The collapse of the Berlin Wall. The Ayatollah Khomeini. Michael Jackson. George Bush (senior, not the low-IQ junior).

These were the 20th century icons given a mention in Tony Robbins’ book Awaken the Giant Within.

Written and published 17 years ago, I first read it when I was 17 years old, which was 8 years ago, the dawn of the new millennium.

It may sound corny, but it had changed my life.

And now I am reliving the experience of reading it and starting on the process of changing my life all over again.

As I look at the pencilled goals, hopes, frustrations and beliefs I had written in the book at the request of the author, I am reminded how naive and idealistic I was. I still am. Tempered with a little realism. But cynicism is one trait that I will fight to the death to kill.

Anyway, Awaken the Giant Within is an international self help bestseller. Everybody can rattle off The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People better than the 10 Commandments, although the former book has sold over 10 million copies while the latter Torah is not sold so much but owned by billions.  I don’t know how many people have read Awaken the Giant Within, but judging from the iconic position Tony Robbins has enjoyed, I can expect it to go into the millions.

Yet I still do not see a better world filled with better, more empowered people who take charge of their destinies.

Here is a book that contains so many insights and packed with such powerful technologies (not of the silicon kind, but of the mind) that can liberate humankind from all imaginable forms of lack, destructive patterns and prisons (among others, his trademarked Neuro-Associative Conditioning).

Maybe it can be blamed on the “get rich quick”, “become an instant success” and “ask whatever you want and it is given to you” fads that are consuming the self help industry.

Or perhaps it’s in the nature of humanity to never really want change but to just like the idea of change.

Berlin Wall, Ayatollah Khomeini, Michael Jackson, George Bush, Tony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 10 Commandments

If you’re into personal development and you haven’t heard of Steve Pavlina, then you must have been stuck in a Groundhog Day-like time loop in which the era is sometime in the early 1990’s and the biggest name in the self improvement field is Stephen Covey of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Seriously, after writing over 500 articles on various personal development topics on his blog over the span of about 3 years, he has gained a cult celebrity status in the online personal development world, and he deserves it. I wonder why Steve does not consider publishing his 500+ blog articles into some mammoth bible of self improvement.

With that said, I am also in the online personal development business. So Steve Pavlina is one of my competitors in a way. But from time to time, I find inspiration in an article or idea of his and use that to write a new article, report or product for my self improvement and success mastery online business, the Ultimate Secrets of Success.

personal development, Steve Pavlina, Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People