Awareness / Exercises / Models / Tips

A model to remove limits from your life

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Do you want an okay life? Do you want limits on how much you can get out of life? Or do you prefer to have no limits on how much you can get out of life? Remember from two days ago that the value, meaning, importance, and purpose (MVIP) of a thing comes from the emotions it evokes. Remember from yesterday that you can create reward any time any place. It follows that you can create more reward all the time,…

0 Comments

May 4, 2013

Exercises / Models / Tips

A model to find reward anywhere, anytime

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Do you ever find yourself frustrated, impatient, disappointed, anxious, or feeling some similar emotion and wish you could not feel it? Do you wonder how some people can keep calm or at least not lose control in situations more difficult than you can and wish you could too? Do you want to know how to handle yourself in situations you don't like and can't control? Today's model derives from the Model. If you get the Model, it will be obvious. I'll…

0 Comments

May 3, 2013

Awareness / Exercises / Models

A model to implement the answers to all of life’s most important questions

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Putting into practice the answers to all of life's most important questions -- that is, the Model -- may seem like a tall order, but I've written up how to do it. I call the process the Method. If you worked with the Model long enough, you'd probably develop the Method yourself, but why not learn from my mistakes and get farther with less effort? A model to implement the answers to all of life's most important questions: The Method I've written…

0 Comments

May 1, 2013

Awareness / Exercises / Leadership / Models

A model that answers all of life’s most important questions

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Answering all of life's most important questions is a tall order, but if you've read this web page long, you know the value I put on the Model, my model for human motivations and emotions. The Model forms the foundation of what I consider the best way to view and live life. A model that answers all of life's most important questions: The Model If you haven't read my series on the Model, I wrote about it at length. I put a…

0 Comments

April 30, 2013

Exercises / Leadership / Models / Tips

A model for direction in leadership and personal development

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] We are a social species. Most of what we care about in our environments are other people. Maybe I'm different than most people because I spent so much of my life not working on or valuing social skills -- a PhD in physics doesn't force you to learn social skills. Learning them later in life, I think I value them a lot more than I would have if I had them earlier in life. The social and leadership skills I've mastered…

0 Comments

April 29, 2013

Exercises / Leadership / Models

A model to promote responsibility

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Today's model polarizes. That is, it doesn't build consensus or bring people together. While building consensus and bringing people together may sometimes help in politics, if you want to stick to your values, you won't improve your life by living partly by your values while mixing in some other peoples' values you disagree with. So today's model will create a model that, for me at least, separates an embodiment of my values from its antithesis which, for me, helps me live…

0 Comments

April 28, 2013

Exercises / Fitness / Freedom / Humor / Models / Tips

A model to make you more intelligent and free

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] I once spoke with a psychologist who specialized in intelligence. She told me that flexibility in how one sees the world is a major part of intelligence. At first I didn't see the connection, but then it made sense. The more ways you can look at a problem, the more ways you can try to solve it. By contrast, if you limit the number of ways you see something, you limit the number of ways you can solve it. Most people…

0 Comments

April 27, 2013

Blog / Fitness

2013 New York City Marathon!

So many people apply to run in the New York City Marathon, you usually have to get lucky in the random draw to get accepted. If you apply and don't get in three years in a row, you get in automatically the fourth year, which worked out for me this year. So I just got my guaranteed acceptance to this year's marathon! I also just got my new Vivobarefoot running shoes in the mail the other day and started my first runs in months. I have a long way to go to get in good shape, so I'm looking forward to it. Anyone interested in signing up for  one of the best days of your life too? Here's a map from a previous year for…

0 Comments

April 25, 2013

Exercises / Freedom / Models / Tips

A model to avoid or overcome frustration

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Do you get more frustrated than you'd like? Do you give up early? Do you wish you could have more optimism? Do you wish you could be more resilient to problems and challenges? Today's belief is something I say almost daily. Sometimes I mutter it to myself, sometimes I say it out loud. I've come to behave as if it's true even though I can't prove it. I say it like others say "c'est la vie" or "that's the way it…

0 Comments

April 25, 2013

Creativity / Education

Protected: Creativity Class Handouts

Here are the slides from my creativity class at Flavorpill with Skillshare on April 24. Making a pdf took away the slide transitions and animations, but all the words are still there. Thank you all for attending and participating. I'll let you know when sign-up begins for my Leadership class. Mark June 17, 19, 24, and 26 6pm-9pm on your calendars.

Enter your password to view comments.

April 24, 2013

Art / Awareness / Exercises / Freedom / Leadership / Models / Tips

A model to find the best in someone, including yourself

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Today's belief helps overcome a challenge in helping someone's growth. It also helps you shine as a leader or mentor. When you lead or mentor someone or work to improve yourself, it helps to track progress, but you often can't. You can for external things, like how fast they run 100 meters, how they scored on a test, how much they increased revenues, etc. When you develop someone as a person, you can't always see the development externally. Especially with important…

0 Comments

April 23, 2013

Awareness / Choosing/Decision-Making / Exercises / Models / Tips

A model to improve your environment

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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 would you like for everything in your life to look better and for everyone to treat you better? For everything in your life to improve? Today's belief is one of the most powerful you can have, as is the strategy it leads to. People also happen to oppose it the most. When I state it simply and abstractly, they agree with it. When I apply it to them, they push back against it. You will too. If I can take…

0 Comments

April 21, 2013

Art / Exercises / Freedom / Models

A model on the foundation of personal freedom

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Today I'm just copying what someone else said about mastering a complex skill or mode of creative expression, connecting Freedom Spontaneity Simplicity with, perhaps ironically to some, but without question to those who get it Conformity Discipline from within Dedication As odd as it may seem for conformity and discipline to lead to personal freedom, I agree with the quotes below from Martha Graham, the best description on the foundation of personal freedom I know. By personal freedom, I mean being…

0 Comments

April 20, 2013

Blog / Creativity / Education

More about becoming more creative

Flavorpill -- the social discovery engine and curated event marketplace that keeps you tapped into the cultural happenings around you and lets you find and follow things you like, see what your friends are into, and, if so inspired, get off the computer and go out -- posted my creativity seminar next Wednesday, April 24, 6pm-9pm. Very prestigious. Check it out. Then sign up! I look forward to seeing you there.

0 Comments

April 19, 2013

Art / Blog / Creativity / Education / Tips

How to become more creative — proven! … Wednesday April 24, 6pm-9pm, Manhattan

Next Wednesday, 6pm-9pm I'm giving my first seminar through Skillshare, a company that organizes classes. If you're near Manhattan and you want to become more creative, you should come. The class is called Systematic Creativity. When I say it teaches proven ways to increase your creativity, I mean it. It comes from one of the best courses I took at Columbia Business School by one of the top creativity researchers, who also started a successful consulting company on becoming more creative that works with many Fortune 500 companies. Several classmates called it the best class they took there. Wednesday will cover the highlights of the class -- especially exercises to become more creative demolishing creativity myths that hold people back It will be very interactive…

0 Comments

April 17, 2013

Models / Visualization

Model to motivate putting in the effort to get good at something

[Today is the sixteenth in a series on daily and weekly beliefs that improve my life and may improve yours, in no particular order. See the introduction to the series and the value of flexibility in beliefs for background.] Today's model is a simple picture that illustrates the difficulty in getting good at a complex skill. It motivates me to put in the effort to get good at something and prepares me for the challenges. A model for how hard it is to get good at something This graph illustrates how hard I think getting good at something is. It shows that before you put significant effort into learning a new skill, it doesn't create any difficulty in your life. As you put in more…

5 Comments

April 17, 2013

Exercises / Freedom / Models / Tips

A model and strategy for getting things done

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Do you ever have so much to do you can't figure out where to start? Or you bounce between things, unable to complete them? Most importantly, does the stress of having things to do make you miserable? I found a strategy for handling things that worked pretty well, but reading the book Getting Things Done by David Allen refined it. I wrote about it recently. A model for getting things done: Your mind fixates on obligations it wants to remember, distracting…

0 Comments

April 15, 2013

Awareness / Exercises / Freedom / Models / Nature / Tips

A model to free yourself from being categorized

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Do you like being judged and put into a box? Do you like being told you can't change things about yourself that limit you from living the best life you can? Do you like it when these categories have no scientific basis? Personality traits, types, and dispositions are models that I don't find helpful. A model to free yourself from being categorized: personality types and traits have little to no validity I'm sure people will attack me on this belief. When…

0 Comments

April 13, 2013

Exercises / Fitness / Models / Tips

How to win an NBA championship if you’re a 66-year-old grandmother

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Today's post illustrates yesterday's model instead of introducing a new one. It's one of my favorite illustrations from my leadership seminar. It shows that with flexibility in your beliefs and understanding your emotions you can bring anything to your life that anyone else can bring to theirs. Winning an NBA championship Say you want to win an NBA championship. What exactly do you want? It's not possession of the trophy, which is just a physical object. It's not even necessarily to…

0 Comments

April 12, 2013

Exercises / Models / Tips

A model to motivate success instead of feeling sorry of yourself

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Do you envy others' achievements? Or happiness? Or true love? Or something someone else has that eludes you? Today's belief helps keep me resilient to feeling bad in such cases and motivates me to improve my life. I expect it will work for you too. A model for what you can do: Anything one person can do I can too I believe that for anything important in life, anything someone else can do, I can too. I don't think anyone else…

0 Comments

April 11, 2013

Awareness / Exercises / Fitness / Models / Tips

A model to motivate physical and emotional fitness

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Your body is the physical manifestation of your thoughts and behavior. Two starting points for today's belief. First, how do you decide what diet, exercise, and beliefs are right for you? Some people are more muscular, some are thinner, some seem happier, others the opposite. Diet and exercise books flood the market. How do you make sense of it all? Second, before your next shower, stop for a moment, look at yourself in the mirror, and think about the person you…

0 Comments

April 10, 2013

Awareness / Exercises / Models / Nature / Tips

A model for stress that calms you down

[This post is part of a series on “Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours.” 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.] Does the world stress you out? Do people and things cause you stress? Do you get even more stressed at your helplessness to reduce how stressful the world is? Do you get even more frustrated and depressed at your bad luck that you had to be born at a time when the world was so stressful? Would you be glad to know you can decrease all that stress? No medicine required. You don't have to change anything except your beliefs. But…

0 Comments

April 8, 2013

Exercises / Favorites / Freedom / Models / Nonjudgment / Tips

A model to get people to show up on time for you: everybody gets fifteen minutes

[This post is part of a series on "Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours." 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.] Do you get annoyed at people showing up late? That they don't respect you by wasting your time showing up late, when you respected them for showing up on time? I used to fume at people showing up late. Fume! Then I tested a strategy that works so well, I never again had a problem with people showing up late. If I hadn't tried it I never would have believed it. For that matter, I would have fought against it. In…

0 Comments

April 7, 2013

Exercises / Freedom / Leadership / Models / Tips

A model to allow yourself to fail, which gives you freedom to succeed

[Today is the fifth in a series on my daily and weekly beliefs, in no particular order. See the introduction to the series and the value of flexibility in beliefs for background.] Do you ever not do something for fear you'll fail at it? You've probably heard the phrase that the perfect is the enemy of the good. You may also have noticed that people who achieve greatness don't do things perfectly. How do you become great if you don't do everything perfectly? Here's a model I use to allow yourself to do something without worrying too much about failing -- ironically, the best way to succeed. It's one of my most important ones I think about almost daily. It fits with my practice of having…

0 Comments

April 6, 2013

Awareness / Exercises / Models / Nonjudgment / Tips

A simple, effective strategy for improving yourself — probably the best I know, and it’s totally free: Feedforward

[This post is part of a series on Mental models and beliefs: an exercise to identify yours. 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.] What if I told you the best way for you to improve yourself takes two minutes, costs nothing, and people will feel honored and flattered to help you with it? And you can do it anytime. Sound too good to be true? It's not. Read on. Oh, and make sure you get to the section on when I use it for how using it can help in your most important relationships at the most important times. Have you noticed the one…

0 Comments

April 5, 2013