Today I visited the amazing terracotta army near Xian, China, which they bill as the eighth wonder of the world. I also had some geeky fun you might enjoy reading about after the pictures. I haven’t read the Wikipedia page on it yet, but from what I understood from I understood from our guide, who didn’t speak English so my co-worker had to translate, an emperor about 2,200 years ago[…] Keep reading →

Business brought me to the lovely city of Xian, not that far from Shanghai. My hosts brought me to a central area they covered with LEDs, I guess for tourists. I couldn’t help take pictures to post here. It was borderline garish, but just this side of too much. I don’t know if the pictures capture it. It almost felt like daytime at night. The city lit up a whole[…] Keep reading →

Two nights ago I walked with a friend past an exclusive resort she told me had a stunning rooftop infinity pool overlooking the city (pictures here). Entrance required getting a minimum $400 room. Instead I talked to a few people, got invited up, and we enjoyed the pool and view as invited guests. (I still had to swim in my boxer shorts because how was I supposed to know I[…] Keep reading →

I just visited a street lined with fruit stands serving durians. They sell other fruits — including mangoes, mangosteens, jack fruit, dragon fruits, and others — but only serve the durians at the tables. If you haven’t heard of or eaten durians, here are some pictures. You can see they are unusual — sharp on spiny on the outside, looking like guts on the inside — but the smell makes[…] Keep reading →

Clients and nearly everyone I talk to about it consider changing beliefs one of the hardest things to do. Changing beliefs voluntarily is fundamental to the Method, so I help people develop the ability a lot. Experience has made me pretty good at it, at least compared to my ability in the past. Based on how much I used to argue, I don’t think I started with any particular advantage[…] Keep reading →

I was talking to a friend who felt mildly depressed about learning to manage your mood. She had read my friend’s story I posted recently about changing his emotions. (As an aside, I have to rank his experiment among the most effective practices you can do to learn to manage your emotions.) I talked to her about how most of my clients can change their environments and behavior easily. To[…] Keep reading →

Sometimes plans get crazy and they can be hard to get to work. I find persistence pays off, as does treating people like human beings and going out of your way to recognize their efforts. Anyway, I’m proud for pulling off a last-minute travel challenge. The me of a few years ago probably wouldn’t have been able to pull it off. It began with finding out I had two days[…] Keep reading →

I’ve written before on the persuasive but specious rhetorical trick that goes something like John is very conservative about these things. Mary is very liberal. Me, I’m practical and… Do you sense that you’re probably going to agree with what the speaker next says? Extremists like John and Mary are difficult to deal with. People reject extreme views out of hand. You don’t want to be like that, do you?[…] Keep reading →

Do you ever wish you made more money or had more power, fame, free time, or something else others have and you don’t? Maybe you look at Brad Pitt or Oprah Winfrey and think, I wish I had what they do. Then you get stuck realizing you don’t and feeling sorry. I’ve found the problem isn’t their having something and you not having it. The problem is you wishing you[…] Keep reading →