Peter Shepherd Speaks

An Interview By Jeanie Marshall

Peter Shepherd is the Owner of Tools for Transformation, a popular personal development site which he started in 1997. He offers a considerable amount of valuable information at his web site, in his products, and through his mailings.

You can find out more about Peter's background, along with some audio interviews on his Bio Page. Peter I have been connected on the Internet for a while by mentioning each other's web site, called reciprocal linking. It is my pleasure to share my interview with Peter.

Jeanie: Let's start by your explaining a little about your web site, Tools for Transformation.

Peter Shepherd: I'd written a sort of thesis, 'Transforming the Mind,' which summarized a whole bunch of concepts that I'd learned about in the previous decade. I made this synthesis or overview to help myself understand it better, primarily, to see if all the ends could tie in together. I was surprised, they did! But then I thought, why not just put it on the Internet, some other people might find it interesting and helpful. So the site, trans4mind was born, and since then over 500,000 people have freely downloaded Transforming the Mind.

Jeanie: That's a comprehensive manual. Thanks for offering it free of charge. I think it is so important for professionals to offer something of value for free. What do you do professionally?

Peter Shepherd: Running the site takes up all my time. I trained as a psychologist originally, then practiced as a psychotherapist in England, but I increasingly became more interested in personal development and that's what I concentrate on now. Since moving to France in 2000 to be with my girlfriend (now wife) I've been developing the site a lot more, writing courses and materials, helping students progress, and all the administrative tasks that goes with running a big site, which I do on my own. I do have some help now from my friend Wallace Huey who lives in Ireland, and he manages our life coaching service.

Jeanie: Who are the people who are drawn to your offerings?

Peter Shepherd: People who are looking for something extra in their life and who realize that they can take that in their own hands, to learn what's needed to make their life much more fulfilling. It's not a substitute for psychotherapy, it's really working in the other direction, to make life even better, and to find answers to the deep questions, like... Who am I, really? How did I get that way and where can I go from here? What gives my life meaning and purpose? What am I not doing what I want to do and why? And what's the spiritual dimension of life all about?

Jeanie: Those are some great questions, Peter.

Peter Shepherd: By asking these sorts of questions we become more aware of who we are. As we uncover our own truth, we live more and more from our authentic natural selves that know the way. This makes it possible to connect consciously, honestly and deeply with the rest of life. And that brings success.

Jeanie: I see that you have an extensive program called The Positive Approach. Can you tell me about that?

Peter Shepherd: The reason I run the site is to provide needed information, to help people. I put out a magazine each week, Metamorphosis, [editor's note: This publication is now called Cultivate Life!] which is sent freely to a large number of subscribers. It contains articles that many good writers submit to me. Back in 2002, it occurred to me that what was needed was a new series of articles that would introduce people to personal development, that would present a cohesive program of ideas and methods, beyond that which can be achieved with isolated articles.

Jeanie: As you remember back to that time, what was the impetus for writing this? And in your mind's eye, did you imagine it all "finished" before you started, or did it start one way and then have a life of its own?

Peter Shepherd: My vision was to create something that would be of help to everyone with no cost barrier -- information that would definitely be effective. When people do my paid courses, the main thing they're paying for is my personal help. But with the free site materials, readers are on their own. I wanted the Positive Approach series of articles, which later became the online course, to be straight forward and accessible enough, so that people could make progress on their own - and when they see that these methods work, then they might like to continue further with our paid courses.

It wasn't planned out. I actually started off with what turned out to be the last lessons in the course, and each week pondered on what to present next. So it was rather at random, whatever seemed to me at the time to be crucial information. Some things were drawn from materials in Body-Mind-Spirit 2-CD Set and from the New Life Course (our more in-depth paid course), and some were new. Only later in 2004 did I work out the best way to sequence the articles to put together the online course, and filled in some gaps.

Jeanie: I love your description of your process. It is much like what people are finding when they blog -- they write stand alone articles that, when organized, capture a wealth of knowledge. Now that this program has been online for 3 years, how has it been for you?

Peter Shepherd: The site gets lots of visitors, but the way I know whether it is actually of benefit to people is when they write and tell me. Often that's very encouraging, like this email I received a few days ago about Positive Approach...

"I find the resources on your web site wonderful. It is a great community of thought and products. I have downloaded The Positive Approach - Free 30 Lesson Course which is exactly what I have been needing. This is a new beginning in my life, marked with these new tools, and the magazine too is of great support and encouragement for me at this time. I feel like I have been drowning and a helping hand has reached down and given me something to hold onto to pull me out of the depths of despair I was in."

Jeanie: That's a heart-felt testimonial. Thanks for sharing it with me. What are you most excited about that's coming up for you in your work?

Peter Shepherd: Of course, every writer wants to be published in print and I'm happy that finally I have that opportunity.

Jeanie: Congratulations.

Peter Shepherd: Inkstone Press, in Australia, asked me if they could publish Transforming the Mind, but I really wanted to do something new, and they kindly supported me in that. So I've put together a new book, Daring to be Yourself, that has just been published. Again, it's a summary of all that I've learned to date, a sort of convenient 'best of' the trans4mind site, and includes the Positive Approach and other short courses on the site, like Communication & Relationships, and Emotional Intelligence.

Jeanie: It looks wonderful. I see that you have the last chapter available for online viewing. So, tell me about the book, how it is different from your other publications?

Peter Shepherd: It's more personal, talking a bit about my own life experiences, and it expands on the spiritual dimension, how we can get in touch with our inner knowing, our core essence. To find that inner knowing we need to look objectively, honestly and with an open mind, both at the world and even more so, into our own being. To be a witness of our mind, with love and caring of our conscious self. We have then also transcended or gone beyond the conscious mind and found ourselves spiritually. Creating our lives from that viewpoint is an exciting process, because we're no longer alone, we're connected with all creative energy, the universal quality of spirit. That's my little sermon for the day!

Jeanie: Amen. Anything else about the book?

Peter Shepherd: The book aims to help people awaken as their true self, to take charge of their lives and move in the direction that is honest and true to who they really are. I think it will be popular with those who are interested in my work but like to snuggle up with a book, rather than reading stuff on their computer.

Jeanie: What's the Free Life Coaching on your site about?

Peter Shepherd: This is a fairly recent addition to Tools for Transformation, and I think it's quite unique. It's a free service provided by Wallace Huey, that addresses a wide range of specific life issues. You can read all of the previous questions and Wallace's help given in response, that has been published in our weekly magazine and online. You can submit a new question of your own or give your own opinions on the accompanying forum. And it ties in with all the other resources on the site, such as our article library, to offer further views and insights on the topic.

Jeanie: That's a very nice addition. What do you most want the world to know about you?

Peter Shepherd: I want the best for people. My purpose is to be of service in a meaningful way, to make the best contribution I can toward a better world for all of us, which from my point of view means a more conscious and loving world.

Jeanie: What else would you like to say?

Peter Shepherd: I put the site together but it's not about me, not at all. It's about collecting resources that will help individuals who visit the site in the particular and unique way that they most need. People have widely varying needs, that's why there's a lot on the site.

Jeanie: You really do offer a lot. Thank you for that. Visitors to trans4mind would do well to search around, become familiar with what's available, and discover what's right for them. I also recommend subscribing to the Cultivate Life!, which is an excellent resource, and The Insight Project, which is a powerful personal spiritual discovery process.

Thank you so much, Peter. I appreciate your taking the time to talk about your work.

To my readers: I've provided many links in this article so that you can easily visit the sections of Peter's web site that most appeal to you. If you like this type of resource, please let me know by contacting me.

Copyright © 2008 Marshall House, www.mhmail.com All rights reserved. Jeanie Marshall, Personal Development Consultant and Coach, has developed Empowering Personal Development at www.empowering-personal-development.com to encourage you on your path. You may save this article, send it to a friend, or use it in your online publications, provided the above attribution paragraph remains with the article and all the links are fully active with no changes to the article.

This Interview by Jeanie Marshall is with Peter Shepherd

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