I was driving down the coast with my lovely friend M recently, when conversation turned from men (a singlette standard) to what we wanted to achieve in 2017. M sets herself goals and steadfastly meets them every year, with richter scale applause and admiration from me. This year, she wants to achieve something ‘extraordinary’. We’re talking beyond jumping out of a plane, or climbing Mt Everest, or finding the Unicorn who ticks all boxes, or getting her toenail paint on straight. Something that will fuel her heart, her passion, rejuvenate, inspire.
Well hello? Given this blog’s about all things inspirational, that eve I poured a wine and set to the task of sleuthing out the most inspirational sites, personally reviewed and compiled a list that just might provide her (and you) with ‘extraordinary’ potential. (Feel free to share the love with your own faves in the comments!):
A tad of fun learning:
Mentalfloss – Interesting articles guaranteed to put a smile on your dial and get you thinking.
Wizzpast – Our awe inspiring past all in one magnificent site to see what others have achieved
Good.is/Infographics– Love a good infographic? This site showcases useful information in an easy to digest visual format.
Unplugthetv – Swap out the commercials at least and let this little site randomly select an educational video for you to watch.
Tedtalks – Love a good TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) talk.Inspirational speakers addressing a variety of topics in short videos. Perfect commute < 18 minutes
Litro – All you need to know about the wonderful world of books and writing.
Lettersofnote– If you’re into the might word, the site’s tagline says it all: “Correspondence deserving of a wider audience”
Duolingo – Learn a new language for free. Advance for a small price.
Mindsnacks – Add an app and learn that language on the bus, on your break, heck anytime you damn well feel
Lang-8 – Write posts in that language your learning, get them critiqued by a native speaker (and in turn help that native speaker learn your language)!
Justinguitar – Hundreds of free guitar lessons as well as some basic music.
Memrise – Learn things quickly and efficiently, from languages to history with snazzy little flashcards
Mathrun – If you love your math, a simple little game to practice your basic maths skills
A spot of serious learning:
Khanacademy – Watch thousands of micro-lectures on topics ranging from history and medicine to chemistry and computer science.
Coursera – A great little educational site that works with universities to get their courses on the Internet and they’re free!
Openculture – A compendium of free learning resources, including courses, textbooks, and videos/films.
Codecademy – Packed with introductory courses for various programming languages and web technologies.
Udacity – More free courses primarily focused around mathematics and programming, aimed at people of all skill levels.
Aldaily – An aggregation of articles from various higher education journals and publications.
Investopedia – Cool for learning about the world of finance, from basic terminology to in-depth analysis of various areas of investing.
Zooniverse – Take part in a huge variety of interesting studies of nature, science, and culture.
For charitable efforts
Freerice – Why not help to end world hunger by correctly answering multiple-choice quizzes on a wide variety of subjects.
Charitynavigator– This site is dedicated to reviewing charities so you can easily research any you’re interested in.
A few life-hacks too
Feelgoodwardrobe – Find out how to control the wardrobe, how the world of fashion really works and what you can do to combat it.
Lifehacker – The strangest and most interesting tips and tricks for improving all areas of your life.
Zenhabits – A minimalist Blog about improving your life by making it simpler.
Cookingforengineers – One man’s explorations in food, with step by step instructions for making a wide variety of dishes.
Artofmanliness – A Blog/site dedicated to all things manly, great for learning life skills and good insights.
Engineerguy – Kinda like having your Dad on call. A collection of videos in which Bill breaks down various feats of engineering in layman’s terms.
Humanworkplace – Love Liz Ryan, my absolute fave on LinkedIn ‘cos she talks the same career guidance language as I do.
