People I Adore (part two)

Here are the next three items from yesterday’s People I Adore post—I didn’t intend for them to be separated into neat little categories, but that’s what seems to have happened! The next three are all people that I’ve never met in person, but have nevertheless managed to have a profound effect on me.

Seth Godin, agent of change. I don’t even remember when I discovered Seth’s work, but he has become such a powerful and positive influence for me that it hardly matters. I could tell you a hundred different awesome things about this man (not the least of which are his sense of humor and engaging personality) but I’m going to settle on just a few: He is a maker of tribes and inspirer of leaders. He wrote a book called Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us that cracked open the top of my head and flooded the room with light, you think I am kidding? I am not kidding. I have not grokked a tiny fraction of what he has planned, but I know it’s gonna be good—and I’m looking forward to it. If you haven’t read his book, it’s next on your list. (I know these things.)

Steve Pavlina, developer of smart people. Ooh boy, the crazy things I have done to myself after reading Steve Pavlina’s blog! I will just tell you the big one: For at least four months in 2008 I was single-mindedly dedicated to seeing if I could become a polyphasic sleeper on an equiphasic schedule—that means 20 minutes every four hours. I did some amazing things in those four months. I ate mostly raw, and discovered surprising things about sleeping and eating patterns. I also discovered a lot about myself, strengths I didn’t know I had, weaknesses I wanted desperately to improve. Steve made me a willful proponent of self-experimentation, and opened my mind to incredible possibilities. His blog and list of podcasts are still first on my recommendation list for people starting to explore their own personal development. Even more, Steve is a seriously good guy, a clear thinker, and a builder of potential (in himself, and in others). Trying to put him and Seth in the same post is ridiculously stretching my ability to write concise paragraphs, I’ll tell you that.

Havi Brooks, great destuckifier (and Selma, fabulous duck!). Ask me and I’ll tell you about the unbelievable dream I had, in which the answer to my question was Shiva Nata—but for now, I’ll tell you about Havi. One of the many wonderful things Havi teaches is a yoga-like practice that creates and connects new pathways in the brain: That’s Shiva Nata. This is something I had been searching for for months; I tried creative learning exercises and looked for specific kinds of games, and had no idea this practice existed! Shiva Nata fell into my lap precisely when I needed it, just by randomly clicking a link in one of Havi’s posts—it was one of those awesome bombs, and it has been amazing see it change me, bit by bit. Because of how important Shiva Nata has been to me in the (very!) short time I’ve been practicing it, and because of how useful and phenomenal some of her posts are, I couldn’t help but add her to this list.

I promise to finish in the next few days. Thank you for reading about my fantabulous list of awesome!

Tagged as: havi brooks, healthiness, Seth Godin, steve pavlina, tribes