I’ve been reading Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth by Steve Pavlina. I’m a little over a third into it. I like it so far. It’s a pretty quick read. I’m sure some would say that he’s oversimplifying some concepts but I know enough about where he’s coming from to see what he’s getting at.A friend recently gave me his copy of The Secret History of the World: As Laid Down by the Secret Societies by Mark Booth. This books starts at creation of course and goes all throughout known history and mythology, explaining how each of these events would be interpreted by said secret societies. Right now I’m almost 1/4 into the book and as fascinating as I’m finding the subject I wish it read more like a historical reference than a novel. I don’t mind creative embellishing and whatnot but it would’ve been nice to see footnotes for some of his assertions. Instead there is a super long reading list in the back from which the author says to draw his information. For instance, on page 90 he talks about the belt of Orion being a euphemism for Osiris’ penis. This is fascinating. I would like to read more about this. However, I’ll have to slog through that bibliography and hope I find the book that will lead me to that piece of information.Although I’m reading both at the same time, I foresee finishing Personal Development for Smart People first. I’m at a point right now when I’m ready to put my energy towards those long term goals that I’ve been setting. I’m seeking inspiration to stay motivated and ideas for how to organize my goal setting so that they are the first thing I’m thinking of when I get up. I’m excited to see what other useful tidbits Pavlina shares. I’ve found a couple already. His words on failure were really interesting. It’s not that I hadn’t heard it before but the language he uses seems so “common sense” that the message has finally sunk in.Both books can be found at the Thinking This Store.