4 more days till the Challenge! Anyone else as excited as I am??
BUT before then, I need everyone who’s participating to do the following 4 things. Don’t worry they’re easy and painless 
All of this pre-Challenge prep is to get us ready to discuss, discuss, discuss and grow, grow, grow. It’s to create community and shared learning.
1. Add me on FaceBook!
Just look me up, Vishen Lakhiani, on FaceBook. Last I checked, I was the only one. Or click here to go straight to my FaceBook Page: http://facebook.com/vishen
This way we can share all our learnings with our friends on FaceBook and with each other. You can also become a fan of Brian Johnson here »
When you add me as a friend you’ll have to type in the password so that I know you’re coming in from the Challenge (and not someone who’s trying to stalk me for fun).
The password will be sent to you if you’ve bought a subscription to PhilosophersNotes or if your comment was selected! It’s a pretty sweet password, if I do say so myself.
2. Get grateful with GratitudeLog
A big part of this challenge is gratitude. Did you know just expressing gratitude can boost your happiness by 25%? Impressive, I know.
That’s why I want everyone who’s participating to create a GratitudeLog account. It’s where we can express gratitude for the wisdom we’ve gained. If you don’t have one yet, just go here: http://www.gratitudelog.com/signup. You’ll be able to connect with both Brian and me once you sign up.
Or if you already have a GratitudeLog account, add Brian and me as friends here: http://www.gratitudelog.com/vishen/ and http://www.gratitudelog.com/brianjohnson
For those who are super hardcore, you can link your Twitter and FaceBook accounts so that all your updates on GratitudeLog automatically get updated on either FaceBook or Twitter as well.
Just go under “Settings” in GratitudeLog and go to the Twitter or FaceBook tab. Just follow the instructions and voila! You’re set.
3. Intense debate with IntenseDebate
Okay, this is the meat and potatoes of the Challenge. It’s where all the discussion is going down. This is SUPER important because this is how you’ll be able to connect and comment with the rest of the PhilosophersNotes tribe.
Just head over here to sign up: http://intensedebate.com/signup
Once you’ve logged in, under “My Account” on the left-side-bar, you’ll see “Edit Profile”. Upload a picture under “Picture” and under services you can add your Facebook permalink, Twitter permalink or whatever social network services you use to help connect with the PhilosophersNotes tribe.
4. The PhilosophersNotes Questionnaire (better than a Cosmo quiz)
Now the purpose of this questionnaire is to make the results of the Challenge measurable. We want to compare who you are right now to who you will be after 50 days of concentrated growth.
You can answer this questionnaire here » This is an assessment of who you are right now. Not who you want to be, but who you are right now and how do you feel about yourself currently.
Once you’ve done this questionnaire, I want you to forget all about it. Forget the answers and the questions and after the 50 days are up, you’ll be sent the same questionnaire again.
Measuring your own growth:
Now in order to measure your own growth, you’ll need to print out each page of the questionnaire (there’s two pages) or write down the answers corresponding to the questions. Then after 50 days when you’ve finished the Challenge, you can compare the results of the new questionnaire to your old results.
By doing this you’ll help us determine the accuracy of the Challenge and what kind of results people can expect when they digest the BIGGEST ideas in personal growth in just 50 days.
Thanks for filling this out and I can’t wait to see what kind of changes there’ll be after the Challenge.
What to Expect Now That You’ve Accepted The Challenge!
So here’s what’s going to happen.
Every day you’ll receive an email that tells you what the note of the day is. There’ll also be a link that goes to a blog post on FinerMinds where you can join in with the ongoing discussion.
On top of that, there’ll be a different question that you have to answer for each Note on the blog post. E.g. “What’s your biggest takeaway from this note?”
This is going to be huge! I can’t wait to get started. Let the discussions begin!
Talk soon.
FinerMinds is hosted by 
Connecting with me on Facebook is not a requirement at all. So no worries. But I think Facebook is a must have for anyone! It’s like the mobile phone or Youtube…its become a ubiquitous technology that millions use to stay in touch. The energy of facebook depends on whom you’re connected too. I connect to lots of wonderful authors and readers of this blog. So when I log into Facebook I see beautiful quotes on life, inspirational messages and wonderful notes from my connections. But if you want a purely joyful positive social network then get on GratitudeLog.com.…that is part of the FinerMinds network and Brian and I are very active on it.
Hi Crys. It’s not a requirement, but it’s for if you wish to connect with Vishen and share your learnings with your friends
But you can still connect with Vishen via GratitudeLog.com –> now that is one totally happy, and positive social network that I think you will enjoy. You can go ahead and get an account here if you haven’t gotten one already: http://www.gratitudelog.com/signup
Ready to roll. Its a great experience that just keeps getting better.
c
Excited to reach 11 January 2010. Look forward for the first lesson.
Seems to be difficult to signup in gratitudelog.com
very excited about this challenge — one of my goals for 2010 was to read 2 books each month
Isn’t this great Tina? Now you have more than 10 books in one month and the opportunity to talk about it with hundreds of people. How amazing! One of my goals for 2010 is to make more friends and I am sure with this challenge I get to add more people to my world in addition the richness of my mind. Cheers
Hi Vishen. Ready to go! In fact I jumped the gun and read and listened to one of the notes already…I couldn’t resist. Amazing format. Love the way it is light hearted and yet very informative. This is gonna be great!! Thank you Vishen and Brian!
Downloaded my Philosophers Notes today! Thank you! I’m totally ready to rock and roll with this! Blessings.
Hi! I’m so excited to be part of this. Thank you!
That’s nice description of facebook, Vishen. I hadn’t thought about it like that. I’ve been avoiding the facebook traffic, but now i realise it doesn’t have to a crazy intersection, it can be a beautiful garden ***
Thanks.
I am loving having access to all the Philosophers Notes… I just read one by Martin Seligman, Authentic Happiness… Martin Seligmans web site has some wonderful tests to take and I took a personal strength testing to find out:
“I do not believe that you should devote overly much effort to correcting your weaknesses. Rather, I believe that the highest success in living and the deepest emotional satisfaction comes from building and using your signature strengths.”
My five highest character strengths are
1. Fairness, equity, justice
2. Kindness and Generosity
3. Spirituality, sense of purpose and faith
4. Citizenship, teamwork and loyalty
5. Appreciation of beauty, and excellence
What I am finding out reading this one book, is that there is going to be much that I will want to delve into… For me, this challenge of reading one book a day will become an evening spent seeking, searching, digesting, contemplating, and experiencing much.… AND I AM READY!!!! It has been said that when the student is ready, the teacher will come, and my teacher has come!!!!
OOoohhh can you hear the excitement in those words!!!
It feels as if the universe is moving amongst us with this challenge. Its ripple effect could change the world. I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to start, so I read one of Brian’s favs, the notes on Constructive Living, this morning, and have shared what I learned with every person I’ve talked to today — it was that good. I’m making a great day happen from that information too, and the energy is vitalizing. I can see this pilot program setting a precedent that makes me proud to be a part of it. Thank you Vishen and Brian for feeling the energy of this opportunity and acting on it!
Vishen, I feel this is the beginning of a movement we’ve needed on planet earth for a long time! You and Brian caught the energy and acted on it, and we are the beneficiaries. One suggestion I’d like to make: I thought your survey was great. I wanted my family and friends to take it so they could see the potential in their own lives they were missing, and I could then show them why it would be good for them to sign up for this challenge too. But I couldn’t access the survey a second time after I took it. If you made the survey available for anyone, then we can encourage others to take it so they will consider participating in philosphersnotes too. My excitement for this program feels like power in my life. I want to share this power because that’s part of what makes it powerful. It’s like the wind that must move through us or it is no longer wind, it’s still air. Or water that must flow through or it becomes stagnate. Thanks for starting the movement!
I’m a day late but getting up to speed with the challenge today. This is going to be great. Dancing and singing in the shower and what not
Hello Vishen and fellow FinerMinds! What a delight to be part of such a proactive crowd!!
Just a bit of housecleaning, so that I may more effectively participate…I did send a request directly to Cecilia, Assistant Philosopher, and she was very efficient and helpful in her response–Thank you! Also dropped a quick note of gratitude to Brian and he was quick to give love and attention back–you rock, Brian!!
However, there are still a few holes in my understanding, so wanted to get your direction. Although I purchased the notes for myself and a friend, I have not been receiving any email notifications regarding the challenge, e.g. which books to read, etc. I have now signed up for Intense Debate, per Cecilia’s directions, but still don’t have the information from you to address the 4 steps above, e.g. connecting on Facebook. I am only able to read the books after the fact, when I search your blog and see the titles.
I already have a Gratitude Log account…which is how I learned of your amazing team to begin with! Thanks for your expanded thinking to include outside Finer Minds in your crowd, much appreciated.
So…just wanted you to be aware, in case other eager life students might be panting on the sidelines, ready to join in, and yet not sure which door to enter to gain access. If you could please advise, so I may be fully engaged, and also so I may make sure my gift recipient is getting full access as well.
Look forward to changing the world with you all, to the greater good!