Wow!!! Can you believe we’re half way through the year? Where has the time gone?

I’ve always found the halfway point of anything to be a real good place to stop and take stock. Halfway is a good time to look back and see where you’ve come from and to reassess where you want to be going versus where you seem to be going.

Halfway is a good place for rest and relaxation; maybe that’s why someone had the bright idea to invent summer vacation!

So halfway through the year, are you doing what you thought you’d be doing when you made your New Years resolutions? Are you still working on your goals? Have they changed? Have any been reached? Do you even remember what any of they were? LOL!

Goals can be funny things. All of us how study personal development know how important they are and have probably even had some pretty good successes when we’ve really utilized them appropriately. Unfortunately, many of us begin to fudge a little and cheat a little and then just throw in the towel. I’m here to tell you, that’s ok. Remember the old adage: When you fall of the horse, get right back on it.

Let me make a few suggestions for your personal development library that could be helpful with goal setting.

1. The Magic Lamp: Goal Setting for People Who Hate Setting Goals by Keith Ellis This is a fun and easy to read book that is different than any other goal book you’ve ever read. What you won’t find in the book is the old worn out personal development clichés. What you will find is the right mix of time-tested wisdom with fresh perspective on how to make lasting beneficial changes in your life.

2. Goals! How to Get Everything You Want–Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian Tracy Anyone who knows me knows that Brian Tracy is one of my all-time favorite self-improvement authorities. What I like about this guy is that he’s talking the talk because he’s walked the walk. Brian is a self-made man who has achieved all that he has because of hard work, smart work and an understanding that if you aren’t making some mistakes along the way, you aren’t working hard enough! This guy is the real deal and this book (as are all of his books and audios) is worth 20 times the price it retails for.

3. How to Get Out of Your Own Way: A Step-by-Step Guide for Identifying and Achieving Your Goals by Dr. Daniel Amen As a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, Dr. Amen has spent his professional life studying, writing about and lecturing on the field of brain and behavior. He understands self-defeating behavior and understands how to make the reader recognize it in their own life and make immediate, positive changes to correct it.

If you’re really serious about re-examining your 2009 self at the halfway point of the year, those books above are probably a very good investment in your self-development education. [As an aside, as I was writing this blog entry, I began to chuckle to myself that with the current price of gasoline, most folks could purchase all three of those recommended readings for less than a tank of gas! Oh, by the way, by ordering from Amazon, you can qualify for free delivery on most orders over $25!]

Thanks for stopping by, and please visit again!

-Dr. Graf

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