It's not just to learn to be a public speaker. They teach you communications at all level, provide the opportunity to increase your leadership skills, and it is a great place to network with people that are moving ahead with their lives. Check out the website and see if there is a club or two near you. It doesn't cost anything but some time to check it out.
They offer many training sessions on topics we all need to improve on. I have found them to be the most affordable of all training companies and yet they always provide a great deal of valuable content. A good place to start attending external training sessions.
They produce "oodles and oodles" of audio tape programs. 95% of the tapes that I listen to come from them. Check out their website at www.nightingale.com. Also consider subscribing to "Insight", a monthly magazing in audio form; it's a nice way to sample the works of many different authors.Yes, they have most everything on CD too if you're beyond the world of cassettes.
Recommended authors:
Jack and Mark are best know for there extremely successful "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series of books which are primarily a collection of stories that make you think. I recently read "The Alladin Factor" by Jack and Mark and I liked it a great deal. It also contains collections of stories along with wonderful commentary. Most of us "cheat" ourselves out of all we can have by simply not asking and having high expectations. This is an important growth area for me so I felt I got a great deal from this book.
I only know of one book by Mr. Clason but it is highly regarded. It's called "The Richest Man in Babylon" and is really a collection on stories that were created in the 1920's to help people better understand how to become financially successful. It's only 144 pages long and costs about $5-6 new (I found one in the Goodwill store for 60 cent's). It is the book most highly recommended by Jim Rohn (read about Jim below).
The book that made him famous was "Your Erroneous Zones". He really focused on understanding yourself and reaching farther. He may be too far our there for some but I really like his stuff. I really like "Wisdom of the Ages", "Real Magic", and "Manifest Your Destiny". I've not listened to any of Wayne's tapes that I haven't enjoyed. Sometimes you can catch him on public TV (PBS) as he is a big supporter.
If you like manufacturing (I used to work in that world) and process flow, check out his book, "The Goal". I enjoyed it and have read a couple of his following books.
Mr. Hill provided a great deal of foundational material for most of the people I listen too. He began his work of studying human potential and success around the turn of the last century (that's 1900) with the help of steel magnate, Andrew Carnagie. His book, "Think and Grow Rich" was decades before it's time.
Harvey is the expert on networking and covers that and other keys to success. His books are extremely easy to read in brief snippets as they have many chapters but the longest one is probably only 3 pages. He provides a lot of information with reinforcing stories and also has clever titles, "Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive", "Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt", "Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty", and "Pushing the Envelope" (he owns an evelope manufacturing company).
Og Mandino has written many books that have sold in huge numbers around the world. Many of his books are fiction that tell stories, often intertwined with historical events. When I read my first Mandino book, I found if very easy to read and very hard to put down. They were actually quite short. Some of Og's book that I have read include "The Greatest Miracle in the World", "The Greatest Mystery in the World", "The Greatest Secret in the World", "Return of the Ragpicker" The Greatest Salesman in the World" and "The Greatest Salesman in the World Part 2". The last fiction book that I read of his was "The Twelfth Angel" which I also enjoyed a lot. I have recently read "A Better Way to Live" which is his autobiography and provides his 17 rules for a great life. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others but it was still a worthwhile read.
Dave Pelzer has an unbelievable story to tell and a strong message to deliver. His story is delivered as a trilogy of three books, "A Child Called It", "The Lost Boy", and "A Man Named Dave". Dave shares the story of his life as a victim of abuse from his own mother. The first book talked about his first 12 years until his 'rescue'. The second book focuses on his struggle to adjust through his teen years through a maze of social workers and foster homes. The third book focuses on Dave's adult years as he continues to learn from his past and works to adjust to a normal life. They all contain enough information that they can stand on their own (I read "A Man Called Dave" first and then had to read the rest. His fourth book is entitled "Help Yourself" where he delivers a strong message of taking ownership of your life and growing the best you can. After I read Dave's trilogy, I had such a great appreciation for the life I had. It also gave me a shocking look into a world that I truly had not understaning of. I felt his last book strongly aligns with my own beliefs and I think he provides great motivation with examples from his life as well as the lives of others.
Tony is better known than some since he got started with some very successful infomercials. Sometimes his "very motivational" tone scares people away but he has very good information. He teaches NLP-Neuro-Linguistic Programming which is really a form of positive self-training through re-framing beliefs, a very valuable tool for redirecting your life. I really enjoy my tape set entitled "Unlimited Power".
Jim Rohn is a real treat to listen to. His books are good too but I highly recommend listening to his tapes. Then when you read his books you can hear it in your mind through his wonderful vocal tones and clever phrases. He is often refered to as the "Will Rogers of the business world". His goal is to make becoming successful as simple as it can be. Great tapes include "The Art of Exceptional Living", "Take Charge of Your Life", and "Challenge to Succeed"; books include "The Five Secrets to the Live Puzzle", "The Seasons of Life", and "Seven Strategies for Wealth and Happiness".
She has a great book called "Wishcraft" which is focusing on finding out what you are meant to do with your life. Sort of the crazy idea of finding a vocation that you will be happy doing. I enjoyed it.
Brian is probably my favorite author. I mostly listen to his tapes of which I have quite a few. The first one I listened to was highly recommended by a Fred Pryor training seminar leader and it was called "The Psychology of Achievement"; it's a great place to start. Other favorites include "Universal Laws of Success and Achievement", "The Luck Factor", "Thinking Big", and his 12 set series "Action Strategies for Personal Achievement" His book, "Maximum Achievement" offers a great deal of information. "How to Master Your Time" is a very good set of tapes on time management. The latest book of Brian's that I have read is "Create Your Own Future", another excellent book. Brian is very proficient in getting out books that if you try to read them all, you probably won't run out for quite some time. Much of his material will turn up in multiple books and tapes but I typically do not find this to be a problem since he offers new content with every publication and often puts a new twist on revisted knowledge.
Denis has worked with many olympic athletes to help them achieve new levels of success. His best known work is probably "The Psychology of Winning" but has many more and is worth checking out. Another good one is "Timing is Everything".
She is a well known expert on getting organized, somethine we could all probably get better at. A couple of her books are "The Organized Executive" and "Getting Organized: the Easy Way to Put Your Life in Order".