Personal Guru: Position Filled

A couple of weeks ago, I took out a personal ad.  "Wanted:  Personal Guru."  I was very surprised to find that people are reluctant to share their guru recommendations via blog comments.  I take this to mean that people take their personal gurus very seriously and some like to keep them a closely guarded secret.

I did, however, get lots of suggestions via private (or semi-private) messages on social media.  So, I thought I'd share with you the list of finalists for the position of my personal guru for 2012.  This list also includes a number of potential gurus that I have found on my own – primarily via social media.  As you will see from the list, the gurus have various areas of expertise. Narrowing down this list took some careful deliberation.

Steven Pressfield – "The War of Art"
Brian Tracy – "Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done In Less Time" and "No Excuses:  The Power of Self Discipline"
Richard Swenson – "Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives"
Josh Linkner – "Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity"
Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander – "The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life"
Jill Jepson – "Writing as A Spiritual Path: A Practical Guide to Writing with Passion and Purpose"
Sage Cohen – "The Productive Writer: Strategies and Systems for Greater Productivity, Profit and Pleasure"
Christina Katz – "The Writer's Workout: 366 Tips, Tasks & Techniques From Your Writing Career Coach"
Julia Cameron – "The Artist's Way"
Gretchen Rubin – "The Happiness Project"
Dara Torres – "Gold Medal Fitness:  A Revolutionary 5-Week Program"
Victoria Mixon – "The Art & Craft of Story:  2nd Practitioner's Manual"
Jonathan Fields – "Uncertainty:  Turning Doubt and Fear into Fuel for Brilliance" and "Career Renegade:  How to Make a Great Living Doing What You Love"
Charlie Gilkey – "Productive Flourishing" (website)
Joe Dowdell – "Ultimate You: A 4-Phase Total Body Makeover for Women Who Want Maximum Results."

My final choices are dependent much more on what my personal goals are for the year rather than the relative merit of any of these potential gurus.  So, to that end, my primary gurus to launch me into 2012 are :


Gretchen Rubin – Happiness Guru
Dara Torres – Exercise Guru
Victoria Mixon – Writing Guru
Brian Tracy – Productivity Guru


I will also be carrying over a couple of gurus from last year that I didn't mention in my previous post:  Marla Cilley (the "Fly Lady") and Leanne Ely ("Saving Dinner"). I might pick up some extra gurus as the year progresses, but these will get me started off right, I'm sure.

 

 I hope this post gives you some ideas of *your* potential gurus.  Please share your ideas in the comments on this post, if you're comfortable doing so.  Otherwise, I'd love it if you let me know your thoughts via social media.

 

So, please excuse me while I place my book order… my 2012 gurus need to be reporting for duty shortly.