Free Tools for Daily Learning, Self-Awareness, Reflection and Personal Growth

I have been gaining insight, perspective and clarity bit by bit over the past year(s), and I wanted to share some of the good stuff that I have stumbled upon along the way:

1. Books – Borrow a good read from the library or a friend.
   1. The Gifts of Imperfection (Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are) by Brené Brown – The title says it all.
   2. Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed – For anyone who ever felt lost in life.
   3. The Power of Less by Leo Babauta – Start simple, start small.
2. Websites
   1. The Art of Non-Conformity – Chris Guillebeau was one of the first guys who made me realise that I did not need to live a life of conformity and there was more to life than a 9 to 5 job. His writings were pivotal to the start of this blog in 2011, when I first quit my job and pondered the big question of “Now what?”
   2. Personal Excellence – Recommended by a friend, I went through the free series on How to Know if You are Living Your Life Purpose NOW when I went for my first ‘Self-Love Retreat’ (I used to call my solo travels ‘Project Runaway’) in early 2015 to seek more clarity over my direction in life. Her writings were a wake up call to dig deeper and prompted me to come up with my personal mission statement and goals in life.
   3. Live Your Legend – Stumbled by fate during my third time of being unemployed, it is obvious from my recent posts that the website has had the largest impact on me to date. I continue to be inspired by the late Scott Dinsmore, and also the LYL community. In the short span of a few months going through his materials, I feel I have not only gained more clarity, I have actually done more from when I first started this entire process a few years ago. Get the free toolkit here.
3. Podcasts – I have only started listening to these recently and I find it can be a refreshing change from my music. It’s also amazing how much knowledge you get in just five minutes of walking from your home to the train station.
   1. The Daily Motivation
   2. Optimise with Brian Johnson
   3. TEDTalks (Audio)
   4. Other Self-Help Podcasts
4. Online Learning
   1. Coursera – Takes a few weeks of hard-core discipline to sit through the materials, but it’s a good way to pass the time especially on a topic of interest to you.
   2. YouTube – Almost anything that you want to learn, you can find it here. I am impressed by how many people out there who are so willing to share their expertise. I recently picked up Adobe Premiere Pro basic video-editing skills with the help of some YouTube videos!
5. TED Talks that inspire me
   1. Listening to Shame (Daring Greatly)
   2. How To Find Work You Love
   3. Why Some of Us Don’t Have One True Calling
   4. Rethinking Infidelity (or Your Relationship)
6. Personality Tests / Quizzes
   1. What is your purpose type?
   2. What is your personality type?

Wherever you may be in your personal journey, know that if you are even reading this, you are doing something about your life right now and that’s a wonderful start! Consume as much as you need, but don’t forget that the real learning starts when you actually DO something about your interest / passion.

Oh, if you live in Singapore and wish to meet with other like-minded individuals with the desire to live a life that resonates most with your heart, I will be happy to connect and journey with you in your process of self-discovery too. Feel free to drop me an email at meliacholy@gmail.com.