Essential Skills For Success Course Resources:

Listed below are some incredible resources for developing the essential skills for success in business and life.  Each week, we will provide several resources to help you develop your skills for success in each area.  Use these resources to learn, think, and live better.

Explanatory Article:

The 52 Essential Skills For Success in Business and Life

Weekly Resources

Week #17 – Body Language

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article: Body Language – How to Read It and the Science of Understanding It – Science of People
• Article:  Body Language – Picking Up and Understanding Nonverbal Signals – Mind Tools
• Video:  Take Control of Your Nonverbal Communication – Harvard Business Review
• Article:  The Importance of Nonverbal Communication – Ethos3
• Podcast and Transcript:  Speaking of Psychology: Nonverbal Communication Speaks Volumes – American Psychological Association
• Ted Talk – Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are – Dr. Amy Cuddy
• Book:  The Definitive Book of Body Language: The Hidden Meaning Behind People’s Gestures and Expression
• Book:  What Every Body Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People
• Book:  Successful Nonverbal Communication: Principles and Applications
  
  

Week #16 – Public Speaking

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article:  How To Dramatically Improve Your Public Speaking Skills – Better Humans
• Article:  Want to Be a Better Speaker?  Do What the Pros Do – Forbes
• TED Talk: TED’s Secret to Great Public Speaking
• Article:  9 Ways That Anyone Can Become a Better Public Speaker – NBC
• TED Talk:  How To Speak So That People Will Listen
• Article:  Better Public Speaking – Mind Tools
• Book:  Talk Like TED – The 9 Public Speaking Secrets of the Top Minds

Week #15 – Storytelling

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article:  How to Tell a Good Story – Forbes
• Book:  The Art of Storytelling:  Easy Steps To Presenting an Unforgettable Story
• Course:  Pixar in a Box: The Art of Storytelling – Khan Academy
• TED Talk – Before Avatar…A Curious Boy – James Cameron
• TED Talk – We Are the Stories We Tell Ourselves – Shekhar Kapur
• Article:  How To Tell Stories In Conversations – Improve Your Social Skills
• Article:  How to Tell a Great Story – Art of Charm

Week #14 – Creativity

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article:  Developing Your Creativity in 8 Practical Ways – Mind For Life
• Video:  Where Do Good Ideas Come From.  Steven Johnson – TED Talk
• Article: 9 Ways to Dramatically Improve Your Creativity – Inc.
• Article: The Science of Creativity:  What Happens In Your Brain When You Create – Creative Live Blog
• Article:  17 Ways to Develop Your Creativity – Very Well Mind

Week #13 – Emotional Intelligence

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article:  5 Questions to 2X Your Emotional Intelligence – Mind For Life
• Article:  13 Signs of High Emotional Intelligence – Inc.
• Article:  The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence – The Atlantic
• Article:  What’s Wrong With Emotional Intelligence – Nautilus
• Article:  Emotional Intelligence Has 12 Elements.  Which Do You Need To Work On – Harvard Business Review
• Video:  The Power of Emotional Intelligence – TED
• Video:  How We’ve Been Misled By Emotional Intelligence – TED
• Video:  Daniel Goleman Introduces Emotional Intelligence
• Podcast:  Understanding Emotional Intelligence with Dr. Matt Fazio – Mind For Life

 

Week #12 – Purpose

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article:  Determine Your Life’s Purpose in 10 Minutes – Entrepreneur
• Video:  How To Find Your Life Purpose in 5 Minutes – TED
• Article:  Finding An Answer To The Question “Why” – Mind For Life
• Podcast:  The Purpose Effect (part 1)– Mind For Life
• Podcast:  The Purpose Effect (part 2)– Mind For Life

 

Week #11 – Sense of Humor

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article:  The Importance of Humor Research- Psychology Today
• Video:  How Humor Can Save The World – TED
• Article:  Stephen Hawking’s secret to surviving his terrible condition? A sense of humor – The Washington Post
• Podcast:  Why Humor Is Vital For Your Success With Neurohumorist Karyn Buxman – Mind For Life

Academic Studies

• Sense of humor and physical health:  Theoretical issues, recent findings, and future directions – ROD A. MARTIN
• Sense of humor, emotional intelligence, and social competence – Jeremy A. Yip, Rod A. Martin

 

Week #10 – Honesty

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article:  Honesty- How it Benefits You and Others – Medium
• Video: The Importance of Telling The Truth – Dr. Jordan Peterson
• Article:  10 Golden Rules to Professional Ethics in the Workplace – LinkedIn
• Article:  Should We Tell The Truth? – Mind For Life

 

Week #9 – Authenticity

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article:  Solving the Authenticity Paradox (How To Be Who You Really Are) – Art of Charm
• Article: 3 Characteristics of Being Authentic – Mind For Life
• Podcast: What It Means To Be Authentic- Mind For Life
• Article: How Authenticity Enhances Health Outcomes – Psychology Today

 Academic Studies

• On Face-Work: An Analysis of Ritual Elements in Social Interaction – E. Goffman

 

Week #8 – Coach-ability

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article:  Are You Coachable?  The Five Steps To Coachability – Forbes 
• Article:  What’s one thing Tom Brady, LeBron James, and Michael Jordan have in common?  Coachability – Mind For Life

 

Week #7 – Assertiveness

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article:  How to Be Assertive:  Asking for What You Want Firmly and Fairly – Mind Tools
• Article:  Building Assertiveness in 4 Steps – Psyche Central
• Article:  A Nice Person’s Guide To Becoming More Assertive – Mind For Life
• Book:  Fierce Conversations – Susan Scott
• Book:  People Skills – Robert Bolton
• Podcast:  Developing Assertiveness With Cynthia Johnson – Mind For Life

 

Week #6 – Friendliness

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article:  How to Be a Good Friend (And Signs to Avoid Being a Bad One)
• Book:  Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Robert Cialdini
• Book:  Between Man and Man – Martin Buber
• Book:  I and Thou – Martin Buber
• Essay:  The Weight of Glory – C.S. Lewis
• Essay:  Aristotle’s Timeless Advice on What Real Friendship Is and Why It Matters – Rat Zana, Medium
• Podcast: How To Build The Skill Of Friendliness – Mind For Life

 

Week #5 – Enthusiasm and Passion

Articles, Videos, Books

• Article: The Secret to Finding Your Passion (Hint: It’s Not What You Think)
• Article: How To Create Enthusiasm By Hacking Your Biochemistry – Mind For Life
• Video:  Your body language may shape who you are | Amy Cuddy
• Podcast – Discover How To Create Enthusiasm In Your Life – Mind For Life
• Book:  12 Rules For Life: An Antidote To Chaos – Dr. Jordan Peterson

Academic Studies

• Brief Nonverbal Displays Affect Neuroendocrine Levels and Risk Tolerance – Dana R. Carney, Amy J.C. Cuddy, and Andy J. Yap
• Relationship between baseline cortisol, social functioning and depression: a mediation analysis – Wai S. Tse, Alyson J. Bond
• Hypercortisolism associated with social subordinance or social isolation among wild baboons. – Sapolsky RM, Alberts SC, Altmann J.
• The human emotional brain without sleep — a prefrontal amygdala disconnect – Seung-Schik Yoo, Peter Hu, Ferenc A. Jolesz, Matthew P. Walker

Week #4 – Continual Learning

Articles and Videos

• Never Stop Learning: How Self-Education Creates a Bullet-Proof Career
• Seven Ways to Be More Curious – Psychology Today
• A Life of Continual Learning – Mind For Life Podcast
• How A Life Of Continual Learning Puts You In Position For Success – Mind For Life
• How To Become More Disciplined – Jim Rohn

Books on Personal Development

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
• The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
• How to Win Friends and Influence People
• The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
• Principles: Life and Work

 

Week #3 – Adaptability

Articles and Videos

• Neuroplasticity – Sentis
• Flexibility with Ranjit Nair – The Complete Leader
• Do You Have Adaptability – Success Magazine
• How To Get Better At Dealing With Change – Harvard Business Review
• 3 Practical Steps to Becoming More Adaptable – Mind For Life
• How To Become More Adaptable – Mind For Life Podcast

Academic Studies

• Leadership and social intelligence: Linking social perspectiveness and behavioral flexibility to leader effectiveness – Stephen J. Zaccaro, Janelle A. Gilbert, Kirk K. Thor, Michael D. Mumford
  

 

Week#2 – Living In Balance

Articles and Videos:

• How To Live In Balance – Mind For Life
• 7 Secrets of Successful People to Living a Balanced Life – Inc.com
• Minimalism: a Documentary About the Important Things
• How to Create a Balanced Life: 9 Tips to Feel Calm and Grounded – Tiny Buddha
• How To Live In Balance Podcast – Mind For Life

 

Academic Studies:

• High-performance’ Management Practices, Working Hours and Work–Life Balance – Michael White, Stephen Hill, Patrick McGovern, Colin Mills and Deborah Smeaton
• The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline Of Leisure  – Juliet Schor
• The effect of communication quality and quantity indicators on intimacy and relational satisfaction – Tara M. Emmers-Sommer

Week #1 – Building Self-Confidence

Articles and Videos:

• The Top Benefits and Practical Ways to Build Self Confidence – Mind For Life
• 25 Killer Actions to Boost Your Self-Confidence – Zen Habits
• The Four Confidences – by Ed Lattimore (YouTube)
• Use it or Lose it: The Science Behind Self-Confidence – Forbes
• Building Self-Confidence: Preparing Yourself For Success – Mind Tools
• How to Build Self-Confidence – Mind For Life Podcast
• Video:  The Skill of Self-Confidence – TED Talk Dr. Ivan Joseph

Academic Studies:

• Self-Confidence and Personal Motivation – Roland Bénabou and Jean Tirole
• PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPECTED UTILITY THEORY AND ANTICIPATORY FEELINGS – ANDREW CAPLIN AND JOHN LEAHY
• Confidence-Enhanced Performance, Third Version – Compte and Postlewaite
• The Ecology of Stress – Hobfell
• The Social Psychology of Everyday Life – Argyle
• The Role of Defensive Confidence in Preference for Proattitudinal Information: How Believing That One Is Strong Can Sometimes Be a Defensive Weakness – Dolores Albarracín, Amy L. Mitchell
• A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgment. – Deutsch, M., & Gerard, H. B
• The Motivational Effects of Charismatic Leadership: A Self-Concept Based Theory – Boas Shamir, Robert J. House and Michael B. Arthur
• Effects of Trait Competitiveness and Perceived Intraorganizational Competition on Salesperson Goal Setting and Performance – Brown, Cron, Slocum
• Intrapersonal Affective Influences on Consumer Satisfaction with Products – Robert A. Westbrook
• Power and Discontent – William A. Gamson 
• Towards an Understanding of Mental Toughness in Elite English Cricketers – Stephen J. Bull, Christopher J. Shambrook, Wil James & Jocelyne E. Brooks
• Psychological Notes on the Motives for Thrift – Edward L. Thorndike
• Influence of affect on cognitive social learning person variables. – Wright, Jack Mischel, Walter
• Power Posing: Brief Nonverbal Displays Affect Neuroendocrine Levels and Risk Tolerance – Dana R. Carney, Amy J.C. Cuddy,  Andy J. Yap