My name is David Rogers and I live on the south coast of England. Our eldest daughter is now 20, we have non identical twins who are 17. I used to work in a bank, amongst other things, but my main line of work has been Occupational Therapy. I have worked in various mental health settings (acute unit, rehabilitation, community, prison) for over 20 years. My wife is a nurse whose specialism is oncology. I have always been interested in personal development – particularly practical self help.

I have an eclectic collection of books which cover personal development – starting with Dale Carnegie at a time when I really had few friends! The books that have most influenced me are:-

Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
A Touch of Greatness by Frank Tibolt
They F*** You Up by Oliver James

One of my favorite quotes is by Frankl, quoted in Flow:-

“Don’t aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue…as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a courses greater than oneself.”

You can find out more about me at Stumbleupon or Mybloglog

I chose to blog because I thought it a good way to convey some of my knowledge and skills at developing self confidence, self esteem and other personal development topics. Blogging is interactive; it demands short and concise explanations. I strongly believe that readers will learn from reading good blogs in a way that is less likely from other sources.

I am interested in personal coaching and have received training and started working in this area. But having being involved in training and running workshops, I don’t believe “therapy” and “coaching” are total opposites. I plan to expand this blog into other media, hopefully adding audio, a newsletter and workbooks in the near future.

Personal development for me largely revolves around acquiring skills – communication (assertiveness, confident speaking), confidence, problem solving, goal setting, planning, positive thinking, concentration, self motivation, body language, appearance, stress management - to name a few.

Few of us leave childhood with all the personal tools to equip us to succeed in what ever field we choose to pursue. Personal development is just that – developing personal skills that help you do what you do better.

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Passion is what drives. Passion is deep, an inner belief and overwhelming excitement that propels you in a particular direction. Creating or finding your passion is another important strand of personal development, and finding your own “system” to pull this all together.

The current buzz in the world of personal development is “Laws of Attraction”, which takes mere positive thinking to a world of magnetic flows and endless gifts for those who can tune in. Unfortunately the psychobabble of some of its proponents, who embrace it with a evangelical fervor, make it hard to take seriously. But in essence its not far removed from using passion and positive thinking, so my once total skepticism has weakened somewhat.

Over the years I have received details of many “success systems” in the post – promising riches from gambling or business opportunities. All make promises and claim riches are available little effort – just send a cheque to…. My skepticism about any “success system” be it for financial gain or personal improvement, is people chase what appears easy – a quick fix. Personal development comes through applies effort.

I have centered on self confidence (in particular) and self esteem for several reasons – not least as I have had my own struggles in the past in this area. Along with communication, self confidence forms the foundation of personal development. And personal development is ultimately my passion – what drives me.

I started blogging at the end of March 2007. Sometimes my posts have veered off topic or had only a tenuous link to self confidence or self esteem. What I have realized over the past year, is that whatever my expertise in the field of self confidence, I started out as a total novice blogger. And to be an “authority” blogger you need more than expertise in your field. You also need an ability to write that conveys an authenticity, awareness that what you write is valuable to the reader.

I’ve also learned that to be a good blogger, you are sharing a part of yourselves. It’s more like infusing something of your own life experience into the information you are sharing. It’s your own interpretation of a news story or something that’s happened to you or someone else - making it relevant.

Blogging is a conversation between me and you. If I end up just listing facts - telling you how it is rather than just floating opinion from my experience – then its not much of a blog. So, please help by posting comments and leaving your opinions, whether you agree with me or not. I need your voice to keep me on track - to keep me authentic.