Lifehacks

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  Dumb Little Man - Tips for Life

• The 7 Signs of a Leader - A Must Read

  Mr. Self Development

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:49 pm

  We all need leaders in our lives: mentors, people to look up to, people that simply get it. Leaders inspire us, help us accomplish our dreams, and teach by example. Leaders make us better people and give us an ideal to strive for.The measure of leadership is always influence; leaders have an amazing ability to influence our lives. Leaders lead wherever they go; they lead at work, at home, or wherever they happen to be.So after that intro, it's easy to conclude that being a leader is not an easy task; it requires a collection of very important skills that have to be ingrained into your daily…

• Seven Ways to Create More Time In Your Day

  Ali

  18 Nov 2009 | 1:05 am

  Do you ever feel like you have way too much time on your hands, and far too little work and life to fit into it? Unless you're a teen on summer break, I reckon it's unlikely! Most of us would love to have an extra couple of hours in each day. With two more hours, we could find time to exercise, to read some of the books that are gathering dust on our shelves, to spend time with the kids...But, unless you're lucky enough to find a magic genie who can stretch your days to twenty-six hours long, you're stuck with the same twenty-four hours per day as the rest of the world. So how can you create…

• The Bruce Lee Approach to Valuing of Money

  StevenAitchison

  16 Nov 2009 | 11:56 pm

  Bruce Lee lived his life through action; he was a man who lived what he taught. Many people don't know that he wasn't just a great martial artist but he studied, amongst other things, philosophy at the University of Washington. He was deeply interested in life and and all that encompasses, including money.From the book, 'Striking Thoughts' Bruce Lee talks about money as a useful tool, nothing more. Here are some of the lessons:The Nature Of Money"Money of itself has no explicit nature. Money is what one makes of it"Many of us believe that money holds a certain power. This is wrong. Money…

• 7 Healthy Foods That Will Fill You Up and Prevent Overeating

  Krizia MissK

  13 Nov 2009 | 3:47 am

  David A. Kessler, the author of “The End of Overeating”, explains very well how people become addicted to foods that are high in sugar, fat and salt. Like addiction does, this causes people to crave so they eat more and more foods that are loaded with unhealthy ingredients and many times, completely devoid of any nutrients.So, as the process goes, people are instructed to stop eating sugar, fat, and salt. However, many times, those instructions are not supplemented with healthy replacements and it's left to you to do the research, which is no simple task. As Michael Pollan says in “In…

• Frugal Fun: Five Ways to Be Social and Save

  DivineCaroline

  12 Nov 2009 | 5:21 am

  Living in San Francisco, one of the most expensive places in the country, I have learned a lot about budgets. First lesson: I need a budget. Recently, I kept track of my monthly expenditures and was shocked by the number in my “entertainment” column; no wonder my paychecks disappear so quickly.There are obvious alternatives to nights on the town, like socializing at home. However, sometimes we’re obligated to go out—a friend’s birthday, for example, or the need to leave the house and indulge ourselves a little. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to cut corners and still have a…

• 
  43 Folders

• NaNoWriMo: A Pep Talk and a Warning

  Merlin

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:20 am

  I honor any project to write something — especially to write a long piece of fiction. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but, like most people, I have always been too scared to attempt it. So, kudos. But, here’s the thing: it’s hard to start writing, and it’s almost as hard to keep writing. Believe me, I know. And, there will be times every day when you get discouraged or you want to throw in the towel because you feel lost or depressed or useless or just plain tired. Empty. That’s the word. Empty. All I want to say is, keep at it.

• Makebelieve Help, Old Butchers, and Figuring Out Who You Are (For Now)

  Merlin

  22 Oct 2009 | 2:17 pm

  Makebelieve Help, Old Butchers, and Figuring Out Who You Are (For Now) - Vimeo [NSFW] Here’s a video I made about a video I made. Consequently, it’s also about writing a book, fake self-help, the long road to developing expertise, and the ups and downs of repeatedly asking the world to tell you who you are. The video is long. As usual. This is how it works. I’d had this fancy idea that I’d do a DFW-style dump of annotations about what I talk about over these 40 minutes, and I might add that later, but for now here’s all you need to know: Dish soap…

• Fake Rocks, Salami Commanders, and Just Enough to Start

  Merlin

  4 Aug 2009 | 6:36 am

  MaxFunCon: Merlin Mann on Doing Creative Work (via TSoYA) Here’s the audio from a short talk I presented a few weeks ago at Jesse Thorn’s awesome1 MaxFunCon in Lake Arrowhead, CA. The talk is subtitled, “With All Due Respect to the Seduction Community”2, and it contains my typically NSFW use of, well, words, I guess. It’s about how to get started—just started—with any project that really matters to you.   Listen above Embedded audio starts at 4:00 (where my talk begins) Download MP3 of this episode Subscribe to The Sound of Young America via…

• Mud Rooms, Red Letters, and Real Priorities

  Merlin

  28 Apr 2009 | 4:28 am

  Thanks to my funny, literary pal, Jason B. Jones, today, I’m visiting lovely, warm Connecticut to do some talks and whatnot at CCSU. I mention it because I’d started typing this little post mid-way through the long eastbound flight that delivered me here from three fun (but very long) days doing a comedy thing with You Look Nice Today and Jordan, Jesse, Go! over on that other, top-left, edge of our nation. So, I was tired. Really tired. The kind of tired where your wallet hurts your butt, and coffee tastes weird, and you try super-hard to sleep, but – well –…

• Free as in "Me"

  Merlin

  10 Apr 2009 | 6:29 am

  This unbelievably long article is related to (but not necessarily about) a discussion that I and several other people have been participating in online over the past few days. It’s about (and not about) the increasingly popular practice of re-publishing someone’s online work on another site without the attribution, formatting, and linking that many bloggers regard as standard, ethical, and fair. It’s admittedly a polemic (which is what people who think they’re clever call, “a rambling rant”), but what may seem to many to be a childish and ungrateful…

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  Lifehacker

• From the Tips Box: Gmail Remember the Milk, Touchpad Tricks, and Repelling Mosquitoes [From The Tips Box]

  Whitson Gordon

  20 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Readers offer their best tips for updating Remember the Milk with Gmail's canned responses, avoiding mouse jumps while typing with touchpads, and repelling mosquitoes with Listerine. Don't like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page. About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in—the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for…

• This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

  Adam Pash

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  This week we rounded up the best online backup tools and explained how you're backing up wrong, detailed how to build an excellent Boxee-based media center, and cured your various aches and pains with some simple home remedies. Five Best Online Backup Tools Local backup is a useful and necessary part of securing your data against catastrophe, but with the advent of broadband and inexpensive online storage, you've got little reason to not back up critical files to the cloud as well. You're Backing Up Your Data the Wrong Way Time and time again, people tell me that they've bought an external…

• PTS Desktop Live Makes Performance Benchmarking Simple [Downloads]

  Jason Fitzpatrick

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

  Linux Live: If you want to put your computer through the paces and get some feedback and benchmarks, you'll be hard pressed to find a tool more packed with tests than the Phoronix Test Suite Live CD. PTS Desktop Live is an Ubuntu Live CD with the Phoronix benchmarking suite preconfigured and installed. Reboot your machine with the CD in your drive—or on a USB drive—and you'll boot into the test suite with access to 52 tests and 10 profiles. The profiles are set up to help you stress test and benchmark based on what you'll be using the machine for. The desktop interface and suite…

• Twitter/Facebook Client Brizzly Open for Sign-Ups [Social Networks]

  Kevin Purdy

  20 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  Brizzly, the web-based social media manager that ranked as one of our readers' favorite Twitter clients, has dropped the invite code requirement and is available for anyone to log into. It's still technically in "beta," but mostly to keep up the fairly rapid pace of feature development. [via TechCrunch]

• Windows Surface Scanner Finds Bad Hard Drive Sectors [Downloads]

  Lisa Hoover

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pm

  Windows: When your computer starts acting hinky and spitting out error messages, it's hard to know exactly where to begin to diagnose the problem. Windows Surface Scanner gives you a place to start. This free utility takes a look at your hard drives and ferrets out any physical errors it finds, so you know what might be causing random crashes or system flakiness. Windows Surface Scanner won't fix damaged sector problems—it simply diagnoses them. Once you've figured out the issue, you can use the native Windows check disk tool to make repairs. One important thing to note about this tool:…

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  Wikihow

• How to Fix a Snag in a Sweater

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  A pulled thread can ruin the look of your knitwear, but don't despair, help is at hand. Here are easy-to-follow instructions for rescuing the situation.

• How to Hack Your Wii Remote Into a Windows Mouse

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  The Wii Remote was designed exclusively for the Nintendo Wii. Using a bluetooth adapter with BlueSoleil software, however, you can connect your Wii Remote to a computer running Windows. A third party program called GlovePie allows the Wii Remote to input information to your computer. This article will show you how to set it all up.

• How to Light a Road Flare

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  You have probably seen road flares in use. They are highly effective for warning approaching motorists of danger. You may even have some in the emergency kit in the back of your car. But have you ever lit one yourself? It's not hard, but like changing a tire, it's best if you practice and know what to expect before you need to use them.

• How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Apples and oranges, and people, are so distinct that they don't compare.We are all different yet we have a tendency to compare ourselves to others. Why? Because the marketing business makes money, because others compare us to themselves or other people, because some people get a boost out of putting us down, and from all these experiences we start feeling not good enough. Comparing yourself to others is unhealthy and unnecessary. Here's how to stop.

• How to Avoid Disempowering Your Workplace Team

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Managing is a great position from which to enthuse and encourage people. Yet, this is a balancing exercise too; while seeking to encourage your team to greater heights, there are some pitfalls to avoid that can potentially disempower your team.

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  DIY Life

• Holidash Highlight: To Stuff or Not to Stuff?

  Erin Loechner

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Filed under: food, entertaining Photo: Holidash There are two kinds of Thanksgiving chefs: those who stuff and those who... well, don't stuff. To get down to the bottom of stuffing, dressing and everything-related, our friends at Holidash have a few helpful tips: If you follow cooking shows through the holiday season, you've probably heard that it's bad, bad, bad to stuff a bird -- especially if you've talked to Alton Brown. Adding a good pile of stuffing lengthens a turkey's cooking time and increases the possibility of having a dry and overcooked meal. But ... but stuffing tastes so good.

• Links We Love: Stylish Wine Bottle Wrap & Cookie Exchange Invites

  Diane Rixon

  20 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  Filed under: miscellaneous Photo: All Things G&D Wine bottle gift wrap made easy and beautiful. This visual confection of tissue and cellophane wrap is finished off with a key fob (pictured) for decorative flair. So pretty. - All Things G&D These cookie exchange party invitations are simply inspired. Vintage-style tags are tied to sweet mini cookie spatulas. - Brooklyn Limestone In a similar holiday vein, tiny muslin baggies make perfect containers for homemade hot cocoa mix. Ideal for gifts or party favors. Decorate the bags with fabric transfers ... or just tie-on labels. - Cathie…

• Daily DIY: De-Stale Your Bread

  Erin Loechner

  20 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

  Filed under: food, in the kitchen Photo: RecipeTips.com So -- you're craving a ham sandwich but notice your bread is going a bit stale. Don't worry --- it's not bird food quite yet; you still have time to save it! Place a stick of fresh celery in the bag and store the bread for a few hours. Next time you pull it out, you'll notice the bread is fresher than before, and your celery hasn't changed a bit! Add some peanut butter and you've got yourself a fresh, non-stale meal (but don't tell the birds we told you!). And since we're talking bread, did you see Monday's video tutorial on How to Make…

• The DIY Reel: Fix a Carpet Burn

  Erin Loechner

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Filed under: fix-it, home decorHosting the holidays, but have an unsightly burn on your carpet? No worries -- Kelly Edwards is here to show you how easy it is to fix a carpet burn with just a few simple tools and the easy tips from this video: 1. Trim away the burned fibers using scissors or a sharp blade. 2. Scrape a razor blade across the clean part of the carpet to loosen some fibers. 3. Gather the loosened fibers. 4. Fill the burn hole with super glue. 5. Using tweezers, push the carpet fibers into the glue until the hole is filled. Allow glue to dry completely. 6. Brush away the excess…

• Hammer Nails Painlessly

  Diane Rixon

  19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  Filed under: fix-it Photo: jolien_vallins, Flickr Hammer nails without flattening your thumb. Yes, it can be done ... if you master the right technique. A gentle tap, tap, tapping is the secret. Here's how to hammer correctly and painlessly: 1. Grip it right. Hold the hammer near the middle of the handle to start a nail. This gives extra precision that will (hopefully!) protect your fingers. 2. Tap gently, swinging from the wrist. This gets the nail started in a hole. Remove your hand from the nail. 3. Swing firmly from the elbow. This will drive the nail into the hole. Still banging your…

• 
  Unclutterer

• Ask Unclutterer: Not yet dirty clothes

  Erin Doland

  20 Nov 2009 | 7:30 am

  Reader Susan submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer: OK, this may be a strange question, but it’s one I have not seen addressed anywhere: Where do you put clothes you’ve worn for a short time that are NOT dirty enough to go into the laundry basket or to the dry cleaner’s? I am talking sweaters, blouses, pants, etc. — not underwear. For instance, I might put on a top & pants for a couple of hours to go to a luncheon, but when I get home I am not going to put those items in the wash (unless I spilled something on them, or they got sweaty due to hot weather,…

• Workspace of the Week: Side-by-side desks

  Erin Doland

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:30 am

  This week’s Workspace of the Week is Lady Reynolds’ his and her office: I like how this office uses the vertical space to keep paperwork and projects off the desk tops. And, the way the projects are displayed is a great solution for visual processors. I think the desks and chairs are from Ikea and the notes on the picture say that all of the clipboards were picked up from a thrift store. The magazine racks on the wall that were repurposed for files are also a great way to free up workspace. Thank you, Lady Reynolds, for your submission to our flickr pool. Want to have your own…

• A simple Thanksgiving solution

  Erin Doland

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:30 am

  Thanks to Asha at Parent Hacks, I have stumbled upon a simple living suggestion that I will use this Thanksgiving. Until yesterday, I had no idea that chalk wrote easily on matte-finish oilcloth. The concept is so basic, yet its implications have my head spinning. I’m no longer trying to think of ways to decorate my Thanksgiving table, entertain the kids during mealtime, or am worried about a centerpiece — I have my solution: Simply buy enough solid-color, matte-finish oilcloth to use as a tablecloth for your dining table. With either regular chalk or chalk pens, write guest names…

• Follow the Unclutterer Forums with RSS

  Brian Kieffer

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:30 am

  If you use an RSS reader to follow your favorite blogs, you can easily keep track of what’s going on in our new forums. Add the feed for latest topics or all the latest posts. You can even follow specific topics using the RSS link just below each topic’s title, or create an RSS feed of your own by adding topics as favorites. After you add Unclutterer’s forum feeds to your RSS reader, jump in and join one of the following new discussions: Clutter of Writing Things Down Where to Get Rid of Old Clothes Getting Past Anxiety/Fear Or start one of your own.

• Unitasker Wednesday: USB-Powered Hamster Wheel

  Erin Doland

  18 Nov 2009 | 7:30 am

  All Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy! The list of unitaskers available for your computer’s USB ports just got a little bit longer thanks to the extremely necessary USB-powered Hamster Wheel: Now, you can waste away electrical energy by simply plugging in this “pet” to your computer. And, it’s not just a form of entertainment, it makes a political statement by telling your boss that you believe your work is like a hamster in a wheel, going nowhere. Wow, it’s not a…

• 
  Stepcase Lifehack

• Rethink the Season of Giving

  Dustin Wax

  20 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Next Thursday, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and other charities across the US will be fully staffed with smiling-faced, happy volunteers eagerly doling out food and other assistance to those whose need is greatest. Families across the country will come together in the spirit of giving, and will return home beaming with pride and contentment, knowing deep in their hearts that they have made a difference. It’s the finest side of American culture, celebrating our own thankfulness by trying to give the less fortunate something to be thankful about.Next Friday, soup kitchens, homeless…

• 10 Best Productivity Books of 2009

  Dustin Wax

  18 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Granted, the year’s not done yet, but publishers start to slow down new releases right about now, so it’s not likely we’ll see another contender for “best of 2009” until January. Plus, Christmas is coming up, and I wanted to give you plenty of time to read some of these books before you give copies to your friends and relatives.But really? It’s never the wrong time to recommend a list of great books.These are 10 books I read this year that made a powerful impression. I read a ton of non-fiction – not only do I read for my own pleasure but I’m a non-fiction reviewer for…

• Take a Vacation from Your Email!

  Dustin Wax

  16 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Considering how useful – revolutionary, even – email is as a communication tool, it can also be an incredible drain on productivity. If you’re anything like me, you have discussion listservs, newsletters, Google alerts, Facebook updates, blog comments, advertisements, automated backups, reminders, and all manner of other stuff pouring into your inbox all the time – all in addition to emails from actual people actually trying to communicate with you.Of course you know to minimize these inputs, to limit updates to only the ones you most need, to evaluate every newsletter to make sure…

• Stationery Pr0n: Japanese Pens and More from JetPens.com

  Dustin Wax

  13 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  Geeks tend to love pens, notebooks, and office gadgets. Some of the most popular posts here at Lifehack have been about pens and other stationery. Let us loose in a Staples or Office Max and we’re like kids in a candy shop. We can’t pass a stationery shop without feeling at least a twinge of desire – and usually without dropping some of our hard-earned money inside. And of course, there’s our love affair with the Moleskine…Sure, it’s a pointless pursuit and probably a waste of time and money. Sure, there’s the danger of fiddling too much with the latest cool…

• Searching for a Shared Virtual Workspace?

  Clemens Rettich

  12 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  In my coaching practice, I am increasingly looking for ways to work with my clients on shared documents and projects online. Pretty simple right? You’d think so. I went to the first two places that I knew offered some or all of these services: Google & Microsoft. Big disappointment.

• 
  MAKE Magazine

• Vacuum tube prototyping board

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

  Bruce Heran made this prototyping board for his tube projects. He writes: This is a project that I made to take care of an ever increasing need to prototype vacuum tube (valve) circuits. As you can see from the photos, it really is a test "board." I do a lot of work with tubes and love to design and improve circuits. In the process I often use various CAD type programs to rough out the designs. I have frequently found that the models do not agree with the final build. Some are right on, but most are off enough to turn a good idea into a waste of time. Thus the need to quickly prototype…

• Free LED Cookbook from TI

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

  By way of Andrew Q Righter of HacDC comes word of this free PDF from Texas Instruments, a 41-page "cookbook" of circuit designs and application notes for TI's LED-related components. [Thanks, Andrew!] LED Reference Design Cookbook [PDF] Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Electronics | Digg this!

• How-To: Open source intervalometer for Canon, Nikon cameras

  20 Nov 2009 | 2:05 pm

  Instructables user peterdr has put together a really excellent tutorial on how to build his CT-1 open-source hardware intervalometer for Canon and Nikon digital cameras. There's more info about the project at his personal website, and a parts kit is for sale on Amazon.com. Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Instructables | Digg this!

• PYMT, a multi-touch library for Python

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

  Interested in building programs with fancy multi-touch interfaces? Speak Python? Well, in that case you might want to have a look at PYMT. Designed for rapid interface design, it looks like it would be fun to play around with. [via the space station] Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Computers | Digg this!

• Make: Projects - Pneumatic trough, part II

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pm

  Last week I wrote about how to construct a simple sheet metal "bridge," which, in combination with an ice cube bucket and an olive jar, makes an effective pneumatic trough for collecting gas samples over water. This week I'm going to show you how to use this apparatus to generate and collect pure oxygen, and how to use that oxygen to observe the brilliant blue flame of sulfur oxidation. Tools:Pneumatic trough apparatus from part ISmall piece of plate glass (I used the mirror from a makeup compact)LighterTwisted wire sample loop250 mL Erlenmeyer flask (I got mine from The Maker Shed)#7…

• 
  The Art of Manliness

• Manly Thanksgiving Cornbread Stuffing Recipe

  Brett & Kate McKay

  20 Nov 2009 | 8:31 am

  Thanksgiving Day in the United States is next week. Last year, we had our friend Karl Engel teach you how to cook and carve a Thanksgiving turkey like a man.  But a man needs stuffing to go along with that bird, so we brought Karl back to show you how to make a killer stuffing that will please any Thanksgiving crowd. Karl heads up Pigcasso, an award winning BBQ team. He’s been featured on the Travel Channel and Food Network, so Karl knows his stuff. Today Karl gives us a rundown on how to give a traditional Thanksgiving staple a twist with his Manly Cornbread Stuffing. Thanks Karl!

• How to Make a Bed You Can Bounce a Quarter Off Of

  Brett & Kate McKay

  19 Nov 2009 | 8:19 pm

  Share It’s a scene familiar to any fan of war movies: old sarge is pacing the new recruits’ barracks, heels clicking on the floor, his eyes bulging as he inspects the soldiers’ bunks.  Tension fills the air; the men break out in a sweat. He checks to make sure each man’s uniform is just right, his boots are shined, and his clothes have been neatly folded in his locker. But the moment of truth comes when the sergeant pulls a quarter from his pocket and bounces it off the bed to see just how tightly it’s made. If it doesn’t bounce, the soldier usually has to…

• The Return of Jai Alai

  Brett & Kate McKay

  18 Nov 2009 | 9:49 pm

  When I lived in Tijuana, Mexico, one of the things that caught my eye (besides all the dead dogs and cholos) was a huge, almost palatial building in the middle of downtown. It looked like it was transplanted from Morocco and was definitely out of place in the brown and dusty ugliness that is Tijuana. On the front of the building in big red letters it read: “Jai Alai.” Unfamiliar with the meaning of those words, I asked the locals to give me the scoop on what the building was used for. They introduced me to the interesting and tradition-rich game of jai alai (pronounced Hi-Lie).

• How to Run a Meeting

  Brett & Kate McKay

  17 Nov 2009 | 4:51 pm

  Share Have you ever been at a meeting where all you can think about is how much more productive you’d be working alone at your desk? And how much of the company’s money is swirling down the drain while your co-workers surreptitiously check their Blackberries under the table? And how you wish you had made like the crew of the Enola Gay and carried a cyanide capsule with you? People hate meetings. But it’s not the meetings themselves that are inherently pencil-in-eye inducing, it’s how meetings are run. Without a real leader, meetings can become unproductive and…

• Mountain and Sackett Tie Giveaway: November 2009

  Brett & Kate McKay

  16 Nov 2009 | 8:41 pm

  Last May we did a tie giveaway with the Mountain and Sackett tie company, which has been making handmade neckware right here in America since 1957. The giveaway was a big hit with readers, so we decided to bring it back again. And with the holidays coming up, we wanted to help you look sharp for the seasonal parties you’ll be attending. What’s Up For Grabs The winner of the giveaway will get to choose any one of Mountain and Sackett’s ties as their prize. Need a narrow tie in your collection? How about a solid wool tie? And of course don’t forget the ties that Mountain…

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  SidSavara.com

• Are You Sabotaging Yourself With Inferior Tools?

  Sid Savara

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:18 am

  “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” -Abraham MaslowDo you know how to properly eat a grapefruit?Sure, opinions vary – but there is one method I’ve found superior to all others, and surprisingly, 80% of my friends had never heard of it (four out of five isn’t very scientific – but stick with me).Some people cut it in half and use a tea spoon to smash the fruit, while others peel it and attempt to eat the juicy pulp by pulling it away from the pith (that white, sour stuff).There’s a better tool for the job – the grapefruit…

• How To Instantly Make Time For Yourself – And Get More Accomplished

  Sid Savara

  15 Nov 2009 | 6:54 pm

  “An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth.” – Bonnie FriedmanEver wish you had more time? You’re not alone.  A recent survey found that:70% rate themselves as busy or very busy50% are more busy than they were last year45% sacrificed time with friends30% sacrificed time with family90% wished they had more time to spend with friends and family.(Source:  USA Today Survey.  Dr. Zimbardo discussed these statistics in a presentation at the Commonwealth Club, video available in my article about my favorite free online psychology tests.)We’re all busy,…

• What Is Analysis Driven Personal Development?

  Sid Savara

  12 Nov 2009 | 10:55 am

  Everyone has their favorite authors, experts and approach to making changes in their lives.  The tips, perspective and strategies that I discuss are based upon my personal experience, and the approach I have come up with – an approach I call analysis driven personal development.  A few people have asked me what analysis driven personal development is all about.  I define it like this:Analysis driven personal development is personal development (improving oneself) based on and predicated on analysis of all the relevant information present.There’s more to it than just a…

• My Secret For Personal Growth and Change: How To Change Yourself

  Sid Savara

  10 Nov 2009 | 2:15 pm

  We know that throughout our lives we will come across opportunities disguised as challenges, and often these are opportunities to change ourselves.  I’ve previously discussed how to get motivated and how to deal with motivation fading.  What I haven’t discussed is how to choose which changes to make.My interests change rapidly – something that I may find inspiring one week bores me the next, while others things that I just try for the hell of it become huge parts of my life.  Because of this, I try to weigh major life changes before I make them – and though I do not…

• Will Power: How To Improve Your Personal Self Discipline

  Sid Savara

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  People with higher self control and self discipline have been shown to be less likely to be obese, happier on average, score higher on standardized tests and earn more money.  Self discipline is highly correlated with accomplishing personal goals.What you may not know however, is that self discipline and willpower is a skill that can be exercised and improved.  In this article I’ll discuss:What I mean by self disciplineThe benefits of self discipline (supported by research)What affects self discipline (again, supported by research)Finally, what you can do today to improve your own…

• 
  Ramblings From A Glass Half Full

• Exclusive: Chris Garrett Reveals His Secrets of Success (and More) in The Starbucker Interview

  Starbucker

  15 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pm

  (From L to R) Chris Garrett, Leticia Pruitt, Me, Zena Weist & Jason Falls at SOBCon09 (cc) Shashi Bellamkonda Social Media Swami Network Solutions Chris Garrett makes it quite clear that he’s in the “business” of blogging and new media- it’s right there on his very popular web site, ChrisG.com. And if you are ever fortunate enough to spend any time with him, it’s also quite clear he is a person who knows a LOT about those things, and is one of the most valuable learning resources in the blogosphere. But there is more to Chris than this knowledge and business…

• Wanna Be a Success? Turn Over a Few More Rocks

  Starbucker

  7 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Today I’m launching my new site design (thank you Thesis and Jesse Petersen!).   It was just time, given that blog platforms are evolving faster than Twitter is gaining new users (well, maybe not quite that fast). This “rock” needed to be turned over and examined.   Not because there was something so wrong about how my site looked – it was because I just wanted it to be better.  A little less busy (I hope you agree!). I had been thinking about looking under rocks for several weeks lately – I always worry about complacency, and it was a perfect analogy for…

• 10 Leadership Battles – And How To Win Every One of Them

  Starbucker

  1 Nov 2009 | 3:28 pm

  In our quest to become great leaders we take on a constant stream of internal battles.   Each and every day we choose our  sides and try to do the right things, with the objective of achieving something great. There are 10 confrontations in particular that can make or break us, and we need to consistently be on the winning side of every one of them to reach the pinnacle of success. People vs. Process -  It’s as simple as this: a process is only as good as the people executing it.  Focus on the people first, and while you’re at it, make sure your charges truly understand the…

• The Most Important Blog Post You’ll Ever Read

  Starbucker

  25 Oct 2009 | 3:26 pm

  ….is out there somewhere. You just need to find it. And in a land of over 100 million blogs, how is that possible? And besides, blog posts don’t change lives, right? Wrong. They can, and they have. I’m living proof of that. One day in June of 2006, I found my way to a blog written by Liz Strauss called Successful Blog. I found her by way of a link on someone else’s blogroll (Phil Gerbyshak) – I was just starting my blogging adventure and was just looking around, trying to get comfortable with this new world. What caught my eye was a post she wrote about how…

• All Great Content Is An Intersection: The Brian Clark Interview

  Starbucker

  18 Oct 2009 | 3:49 pm

  Brian Clark is a writer who loves to write about his craft, and it shows.  His blog, Copyblogger, is one of the most popular sites on the Internet for writers and fellow bloggers of all stripes. The site has also been his launching pad for several other successful online ventures designed to help others improve their skills and online presence.  He is a much sought-after speaker on the Social Media circuit not only because of his know-how, but also because of his quick wit and insightful observations. I recently caught up with Brian to ask him a few questions about the craft he loves, his…

• 
  Shanel Yang . com

• Rich Dad Poor Dad - Part 14

  Shanel Yang

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am

  [Continued from “Rich Dad Poor Dad - Part 13″] 7. BE AN “INDIAN GIVER”: This is the power of getting something for nothing. … The sophisticated investor’s first question is, “How fast do I get my money back?” They also want to know what they get for free, also called a piece of the action. That is why the ROI, or return of and on investment, is so important. … On every one of my investments, there must be an upside, something for free. A condominium, a mini-storage, a piece of free land, a house, stock shares, office building. And, there…

• Rich Dad Poor Dad - Part 13

  Shanel Yang

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am

  [Continued from “Rich Dad Poor Dad - Part 12″] 2. I CHOOSE DAILY: … Financially, with every dollar we get in our hands, we hold the power to chose our future to be rich, poor, or middle class. Our spending habits reflect who we are. Poor people simply have poor spending habits. … Most people choose not to be rich. For 90 percent of the population, being rich is “too much of a hassle.” So, they invent sayings that go, “I’m not interested in money.” Or, “I’ll never be rich.” Or, “I don’t have to worry, I’m…

• Rich Dad Poor Dad - Part 12

  Shanel Yang

  16 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am

  [Continued from “Rich Dad Poor Dad - Part 11″] Reason No. 2 is prevalent cynicism: All of us have doubts. “I’m not smart.” “I’m not good enough.” “So and so is better than me.” Or, our doubts often paralyze us. We play the “What if?” game. “What if the economy crashes right after I invest?” Or, “What if I lose control and I can’t pay the money back?” “What if things don’t go as I planned?” Or, we have friends or loved ones who will remind us of our shortcomings regardless of…

• Rich Dad Poor Dad - Part 11

  Shanel Yang

  13 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am

  [Continued from “Rich Dad Poor Dad - Part 10″] Only two parts left in this 12 part post, including this one, so it’s kinda hard to decide exactly what I want to include from the rest of Kiyosaki’s great book Rich Dad Poor Dad. But, here goes. OVERCOMING OBSTACLES Even after you study how to be financially literate, you may still face serious roadblocks to becoming financially independent — and that roadblock is mostly you. Why in the world would you stop yourself after taking all the time and effort to learn how to be financially literate? Five main reasons: 1.

• Rich Dad Poor Dad - Part 10

  Shanel Yang

  11 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am

  [Continued from “Rich Dad Poor Dad - Part 9″] This next lesson is my nemesis. It’s the hardest pill to swallow for me. Kiyosaki tells of how he was in Singapore for an interview with a newspaper reporter in 1995. She said to him after their interview, “Someday, I would like to be a best-selling author like you.” He asked her what was holding her back. She said, “My work does not seem to go anywhere. Everyone says that my novels are excellent, but nothing happens. So, I keep my job with the paper. At least it pays the bills. Do you have any…

• 
  Lifestyle Blogs on Blogged

• Rethink the Season of Giving

  Lifehack Next Thursday, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and other charities across the US will be fully staffed with smiling-faced, happy volunteers eagerly doling out food and other assistance to those...

• Women and Minorities Getting Left Out of Green Job Market, New Study Finds

  TreeHugger Photo via Change If James Brown had been around to witness the rise of the green jobs sector and learned of the news from this recent study, he'd shake his head and say, "It's a man's world....

• TGIF and For This Adorable Baby Otter Video

  PetSugar TGIF! If you're already in need of some cute to get you through the day, here's Sidney to the rescue. This lil otter was temporarily living with a professional animal caretaker and enjoyed a wide...

• 9 Life Lessons I Have Learned from Blogging

  The Positivity Blog Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelogon/ / CC BY-SA 2.0 “Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experience.” Ralph Waldo Emerson “Experience...

• Houses Get Small (Sort Of) In Response to Recession

  TreeHugger Wall Street Journal Is it just the economy or is there a real change going on? Michael Phillips writes in the Wall Street Journal about how builders are offering smaller houses than they have...

• 
  Instructables.com

• make a child's sleep cap from an old T-shirt

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:50 pm

  you know the scenario:?it's 3 am, your newborn has just puked on his last clean hat, you have a pile of old T shirts from when you were punk rawk, a serger, and 15 minutes, you're wearing sunglasses, and drinking from a jelly jar. time to get crafty, keep the child's head warm, and reduce the stockp...By: shabbychef

• Twice Baked Potatoes

  20 Nov 2009 | 10:04 am

  Twice-baked potatoes are a great holiday meal. To be honest, they're great for any day and are super tasty and filling. Potatoes with cheese, bacon, green onions, and more cheese? How can that be wrong?They're also super easy to make. Aside from the baking of the potatoes, these only take about 15 m...By: fungus amungus

• Wire Jewelry Making - Basic Weaving Techniques

  20 Nov 2009 | 8:35 am

  This tutorial teaches a few basic weaving techniques. These techniques are very important to know when you first start weaving with wire. Most weaving projects you encounter will incorporate some form of at least one of these techniques.For this tutorial, I am using 16g wire for the frame wires and ...By: Gailavira

• Bathroom Status Indicator Lights and Automatic Switch

  19 Nov 2009 | 10:41 pm

  This project uses proximity switches and relays to control a bank of indicator lights.? The lights convey the occupancy status of two bathrooms.Problem: Two single user bathrooms - in a dorm style house - are shared by multiple people, but the bathroom doors are not visible from the main hallway. Th...By: Mr.Nelson

• Quality Duct Tape Wallet with (optional) Change Pouch

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:13 pm

  Another take on the duct tape wallet.As a Canadian I end up with lots of coins, so I needed a coin pouch. My build adds a change pouch and tries to use as little tape as possible. Forgive the photos, the brightness got messed up on upload.Materials required:Duct tapePlastic card for sizingScissors R...By: PhilmanJ

• 
  Productivity501

• Messing with Other People’s Time Management

  Mark Shead

  19 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  I write a lot about how to be more productive, but what if that really isn’t your thing? What if you don’t like productivity? What if your goal in life is to ruin productivity for other people? In an effort to expand our readership to people striving for unproductivity, here are six things you can do to guarantee that your co-workers get as little done as possible. Productivity501 takes no responsibility for the results of actually implementing any of these ideas. Randomly put entries on their calendar like: “1:30 meeting with John White Important!” or “Call…

• International Travel Tips

  Mark Shead

  18 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  I’ve done a lot of traveling in the past, so I wanted to share some of things I’ve learned (many times the hard way) that make international travel easier. You should try to get as much information as possible about the country you are visiting, but this list of tips should give you some good starting points that are relevant for most any destination. A couple great sources for safety information on foreign countries are the CIA World Factbook and the US Travel Advisory site. Take Copies - Having a copy of your drivers license and the first page of your passport are very handy in…

• Tuesday’s Tip: Removing Superglue

  Mark Shead

  17 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  Have you ever gotten superglue all over your fingers and had to live with it for two weeks as it wore off? There is a simple way to take it off, but first, let me tell you a story. When my wife worked in the ER of a large county hospital in Dallas, she saw a lot of very strange cases. One of the most interesting was the guy who came in with his eyes closed. Evidently, his wife had accused him of looking at other women and they got into a fight. Somehow, he decided that he could prove that he wasn’t looking at other women by super-gluing his eyes closed. (I am not making this up.) After…

• 11 Steps in Becoming Educated for Your Dream Job

  Mark Shead

  16 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  I had quite a few comments about taking classes online in my post “17 Things You Should Stop Doing“.  When LifeHacker linked to the article, they had even more comments from their readers. Many of the comments were negative, saying that you shouldn’t take classes online. So, I wanted to take some time to talk about the best way for college to fit into your career. First, here is a little background about my education to give you an idea of where I’m coming from.  I have a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music composition (both taken at physical…

• Facebook

  Mark Shead

  12 Nov 2009 | 9:40 pm

  You can connect with Productivity501 on Facebook by becoming a fan of the Productivity501 Page. Please consider helping promote the site by becoming a fan. Thanks! Follow Productivity501 on Twitter.. ---Related Articles at Productivity501:FacebookFacebook Fan PageFacebookFacebook for KidsiPod Shuffle Facebook Giveaway

• 
  PracticalHacks

• CPA photos updated

  Kevin

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:04 pm

  I hate publishing a post before it’s completely ready, and against my better judgment, did just that this week with my review of the Red Oxx CPA Briefcase.  I struggled with the pictures for this review:  the “Bordeaux” color just didn’t look right – it looked cotton candy-ish / too bright – and I ended [...]

• A couple of hot deals…

  Kevin

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  I’ve been a fan of Rail Riders for a while now.  The firm started out making clothing aimed at the sailing market and has expanded to a line of adventure and casual clothing that’s prized by casual travelers and backpacking enthusiasts alike. At some point I’ll review a couple of Rail Riders items.  In the meantime, [...]

• Quick Review: Red Oxx CPA Briefcase

  Kevin

  19 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  As the Red Oxx CPA is essentially a larger version of the Metro, this will be a brief look at the bag; I encourage you to check out my original Metro review:  Red Oxx Metro Briefcase / Daily Bag. Here’s the CPA in Red Oxx’s “Bordeaux” color (both bags are available in 12 colors): A quick shot [...]

• US Airways Flight 1549 3D Reconstruction

  Kevin

  18 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  This is another one of those weeks when I’m consumed with getting ready for a couple of big meetings…   I have several posts and a couple of reviews in the works, but not enough time to finish them at this point; my apologies.  In the meantime, check out this fascinating 3D reconstruction of Flight’s 1549 [...]

• We revisit Tourist Remover

  Kevin

  17 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  A recent comment from Paul on my October, 2008 post about Tourist Remover made me want to revisit this online app: I agree with James – I think the demo ought to have about 50 or 60 big fat tourists in Time Square and show how they can be made to disappear.  That would be impressive. Last [...]

• 
  Gail Goodwin's Blog

• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Corporate America

  Gail

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:23 pm

  This morning I woke from a bizarre dream that seemed so real. In my dream, my husband Darryl and I went to go play miniature golf. I was given a pink ball, but the outer coating of the golf ball was peeling away rendering the ball unusable. When I asked for another ball, the woman at the counter gave me a telephone number and told me I had to call this number to get another one. Reluctantly, I called the number, only to have someone answer the phone, “Hello Zappos- How may I help you?” Obviously I was taken aback, but explained the situation. The woman at Zappos was very helpful,…

• 
  Schaefer's Blog

• Great Books and Wine: Announcing My E-mail Newsletter

  Cameron Schaefer

  16 Nov 2009 | 11:15 pm

  Below is a copy of an e-mail I sent out to several friends and family this weekend announcing the e-mail newsletter I’m creating covering great books and wine. Since I don’t have a lot of your e-mail addresses and I know that I missed a lot of people in my initial round of e-mails, here is my attempt to reach everyone. If you want to receive the quarterly newsletter send an e-mail with “subscribe” somewhere in the body to: cameron.schaefer@gmail.com — Friends, **Total Reading Time: 3-5 min** I hope this note finds you enjoying your Fall, my favorite time of year.

• Friday Video: Nose-High C-17 Takeoff

  Cameron Schaefer

  13 Nov 2009 | 6:38 am

  Haven’t done a Friday video in a while, so here you go: Very Close C-17 Take-off from Goobie55 on Vimeo. Related posts:Friday Video: C-17 Departure in Afghanistan A C-17 taking off from a remote location in Afghanistan.... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

• 10 Steps to Increasing Your Financial Resilience

  Cameron Schaefer

  9 Nov 2009 | 7:00 pm

  Now that the global economy seems to have settled down a bit, most people are rubbing the financial slumber from their eyes and trying to figure out what happened and how to better prepare for the future.  As I’ve thought about the economy and personal finance in the past few months I’ve continually come back to the idea of becoming more financially resilient – basically, becoming better able to withstand and even thrive during future economic downturns. It’s nearly impossible to become completely independent of the world markets, but the following are a few ways to…

• A Response to E-mail Forwards Blasting Obama, Environmentalists, Etc.

  Cameron Schaefer

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pm

  The following is an e-mail written recently by my friend’s dad, a university professor and respected author.  He is not a liberal, in fact he is quite conservative.  After discussing the following with him over pumpkin carving and wine the other night, it became apparent that he wrote this as a response to some of the ridiculous e-mail forwards he had been receiving as of late from his conservative bretheren.  He, like many of us, has been the recipient of numerous emotionally-charged forwards blasting President Obama, librerals, environmentalists and various other groups…

• Matthew Hoh’s Letter of Resignation Regarding Afghanistan

  Cameron Schaefer

  28 Oct 2009 | 10:33 am

  Many have now heard the news of the first U.S. government official resigning his position in protest of our continued presence in Afghanistan.  I was alerted to this development by a fellow officer and blogger, Matt Bader, and was immediately intrigued by the background of this State Department employee. The Washington Post’s Karen DeYoung reported on Tuesday, “When Matthew Hoh joined the Foreign Service early this year, he was exactly the kind of smart civil-military hybrid the administration was looking for to help expand its development efforts in Afghanistan.  A former…

• 
  Project Mojave Blog

• A Man Possessed by Purpose: The “Dirt” on Clay Collins

  Clay

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:42 pm

  Share [Note: This is not a post by me (Clay).  It’s a post by Tracy, who I hired during the last Project Mojave launch.  Just so you know . . . Tracy is the only reason anything ever happens around here.  I hired Tracy because I was working for myself.  And I’m a shitty boss.  So I brought Tracy on (actually, she took me on) because I needed a supervisor.  She’s a damn good one.  Anyway, I take no responsibility for the nonsense below]. Clay asked me if I’d be willing to write for this blog occasionally. I wrote three posts so that he’d have a…

• Friday Freedom (Issue #1): Purpose as Complete Invasion

  Clay

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:56 am

  Share [Note: Every Friday, I'm publishing a new issue of "Friday Freedom" on this blog.  Click here to make sure you get all the updates]. Infinite purpose and intolerable bondage often look the same. At least from the outside. A slave might be compelled by his captors (and the threat of death) to toil for hours each day.  And get nothing in return. And a purpose-filled woman or man may lay down their life, liberty, and "freedom" for their mission . . . in complete devotion, without complaint, and with utter disregard for compensation. A workaholic might be…

• A “Behind-Closed-Doors” Tour (of Project Mojave)

  Clay

  15 Oct 2009 | 10:45 am

  Share Click HERE For More Information Click HERE For More Information

• Project Mojave is NOW Live

  Clay

  13 Oct 2009 | 7:18 pm

  Share Go Here to See What’s Down Hey – this is just a quick reminder to let you know that Project Mojave is NOW OPEN to new members (I just turned the page on a few minutes ago). http://www.projectmojavesite.com/goinside/ Here are the fast action bonuses . . . ***Bonus for The FIRST 100 People Who Enroll in Project Mojave*** The first 100 people who enroll in Project Mojave will get. . . (1) Virtual EBook and Product Cover Creation Software.  Yup . . . the first 100 people get this for free . . . (a $37 value).  (If you have a virtual product, such as an e-book, that…

• Winners of the Project Mojave Contest . . . A Video on What the Hell Project Mojave IS (And a Bunch of Other Stuff)

  Clay

  13 Oct 2009 | 6:59 am

  Share Hey, it’s Clay here, and I’m getting ready to open the doors to Project Mojave today (Tuesday) . . . at 4:30 Eastern (1:30 Pacific). I hope you’re getting ready to KILL it with your freedom business. Anyway, I’ve got lot’s of great stuff in this blog post for you today… like… 1. I’m announcing the winners of the Project Mojave Contest 2. A short video interview by Cody McKibben that explains who the HELL I am and what the heck Project Mojave is fundamentally about (at its core). 3. Lot’s of other cool stuff. But before I get to that, I want…

• 
  Stew Friedman

• Three Reasons Why Bruce is the Best Boss

  Stew Friedman

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:48 am

  Bruce Springsteen — great leader? You might be skeptical, but bear with me as I describe a few practical ideas we can pull from Springsteen's repertoire of the critical "soft skills" that set the memorably high-impact leaders apart from the rest of the pack. Bruce's epic music is a source of inspiration for millions around the world. Like many others, his impact on me has been deeply personal. On a recent night in Philadelphia, listening to Bruce and his E Street Band, I was reminded once again of why the Boss (big B) is not only New Jersey's greatest export and America's rock poet…

• Why The Hurt Locker Hurts

  Stew Friedman

  8 Sep 2009 | 1:45 pm

  The Hurt Locker is a gripping movie — enthusiastically and universally acclaimed — about an elite team of American soldiers in Iraq "who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: disarming bombs in the heat of combat." Time after time we watch the team's new leader, Staff Sergeant William James, arrive at a bomb site and, with gut-wrenching intensity and focus, attempt to untangle and defuse an I.E.D. (improvised explosive device). Totally consumed by his mission, he exposes his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge, to unnecessary dangers and risks, "as if he's…

• How a 2-Minute Story Helps You Lead

  Stew Friedman

  4 Aug 2009 | 12:53 pm

  Leaders gain trust and teach people what's important to them by telling stories. But these days there's so much to attend to — now! — coming at us so fast. You might be tempted to let slide your soft skills, like how to tell a useful story. Just get to the point and move on to the next thing on the list. No time for fluff. Even President Obama, who masterfully demonstrated his storytelling skills in the campaign, was recently described as shuffling from one crucial issue to the next, like an iPod listener flits from song to song. No time for albums. Trying to do too much, too…

• Become a More Creative Leader — Think Small

  Stew Friedman

  15 Jun 2009 | 7:20 am

  What kind of leadership do we need now? This was the question I asked last week at the beginning of a day-long workshop attended by a group of senior-level women at a major technology firm headquartered on the west coast of the US. And I've been asking this question of thousands of other business professionals over the last year or so in similar settings around the country. Just a few days ago, in Puerto Rico, I asked it again at a gathering of business executives and, again I heard pretty much the same thing. By far, the most common responses? Adaptive, flexible, and innovative. Because of…

• The Power of Preventive Assessment

  Stew Friedman

  20 May 2009 | 11:42 am

  I just returned from Toronto where I spent some time in the hands of an amazing corps of health care professionals at Medcan, North America's biggest preventive health clinic. I heard more than one story of how Medcan's preventive assessments saved lives — and enormous medical cost. Medcan's CEO, Shaun Francis, is an alumnus of my Total Leadership course at the Wharton School, which he took in 2003, and he kindly invited me to try the service his firm provides. I was blown away. In less than a day, I underwent a comprehensive set of health assessments — all done with great care,…

• 
  Zen Habits

• The Simple, Ridiculously Useful Guide to Earning a Living from Your Passion

  Leo

  16 Nov 2009 | 6:20 am

  Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. So you’ve followed the Short But Powerful Guide to Finding Your Passion, and have chosen something you’re passionate about. Now you need to make it a career — but are perhaps a bit lost. I have to admit I was there, only a few years ago, and three years later I’ve successfully done it, even if I’m a bit battered from the attempt. It’s not easy — I’ll tell you that up front. If you hope to make a quick buck, or a fast million, you’ll need to find another guide. Probably one with lots of…

• How To Focus On What Truly Matters

  guest

  13 Nov 2009 | 1:32 pm

  Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Sid Savara of Analysis Driven Personal Development. In my life I’ve gone through periods of intense, driven productivity – months where everything fell into place, and my goals almost seemed to accomplish themselves. At the other extreme, there have been times in my life where I was completely overwhelmed, burdened by my different projects and responsibilities – and frustrated because so many of them not only challenged me, but didn’t matter to me. There were days when I asked myself how did I end up here? How did I end up…

• The Short but Powerful Guide to Finding Your Passion

  Leo

  11 Nov 2009 | 1:49 pm

  “The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” - Arnold Toynbee Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. Following your passion can be a tough thing. But figuring out what that passion is can be even more elusive. I’m lucky — I’ve found my passion, and I’m living it. I can testify that it’s the most wonderful thing, to be able to make a living doing what you love. And so, in this little guide, I’d like to help you get started figuring out what you’d love doing. This turns out to be one of the most common…

• The Little Rules of Action

  Leo

  9 Nov 2009 | 6:49 am

  “The shortest answer is doing.” - Lord Herbert Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. Too often we get stuck in inaction — the quagmire of doubt and perfectionism and distractions and planning that stops us from moving forward. And while I’m no proponent of a whirling buzz of activity, I also believe people get lost in the distractions of the world and lose sight of what’s important, and how to actually accomplish their Something Amazing. And so today I’d like to humbly present a few little rules of action — just some small reminders,…

• Low-Stress Ways To Move House and Declutter Your Life

  Leo

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:55 pm

  Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Annabel Candy of Get In the Hot Spot. Did you know that moving house can be one of the most stressful times in your life? It’s right up there with losing your job, divorce or the death of a loved one, as one of the biggest causes of stress. I’ve been there. In 2007 my husband and I sold our house along with most of our belongings and moved from New Zealand to Panama with our three young kids. We ended up spending 18 months in Central America and lived in Costa Rica for over a year during which time we moved house three times. Moving…

• 
  Business Hacks

• New Pogoplug Adds Up to Four Hard Drives to Your Network

  Rick Broida

  20 Nov 2009 | 11:46 am

  Not that there's anything wrong with pink, but does CloudEngines really think women are going to buy a network-attached storage interface for hard drives?

• Top Four iPhone Apps To Watch Video On Your Way to Work

  Dave Johnson

  20 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

  On this lazy Friday morning, I thought I'd recommend four free apps you can use to get video on your own iPhone or iPod Touch.

• Preserve a Web Page as a PDF

  Dave Johnson

  20 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Round these parts, I frequently need to share Web pages with co-workers. Sometimes it's fine just to send a link, but occasionally it's critical to freeze a moment in time. For that, I need to save the page as a PDF.

• What is Chrome OS and Why Should You Care?

  Rick Broida

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:24 pm

  Google officially took the wraps off its Chrome OS today, but you won't see it on a computer near you for some time. Until then, here's a video overview.

• Turn an Extra PC Into a Second Monitor

  Rick Broida

  19 Nov 2009 | 8:05 am

  Got a spare laptop sitting around doing nothing? Turn it into a secondary monitor for your main system and enjoy an easy, inexpensive productivity boost.

• 
  Marc and Angel Hack Life

• The Productive Art of Positive Thinking

  Marc

  15 Nov 2009 | 11:53 pm

  This guest post was written by Nea, author of Self Improvement Saga. A common misconception I’ve heard repeated over and over is that positive thinking depends on one’s ability to “fool the mind” into believing something is better than it actually is.  For those who hold this belief, positive thinking may seem like a bunch of hogwash.  After all, who wants to waste time with self-induced brainwashing? If positive thinking was nothing more than a ploy to pull the wool over your own eyes, I wouldn’t bother.  But it is so much more.  So I want to share some facts about the value of…

• When Fairy Tale Characters Come To Life

  Marc

  8 Nov 2009 | 10:59 pm

  This morning I was writing at my favorite coffee shop when a cute Latin woman with big, bright eyes and rosy cheeks sat down at the table across from me.  She pulled a sketch book out of her backpack and began looking around the room.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her look in my direction, study my posture, smile, and begin sketching. We sat there next to each other for nearly three hours while she sketched and I wrote.  And as I shifted back and forth, engrossed in thought, I felt a bit self-conscious.  Because I could feel her watching me as she practiced her art. But I wasn’t…

• How To Inspire Kids To Save The World

  Marc

  1 Nov 2009 | 10:16 pm

  My buddy Chad, a 9th grade science teacher, called me at 7AM this morning in a bit of a panic.  “Marc,” he said. “I promised my students I’d have a guest speaker here today, but the speaker just canceled on me at the last minute.  I know you love motivating others, so is there any way you could come in this morning and be our substitute speaker?” “What’s the topic?” I asked. “How to save the world,” he replied with a chuckle.  “I’m kidding.  The speaker I had scheduled was from the city waste management counsel.  She was supposed to speak to the kids about the…

• The Art of Forging Your Own Path

  Marc

  25 Oct 2009 | 9:33 pm

  This guest post was written by Diggy, author of Upgrade Reality. No two people are identical, not even identical twins.  Everyone is a one-of-a-kind.  And do you know what a one-of-a-kind is worth?  Priceless!  Yes, this means YOU are priceless. From the day we are born and open our eyes, we start to grow into the person we will ultimately become as a result of the environment we are exposed to and the experiences we endure.  And although our parents and mentors have a large impact on our upbringing, we rarely walk the exact path they had in mind for us. There is only one success:  To…

• The Smartest Choice We Can Make

  Marc

  18 Oct 2009 | 9:34 pm

  The Only Way My cell phone rang just after midnight.  I didn’t answer.  Then it rang again a minute later.  I rolled over, grabbed the phone off the night stand, and squinted at the bright, glowing caller ID screen. “Claire,” it read.  Claire is a close friend – a friend who tragically lost her husband to a car accident six months ago.  And I figured since she rarely calls me in the middle of the night, it was probably important. “Hey, Claire.  Is everything okay?” I asked. “No!” she declared as she burst into tears.  “I need to talk…  I need help…” “I’m…

• 
  Life Evolver

• Write for Life Evolver

  Derek Ralston

  23 Oct 2009 | 11:23 pm

  Life Evolver is currently accepting guest bloggers. It’s a great way to get your name in front of the personal growth community. If you’ve got a great idea for a post and would like to build a little momentum for your own site or blog, then feel free to contact me.

• What’s Wrong with Taking a Nap?

  Derek Ralston

  5 Nov 2008 | 11:47 pm

  In today’s 24-hour technological society, most of us don’t nap at all, and many don’t nap enough. We all need to start napping more- it would make us less crabby and more productive in the long-run. Why don’t we nap? Social stigma / false beliefs: Napping is for lazy people Napping is a waste your day Napping is unproductive In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Napping actually makes us more productive because we wake up feeling refreshed, as if it’s the start of a second day. Famous Nappers During World War II, Winston Churchill would nap at…

• How to Stop Your Thoughts from Stealing the Present Moment

  Derek Ralston

  29 Sep 2008 | 12:23 am

  All we have is the present moment. Too often, we let our thoughts steal the present by thinking about the past or future: As it is, I would say about 80 to 90 percent of most people’s thinking is not only repetitive and useless, but because of its dysfunctional and often negative nature, much of it is also harmful. Observe your mind and you will find this to be true. It causes a serious leakage of vital energy. -Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now Reflect on the most enjoyable moment of your life. Did this moment involve thinking, or were you completely focused on an activity? Chances are,…

• Sustainable Happiness: How to Become Happier and Stay that Way

  Derek Ralston

  24 Sep 2008 | 12:50 am

  We humans adapt quickly to new circumstances. Take the lottery for example- do you think you would become permanently happier if you won it today? Studies have found that recent lottery winners are in fact temporarily happier, but soon after, they adjust and are no happier than others. If we are constantly adapting to positive change in our lives, then how can we sustain an increased level of happiness over the long-term? To answer this question, we must first understand what determines our happiness. There are three major determinants of happiness 1)       Your genetic baseline / range…

• 30 Seconds of Your Time to Make this Blog Better

  Derek Ralston

  22 Sep 2008 | 12:04 am

  Life Evolver launched on July 4th, 2008. Since launch, traffic has quadrupled month-to-month (7,070 unique visitors in July, 29,768 unique visitors in August). Now that Life Evolver has a decent amount of subscribers and return visitors, I’d like to ask you a few questions to make this blog even better. If you support the spirit of this blog and have gained anything from Life Evolver, then I’d really appreciate your taking 30 seconds to complete this quick questionnaire: If you are viewing this post from an RSS reader or e-mail, you will need to click here to see the form below. Which…

• 
  WebWorkerDaily

• Pogoplug Updates: Gets File Sync, Extra USB Ports

  Simon Mackie

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  Pogoplug, a nifty little device that enables you to easily access your files from anywhere via the Web (see my previous post about it here) has been updated, with a second generation of the device being released. As Kevin over at jkOnTheRun reports, as well as sporting a fancier new design, the new version has three additional USB ports, making four in total, which gives you much more leeway to add storage and drives to your “personal cloud.” The product also has some new functionality, including automatic file synchronization for photos, music and movies, and global searching…

• 5 Most Popular Posts on WebWorkerDaily This Week

  Edit Staff

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

  Just in case you missed any of them, here are the five most popular posts on WebWorkerDaily this week: Mockingbird: Build Web Site Mockups Fast Thursday looks at Mockingbird, an easy-to-use wireframing tool. Teach an Old Dog New Tricks: How to Break Bad Work Habits Karen explains how to break bad work habits using the power of your mind. Your Office in the Clouds: The Best Online Virtual Desktops Doriano rounds up the options for virtual online desktops. 6 Tips For Using Google Wave On Your First Project While many of us are still scratching our heads trying to figure out how to fit Wave into…

• Thanks to Our WebWorkerDaily Sponsors!

  Edit Staff

  20 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  We’d like to say thanks to this month’s WebWorkerDaily sponsors: FreshBooks: Look Professional with FreshBooks.

• The Netbook: Six Months Later

  Darrell Etherington

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

  In an effort to curtail my disastrous gadget spending habits, I’ve decided to take a look at devices I’ve purchased with the stated intent of increasing my productivity, to see if intentions and reality reflect each other at all. Today, I’m turning my critical gaze on my netbook, which I picked up just over half a year ago. My particular netbook is the Asus Eee PC 1000HE, but the model doesn’t really matter. It’s a light device with a 10-inch screen, a small keyboard and an all-day eight hour battery. When I bought it, it was freshly released, and was generating…

• WWD Reader Profile: Bia Kunze, Dentist/Mobile Tech Blogger

  Simon Mackie

  20 Nov 2009 | 11:00 am

  WebWorkerDaily readers are a diverse bunch. Every week, I profile a different reader and ask them to share what they do, how they do it, and some of their favorite hints and tips. Who are you and what do you do? For my main job, I am a dentist. No kidding! But in 2001, I got a Palm m100 as a gift. I knew nothing about tech stuff or the web. However, I fell in love with that device, because it helped me a lot in my work. Now, nine years later, here I am: mobile tech-savvy, with the largest blog about mobility in Brazil, a podcast, writing in some magazines, talking on the radio and reviewing…

• 
  Organize IT

• Go Public! Share Your Goals With The World

  James

  19 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  This is a guest post by Jo Walters of 250 Things While I’m 25. On my 25th birthday I decided to spend the whole of the next year coming up with, and doing, 250 random things. I wanted to have some interesting stories to tell, to try new things and force myself to get off my sofa once in a while, so I came up with my silly challenge… Over the next few weeks I created a list which grew as I sent it to friends and family (some of whom were all to eager to suggest some bizarre and potentially embarrassing things!) and I started trying to keep track of everything I was supposed to do…

• Think You’re Lucky? Think Again

  James

  16 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  View original image I try to avoid thinking about luck, and just generally try not to use the word nowadays. To me, it applies some sort of deity granting fortune and fame to one person and misfortune and ill health to another based on some mystical roll of the dice. In other words, it removes all personal responsibility. If something bad happens to you, well, you’re were just unlucky – nothing to learn, no lessons to be taken from the experience. And if you were lucky with something, that detracts from whatever you had done to achieve it. Was Barack Obama lucky to become…

• Organize IT Recap: Scary Research On Multitasking, Inbox Zero Is Overrated And The Getting Things Done President

  James

  12 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  My regular recap of interesting finds from the last few weeks. Inbox Zero. On Twitter I see this term used all the time. For some reason, a lot of people seem to think it equates to the same thing as GTD. Sure, having an empty inbox is important if you want to stay on top of things, but it’s only one of many components in our life. It’s with this in mind, that I particularly enjoyed reading this post over at Productive Flourishing covering several criticisms of Inbox Zero. For those who like to clear out all their emails on a regular basis, what’s your thoughts? How did this…

• Productivity Down! An Emergency Response Guide

  James

  9 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  View original image Emergency! You’ve fallen off the productivity wagon. You’re tired, you’re feeling down, you’re procrastinating, you might even be a little hungover, and you feel like chucking that to-do list in the bin. We’ve all been there, and more often than not when you’ve lost your momentum it’s doubly hard to get it back again. That’s why I’ve created this guide for just such emergencies. It covers five suggestions that I personally use. The key focus is to get that momentum back and get the wagon rolling again and that’s…

• Productivity Tips #15: Focus On That Which Matters Most

  James

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  I think I’ve realized why it’s so easy to succumb to the whole getting things done, do stuff for the sake of it attitude. We all want to achieve Big Things in life. We want to feel like it’s all worth it and that at the end of the day we’ve achieved something with our time. But what happens if you don’t have that in your life? Rather than looking for that sense of achievement through quality, we try and achieve it through quantity – replacing a handful of big achievement with lots of small, often irrelevant things. This doing things for the sake of it…

• 
  Parent Hacks

• links for 2009-11-20

  Asha Dornfest {Parent Hacks}

  20 Nov 2009 | 10:30 am

  Craftzine.com blog : Knifty Knitter Loom-Along: Alice Wrist Warmers We've talked about the coolness of the Knifty Knitter here! Great project for kids. A simple Thanksgiving solution | Unclutterer Erin and I are round-tripping the links! But she expanded on the oilcloth/chalk combo beautifully, and I figure y'all might like to know about it. The backlash against over-parenting - TIME Helicopter parenting has made the cover of Time Magazine.

• Glow stick bracelets as nightlights

  Asha Dornfest {Parent Hacks}

  20 Nov 2009 | 9:41 am

  Richelle's creative night light solution: When my 3 year-old son was afraid of having bad dreams one night, I gave him a couple glow stick bracelets left over from Halloween. They made a great night light for him. I was thinking they would work especially well for traveling or camping, when plugging in a regular night light wouldn't work. Great idea. One word of caution: I'd only do this for older kids who would understand (and heed) directions not to put the bracelet in their mouths.

• Thanksgiving tip: Label the serving pieces

  Asha Dornfest {Parent Hacks}

  20 Nov 2009 | 9:40 am

  Here's a tip I came up with as I was poring through my nifty Thanksgiving Supplies List (available for download at the Parent Toolbox over at Slideshare): label each serving piece with whatever dish you plan to serve. That is, stick a label or Post-It note that reads "mashed potatoes" inside the bowl in which you plan to serve your mashed potatoes. (If you've borrowed the piece from someone, include that person's name on the note.) Not only will you be sure you've got enough serving ware, you can more easily delegate the job of setting up the buffet. If you really want to get serious about…

• Empty pop-up wet wipe containers make good car tissue holders

  Asha Dornfest {Parent Hacks}

  20 Nov 2009 | 5:46 am

  Tracy has submitted countless hacks over the years, and they're always so simple...yet smart. Tracy: I anoint you with the Parent Hacks Forehead Smack of Brilliance! We have a couple of those flushable wet wipe containers from when my kids were toilet training. We fill them up with tissues and put them in the car. They're smaller, so they take up less room and much sturdier than a tissue box. If you happen to buy just the right kind of Kleenex and place them in there just so, you can actually use the pop top on the container, as the tissues will come right out, one after another like…

• Thanksgiving tip: Cut up the turkey before roasting to cut cooking time

  Asha Dornfest {Parent Hacks}

  19 Nov 2009 | 9:37 am

  If you're not attached to the Norman Rockwell-eque image of a big, dressed turkey coming out on a platter, follow Amy's advice: To cook the turkey faster, chop it up. Separate the wings, thighs, legs, breasts, etc. because a breast or thigh cooks much faster than a whole freaking turkey. This way, instead of getting up at 4am to start the turkey you can pop it in the oven an hour or two before you are gonna sit down to eat, depending on how big your bird is. Related: More Thanksgiving tips!

• 
  The Happiness Project

• Try Fun, Quick Exercises to Boost Your Creativity.

  GretchenRubin

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:20 pm

  I’m working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone’s project will look different, but it’s the rare person who can’t benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump in right now. Each Friday’s post will help you think about your own happiness project. One of my favorite resolutions, because it’s so much fun to keep, is Read at whim. Instead of trying to be very targeted about my reading, as I once tried to be, I let myself read whatever I want to read. The other day, at coffee with my blogpals Caren and Leah from the great site, Drinking Diaries, Leah…

• In Which I Get Teary Reading My Own Book.

  GretchenRubin

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:56 am

  This week, I finished the audiobook for The Happiness Project. As I’d expected, it made me very happy to learn to do something new and to get a glimpse into the unfamiliar world of sound recording. It was also thrilling to learn that none other than Jim Dale had sat in the very same seat that I was using, when he was recording Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It took him three weeks! And they had top, top security. What surprised me most about the recording process was how emotional I became while reading certain parts of the book. I literally choked up and had to take a drink of water…

• Fifteen Tips to Avoid Nagging.

  GretchenRubin

  18 Nov 2009 | 11:47 am

  Every Wednesday is Tip Day. This Wednesday: Back by popular demand...fifteen tips to avoid nagging. I've posted this list before, but I'm posting it again, because the issue of nagging is something that people raise with me frequently in discussions of happiness. It turns out that being a nag is just as unpleasant as being nagged -- so figuring out how to end nagging brings a real happiness boost to a relationship. But even though no one enjoys an atmosphere of nagging, in marriage, or any partnership, chores are a huge source of conflict. How do you get your sweetheart to hold up his or her…

• "Learn New Skills, Ask Questions, Practice Yoga--and Only Travel Carry-On."

  GretchenRubin

  17 Nov 2009 | 11:52 am

  From time to time, I post short interviews with interesting people about their insights on happiness. During my study of happiness, I’ve noticed that I often learn more from one person’s highly idiosyncratic experiences than I do from sources that detail universal principles or cite up-to-date studies. I’m much more likely to be convinced to try a piece of advice urged by a specific person who tells me that it worked for him or her, than by any other kind of argument. Sometimes, in ways that I don’t really understand, I begin to overlap with people in blogland, to the point that I…

• Some Counter-Intuitive Facts about Loneliness.

  GretchenRubin

  16 Nov 2009 | 11:05 am

  Sometimes people ask, “If you had to pick just one thing, what would be the one secret to a happy life?” The answer is clear: strong bonds with other people. If I had to pick one thing, that’s it. The wisdom of the ages and the current scientific studies agree on this point. On that subject, I just finished a fascinating book by John Cacioppo and William Patrick, Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection. The book underscores the conclusion that few things will challenge your happiness more than loneliness. Without thinking it through, I’d assumed that being lonely…

• 
  Everlasting Designs

• Healthy Halloween: Green Tips, Tricks and Treats

  Everlasting Designs

  27 Oct 2009 | 7:39 am

  Halloween treats don't have to be scary. Try these fun, not-so-creepy alternatives to mounds of sugar-laden confections. While some of these options may be more expensive than that 20lb bag of high-fructose kiddie-crack and your house may be TP'd later, you can rest easy knowing you've tried to keep Halloween fun and reasonably nutritious.Cheese and cracker packagesSugar-free gumJuice box packagesSmall packages of nuts or raisinsPackage of instant cocoa mixPopcorn ballsMini packages of microwave popcornPretzelsBubbles in a bottleColoring booksStickersGel pensHalloween pencilsSingle-serving…

• 17 Free Tunes: Austin City Limits Festival Sampler

  Everlasting Designs

  12 Oct 2009 | 7:25 am

  We're always up for trying out new music and free is good. You must have iTunes installed in order to use this freebie but that's free also so why not take advantage of this deal. You may recognize some of these or may discover a new favorite.To download your free content on iTunes:1. Download iTunes for Mac or Windows, free of charge at http://www.itunes.com/ .2. Open iTunes and click iTunes Store.3. Click Redeem under Quick Links (right side of screen).4. Enter code 6EYA46R4AAR3 Your download will start immediately. BASSNECTAR – Art of RevolutionBLACK JOE LEWIS & THE HONEYBEARS –…

• Free "Path to Your Dreams" eBook

  Everlasting Designs

  6 Oct 2009 | 1:36 pm

  We know it's all about finding your path. Follow along with author Mark Maxey in this self-paced question oriented guide to help you as an artist determine your goals, direction and your voice.While the authors path takes him into the music industry, all of the concepts and ideas are tranferable to your chosen goals and ambitions.From the Author:Many artists can find it hard knowing how to make their dreams come true . Personally I have no problem dreaming about what I want, the tough part is charting a path towards that goal.This workbook is a step by step process to help you write down your…

• Free PDF downloads of college-level textbooks

  Everlasting Designs

  5 Oct 2009 | 7:42 am

  Heres a freebie for the bibliophile in you. I know I can't get enough free reads. Orange Grove Texts Plus, an imprint of University Press of Florida, offers free PDF downloads of its college-level textbooks. These open access textbooks are available with nonrestrictive licenses to download or print.Titles ranged from the esoteric to the scientific. Try your hand at some of these:Handbook of Independent JournalismWomen of InfluenceNeurologic DisordersDestiny Unfulfilled: A Critique of The Harry Potter SeriesIntroduction to Physical OceanographyAvailable subjects include music, mathematics,…

• Rhythm, Strings, and Cool Breezy Jazz Sampler MP3 Album Free

  Everlasting Designs

  23 Sep 2009 | 6:11 am

  Who doesn't love Billie Holiday and Ella?The Amazon MP3 Store offers downloads of the Verve Vault's Rhythm, Strings and Cool Breezy Jazz Sampler for free. It includes seven DRM-free tracks from artist such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Astrud Gilberto, and more. Amazon MP3 Downloader is required but you can uninstall once completed.1. Bewitched, Bothered, And BewilderedElla Fitzgerald 7:032. Once I LovedAstrud Gilberto 2:113. I Wished On The MoonBillie Holiday 3:264. DesafinadoAntonio Carlos Jobim 2:445. LovermanCharlie Parker Quintet 3:226. Lullaby Of BirdlandSarah Vaughan 4:007. What…

• 
  Mind Hacks

• Cold asylum

  vaughan

  20 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  New Scientist has a gallery of striking photos taken from Christopher Payne's book that details his photographic tour of abandoned asylums in the US. In both the UK and the US, and, I suspect, in many other countries, there are numerous unused decaying mental asylums that have become obsolete as 'care in the community' has become the flag under which mental health services have been reformed or ignored. The NewSci gallery captures the faded grandeur of some of these impressive buildings and has photographs of the devices and technology from a psychiatry of a bygone era. As we discussed…

• Feliz Día Nacional del Psicólogo en Colombia

  vaughan

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  Colombia has an official Day of the Psychologist and you might be forgiven for thinking that it's a self-declared promotional event by the psychology association here, but it isn't, the day is established by law. Article 92 of Law 1090 establishes 20th November as the official celebration. Psychology departments around the country usually celebrate the day with conferences and parties. I was kindly invited to give a talk on the 'Neuropsicología de Alucinaciones' at the four day conference (wow) at the University of Antioquia, so many thanks to everyone who attended. Later on, there is a free…

• 2009-11-20 Spike activity

  vaughan

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:

• Time-space fusion

  vaughan

  19 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  Neurophilosophy has an excellent piece on 'time-space' synaesthesia where affected individuals experience units of time - such as hours, days, or months - as occupying specific locations in space relative to their own body. The image on the right is taken from a BBC News article on time-space synaesthesia and was drawn by one lady to illustrate how days of the week appear to her. However, Neurophilosophy piece covers two new studies, one on a person with synaesthesia who experiences months in the space around her body in the form of a '7' shape: Michelle Jarick of the Synaesthesia Research…

• Selecting for kuru resistant cannibals

  vaughan

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  New Scientist reports on a new study on how a gene that gives protection against the deadly brain disease kuru became more common in people exposed to the condition through their cannibalistic tradition of eating the bodies of dead relatives. Kuru is a prion disease, meaning the damage is caused by a poorly arranged or folded protein molecule which can trigger the same damaging changes in other proteins it comes into contact with. The condition is related to what we know as 'mad cow disease' and causes a distinctive form of shaking, brain degeneration and eventually leads to death. It was…

• 
  LessonInLife.Com

• How To Say NO To Abusers At Work

  banji

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:20 pm

  Summary – How to say NO to abusers Very recently I have received an email asking a very interesting question. First of all, I would like to thank the sender, Pankaj, who had taken the time and sent me the email. It is always a pleasure getting to know my reader. The following is the email Pankaj sent me. “I want to know how exactly to say NO to people. My work is almost always overloaded, but even so, when other people come to me asking for help with his work, I can never say no. I always try to help others but in this way I am always taken negative.” Well Pankaj, this is…

• Basic Trick To Success You May Not Know

  banji

  19 Oct 2009 | 3:54 am

  Summary – Success definition I talked to one of my colleague this morning. To make things easier, let’s call him Peter. Peter is an acting manager to an estate here but he’s going to retire next year. I actually asked him whether he will apply for extension and maybe then he will be confirmed as a manager. He simply answered “No, I don’t need the “Manager” title to become successful. I am already successful by my own definition.” That simple sentence had left me speechless (For a few seconds of course). I then continued to ask him what he meant…

• Pay Yourself First Without The Money

  banji

  12 Oct 2009 | 3:18 am

  If you are into financial management, I bet all my money that you have heard of the concept “Pay Yourself First”. Rest assured this post is not about finance. Basically, the idea is to allocate a portion of your paycheck to be saved elsewhere before you even settle your pay-or-die bills. The concept is created simply because saving if not forced, is an impossible thing to do. I know it is kind of harsh, but it is the truth. You can see the proof from my bank account (which of course I will not disclose here). Forget about my bank account. Just look at yours. Did you manage to save…

• 10 Simple Ways To Backup Your Life

  banji

  28 Jul 2009 | 8:01 am

  Summary – Sometimes redundancy is a bliss It was the year 2001. I was doing my internship at the time with a petrochemical company. I remember this year very fondly because this is the year I make one of the biggest mistake in my life. Please bear with me as I explain some details about the mistakes. You see, being a student, my computer was my life. I had files about everything saved in my PC. This includes notes, assignments, projects, personal pictures, diaries etc. In short, the last 5 years of my life were well documented in that PC. One fine day, I mistakenly formatted the PC and…

• How To Use Emotion & Solve Problem Effectively

  banji

  21 Jul 2009 | 4:20 am

  Summary – Use emotion The following story is one of the many interesting stories published on the net. The Story Once there was a school with quite a unique problem. The girls at the school were beginning to use lipstick and like everyone else who just started a thing, there were lipstick prints all over the mirrors of the school bathroom. This however was a problem to the janitor since he would have to clean the mirror every single day. One day he reported the problem to the school principal and she immediately called up all the students to the bathroom (of course in groups). She then…

• 
  Sally Walker

• YouTube offers full length TV shows in new YouTube Show Channel

  YouTube has teamed up with Channel 4 to offer full length TV shows hosted on through the huge video network.  New content will be added by Channel 4 and other new  partnerships such as BBC Worldwide, Turner Broadcasting, ITN, Classic Media, FremantleMedia, North One and Al Jazeera. YouTube viewers are already ...

• Internet & Social Media Marketer ordered to pay Facebook over $700mil

  [caption id="attachment_1023" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Facebook"][/caption] Facebook said Thursday a California court has awarded the social networking Web site $711 million in damages in an anti-spam case against Internet marketer Sanford Wallace. Facebook sued Wallace for accessing users' accounts without their permission and sending phony posts and messages. The company said on ...

• Billing Revolution Uses PayPal For Mobile Phone Payments

  [caption id="attachment_1025" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="PayPal"][/caption] Billing Revolution, a mobile payments company, today announced its status as a Mobile Commerce Partner with PayPal, enabling PayPal merchants to immediately begin conducting mobile credit card ...

• Embed Real Time Twitter Streams & Twitter Polls Into PowerPoint Presentations

  [caption id="attachment_946" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="PowerPoint Twitter Tools"][/caption] Ever presented a conference or business event and wanted to show your audience exactly what people are saying about an idea, event, brand, product or even you?  Well look no further as for those who use PowerPoint for presentations, there is a new nifty ...

• Mplayit Teams Up With Player X To Launch New Game Service Via O2 UK

  [caption id="attachment_941" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Mplayit"][/caption] Mplayit (formerly Mpowerplayer), being the leading provider of online mobile game discovery and merchandising, announced yesterday that it was to team up with Player X to power online games distribution with O2. In September 2008, Player X launches it's mobile service on the O2 network, presenting a ...

• 
  Through The Illusion

• The Power of Negativity

  Hayden Tompkins

  18 Nov 2009 | 11:51 am

  I was still in contact with my father when I first went away to university.  I’m not sure why but I think it was rooted in a sense of familial duty. Because even after everything he had done, he was still my father. And I loved him. It wasn’t until further into my freshman year that I finally cut off contact.  (Until that point, I spoke with him every couple of weeks.) One day, as he was in the middle of a they’ve-done-me-wrong-monologue I realized that I simply couldn’t remember anything positive.  Every conversation was a merry-go-round of health complaints, work…

• Marriage on The Brink

  Hayden Tompkins

  16 Nov 2009 | 11:38 am

  FYI, this is a totally personal post and not really related to self-improvement or personal development in general.  If you are looking for tips on dealing with a marriage on the brink, may I suggest Simple Marriage. For those of you who don’t know, last June Chris and I picked up and relocated to 10 miles outside of Jackson, Tennessee.  Why?  His mother was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer and given 8 months to live. There is a connection between Chris and his mother, a deep well of love and respect and something else I can’t quite place my finger on…something…

• Rock the Universe!

  Hayden Tompkins

  12 Nov 2009 | 9:44 pm

• C is for Cookie!

  Hayden Tompkins

  12 Nov 2009 | 8:03 am

  Actually “C” is for Monsterbling! I know it sounds funny, but I’m totally serious because Monsterbling is  a contest with a capital “C”. …and the “C” stands for creativity! Katie, of the jewelry-tastic Vaka Design, has decided to give away a hand crafted Roman Sapphire Pendant to the winner of the Monsterbling contest. …because she’s either crazy or the most amazing person ever! Sapphire.  Gold.  In other words, bling.  And all you have to do is submit an image of a monster by November 15! She’ll announce the winner on…

• How to Get Your Move On!

  Hayden Tompkins

  11 Nov 2009 | 9:48 am

  Compared to the average person, I’ve lived in a lot of places. Austin, TX San Antonio, TX Daytona Beach, FL Deland, FL Miami, FL Gainesville, FL Orlando, FL Raleigh, NC Jackson, TN Also, compared to the average person, I want to live in a lot more places! There’s a lot of Florida and Texas on that list but I’d like a little more international on there too!  Chris and I like Toronto, Munich, London, Zurich, Antwerp, and we are investigating Australia and New Zealand, as well as places in Central America. Plus we have our eyes on a lot more American cities. New York City, NY…

• 
  Robert Walker Online

• Society Needs to Adapt

  Robert Walker

  17 Nov 2009 | 9:52 am

  Perhaps one of the main purposes of “society” is (or, I should say, should be) to facilitate people learning/developing self-control and personal responsibility. The governments that rule societies have failed because they think they are the point. They fail because they do not realize that it is their ultimate job to lead, not control; that their proper function and purpose is to see that society fulfills its true purpose: to help its citizens learn how to no longer need society as a parent or other controlling authority figure. It is not that society itself is bad, it is rather…

• Shame

  Robert Walker

  11 Nov 2009 | 12:34 pm

  Why do we live under the assumption that we need shame, and the threat of shame, from without or within, in order to treat each other well? Why do we need shame? What real purpose does it serve, other than to control and manipulate? Very young children, when they are happy, seem to be in touch with a true happiness that most adults have lost. Who can deny this, who has spent a few hours with a child? They also seem to know no shame. They have no concept of it. They’ll run around naked without a care in the world. Why do we so devalue the potential wisdom to be gained from a more…

• Immunity to Logic

  Robert Walker

  3 Nov 2009 | 11:44 am

  I disagree with William James when he says that we need to look to those of our inner desires that logic cannot sway for our understanding of right and truth. It’s the word “desires” that I object to here. . . . I am [also] suspicious of anything that claims authority in its supposed immunity to logic. That strikes me not only as inherently suspect, but as religious, as one of the very problems I see with religion. I am suspicious of any idea that someone claims is not subject to logic; especially ideas that are used for subsequent ideological systems and authorities, which…

• Is it the duty of the strong to help the weak?

  Robert Walker

  27 Oct 2009 | 9:47 am

  One of the questions that Darwinian evolution, as well as Spencer’s and Nietzsche’s philosophies, brings up is whether the weak should be helped and coddled, or left to their own devices. Why should the strong spend their time helping the weak rather than spending that time moving forward in their own lives, using that time and energy to go further than those who are weaker and more ignorant can go? Why is it wrong for those who are further along to try to keep moving further? Especially if that is who they really are, especially when the weak are generally not interested in…

• What is Religion?

  Robert Walker

  20 Oct 2009 | 8:39 am

  What is religion but a way of grappling with the unknown? Of being able to somehow express, be a part of, that strange spirituality, that strange “something more” that we humans feel about life? It is not necessarily a way, like science, to try to know the unknown, but to accept its power, resign oneself to a place in the scheme of life, a scheme that we don’t understand, and yet feel ourselves to be part of. It is both a burying of one’s own head in the sand and the problematic notion of a leap of faith. And thus, as it is a way of reconciling with the unknown,…

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  Alex Shalman.com

• Stop Talking & Start Doing

  Alex Shalman

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:24 am

  This is a guest post by Alex Fayle of SomedaySyndrome. In one of my favorite fantasy books, Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede, the main character Cimorene finds herself about to be married off to a Prince she can’t stand. Eventually she finds herself in a conversation with a talking frog who asks her what she is going to do about the situation. Cimorene tells him about all the people she’s talked to and complained to. He replies with: “I didn’t ask you what you’d said about it. I asked what you’re going to do. Nine times out of ten, talking is a way…

• Building Self-Esteem (or, Why Are You Worth Feeding?)

  Alex Shalman

  21 Oct 2009 | 3:00 am

  Self-esteem is NOT what you think. It’s not really the ‘I feel good about myself’ emotion. If you would have asked me a year ago, I wouldn’t have guessed that such interesting topics would be taught in dental school, but here I am learning about them. My favorite class in school right now is Dentist-Patient-Relationship. Here we learn about the interactions we will encounter, and the kind of mental maneuvering we have to do in order to deliver optimal treatment and prevent the patient from standing in the way of their oral health. One way to do this is the concept of…

• Busyness is Laziness: 17 Strategies to Kill Busy Work

  Alex Shalman

  19 Oct 2009 | 3:00 am

  This is a guest post by David Turnbull. Being busy is considered the opposite of laziness. It’s not. Laziness is likened to sloth-like activity, performing tasks slowly and begrudgingly. And that’s no different from busy work which fills most our lives. We do things because we’re too lazy not to do them. Never ending busyness means you are too lazy to: Set priorities. When you really know what needs to get done you do it much faster than when you’re mind is scattered and unfocused. Get out a piece of paper and answer this question “What is the #1 task I should…

• The Art of Overkill

  Alex Shalman

  17 Oct 2009 | 3:00 am

  I strongly believe that how you do one thing is how you do everything. The amount of effort you put into one area of your life, and your attention to detail, is likely consistent with how you execute all of your undertakings. It’s the beat to your internal drum –  your philosophy. At first, while studying for the Dental Tooth-Anatomy Midterm, I was trying to figure out what questions the teacher was most likely to ask. With this outlook, I was looking through the material that was presented, and trying to rank it in order of importance. I happened to be in the library, and as I…

• Your Productivity Prescription

  Alex Shalman

  15 Oct 2009 | 3:00 am

  This is a guest post by Haider Al-Mosawi Productivity is a hot topic in personal growth literature. But with all the resources and tips out there, we don’t seem to be getting more productive. In fact, we’re spending too much time trying to digest productivity resources that we could’ve spent actually being productive! The productivity tips we read can have short-term effects, but we tend to return to our old, unproductive routines. This leads us to consider the following conclusions: There’s something wrong with us: We don’t have the productivity gene some people…

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  The Cranking Widgets Blog

• LINK: The Making of a Successful Entrepreneur – BusinessWeek

  Andy Parkinson

  17 Nov 2009 | 5:04 pm

  While I’m on the topic of what makes a successful entrepreneur, I bring you a slide show with the results of an interesting study on the subject, though from a different angle. There are two quotes related to finance that I find interesting. First: Entrepreneurs believe financing is important, but many find ways around relying on large equity investments. Those who receive venture capital value it more than those who don’t. This is obvious but interesting none the less. Why would those who can build a business without giving away the farm see any upside in doing so if they…

• It’s Official: Entrepreneurs Have Better Personalities than Managers

  Andy Parkinson

  16 Nov 2009 | 5:39 am

  Developing the Innate Index got me wondering if there was a link between personality and success as an entrepreneur. My business partner is a behavioral Psychologist who has spent a few decades coaching executives and entrepreneurs, so naturally I asked him about it. As it turns out there is actually a lot of research! Here’s a summary he wrote up for me that compares entrepreneurs to managers: Recent research in the field of psychology suggests that personality has a great deal to do with being a successful entrepreneur.  In a recent study published in the highly regarded Journal of…

• LINK: What Entrepreneurship Is and Isn’t

  Andy Parkinson

  12 Nov 2009 | 6:19 am

  The other day I was reading through the Art of Non-Conformity’s archives and I found a post that Chris wrote in the very beginning. I found myself nodding my head quite a bit as I read it. My favorite part is: True entrepreneurship involves the creation of processes, not just the creation of work. If you’ve created a project that requires continual inputs from you and relies on your own work to keep all the plates in the air, congratulations! You have just built a job for yourself. Yes, you have built a job, and maybe even a better job than most people have—but it’s a job, not a…

• LINK: 11 Rules for Moguls in Training | Jonathan Fields

  Andy Parkinson

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:01 am

  Jonathan Fields, Career Renegade Extraordinaire, posted a little gem the other day. He literally saves you from reading thousands of books. I probably haven’t read quite as much as he has, but I can vouch for these none-the-less… Over the last dozen years, I’ve devoured thousands of books on business, leadership, success and lifestyles and learned a ton through my own experience as an entrepreneur and marketing hired-gun. In an effort to shortcut the knowledge acquisition process, I offer these 11 rules for Moguls In Training or MITs: 1. On Leadership: Give a damn 2. On Product…

• Theme Change #2: Productivity for Entrepreneurs

  Andy Parkinson

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:33 am

  The focus of The Cranking Widgets Blog will have much more of an entrepreneurial bent going forward. I collect companies and business ideas like many productivity lovers collect pens and notebooks. Entrepreneurship is in every fiber of my being. My record is far from spotless, but if I judge my performance against the statistics I’ve beat the odds when it comes building businesses. Productivity’s Role in Entrepreneurship Overall my successes and my failures have given me interesting lessons on how to start a business from nothing and bootstrap it to profitability. In a…

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  Scott H Young

• What if You Have More Than One Passion?

  Scott Young

  18 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  Leonardo DaVinci If you have many different passions, pursue all of them. Recently, I’ve had a couple emails from readers explaining that their problem is simply having too many passions. Far from being members of the apathetic masses, these people seem to have difficulty focusing because there are simply so many things to be interested about. I know I may incite a lot of disagreement for saying this: but I believe that it’s completely okay to have multiple passions and to pursue all of them. The Comeback of the Renaissance Man (or Woman) I believe today is a great time to be a…

• Why Most People Give Up and Fail

  Scott Young

  16 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  Simple answer: because success almost always takes longer than you think. Sure, there are exceptions (and they tend to be overhyped by greedy marketers). However, I’ve noticed human beings tend to make two types of errors: They are overly optimistic with their timing They are overly pessimistic with their ambitions The first error results in people giving up on their goals way too early. The second error results in people not setting goals at all. Success Takes Longer Than You Think How much time does it take to make exercise a habit? For me, it took 3 failed 30 Day Trials before the fourth…

• Friday Links

  Scott Young

  13 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  From the Web Gary Vaynerchunk – Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion: The best part is in the last minute when a reader asks Gary how to find time to do what you love. Gary’s response: “You work your 9-5, go home, spend 2 hours with the family and then crush it from 7-2. Everyone has time, just stop watching fucking Lost.“ From the Archives The Goal of Learning Everything – “Even learning a small fraction of everything can have huge benefits that ripple outwards towards every other area of life. Unfortunately, most people fall into a group I’ll…

• The Joy of Cooking Meals From Scratch

  Scott Young

  12 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  I’m definitely not a chef. In fact, only six months ago, I would probably have been the last person to write an article like this. I prided myself on my ability to warm canned food. Pasta or the occasional stir-fry were the peak of my cooking ability. Yet, in the last few months, I’ve made a complete shift in my cooking habits. More precisely, my habits now involve actual cooking. In just the last week I’ve made gnocchi from scratch, pasta sauces using fresh tomatoes, homemade soup and even hummus without a blender. Considering my former resistance to cooking, I thought I’d share how…

• How to Get More From Life – Free EBook

  Scott Young

  9 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

  In the nearly four years I’ve been writing for this website, I’ve written close to 800 articles, 4 books and other bits and pieces. That’s a little under one million words of text if you add it all up. Given the volume of ideas, spread over years of writing, one of my biggest challenges has been putting it all together. How do all these different ideas on wide ranging topics connect? It’s hard for new readers, who often haven’t read the huge archives, to put everything together. It’s also hard for experienced readers, because my strategy for life is…

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  LifeDev

• The High Seas Showed Me How Pitifully Unproductive I Am

  glen

  20 Nov 2009 | 7:42 am

  Photo by zanzibar This is the first in a series of posts that showcase things I’ve learned during my recent honeymoon travels. My new wife and I decided to go on a Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon, and with the help of the most knowledgeable traveler I know, we booked an amazing week-long cruise. Lynn made me promise to leave my laptop at home, and we decided both of our phones were going to remain off for the entire trip. (Little did we know that it costs a ton to have wifi connection and even phone service on a cruise.) We wanted to spend time with each other, without worrying about…

• Lessons Learned in 4 Different Countries and the High Seas

  glen

  10 Nov 2009 | 7:36 am

  So, I’ve been going through some incredible life changes lately. A few weeks back I got married and went on a honeymoon cruise. Last week both my new bride and I started brand new jobs. On top of everything, my wife has been moving into my already “cozy” apartment. It’s a odd/surreal/incredible time right now. While my wife and I were cruising around the Caribbean, I was forced to leave my computer at home. In hindsight, it was probably the best decision that I could have made. I typically use my laptop at least 8 hours a day, and not having it with me gave me a fresh…

• What U2 Can Teach You About Being Timeless

  glen

  28 Oct 2009 | 5:18 am

  Photo by Matt McGee I was fortunate to catch a U2 show last weekend in Oklahoma. The tickets were a present from a groomsmen for my wedding. Aside from my love for the amazing band, it still never ceases to amaze me how timeless they’ve made themselves. Over the past 30+ years, U2 has created a monster brand. And they’ve been incredibly successful; one of the most successful bands of all time. They’ve created over 12 studio albums sold over 145 million records been named one of the greatest 100 greatest acts of all time by Rolling Stone been inducted into the Rock and Roll…

• So… I’m Getting Married.

  glen

  22 Oct 2009 | 1:23 pm

  This Saturday I’ll be getting married to the most amazing woman in the world. In case you can’t tell, I’m really excited :) After the wedding on Saturday we’ll shove off from Miami for a week-long Caribbean cruise. We’ll be posting pictures on our site from the cruise. So, next week I’ll be publishing posts in advance, so you won’t be getting any followup comments from yours truly. Don’t let that stop the discussion though. I’ll be weighing in when I get back. Thanks again everyone. Here’s to writing the next chapter!

• How to Create Your Own Killer Platform (Without Relying on Twitter)

  glen

  21 Oct 2009 | 9:46 am

  Susan NYC How much time do you spend on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites? It’s estimated that Robert Scoble spent over 2,555 hours on Friendfeed and Twitter in 2008, which is way more than a normal full-time job (2,000 hours). Photo by Thomas Hawk Robert has essentially worked a full-time job with overtime for these two companies, pro bono. And don’t kid yourself into thinking that he’s the only one either. But here’s the kicker: people like Mr. Scoble spend a lot unhealthy amounts of time building up profiles on sites they don’t even own.

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  A Life Coach's Blog

• A Free Lunch – No Catches

  Tim Brownson

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:28 pm

  When we launched How To Be Rich and Happy we were using my old database that contained people that had either bought or downloaded one of my 3 previous books. It was all getting a bit messy and I reluctantly had to stop selling ‘Don’t Ask Stupid Questions – There Are No Stupid Questions’ to avoid an Enron like accounting mess. Amazon have been selling the hardback and Kindle version, but the ebook has since just sat there gathering virtual dust (If you click here you can see it has 5 reviews and all gave it 5 out of 5 and none of them are family members). When I turned on my Mac…

• Are First Impressions Important?

  Tim Brownson

  16 Nov 2009 | 1:40 pm

  Do me a huge favor will you please? This post really wont work if you don’t go and read this review of How To Be Rich and Happy first. Go on, humor me it’ll only take a couple of minutes, but please do NOT read the comments before you pop back here to finish this post. This is not a pathetic attempt to get you to read about my book because if it were, I’d send you to a review that was a bit more gushing and there are plenty of them (he says in a smug voice). So off you go to read it and I’ll be waiting for when you get back. Ok, so I’m trusting you’ve read it. If you haven’t…

• What Is The Sedona Method?

  Tim Brownson

  12 Nov 2009 | 2:24 pm

  As a Life Coach I am always intrigued by any tools and techniques that may help me with clients. I don’t think I can ever have too much training and I’m happy to consider anything that people rave over that doesn’t involve naked dancing round log fires and howling at the moon. I’ve done additional training in hypnotherapy, NLP, Time Line Therapy and was even booked on an EFT course until they shut it down blaming it on the recession. Couldn’t they have tapped the recession away? Probably THE training I would most like to do the most if money were no issue would be The Sedona Method.

• What’s Your Big Picture?

  Tim Brownson

  9 Nov 2009 | 4:01 pm

  I have lots of free money to give away, would you like some? Yeh, of course you would, it’s a no brainer, who doesn’t like free money, but how much do you want? $10 million, $50 million, $100 million maybe? Or perhaps you don’t want to appear greedy and you’re prepared to settle for a couple of million, just to keep the wolf and the IRS from the door. There is however, one small catch to this magnanimous offer. I want to know what you want the money for and if you can’t tell me to my total and complete satisfaction, the deal is off. Maybe you’d confidently inform me it’s to pay…

• How To Quit Smoking

  Tim Brownson

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:09 pm

  Before I kick off let me ask for a favor if I may be so bold. If you know somebody that wants to quit smoking or you think would quit with the right help, send them this post or a link to this post. There really is no need for anybody that wants to quit not to be able in this day and age. I got an e-mail from somebody that reads The Discomfort Zone recently asking about advice on quitting smoking. I have touched on the subject once or twice in the past, but never in any great detail and not for some while. I think the reason primarily is because not only is it not something I do these days…

• 
  Pick The Brain

• 6 Types of Time: Which Are You Missing?

  Ali Hale

  20 Nov 2009 | 11:08 am

  Image Courtesy of Jimheid/Flickr I spent last weekend on retreat, taking 48 hours out of my life to get away to a secluded countryside retreat center where I could have a chance to rest, relax and reflect. This opportunity made me think about what types of time we have in our lives: all hours are not necessarily equal, and time management advice doesn’t always address this. These are six key types of time which we need: Creative and productive Physically energetic and active Playful and entertaining Learning and developing Reflective and spiritual Restful and relaxing Do you have a gut…

• 8 Reasons We Don’t Do Things We Should and How To Break the Mould

  David Turnbull

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:29 am

  Our lives are full of things we “should” do but for a range of reasons we don’t do them. Whatever it is – exercise, healthy eating, saving money – most of the time we choose to take the easier road, the road well traveled. While I’m certainly not immune to this, there are plenty of things I don’t do that I know I should, I feel that understand the why is the first step to making real progress. 1. Being Comfortable (and Lack of a Burning Desire) It all starts with how we feel about our life. How we feel greatly affects our motivations. Most people are…

• Breaking Free From the Pattern Trap

  Rande Howell

  17 Nov 2009 | 9:16 am

  Image Courtesy of Vogue Jill Gets Ambushed, Again The knot condensed like a heavy weight in Jill’s stomach. Suddenly gasping for air, she recognized she had been here before. Yet again, just when she thought she had finally put it all together, something had sabotaged the fulfilling life that she dreamed about. “Not again,” she announced silently as she looked forlornly at her scales, “I can’t believe I’ve gained the weight back.” Jill could feel the power to change her life slipping through her fingers – it had not been the first time. Taking responsibility for her life and…

• The 5 Signs Your Diet Plan Will Last

  Mr.SelfDevelopment

  16 Nov 2009 | 9:24 am

  If you’re ever going to achieve your ideal weight, you’re going to have to develop a diet plan that you can do “forever.” Of course, people often get excited when they first start a new diet plan, but this excitement often wanes within a few weeks. They say “success leaves clues;” people who consistently follow their diet plan have several things in common. I’ve written this article as a way to identify the signs of a good diet plan. If these signs are not present in your current diet, you may want to make some adjustments to your plan. Here are the 5 Signs That Your Diet Plan…

• 4 Ways to REALLY Make Time Work For You

  Ali Hale

  12 Nov 2009 | 8:56 am

  I’ll bet you’ve got a number of started or almost-started projects that you’d love to do. Perhaps you dream of starting your own business, writing a novel, learning a foreign language, or taking a qualification. Or maybe you want to get the attic cleared out, organise your files, or repaint the hallway. It could even be that you know you need to take the time to exercise, meditate or journal … but you never get around to it. The problem is, your life is already full, and you end up busy with all the day-to-day things, unable to find time for what you really want to do. Here are…

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  Life Optimizer

• Anthony de Mello on How to Find Happiness

  Donald Latumahina

  20 Nov 2009 | 8:18 am

  Note: This is a guest post from Mark Harrison of Thirty Days to Change Your Life Many years ago, I came across a book by Anthony de Mello called Awareness. De Mello was an Indian Jesuit priest whose writing was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church. To me, he is a great source of inspiration, and he has much to say about happiness and pain. Life is easy, life is delightful. It’s only hard on your illusions, your ambitions, your greed, your cravings. One of De Mello’s key messages is that, by nature, life is not a struggle. Attachment – greed, craving, ambition – is the cause…

• Work Smart by Thinking Like a Lazy Person

  Donald Latumahina

  14 Nov 2009 | 8:35 am

  In The Importance of Being Smart, I wrote how smart people can achieve much more – with much less effort – than those who just work hard. There’s a comment there by Frode that I’d like to discuss: … lazy people seem to be smarter, as they use a lot of brain energy on finding an easier way to do stuff. Interesting, isn’t it? Lazy people seem to be smarter. But I agree that thinking like lazy people is a good way to work smart. Here are two reasons: Lazy people find ways to accomplish something with the least amount of effort. If you are lazy, you will diligently find ways not to…

• How to Enjoy the Present

  Donald Latumahina

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:41 am

  Note: This is a guest post from David Turnbull of Adventures of a Barefoot Geek I live in the future. No, this isn’t a McFly-moment, it’s a always-have-my-thoughts-in-the-future moment. And it’s a problem. Living with your mind focused on the future causes you to miss out on the now and our lives are made out of moments of now, not of moments of the future. By living in the future you don’t actually live at all. Of course, it’d be nice to live so I’m trying to enjoy the journey – the present. Here are some ways to do that: 1. Focus Pure focus is…

• The Importance of Giving Up

  Donald Latumahina

  29 Oct 2009 | 6:45 pm

  Persistence is important to achieve success, but giving up is also important. I’ve written about persistence before, so here I want to look at giving up. Why is it essential? Why is it necessary to give up? Because it allows you to focus your energy on the few things that are truly important. By giving up, you: Stop unfruitful effort. What’s the point of spending your time and energy on something that doesn’t work? The more you spend your time and energy there, the more you waste your resources. Avoid spreading yourself too thin. There are probably many things that you want to…

• How to Improve Focus With the Power of Intention

  Donald Latumahina

  26 Oct 2009 | 8:55 pm

  Note: This is a guest post from Douglas Cartwright of Living Words Recently, I was watching a television show about Dean Potter, an American ‘slack line walker’ who strings one-inch thick nylon ropes between high mountainous places and walks across them. Whilst that’s impressive, you might think “I’ve seen tightrope walkers before.” But Dean is different. He does it without a balancing pole, or a safety harness, and the line is, literally, slack unlike the traditional high-wire walker. So it moves in the wind as he walks on it. That’s amazing – but what is more interesting…

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  The Positivity Blog

• 9 Life Lessons I Have Learned from Blogging

  Henrik Edberg

  20 Nov 2009 | 7:13 am

  Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelogon/ / CC BY-SA 2.0 “Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experience.” Ralph Waldo Emerson “Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you.” Aldous Huxley Last night, as I was going to sleep, I thought about the most common question in my inbox: “What are your tips for creating a successful blog?”. And as I thought about it I got an idea. Not about writing about what I have learned about blogging. But what blogging has taught me about life. So here are 9 life lessons I have…

• 5 Things You Can Start Doing Today to Change Your Life

  Henrik Edberg

  18 Nov 2009 | 1:15 pm

  Everything is something you decide to do, and there is nothing you have to do.” Denis Waitley “If you wait to do everything until you’re sure it’s right, you’ll probably never do much of anything.” Win Borden Perhaps the most important thing you can do to improve your life is simply to do things. To take action and learn along the way. Here are five suggestions for “do-habits” that are very helpful to adopt to radically improve your life. 1. Do it first thing in the morning. How you start your day tends to have a big influence on that day. It sets the…

• 4 Kick-Ass Reasons to Do the Right Thing

  Henrik Edberg

  13 Nov 2009 | 7:50 am

  Image by tbondolfi license “Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking.  There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.” J.C. Watts “Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.” George Bernard Shaw “Goodness is the only investment that never fails.” Henry David Thoreau One of the most powerful things you can do for yourself and your world is doing what you feel deep down is the right thing. What is the right…

• Winston Churchill’s Short Guide to Life: 6 Essential Fundamentals

  Henrik Edberg

  10 Nov 2009 | 9:53 am

  “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill is probably no stranger to anyone. He was an inspirational British leader during the Second World War. He was also a writer, historian, poet, artist and the only British Prime Minister to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. Here are a few of my favorite fundamentals from Churchill on how to improve your life. 1. Focus on what you are doing right now. “It is a mistake to look too far ahead.

• How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Other People: 5 Effective Tips

  Henrik Edberg

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:50 am

  Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/ / CC BY 2.0 “When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.” Lao Tzu One destructive habit is to constantly compare your life and yourself to other people and their lives. You compare cars, houses, jobs, shoes, money, relationships, social popularity and so on. And at the end of the day you create a lot of negative feelings within. And perhaps also outside of yourself. But how can you stop doing it? Or at least get control of it and use it in a better way? Well, here are five tips…

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  GTD Times

• Giving more attention to your kids than your BlackBerry

  GTD Times Team

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pm

  We wanted to share this amazing letter from Kevin, who recently attended a GTD Mastering Workflow class with Danny Bader.  He describes what he did after the class, including a wonderful experience of connecting with his daughter.  For those of you feeling like you’re in “always on” mode in your work and personal life, Kevin’s story may be inspiring to you to see what’s possible… Danny, It was great to see spend the day learning how to take the GTD process from 50% to 100%.  I was so energized by the training that I did not go to bed Friday night and let…

• WSJ takes a look at GTD – the “reigning gorilla”

  GTD Times Team

  18 Nov 2009 | 10:15 am

  The Wall Street Journal took a closer look at the phenomenon of Getting Things Done.  They also reviewed some time management approaches like Covey and The Pomodoro Technique.   While there are quite a few differences in each of the 3 (GTD is actually not time management and much different than what the other 2 approaches are intended to do), it’s a good, quick read.  Here’s a link to the article.

• Develop and Maintain Successful Business Relationships with GTD

  GTD Times Team

  17 Nov 2009 | 1:19 pm

  Readers of my site know that I am a big fan of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” methodology, which the cool kids call “GTD” (see my 5 must read business books post). GTD for some is a life changer. I can tell you that I personally went from work drawers full of paper piles to an organized filing system and, every once in a while, a clear desk.  But GTD isn’t about organization. It’s about capturing your commitments in a trusted system and using your now free brain to make decisions about what you should be doing right this instant. When people ask…

• Quick capture on your BlackBerry

  GTD Times Team

  15 Nov 2009 | 11:38 am

  I’ve recently had the opportunity to play with an integrated software/capture service called MyCaption.  I want to use this post as a way to introduce BlackBerry® owners to the benefits of the software in your GTD® practice. Before we get started, I should identify the basic function of the software.  MyCaption allows the user to create and annotate Tasks, Appointments, Memos, Email, SMS messages, at the touch of a button.  The process is such that after the software captures the user’s vocal recording, that data is sent to the company’s servers, where it is delivered…

• When email becomes a two-headed monster

  GTD Times Team

  12 Nov 2009 | 2:57 pm

  Q: I think email is becoming a two-headed monster. It is vital but more and more people ignore them, don’t read fully etc. How can we move forward with accomplishing goals in this environment? Are there ideas you can offer regarding effective corporate communications and task handoffs? David Allen’s answer: Essentially email is no different than paper or verbal communications, with the same weaknesses if things are unfocused, unclear, and/or unnecessary. Because of its accessibility e-mail has just magnified those problems when those standards in communication are allowed. The key is…

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  Redcatco

• Culture or Technology in Business 2.0

  Benjamin

  12 Nov 2009 | 4:09 am

  One of the unusual things about social media in the business context is the dramatic way it impacts on business culture. Dennis Howlett wrote a long and interesting piece on his Zdnet blog about the Enterprsie 2.0 debate, or lack thereof. It is one that is intertwined with much of what I do, using blogs and wikis to build communication networks. Dennis writes: I don’t need to recrunch the ’social’ thing but it is an important factor that in my mind amply illustrates the lack of intellectual rigor around solution creation. It is good to see that in the discourse even my sharpest critics…

• Social Media in Business in London

  Benjamin

  20 Oct 2009 | 12:03 pm

  On October the 23rd I’ll be at The Strand Palace Hotel in London, talking about crowd sourcing with social media. Edelman, iPadio, chinwag and a host of folks are sponsoring what promises to be a very packed day – full details are here. The event description best explains why I’m excited about Friday: The conference examines how social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, are having a major impact on business practices and culture. How can these tools be utilised, how can you employ strategies within your company to increase profitability, sustain reputation…

• Trends of the 21st Century

  Benjamin

  12 Oct 2009 | 1:33 pm

  This post was inspired by a paper by Jonathan MacDonald (of fluid world / JMA) ”The first 6 Macro Trends of the 21st Century” – it’s a reasonably straight forward read. It set me off pondering a different track. What do the six trends he lists mean for business, and business-to-business marketing, IT and communication? 1. Corporate Technology in the hands of Citizens 2. Physical is increasingly Virtual 3. It’s about Distribution not Destination 4. Mass Niche not Mass Groups 5. Broadcast Control is now Self Scheduled 6. C2C is more powerful than B2C…

• Set our Data Free and Create a (Digital) Economy

  Benjamin

  5 Oct 2009 | 2:03 pm

  by moleitau (cc) It has taken me a couple of days to write this post, because my brain is still crunching on its contents. It touches on so many different areas of the technology and business areas that I am passionate about, that I’ve had to give up covering them all in one post. The historic destiny of data (and it’s big parent, knowledge) has been to be locked up; the constant struggle has been to set it free. From the formation of  the university to the API-rich Web 2.0 world, people have postulated ways to make it more available. Of course, not all data is going to be…

• The Future of the Workplace

  Benjamin

  27 Sep 2009 | 2:47 pm

  I had the privilege of spending a couple of days in the company of Dr’s Anne Marie McEwan and Marie.C.Puybaraud, discussing the future of the workplace. You can see the thoughts on line – “smartworkplace – the power of collective intelligence” – or digested in this article on BBC News. The physical workplace has been evolving for centuries, as we have moved from cottage industries, through the industrial workplace, to modern times. A steady stream of technological breakthroughs have lead us to where we are today. Inventions like the lift have enabled…

• 
  Say it Better

• Save Your Unborn Baby from Embarrassment Later in Life

  Kare Anderson

  19 Nov 2009 | 3:44 pm

  Probably Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise did not realize, when they named their daughter Suri, that it meant “pickpocket” in Japanese or “stop it” in Toruba. While Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale’s son’s name Zuma means "peace" in Arabic, in...

• Four Ways to Make That Human Connection We All Want

  Kare Anderson

  25 Oct 2009 | 2:36 pm

  Sometimes I self-sabotage in talking with others, especially those I do not know well, then feel badly afterwards. There’s no going back yet these four insights have helped me connect better with others… sometimes. Such as when I actually practice...

• The Palpable Power of a Speaker’s Repeated Phrase is Like a Heart Beat for Us, the Audience

  Kare Anderson

  18 Oct 2009 | 3:16 pm

  A potent way to connect with an audience is to get them in sync with you. Quickly. Then they’ll root for you, want to literally be moved by you. Rhythmic speaking, punctuated with a repeated phrase can be that emotional...

• TWiST #21 with Mark Goulston [Bonus #3]

  Kare Anderson

  15 Oct 2009 | 11:17 am

  TWiST #21 with Mark Goulston [Bonus #3] Posted using ShareThis

• 12 Oct 2009 | 2:31 pm

  Kare Anderson

  12 Oct 2009 | 2:31 pm

  Marines and journalists are alike in some ways, especially as compared to civilians I realized by reading Jeffrey D. Barnett’s column on post-war life. We expect clear, direct, accurate communication. Civilians’ roundabout talk frustrates us. Journalists need the illuminating example,...

• 
  Nick Pagan

• The End of Nick Pagan

  admin

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:18 am

  Let’s start with the admission first. I got into blogging after reading some articles on Steve Pavlina’s blog about how to create your own blog. He made it sound fairly simple and so I thought that I would have a go, not knowing what I was letting myself in for. I didn’t have much more intention than to be something of a Pavlina clone, only talking about my own personal methods for getting things done. So I followed his model very closely. One of the first things to do was to come up with a name and here I made a big mistake. I used a pen name that I had devised some years before. I did…

• The Domino Phenomenon

  admin

  9 Apr 2009 | 11:20 pm

• You Can Run Faster Around the Hamster Wheel but You’ll Never Leave the Cage

  admin

  26 Mar 2009 | 8:44 am

  I think of productivity as doing what you want to do, i.e. you are not immobilized by emotional or mental resistance nor by an inability to do what you want to do. It also commonly means getting more done than you did before, or getting more results than you did before. It struck me that there are two kinds of productivity improvements - efficiency and effectiveness - and that they have a very different emphasis and a very different outcome. Efficiency is about more of the same kind of thing done than you did before. It’s about a greater usage of time. Effectiveness is about getting…

• The Good Old Days - How Life Really Was Easier in the Past

  admin

  21 Mar 2009 | 6:05 am

  Life was easier in the past for several fundamental reasons. It used to be that most people made their living from the product of using their hands and bodies. It might take a long time to learn the skills necessary to track and hunt animals, to make tools, to work with natural materials, to prepare and cook food or husband animals, but once learned there was very little more that needed to be learned. Information and solutions could be handed down from one generation to the next. Little or no understanding of the underlying principles was needed if the method worked time and time again. A…

• Here’s A Simple Way to Revise for Exams Better Than Ever Before

  admin

  24 Feb 2009 | 8:49 am

  Years ago as a student, I stumbled upon a method that makes revising incredibly simple. I had forgotten about it until I saw a young lady highlighting her way through a text book on the train the other day… The traditional way of revising for an exam is to read books, highlight passages, write notes and continuously review things. The aim is to remember important information. It’s boring, frustrating and highly ineffective. With a little knowledge of how the brain works, you can make a very clever improvement in how you prepare for exams. The traditional method is ineffective for…

• 
  Productive Flourishing

• How to Flourish: 17 Quotes On Living, Being, and Doing

  Charlie

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:49 pm

  I’ll step out of the way and let the quotes speak for themselves: “Fall seven times; stand up eight.” – Japanese proverb “You must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you.” – Joseph Campbell “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” – Gandhi “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to…

• Trust Agents, Ideaviruses, and the Retweet Misstep

  Charlie

  19 Nov 2009 | 3:35 pm

  The developers at Twitter rolled out a new retweeting feature in the last few days, and I’m not a big fan. A few people on Twitter asked me why I don’t like it, so I wanted to take a few minutes to explain why. By and large, I agree with most of what Lisa Barone says in her post Why Twitter’s New Retweet Feature Sucks. I’d like to add more to her point that the new RT function “puts strangers in my stream.” But perhaps the first thing we should cover is… What The Developers Were Thinking As I was writing this, I took a look at why the good folks at…

• How to Have A Fun Workspace Dash

  Charlie

  18 Nov 2009 | 8:47 am

  Have you been needing to clean your workspace but can’t work through the resistance? This post is for you. Implementing the ideas from this post will probably take you about 30 minutes (including reading this post), but it’ll be time well-spent. I’m channeling Merlin Mann, Pam Slim, and Jen Hofmann for this post, so this will be a complete fusion of our styles. Let’s jump right in. A dash is a quick segment of time where you focus on just getting movement. This term was made popular by Merlin Mann, so read Kick Procrastination’s Ass later if you’d like to…

• Review: More Buyers Mastermind

  Charlie

  16 Nov 2009 | 6:07 pm

  The More Buyers Mastermind launched about a month ago, and as I mentioned in Let Us Help You Grow Your Business, there were 11 other guest experts who contributed to the program. What I really like about this product is how much I’ve learned from it. Let me explain: Dave was the man behind everything for the program, and when the program launched, I wasn’t able to listen to everything that everyone else said. I had to take it on faith that it was awesome – but this was easy for me to do, as many of the people who were part of the Mastermind are my friends, collaborators, and…

• The Blog Gets A Tune-Up!

  Charlie

  12 Nov 2009 | 3:29 pm

  I’ve been doing a lot of behind the scenes work here and I’d like to let you know about them. My aim was to make the site more usable, accessible, and clear – this blog has nearly 1,000 pages worth of content and I wanted to help with the overwhelm/frustration of not knowing where to start and having to poke around to find stuff. The biggest change is the addition of three new pages: A New Here? page that has a more coherent and useful picture of the different recurring themes of this blog. A Products page that lists all the different products, programs, and events that you…

• 
  MonkMojo's 1000 Cuts

• Eightfold Path Now in Fun Size!

  MonkMojo

  11 Nov 2009 | 2:32 am

  On the Blogger Radar...

• Doing

  MonkMojo

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:08 am

  On the Blogger Radar...

• Jumping Happy People

  MonkMojo

  27 Oct 2009 | 1:53 am

  On the Blogger Radar

• I'm Killing Me Softly with My Song

  MonkMojo

  17 Oct 2009 | 3:20 pm

  Strumming my pain with my story, Singing my life as a delusion, I'm killing me softly with my song, I'm killing me softly with my song, Telling my whole life with my words, I'm killing me softly with my song ... I heard I sang a good song, I heard I had a style. And so I came to believe me worthwhile. And yet here I am, a stranger to my eyes. Strumming my pain with my story, Singing my life as a delusion, I'm killing me softly with my song, I'm killing me softly with my song, Telling my whole life with my words, I'm killing me softly with my song ... Anxiety rules, lost in my cloud. I started…

• Zen Rocks

  MonkMojo

  7 Oct 2009 | 2:00 am

  On the Blogger Radar

• 
  Technotheory.com

• True to your core? A quick re-evaluation to ensure you’re in the right place

  Jared Goralnick

  10 Nov 2009 | 11:12 am

  From time to time we need to re-evaluate what fills our days and question if we’re being consistent with who we are…or who we want to be. This is a brief overview of why and how to quickly identify and minimize dissonance.  Skip to the end for the quick exercise. Case Study: The Social Media Expert For a while I was blogging a lot about social media, going to the events, speaking about it.  Today I see so many presumed social media experts, many who aren’t right for the position.  But I don’t fault them for taking on something that may not perfectly suit them, and I…

• The Entrepreneurial Myth: do you want to work alone, to watch your big idea die, and to sweep the floor? Try this instead.

  Jared Goralnick

  14 Oct 2009 | 8:16 am

  Most people could use more career independence.  Many have some big idea they want to offer the world.  A few thrive on building authority by taking on greater responsibility. But these do not necessarily go hand-in-hand—they often make for a risky and stressful formula.  If you want freedom, impact, or authority, let’s talk about some paths to these beyond the “go launch a business” suggestion we hear all too often.   What Part of Entrepreneurship Excites You Most? Before you go on, consider first what’s most important to you: freedom of time/location, making an…

• The Critical Path, a snippet from my first journal article (download it free). We found some fascinating correlations…

  Jared Goralnick

  24 Sep 2009 | 8:09 am

  This summer, Cutter Benchmark Review invited me to create a workplace productivity survey with Joe Feller.  We were able to collect some interesting data and publish our analysis of it. Normally $50, I’m able to offer both mine and Joe’s analysis, along with the survey results, as a free PDF to Technotheory readers.  Read on for a couple snippets and a link to download the full article. Creating the survey was fun, though I wasn’t surprised with the direct survey results, so I wanted to see if there were any correlations in the data.  Since I know little about regression…

• Thoughtfulness never fails

  Jared Goralnick

  15 Sep 2009 | 1:55 pm

  Do you deliver or do you delight?  The difference–and this applies to personal relationships as well as it does to business—is all about thoughtfulness. When I look at who I value most, the top of the top are thoughtfulness personified, and they’ve been that way all along. Let’s start with Aaron (pictured above), who I spent today working alongside.  We met at a big group lunch in Austin in 2008.  The restaurant service was exceptionally bad and, sitting outside, I was fairly thirsty.  Someone I hadn’t seen before went in and brought everyone water.  I…

• How to organize and moderate a panel that creates real value for your audience (Part 2 of 2)

  Jared Goralnick

  11 Sep 2009 | 9:31 am

  Last week I offered advice on selecting and contacting panelists.  Once the panel is formed, most people slack off until the day before the event. Don’t.  Here’s what to do next to create a great experience for your audience and panelists alike.  Disagree?  Let me know… If you’re jumping in here, you might want to check out part 1 of this article which has the Step 1 and Step 2… And now: Step 3. Getting on the same page, and deciding on a panel format Once the list of panelists is finalized, I like to send out a few ideas for the panel via email or a wiki…

• 
  Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog

• Intimacy Abundance and Label-Free Relationships

  Steve Pavlina

  17 Nov 2009 | 10:45 am

  In this article I’m going to share some recent personal lessons about creating intimacy abundance. So this is more of a sharing piece than an advice piece. Even so, I expect you’ll be able to gain some helpful insights that you can apply to your own relationships. Society conditions us to attach certain labels to our relationships and then to assign meanings to those labels. For example, being single has a different meaning than being someone’s boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife. At some point in the course of your relationships, you may be tempted to change the…

• How to Visualize Your New Reality

  Steve Pavlina

  9 Nov 2009 | 4:07 am

  This is a follow-up to my last video post on Creating Abundance. In this article I’ll share more detail on how to visualize your new reality so that you become a vibrational match for it. This is an area where people make some critical mistakes when trying to manifest their desires. Slide Into Your New Reality Did you ever see the TV show Sliders? In that show a group of four people would “slide” through a portal between dimensions, spending each episode in an alternate version of earth. For example, they might enter a reality where the Nazis won WWII. Or in another reality…

• Creating Abundance – Video

  Steve Pavlina

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:35 pm

  Yesterday morning I woke up with the idea of recording a video blog on the topic of creating abundance. A little later I checked our forums and saw a request for me to post something more comprehensive on the topic of abundance. Well, I thought… that’s a pretty blatant synchronicity! Is it possible to use the Law of Attraction to manifest true abundance in your life, including financial abundance, social abundance, and more? Absolutely, it is. In this 35-minute video (split into 4 individual clips for posting on YouTube), I explain why people so often fail in this area, and I…

• A Few Updates

  Steve Pavlina

  2 Nov 2009 | 10:42 am

  Here are some updates I want to share with you. Conscious Growth Workshop DVDs I received the initial DVD masters from the videographer — 8 DVDs total for the whole weekend. I’ll start watching them this week to see if any additional edits are needed to create the final product. After that I’ll need someone to design a cover/package for the DVDs and then get a bunch of them duplicated so we can start shipping them. For anyone who pre-ordered the DVDs at the workshop and paid via credit card, your card won’t be charged till the DVDs actually ship. It’s hard to say…

• Juicing and Physical Training

  Steve Pavlina

  1 Nov 2009 | 7:18 pm

  For most of the past year, I’ve been starting my day with a green smoothie for breakfast, but lately I’ve been getting back into juicing. I piled up a lot of experience in a short period of time when I did my 30-day juice feast a year ago. (I’d originally planned to go for a 92-day juice feast but decided to stop after 30 days.) Drinking fresh juice has many benefits. With the fiber removed, fresh juice digests very easily, so you don’t have to expend as much energy on digestion. This extra energy then becomes available for your body and mind. When I incorporate a lot…

• 
  Gomestic

• The 10 Commandments of Surviving The Economic Crisis

  19 Nov 2009 | 2:38 am

       We are in hard times financially in America.  Lots of people unemployed, lots of people losing their homes.  And as sad as it is, the main has nothing to do with our government… it’s because we’re stupid.  We are, by far, the most wasteful nation in the world.  We preach conservation, and really don’t know what the word means.       The people who are going to make it through this collapse are the ones… novel concept coming here… who are not stupid.  A little bit of common sense is…

• Growing and Using The Herb Parsley

  18 Nov 2009 | 10:05 am

  Image via Wikipedia Parsley is probably the most familiar herb to many people. It’s used extensively as a garnish, either finely chopped or broken into neat sprigs. When you consider its attractive bright green colour even when added to hot dishes, attractive leaf shapes and the fact that cut pieces are slow to wilt, parsley’s popularity as a decorative addition to food is hardly surprising. This herb is equally decorative in a garden or container. The curly leafed type, Petroselinum crispum probably the best one for decorative purposes. The neat plants and unusually frilled…

• Choosing a Dining Table for Style and Design

  18 Nov 2009 | 2:13 am

  Before you decide on the right dining table for your room, think about how many people will be eating around it.  That doesn’t mean just counting the members of the family, and you will need to make sure that you have a big enough table to accommodate visitors too. If you give dinner parties or have friend round at various times of year your dining table needs to be big enough for everyone to fit around it. Perhaps you fancy something small and intimate that can fit easily into your dining room and be used with romantic lighting for that special dinner.  But what about the…

• How to Choose The Best Leather Sofa

  18 Nov 2009 | 2:13 am

    If  you have decided to treat yourself to a new leather sofa it is a good idea to think carefully about what you want before you look around the stores and the internet. First of all you need to decide exactly what kind of leather sofa you want to buy.  Didn’t know there were different types of leather sofa?  Well there are. There are a few horror stories about people paying a lot of money for leather sofas and chair and discovering that they have been cheated.  If you know what to look for before you go and choose you can void the pitfalls. If you choose a…

• How to Choose Childrens Furniture for Fun and Design

  18 Nov 2009 | 2:13 am

  If you are planning to buy children’s furniture for storage in a child’s room, there are several things to consider. First, is the storage for boy, or girl and what age of child are you furnishing for?  Do they need space for books and perhaps a work area to hold all their pens and pencils?  Children’s furniture is designed with a particular age of child in mind.   For instance children’s furniture for toddlers needs to be easily accessible and free from sharp edges and corner and the child needs to be able to reach shelves, open boxes and put things on…

• 
  Widows Quest

• Time is so short….

  Anna Farmery

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:13 pm

  They have now taken away Nana’s fluids and we sit and wait….when you think of the long days and nights we spend grieving and often for me even wishing days away…I now look at Nana and think….time is so precious. Time is one thing money can’t buy, time is something that you can never get back. I am thinking of the special moments we cherish, I am thinking of how important it is that we find a way to cherish our own moments. We may live alone now, we may feel the pain of loneliness, we may think our hearts will never mend…but somehow we all at Widows Quest…

• 5 Thoughts from a bedside

  Anna Farmery

  19 Nov 2009 | 5:06 pm

  If losing someone is this painful why do humans love at all? Isn’t it strange how you can lose the power of your senses but still feel and show love? True love is not that romantic love at all, true love is an unwavering, unconditional state of the heart which loves from the soul not the eyes. When a human is stripped bare, when there is nothing around…what is the one possession which matters? A heart that has loved and is loved. Life is what we make it, maybe death is what we make it too? When you love someone, it is not just about loving them whilst you are together, it is…

• When you just want them at peace

  Anna Farmery

  18 Nov 2009 | 2:55 pm

  Still at the hospital and it breaks my heart to see her lying there…looking almost childlike. I suppose I am now coming to terms with letting her go as she is finding harder and harder to breathe and you just don’t want her to find anything about life hard. I had tears last night when I said to her “Its OK Nana, go to sleep…there is nothing to be afraid of Bronco (that is my nickname for my grandad) is waiting for you.”  The tears were recognition that I had to let her go, I had to help her through this final frontier…I had to help her face her fear. She…

• The power of love

  Anna Farmery

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:54 am

  As I sit by nana’s bedside I am feeling the true power of love. She has always been my special friend, she has always been the person who I feel understands me the most. Why? Because like her I try and live a good life and yet I also have a little rebellious side. Sat singing to her I have this overwhelming love, as though my body and heart wants to give her all the love inside. When you are losing someone, love suddenly becomes so clear. Love is unconditional, love is pure, love in the end is all that matters. I truly believe that no matter whether people are unconscious, or whether we…

• Where do you find your energy?

  Anna Farmery

  16 Nov 2009 | 4:43 am

  Funny after going 3 nights without sleep or at least only cat naps by Nana’s bed…I still feel Ok. Yet if I only get 6 hrs on a ‘normal’ day I feel tired…when you are with someone so ill, so tired then this energy comes from nowhere. I suppose that it is not then a shock that your body needs time to recover through the grieving process. The hospital offered us a room. Mum grabbed a few hours each night in there but when you are here, you just want to hold them and let them know they are not alone. The irony is that they are looking after themselves better than you…

• 
  LifeSpy

• Cleaning Canvas Shoes

  Alex

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:44 pm

  Cleaning canvas shoes is quite easy. All you need to do is prepare the following materials: Mild liquid soap Old toothbrush Nylon brush Baking soda Shoe polish for canvas sneakers And then follow these directions: If your sneakers are wet with mud, make sure you dry them first, preferably in sunlight as they would be easier to clear the mud off the soles of the sneakers. Remove the laces (if there are) and wash them by hand in warm water separately. In a different tub, wash the sneakers in warm water mixed with some mild liquid soap. Use an old toothbrush to clean the dirt and stains. You can…

• Preventing Junk E-mail

  Alex

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:38 pm

  Junk e-mail can be nuisances. To avoid having them lying around in your inbox folder, here are some stuff you can do to prevent them. Do not give your e-mail addresses away. Always be cautious of whom you entrust with them. Signing up for newsletters online can attract junk e-mails. What you can do is to look for a “Privacy Policy” when signing up for something. Read through and check if they do keep your information safe. Just to be sure, you can always create a special e-mail account which you can use for signing up to services. Avoid forwarding mass e-mails because your e-mail…

• Dental Care for the Elderly

  Alex

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:36 pm

  The key to having good dental care for elderly patients is to find a dentist who is willing to see elderly patients. It may be surprising to find out that there are dentists who refuse to see elderly patients because they are often uncovered by insurance. Teeth of the elderly may have old fillings that need to be looked at and be replaced if necessary. Their teeth are also more prone to decay and their gums may also recede in time. Although regular oral care (toothbrushing, flossing, etc.) is a good preventive measure, a dentist is needed to correct and preserve teeth. The elderly should also…

• Re-gifting Presents

  Alex

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:32 pm

  Giving away gifts isn’t wrong. However, it takes a bit of tact and planning. Here’s what you can do: Check the gift if it is new and in good condition. Giving away old, dirty, and broken items is a dead give-away. And who would ever actually do that? Check if the gift is appropriate for the occasion and for the person. Even if it’s just re-gifting, make sure that you make an effort to make the gift a little more personalized. Check that you have removed all tags, wrappers, and any sign of the item being a previous gift. Check that the person you will give it will like it…

• Giving Your Garden a Makeover

  Alex

  17 Nov 2009 | 12:50 pm

  Tired of how your garden looks? Well perhaps it’s time to give it a makeover! Assess your garden and see how you can rearrange your pots and plots. Take note of existing plants and see where you can add more. Consider the color of the flowers when they bloom and arrange them wherein the flowering plants can compliment one another’s colors better. Consider creating a theme for your garden. This will allow you to think easily of what plants or accessories to put in your garden. Try to add lighting in your garden. Some plants actually bloom better at night. Explore different lighting…

• 
  Leading Hands Through Technology

• A Tribute to Online Obituaries

  Marc Majers

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:45 am

  Entrepreneurs are continually attempting to do whatever traditionally newspapers did well and translate it online. So why not Internet obituaries? Tributes offers unlimited text, photos, videos, and music to pay respect online for the recently departed. Unlike a disposable newspaper listing, Tributes will remain online forever. You can continually add to and edit them to build [...]

• Don’t Let That Domain Expire

  Marc Majers

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:24 am

  Recently I decided to let one of my domains expire, then I changed my mind. Once a domain expires, it stays in an expired state for about 30 days and then a redemption period for about 30 days. Finally the URL goes to pending to be deleted for 5 days, in which it can not [...]

• Gift Finder

  Marc Majers

  18 Nov 2009 | 2:06 am

  I saw this new application that prompts you though a series of questions to find the perfect gift for that special someone. Gift Finder connects to Amazon and virtually other retailers so you can make an instant purchase. http://holiday.priceless.com/giftfinder Bookmark It Hide Sites $$('div.d1076').each( function(e) { e.visualEffect('slide_up',{duration:0.5}) });

• Dropbox is Sharing and Storage

  Marc Majers

  16 Nov 2009 | 5:16 am

  What is Dropbox? Drop box is similar to You Send It where you can share files back and forth to each other. However the energized file sharing site also has a built in feature like Mozy where you can back up files from your system. With the initial sign-up, you get two gig free of space [...]

• More Mobile Phones Should Have Flash

  Marc Majers

  14 Nov 2009 | 9:29 am

  I am an avid iPhone user, but it’s extremely challenging taking pictures in dimly lit areas. Most everyone you know these days has a cellphone enabled to take photos, but there is no flash. The Nokia E71 Phone with 3.2 MP Camera has a flash and a few others, but the fact is the pickings [...]

• 
  AspireNow

• What Is Success Worth To You?

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:34 pm

  Regarding how you view success, may I ask you a simple question?"When you consider the PRICE of success, what is it WORTH to you?" Why do I ask this?Well, the fact is you will usually have to give up something to get something in life. Success is no different. Either you'll have to give up your steady job to focus on that part-time company, or you'll have to take time from sports, hobbies, or

• Success Leaves Clues - 20 Questions to Help You Find Success

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:26 pm

  I just heard this quote while listening to a teleconference about the top five mistakes people make online and how to avoid them:"Success leaves clues." I believe the first person I heard say this was Tony Robbins. It's an interesting quote. The point is to look at how people or companies become successful and see if there are techniques used in their line of business that might be used in your

• Dating: Is It All About You?

  29 Oct 2009 | 11:59 am

  Here's a funny video to get us started on this topic:Is it all about you?I hope not.I've always felt that good dating ought to be a mix. But, let's face it, if you're trying to ATTRACT someone, it might be more about THEM than it is YOU. If you're focused so much on how you look, what you're going to say, what you're going to do, you might miss out on the fact that there's a beautiful person over

• Living Life My Way

  20 Oct 2009 | 10:01 am

  The first part of living our life purpose is to know what we want to do with our own lives.After we've figured that out, we sometimes are left asking the question, "Now what?"Can you relate?Well, I think this problem has to do with living life on our terms; or, living life my way. That's the song Frank Sinatra used to sing, My Way. For example, you may have already decided the next step for your

• Love The Secret - But Unsure How?

  13 Oct 2009 | 11:00 am

  If you're like me, you might be sick of hearing all about the movie "The Secret" but never learning HOW to do any of the manifesting they talk about.Bla, bla, bla! Talk, talk, talk! RIGHT?Okay, but show me the MONEY! I know, I'm an eager-beaver.But tell me, honestly, are you any different?Here's some good news: Tom Murasso, one of the better kept secrets in the personal development (self-help)

• 
  Virtually Organized

• Lack of Motivation?

  Debbie Jordan Kravitz

  12 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

  Getting organized can be both exciting and overwhelming. Keeping yourself motivated is crucial if you want to see your project through to completion.

• The Organized Garage

  Debbie Jordan Kravitz

  10 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

  The organized garage: So clean, you might even park your car in it!

• Life’s Changes Can Lead To Life’s Clutter

  Debbie Jordan Kravitz

  9 Nov 2009 | 7:35 am

  Have changes to your life resulted in clutter and disorganization in your home?

• Create an Emergency Grab n’ Go Box

  Debbie Jordan Kravitz

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:40 am

  If you were suddenly faced with an emergency and you needed to evacuate your house quickly, how long would it take you to gather up your vital documents? Be prepared with a Grab n' Go Box.

• The Organized Purse: What’s In Your Handbag?

  Debbie Jordan Kravitz

  27 Oct 2009 | 7:00 am

  Keeping yourself organized when you’re on the go is just as important as organizing your home. Today I’ve pulled together some ideas and resources for avoiding bottomless-pit handbags and purses.

• 
  Homegrown Evolution

• Cutting a Beehive Out of a Wall

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:40 pm

  Bees in a wall!Last week, along with two other "backwards beekeepers" Russ and Sue, we relocated a hive of bees that had taken up residence in a garage wall in East Hollywood. It was a "cut-out" in beekeeping parlance. The property owners did not want to exterminate the hive and we were able to give them a new home in Sue's idyllic garden. Backwards Beekeeping guru Kirk Anderson sent us some tips via email. It's Kirk's view that feral bees have more robust immune systems than the pedigreed bees that most beekeepers order through the mail. So with good intentions we got about to, as Kirk puts…

• Red Cabbage Kraut

  16 Nov 2009 | 9:25 am

  Homegrown Neighbor here:Red cabbage sauerkraut is my new favorite condiment. I put it on everything including stir-fry, pasta, eggs, salads and soups. The kraut is salty so it is a great addition. No need to add salt or soy sauce to anything- kraut will kick up the flavor.Then of course there is the color. Sure, I could eat ordinary green cabbage kraut. But where is the fun and excitement in that? Green cabbage turns grey and colorless when it is fermented. Red cabbage however, turns a bright shade of purplish pink. The liquid around it dyes all of your food. I like to eat it on eggs. It…

• Events in Los Angeles This Weekend: SIP Workshop and Maria's Garden

  14 Nov 2009 | 8:53 am

  Saturday (i.e. TODAY!)On Saturday November 14th Kelly and I will be doing a Self Irrigating Pot (SIP) workshop in Westchester at 3 p.m. SIPs are a great way for folks in apartments to get into small scale vegetable gardening. Best of all the workshop is FREE FREE FREE! Here's the location:Playa Del Oro at 8601 Lincoln Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045SundayAnne Hars, who lives a few blocks from us, helped save another neighbor's garden from a management company that wanted to remove it. Tomorrow, Sunday the 15th, Anne has organized a work party to tidy up the garden and she's looking for volunteers…

• Humanure Happens

  11 Nov 2009 | 6:40 pm

  Simparch's dry toilet located in Wendover UtahFrom the 1806 edition of the Old Farmer's Almanac, "Four loads of earth mixed with one load of privy soil, will be equal to five loads of barnyard dung. Let it lie for several months and occasionally turn it over with a shovel, and it will be of use as manure."The editors of the Old Farmer's Almanac 2010,where I found that quote, deemed it necessary to tack on a disclaimer, "Human waste, as well as that of dogs and cats, is not recommended as manure for fertilizer today." But after fielding a couple of calls from journalists interested in the…

• Rubber Sidewalks Rescue Trees

  10 Nov 2009 | 1:03 pm

  Homegrown Neighbor here:I love trees and all of the things they do for us. They shade us, feed us, house us. Trees are something we just need more of here in Southern California. I used to work at an urban forestry non-profit, TreePeople. So I am familiar with the challenges of the tree/sidewalk interface. I have fielded calls from people frantically trying to save trees that are being ripped out because they are lifting the sidewalk. I have also received calls from people eager to remove trees for the same reason. Sadly, I have also heard from people that would call just to complain about a…

• 
  Office Supplies Blog

• WOW meets Origami? Seriously.

  Grace

  19 Nov 2009 | 3:25 pm

  I wish with all my heart I could say that I’ve played world of warcraft before. When I was in junior high, I played a little starcraft on the computer and I actually can’t even remember if that was what it was called. Anyways. I love that world of warcraft (aka WOW) has become a huge phenomenon. I think it’s hilarious. You can really tell something has hit home if people have started creating origami figures. Check these out: [via Wow Paper Craft Blog ] We may not carry patterns or cool colored paper on our site, but we do have cardstock and you can use your imagination!

• Stay OUT of my cubicle

  Grace

  18 Nov 2009 | 2:51 pm

  So, I won’t lie, we are pretty busy around here! It’s the holidays and getting ready for that is always crazy. This post may be short but the product suggestion is important. Everyone likes to be friendly and helpful most of the time right? But sometimes you come into work with a purpose, ready to own it  and get stuff done. It’s really hard to get stuff in when people constantly drop by to ask about this or that. I know I drive our IT department crazy with little questions all the time. When I saw the cubeguard (spotted on fresh trends btw), I wished I had $19.99 to buy it…

• Follow Him for 365 Green Ideas

  Grace

  12 Nov 2009 | 9:37 am

  Recently I came across a blog with a dedicated environmentalist. 365 Days to Go Green He doesn’t seem like one of those people you talk to who are snobby and all about living a “green life,” just someone that is realistic and makes a small effort everyday to do something that will either be better for the environment or to not do something that will hurt the environment. He hasn’t made it a whole year yet. Today is Day 72 (that’s pretty impressive!) and it looks like he’s not slowing down yet.  Instead of listing all 72, here’s my five of my…

• Inspiration from Sticky Notes

  Grace

  9 Nov 2009 | 12:12 pm

  I like how you can see an idea on one blog and another blog and another blog. It’s not necessarily the same idea but a similar idea inspired by the first idea. Not that we got that explanation over with, I have been in love with these cute star post it note pictures from the Frugal Family Fun Blog. She mentioned that her inspiration came from Color Me Katie and her heart sticky notes on the sidewalk. And now I’m passing it on to you. All of these cool post it notes you can buy from Shoplet.com! Now go create something and tell us about it!

• Break Throughs with Shoplet Bingo

  Grace

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:36 am

  Ever notice how many times we all say these cliche phrases? “It’s a win-win situation” “Where’s the call to action?” “At the end of the day, what the customer wants is important” “Let’s go over the game plan” “I want to hit the ground running with this project” “Rather than discuss this now, let’s take it offline” I don’t know where we get these phrases! But every office around the country is full of people who use them. I don’t believe all “buzzwords” are bad. Sometimes you…

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  Think Simple Now

• 7 Keys to Reading Faster

  Scott Young

  10 Nov 2009 | 2:08 pm

  Photo by Nathiya Prathnadi (see her camera tote and simple jewelry) By Scott Young Want to read faster? In this article, I’m going to share the lessons I learned that doubled my reading rate, allowed me to consume over 70 books in a year and made me a smarter reader. I’m also going to destroy some speed-reading myths, to show you it isn’t magic but a skill anyone can learn. How I Started Speed Reading My first introduction to the concept of speed reading was from a book, Breakthrough Rapid Reading. I’ve since moved away from a few of the concepts taught in the book,…

• The Ups and Downs of Life + Personal News

  Tina Su

  15 Oct 2009 | 2:19 pm

  Photo by Vadim Pacev By Tina Su Coming back from India, I was floating on a cloud of utter joy, blissfully unaware of the personal challenges and surprises that were about to hit me in the coming month. While I had fantasized over the telling of what has happened over the past month, it quickly became obvious that the toughest part of my job is the potential of disclosing too much about my personal life, thus invading the privacy of those closes to me. Despite the juiciness of the story, I’ve decided to leave most of the details private. I contemplated on why I wanted to write about it,…

• How to Learn Without Memorizing

  Scott Young

  7 Oct 2009 | 6:29 pm

  Photo by Edwin Stemp By Scott Young Rote memorization is an inefficient way to learn. Just retaining a single formula can mean pounding the same information into your skull dozens of times. If your computer hard drive had this accuracy, you’d probably throw it out. Unfortunately, you’re stuck with your brain. The good news is that you don’t need to learn by memorization. The vast majority of information is better stored in your head using a completely different system - learning through connecting ideas together. A few years ago, I noticed that smart people seemed to learn…

• Living Enlightenment – A Personal Report

  Tina Su

  10 Sep 2009 | 12:25 pm

  Photo by Vanessa Paxton By: Tina Su After 76 days of living in an ashram in a tiny village town East of Bangalore in India, I am home at last. I still have not found a proper one-liner that concisely answers the common question, “How was it?” A cliché “Good!” seemed appropriate to satisfy the questioner, but it is not the right answer. I’ve tried several answers and nothing seems to accurately conjure what I experienced. “I’ll write about it soon” quickly became my reply… and soon, I started to avoid people all together. In this article -…

• Time for a Retreat – Personal Update

  Tina Su

  13 Jun 2009 | 8:05 am

  By: Tina Su (Update 07/08/2009: I’ve decided to extend my stay for two more months, and will be in India until September.) For the next four weeks, I will be living in an ashram near Bangalore India. I will be attending a meditation and spiritual retreat called Inner Awakening that I have been anticipating for many months now. It’s an opportunity to learn directly from an enlightened guru in a serene environment, along with several hundred other spiritual seekers from around the world. I’ve decided not to bring my laptop or cell phone, and to fully emerse myself in the…

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  FitHacks.com

• 5 Reasons to Start Strength Training

  Brandon

  19 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm

  If you are a runner, athlete, dieter or general fitness enthusiast and you are not regularly involved in some type of strength training, you are doing yourself a disservice. Until very recently, I was that guy. I could run for hours and would usually stick to a pretty healthy diet, but ask me to do a few pull ups and you’d see me looking very embarrassed. For the first year or so of my fitness adventure, I wanted to LOSE weight, not put it on. Therefore, I stayed away from the section of the gym where they kept all the heavy stuff. Now I know that was a mistake. Here are a few reasons…

• FitHacks Suggestions

  Brandon

  3 Nov 2009 | 11:53 am

  Since a large portion of this site is intended to be user driven, I would really like to know what you guys would like to hear about. I can go on and on about jogging and Ultimate, but if that’s not totally helpful for you then I’d like to know. That being said, I have decided to experiment with a new plugin called Skribit. In the sidebar of my site you will see a new section labeled “Skribit Suggestions”. In this area you can type your suggestions and we will all be able to see them. Other readers can vote on which topics they’d like to see as well. This will…

• Weight Training

  Brandon

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:52 am

  One aspect of fitness that has always been lacking in my life is strength training. I’ve learned how to lose weight, jog, and sprint but I’ve never actively trained with weights or done any other strength building exercises. So, a few weeks ago, I decided to begin a weight training schedule. Since I’m essentially starting from scratch here I decided to seek the help of experts. Vic Magary of GymJunkies.com has a great workout plan for beginners (like myself) who want to begin using weights. The program is very straight forward and includes some great exercises that work the…

• And… I’m Back!

  Brandon

  14 Oct 2009 | 12:36 pm

  I really can’t believe that it was almost been two months since my last post on FitHacks. For this I apologize. However, if anyone is still reading the site or getting updates via RSS, then let me say “thank you” for sticking in there. So, where have I been? In addition to having a rather crazy work/school/life schedule, I have been playing with a competitve men’s Ultimate Frisbee team. We have spent the last few months training for the club series tournament and have had a blast in doing so. We won our section (out of ten teams), took fifth place in the region (out of…

• Dr. Cox: “I Hate My Body”

  Brandon

  11 Aug 2009 | 2:25 pm

  This is one of my favorite clips from one of my favorite shows, Scrubs. Dr. Cox, a self-absorbed narcissist teaches his younger protege how to get in shape. Hilarity ensues. In all actuality though, I kind of like Dr. Cox’s attitude. Never be content with your level of achievement, whatever it is. Are you a runner? Then run faster. Are you a baseball player? Then play better. There should always be some areas you can improve on whether it’s your fitness or something else. “The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection.”  - C.S.

• 
  Reason-4-Smile Weblog

• Why is it harder to write again?

  Robert A.

  26 Oct 2009 | 6:52 am

  photo credit: SuperFantastic Maybe it is one question I have been asking for many times. I enjoyed formulating my thoughts, but I have constantly procrastinated. I enjoyed writing, but I have constantly resent it. I guess I have to really process this thing. You can consider this post an update, or you can consider it a sharing. Things don’t really go well on my side, no income for the past 2 months as my mind was divided into 3 areas, my study in Knowledge Management, my freelancing programmer, and my job search in Knowledge Management area, either full or part time. Seemingly, there…

• The Shadow Effect

  Robert A.

  26 Aug 2009 | 5:47 pm

  photo credit: Panoramas Do you have the little self within you that you’ve been trying to hide all the time? It could be your childhood trauma. It could be wounds and hurts that forced you to hide them. And, by the way, it is your shadow. It is something that you want to hide behind accomplishment and fake personality. It is also be something that you think you are not, a potential that you purposely hide within you. They are like beach ball that will float on water. The more you dislike them, the more you push it under and eventually the more pressure you will feel. One better way is to…

• 25 Lessons of Entrepreneurship

  Robert A.

  22 Aug 2009 | 8:35 pm

  photo credit: James Jordan It’s been three weeks since my new journey begins. I didn’t know that I have learned so much during these three weeks.Thanks to CK Reyes that gave me an opportunity to reflect on my three-weeks journey and share my 25 tips of entrepreneurship in her blog. It’s not an easy journey, but I really have to thank God for the opportunities and open doors He brings to me. Also thanks to my friends and associates that has helped me along the way. The article summarizes the lessons I learned the past three weeks. It is a part of 100 ways to birth your…

• A New Journey

  Robert A.

  18 Aug 2009 | 8:49 am

  photo credit: wili_hybrid Two weeks have passed since my birthday. It’s  a new journey, not only as a 27th year old man, but also as a new entrepreneur. Entrepreneur? Yeah, eventually I resigned from my ex-company to explore something new in my life. Five years ago, 2nd of August 2004, I started my first job, and exactly after five years of working, here I am, a new entrepreneur. The Wild at Heart Deep within I believe that I am not reaching my potential in my previous employment. I have thought about that since last December but didn’t put up enough courage to leave the job.

• July Hiatus

  Robert A.

  6 Jul 2009 | 6:00 am

  photo credit: lecates I’ve been thinking about what I should write next. It can be my argument with a friend last week, my experience in networking with some friends, my tendency to rush things or put too many things together, my book that I read, or the thing that has bugged my mind the most recently. Writing is a good opportunity for me to reflect and learn. I’m happy that the past month I can be productive again. I can actually blog much more often, faster, and easier. It is the big lesson I learned during the past month. I wish I can make it as a reason to stay writing,…

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  Sources of Insight

• 3 Mindsets That Support You

  JD

  18 Nov 2009 | 11:32 pm

  I’ve been exploring mindsets for a while as a way to improve effectiveness, and I thought it would be helpful to share some latest thinking from the book I’m working on.  A mindset is a mental attitude.  It shapes your actions and your thoughts, as well as how you perceive and respond to events.  A common example is whether you see the glass “half empty” or “half full.”    Your mindset can quickly change what you think, feel, and do.  The irony of a mindset is that sometimes you don’t know that you’re stuck in one until you step out or adopt…

• Balance Connection and Conviction to Reduce Anxiety and Lead Effectively

  JD

  17 Nov 2009 | 10:16 pm

  Here’s a lens you can use to lower your anxiety and lead yourself and others more effectively.  It’s balancing connection and conviction.  It’s a good, simple model, with a lot of depth behind it. The key is to be able to take a thoughtful position while staying connected to others who disagree.  I learned this model a few years back during my Doing Leadership @ Microsoft training.  While I liked the model right from the start, I came to appreciate it more, as I put it into practice.  It’s also a great way to improve your emotional intelligence. Manage Your…

• How Explaining Human Behavior Has Morphed Over Time

  JD

  16 Nov 2009 | 10:17 pm

  While reading Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life , by Martin Seligman, I thought it was great to see how the explanation of human behavior has changed over time.  In the earlier days of psychology, popular opinion was that people are the product of their environment.  Eventually, psychologists figured out that habits of thinking can be changed and that individuals can choose the way they think. I didn’t realize how many competing schools of thought there were.  I also like the fact that eventually it was possible to connect all the dots and agree that people can…

• What Do 15 Best-Selling Authors Teach Us?

  JD

  12 Nov 2009 | 1:49 am

  Some books and authors change how we think. I was catching up with an old friend and I was distilling some of my favorite books into one-liners to show the contributions of various authors.  He suggested I share them as a post, so here it is … In Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Malcolm Gladwell  teaches us that thin slices of data tell us a lot. In Dealing with People You Can’t Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst Dr. Rick Brinkman and Dr. Rick Kirschner teach us that difficult behaviors stem from 4 intents: get the task done, get it right, get…

• Argue Your Way to Optimism

  JD

  10 Nov 2009 | 11:06 pm

  If you want to lead an optimistic life, learn to argue with yourself. The secret of optimism is not positive thinking. It’s non-negative thinking, according to Martin Seligman in the book Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life.  When bad things happen or when you face adversity, if you can argue effectively with your beliefs, you can lead yourself to hope and action instead of despair. It surprised me, but it was also refreshing to learn that optimism is not about positivity. Another way to put it is, it’s your unchallenged thoughts that can lead to pessimism. I was…

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  WHAKATE Journal News

• Taking Good Notes

  Ilike Merey

  9 Nov 2009 | 8:44 am

  Systematic note-taking can dramatically improve your listening skills and ability to recall information—and it’s not just for college students. Remember to get your free Club Membership and receive Whakate Wrap - our regular newsletter.

• Note-Taking: How to Take Notes Effectively

  Adrian Koh

  19 Oct 2009 | 11:30 pm

  The only effective note is the one that is remembered. Our Note-Taking How To uncovers proven approaches that capture important thoughts and make them quickly accessible. Remember to get your free Club Membership and receive Whakate Wrap - our regular newsletter.

• Dealing with Time

  Ilike Merey

  12 Oct 2009 | 11:30 pm

  How we perceive time greatly affects how we use it: Learn some tips on how to accurately gauge your use of time to eliminate time wasters and increase your effectiveness. Remember to get your free Club Membership and receive Whakate Wrap - our regular newsletter.

• Dealing with Criticism – Be Constructive! (Part II: Giving Criticism)

  Joy Pincus

  5 Oct 2009 | 11:30 pm

  In Part II of our series on criticism, we look at the best methods for giving criticism to ensure that comments are received and understood. Remember to get your free Club Membership and receive Whakate Wrap - our regular newsletter.

• Dealing with Criticism – Be Constructive! (Part I: How to Receive Criticism)

  Joy Pincus

  28 Sep 2009 | 11:30 pm

  How do you hold up in the face of criticism? In this first part of a two part series, we explore the best methods for dealing with criticism. Remember to get your free Club Membership and receive Whakate Wrap - our regular newsletter.

• 
  ManageYourLifeNow.com

• 7 habits for longer life

  26 Oct 2009 | 11:25 am

  Although nobody can guarantee you that by adopting a specific lifestyle you will be able to live a longer life, there are certain things you can do to increase your chances of living longer. By following some healthy guidelines for sure you have nothing to lose but you have a lot to gain. Anything you do in order to live longer has to turn into a habit. In other words you have to do it without realizing it. Healthy living and lifestyle is a way of living and this is how you should approach it. The 7 most important habits for a better life and outlined below: 1. Don't worry be happy It is…

• Tips on How to get pregnant with a boy

  25 Oct 2009 | 6:50 am

  Most couples that want to get pregnant, usually say that they do not care about the gender of the baby, and that everything is okay with them, but in most cases they would prefer one or the other. This is quite common since people do have opinions about things like this and they all root to their own childhood. If they have had only brothers, it is common to only being interested on how to get pregnant with a baby boy, because they know how to handle with them, and know what to expect. Giving birth to a girl would be something that is even frightening to them. Although this is not true in all…

• How to Get a Slender Figure in 5 Easy Steps

  24 Sep 2009 | 7:29 am

  Often it is harder to keep a slender figure than it is to get it. After a drastic weight loss diet your body acts uncontrollable and starts packing fats. This is why you should avoid using rapid weight loss diets to shed those extra pounds. What you should do is learn from the people that have a slender figure and keep it over time. The people that had all their life a slender figure, or for a long time, don’t use operations or expensive treatments to maintain it. Some do but most can’t afford them. What they all do is use some simple tricks. Here are just 5 tips that will help you get…

• 6 Surefire Ways to Get Better Sleep

  1 Sep 2009 | 11:55 am

  Having a little trouble getting enough zzz’s? It’s not uncommon for adults to go through periods of insomnia at several different times during their lifetime. Lack of sleep causes difficulty concentrating, exhaustion and a general feeling of discomfort. In extremes, lack of sleep can also be dangerous – causing car and work accidents. But, luckily, there are ways to get your sleep back on track – often without resorting to over the counter or prescription drugs. Here are six tricks you can try to help you get back to getting a good night’s sleep.  Keep a regular schedule Waking…

• 21 Tips for a better lifestyle

  1 Jun 2009 | 1:47 am

  1. Give the necessary importance to healthy eating: It is important for the overall proper functioning of your body, health and beauty of individual organs and parts of the body such as muscles, skin, hair, nails, etc. 2. Never forget breakfast Start your day with a rich, balanced meal that will keep you full of energy until you eat at lunchtime. 3. Drink plenty of water If possible, replace any type of soft drink with water. It is far better for the body, helps digestion; it is fat burner and does not cause cellulite, such as various carbon drinks. 4. Decide, after mature reflection, what…

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  Smart Productivity

• Smart To-Do List 1.4 is Now Available

  Scott

  18 Nov 2009 | 7:37 pm

  Hello, just wanted to let you know that Smart To-Do List version 1.4 is now available for download.  This version includes some minor bug fixes as well as a couple new features.  Your to do lists are now autosaved periodically instead of only on exit.  One other new feature is a quick entry box: This quick entry box allows you to add multiple tasks quickly.  This is especially useful if you would like to copy and paste a list that you received in an email or a list from a website. You can access the Quick Task Entry window from the Tools menu or by typing q in the To-Do / Command box and…

• Password Protect Your Big Goals

  Scott

  22 Apr 2009 | 7:38 pm

  Have a BIG goal that you would like to achieve?  How about password protecting that goal.  For instance, if you’d like to retire at the age of 45, you could make one of your online passwords Retire45.  If you need to lose 20 pounds your password could be LOSeTwenty.  I’m sure you get the idea. I learned from an article I read recently on the Income.com blog that one great way to achieve goals is with incremental success.  Using this technique to create your passwords is one small method to help incrementally achieve your goals by providing a constant reminder.  According to…

• Reaching Peek Productivity

  Scott

  28 Mar 2009 | 8:22 pm

  Over the past month or so I’ve had the opportunity to try out the Peek email device.  This device is billed as the first email only gadget and retails for only $49.95.  The best part is that there is no contract to sign.  Service is a flat $19.95 a month and you can stop it whenever you’d like. I have to tell you that I have been thoroughly impressed with this simple, elegant, and useful device. As you can see from the images below the Peek is slightly shorter than the iPhone and thinner as well. Setting up the device couldn’t be easier.  I simply entered my Gmail…

• The Movie Wedge Review

  Scott

  24 Mar 2009 | 8:09 pm

  What is the Movie Wedge?  It’s a simple bean bag with an area to hold onto your iPhone.  The Movie Wedge is one of those “I didn’t realize I needed that” products that you really come to appreciate and miss when it’s not around. This product is made to hold onto your device, whether it’s an iPhone, PSP, Zune, or iPod and give your hands a break.  If you’ve ever watched a movie or even an episode of a TV show with an iPhone then you know how annoying it is to hold onto the device while you’re watching it.  I usually end up trying to prop it…

• TweetDeck Adds Facebook Integration

  Scott

  16 Mar 2009 | 7:29 pm

  TweetDeck, the most popular Twitter application, has added Facebook integration.  This update allows you to use one simple application to interface with both your Twitter followers and Facebook friends. After installing the application you can easily add your Facebook profile by clicking the icon shown above.  After you enter your Facebook credentials the status of your Facebook friends will be added as a new column (third on the right below). You can now post directly to Facebook or Twitter right from within TweetDeck.  From the TweetDeck blog: The other element is the ability to direct…

• 
  Get Organized Wizard

• Create a Chore Chart [Organizing Mission #24]

  Michele Connolly

  16 Nov 2009 | 6:23 am

  One of the secrets to personal organization is to do a little every day. Unless you actually enjoy cleaning, filing and organizing (I sure don’t!), it’s more enjoyable and effective to focus on daily or weekly chores than massive, exhausting sprees.So this week we’ll create a chore chart for your weekly or daily home organizing tasks.Remember: you only need 30 minutes for the basic mission. Extended Options are below. If you’re new, you might like to start here: 52 Organizing Missions.  Get Organized Mission #24: Create a Chore ChartStep 1: Choose Daily or WeeklyIf you’re…

• 52 Organizing Missions Update – A Cool Tool & Awesome Prizes!

  Michele Connolly

  10 Nov 2009 | 4:16 am

  Hi there Mission-mates!I’d like to:Let you know about a cool new tool to help with 52 Organizing MissionsTell you about an opportunity to win awesome prizesAsk you what you think.1. NEW: Set The Get-Organized TimerIf you’re looking for a little extra motivation to get you moving, I’ve got just the thing: a 30-minute countdown.Here’s how it works. When you’ve read your organizing mission for the week and you’re ready to begin, simply click this link -> Start The 30-Minute Timer.Make sure you’re ready to go – the countdown will start as soon as you click.2. NEW: Send Before…

• Enjoy Good Relationships [Mission #23]

  Michele Connolly

  8 Nov 2009 | 1:57 am

  Good relationships have many health and longevity benefits, yet we rarely consider how we can improve our friendships.This week, over the next 3 steps and 30 minutes, that’s exactly what we’ll do.Remember: you only need 30 minutes for the basic mission. Extended Options are below. If you’re new, you might like to start here: 52 Organizing Missions.Get Organized Mission #23: Declutter Your FriendsStep 1: List Your Friends (10 minutes)Make a quick list of the main people who occupy your discretionary time – time and activities that are up to you.Check the past few months in your diary…

• Goal Setting 101: How To Use SMART Goals to Change a Habit

  Michele Connolly

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:36 am

  [Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hikingartist/ / CC BY 2.0]You might find it easy to apply SMART goal principles to your life goals or other personal goals, like losing weight or getting better grades.But what about changing habits – can SMART goal setting apply there, too?In today’s class *puts on teacherly glasses* we’re going to turn a desired habit change into a SMART goal.Speaking Up In MeetingsLet’s say Sally has plenty of good ideas but she keeps these to herself in meetings, and it’s holding her back, career-wise.We’ll make a SMART goal of ‘speaking up in…

• Don’t Let Self-Help Turn Into Shelf-Help

  Michele Connolly

  2 Nov 2009 | 12:25 am

  Does self-help become shelf-help for you?Here’s a trick to better use what you read:As you read, have a notebook & pen beside you.When you find something to do or remember, make a note.Transfer actions to your schedule with a due date.Share ideas to remember – email or call a friend, write a summary for clients, blog it, tweet it or present it.Donate the book to a friend or library.I post Today’s Tips like this one on my Facebook Professional Page. Please come and be a fan!Related posts:Organize Your Facebook Settings For Privacy★Simplify Life Tips★ (Twitter Tweet…

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  BLOGitse

• susie's big adventure: A Child's Custody

  20 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  susie's big adventure: A Child's Custody

• men and football plus a sex taboo...Hey, man how're you doing?

  19 Nov 2009 | 6:37 am

  Egypt lost. Algeria won 1-0.  It's been a very silent day... (no, I don't normally watch football...) “I have never seen this before. So much silence and heads lowered. It is as if we lost a war and our national pride. I am shocked, but for me, the match showed us that we cannot avoid the real problems that exist here. Football can do little to change our circumstances,” he said.  How long the

• what am I blogging about? who is my audience? autch! I don't know but let's help Jay Baer!

  18 Nov 2009 | 3:54 am

  You remember I posted about sharing? I'm sorry but I have to tell you what has happened after that. I found myself on Jason Baer's blog yesterday. After that I've been a very busy woman!  Jason asked on his article few questions and now I'm even more confused! Who is the audience for your blog? I don't know! Help me! Mamma mia! I started as an expat (about my life in Egypt but I stay mainly at

• what's your favourite colour?

  17 Nov 2009 | 12:03 am

  We need colour in our lives! And music! What is the best band mixing these together?! L I V I N G  C O L O U R We saw them on stage in Byron Bay, Australia 31.12.1997 - what a night that was! I love Byron Bay!!! And this band!!! Living Colour perfoms Cult of Personality, Desperate People and Love Rears Its Ugly Head at World Cafe Live.  From the On Stage at World Cafe Live DVD recorded in

• sharing rocks! 'How people share content on the web'... sosiaalinen media kukoistaa!

  16 Nov 2009 | 4:03 am

  On my yesterday's posting I shared information about some Finnish bloggers joined together and how they made pieces of art & let their creativity to bloom! Some of you know already that I like to share. In the morning I noticed Mari Koo's (a Finnish social media blogger - sorry, only in Finnish) tweet about sharing. What did I find? An interesting posting by Journalistics 'How people share

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  PluginID

• Wanted: You, for Self Sabotage

  Glen

  18 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  Note from Glen: Today is very special because not only is this the first ever guest post on PluginID (we’re not accepting any more), but it’s also the birthday of Diggy who writes about Self Improvement and travels the world with me. Out of all the things that stop you from reaching your dreams and being successful, could it be possible that you yourself are the single biggest obstacle? It sounds paradoxical, I know. Why on earth would you want to prevent yourself from reaching your own goals or even sabotage yourself to such a degree that you fail? Up until a few months ago I had…

• Project Amsterdam: 2 Years in 2 Weeks (+ Video)

  Glen

  10 Nov 2009 | 11:31 am

  I found myself browsing around on Facebook yesterday which is probably because I’m coming to the end of my 6 week challenge. I noticed under my profile picture the ‘Videos of you’ section and decided to click on it to refresh my memory about what is there. The first video was of myself and a friend, Candice, in a bar not long after I arrived in South Africa. I remember this night so perfectly, as if it was last week, and was completely shocked to see it dated: November 2007. Knowing it has been two years since that video was taken makes me realise how fast life can fly by…

• 5 Things I’ve Learned On My 6-Week Challenge

  Glen

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:13 am

  As many of you know, just over four weeks ago I started a six week challenge. My challenge came about when I found that my productivity had dramatically dropped and I wanted to try cutting out the distractions from my life. Those ‘distractions’ ended up being Instant Messaging, Facebook, Alcohol, Television and Internet gaming. Although I’m still on the challenge, I feel that I’m far enough along to have learned some lessons about myself and I’ve been through enough to see if this type of challenge is going to help me in the future. To cut a long story short, I…

• Back to Basics: I’m Now Using Timetables

  Glen

  27 Oct 2009 | 8:06 am

  When I’m finished with this post, it will be the third article written today and right now it’s only 1:30pm. I honestly can’t remember a day when I’ve wrote as many quality articles in such a short amount of time. There are three things that I can attribute to my productivity today. The first is that I’m using an awesome Mac application called Self Control (more on that later) and the second is that I’m not longer being pestered by Diggy on Skype (it’s actually the other way around). The third reason, and the most important, is that I actually set…

• How to Get Passionate About Boring Tasks

  Glen

  21 Oct 2009 | 7:44 am

  I recently opened up to you guys and allowed you to ask me anything you want. This wasn’t some ego trip so that I could claim guru status, but I noticed that the majority of times people emailed me, they apologised in advance for ‘wasting my time’. Therefore, I wanted to make it clear that people shouldn’t feel bad for asking me questions, and the post was a chance for people to do so. One thing that surprised me was the number of comments and emails I received about how to enjoy things that you don’t. How to get through a chore you hate but have no choice but to…

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  Simplistic Thoughts

• Inspiration and Hope

  Nick

  19 Nov 2009 | 6:41 pm

  I came across this great video last night that really brings to the point, “it’s all about how you choose to look at things. Take a look and let me know what you think.

• Common Japanese Words list for Anki and Mnemosyne

  Nick

  16 Nov 2009 | 2:42 am

  Living in Japan, I have made a number of posts about learning the Japanese language and living in Japan. So for all of you readers who are interested, or might be thinking about studying Japanese there is a list containing over 1000 common Japanese words and kanji. The list has been divided up to make it easier to learn and has also been converted into different formats. You can use it with both Anki and Menmosyne. Since it is in txt file it should also work with many memory programs. You can download the lists at the link below Common Japanese Words Good luck!

• Running on the Balls of Your Feet

  Nick

  5 Oct 2009 | 8:44 pm

  I first started trying this about two and a half months ago. I read an article somewhere that said it was an easier way to run and that it may be better for your body. So I figured what the heck and went for it. It wasn’t easy in the beginning and I had to adjust (you can read more about that here). However, as a result, I was able to run further, faster, my became much stronger, and any pains I felt went away. Since I now run in my $4 generic crocs, I also don’t need expensive running shoes. While this is just running, I have taken this a much bigger lesson. Our body naturally…

• Are Running Shoes Bad For You?

  Nick

  25 Aug 2009 | 9:02 pm

  Are running shoes bad for you? This is a question that I first asked myself after seeing some of the new types of shoes being offered such as the Vibram Five Fingers. I don’t remember how I originally found out about the idea of  running “barefoot”, but as I started to search and read the arguments it made a lot of sense. Now I am by no means a marathon runner. I run a 3-4 times a week for my own exercise and enjoyment. But I figured I would try to change my running style and see what happened. I didn’t want to go out and buy new running shoes (even though I thought…

• Cult Like Rituals

  Nick

  18 Jul 2009 | 6:46 am

  Just about every club, sport, and organization has them. Some kind of ritual or rule, spoken or unspoken, that everyone goes by. When I trained karate as a teenager, it was an unspoken rule that we weren’t to enter other dojos. In most cases, no one knows why the rule or ritual is there, but it is followed just the same. It’s done that way because that’s the way it’s always been done. Instead of following blindly, we should be asking “why”. Since moving to Miyakojima my wife has started doing hula. Now I am not going to claim to know anything about hula,…

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  LEGENDmag

• Soul by the Pound: DJ Platurn (Oakland Faders) and Kat 0l0 (Crown City Rockers) release a classic remix

  Rai-mon Nemar

  18 Nov 2009 | 4:32 pm

  You have to love a great colab and when it’s two of your favs it’s even better. DJ Platurn and Kat have outdone themselves with this remix of  Midnight Star’s “Midas Touch”, which will be released on vinyl through the BSTRD BOOTS label on November 24th. You can pre-order your copies (yes, purchase multiples) through AccessHipHop.com In the mean time this should hold you over! Related posts:Crown City Rockers are the Bay Area Hip Hop Soul Sound on “The Day After Tomrrow” (mp3)Finding your “Soul Power” with Raashan Ahmad, of the Crown City Rockers…

• DineIndie.com’s chef tour

  Rai-mon Nemar

  17 Nov 2009 | 1:21 am

  We’ve known about dineindie.com for some time now. Through our search for “all things indie” we often come across those like minded guys and gals that we just can’t resist. Enjoy the NYC Dineindie Chef Tour and download recipes here. Related posts:The mp3 experiment tour: 2 down 2 to goJamie Lidell: Tour Time!Fools Gold: Tour Time

• Soul by the Pound: Sake 1 and J Boogie talk to LEGENDmag about life, the Bay Area and what else…music!

  Rai-mon Nemar

  17 Nov 2009 | 12:37 am

  ON FINDING AND SELECTING MUSIC Recording your vinyl is really a big part of keeping your sound original. When I made the switch to DJing digitally (Serato), I realized I was DJing differently than I did when I spun with vinyl. I always think to include a lot of my “special treats” that I always played out on vinyl from when I was picking up a lot of music while traveling. Whether I was in San Francisco—going to Groove Merchant, Open Mind, Amoeba, Tweaking; or shopping in Japan; or hitting up Beat Street or Turntable Lab in New York—it’s all been collected over time. J Boogie—I try…

• “Who’s Buying” Brings a New Payment Option to the Table for Jet-Setting iPhone Lovers Worldwide

  kc! Bradshaw

  15 Nov 2009 | 9:51 am

  We’ve all had those moments: You are out to dinner with a group of friends—and while it didn’t start out family-style eating… definitely ended up there. The bill arrives it’s a mad rush to calculates up how much they should contribute. Those who ate the most prefer to just split the check, while the one guy in the corner who only had a beer is waving $5 at the pile. Well, I would propose a better solution: gamble! I recently checked out Who’s Buying for iPhone (made by JetSet Games) and can attest to it’s usefulness. Granted, in the end, one of you will…

• Recent LEGENDmag Twitter Updates

  LEGENDmag

  14 Nov 2009 | 11:00 am

  New blog post: A great video on long-term thinking, etched in volcanic stone http://bit.ly/4rtQZp # If you haven't found the @independent fashion bloggers website yet….time to get to surfin'. http://heartifb.com/ # Related posts:Recent LEGENDmag Twitter UpdatesRecent LEGENDmag Twitter UpdatesRecent LEGENDmag Twitter Updates

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  Karin Manske's Weblog

• What Lights You Up? Life Coaching in Action

  Karin

  17 Nov 2009 | 2:55 pm

  Taking Off Sometimes what we want is not what we need to be happy. A few years ago a client came to me and told me that what she wanted most was a relationship. She was very successful in running her own business and somehow the romance department had been taking a back seat. After starting to work with her, one thing got very clear very fast: It was not the prospect of being in a relationship that excited her but the idea of taking a break from her business. She had been working in a high pressured industry for many years and was exhausted. As many of us would do in a similar situation, she…

• Live Everything - Rainer Maria Rilke

  Karin

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:04 pm

  … I beg you … to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in every foreign language. Don’t search right now for the answers, which could not be given you, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without ever noticing it, live your way into the answers.” –Rainer Maria Rilke If you are curious about finding some of your own life answers,…

• ‘What Lights You Up’ - Life Coaching Show

  Karin

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:30 am

  Join me and David Rodriguez in this new episode of Coach TV LA, filmed in Santa Monica on October 31, 2009. Are you curious to find out what lights YOU up? Answer our ‘What Lights You Up Questionnaire’ or join us for “Translate Your Passion Into Business”, a one-day workshop in Santa Monica on November 21, 2009. Tweet This Post  Facebook

• Mistakes Men Make in Relationships with Women

  Karin

  29 Oct 2009 | 5:23 pm

  #5 Not Telling a Woman How Much You Appreciate Her We know that men have a hard time talking about feelings and that they show their affection through action. However, women love to hear how much you appreciate us. You probably did so when we first met. Keep it up, it does NOT get old. Here are a few good phrases you can use: * Darling, you are looking great! * Thank you so much for making dinner (breakfast, lunch, etc.) for me. * I am so happy to be with you. * You look beautiful in that new dress. * I love it when you smile like that. If it is hard for you to express your adoration in…

• Mistakes Men Make in Relationships With Women

  Karin

  23 Oct 2009 | 10:28 am

  #4 Ignoring Women’s Wisdom Women are wise, men are brilliant. While men are masters at planning, solving problems, creating innovative systems, and developing strategies, women are wise in a whole different way: We have the ability to ‘read’ our environment. Not only do we pick up on people’s thoughts and their intentions, we can also detect the mood of a room or the outcome of a meeting. While this sensitivity is developed to different degrees in each woman, we all have the ability to pick up on subtle clues in our surroundings. If a woman is skilled at this, she will…

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  Declutter You

• 7 Packing Tips for Holiday Travel

  DeClutterYou

  16 Nov 2009 | 1:25 pm

  Perhaps it has happened to you.  After waiting in the long line to check your bag, you finally reach the airline ticket counter. It’s 10 AM and you’re already tired from getting up early to pack since you waited till the last minute.  The not-so-chipper ticket agent tells you to place your suitcase on the scale.  You begin to sweat, because you dread this moment each time your travel.  Will your bag be too heavy?  You struggle to place your overfull suitcase on the scale and cringe as the digital numbers read, 57 lbs.  At 7 pounds overweight, that’s a $50 one-way…

• Home Sweet Home (Office)

  DeClutterYou

  22 Sep 2009 | 4:49 pm

  One of my favorite modern furniture stores in DC, Vastu has a great design blog.  Recently they had a great post on home office design.  I wanted to share with you their words of wisdom. Home Sweet Home (Office) Designing your home office can be challenging.  It needs to complement the design aesthetic of the rest of the house, but be different enough that it promotes productivity while in the space.  Your home office may not even be a room of it’s own, but need to exist in a space that has other functions like a guest room, bedroom or living room.  Well the Vastu Design Services team…

• Closet Organizing – How to Install an elfa® Closet

  DeClutterYou

  23 Jul 2009 | 3:35 pm

  I work with elfa® frequently and find it rather easy to install.  The product is affordable, very sturdy, and flexible enough to use in most any space.  If you enjoy simple, do-it yourself type projects, this how-to video demonstrates how you can install your own elfa® closet system from The Container Store. This is the eighth video in a nine-part series on how to organize your closet like a pro. Be sure to review the seventh video in this series, where I explained the closet parts, tools, and important safety considerations. What’s your biggest challenge in your bedroom closets?

• Electronics Recycling in Montgomery County Maryland – This Weekend!

  DeClutterYou

  21 Jul 2009 | 8:33 am

  In April 2008, the Consumer Electronics Association published a Market Research Report called: Trends in CE Reuse, Recycle and Removal which reported the average American Household has 24 electronic products per household. I don’t know about you, but as I look around my apartment, I have MANY more then 24! With that said, when it is time to recycle the items, we all must do our part to recycle the electronics. This weekend, Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste Services is hosting another FREE electronics recycling event. Sunday, July 26, 2009, 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. Sherwood High…

• Closet Organization – Steps to Install an elfa® Closet System

  DeClutterYou

  15 Jul 2009 | 2:50 pm

  We’re excited so many of you have been following this how-to closet organizing video series.  Now that we’ve sorted all the ’stuff’ from the closet, and removed the closet system that wasn’t working, we are ready to begin installing the new elfa® system from The Container Store. In this video, I’ll show you the tools necessary to install the closet, explain the various hardware pieces, and share with you a few safety concerns.  This is a 3 minute video and it is the seventh in a series of nine videos. If you have questions about any of the tools, or…

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  Lifescript.com: Life

• Q&A - Help! My Husband Thinks I'm a Bad Wife

  16 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  By John H. Sklare, Ed.D, Lifescript Personal Coach Q: I'm 22 years old and have been married for one year. Ever since we married things have gone downhill. Everything I do is wrong or not to his standards, and he treats me like dirt. He tells me I need to learn how to be a wife and not a child. I always think I'm doing right, but in his eyes I'm not. I’m worthless and a bad wife. Please help!-Carrie K.A: Hi Carrie,I’m sorry to read about your problem. I actually cringed a bit when I read your description of being treated “like dirt.” Nobody deserves or should accept that kind of…

• Q&A - How Can I Help My Unemployed Relatives?

  9 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  By John H. Sklare, Ed.D, Lifescript Personal Coach Q: My son has been out of work for six months now and my sister is being transferred to another job. I know my relatives are in financial distress, but I don't know how to help. Can I help to ease their pain?-M. M.A: Hi M.M.,I’m sorry to read about the employment predicament of your son and sister. Unfortunately, their situation is shared by countless others around the country due to today’s tenuous economic times and volatile job market. Being employed is critical to our sense of self, mental health and physical well-being, so you are…

• Anguish of Alzheimer’s: How a Hollywood Couple Copes

  8 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  By Linda Childers, Special to Lifescript Best known for the 1980s TV drama “L.A. Law,” Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker are also one of Hollywood’s most enduring couples. But they were thrown a curveball when Jill’s mother developed Alzheimer’s – and they became her caregivers. In honor of Alzheimer's Awareness Month, find out how the stars handled the challenges and get their advice for others coping with dementia in this Lifescript exclusive... Veterans of film, TV and theater, Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker have weathered much in their 36-year marriage: blended families,…

• Billy Joel's Ex Dishes on Food, Entertaining and Breakup

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  By Jenn Garbee, Special to Lifescript Katie Lee may be best known as the soon-to-be ex of music superstar Billy Joel. But the 28-year-old is dishing up her own success as a cookbook author and correspondent for CBS’ "The Early Show." In this Lifescript exclusive, she spills secrets about her life with the Piano Man and how to make the perfect turkey… For Katie Lee, Southern hospitality comes naturally — from the two most important women in her life, her mom and grandmother. “Grandma always entertained and always had something on the stove,” the West Virginia native says. It's a…

• He's Abusive: Why Does She Love Him?

  3 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  By Venus Nicolino, Ph.D., Lifescript Relationship Expert Dear Dr. V, My man and I were together 11 years, during which we had three children. At first, he was only verbally abusive, but then he became abusive to the point of hospital visits for me and jail for him. I have lied for him, thinking I was doing the right thing for the kids so they could have their dad. Now he’s looking at life in prison for raping me and choking me. But for some reason, I feel sorry for him and don't know how to stop. He tells me he still loves me and I fall for it. I feel so stupid for trying to think of ways…

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  Lifescript.com: Soul

• High-Value Living

  15 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  By John H. Sklare, Ed.D, Lifescript Personal Coach What kind of a life do you lead on a daily basis? Are you the type of person that notices those wonderful little things or do you walk around with blinders on, oblivious to the wonders around you? In my opinion, there are far too many people who miss the simple, free gifts that life offers daily. These people seem to sleepwalk through their day, doing the same things, seeing the same people and thinking the same thoughts.As you digest that thought, let me make a potentially life-altering suggestion: Embrace a concept that I’m going to call…

• Motivation: Friend or Foe?

  12 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  By John H. Sklare, Ed.D, Lifescript Personal Coach Motivation is a key ingredient for success. Conversely, it can be the downfall for many: It all depends on how you approach and use motivation. Take weight loss, for example. If losing 40 pounds is your motivation, what happens once you lose that weight? Since you reached your goal, you must develop another motivator if you want continued success. On the other hand, if you make healthy living your goal and consequently lose 40 pounds, your goal remains intact. This way, you can continue with your healthy living goal. My message today is to be…

• Q&A - How Do I Find Purpose in Life?

  11 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  By John H. Sklare, Ed.D, Lifescript Personal Coach Q: I’m in a very dark hole: I’m newly divorced, unemployed and wallowing in self-pity. I have no reason to get out of bed! How do I find this clarion call, or a call to action? Help me find my calling!-Dale M.A: Hi Dale,You ask a great question about finding that special something that motivates you to get out of bed and engage yourself in life. Simply put, a clarion call is a strong motivation or internal drive to take action. Some people are lucky enough to immediately recognize their mission, but most of us have to discover, feed…

• Happy Veteran's Day

  10 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  By John H. Sklare, Ed.D, Lifescript Personal Coach In the early hours of November 11, 1918, representatives from France, Britain and Germany met in a railroad car near Compiegne, France, to sign an agreement that would officially bring an end to World War I. The ceremony took place at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. For many years, this day was called Armistice Day, as it was dedicated to honoring those brave soldiers who fought in World War I. In 1954, Congress decided to call it Veteran’s Day to honor and celebrate all of America’s brave Veterans.I suggest we all take a…

• Soldier On

  8 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  By John H. Sklare, Ed.D, Lifescript Personal CoachMany of you feel that you have your back up against the wall. Maybe you’ve suddenly found yourself without a job and are fighting to find a new one. Or maybe you’re fighting to save a relationship. Or maybe you find yourself battling an illness. If this sounds like you and you’re growing weary of fighting this battle, I have a suggestion for you today.Although you may feel like you have very little, if any, fight left in you, I say soldier on! Even if the road you must travel is full of detours and pot holes, I say soldier on! Regardless…

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  Quips & Tips for Achieving Your Goals

• How to Spend Less at Christmas – Money Tips for Couples

  Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

  19 Nov 2009 | 3:42 pm

  Spending less money at Christmas is possible with these tips from “The Money Couple” themselves! The holiday season doesn’t have to bring heavy credit card bills or financial stress – that’s no way to start the New Year. Before their tips, a quip: “What’s Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in ‘em through a round dozen of months presented against you? If I would work my will … every idiot who goes about with…

• How to Do Your Christmas Shopping Online – Holiday Gift Tips

  Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

  18 Nov 2009 | 9:08 pm

  The earlier you start your Christmas shopping, the happier and wealthier you’ll be! These tips for finding the best holiday gifts online will help you set and achieve your shopping goals for the season. “I don’t wait for moods,” said Pearl S. Buck. “You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” She probably wasn’t talking about Christmas shopping, and she definitely wasn’t referring to people who love to shop for holiday gifts! They’re always in the mood. Regarding Christmas shopping: you can find lots of wonderful gift ideas…

• Kindle as a Christmas Gift – A How to Guide for New Users

  Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:21 am

  If you’re giving Kindle 2 as a holiday present (it’s now available in Canada), these “how to use Kindle” tips will help you and your gift recipient. This wireless reading device can be a great Christmas gift idea – if you know how to use it! Kindle is perfect for people who travel or college students who read textbooks. And, Kindle’s new “text to speech” application might make it a perfect holiday gift idea for elderly parents! Kindle is now on sale on Amazon (from $299 to $259)… “Kindle is the most wished for, the most gifted, and the #1 bestselling product across the…

• My Girlfriend is Gaining Weight – What Should I Do?

  Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

  16 Nov 2009 | 12:47 pm

  A reader wrote in that his girlfriend is gaining weight, and it’s affecting her self-image and their love for each other. He needs relationship help, and he’s not alone: as North America gets chubbier, many partners wonder how they can help their overweight partners. Here’s a brief excerpt of this reader’s question, which he posted on my Ask a Question page: “I’ve been seeing my girlfriend for about six months, and I am absolutely in love with her. …since we met, she has gained 25 pounds. I’m concerned about the long term effects of her weight and of her weight gain. It…

• 7 Christmas Gift Ideas for Elderly Parents or Grandparents

  Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

  13 Nov 2009 | 2:50 pm

  Are you stuck for holiday gift ideas for your grandparents or elderly mom and dad? Here are seven tips that, if they aren’t the perfect gift ideas for elderly parents or grandparents, will at least get your creative juices flowing! Before the tips, a quip: “If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I’d have had them first.” ~ Lois Wyse. Before you get too caught up in searching for the absolute perfect Christmas gift for your grandparents, remember that you can do no wrong as a grandchild. Grandpas and grandmas love you no matter what – and so do elderly…

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  Change Your Life Hacks

• 3 things you can do to change your life instantly

  admin

  14 Nov 2009 | 12:11 pm

  Everybody have problems in their life and at some point they enter a situation where they feel miserable and unhappy. This is a stage in life where your self esteem and confidence are in very low levels and you do not know what to do to get out of this vicious circle. Although the reasons that cause this situation are different for everyone and they are based on many parameters, there are 3 things you can do that can change your life instantly. These 3 things can help you revert the situation and see your life from a different perspective. In summary, you need to find the lost energy in your…

• 7 New Year’s Resolutions that will change your life

  admin

  26 Oct 2009 | 1:15 pm

  The New Year is approaching and for many people this is the time to make their New Year’s resolutions and hope that the New Year will bring them a new life. In order to change your life you have to know first what you want to change and what to expect from your new life. Several studies about New Year’s resolutions showed the most popular wishes people make for the New Year. These include the following: Better financial position, lose the extra weight, find a better job, drink less alcohol, quit smoking, and manage stress better and life a more relaxing life. The chances are that your own…

• Change your life and become successful

  admin

  1 Oct 2009 | 7:49 am

  Success can be defined in many different ways. Whether you are looking for financial success or are looking for information on how to improve the overall quality of your life, read on. In this article we’ll discuss several elements that play an important role in how to be successful in life including goal setting, living according to your values and cherishing each day. By the end of the article you will have new ideas you can implement to change your life. Have Goals and Work Toward Them The best thing you can do to be successful in life is to brainstorm your goals – all of your goals.

• 5 Dieting Tricks For Rapid Weight Loss that can change your life

  admin

  24 Sep 2009 | 7:53 am

  If you want to succeed and lose weight you have to pay extra attention the details. You can spend all the money you want on expensive fitness machines and weight loss treatments if you breakdown each 3 days and binge like mad. If you want to lose weight you have to be constant. Here are 5 easy and rapid weight loss tricks that will help you lose all your excess weight: 1)Drink lots of water or other beverages with zero calories: before eating anything drink a big glass of water. It is very common for the human body to mix up the thirst and hunger signals. The truth is that more often than not…

• Change your life by getting rid of headaches

  admin

  22 Sep 2009 | 1:27 pm

  When talking about making changes to your life we are not always talking about how to make money or how to be successful or how to find happiness. There are other simpler (or more complicated) things that you need to take care off in order to change your life. Changing your life can also mean improving the quality of your life. To improve the quality of your life you need to identify those things that impact negatively your life and take corrective actions. One of the situations that have a negative impact on the daily life of millions of people around the planet is headaches. Headaches are…

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  Dimitar Nikolov

• Success: It’s Not A Piece of Cake

  Dimitar Nikolov

  12 Nov 2009 | 4:30 am

  I’d like you to think about this for a second: have you heard of any self-made millionaire that snapped his fingers and magically became rich? If you have, write to me and I’ll treat you a beer. We often forget that success requires (exhaustingly) hard work. Only a great investment of time, will and efforts will get you to the top, unless one of your parents’ name is Rockefeller. The question here is whether you’re ready to make the big leap and put all of your energy into succeeding and achieving your professional or personal goals. People make wrong choices, all of…

• You Have No Limits

  Dimitar Nikolov

  11 Nov 2009 | 7:11 am

  Beginning from primary school, society puts you in a box with limits. You may have been good in chemistry, but your litterature grades weren’t so bright, for example. So you end up in a situation where you’re expected to be best in everything, which is simply impossible. But there’s something that nobody in primary, secondary school or even university taught you. You have absolutely no limits when it comes to being happy. You’re free to keep experimenting until you find your perfect job that brings you money and joy. You’re free to keep searching for the perfect…

• Three Great Law of Attraction Books

  Dimitar Nikolov

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:24 pm

  If you’re a regular reader of mine, you may have noticed that I’m a fan of the law of attraction. It’s a thought principle that began in the 20th century. It claims that you get anything you focus your time, thoughts and emotions on (oh, really?). No matter positive or negative. 1. The Secret This book by Rhonda Byrne introduces the law of attraction in an easy to understand manner. It’s a must-read for everyone who’s watched the film its named after. Despite containing lots of quotes from the movie, it expands further with more clarity on how to really attract…

• When Things Go Wrong

  Dimitar Nikolov

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:32 am

  Every now and then, things just go wrong. It can be for days, weeks or months and yes, it’s quite a challenge to beat the resulting depression. I’d like you to stop for a bit and think about this: Do you know a person that has no problems whatsoever? Because I simply can’t. I suppose that neither can you. Problems are a natural part of your everyday life. Only when you realize that, will you be able to start concentrating on how to solve them, unless on the negative thoughts and emotions they provoke. What I’m trying to share with you is that things go wrong sooner or…

• How to Start Enjoying Your Life

  Dimitar Nikolov

  1 Nov 2009 | 12:21 pm

  You can start by enjoying the comfort of your home. Or by relishing a humble cup of sweet relaxing tea. Start with anything you want. You don’t have to invest anything, nor make efforts – you simply have to feel grateful and happy with the moment. Now that you’ve started, why not enjoy yourself, your family, your loved one, your good friends, your helpful contacts and every positive, energetic person you know? Yes, that too would be a small step towards happiness. At work, savour your success and productivity. Experience the goodness of having a relaxing conversation with…

• 
  Mystic Madness

• Opinions And Advice – How To Make Best Use of Them

  Amit

  19 Nov 2009 | 3:51 am

  Sometimes my job is everyone’s job. At times I have been given a job which eventually turns out to be everyone’s job. So if you finally turn up handling such jobs, you tend to have plenty of opinions and advice from almost everyone who is involved with you. The situation becomes more complicated when you have to take a decision and everyone has an advice for you. How smartly you handle opinions and advice determines the level of maturity you demonstrate on your job. And yes it is an important ... Related posts:Job Interview Advice – How To Sell Yourself Ever wondered why Job…

• Wake Up RockStar

  Amit

  18 Nov 2009 | 6:54 am

  There is no better time than today. There is no better moment than Now. Wake Up Rockstar, this is your day, this is your moment to Rock. Not many of us realize that this is only one life that we have. Where will we go afterwards? No one knows and no one would ever know. If our days are fixed in this world then why not do things that make us happy? Why not do things that we love to do? I understand that we have responsibilities towards ourselves and ... Related posts:How To Deal With Difficult People Much has been said about dealing with difficult people...10 Situations Where You Always Lie…

• How To Deal With Bullies

  Amit

  16 Nov 2009 | 3:05 am

  This post is not about the bully game or ant the bully movie but it is about dealing with bullies you face in everyday life. They can be just anywhere like in school, workplace, neighborhood or streets.  The Bullies command a position by virtue of their some quality that makes them beatdown or take other people for ride in an unruly manner. Intentional or unintentional, the truth is that their behaviors do give some problems to people who are at receiving end and make them feel helpless or bad about ... Related posts:How To Deal With Difficult People Much has been said about dealing with…

• Getting Fired

  Amit

  11 Nov 2009 | 4:23 am

  This post is dedicated to one of my friend who got fired recently. It is not about his experiences but what I could learn from him. There is a clear understanding that one can derive on how job markets operate and why almost everyone is susceptible to market changes. Getting fired not because you are not required but because company cannot afford you anymore is common in worse market situation. If you happen to be a victim of any such related situation where the reason is everything except you poor ... Related posts:How To Ask For A Raise Should you ask for a pay raise or should you...Top 10…

• Problem Solving Skills – How to Solve Problems the Rocking Way

  Amit

  10 Nov 2009 | 3:14 am

  Ever imagined why some people posses the problem solving skills while other just scout for answers? Everybody at some point in their lives has wondered what it takes to develop skills and posses techniques that make them rock the right way. The answer is no different from all the hacks we do apply in our life but the approach one takes definitely varies. Our caliber determines our standing in the industry which indirectly relates to our ability to solve difficult and peculiar problems in our lies. A problem does not ... Related posts:How To Deal With Difficult People Much has been said about…

• 
  The Time Management Blog

• No Time to Read This? Read This....

  18 Nov 2009 | 11:08 am

  The Wall Street Journal's Sue Shellenbarger recently tested three popular time management systems: Getting Things Done, The Pomodoro Technique and FranklinCovey's Focus. In her article, No Time to Read This? Read This, Sue talks about the good and bad in each system; unfortunately, she missed out on one of the best, Tony Robbins RPM System, which excels due to it's top-down design and focus on creating meaningful results. Even with missing of one of the best systems, her article gives a good overview of GTD and the other systems and is definitely worth a read.

• Tony Robbins RPM: Categories of Improvement

  18 Nov 2009 | 6:14 am

  Tony Robbins RPM system helps you live your life in balance, spending time in and improving the most important areas of your life, personally and professionally. Sound impossible? Keep reading…

• Tony Robbins RPM: The Power of Chunking

  18 Nov 2009 | 6:13 am

  Tony Robbins RPM system leverages the power of chunking. Would you rather feel overwhelmed by your never ending to do list of 40..50…100 tasks, or does focusing on 8-10 results sound better?

• Tony Robbins RPM System

  18 Nov 2009 | 6:13 am

  Would you like to know how Tony Robbins, the world’s peak performance expert plans not only his day, but his life? The answer is in Tony’s Rapid Planning Method.

• What Achievers Know About Time Management

  16 Sep 2009 | 6:25 am

  I came across a short article titled What Every Super Achiever Knows About Time Management That You Don't. The point of the article completely reinforces the results and purpose of the Tony Robbins RPM system: 1. Achievers focus on their outcomes and results they're committed to achieving, not their to-do lists 2. To do list provide a great excuse to avoid the difficult tasks 3. As pointed out by the article, "Achievers don't manage their time, they create, manage and maximize their opportunities" 4. Balance in your life is critical Which is the whole point of the Top Down RPM System: manage…

• 
  Illuminated Mind

• De-Compartmentalizing Your Life and the Extinction of Boundaries

  Jonathan

  19 Nov 2009 | 5:44 pm

  It could easily be said that my entire life’s purpose is to live in complete congruence. I would say that that that is your life purpose as well — and perhaps everyone’s — if we take the idea far enough. So first, let’s talk about what this even means. Because if you’re like me, the word “congruent” probably reminds you of 6th grade geometry and not much else. It actually has another meaning, though, and that is alignment. When you’re living in complete congruence, complete alignment, no part of you is conflicting with any other part of you. There…

• The Number One Self-Development Mistake, And The Fake Growth Addict

  Jonathan

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:41 pm

  Not all that claims to be growth is real growth. Much of what masquerades as growth is a narcissistic pursuit in a shrewd disguise. What I’ve come to realize is that much of the time, when I think I’ve been growing, I haven’t really been growing. I’ve been trying to fix or improve myself. The line between authentic growth on the one hand, and fake growth on the other, is an obscured landscape. Sometimes I think that I’m growing, and I really believe wholeheartedly that I am. Then I notice an undercurrent of duplicity, and when I dig deeper, I find that what was…

• The Ownership of Conversation

  Jonathan

  22 Oct 2009 | 10:38 am

  Within the social web, everyone wants to own a conversation. They want to be the person someone thinks of when they think of a certain topic, or trend. On the other hand, everyone talks about the beauty of open-source conversation within the social web. Everyone contributes, everyone can chime in. Everyone pretends that no one really owns anything. “We’re all in this together” is the mantra of those who own branded spaces online. For a long time, I’ve been thinking about this interesting phenomenon. Everyone wants their ideas to spread, but some people don’t like…

• What Does it Take to Eat Raw?

  Jonathan

  19 Oct 2009 | 6:43 pm

  As some of you may know, at the beginning of this year I made the commitment to go 100% Raw for 30 days. It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I felt incredible, had more energy than ever, and felt a certain lightness that I’ve never experienced while eating other diets. Since then, I’ve modified my eating to about 60-80% raw. Some of the challenges I’ve faced have been: How to manage sharing meals with a non-raw eater. Finding variety. Overcoming cravings for cooked and unhealthy foods. My biggest challenge has been overcoming the social aspect of eating…

• Last Chance to Get Paid to Exist

  Jonathan

  11 Oct 2009 | 12:21 pm

  I wanted to give you a fair warning. There are a little over 12 hours left until the doors close for good to Paid to Exist. I’ll be honest, I don’t need you to join. The class is near capacity right now (about three spots left), and I’m ready to kick this thing off next Wednesday. This isn’t about me, it’s about you. If you want to make sure that you don’t put off taking the plunge (and making getting paid to do what you love work), this program is for you. Let me say right now, there are other paths to making this work. I’d be a liar if I said this…

• 
  My Life List

• Why are you not accomplishing your goals?

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:38 am

  So why are you not accomplishing your goals? Surely you realize that if you’ve set a major life goal, achieving it will help to improve or enrich your life. So what’s holding you back?I’m going to assume it may be because you lack one or all three of the following:1. Available time;2. Clear priorities; or3. Accountability. If you identify with any of the above, what you’re really lacking are the skills to get organized. The good news is that getting organized is a skill you can learn any time.This week on My Life List™ Radio, I had the opportunity to interview Shelagh Braley, an…

• Are you up for an Adventure?

  23 Oct 2009 | 10:40 am

  Earlier this week, I came across an interesting article in the Globe and Mail. “Goodbye husband and career, hello high seas.” The article tells the story of Roz Savage who ditched her career, her husband and her house to row solo across the Atlantic. “I was stuck in this job, feeling like I was just on a treadmill of having to earn enough money so that I could afford to buy the house that was near enough to my job. It was just like this crazy cycle … And I’d think, you know, we don’t have to do this. … I felt like I wasn’t being true to myself.”Now, I’m not suggesting…

• Have you made any new friends lately?

  25 Sep 2009 | 11:09 am

  Yesterday I got a note from a friend telling me how excited her 6-year-old daughter was after meeting a new friend at school. "I made a new friend today! Her name is Annie and she likes to jump rope just like me!"Meeting new people is exciting yet as we get older we tend to become more distant to connecting with new friends. When was the last time you were excited to meet a new person? Imagine if you came home from work as excited as my friends 6-year-old. “I made a new friend today! His name is ____ and he likes to ___________ just like me!”Go ahead fill in the blanks, a big part of…

• Have you made any big decisions lately?

  11 Sep 2009 | 10:35 am

  A few months ago I shared a conversation from a guy who was planning to go to South East Asia. I ran into him last night. He had just returned from spending 70 days in Thailand and Vietnam!It was hard to believe this was the same person I met who was debating whether to go or not. He could not stop smiling as he shared the stories of his adventure. It was infectious to be around him and you could see that the trip had a profound effect on him. He now has plans to return in a year and teach English in Vietnam. It is quite evident he has been inspired by his experience. We’ve all made…

• Are you making the grade?

  28 Aug 2009 | 11:30 am

  A few weeks ago met up with a group of friends and one of them asked me if I kept score with how I was progressing with my life. It was a great question and the shocking reality was that I had never seen a way to measure how I was doing. So here is my first attempt at creating the My Life List™ Report Card. Relationships (25%)1. Do you have a romantic partner? If yes how would you rate the quality of your relationship? (0 to 10)2. Do you spend quality time with your Friends (0 to 5)3. Do you have Children? If yes how would you score your relationship with your kids? If you don’t have kids…

• 
  Awake @ The Wheel

• Daddies Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Strangers

  Jonathan Fields

  18 Nov 2009 | 8:12 am

  They don’t want to admit it, but a lot of working dads don’t want to be around their kids… That sounds so horrible. And, in fact, it’s incredibly sad. Because, for many, the solution is a lot closer than believed, once you step back and take the time to see what’s really going down. I’m not a psychologist, I’m just a guy who tends to spend a whole lot of time examining the modern human condition. And, because I’m a dad who’s chosen what most would consider an unorthodox path, I tend to focus a lot of my attention on the dynamics of being a…

• Behind The Leader: A Candid Conversation with Bill George

  Jonathan Fields

  13 Nov 2009 | 9:30 am

  A few months back, I posted about my experience at the World Business Forum in NYC. That event, two days of world-class leaders speaking to 5,000 people at Radio City, lit a bit of a fire for me to finally act on something I’ve wanted to do for a long time…start a new interview series featuring long, in-depth, candid conversations with some of the world’s most extraordinary business and thought leaders. So, today, I am thrilled to announce the first interview in my new Behind The Leader series—Bill George. Bill is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of…

• Rage Against the Sales Letter

  Jonathan Fields

  9 Nov 2009 | 3:18 am

  Long sales copy is the #1 cause of death in the U.S… Or, so a vocal few would have you believe. Attributed often as the vile creation of online scamsters, long format sales copy has been simultaneously reviled and exalted. Yet, still, it endures. So, let’s clear a few things up. First, it’s not the invention of internet marketers… It may have been co-opted and pushed to the level of backlit garishness by many, but it’s been the centerpiece of direct-response marketing for the better part of a century and sold billions of dollars of everything from Blue Blocker…

• The Geek’s Guide to Being Interesting

  Jonathan Fields

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:18 am

  I’m not the most comfortable person in social situations… Dunno why. Maybe it’s that I was raised in a household with a hippy, potter (not pothead) mom and a mad professor dad. Either way, I never quite learned the standard party openers, you know, first 10 questions to ask or ways to be instantly known as the life of the party. And, I have to admit, I kind of resented this lack of proper social grooming for a lot of years. Because everyone I knew seemed to have a much easier time than me. But, with age, comes wisdom (also known as eccentricity), and I eventually realized my…

• Are You Building a Body of Work or a Cornucopia of Chaos?

  Jonathan Fields

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:12 am

  There’s a difference. And it’s big… One is about your legacy, the other is about what’s in front of you. One is about the impact trail you deliberately blaze and leave behind, the other about the income trail you haphazardly piece together. One is about progressive, conscious building within a well defined area of interest, the other is about bouncing to wherever the next perceived opportunity lies without regard to growth and consistency. One is about being mindful, present and proactive, the other is about being disconnected, frenetic and reactive. One is about…

• 
  Human SEO Self Exploration Optimization

• Economics Spiritual Marketing and My Big Mouth Around the New Lifestyle Design

  tony

  17 Nov 2009 | 9:04 am

  Image via Wikipedia Economics Spiritual Marketing and My Big Mouth I posted a quote on my Facebook Profile the other day that got some resistance about the language it consisted of that blurred the lines of economics, consciousness & spiritual new age talk. I suppose this post comes down to innovation and your beliefs around it in regards [...]Post from: Tony TeegardenEconomics Spiritual Marketing and My Big Mouth Around the New Lifestyle Design No related posts.

• When Do You Feel The Most Authentic

  tony

  10 Nov 2009 | 9:08 am

  Wayne Dyer Image via Wikipedia When Do You Feel The Most Authentic Living authentically probably isn’t the most popular thing to write about but It sure does feel right to me. Matter of fact that’s what living authentically is about in my opinion. It feels good of course but mostly it feels right. This post was inspired by [...]Post from: Tony TeegardenWhen Do You Feel The Most Authentic No related posts.

• 3 Steps You Can Use Right Now To Pulverize Procrastination

  tony

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:04 am

  3 Steps to Pulverize Procrastination So here is a quick and simple life hack that allows you to move ahead with whatever you’ve been procrastinating on, with quickness. I know procrastination has always been a nasty issues for myself and I’m betting it is for many people. (Maybe even you?) So if procrastination pisses you off and [...]Post from: Tony Teegarden3 Steps You Can Use Right Now To Pulverize Procrastination No related posts.

• Wealth Consciousness Can You Answer These 4 Questions

  tony

  24 Oct 2009 | 9:36 am

  Image by » Zitona « via FlickrWealth Consciousness Wealth Consciousness In my opinion wealth consciousness is a path. An eventual enlightenment where you’re no longer owned by that which you desire to possess. (Worldly goods) The wealth that I used to think was so important outside of myself, wasn’t. It’s an external extension of my ego which is [...]Post from: Tony TeegardenWealth Consciousness Can You Answer These 4 Questions Related posts:3 Key Questions That Define Your Day What Will Be Your Legacy Don’t take for granted...

• How Are You Moving Your Life Forward

  tony

  21 Oct 2009 | 8:44 am

  Moving Your Life Forward to Bring About A Desired Lifestyle My good friend Matt Geib ask an in depth question to our last post, “3 Steps To Longer Lasting Decisions.” I started to answer it in the comments section however… “How does one move their life forward to bring about Their desired and Abundant & Fulfilling Lifestyle?” [...]Post from: Tony TeegardenHow Are You Moving Your Life Forward Related posts:6 Top Blog Posts To Support Change For The Better In Your Life Blogs That Support Quality Change I get a few emails...

• 
  There, I Fixed It

• 161 Is The Number Of Lives That Can Has Claimed

  Ms. Fix-It

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Submitted by: Matt Johnson. This is my mate Mikey fixing the outside light at our student house. via Submit a Kludge!

• Please Wash Hands Before Using Toilet

  Ms. Fix-It

  20 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  Submitted by: cheddamelz via Submit a Kludge!

• Emo Teen Now Cannot Claim “Sun Allergy” As An Excuse To Skip Chores

  Ms. Fix-It

  20 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Submitted by: clapeza via Submit a Kludge!

• I Love Wine Coolers!

  Ms. Fix-It

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Submitted by: Sergey M via Submit a Kludge! Favorite Comment: Fixer Daniel says, “And after you drink them you hang them again and they double as air fresheners.”

• Kept Packing Even After They Took The Kitchen Sink

  Ms. Fix-It

  19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

    Submitted by: D@vid via Submit a Kludge! Favorite Comment: Fixer Muff Master says, “Wow…..it’s like they put the truck in reverse, crashed the trailer through the front wall, and just strapped whatever got sandwiched between the trailer and the back wall to the back of the trailer! Kind of like the opposite of backing up really fast and slamming on the brakes to unload.”

• 
  How to of the Day

• How to Fix a Snag in a Sweater

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  A pulled thread can ruin the look of your knitwear, but don't despair, help is at hand. Here are easy-to-follow instructions for rescuing the situation.

• How to Hack Your Wii Remote Into a Windows Mouse

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  The Wii Remote was designed exclusively for the Nintendo Wii. Using a bluetooth adapter with BlueSoleil software, however, you can connect your Wii Remote to a computer running Windows. A third party program called GlovePie allows the Wii Remote to input information to your computer. This article will show you how to set it all up.

• How to Light a Road Flare

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  You have probably seen road flares in use. They are highly effective for warning approaching motorists of danger. You may even have some in the emergency kit in the back of your car. But have you ever lit one yourself? It's not hard, but like changing a tire, it's best if you practice and know what to expect before you need to use them.

• How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Apples and oranges, and people, are so distinct that they don't compare.We are all different yet we have a tendency to compare ourselves to others. Why? Because the marketing business makes money, because others compare us to themselves or other people, because some people get a boost out of putting us down, and from all these experiences we start feeling not good enough. Comparing yourself to others is unhealthy and unnecessary. Here's how to stop.

• How to Avoid Disempowering Your Workplace Team

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Managing is a great position from which to enthuse and encourage people. Yet, this is a balancing exercise too; while seeking to encourage your team to greater heights, there are some pitfalls to avoid that can potentially disempower your team.

• 
  David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment

• Logos for Agenceum

  Dave Seah

  19 Nov 2009 | 1:17 pm

  In the meantime, over at Agenceum Intranet, I've been working on logos and sell sheets. Agenceum is the pseudo design agency I'm working on to give myself a focus for targeting super low-budget clients. My main focus at the moment is to just create some sellable templates that I can show to a few people in my local area; for that, I need to have a handout (the "sell sheet") that makes sense to them. Of course, such a handout should have some kind of logo on it! Whee! Logo Round 1 - the first pass at a "column" idea Logo Round 2 - a wrong turn, and a new design idea Sell Sheet Draft - pulling…

• Inspiration and Insight from Anime

  Dave Seah

  17 Nov 2009 | 11:03 pm

  Summary: I've been watching quite a bit of Japanese animation (anime) lately, both familiar and new. Unexpectedly, I've reconnected with themes and feelings that I've lost touch with, and am renewed! It was just a few weeks ago that Sid and I were working in the studio, listening to cheesy eighties music and reminiscing about our favorite guilty pleasure music. While Sid has a truly brain-hurting medley of fizzy synth-pop and face-melting hair metal on tap, I didn't have any examples of the genre that I would have proudly played with downturned, slightly-reddened face. That genre is the…

• Review: Matt Cornell’s “Where Did My Day Go” E-book

  Dave Seah

  16 Nov 2009 | 6:08 pm

  Summary: A quick review of Matt Cornell's new e-book on establishing a productive methodology. Matthew Cornell (aka "Idea Matt") has been around for as long as I've been blogging, and was one of the few people I knew of who was blogging actively about workflow in a way that was practical and matter-of-fact. He sent me a copy of his new e-book, Where the !@#% did my day go? a few weeks, which I dutifully forgot about until he gently prodded me again a few days ago. Flushed with shame, I read through the book's brisk 23 pages and found it to be an excellent description of a methodology that's…

• Business Lessons from Facebook Games

  Dave Seah

  15 Nov 2009 | 8:52 am

  Summary: I've been spending time on Facebook playing little Flash games. But instead of slaying dragons in Castle Age, pretending I'm a hip dude in YoVille, or bumping off my friends in Mafia Wars, I've been getting a basic education in business thinking and profit making. Awesome. Several months ago I started checking out some of the Flash-based games on Facebook, largely out of professional interest to see where casual gaming was headed on large-scale social networks. I started out with Zynga's Farmville (above picture), which is a kind of simple "farming simulator" that is reminiscent of…

• Groundhog Day Resolution Review 11/11/2009 - Scrumbling on Happiness

  Dave Seah

  11 Nov 2009 | 11:13 am

  Summary: Having completely forgotten about doing the October 10 GHD Resolution Review, I cram it all into this relatively (for me) short November 11 Review. I summarize what I got done since last September, and what the cost was (hint: 0 revenue = lots of free time), and reflect on the framework that is now in place that has given me clarity and direction. I completely forgot to do the October Review for my Groundhog Day Resolutions, but the reason for that was that I was busy launching various endeavors, drawing pictures of them, and attaining a greater sense of clarity. So in today's…

• 
  HiLife2B

• It’s Almost Thanksgiving: What Are You Thankful For?

  Chukwuma John

  18 Nov 2009 | 10:12 pm

  Ah, yes, Thanksgiving Day; the event that the media mostly glosses over because it’s not as profitable as Christmas, but is just as important. It’s the day on which we reflect on the past, present, and future to think about what we’re grateful and thankful for. Do you realize that a week from today, it will [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• The Lazy Man’s Secret to Getting Motivated

  Chukwuma John

  15 Nov 2009 | 10:24 pm

  Human emotions are fickle things. One moment, you’re up and at ‘em – ready to take on any challenge. The next, you feel as if you can’t achieve anything, and are skeptical you ever thought you could in the first place. But what do you expect? You can’t  be high on life all of the [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Guest Post Bonanza! (And Some Updates)

  Chukwuma John

  11 Nov 2009 | 10:02 pm

  Hey guys, reporting in from HQ. If most of you aren’t already aware, I’ve been guest posting on a multitude of other blogs in recent weeks. Take a gander at some of my latest and greatest guest posts: How to Make a Difference Without a Whole Lot of Money | The Jungle of Life How Reading Books Saved [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• When Taking Action, Be the Snail and Not the Rock

  Chukwuma John

  8 Nov 2009 | 10:06 pm

  I recently completed one of my life goals yesterday: I went downtown (Chicago if you’re curious) alone. Yes, I know that it may not be a big deal, and yes, going downtown is probably an everyday occurrence for most of you, but for me, this was HUGE. Among my friends, I’m notorious for not being [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Thank You!

  Chukwuma John

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:05 pm

  I’d just like to say thanks to my nearly 200 subscribers. Some of you have been with me since I started this blog as a personal development/motivational hangout. For that, I am truly humbled. I’m so happy to have a great community where I can express myself. I feel like I can let everything out of [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 
  Sentiment of Success

• Over Protected

  my1ambition

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:13 pm

  Are we? When you sit back and think about it we realize that we no longer have any sense of independence. Or self-reliance if you will. Our ancestors sure did. They’d go out each day with two goals: Don’t get killed and eat enough to get to tomorrow. In today’s society however, it seems that [...]

• Recent Tweets #5

  my1ambition

  17 Nov 2009 | 10:09 pm

  Just in case you’ve missed out…(favorites in bold) Did you know that Coke makes a special formula especially for McDonald’s fountain drinks! (Maybe its New Coke). NEW BIO: Great thoughts and ideas to ponder, better your life and improve the way you interact with the world! Most violent crime is committed by people who know each other. Yet [...]

• A Farewell Poem to the GSEs

  my1ambition

  8 Nov 2009 | 4:22 pm

  As Freddie announces a $5 Billion loss, I recall a post I wrote a bit over a year ago. It was entitled “Farewell Poem to the GSEs”. So I’ve decided to do a repost. Enjoy! A Farewell Poem to the GSEs by Levik Dubov – September 2008 Freddie and Fannie we will nationalize, As investors soon will come to [...]

• How To Find Yourself in 20 Minutes

  my1ambition

  7 Nov 2009 | 11:25 pm

  Have been thinking a lot over the past couple days. I spent a few days in New York (and attended a live viewing of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report). I was mostly on my BlackBerry so I had more time to think instead of just “surfing” the web. One of the things that’s fascinated [...]

• Want To Succeed?

  my1ambition

  23 Oct 2009 | 2:38 pm

  Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Passion, Purpose, Practice! Have an amazing weekend! Tagged: passion, practice, purpose, success

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  WhiteHatBlackBox.com

• Refillable Moleskine

  Daryl

  11 Nov 2009 | 3:27 pm

  Moleskines are kind of expensive, so you must treat them with a certain respect. Feeling a bit rebellious, I gutted a Moleskine Pocket and turned it into a reusable platform to be filled with cheap, yet high quality, refills. I had a Moleskine Pocket lying around that I won from being a finalist in the My Moleskine 2.0 competition a few months back. I was a little bit bored, so I decided to turn it into a refillable cover, with the intention of putting some sort of workbook inside. For now, I just filled it with 25% cotton ivory paper ($12/300 sheets), which I stitched together according to…

• What’s the Point?

  Daryl

  28 Oct 2009 | 1:47 pm

  A lot of post-modern thought has gone into symbolic reality. Advances in technology has allowed us to do many things simply for the sake of doing it. Overcoming challenges has moved from being a necessity to a luxury. When you do something, what’s the point? I’ve been learning about a lot of physical stuff lately. I’ve been practicing parkour. I started doing yoga according to this chart. I’ve also been looking into bodyweight exercises by Christopher Sommers and Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee. Something I love about these disciplines is there is a higher reason for the…

• Freedom in Your Environment

  Daryl

  16 Oct 2009 | 4:31 pm

  I’ve been practicing parkour for the past week and I’m very excited. I feel a new sense of freedom because I now have a way to interact with my environment, rather than being defined by it. Parkour is a physical discipline of moving through obstacles with efficiency. Imagine Jackie Chan running away from the bad guys. When I started telling my friends what I’ve been doing, I also found out that “hardcore parkour” was featured in The Office a few weeks ago. Parkour has received media attention from people jumping from roof to roof, but it has much more to offer to…

• Procedure List + Monday Refocus Form

  Daryl

  6 Oct 2009 | 9:45 pm

  I use procedure list cards in my 3-ring binder to have a detailed list of action items for recurring projects (such as cleaning the bathroom). It keeps my todo list simple and gives me the procedure to get it done efficiently. This form is pretty simple to use and saves me precious time from thinking about challenges that I’ve already solved: Fill in the title of the procedure: Most of your procedures are going to be some sort of routine that (a) you haven’t memorized yet and (b) something you wouldn’t do spontaneously. Most of my routines have to do with some type of…

• How Not to Live a Balanced Life

  Daryl

  29 Sep 2009 | 11:34 am

  It is nice to have a balanced life. Every once in a while you may need to temporarily break that balance to achieve difficult goals. Once you move past the challenge, you can become balanced again. For the past two weeks I was going through the most intense study session of my life. Never before have I been more focused and never before have I been more unbalanced. I was preparing for my first actuarial exam, which has a 30% first time pass rate. I was stressed to my limit. Last Thursday, I took my exam and was overjoyed when I was greeted by the computer screen saying “Congratulations!

• 
  Study Skills Mentor

• Test taking Series: Read Instructions

  admin

  18 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  It is a busy time of year for students in Austalia.  Most high school students are preparing for end of year tests and exams.  So I thought I would highlight some strategies to help you do better in those exams. Read Exam Instructions When you first sit down to a test the teacher probably tells you to [...] Related posts:Wordle: Fun Ways to Study SeriesWhat are some fun ways to study for a test?Day 25: Incorporate Exam Plan into Daily Plan

• Successful Strategies

  admin

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:00 pm

  Here are my best tips to be successful at school.  Follow these simple rules and you will have the time to learn and practice effective study skills.  1.  Relax 2.  Get plenty of sleep 3.  Start revising as early as possible 4.  Have a life – but not too much 5.  Ask for help 6.  Don’t leave everything to the last [...] Related posts:Exam Preparation – Be EarlyDay 2: Start using your diary today.Day 6: Daily Routine

• Eat well before an Exam

  admin

  17 Nov 2009 | 2:05 am

  When you are revising for a test it is very easy to reach for a soda and a packet of crisps.  But what about right before your exam.  This time is just as important.  You need to make sure you eat well to get the most out of your brain power.  Here are my tips: 1.  Make [...] Related posts:Day 23: Create an Exam PlannerUse Old Exam Papers to your AdvantageDay 22: Understand your Term / Assignment Plan

• Top 7 Tips to Get your Homework Done

  admin

  12 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  Improve your Study Habits today The easiest way to improve those study habits is to get your homework done.  And there are 7 simple ways to get your homework done.  These steps apply to all students, from high school to middle school. Have a diary Take diary to school Write in diary Take diary home Remember to take all the correct [...] Related posts:Day 7: Homework RoutinesExam Top Tip: Positive ThinkingDay 2: Start using your diary today.

• Blogging on Study Skills Mentor

  admin

  11 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

  I have been blogging since July this year.  Since I have been redesigning my blog I thought I would take some time to summarise what I have accomplished. Study Skills Mentor – The content When you first start writing a blog and researching what to do you are told that ‘content is king’.  If you write great [...] Related posts:Study Skills Mentor Progress Report: 31st Aug – 6th SeptStudy ToolsStudy Skills Mentor Progress Report 18th – 23 September

• 
  Leadership And Networking

• Google Chrome OS for Serious Cloud Computing

  abhijit kar

  20 Nov 2009 | 7:58 am

    Biggest advantage of Google Chrome OS is that it is entirely web-based, redefining the way cloud computing is done presently, and would be, in future. With all information parked in the cloud - in one place - you can log on to your space for accessing them, from any computer and anywhere in the world. Click Here To Read Full Article

• Males Have More Pronounced Personalities: Suggests Scientific Investigation

  abhijit kar

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:05 am

  From human to house sparrows: males have more pronounced personalities, suggests a study  carried out by scientists from University of Exeter. Click Here To Read More

• Fossils of Giant Ancient Crocodiles Found in Sahara

  abhijit kar

  19 Nov 2009 | 9:33 am

   Fossils of a wide range of 20 ft long giant crocodiles species, galloping the land and swimming across broad rivers more than 100 millions years ago, - at the time of dinosaurs dominating the earth - have been unearthed in the Sahara desert, according to a report published on Timesonline.These fossils are likely to give important clues to scientists; why their ancestors survived and the dinosaurs suffered a mass extinction 65 million years ago. The expedition was launched in 2000 and headed by Paul Sereno, of the University of Chicago and Hans Larsson, of McGill University in MontrealVia:…

• Individual Publishers and Bloggers to Get Free Legal Help

  abhijit kar

  19 Nov 2009 | 5:56 am

    I am sure; this initiative will help individual web-publishers overcome the difficulties in availing legal assistance due to lack of financial resources, and will go a long way in democratizing publishing world in the interest of the readers. Click Here to Read Full Article

• Tips for Result Oriented Salary Negotiations

  abhijit kar

  19 Nov 2009 | 2:29 am

  You must do a thorough research for gathering useful information pertaining to your industry segment, and also improve your presentation skills, for making a kill -- best possible salary hike. Click Here To Read Full Article

• 
  Genuine Curiosity by Dwayne Melancon

• Augment your reality with Layar

  Dwayne Melancon

  13 Nov 2009 | 5:34 pm

  This week, I had a meeting with a customer in Vienna (Austria, not Virginia) and we went to lunch afterward.  The talk turned to iPhone apps, and he turned me on to an app called "Layar" that he says is in the category of apps known as "augmented reality apps."  I tried it out and I really like Layer (it's free, too). So what the heck is Layar? Let me try to explain.  Layar is an app that uses the technology in your iPhone to add a layer of information to your life.  Layar: uses the GPS to tell where you are, looks up relevant content on the internet…

• Riches Among The Ruins

  Dwayne Melancon

  12 Nov 2009 | 8:11 pm

  In a break from my 'usual' fare in nonfiction books, I just read a book that isn't about management or self-improvement and I really enjoyed it so I want to recommend it to you.  The book is called "Riches Among the Ruins: Adventures in the Dark Corners of the Global Economy," by Robert P. Smith.    This autobiographical book is written from Smith's perspective as an international financial in the "fringe" markets of the world, or as the title describes, the 'dark corners of the economy.'  He calls himself "The Indiana Jones of International…

• Job Seekers: Are you Defiant?

  Dwayne Melancon

  8 Nov 2009 | 2:27 pm

  A couple of months ago, my friend Rajesh Setty sent me a copy of his latest (free!) eBook, "defiant! Practical Tips to Thrive in Tough Times."  I've been a little sloppy in my GTD habits lately, so I just got around to reading it on a flight this morning.  Now, I regret not having read it sooner! This book is a compilation of wisdom, insights, best practices, and more from Rajesh and 51 other people to help you deal with the economic conditions we're facing, and is particularly relevant if you are out of work, looking for different work, or think you might be out of work…

• Personal Development, the Peter Drucker way

  Dwayne Melancon

  4 Nov 2009 | 4:15 pm

  Thanks to an introduction by Lisa Haneberg, I had the pleasure of discovering Bruce Rosenstein and his book , "Living In More Than One World: How Peter Drucker's Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life." I've been a long-time fan of Peter Drucker ("The Daily Drucker" is always on my bedside table) for his philosophy on business and management.  However, I have a whole new appreciation for Drucker's insights after reading Rosenstein's book. Core, guiding principles One thing that really stuck with me was the clarity Drucker developed about principles, purpose, and…

• What if you lost your laptop or phone?

  Dwayne Melancon

  29 Oct 2009 | 9:24 pm

  Today, I had coffee with the Ken Westin, the founder of a company that makes a product called "GadgetTrak."  As the name implies, they have solutions that help you track your gadgets.  Their approach goes far beyond simple barcodes and involves some pretty impressive software that not only lets you tell exactly where your device is (using WiFi or cell tower triangulation).  If the device has a camera it can send you a picture of what the thief is looking at (perhaps even a photo of the bad guy's face). GadgetTrak can help you find lots of devices, including stolen…

• 
  The Personal Excellence Blog

• What Questions Do You Have On the Pursuit of Passion?

  Celes

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:16 am

  As I shared in my latest update, I’m in the middle of writing my 1st ever book on Passion And Money. It is on how you can pursue your passion and earn money with it. The book will: Bust common myths surrounding passion & money Share my story on how I successfully pursued my passion and earned money Unravel what passion is Share with you: How to discover your passion How you can start pursuing your passion, right now! How to achieve great success pursuing your passion Key concepts/strategies/principles that worked for me and how you can apply them for yourself And more! Since this…

• Update: Upcoming Book, Talkshow and Latest Media Coverage in Radio 938 LIVE, Today and Lianhe Wanbao

  Celes

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:09 am

  Hey everyone!! My deepest apologies for not updating in the past 2 weeks! In case any of you are wondering, I’m NOT abandoning the blog, and I definitely have no intentions to do so. To summarize, it’s been a really exciting and adrenaline-filled 2 weeks with interviews/seminars/workshops/coaching. With the setting up of The School of Personal Excellence, there have been lots of big ideas flying around my head, and I’m just all too eager to get down to work and get everything rolling. More on that later. Remaining 2009 Goals: Weight Loss and Talk Show As 2009 is drawing to a…

• Update: Career Excellence Seminar on 16 Oct 2009 – An Excellent Turnout and Awesome Crowd!! :)

  Celes

  19 Oct 2009 | 12:29 am

  Last week was a huge rush! In conjunction with the launch of TSOPE, I was interviewed by Shin Min Daily News, Lianhe Wanbao, Today newspaper and featured by JobsCentral. The features are coming out this week, so for all of you living in Singapore, keep a look out for them! I just finished writing an exclusive story on Positive Thinking for Simply Her magazine which will be out in the Dec issue (in newstands in Nov). This week will be even crazier – Career Excellence seminar this Wed, several business discussions, 1 half day workshop at Pioneer JC and a full Power Career Excellence…

• Pictures of The School of Personal Excellence

  Celes

  10 Oct 2009 | 11:54 am

  As promised, here is the post with the pictures of The School of Personal Excellence (TSOPE) office! Since I was going to spend a big chunk of my time in the office, I took time out to turn it into an inspiring environment, just like what I did to my bedroom 2 years ago. My office has doubled up as my apartment after I converted one of the rooms into my bedroom, so nowadays I stay over in the office at least half the week and return home in the other days. I’m really loving the convenience and all the time/energy saved from commuting. Especially so as it takes over an hour to commute…

• Launch of The School of Personal Excellence

  Celes

  4 Oct 2009 | 10:35 am

  The School of Personal Excellence is finally open for official business!! Check out the website at http://tsope.net. The right column has a list of all the latest workshops/activities I’m engaged in, so you can check it out to know what I’m up to while I’m not writing here. 1st Year Anniversary of My Departure From Corporate Time flies – it’s now a year and a week since I left my ex-company to pursue my passion My last day was 30 Sep 2008. In the last couple of weeks before last day, I still remember I was rushing around, trying to tie as many things as I could…

• 
  The Life Changing Project

• Make Your Own Neti Pot – Sinus Infections Be Gone!

  Pambie

  25 Oct 2009 | 3:53 pm

  The city of Philadelphia ranks twelfth in metropolitan areas with the worst ozone air pollution. So I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me when, shortly after moving here from the relatively clean Midwest in 1983, I began experiencing a series of upper respiratory ailments. Things like strep throat, bronchitis, ear infections, sinus infections and pneumonia, which I had never even had as a child, occurred with enough regularity that I was treated with antibiotics at least once a year for over ten years. It wasn’t until I was hospitalized for nearly a week about four years ago with severe…

• 21 Secrets to a Better Life

  Pambie

  21 Oct 2009 | 2:52 pm

  A dear friend (from high school driver’s ed, no less!) sent me this in an email today and I loved it so much that I had to share – I hope that you’ll share as well! ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other. THREE. Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want. FOUR. When you say, ‘I love you,’ mean it. FIVE. When you say, ‘I’m sorry,’ look the person in the eye. SIX. Be…

• The One Sure Cure for Stress …

  Pambie

  20 Oct 2009 | 6:05 am

  I hardly need to repeat the statistics for stress, but here’s just a couple from the Washington Post: 54 percent of Americans are concerned about the level of stress in their everyday lives. 62 percent of Americans say work has a significant impact on stress levels. 73 percent of Americans name money as the number one factor that affects their stress level. Increasing numbers of children, teenagers and college students report feeling under stress. We’ve all got our own ways of coping with stress. A great workout usually helps me. An awesome run is a sure stress reliever. I confess…

• “5 Reasons to be an Optimist”

  Pambie

  17 Oct 2009 | 5:15 pm

  No doubt you’ve heard sayings about happiness and the power of positive thinking. For instance, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” and “some pursue happiness, others create it.” Turns out that optimism truly is a powerful force. And, regardless of your circumstances or personal setbacks, you can choose to approach life with a sunny outlook, transforming negative thoughts into positive ones and increasing your chances of success. Still not convinced? Here are five findings that prove the power of positivity. 1. Optimism can lead to longevity. Several…

• Brand Whores

  Pambie

  17 Oct 2009 | 6:33 am

  I have a lovely 100% silk Missoni scarf up on eBay right now. I can hardly believe the number of hits it has already gotten, merely because of the “Missoni” label. It’s a fairly standard little square scarf, lovely really, but nothing special. In fact, considering that it came from my mother-in-law’s collection of tons of gorgeous scarves (she was a decorator, a graduate of Moore College of Art and the consummate fashionable dresser), it isn’t even in my top ten of her scarves. Looking over her clothing, jewelry, accessories, handbags – it’s clear my…

• 
  Change your Thoughts for true Personal Development

• Ask The Coach 10 – Overcoming Inferiority Complex

  Ayo Olaniyan

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:28 am

  This is the tenth session of Ask The Coach. The main aim of this weekly session is to ask you, the reader, to ask a question to the coach by posting a comment on this post and each week myself and Ayo Olaniyan will attempt to help you by answering your question. Question from Srinath answered by Ayo. **Please note this is an edited version of the question** How do you stay away from worries and feeling inferior, when you look at people who have got some of those things you long to have. Also, what are the steps required to focus on our goals and achieve them. Hello Srinath Thanks for your…

• The #1 Reason You Haven’t Had More Success In Life

  Patrick Stoeckmann

  17 Nov 2009 | 10:41 am

  I bet everyone of you dreams (at least sometimes) about having more money, love, joy, energy or health in your life? Right? And I also bet, that everyone of you has already done a zillion attempts to achieve just that. And though you had successes in some areas, I bet there are some areas, where you just couldn’t make it happen, no matter what? You try, you push, you change approaches, but you’ll always yield the same results. Why? Because there is a subconscious mechanism within you, that won’t allow you to succeed in those areas. It is sabotaging your own efforts, to make sure you…

• Sunday Siesta – The Best of Change Your Thoughts

  Steven Aitchison

  15 Nov 2009 | 4:47 am

  Always trying to be a little different with Sunday Siesta I thought I would list of the best posts over the last year from Change Your Thoughts. There might be some posts that you have missed. I know you can sign up and get the best of CYT Volumes 1 and 2 FREE when you sign up (Check the right hand side of the blog to do this). Here are my favourite posts so far this year 10 Of The Best Posts From Change Your Thoughts 100 Ways to Develop Your mind - This is possibly the longest post I have written so far and one of the hardest but most rewarding. Writing challenging posts like this makes all…

• 5 Steps To Increasing Your Coincidence Factor

  Steven Aitchison

  12 Nov 2009 | 7:22 am

  Coincidences are defined by the New Oxford Dictionary of English as: “A remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection.” How then can we increase coincidences in our life? This is what this article will look at and hopefully help you on your path to reaching your goals quicker and easier. A look at coincidence For a coincidence to have any meaning we first have to recognize the importance of a coincidence and it’s meaning. That is to say, a coincidence is not a coincidence if we don’t recognize it as such. How then to recognize a…

• Conquering Fear

  Zeenat Merchant-Syal

  10 Nov 2009 | 6:30 am

  The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear.~Gandhi~ We are often warned not to push anyone into a corner because that is when they fight their best and most vicious battles. A cornered creature, man or animal, is dangerous, even vicious. That is the point at which one loses all fear. We become fearless when we lose that which we value the most. Because, when that happens, the rest doesn’t really seem to matter as much. And, we also realize the futility of having lived in fear of losing something that is now beyond reach. We need to understand that we could possibly have been…

• 
  Exile Lifestyle

• The Shortest Post I’ll Ever Write

  colin

  20 Nov 2009 | 5:32 am

  Remember The length of a blog post should be determined by how much you have to say, not how much you feel you HAVE TO say.

• How To Embed Your First Impressions

  colin

  17 Nov 2009 | 4:39 am

  First impressions can be a real bitch. It not just that you don’t always have time to prepare for them, and it’s not the fact that the repercussions of a bad first impression can last a very long time. What really sucks is that if you don’t make a good first impression, you missed out the only opportunity you’ll ever have to tell your new acquaintance – no words necessary – who you are and what you’re all about. What a loss! It came and went, just like that! Snap, whoosh! The only thing you can do is prepare yourself to make positive first impressions…

• Free eBook: How to Be Remarkable

  colin

  10 Nov 2009 | 1:14 am

  NOTE: Feel free to use the cover image to promote the eBook or as a very small wall poster. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD EBOOK. Check out this ebook and others at my publication library. THE WHY Don’t you love meeting remarkable people? You know, the kind of person that you exchange a few sentences with and immediately know you’ll be inspired by. You tell your friends about them later, not sure exactly what it was about them that impressed you so much. I make an effort to surround myself with this kind of person because I’ve gained so much from them in the past. Just by living their lives…

• I’m a Bit Slow

  colin

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:37 am

  Delightfully Slow I turn the handle 90 degrees to the right, relishing the slight resistance offered by the oiled metallic housing. Next comes the knob; it’s more art than science. Too little and the gas won’t come on, but too far and it won’t be enough to light. I gently twist it into the correct position with the ease of constant practice. I pull the small box down from the shelf, noting the trio of ducks on the front and giving them a wink. My index finger slides the main compartment from the outer shell and I reach in to pull out one small match; a red-headed gift from…

• Good Things Come To Those That Don’t Wait

  colin

  2 Nov 2009 | 12:18 am

  Guest post written by Jonny Gibaud of thelifething.com. Jonny writes for the love of Helping People, Inspiring People and Katie Holmes. He honed his unique writing style through his refusal to read for fear the words would attack him and borrowed his life philosophies from the local stray terrier but plans to give aspects of them back. Procrastination, they say, is the killer of progress, creativity and small puppies. It is also ironically a rather long word for those that do procrastinate to get around to saying. But it is true. How many countless millions of great ideas, wonderful concepts,…

• 
  Freestyle Mind

• Are You Creating Value?

  Oscar

  19 Nov 2009 | 5:13 am

  Last tuesday I had a call with Brian of cheerupnation. We talked about many things related to blogging and online business. We both learned a lot during this call, as we were able to talk and confront without any kind of limit. I can summarize one hour call with one question: Are we creating value? The thing is that even reading popular blogs is often a waste of time, because we can’t extract nothing useful most of the times. If you have a blog, website or anything else that has to do with doing something for others, I strongly encourage you to give a lot of attention to what I am about…

• The Often Forgotten Part Of Learning: Doing

  Oscar

  17 Nov 2009 | 3:40 am

  This is a followup to my last post about how to keep track of what you’ve learnt. There has been a lot of discussion on various social networks about it and I’m glad many people liked it. Unfortunately keeping track of what you’ve learnt is only half of the story. If you really want to master what you’ve learnt then you must be doing something about it. A quick introduction First, I want to clarify that doing is integrant part of learning, so it should not be viewed as something different. However, for the purpose of this article I will focus entirely on the doing…

• How To Keep Track Of What You’ve Learnt

  Oscar

  14 Nov 2009 | 10:15 am

  Most people forget what they’ve just learnt within 12 and 24 hours. If you are reading this post now, chances are that tomorrow you’ll not even remember it. Our brain works like a big search engine, when you insert a new piece of information, it goes on a big stack called short term memory. When you want to remember that information, your brain will try to search inside that stack for the information you requested. This process happens asynchrony, that’s why you often remember a title of a song after many hours from your first attempt. If you are trying to recall something…

• Story About The Swine Flu And The Vaccine

  Oscar

  12 Nov 2009 | 3:10 am

  These days we are all talking about pandemic, swine flu, vaccine. There’s a lot of confusion around this topic, and it’s difficult to find the truth. Is the vaccine secure? Should you worry about the flu? How many people will die? I’m the first to say that you can’t have an answer to all these question, but it surprises me to see that medias are so sure about what they are talking about. We have reached the point where people are not sure of anything, that’s I decided to write this story. Note: I’ll not use real names here because I’m not in a…

• How to Beat the Fear of Change

  Oscar

  10 Nov 2009 | 3:25 am

  Change is the process you take when you want to move from one situation to another. Change is what you take when you decide to quit smoking, switch job, or escape from a bad situation. For the sake of simplicity in this post we’re only going to talk about positive changes, that is, changes that provide benefits to you. Problem with change is that it’s sometimes risky, and you really wouldn’t want to take it because your current comfort zone looks already nice to you. Maybe you know that you should be doing something different, and what you need is a small kick to get things…

• 
  Organize to Revitalize!

• Fact Friday: The Order of Disorder

  Deb Lee, Certified Professional Organizer®

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  “The top areas in a home where organizing services are most often requested as reported by NAPO members surveyed in 2009: Home Office or Den, Kitchen, Closet, Master Bedroom, and the Garage/Attic/Basement areas.” [NAPO ·  2009 Member Survey · June 30, 2009] Related Articles by Zemanta The Entrepreneur’s Toolbox (dallisonlee.com/blog) Organize Your Bedroom with Organizing Connection! (monicaricci.typepad.com) Open the garage to organization (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

• Tech Tools for the Home Office

  Deb Lee, Certified Professional Organizer®

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  Professional Organizer, Brandie Kajino, is today’s guest blogger.  Check out her recommended tech tools  for the home office. I have some tricks up my sleeve. If you work from home, or have a home office, you probably do, too. I have some favorite tools that keep me together and organized. Here’s my top three favorites: Google Apps: I have been using Google Apps for over a year. One thing people ask is, ”Why Google Apps and not Gmail?” Google Apps is what’s called a “cloud technology” software as a service application. That’s a whole lotta…

• Before: Where’s My After?

  Deb Lee, Certified Professional Organizer®

  18 Nov 2009 | 5:07 pm

  Do you have a “before” that’s looking for it’s “after?” Here’s a before: …and another… …and another… Need a little accountability?  Share your “before,” and I’ll follow up with you in 1 month to check in. E-mail me your “before” –>  deb [at] dallisonlee [dot] com Leave a comment on this post with your twitter handle, facebook page, or e-mail address (spell it out like this: deb [at] dallisonlee [dot] com) Include in your comment the one thing you’re going to do to improve your…

• Quick Tip: Schedule With Sharpies

  Deb Lee, Certified Professional Organizer®

  17 Nov 2009 | 4:07 am

  Over the last month, I’ve worked with two clients who love using their Sharpies!  Both clients have calendars in their kitchen – one’s a dry erase board and the other is a paper calendar.  Both use color to identify the various things happening in their lives and their children’s lives. Client #1 – uses a different color Sharpie for each child and for herself Client #2 – uses one color for all kids, one for her schedule, and one for everything else Moral of the Story:  Put  your stuff on a calendar.  Use color to keep track of your stuff.    Get…

• The Case for Procrastination

  Deb Lee, Certified Professional Organizer®

  16 Nov 2009 | 4:52 pm

  How do you feel about deadlines?  How do you feel about waiting – dare I say, procrastinating – until a few days before your deadline?  What happens to the quality of your work when you wait?  Do you love tight deadlines and make your best decision when under pressure? In a recent Behance article, it was suggested that there are “advantages of a short deadline” when working with clients. “In advertising, and also editorial, when people have 2 days, the briefing is much better, and the discussion is much better. It’s not that people just sign off on anything…