Cernis on 17 July 2009:
Gosh, I feel so awfully old now. Decrepit, even. I’m falling apart at the seams, it seems. Thanks ever so much for the kind words, though. I’m honoured to be featured and will enjoy the ‘young’ label as long as it lasts.
Tell me 30’s still young, won’t you? What comes after ‘young’? Must I jump straight to ‘old’ or is there some kind of gentle transition period?
Comment by Tim Brownson on 17 July 2009:
@ Glen & Nick – You’re both welcome
@ Karen – They are a cool bunch to follow if you want some tips. Thanks for the feedback.
@ Deb – Yeh we have all met people like that across all works of life. I encountered it when playing golf as a junior, the older members were either really helpful and nice or miserable old bastards that wanted anybody under the age of 60 banned from the course.
Such is life ;-)
Comment by Maureen on 17 July 2009:
… no women?
Maureens last blog post..The Smell of Purple
Comment by Stephen – Rat Race Trap on 17 July 2009:
Way to go Tim! I love these guys. The most shocking thing about this article is that you aren’t as old as I am. I thought you were an old fart and now I wonder what people think of me. :-)
Aside from that, being older doesn’t make us wiser – necessarily.
Stephen – Rat Race Traps last blog post..Where Are You Now?
Comment by Oscar – freestyle mind on 17 July 2009:
Awesome list Tim. Before starting to blogging about personal development, I thought that I was too young to give advices or report my experiences, but one day I realized I was procrastinating so I started my own blog. So far the response has been huge and I’m happy to see that there are a lot of even younger bloggers in this niche.
Oscar – freestyle minds last blog post..Are you superstitious?
Comment by Anonymous on 17 July 2009:
Hey Tim!!!
“read what is technically known as a shit load of books on self development.” – haha. fully relate to that. well put too :D
superultracool to get featured :) thank you!
great to see some good friends and inspirations there too. specially glen and jonathan mead. nick and vlad seem crazy cool too. busy checking ‘em out.
tweeted and stumbled.
keep well man. and in touch.
alex – unleash reality
Comment by alex – unleash reality on 17 July 2009:
Hey Tim!!!
“read what is technically known as a shit load of books on self development.” – haha. fully relate to that. well put too :D
superultracool to get featured :) thank you!
great to see some good friends and inspirations there too. specially glen and jonathan mead. nick and vlad seem crazy cool too. busy checking ‘em out.
tweeted and stumbled.
keep well man. and in touch.
alex – unleash reality
Comment by jackmo on 17 July 2009:
from that list I read Unleash Reality and Plugin Id and also Scott Young, even though it’s not technically on the list :p
jackmos last blog post..template1.jpg
Comment by alex – unleash reality on 18 July 2009:
…and i turned 20 around a month ago. omfg. :P
alex – unleash realitys last blog post..Hate Me or Love Me: How to Do What You Want, Feel Great & Live More
Comment by Tim Brownson on 18 July 2009:
@ Maureen = Who did I miss? I am sure there are some and I did consider two women, one of which will become clear with a guest post next wee.
@ Stephen – Wow, so you’re the guy on the Internet older than me! ;-)
Comment by Travis on 20 July 2009:
It’s cool to see bloggers, especially those much younger than you, boot out such great material and flow against the common thought grain. The mindset that young people are inexperienced or lack wisdom is often untrue.
Granted, as we go through life we have more experiences on which we can draw upon, but I like hearing advice from those that are younger than me and being able to understand their perspective on issues, even if it’s from a different angle than my own.
Comment by Moonpie on 22 July 2009:
Timborella:
Happy B Day this Thursday, ya ol’ geezer, ya! 8~)
Now I’ve got it all over you, for sure! 7/17 is a WAAAAY better BDay, like, X 12, and it’s mine, all mine, allmineallmineallmine! Plus I’m 50 now, so I’ve even gotcha there. Ha. Ha. Ha.
Me and the beasts, Boomer and Piggy, The Amazing Body-Surfing Dogs, spent five glorious sun&sand&saltwater soaked days at the beach and sometimes even just ate treats for dinner! Now we’re back to the Other World and Piggy is scheduled for his second skin cancer surgery on the end of his wanker, of all places. Can you imagine…..well, can you Tim? Pay attention and stop Twittering, wouldja?
But I know that you know what I know: NoThing can ever take those five days of endless swimming & playing & napping away from any of us. Insert prolonged, contented sigh, with dog breath. (Theirs, not mine.)
~m~