You’ve read about my online courses and their reviews. I’m working with some developers to create a new page to host the courses since joshuaspodek.com is a blog. I’d love to get the feedback of a few people on the new page, which is almost done. If you’re a regular reader, have an interest in my courses, know how to give helpful advice and feedback on web pages, and are[…] Keep reading →

I posted a couple weeks ago how what you studied in school doesn’t restrict you from working outside that field. I’ve talked to a lot of people who feel because they studied a field they have to stay in it. I find it contrary to the point of education that increasing your knowledge in one area should lead someone to believe they are less qualified in another. Logically it makes[…] Keep reading →

I talk about mental models and beliefs and how they determine how you live. Two researchers (“Building a Better America−−One Wealth Quintile at a Time,” Michael I. Norton and Dan Ariely, Perspectives on Psychological Science 2011 6: 9) asked Americans about their views on how wealth is distributed among Americans. The chart below summarizes some results. The top bar, “Actual,” shows the distribution of wealth owned by each fifth of[…] Keep reading →

Over the summer, after a great meeting, a well-placed woman I met began the process of offering me a job. To put me in touch with the decision-maker at the firm, she asked for my resume. I told her I preferred not to send it. Why did I decline to send it? The job looked great—a part-time role that would complement my personal projects, with autonomy, leadership, and the opportunity[…] Keep reading →

Yesterday at a dinner party someone heard me describe my work and started giving me advice. It sounded like something that would take resources to act on and it didn’t sound better than what I was already doing. I politely told him so many people offer me advice, I find the only advice worthwhile is when the person offers a contact where everyone would benefit from the connection. He didn’t[…] Keep reading →

Skills I can develop. If I don’t have them I can learn them. If someone else has a skill, it means I can get it too. If I value it and want it, I just have to learn it. Learning skills may take effort, time, attention, and other resources, but I can develop them. I coach skills to my clients because I find it enables them most to improve their[…] Keep reading →

One of my readers used my blog in a job interview. I don’t think he planned it, but he got the job. Here’s his story: I used your Introvert/Extrovert X-Y axis in an interview a few years ago. He asked “Are you an introvert or an extrovert”, and I said “Neither, and that’s a dangerous question, and here’s why” and started diagramming on a napkin. They seemed impressed, and I[…] Keep reading →

The other day the New York Times posted an article “Growth Has Been Good for Decades. So Why Hasn’t Poverty Declined?” that began The surest way to fight poverty is to achieve stronger economic growth. That, anyway, is a view embedded in the thinking of a lot of politicians and economists. “The federal government,” Paul Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman, wrote in The Wall Street Journal, “needs to remember[…] Keep reading →

Want to see a subject I cover in more depth? Read one of my series. Sometimes I write a series of posts to develop an idea further than a single post allows. Here is a page listing of all of them. I wish I could convey how valuable the material in them is. I recommend reading them.