On Sunday, September 4, 2011, I played in the first ever ultimate Frisbee games and tournament in North Korea in Pyongyang. North Korea is as much a frontier to Americans as any place on Earth today. I believe like ping-pong diplomacy opened China before Nixon did, so will ultimate play a greater role in normalizing relations with North Korea than any traditional diplomacy. This interview talks about the emotions involved[…] Keep reading →

  This weekend! LEADERSHIP THROUGH SELF-AWARENESS AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE In a two-day seminar, learn how to develop your personal leadership skills, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence by utilizing the latest advances in cognitive behavioral science, evolutionary psychology, and positive psychology. The course is open to all area leaders, b-school students, alumni, and colleagues. Below are the dates of the courses and a link that you can follow to sign up. If[…] Keep reading →

An article that came out the other day illustrated how beliefs affect your perception. The result is so relevant to the Model, I couldn’t help but break from the series on the Method. Apparently people in training to taste wine can’t tell a white wine dyed red tastes the same as an identical except un-dyed white wine. In fact, they taste different flavors in the wine. The study may cover[…] Keep reading →

Some more comments on the lack of advertising in North Korea… The country has almost no advertising. You can drive for hours without seeing any billboards. What do you see instead? Green hills, mountains, streams, lakes, people working and walking from place to place. I found the countryside beautiful, if I didn’t pay attention the dilapidated buildings and roads. The country, of course, has problems, as the sources in my[…] Keep reading →

Continuing from yesterday… If you’re American or in a developed country, you’re probably overweight, though your grandparents and all earlier ancestors probably didn’t even know anyone overweight. You probably watch television nearly as much as you work, though your grandparents and all earlier ancestors didn’t have televisions. You may have little to no physical activity in your life, though your grandparents and all earlier ancestors were physically active every day.[…] Keep reading →

Pausing from my series on the Method, I haven’t written much about Occupy Wall Street, despite it being the topic of much conversation in New York. On an online community, I couldn’t help respond to someone else’s post on responsibility. [another community member] wrote: …taking responsibility for ones self is the clear problem here..They are not taking responsibility for themselves and blaming.. I think they would be better off camping[…] Keep reading →

Continuing from yesterday… When I communicate the ideas from yesterday’s post to others, they tend to respond by pointing out the differences between their systems and ours, for example that we can choose what products we buy but they can’t choose their government, along with many other differences. Of course I know those differences. That’s why I began that post pointing out my theme that anyone can see differences, but[…] Keep reading →

EDIT: I modified how I present the Method slightly. Please see the new version of this page and the updated series on implementing the Method. The next step after awareness is to plan — in particular, to conceive of new environments, beliefs, and behaviors that are consistent with each other and what you can’t or won’t change to replace the old ones and designed to bring about emotions you want.[…] Keep reading →

In yesterday’s post on North Korean propaganda I wondered if they realized the pervasiveness of their propaganda. They seemed not to pay attention to it. Could they not notice it, like fish in water? Now I will explore two of the major themes of my writing on North Korea, based on major ways the visited affected me Seeing others reveals things about yourself and your culture — and the more[…] Keep reading →