Top free websites to improve your life

4. Zazzle.com - I think some around here already know about this one. Basically, it's an amazing place for anyone who knows how to upload photos they've taken or other images they've created (or witty text they've written). You can get your image/text on anything from wedding invitations to ornaments, jackets to mugs, necklaces to skateboards. You can put your design up in a virtual store for other people to find: you get royalties for every product purchased, but it doesn't cost you anything to set up. How amazing it this? On the paying end, you can get it customized just for a friend, or order in bulk for your company. So far I've only ordered gifts for friends and family (and they deliver fast too!), but I'm loving the store concept, and there are many other lenses you can check out right here on Squidoo for tips on that.

5. Cafe Press - Similar to Zazzle but with somewhat different options on what you can customize! There's the usual stationery, t-shirts, pins, etc, but also clocks, CDs, GPS, and more!

6. Chris Guillebeau's blog - I have been reading this superb, creative guy's blog for around two years now, and his ideas and resources, provided free of charge (though he has more in his paid stuff), have always given me a lot to chew on in terms of leading a creative, free life, with satisfying work and travel that matches your values. He's also part of a great high-quality circle of bloggers and I've found many others through him. Read this guy and break completely out of the box.

7. Seth Godin - If you've used Squidoo and haven't heard of Seth Godin yet (one of the founders), you still probably won't be surprised to learn that the Squidoo philosophy of free and generous is abundant in Seth's blog and free works about marketing strategy, innovation, and attracting your tribe.

8. TED - The TED conference (which stood for its original three topics: Technology, Entertainment, Design) is ridiculously expensive, but fortunately they record all the talks and post them online where you can view them for free! Ground rules of a TED talk - 18 minutes, to a smart audience without fancy jargon, about a ground-breaking topic. The talks now range from music, to philosophy, to business, education, to literature, to environmental conservation. Take 18 minutes and absorb something fascinating, and at times, totally mind-blowing. Your own project might get jump-started! By some of the greatest thinkers (and doers) of our time.

Image under Creative Commons by Patrick Hoesley