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The Grow Dangerously Library: Start Here
10 Lifechanging Tools
CT Dool
January 12, 2025 • Read Time: 12 minutes
Welcome to the Library 🤝
Picture this: You walk into a dimly lit library. The smell of old books lingers in the air.
Here, every shelf holds the keys to transformation—tools to help you break free from monotony, face your fears, and truly grow.
Welcome to The Grow Dangerously Library. The journey begins.
When I started Grow Dangerously, I knew what I wanted to address: personal growth, breaking free, and solo travel.
But I hadn’t yet asked myself:
What would have helped ME the most, if I stumbled upon this site back when I felt…
trapped
fearful
dissatisfied
frustrated
…and longing to feel alive?
That, my friends, is the basis of what you’re about to see. Only the best self-improvement practices.
How to Use the Library For Personal Growth
This is a resource library, a directory, an index of sorts.
I’ve dug deep to ask: what were the biggest game-changers for ME on my journey?
I vow to promote NO bullshit. I cut through surface-level fluff that’s become standard in self-help books, blogs, and social media clips.
Only the real.
Below, you’ll find The 10 Tenets (life-changing tools) with a brief introduction. Then, we’ll link to a deep dive on the topic for those looking to explore it further.
You’ll see some have a [COMING SOON] tag. Be sure to subscribe to know when those deep dives drop.
Shelves at the Grow Dangerously Library
The 10 Tenets
1. Facing the Past: Pennebaker’s Expressive Writing Protocol
”Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana
We start by confronting our past. One cannot live freely if they are controlled by past wounds.
Great place to start: four 20-minute writing sessions (one 20-min session per day). Quick and free, but packs a massive punch.
Countless studies show measurable decreases in anxiety, depression, muscle tension, blood pressure, pain, and stress. Plus improvements in mood and immune function.
2. Solo Travel: Self-Reliance and Adventure
“The man should have youth and strength who seeks adventure...in the steaming jungles of the tropics or on the deserts of sand or snow.” — Teddy Roosevelt
Imagine a drug that gave perspective, greater purpose, a sense of independence, adventure, confidence, and tons of growth—with no negative side effects. That shit would sell off the shelves.
My friends, this drug is solo travel.
Countless men have found traveling alone to be a gamechanger. An essential for any independent, self-reliant, powerful man.
Deep Dive: A Man’s Guide to Solo Travel
3. Facing Fears: A Life No Longer Governed By Fear
How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it.” — Judy Blume
The crux of my growth journey.
It underpins everything in this list and unlocks our ability to do things like solo travel, face the past, and make connections.
Deep Dive: Facing 30 Fears In 30 Days
4. Journaling: Building Self-Awareness; Becoming Introspective
“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” ― C.G. Jung
I started journaling three years ago, inspired by introspective men throughout history who did the same.
It’s been nothing short of a game-changer.
Immediate benefits: greater self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and clarity of goals.
But long term, the big benefit is seeing your exact thoughts, word for word, from many moons ago.
If I find myself in a rut, I can look back to entries from a better phase in my life and see exactly what was creating those wins.
Plus, the free PDF with 34 hard-hitting journal prompts.
You’ll be prompted to enter your email, then I’ll send the PDF straight to your inbox.
5. Self-Assuredness: Killing Neediness
“When you seek attention, you project a state of lack on the world, attracting experiences that reinforce your neediness.” — Neville Goddard
No one walked more confidently than Denzel in Training Day.
Neediness ranks high on the list of biggest turnoffs—in dating, with potential friends, and for business opportunities. We must kill our neediness.
How? Through becoming self-assured, approving of ourselves, and becoming comfortable with ourselves.
6. Male Connection & Healthy Male Bonds
“Often [men’s] only connection with each other comes through superficial talk about outer events, such as sports and politics.” — James Hollis
A big fan of solitude, this one escaped me for a long time.
As soon as I realized my fellow men could provide a healthy outlet for growth, connection, and community—I leveled up.
Absent of healthy males in his life, a man will seek to fill that void with either unhealthy connection or vices.
Deep Dive: How to Make Friends & Build Community
7. Doing the “Deep Work”
“It takes enormous trust and courage to allow yourself to remember.” — Bessel A. van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score
A fairly obvious one when it comes to healing and growing, but modern therapy fails many men.
We’ll dive deeper, but therapy can not only work—it’s a powerful tool with the right therapist and mindset.
I define “deep work” as not only therapy but the work you do alone—to dive deep into your past, your fears, your trauma, and your shadow.
For me, this unlocked new levels and served as one of the tools in my toolkit. I was introduced to concepts of which I was previously unaware—self-compassion, forgiveness, and vulnerability.
8. Leaving Jobs You Don’t Like
“The most dangerous risk of all – the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.” — Randy Kosimar
One of the most powerful ways of crafting true freedom in your life. If you’re in a passionless, purposeless job/career, you must leave.
9. Health and Nature
"In health there is freedom. Health is the first of all liberties.” — Henri-Frederic Amiel
“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods.” — Lord Byron
“We found evidence for associations between exposure to nature and improved cognitive function, brain activity, blood pressure, mental health, physical activity, and sleep.”
That’s from a Harvard study on the effects of nature. Need I say more…
Nature increases testosterone (likely indirectly, through sunlight and movement). It packs tons of benefits for our well-being—mental and physical.
Deep Dive: [COMING SOON] 5 Off-The-Grid Places to Solo Travel
10. Life-changing Books
“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” — Mark Twain
Now we’re really in The Library. Check out our full book list here, but for now we’ll hit the highlights.
Examples of books in our list:
As a Man Thinketh. Get ready for an onslaught of absolute bars from James Allen. Published in 1902, the book set the stage for exactly what many of today’s thought leaders are just catching up to. Thoughts form reality, you are what you think, all of that good stuff. The audiobook is free and not even an hour long. You’ll be listening to it multiple times to catch all of the bombs dropped.
Meditations. Moving further back in history, this one’s another classic. An intellectual Roman emperor’s journal entries? Yessir. Marcus Aurelius gives a masterclass on Stoicism with this one. The original text is a bit dense and hard to understand (translations from Greek), but there is a modern-day language version that is much more digestible.
I’ve come away from most modern self-help books thinking “Ehh, that was alright, had one or two gems.”
Then there are books that change everything. They stand out from the crowd to provide outsized value.
All Articles: The Index
So you’ve got the 10 life-changing tools.
Now, feel free to explore the various sections here in the library. Roam around, pull stuff off the shelves, and post up on a comfy couch with some coffee and have a read.
Break Free: Escape 9-5, leave fear behind, and break self-limiting beliefs.
Level Up: Skills, mindsets, and becoming the best version of yourself.
Travel: Destinations, guides, and how to get started traveling solo.
Newsletter: high-value tools and stories, delivered to your inbox weekly.
Be sure to stay in the know and join the growing community today, here and on Instagram.
To your growth and travels,
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