“I have one outstanding trait in my character, which must strike anyone who knows me for any length of time, and that is my knowledge of myself. I can watch myself and my actions, just like an outsider. The Anne of every day I can face entirely without prejudice, without making excuses for her, and watch what’s good and what’s bad about her. This ’self-consciousness’ haunts me, and every time I open my mouth I know as soon as I’ve spoken whether ’that ought to have been different’ or ’that was right as it was.’ There are so many things about myself that I condemn; I couldn’t begin to name them all. I understand more and more how true Daddy’s words were when he said: ’All children must look after their own upbringing.’ Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.”

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is as haunting as her insights were precocious. As Jews in Nazi occupied Holland, Anne and her parents and sister Margot, fled their home in Amsterdam to escape capture. From 1942-1944 they occupied rooms in an old office building, which they called ’The Secret Annexe’. Anne’s diary details daily life within the confines of their safe house. The diary was left behind and found by the office cleaner. After being interned in two concentration camps, Anne and her sister Margot were finally sent to Bergen-Belsen where they both died. Anne was just 15 years old. Only Otto Frank, the girls’ father, survived, and the diary was returned to him.

This podcast focuses on self-exploration and personal identity -- to help you construct who you are, and how you want to feel, think, believe, and behave for yourself. The book Who Do You Think You Are is also available at all major e-retailers, and you can find it at bigselfschool.com/store. Check out our two-hour classes on how to build resiliency, how to discover what you want, how to like yourself more, how to find calm, how to bounce forward after failure, and many more at bigselfschool.com.