Monthly Archives: July 2013

How to hate less and grow in the process, simply

on July 31, 2013 in Blog, Tips

Today’s post is a new exercise I made up that I found improved my thought patterns. It’s simple and takes no time, money, or other resources. Just your attention. It combines three things that work for me: changing words to change you thoughts, celebrating what you accept, and a property about truth. Ingredient 1: changing words changes your thoughts I’ve written about simple exercises to change a few words here[…] Keep reading →

Today’s Harvard student versus 176 years ago

on July 30, 2013 in Blog, Entrepreneurship, Nature

Let’s look at two former Harvard students from now and nearly two centuries ago. 176 years ago Henry Thoreau finished Harvard in 1837, one of its best-known students of his age. Let’s look at him before looking at this generation’s most prominent Harvard student. Thoreau wrote Walden, his treatise on living simply, escaping petty human affairs and gossip, appreciating nature, self-reliance, and such. He lived for two years mostly on[…] Keep reading →

A discussion I started last week

on July 29, 2013 in Blog, Entrepreneurship

Last week’s post The risks of someone calling you smart and how to avoid them, got reposted on another site and generated some discussion. The site, Hacker News, is a community with many entrepreneurs, geeks, and science and technology types. Here’s a link to the discussion. Check it out. I like that community and its discussions.

Three stages of understanding how ancient Egyptians built the pyramids

on July 28, 2013 in Blog, Leadership

I’m sure many people have thought and written great stuff about the Egyptian pyramids and overcoming the challenges to building them. I haven’t read much on them, but I’m writing not so much about the pyramids than on how one person’s thoughts developed as he learned to solve harder problems, though nowhere near the scale of a great pyramid. Stage 1: The challenges of mechanical engineering When I first thought[…] Keep reading →

“That’s not art. I could do it.” — A new interpretation that activates art and yourself

on July 27, 2013 in Art, Blog, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Tips

We’ve all heard someone say “That’s not art. I could do it.” Maybe you said it yourself. The comment can lead to interesting discussion on what makes art, but rarely. It can lead you to realizing that the value of art doesn’t depend on how hard it was to create. The usual response is “Well, you didn’t. And they did it first.” I suggest a new response. If the person[…] Keep reading →

Sometimes going the opposite way works best

on July 26, 2013 in Blog, Creativity, Tips

A pattern I’ve noticed works a lot in life: When everyone is going in one direction, try going as far as you can in the opposite direction. Some examples: When car companies kept making bigger and more dominant SUVs, the Prius did well. In retrospect it seems obvious, but the car appeared nearly alone and successful in the U.S. market for years before other cars competed meaningfully. Now Smart Cars[…] Keep reading →

How experience often beats creativity, originality, and intelligence

on July 25, 2013 in Blog, Creativity

Yesterday I wrote about being called intelligent or smart and the sometimes downsides associated with it. I found that while society seems to value intelligence, on a personal level people value getting the job done, relationship skills, experience, people’s networks, and other things, at least in leadership and decision-making roles. For a few roles that don’t require teamwork people value intelligence, but they aren’t that common in professional environments. What[…] Keep reading →

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