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Review of Steve Pavlina's “Personal Development for Smart People”
Learning from AnyoneFresh practical ideas are everywhere! Steve Pavlina is the creator of the #1 personal development web site and blog: www.StevePavlina.com. He has some great practical ideas. Its not a Christian web site. Steve was raised a Catholic, but has since chosen a different path. I am not sure how to categorize his spiritual journey. I do know he has some good ideas. I am not willing to throw out his practical ideas because I disagree with his underlying philosophy. Steve has graciously agreed to send free copies of his new book “Personal Development for Smart People: The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth” to anyone who is willing to read his book and post an honest review on their own blog or website. I have agreed to his terms and here is my review. 
The Framework for the PrinciplesBefore the book was finished, Pavlina posted the framework he used for evaluating his principles of personal growth. I appreciate when an author provides the framework and assumptions he uses to filter his thinking. The framework is included in the book's introduction.His filtering criteria state that the principles must be universal, complete, irreducible, congruent and practical. I appreciate that his criteria are well-thought out and that he does a good job of explaining how his principles meet his criteria. I did, however, identify a couple of crucial shortcomings in his definitions of his criteria. The criteria of universality states that the principles “must be applicable by anyone, anywhere, in any situation.” (p. xvi) He defines anywhere as any place on earth, as well as those in space. For the principles to be entirely universal, I believe they would also need to apply in heaven and during the afterlife. He defines anytime as a 1,000 years ago and a 1,000 years in the future. I believe anytime applies to eternity and the the principles should apply from the beginning of time to the end of time. Once time no longer exists, the principles would be exempt from application. I find this definition of universality incomplete for someone who exists to love and serve the God of the Universe.
The PrinciplesPavlina outlines seven fundamental principles that he believes are the foundational building blocks for all other concepts of personal development. They are: Truth, Power, Oneness, Authority, Courage and Intelligence.
INTELLIGENCEPavlina's premise is that “When truth, love, and power are harmoniously aligned, they produce the paramount principle of personal growth: intelligence.” (p.115) I know of no place where intelligence is defined as the paramount principle of personal growth. Intelligence is an ego-centric concept. I believe there are better principles to label “the paramount principle of personal growth.”From a Christian Theo-centric viewpoint, being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ is the the paramount principle of personal growth (Romans 12:1,2 and 1 Corinthians 3:18). Wisdom would have also been a reasonable choice instead of Intelligence (see Proverbs 4:7; 8:22,23). Another good choice for would be the glorification of God (see Matthew 5:16; Isaiah 43;7). I am disappointed that Steve settled on Intelligence as the paramount principle. I don't think it even qualifies as one of the fundamental principles.
Pavlina has three cornerstone principles, Love, Truth, and Power each assigned to one point on a triangle. LOVELove is a great choice as a fundamental principle. Based on Matthew 22:37-40, a case could be made that love is the paramount principle of life. Love for God and love for other people. Love is the first and second greatest commandment for us. Furthermore, 1 John 4:16 says, “. . . God is love. . . “ God is the essence of love. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Love is greater than faith and hope. I do not have space to review all the great reasons for selecting Love as a fundamental principle. It is sufficient to say that, “Love is a great choice as a fundamental principle.”
TRUTHTruth is a good choice as a fundamental principle, if it is defined correctly. Unfortunately, Pavlina has chosen a relative truth definition which is popular among secular humanists, but raises some ethical issues. There is no attempt to identify an absolute truth. What is true for one person does not have to be true for another. This is a dangerous view of truth. On the other hand, there is a Biblical definition of truth that serves us well. While Jesus is praying for His disciples in John 17:17, He asks God the Father to “Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth.” Jesus tells us that the word of God, the Bible, is truth. Jesus is making the case that truth is necessary to set apart the disciples. It is necessary to transform them into the people He knows they can be. Jesus very clearly states that the word of God is truth. From 1 Peter 1:25 we know that “the word of the Lord stands forever.” The word “forever” reinforces the principle of Truth as a universal principle because it applies to anytime.
POWERPower is a weaker choice as fundamental principle. Real power is power at the spiritual level. Spiritual power comes from the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7). If the 2 Timothy 1:7 model is selected, then the top three principles would be power, love and self-control.From a Christian perspective, the power principle should be replaced with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit principle (1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16). The triangle would have three points related to God. The first point would be Love toward God and Love from God through me toward other people. The second point would be Truth. The word of God is truth. We also know that the word of God is the written incarnation of God as Jesus (John 1:1,2 and 14). The third point would be indwelling of the Holy Spirit which provides Power. The three points as outlined by Pavlina provide an incomplete and partial representation of God. Like most secular humanist viewpoints, he tries to capture the essence of God using human nature and power. Trying to solve the problems of the world without the power of God. I think there are three better principles than Love, Truth, and Power. I would pick Love, Hope and Faith as the points of the triangle.
ONENESSPavlina defines Oneness as truth plus love (p. 69). He explains oneness as a “connection between you and everyone else.” Its a good humanistic definition, but it leaves God out of the picture. Jesus said that He and the Father were one (John 10:30). Then later while Jesus was praying to the Father for his disciples He asked that they “may be one as we are one.” (John 17:11). For all believers Jesus prayed “that all of them (believers) may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” (John 17:21,22). Oneness is a good principle when defined correctly. Oneness that does not include being connected with God is an incomplete definition. Oneness should include being connected with God and being connected with other people.
AUTHORITYPavlina says, “There's only one true authority in your life, and its you.” (p. 86) As he expands this concept, he is partially correct. We do have the power to choose. We can choose to obey God or we can choose to obey Satan. We have the authority to choose. He's wrong. We can't always figure out the right thing to do on our own. We need the direction of God through prayer and His word, the Bible. Right or wrong, we still get to choose. We need direction from God so we can chose correctly.
COURAGEPavlina says that, “When we feel disconnected, there's no desire to be courageous, no reason for risk taking, and no call to action.” (p. 101). He is talking about being connected with other people. He sees courage as the principle that combines love and power. From a Biblical standpoint, courage is the principle that results from understanding that the LORD is with us. (Joshua 1:9). God was encouraging Joshua to step into Moses shoes and lead the people of Israel. He knew Joshua might be afraid to lead out. God promised that He would be with Joshua and, therefore, Joshua should be strong and courageous. David gave the same charge to his son Solomon for the same reason, “for the LORD God, my God, is with you.” (1 Chronicles 28:20). I can be courageous when I know God is with me, even if no other person is.
Good Practical ApplicationsLets pull out the baby before we toss out the bath water!For me, the strength of this book is found in the practical advice Pavlina gives. Most of his practical exercises would be helpful for anyone, regardless of whether I agree with his philosophy of life or not. Pavlina provides good practical exercises with each chapter in this section. Chapters 8 through 13 are loaded with practical applications. These chapters are well worth the price of the book! Highlights include: * How to define a habit on page 138. * How to apply the Stair-Stepping method of changing habits on p. 147. * How to boast your effectiveness using one or more of the 66 habits starting on page 149. * How to work toward discovering your true purpose in life on page 166. I did this exercise in the past. It was very helpful! * How to develop a successful web site or blog. Pavlina reveals some of the keys to developing his #1 personal development web site reveal on page 172. * How to determine if you have a Contributor Mind-Set or a Moocher Mind-Set on page 182. * How to stop treating money as an end in itself on page 188. * How to determine if you are committed to being a lifelong student on page 192. * How to pick the friends you should hang out with on page 224 * How to apply courage in your relationships on page 230 These practical applications are worth the price of the book.
Remember, practical discipleship is about doing. Action oriented gems are everywhere in the secular literature. You just have to filter them through the scriptures. Practical is practical!
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Posted on October 12, 2008
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