New Site Layout and Updates! (Feb ’09)

New Site Layout

We have a new layout up! Quite a fast turnover too, considering the site will only be 2 months old in a few days! (It was launched on 14-Dec). In all honesty, the previous layout started out fine (it was a WordPress Template and not designed by me, in case you thought otherwise) but as I began working through the site in the past 2 months, I found that it wasn’t effective enough for my needs.

Mainly, I want the content and writing to be the core focus of when readers surf over. The previous layout wasn’t helping me meet that objective as it had a banner that covered up a sizeable space and the width of the page was pretty small, which didn’t strike a good balance between putting more materials and scrolling.

I spent a few hours doing up this layout yesterday and today. It started out as a tweak of the old one but I got too enthusiasic and ended up changed everything instead! For those who were surfing in yesterday, you probably came across many different variations of looks as I was experimenting with different colours and styles Hope that didn’t freak you out!

Also, I also just added my picture to the About Page

PersonalExcellence.co Logo

Along with the new layout, you probably noticed there’s a little red capsule in the header, beside the site name. If you bookmark the site, you will also see the red capsule as the icon that appears next to the bookmark. Any guesses to what this red capsule represent?

It’s actually a red pill and it’s the new logo for PersonalExcellence.co It’s the perfect logo to represent this site for two main reasons.

Firstly, the red pill represents pursuit of the truth, becoming our highest selves, living the best lives we are meant to live, which are essentially core themes of this site.

Secondly, it’s a subtle reference to the article Are You Sleepwalking Your Life Away? that first put us on the internet radar (Digg, Delicious), drawing in at least 30,000 unique visitors from the listing alone. In the article, I made an analogy of waking up from ‘sleepwalking‘ with taking the red pill. To choose to take the red pill is to awaken from our sleepwalker stance. If you’re reading this blog, you’ve most likely already taken the red pill or you’re on the verge of doing it

What do you think about the new layout? Let me know via the comments below.

Traffic Watch

Traffic is increasing steadily After stabilizing from the Digg spike a month ago, the site is getting a steady stream of around 1,000+ visitors/day. On the peak days, it can reach up to 4~6k (which happened when I posted on 28-Day Trial To Wake Up Early – more update on that later.)

Spread the Word About PersonalExcellence.co

If you have been reading the articles here and find them helpful for you, please spread the word! If you have a blog or a site of your own, it’ll be great if you can link back to PersonalExcellence.co. Please also share this site to your family and friends – you can do so via the specific email links that are under each article. Let us work hand in hand to enable everyone in our world to be the best they can be and live their best lives!

Latest Posts

Waking Up Early

The Waking Early Trial rounded off with a great response of 21 participants. If you are a participant, please share your updates at the here. Stay tuned for the round up of the trial at the end of the month!

Brainstorming Post

It’s great knowing that many readers found the latest post on 25 Brainstorming techniques helpful It was triggered by a question from a reader, who asked me on my thoughts of the best brainstorming methods to achieve the best results. Because brainstorming is applicable to all kinds of contexts and there is no one size fits all method, I thought it’ll be more helpful to write a post on the different possible types of brainstorming techniques we can use instead. From this list, you can assess what’s the best method for the situation you are facing and apply it accordingly.

Emotional Generosity

The latest article ‘Are You Emotionally Generous?‘ is inspired by my personal experience as an emotionally stingy person when growing up and getting into contact with emotionally stingy people in my life in my daily life. Inside, I share my story on how I changed from an emotionally person in the past to who I am today. As you read it, think about your life and your level of emotional generosity toward others.

Upcoming at PersonalExcellence.co

• Materialism, Levels of Consciousness: In my previous Week 5 Site Update, I mentioned I was writing articles on Materialism and Levels of Consciousness. The article on Materialism is done and will be up in the next few days For the Levels of Consciousness: I managed to lay my hands on Hawkin’s Power vs Force so I can write a proper post on this topic. It’s 75% written so far; expect it to be up next week
• Love and Relationship: For the upcoming V-day, I had actually planned to write an article on Love and Relationships. Unfortunately, I’ve been busy managing site-related matters and getting my goals into check that I haven’t had time to get to this! I’m still going to be writing this regardless and I’ll try to have it up by V-day if possible.
• 25 Random Things About Me: There’s a recent Facebook meme on ’25 Random Things About You’ that’s flying all around the web. I came across a blogger writing about this as a post and thought it’ll be great to do that as well and let readers know more about me. Expect it to be up next week!
• Goal Achievement E-book: I’m also putting together an E-book on Goal Achievement – it is really a compilation of my 7-part series on Goal Achievement: ESPER. While the series will continue to be available online on this blog, I thought having an e-book will facilitate the sharing of the information. Some readers may also find it easier to read that way. Expect it to be up soon, within the next week