Written by Lifebook Member and world-renowned pioneer in the field of self-esteem, Dr. Nathaniel Branden. Visit him on the web at www.nathanielbranden.com, where you'll find dozens of fantastic products and information to help you raise your own self-esteem and nurture it in your children.

Nathaniel writes:

If we are to consider how self-esteem is best nurtured in young people, we must first be clear on what we mean by "self-esteem." So I shall begin with a definition. Self-esteem is the disposition to experience oneself as being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life, and as being worthy of happiness. Thus, it consists of two components:

By Lifebook Member Patricia Jones

Lifebook encourages its members to take advantage of every opportunity to celebrate life throughout each category. This 'Carpe diem' (seize the day) philosophy is one that I actively apply to every aspect of my life, including my Social Life.

Oftentimes people remark to me that I have so much fun in my social life. But having fun doesn't come by accident. For me, making meaningful social connections has become an everyday experience. No matter how brief my interactions with others, each person I encounter is in my LIFE and I want to share something with them, even if only for a moment. I continually apply my practice of truly acknowledging people as important individuals through questions and comments. Additionally, creating environments of comfort, fun and adventure for my friends is of critical importance to me.

By:  Lifebook Member Jessica Simko

Lifebook could not have come at a better time for me. For six years I had been with the same organization as a Director of Human Resources. Four of those years were pretty good, but the last two were really bad. It had gotten to the point where my family my life was being affected in every way possible. I could not function anymore. I spent all my evenings and weekends dreading the next time I had to go to work. Realizing I could not continue to live this way, I made the very difficult decision of resigning in an effort to get my life back. I didn’t have another job lined up, but I didn’t care. I wanted my life back.

Congratulations to Lifebook Member Heather Rice so winning the January VIP Challenge to eliminate her biggest BUTs!

Heather wins a FREE certificate to participate in My Lifebook Online!  Congratulations Heather!

Read her winning article below:

January 31st came and went and I had wimped out. I had only joined the challenge on the 12th, so that meant I had 2 1/2 weeks to address my BIG BUTS.

Devers Branden is one of the happiest people on the planet. Her joy is radiant, her compassion is remarkable, and her contentment in life is unshakable. Devers has achieved the most successful emotional life imaginable.

With no formal education in psychology, Devers forged an entirely new path in the world of psychotherapy. Alongside her former husband, Nathaniel Branden, Devers worked in clinics all over the world, helping thousands of individuals find new roads to happiness. She is also the co-author of books “Achieving High Self Esteem,” “What Love Asks of Us,” and many more publications. For several years, Devers also taught seminars through The Branden Institute. The most recent and compelling seminar is based on the discipline of happiness. After studying the subject for many years, her approach is simple, comprehensive, and profoundly wise.

The concept of happiness is often vague, subjective, and too overwhelming for most to approach. However, Devers defines happiness as two fold. Happiness is the existence of an inner-peace - the creation of a quiet internal environment that allows people to hear themselves. Happiness is also the experience of striving for achievement, the realization of personal goals.

There is a line in James Cameron’s movie, “Avatar” which really strikes a chord with me in how I arrived at this place in my life – having an absolute blast while traveling around the country with my friends in The Second City touring company making people laugh. That line is, “sometimes your whole life boils down to one insane act.”

By:  Lifebook Member John Vieceli Emotions are an incredibly interesting subject. They have a certain duality that reminds me of a concept in Zen philosophy. The concept of: 'You as center' and 'You as periphery'
  • 'You as center' refers to you as the center of your world - inside yourself - and what occurs internally.
  • 'You as periphery- refers to the meeting point between you (internal) and the outside world (external).
When it comes to my emotions I use a philosophy similar to this concept. I look at my emotions as internal (how I feel and what occurs inside) and external (how I express myself to the world around me). Each emotion has two different focal points – one facing inward and one facing outward.

Hello Lifebook Family!  I just wanted to share my personal progress and thank all of you, because being accountable to each and every one of you has really helped (and continues to help) me stay on track and move closer to my dreams! Just to remind you, I set my overriding goal in health and fitness, to fit into a 34" waist size (I was wearing a 38" at the time of Lifebook), and to get myself a 6-pack by 12/31/10. I'm on track and happy to say it HASN'T been a hard, painful process thanks to the Lifebook experience. In fact I LOVE IT!