[This post is part of a series on my daily exercise and starting and keeping challenging habits. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] How do you handle miserable days? I think today started like many people’s does. I don’t know how most people handle down days, but I’ll share[…] Keep reading →
While searching for videos on Lou Gehrig for yesterday’s post, I happened on a short video on John Wooden, one of the great coaches of any sport. According to Wikipedia John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the “Wizard of Westwood”, he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period—seven in a row—as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented[…] Keep reading →
I copied this quote from a book on Evolutionary Psychology without writing the source. Sorry for not giving the source (please write me if you know it), but I find it summarizes the challenge we all face in having a motivational system that evolved to solve certain problems but living in a world with different types of problems. In other words, our modern skulls house a stone age mind. The[…] Keep reading →
When people feel unhappy or depressed they often stop doing things. They don’t feel motivated to work or go out so they don’t. You know how when you’re happy, you tend to smile? Most people also know smiling makes you feel happier, at least for a moment. Forcing a smile won’t solve all your problems, but we can build on what it demonstrates. Not only does emotion motivate behavior, but[…] Keep reading →
Last week I got great customer service. So great I don’t mind sharing here that at the Staples on Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street there is a tech named Genghis — yes, that’s his name — who knows cell phones better than anyone I’ve met. He treated me friendly, gave my project his full attention, and did the best job I could imagine. I would recommend him to anyone with[…] Keep reading →
Are you younger than 89? Can I ask you to think critically. Forget for a moment about logistics and if you have the time or interest to do it. Just ask yourself if you think it’s possible. Do you think you could finish a marathon? Do you think it’s possible? Many people I ask consider their finishing a marathon impossible. Not difficult but impossible. They explain why and their reasons[…] Keep reading →
An early piece of advice many starting writers hear is to read Stephen King’s On Writing. He is best known for his horror and fantasy writing, selling more than 350 million books (putting me only about 350 million books behind him), but writers know this short book of his as one of the most helpful books on writing. Ironically, In 2008, Entertainment Weekly listed On Writing 21st on their list[…] Keep reading →