Personal growth, as a cultural genre, is often broken down into two categories: (1) analytical insight with a focus on introspection and (2) dramatic attitude adjustment for result-oriented external success. And ne'er the twain shall meet.

Until now. Take author, teacher, and non-therapist Alan Cohen’s six-month Personal Mentorship Program, for example. Starting on January 1, 2006, you won’t have a day to stray from your resolutions, because you’ll be immediately partaking in weekly conference calls, or “teleseminars,” with Cohen and your fellow mentees. The program features monthly one-on-one phone calls with Cohen, a one-week in-person seminar in California in March, monthly emails with Cohen, a “phone buddy” system, and access to any of Cohen’s other online courses. All the while you’ll be uncovering emotional blocks, working on your powers to manifest, improving your relationships, and deepening your connection to a higher power.

Cohen, an affable, open man who’s been selling inspirational stories well before Chicken Soup was a gleam in any publisher’s soul, is the author of many books, including the 1981 self-help classic The Dragon Doesn’t Live Here Anymore; Living Fully, Loving Freely. Its personal essays chronicle lessons he learned while transitioning from overweight Orthodox Jew to semi-enlightened spiritual seeker and knower, with “meditations on the mysteries of God, love, and the spiritual path.” Amusingly, this title, when considered alongside that of his latest book––Why Your Life Sucks––and What You Can Do About it––provides a nice microcosm for our need-it-now times.

The coaching program costs $5,000. For more: alancohen.com