Awareness / Blog

If we return to the same happiness level eventually, why do we prefer winning lotteries to becoming quadriplegic?

(Working on a presentation, I had to rewrite a post from a couple months ago. It's very similar to the original, but I thought there'd be value in posting a slightly different way of putting it. I hope that value is more important than the repetition). If you read this blog you know about the researchers who asked people who won huge lotteries and people who just had accidents leading to becoming quadriplegic how happy they were. The lottery winners were happier. But when they asked them a year later, the difference in happiness disappeared. Everyone seemed about as happy as they had been before either event. I'm going to draw two different, more valuable conclusions than most. If we end up at the same…

2 Comments
October 21, 2012
Blog / Humor / Nature

The metric system isn’t that much better

I think it helps to look at the world from a different point of view sometimes. You see things differently. When I did yoga, sometimes my teacher would have us cross our arms left over right instead of right over left (or vice versa, depending on how you did it normally). If you've never done it, try it. I doubt it will make you suddenly enlightened, but it feels weird in a way that might make you wonder how many other things you assumed were just one way don't have to be. So today's post is about values, understanding why you have yours, and how you probably have some for reasons you don't understand or care about. You may think you're reading about measurement systems,…

10 Comments
October 20, 2012
Awareness / Blog / Humor

People who claim not to judge and blame often do, illustrated, part 2

Following yesterday's post on the Daily Show's showing people saying they include and accept exclude and dismiss, here's another on blaming and finger pointing, claiming others are doing it, not you. Watching the clip is funny, but I'm including it here because it gives us a chance to introspect. The point of this blog is to provide tools and insight to learn and grow, and I think this clip does -- though the surreality of the bit where the guy doesn't stop finger-pointing while saying others should is amazing. The people in the video seem blind about their different standards, begging the question of what we ourselves are blind to. Think you're not blind to some hypocrisy in yourself? So did they. I suggest you…

0 Comments
September 23, 2012
Blog / Education / Entrepreneurship / Freedom

How I got to work a day or two a week

Despite my posting on how I find asking "so what do you do" a boring question, apparently everyone I meet hasn't read every post on my site, so they keep asking me what I do. It's hard to answer the question when you know they want to know your work when work is such a small part of your life. You can talk about making art, writing, travels, etc, but those answers never satisfy them. They want to know your job -- passions, hobbies, relationships, etc be damned. You may want to suggest how they don't have to accept one's job defining so much about a person -- or that if it does you don't have to ask, they'll tell you. But if someone did…

0 Comments
September 2, 2012
Blog / Fitness

Why I don’t like watching soccer

If you don't mind my indulging in sharing a pet peeve of mine perhaps unrelated to leadership and my other usual topics, playing Ultimate again this summer combined with being outside the U.S. during a major soccer event (I think the European cup was major), I got to think about soccer and values. I find soccer players often shameful and occasionally repulsive. Just my opinion, of course, but I already mentioned I'm indulging myself today. People speculate Americans don't like soccer as much as the rest of the world because it doesn't score as much or doesn't allow for easy commercial breaks. If only those were the problems I had with the sport I wouldn't mention anything. Sports are more important to me than just…

2 Comments
August 6, 2012
North Korean children’s nearly unbelievable performances
Art / Creativity / Education / NorthKorea

North Korean children’s nearly unbelievable performances

The pictures below don't even approach showing the almost unbelievable performance ability of North Korean children. Joseph's pictures showcase their talent better. But no images can show the professionalism, dedication, and raw talent these kids have. The pictures below are from the Children's Palace, which trains children to perform and create art and puts on incredible performances. After their performance last time, my travel groupmate who was starting a school to train opera singers, reacted with disgust at the performance. As I understood, he saw their type of performance -- technical perfection that could only result from repeated drilling and repetition devoid of personal expression -- as destroying everything he valued about art -- personal expression and emotional exploration. He saw children whose artistic world…

0 Comments
August 4, 2012
An interesting character in North Korea
NorthKorea

An interesting character in North Korea

I don't have any story behind the guy in the picture below. We were at the cemetery for North Korea's martyrs on the anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birth, which was like being at Arlington on July 4th. As you can see behind him, columns and columns of soldiers paid respect from before we arrived until after we left. As for him, I couldn't tell if he held authority or if he would have been seen as dressed respectfully or what there. I thought he looked sharp and couldn't resist taking his picture. Click on the picture for a larger version or email me for a higher resolution version.

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August 3, 2012
Blog / Entrepreneurship / Leadership

Facebook’s woes and what it could have done instead

If you know me, you'd expect Facebook's woes to mean the problems Facebook inflicts on its users who haven't left it yet. After all, leaving Facebook is easy and fun. Yes, they're reaching a billion users, but I'm no longer one of them and once you leave the site seems weird, like why would you do business with such a creepy company. From the New York Times, Facebook Shares Plummet in an Earnings Letdown: "Unhappy with Facebook’s first financial report as a public company Thursday, investors fled the stock in droves..." Most of you probably expect the drop resulted from my calling the company creepy and you may be right, but I think the greater problems come from inside Facebook, and decisions they made based…

2 Comments
August 1, 2012
Blog / Freedom / Tips

Words to help you do things daily

I think of a certain piece of advice almost daily in maintaining my daily routine. I find it invaluable. When I started this page I asked a friend with a successful blog how often he wrote -- only weekdays, daily, now and then? He said words that stuck with me well. If you skip one day you can skip two. Once you skip two days it's over. Conclusion: don't skip days. Also, don't plan to do things daily that you can't keep up. You may only reinforce a lack of value in those things -- the opposite of your goals. This advice only applies to a few things in life. You have to know your priorities, but for things that match your priorities, the advice…

0 Comments
July 24, 2012
Blog / Creativity / Entrepreneurship / Tips

Another genius business idea: the series

Many people who dream of starting businesses tell me their greatest obstacle is having a great idea to start with. I call this belief my number one entrepreneurship myth and wrote about it and productive beliefs that can help more than the myth. Besides the productive alternative belief that a good idea plus listening to your market succeeds more than trying to make an idea perfect, another counter to this myth is that great ideas come easily when you know how. As a business school professor at Columbia said The idea of a lifetime comes once a month. I completely agree. What makes an idea "an idea of a lifetime" isn't its profitability or popularity but how much of your time you devote to it.…

0 Comments
July 23, 2012
Awareness / Blog / Fitness / Freedom

My fitness habits, part 4: Nothing special about what I did

Since so many people don't like their physical condition, don't find reward or joy in exercising, and regard these aspects of their life as punishments, I imagine many of them want to change their beliefs and behaviors, perhaps using my example as inspiration. Many people may not care too, I guess. I've written a lot on the topics -- enough that it might seem overwhelming. Can anyone do what I do? I didn't do anything anyone else couldn't. Maybe they don't want to or haven't figured out how to, but they could. I don't read many diet or exercise books, but I have a feeling they don't make a point of focusing on your emotions, which I consider the foundation for successful change. I focus…

0 Comments
July 20, 2012
Blog / Fitness / Freedom

My fitness habits, part 3: Exercise

As I've written before, exercise for me is about the emotions it creates. I start exercises for joy, fun, friendship, etc. For many people exercise seems punishing. If I didn't realize I, like anyone, could make exercise create whatever emotions I wanted and I felt stuck with punishment, I wouldn't do it. Luckily I learned to find the joy, fun, etc in exercise -- as anyone can -- and built from there. History I've exercised consistently since I started running cross country in high school in the 80s. I was chubby as a kid -- at least I remember my older step-brother teasing me about being chubby before I started sports. Although they signed me up for little league baseball and soccer, I don't remember…

0 Comments
July 19, 2012
Awareness / Blog / Fitness / Freedom

My fitness beliefs and habits, part 2: Food and Eating

What I eat I don't feel like I pay attention to what I eat that much, although I've habitualized a lot so I probably eat healthily without thinking about it. I don't pay attention to proteins versus carbohydrates. I definitely don't count calories. I think paying attention to those things means you're eating the wrong things. I mean, I'm kind of aware of those things, but the more I eat fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains, the less I pay attention to proteins, carbohydrates, and calories and the better my body seems. How can you eat too much spinach, mangoes, or oats? Can you? I mean, your body will stop you before you can. With sugary beverages, I've noticed your tongue always sends signals…

0 Comments
July 18, 2012
Awareness / Blog / Fitness / Freedom

My fitness beliefs and habits, part 1: Principles

A reader asked I like what you said about the body being a reflection of how we live our life. I also agree about the genetics; its too much of a cop out to say that you can’t help being obese. I do have a question though. Your photos show that you are in shape but you have previously posted that your workout regimen consists of only a minute of burpees twice a day. As someone who works out an hour a day to stay in shape this blows my mind. Are you rationing calories as well or just watching what you eat? Do you have any before/after photos showing the progress made after 6 months on this program? Context The short response to that…

0 Comments
July 17, 2012
Awareness / Blog / Nature

Things aren’t suddenly getting worse

  Whenever I read about how today's world is moving faster, competition is greater, people are more separated, more together, or whatever superlative that supposedly sets our time different than any other, I think of this quote Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers. This quote defines our time, doesn't it? Except that it was written centuries ago. I've seen it attributed to Socrates, but I've seen people claim it's much younger, but still generations old. Every generation changes its values from the…

0 Comments
July 16, 2012
Blog / Freedom

If you crave something you don’t have, people who have it will always be able to control you

The title of this post speaks for itself so I'll keep it short. I just keep seeing people wishing they had more than they need not realizing how they are creating jails for themselves, giving others control over their lives. If you always want more money, people with more money will get you to work for them. If you want fame, people with access to media will get you to work for them. If you want power and influence, people with power and influence will get you to work for them. You get the idea. Oh, and when they get you to work for them, they won't reward you for it. If you don't crave something, someone will try to convince you that you do…

0 Comments
July 6, 2012
Art / Awareness / Blog

You don’t have to accept anyone else’s hierarchy of taste

I posted on another board in a discussion on taste Is classical music better than punk? Museum art better than street art? Haute cuisine better than burritos? Is the op-ed page better than stand-up comedy? Is classical philosophy better than folk wisdom? My life improved when I learned I didn't have to accept anyone else's hierarchy of taste. Most people may consider one better than another, but I've learned to see them as meeting the values of a community better, not being absolutely better. Classical music meets the values of some communities better than punk. But punk meets other communities' values better than classical. I prefer evaluating things by the values of the communities that practice it. Then I appreciate more things and judge less.…

0 Comments
July 5, 2012
Blog / Freedom / NorthKorea

Frederick Douglass on the Fourth of July

As I consider the U.S. Declaration of Independence perhaps the founding concepts of the country I was born in and lived most of my life, I celebrate our Independence Day by reading at least one relevant historical work. Having visited Vietnam and North Korea since last July 4th, I've had pause to think about what freedom means to America and some things of what America is doing to freedom. Vietnam's War Remembrance Museum certainly affected my perception of how the U.S. has affected freedom in other places. To say the least, the Vietnamese government views the United States' activity there differently than does American culture. On the other hand, learning about and observing the North Korean government's oppressing its people -- which I distinguish completely…

1 Comment
July 4, 2012
Blog / Freedom / Leadership / NorthKorea / Tips

Spending less improves your life

Preface: I started writing this blog about how cutting personal costs (of any resource, including time, money, energy, attention, etc) improves your personal life. Rereading it I realized it overlapped so much with what leaders can do in business, I'll tag it leadership too. Translating the post into business-speak I'll leave as an exercise to the reader. You can probably do it on the fly. People who know me in person know I work very little at a job -- like a day a week, sometimes more in crunch times, which happen once a year or so. When they hear I work so little, they first ask, usually indirectly, where I make enough money to live on. I view going this direction first as a…

2 Comments
June 30, 2012
Awareness / Blog / Tips

Sharing what you love fills your life with sharing, love, and stuff you love

Sometimes it seems like everyone I talk to hears about burpees. I enjoy them. Doing them fills my life with the emotions they support -- friendship, freedom, and motivation. I talk to people about leadership, nature, science, curiosity, and so on. I tell people how I figure things out after I analyze things. All these things make me feel good. Sharing these things -- by sharing I mean communicating and behaving consistently with -- improves my life. For this post, you could substitute anything you want for the term love. Sharing what you value, find meaningful, makes you happy, brings you joy, rewards you, etc will give the same results for those things. Four results of sharing what you love First, when people know what…

0 Comments
June 27, 2012
Blog / Fitness / Freedom

Burpee overview

[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.] Yesterday I started to consolidate posts on burpees but when I realized it was the day after the six month anniversary of starting doing them daily, I wrote a six-month review, which ended up as a long post on friendship, freedom, and motivation. It reinforces that sharing what you love fills your life with sharing, love, and the stuff you love. As people who have read all my posts on the Model and Method know, a thing's value, meaning, and purpose…

3 Comments
June 25, 2012
Impressions of China
Shanghai's Hongqiao Railway Station is big, clean, and welcoming
Blog

Impressions of China

I've been meaning to record some thoughts on China, having been working here cumulatively maybe a couple months, mainly based on observations around Shanghai. I'm not trying to imply particular insight, just what struck me. People tell me I look at things differently than most, and in insightful ways. They wiped out most physical and architectural remnants of their history, apparently with the goal of modernizing. Their cities are all modern -- mostly more modern than America's -- but you see almost no buildings older than twenty years old. I was surprised in Shanghai when a friend described hundred-year-old buildings as old. Her country goes back thousands of years and mine a couple hundred, yet my city's old buildings are older. France is the most…

1 Comment
June 23, 2012
“Extremes” usually aren’t
Awareness / Blog

“Extremes” usually aren’t

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? Being practical makes more sense, doesn't it? The speciousness is subtle. I'll point the flaw out in a second. When you get it, you realize what the other person is doing and how to protect yourself from their influence when you don't want it. You'll start to see people doing it all the time. The…

0 Comments
June 15, 2012
Blog

The values of different fields

For no particular reason I decided to try to think if each field had values and if each set of values was unique for each profession. I don't know the value of this exercise, but it was fun. I noticed that some values worked with nearly every field, like service, integrity, and some obvious ones that apply any time someone works for another. By the way, I'm listing the fields' values at their best, by their standards, so I can include fields like drug dealer and hit man, with the caveat that I'm describing how they see themselves, not how others see them. Each field can embody values at their worst, by somebody's standards somewhere. Fields at their worst, from another's perspective, seem to me…

0 Comments
June 13, 2012
Awareness / Blog / Freedom / Leadership

Living by your values

A client asked about something in his personal life. He does things one way that most parts of society do differently. To be clear, his way harmed no one and was in no way illegal, but he was concerned that people who learned about it might freak out. Sorry I have to keep the details to a minimum, but we all recognize his situation is universal. We all have things we do a certain way that society/family/school/church/government/etc does differently. A great thing about the internet is that we can easily learn that millions of others also do it that way, even if we can't meet them in person. You can't anticipate or change other people's expectations before you meet them. Like everyone, you also have…

0 Comments
June 12, 2012

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