James Norriswww.jamesnorris.org

james@jamesnorris.org

blinkBL-NKJanuary 18, 2011Blu Jaz

10+ Years of Personal Growth in

20 Minutes

Self-actualizationTranscendence

Self-transcendenceSecondary integrationHappiness/flourishing

Spiral wizardEudaimonia

NirvanaEnlightenment

?

Who rocks?

A few of my experiments• Personal development startup• Personal development non-profit (19

events/”homework” assignments)• One month sabbatical in desert• One year quasi-sabbatical• Two 7-person mastermind groups, one

4-person Personal Advisory Board• One personal advisory board• Three mentors (personal development,

business, social innovation)• 137 serious self-assessments• 157 frivolous self-assessments• 1,000+ documented pieces of

feedback• 987 firsts• 24 hours/day time tracking (9 months)• Daily performance self-assessment (5-

20 metrics, 2.5 years)• Overload experiment (12 months, 60

academic hours, 4 part-time jobs/internships, 2 senior year capstone projects/quasi-theses, 1 girlfriend)

• 20 Get Stuff Done Days

• ROI days• Discipline days• Three month mobile phone free

experiment • Hunger fasts• Daily training push• Frugality experiment• Caffeine fasts• Facebook fasts• Socializing fasts/hermit mode• Internet fasts/information diets• Computer fasts• Courage experiments• Artificial deadline experiments• Partial vegetarian diet (2 day per week)• Essentially giving up TV• Essentially giving up video games• Essentially giving up non-productive

social life for extended periods• Moving to a completely foreign country• (Temporarily) giving up 80% of my stuff

upon moving to foreign country

Life snapshot

• Founded/established 3 social enterprises, 8 organizations, and 5 clubs

• Helped build 3 other startups• Learned from 22 jobs/internships• Experimented with 7 microbusinesses• Graduated with 3 majors, 4 minors, 2

programs

Talk snapshot

1. Happiness is an engineering problem.

2. Happiness is a set of habits.3. Rap isn’t that bad. :)4. Triggers first. Then KISS

change.5. Timing really matters.6. Babies crawl, then walk, then

run. You’re a baby.7. 21 days to change is rubbish.8. You’re a big fat elephant.

9. Love (and all emotion) lasts 6 seconds.

10. Self-control depletes glucose. Eat.

11. Eat well.12. Grit predicts success.13. Self-compassion kicks the ass

of self-criticism.14. Reframing rocks.15. Mindfulness…Mmm mmm

good.

Biggest Lessons

Lesson:Happiness is an

engineering problem.

Lesson:Happiness is a set of habits.

Lesson:Rap isn’t that

bad. :)

Lesson:Triggers first.

Then KISS change.

Lesson:Timing really

matters.

Lesson:Babies crawl,

then walk, then run. You’re a

baby.

Lesson:21 days to change is rubbish.

Lesson:You’re a big fat

elephant.

Lesson:Love (and all

emotion) lasts 6 seconds.

Lesson:Self-control

depletes glucose. Eat.

Lesson:Eat well.

Lesson:Grit predicts

success.

Lesson:Self-compassion kicks the ass of self-criticism.

Lesson:Reframing

rocks.

Lesson:Mindfulness…Mmm mmm

good.

Personal Growth Resource Kit

www.jamesnorris.org/personalgrowthkit

150+ useful files for helping with all areas of your personal development, including career, fitness, setting/reaching goals, life planning, nutrition, productivity, self-awareness, sleep, and

time and performance management.

Heavily turnkey and focused on immediately insight and progress.

No bullshit. All practical. Admittedly a little hodgepodge.

Free.

www.selfspark.com/beta

James Norrisjames@jamesnorris.orgwww.jamesnorris.org