Have you ever noticed how some people cannot help but be popular? They have a presence which marks them. They have something about them that is just so attractive. It isn't beauty. It isn't smarts. It isn't money. It is just an aura that stirs people up. What makes them so special? More importantly, can we learn to be special like them?

Their secret is charisma - that mysterious, endearing quality that can make us irresistible. And yes, it can be learned.

This article takes a look at some of the ways in which everyone can improve their charisma. Initially, we need to take conscious effort to imbibe each of these tips to our everyday life. But later on, it becomes a second nature to us - helping us make great first impressions, charm our audience, tackle interviews with confidence and earn the respect of others. Read the full article here.
 
 
 Sometimes we find it so very hard to simply like ourselves. We try too hard to pretend to be someone other than our true selves, and we even try to convince ourselves that we are somebody else. We put up layers of defenses, and strongly need to be seen in a certain way. We feel that we cannot afford others to see our real selves. We fear that we may turn out to be inadequate in some way. We feel very vulnerable.

Sometimes we resort to bullying, or boasting, or shying away, or aggressiveness, or cunningness or mistrust in order to cover up the fact that we don't dare to show our true selves to anyone. This comes from a very deep-rooted lack of confidence in oneself, an inability to like ourselves just as we are.

It is very important to look in the mirror each day and tell ourselves that we are okay. Sometimes we forget to do this, sometimes we cannot truly believe it. We often let other people tell us that we are not okay. We don't remember that everyone, at some point or the other, had to face experiences that involved others telling or implying that they were inadequate. Yet, the happy ones knew that it didn't matter. They knew that they were okay - their past, their looks, their achievements, their relatives, their possessions, their ambitions, their education, their talents were all secondary things that didn't matter. Only we matter, only our values matter.

So how can we truly learn to like ourselves? How can we get past decades of learning that tells us that we need to do, be or have something in order to be lovable? How can we look into our inner self, the one that we had ever since we were babies, and accept it as it is? Here are five tips to try. Read the full article here.
 
 
Have you ever felt that something is missing from you? May be you feel that your communication is poor. May be you find that people don't take you seriously. Or maybe you feel empty from within.

There are several problems people feel when it comes to their personality. It always boils down to one or more of the key areas of personality development. In order to effectively address all such issues, we need to know which areas of our personality need improvement. Only when we know this, can we focus our attention on imbibing more knowledge about those particular areas. This is the key to holistic personality development.

What is holistic personality development? It is all about developing yourself into the very best you can be. In order to truly achieve that, we need to identify our strengths and weaknesses in the different areas of personality development. Because, without knowing ourselves, we can never improve ourselves.

All-round personality development is about giving equal attention to all aspects of your personality. First, we need to take stock of the true state of affairs in each aspect of our personality. We can then figure out what is lacking, and work on it.

In this article, let me share with your four areas of all-round personality development. Once you have read this, you can honestly evaluate your standing in each area, and start working on improving the weaker aspects. Read the full article here.
 
 

We often find it very hard to give ourselves the respect we deserve. For some reason, we feel that honoring ourselves is not important. We let others dump dirt on us all the time, and take it without comment. We allow people to hurt, manipulate, abuse, disrespect, bully or control us. We take ourselves for granted.

Now, give the following sentence a moment's thought, allow it to fully sink in, before you proceed. Each time we treat ourselves with disrespect or allow others to do so, we are weakening our spirit.

If we are to take control of our own life and live it to the fullest, we need to have a firm foundation. And that foundation is self-respect. Often, the absence of this foundation can cause cracks in your castle of life. It will reflect in your relationships, career, ambitions and more.

Importance of self-respect

When we stand on a solid foundation of self-respect, we are perceived and treated differently. We do not let others manipulate or demean us. Others naturally sense your self-respect, and it translates into respect from them. Haven't you ever experienced meeting someone with a solid self-respect, and immediately feeling the urge to treat them well and with respect? It is the same with everyone. Bullies do not mess with people who stand up for themselves. Abusers stay away from them. Sharp-toothed criticism will not hurt them. They are comfortable in their own skin.

It doesn't matter what life or others throw at you, when you have high self-respect. You always know intuitively how to deal with it. People who respect themselves will not be trampled by anyone or anything. They know that their spirit and their self is special and deserves to be taken care of. Read the full article here.

 
Anger Management 05/14/2009
 

Anger is one of the top issues faced by mankind as a whole today. An inability to control anger can cause serious damage in our family life, work life and social life. We also often feel guilty after our bursts of anger, leading to a reduced sense of self-esteem.

From our childhood, we need to learn how to manage our anger. But for many of us, this doesn't happen. Some of us are from violent households, or have parents who themselves had anger management issues. It may cause us to feel that it is okay to get angry. And for some of us, our parents might have let us get away with our angry moods in our childhood, which resulted in adjustment problems as an adult.

But whatever the reason, as an adult, it is important to take responsibility. As I always say, it is only when we take responsibility for our actions and behavior that we feel empowered to change them. It doesn't matter why we have an anger management issue, it is important that we need to get a grip on ourselves and tackle the issue once and for all.

When we bring our anger under control, we can experience a marked improvement in our interactions with others. We feel much more peaceful and in control. We will be respected more, and will be able to deal with any situation in a more calm and cool manner, and with better results. Let us discuss some techniques used in anger management. Read the full article here.

 
 

 

There are three types of people. The Passives, the Aggressives and the Assertives. Which type you belong to makes a huge difference in your interpersonal skills and how people perceive you.

Want to be smart, successful, respected and liked? Want to spend your life doing the things that are important to you and getting others to do the things that are important to you, AND be well-liked and respected for doing it?

Then you need to be. Want more details? Check out the new Assertiveness article in the Articles page. After reading, make sure you leave your comments here in this post!

 
 

I have just uploaded an article on Effective Goal Setting to this site. You can find it in the Articles page.

Writing this article set me thinking about my own goals. I decided that this is the time to start working on a very important goal I have - one that I have in fact shared in the Vision Wing - write the book "The Personality Development Workbook". You can find the details in the Workbook page.

So I am now officially working on this goal. Updates will be available in the Workbook page.