Steve Pavlina: The Unauthorized Biography
By Thomas Baker
()
About this ebook
Steve Pavlina describes himself as “the most intensely growth-oriented individual you will ever meet.” Since the age of 19, when he was almost convicted of felony grand theft auto, Steve has dedicated his life to personal growth.
Impassioned by sharing his growth with others, Pavlina has penned more than 700 articles and a book. He has appeared in newspapers across the globe, including The New York Times, USA Today, and The Guardian. His self-titled website became the most popular personal development website on the planet, getting millions of hits per month.
But who is Steve Pavlina? Is he the polymath he purports to be on his blog posts and in his book, or is he the “swindling knave” his opponents claim he is? Is Pavlina an honest personal blogger, or are his posts driven by the desire to make money, at all costs?
From his early years at a high school with an abusive priest to his later in life experiments with polyamory and BDSM, this biography tells you all you want to know about the prolific personal development blogger.
Read more from Thomas Baker
God's Whisper Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fine Lady's Airs (1709) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Steve Pavlina
Related ebooks
Zen Gaming and the Art of Electronic Sports Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMentally Tough Me Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Field Guide to Athlete Performance: The 24 Hour Athlete Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat Can Go Right? The Thinking Person's Guide to Making Good Things Happen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 20 C's That Create Success Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seriously Simple Stuff to Get You Unstuck Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBe The Man Women Want Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiving Outrageously Your Hero's Journey Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Quit The Game: Breaking Free From The PUA Lifestyle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDon’t Lose Your Cool Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLovenow Livenow: The Three Principles of Joyful Living Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove Beyond Hookup Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRelentless State of Mind: The Power of Mental Conditioning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Be Great at The Stuff You Hate: The Straight-Talking Guide to Networking, Persuading and Selling Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Synchronicity Freestyle Travel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Jerry Lynch's The Competitive Buddha Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGolfing with Your Eyes Closed: Mastering Visualization Techniques for Exceptional Golf Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTaking Control: What If You Had the Power to Control Your Destiny? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMentality: The Secrets of Success: How Leading Sports Personalities in Britain Made It to the Top Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMastering the True Inner Game: How To Build Up Your Self-Confidence And Be Attractive To Women Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlpha Male: A Tale of the Battle of Commerce Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5PEAK EVOLUTION: Beyond Peak Performance and Peak Experience Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Jonas Salzgeber & Nils Salzgeber's The Little Book of Stoicism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScientifically Powerful Tips to Improve Your Gaming Skills! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Best Time Management Guide: Life By Design, Not By Default Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Winners Alphabet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings7 Things You Need To Know About People Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDRUMBEAT Business Productivity Playbook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Twelve Keys: Initiation, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Entertainers and the Rich & Famous For You
I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Robin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magnolia Story (with Bonus Content) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mommie Dearest Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elvis and Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bad Mormon: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scrappy Little Nobody Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coreyography: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Me: An Oprah's Book Club Pick Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Taste: My Life Through Food Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Me: Elton John Official Autobiography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Counting the Cost Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Woman in Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bowie: An Illustrated Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The History of Sketch Comedy: A Journey through the Art and Craft of Humor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCapital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Open Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Steve Pavlina
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Steve Pavlina - Thomas Baker
Steve Pavlina: The Unauthorized Biography
Thomas Baker
Smashwords Edition
****
Copyright 2010 Thomas Baker.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Names have been changed to protect innocent parties.
Table of Contents
Forward
Early Years
College Years
Business Years
Lifestyle Changes
The Downhill Slope
Onward Bound
Criticism
Forward
Steve Pavlina describes himself as the most intensely growth-oriented individual you will ever meet.
Since the age of 19, when he was almost convicted of felony grand theft auto, Steve has dedicated his life to personal growth. Impassioned by sharing his growth with others, Pavlina has penned more than 700 articles and a book. He has appeared in newspapers across the globe, including The New York Times, USA Today, and The Guardian. His self-titled website became the most popular personal development website on the planet, getting millions of hits per month.
But who is Steve Pavlina? Is he the polymath he purports to be on his blog posts and in his book, or is he the swindling knave
his opponents claim he is? Is Pavlina an honest personal blogger, or are his posts driven by the desire to make money, at all costs?
From his early years at a high school with an abusive priest to his later in life experiments with polyamory and BDSM, this biography tells you all you want to know about the prolific personal development blogger.
Early Years
Steven Michael Pavlina was born on April 14, 1971 in Santa Monica, California to financially conservative, Catholic parents who avoided debt, paid down their mortgages, and held lifelong, steady jobs. His mother, Jane, was a math professor and his father, George, was a former altar boy and an aerospace engineer for a GM-owned company. Pavlina’s uncle Edward was a Catholic priest, so it was no surprise that Pavlina’s schooling occurred in private, Catholic schools.
Pavlina appeared to be a picture perfect Catholic boy. He attended mass and Sunday school, went to church every Sunday, studied religion as part of his everyday school activities, went to optional Catholic retreats, and memorized Catholic prayers. Pavlina’s destiny to live a good Catholic life headed for a safe career in corporate America was cemented from his childhood through his high school years.
Pavlina became a Boy Scout at 12 or 13 years-old, earning the Ad Altare Dei award from the National Catholic Committee on Scouting for developing a Christian
way of life. During his time as a Boy Scout, he learned to snorkel, survive in the wilderness, and shoot a bow and arrow.
The Boy Scout troop, Pavlina says, became a surrogate family to him; despite all of his accomplishments, he was an unhappy and tormented child. Although his parents provided him with a private school education and a home computer which fueled his interest in programming, he describes this childhood as borderline miserable. He reported tha his happiness at that time on a scale of 1 to 10 as a 4.
According to Pavlina, his family life was dysfunctional—as kids, he and his siblings thought that the Bundys from Married with Children were a better example of a loving family. I was raised in a very judgmental environment,
he says. From my earliest memories, I remember being on the receiving end of a tremendous amount of criticism.
The criticism started before Kindergarten and continued throughout high school.
You can’t do anything right!
his mother, Jane would say with disdain. It became her mantra. It didn’t matter whether Pavlina would try to make scrambled egg or bring home a handmade gift from school, nothing was good enough for his mother. In fact, Pavlina felt everything he did was wrong. He was punished with verbal abuse for minor infractions and after years of not being able to please his parents he dove into self-loathing and hatred. I am not a good boy.
He would look in the mirror and see ugliness stare back. No wonder they hate me, I’m ugly and useless.
The self-hatred could have led to major depression later in life, but instead it led to a deeper understanding of the human psyche and the games people play. Even when Pavlina was in elementary school, he began to view life as a game with winners and losers. He believed he was on the losing end. Not only did he receive no love as a child: he gave no love either, rejecting anyone and everyone around him.
***
When Pavlina was 12, something still not known to the public happened at school that would change his views about Catholicism and lead to a revolution in his mind. Around the same age he discovered computers, and became friendly with an atheist classmate, John Swindon.
Pavlina’s first notion of Swindon was that the boy must have been possessed by a demonic entity or worse: he was destined for an eternity in hell along with unbaptised infants and demons. Afraid that there was something terribly wrong with John, Pavlina started talking to him to find out what. Pavlina expected to