Life is an adventure and an exploration -- best approached from the perspective of life-long learning.  After all, we humans don't learn LESS!  (Though we may have to repeat a few lessons . . .)

There is MUCH more learning beyond formal education.  Some the the best is through mentors, whose behaviors can be modeled; and continued self-education in subjects interesting to us and important to what we do in the world.  This page lists some of my most valued mentors and teachers.  Below that is a booklist of my most favorite powerful reading.

MY HEROES:

R. Buckminster Fuller: "Bucky" as he is fondly known, is a too little known American genius, author and inventor of many great things, including his patented geodesic dome (like the large sphere at the entrance to Disney's Epcot Center). He coined the term "Spaceship Earth" and devoted his life studying the purpose of humans in the universe. He proclaimed that we are "local information gatherers and problem solvers". It was his notion that we get problems precisely because we have the capacity to solve them and create something else. He also observed that we get problems we are good at solving, and have that skill to use to better humanity. Bucky urged that we do what is "spontaneously arrousable" in each of us - that is, listen to the voice within and do what we authentically do best. We each have unique reasons for being here that only we can fulfill. See also, more web information from these links: the Buckminster Fuller Institute; or Buckminster Fuller Thinking Out Loud; as well as, Global Energy Network Institute -- GENI -- an international organization founded on his principles.

Robert Kiyosaki: I consider Robert one of the best mentors I have ever had, and a shining demonstration of the fact that even a teacher can be very wealthy. He has committed his life to assisting others to become financially literate, to understand wealth and to build their own personal portfolio of assets toward the goal of financial freedom no matter how modest their income. As he puts it, he decided to do something about the widespread problem that schools teach little to nothing about money and that "people learn to work for money...but never learn to have money work for them." Check out some of the tools he has created for helping people to master their finances at Rich Dad.

Jayne Johnson: Jayne is a master spiritual practitioner. Her innate abilities and thousands of hours of experience combine to make her a true master in the art of helping others to recognize and manifest their true potential.  She is a Clearing practitioner working in her field for over 19 years, a minister of the Universal Life Church, and has studied and practiced numerous personal and spiritual development methods, including Goal Setting, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Soul Work, Rebirthing, Knowledgism, and A Course in Miracles.  Our mutual friend, Robert Kiyosaki endorses Jayne's work this way:  "I wrote the business plan for Rich Dad Poor Dad and my board game CASHFLOW at a two-day goal setting workshop with Jayne Johnson, in January of 1996. Without Jayne’s goal setting technology, I doubt if Rich Dad Poor Dad would have become as successful as it is today. That two-day workshop has made me millions of dollars… over and over again."  Visit Jayne at The Clearing Sight.

Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.: Dr. Estes is a psychologist, Jungian Analyst, author and story teller. Her work focuses on the importance of the "life made by hand" - the one we create and fashion ourselves, by becoming a full expression of who we really are. This, of course, requires us to "get" that we really are unique and wonderful, and that there is a reason behind our particular life situations. This view also suggests that we have a right to enjoy and make the very best of life we can. See her book listing at the WildWolfWomen.com website - not for women only!

Anthony Robbins: Tony is an avid student, teacher and promoter of Neuro-Linguistic Programming ("NLP"). He has used the technology to demonstrate the power of creativity and manifestation available to people who commit to a process of CANI ("continuous and never-ending improvement"). His demonstration and teaching of NLP has allowed thousands of people to move beyond self-limiting beliefs and positively change their lives.

Marianne Williamson: She is a Jewish woman with the courage to speak out and promote the teachings of "A Course In Miracles," a book utilizing much Christian terminology and metaphor. She has written many books interpreting ACIM to promote a connection to a God shared by all and the concept that "love is all there is" -- to quote a famous British music group. She promotes the idea that each person is meant to be a magnificent expression -- and by that, paradoxically, to demonstrate humility. In her book, A Return To Love, she urged: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from out own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Find out more at her work at the Renaissance America website.

SOME BOOKS I HAVE FOUND TO BE POWERFUL READING:

If you would like to review or purchase any of these books, most of them are available through our "bookstore links" to Amazon.com. If you order from here, there is no added cost over Amazon's great prices and you get their direct shipping!

Business & Work

• Quantum Business, by Bobbi DePorter with Mike Hernacki

• The E-Myth -- Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What To Do About It (out of print); The E-Myth Revisited, and The E-Myth Manager, by Michael E. Gerber

• The Deming Management Method, by W. Edwards Deming

• I Could Do Anything, If Only I Knew What It Was, by Barbara Sher, with Barbara Smith

• To Build the Life You Want, Create The Work You Love, by Marsha Sinetar

• What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles

Money

• If You Want to be Rich and Happy, Don't Go to School and Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki

• Cash Flow Quadrant and Rich Dad's Guide to Investing, by Robert Kiyosaki, with Sharon Lector, C.P.A.

• Your Money or Your Life, by Joe Dominguez & Vicki Robin

• Getting a Life, by Jacqueline Bix & David Heitmiller

• Learn to Earn, by Peter Lynch & John Rothchild

• The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, by Suze Orman

• Financial Peace, by Dave Ramsey

Personal & Spirit Development

• Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within, by Anthony Robbins

• A Return to Love and A Woman's Worth, by Marianne Williamson

• Change Your Mind, Change Your Life, by Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D. & Diane V. Cirincione

• The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, by Deepak Chopra, M.D.

• The Wisdom of Florence Scovel Schinn, by Florence Scovel Shinn

• Take Yourself to the Top, by Laura Berman Fortgang

Health/Recovery

• Take Time for Your Life, by Cheryl Richardson

• Women Who Run With The Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.

• Co-Dependent No More, by Melodie Beattie

• The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous -- The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered From Alcoholism, distributed by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., N.Y.

• One Day at a Time in Al-Anon, distributed by Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., N.Y.

• Escape From Intimacy, by Anne Wilson Schaef

Relationships & Communication

• Getting the Love You Want and Keeping the Love You Find, by Harville Hendrix, Ph.D.

• Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, by John Gray, Ph.D.

• In a Different Voice, by Carol Gilligan

Vision & Wisdom

• Critical Path and Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, by R. Buckminster Fuller

• A Course In Miracles, distributed by the Foundation for Inner Peace

• Understanding Life, by Lawrence West

• Flow -The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Steps Toward Enhancing the Quality of Life, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

• The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron

• The Magic of Believing, by Claude M. Bristol

• The Art of Happiness, by His Holiness The Dalai Lama & Howard C. Cutler, M.D.