Just showing up can be the best strategy: One of my life’s greatest moments

on August 31, 2013 in Blog, Fitness, Tips

Do you have a great passion? Something you devote several hours a day four to six days per week for twenty years? Something where pain and injury makes you like it more? If you have something like that, you’ll know what playing Ultimate Frisbee meant to me. If not, you’ll have to imagine. And I hope you some day build yourself a passion for something like I did for Ultimate.[…] Keep reading →

Insults describe the person giving them more than the person receiving. How you can learn from yourself when you insult.

on August 22, 2013 in Blog, Tips

I overheard some people talking about another group as “douchebags” with “popped collars” who called everyone “bro” or “brah.” Okay, I get that some people can find others annoying, but to call them douchebags is just mean. You’ve insulted others for other reasons. People call others losers, sluts, assholes, and so on. More importantly to you, if you’ve ever insulted someone or thought about it, which covers everyone on the[…] Keep reading →

Writing emails from the inside out, making them more effective even if you aren’t particularly sensitive or a people person

on August 14, 2013 in Blog, Tips

You probably write better emails than I do. I’ve been getting better and thought I’d share a process that’s helped me improve. It came from experience and I thought about it writing an email just now. I wrote today’s post secondarily to show how to improve emails if you write like I do before the last step, but primarily to illustrate a mindset: My mindset when communicating with others: To[…] Keep reading →

A curious way to measure intimacy and an effective way to increase it

on August 1, 2013 in Blog, Humor, Tips

I’ll share today an unexpected and curious way to tell how much intimacy you have with someone and an effective way to increase it. By intimacy, I mean any kind of intimacy, which could be in a professional, friendly, romantic, or any other type of relationship. Intimacy increases trust and decreases friction between people so it’s valuable to have. Knowing how much you have tells you how closely you can[…] Keep reading →

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 →

“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 →

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