In our day and age it is so easy and inexpensive to access free online learning materials. One can learn and grow much faster if one absorbs the knowledge that other people spent years or decades to accumulate. One of the cheapest and easiest ways to access such knowledge is through free online learning materials.

Technology allows us to be mentored by the brightest and most influential people of our time, without them even knowing the impact they have on our lives. If at this point in your life your funds are very limited, this still cannot be used as an excuse to limit your development. You have access to the Internet where, with the right guidance and commitment, you can find specific and quality material.

Below is a list with some resources I found useful. In addition, the list below points out some of the influential people of our time that one can benefit from knowing a little bit about. All of them were or are successful in one way or another and each of them can be a source for one’s professional and personal development to a smaller or larger extent.

We will constantly increase the information on this page as we find more useful information and free online learning material.

http://www.fora.tv

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This is an excellent free online learning resource. It includes lectures, live events and debates with some of the top minds of our time. The purpose of the project is as follows, – “helps intelligent, engaged audiences get smart. Our users find, enjoy, and share videos about the people, issues, and ideas changing the world.” Here are examples of some interesting videos:
Video on Paul Krugman and the Global Economy

Video on Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of HP-Compaq

EconTalk

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This is a weekly podcast, which is provided by the Library of Economics and Liberty and hosted by Russ Roberts. The main subject of the talk show is economics and the format is one-on-one discussions between the host and the guest. Russ Roberts’ guests include Nobel Laureates, business leaders and well-known authors. All past podcasts are available on the website. This is an incredibly popular free online learning site and is of exceptionally high quality. Go to:
Econ Talk

The Harvard Business Review

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HBR is probably the most prestigious source for business analyses. Although the site has a paid portion, there is a lot of free online material available. Blogs, some past articles and author contributions are all free. The style of writing is very easy to understand and the research is of the highest quality. Go to:
Harvard Business Review

Knowledge@Wharton

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K@W is an online business publication of the Wharton School of Business. It is another excellent free online learning resource and open to all readers after registration. The articles cover a wide range of topics and also contain podcasts for downloading. Go to:
Knowledge@Wharton

Tony Schwartz

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He is the founder, CEO and President of The Energy Project: Go to the project here. He is a professional speaker and bestselling author (see his presentation at Google).

Tony Schwartz is working with many Fortune 500 organizations. See an article regarding Tony Schwartz’ work, which was published in the Harvard Business Review.

John Maxwell

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He is an internationally respected and best-selling leadership author and speaker. He works with many Fortune 500 companies and foreign governments. I have listed some of his free online learning material here.
Additional Material
Free Chapters
Behind the Scenes
Maxwell’s Blog

Marshall Goldsmith

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Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is a world authority on leadership and works with some of the top leaders in business. He wrote a New York Times best seller “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”. The link to his presentation at Youtube is available here. Marshall Goldsmith’s website also provides a lot of useful and free online learning materials.

Randy Pausch

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Randy Pausch was an amazing individual and professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. His last lecture and time management lecture are inspirational and very useful free online learning materials.

Aswath Damodaran

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Professor Damodaran’s free online learning guide is the definitive source on corporate finance definitions, course notes and sample excel models. If you need a simple excel model, you are likely to find them here.

This list is by no means exhaustive or complete. Over time, we will add to this list and provide more material. Your contributions will be highly appreciated.