Moral and political philosophy is one area of philosophy -- Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Mill, etc. That's more practical, and associated with probably the majority of the "names" you've heard of.
But then there's philosophy around deeper things like how we know things, what knowledge is, debates over free will, etc. Epistemology, metaphysics, etc.
Those two areas of philosophy have virtually nothing to do with each other.
Then you talk about "mental models" which isn't philosophy at all -- that's psychology.
And when you talk about developing a "personal philosophy" I don't know what that means -- it sounds more like religion or spirituality perhaps?
But honestly I'd start with Wikipedia. Just start with the "Philosophy" article and start following links until you find the stuff that seems to resonate. (Also look up the article for "Mental Model", and especially check out all the "See also" links at the bottom.)