The early part of the generation, born in the second half of the 1990s, were born during a time of declining birth rates; though the youngest of the generation were born during a baby boomlet linked to the Great Recession of the late 2000s.

Due to media attention, a variety of neologisms are used to describe Generation Z including Generation I, Generation Next, The Internet Generation, Net Generation or iGeneration. Within Strauss and Howe’s generational theory they are known as The New Silent Generation.

On the average they are highly connected, many having had lifelong use of communications and media technologies such as the World Wide Web, instant messaging, text messaging, MP3 players, cellular phones and YouTube, earning them the nickname “digital natives”. Generation Z have grown up in a world with in which single-parent families are commonplace, as well as two-income families.

Conversation offers infinite possibilities. It is great for polishing thoughts and generating new ones. It is unbeatable for beating the blues or forging friendships. The ultimate bond of all personal relationships – whether in business, friendship or marriage – is conversation.

Society provides lavish rewards to those who express themselves well. (Studies show that no single factor better predicts your future income than the size of your vocabulary.) Good talkers routinely ace the interview, get the contract, close the deal, win the girl. Get on with others and you will get on in life – and enjoy it more.

There is a widespread misconception that the best conversationalists are the smoothest talkers. Conversation is not meant to be a performance art or a competition, but an opportunity for mutual appreciation. And the best conversationalists are not the best talkers. They are the best listeners.

Never speak of yourself to others; make them talk about themselves instead. Therein lies the whole art of pleasing. Everyone knows it and everyone forgets it.
- Edmond de Goncourt

The great gift of conversation lies less in displaying it ourselves than in drawing it out in others. He who leaves your company pleased with himself and his own cleverness is perfectly well pleased with you.
- Jean de la Bruyere

A gossip is one who talks to you about others; a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself.
- Lisa Kirk

It only takes a bit of curiosity. The idea is to find out more about the other person’s attitudes, interests, nature and disposition. For too many, however, a verbal exchange is not talking and listening but rather talking and waiting to talk again. You don’t learn much that way. Or score many points.

Some insist they are poor conversationalists because they are introverted or tongue-tied. In some cases, that may be true. But those who struggle may be trying too hard to say the right thing. Far more important is not succumbing to the temptation to say the wrong thing.

Good conversation is about drawing out the other, not delivering a monologue or a position statement. The truth is we are seldom better than our conversation. What you choose to talk about – and how you choose to say it – lays you bare.

That doesn’t mean your conversation needs to be sparkling and original. Nor does it need to have a purpose or a point. Quite the opposite, in fact. The best conversations ramble. They have no pre-destination. It is all about the rhythm and flow.

In sum, good conversation is one of life’s most accessible pleasures. It connects us to one another, forges friendships, increases social esteem, raises our mood, generates goodwill, enhances our information and completes our education. And while prices rise and time shrinks, it is a luxury that remains free to us all.

True, conversation won’t make you richer, thinner, or save your life. But it may save your marriage. As Charles Dickens said, “Never close your lips to those whom you have opened your heart.”

Source: Alex Green, “The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters”

For example, the public may be invited to develop a new technology, carry out a design task, refine or carry out the steps of an algorithm, or help capture, systematize or analyze large amounts of data.

The term has become popular with businesses, authors, and journalists as shorthand for the trend of leveraging the mass collaboration enabled by Web 2.0 technologies to achieve business goals. However, both the term and its underlying business models have attracted controversy and criticisms.

The difference between crowdsourcing and open source is that open source production is a cooperative activity initiated and voluntarily undertaken by members of the public. In crowdsourcing the activity is initiated by a client and the work may be undertaken on an individual, as well as a group, basis. So, the key is in the motivations of individuals to participate in the project.

Perceived benefits of crowdsourcing include the following:

The are four types of crowdsourcing strategies:

So, how you employ great people, actually lots of them, and over the place. How to you find and keep great customers, and great suppliers too.
Want to tap into all that brainpower to solve your most important problems? Want to know how to do it right?

Sources: Wiki, CrowdSourcing Blog, Jeff Howe

. Start with the conclusion!

Echoing Steven Covey’s 2nd habit, it is critical to have the end in mind. In the case
of your speech, ask yourself what’s your message? Are you convincing the board to
say yes to the new IT project? Are you inspiring your committee to work as team?
Are you persuading your customers to buy your product? No matter what speech
you make, however long or short it is, you ALWAYS have a message!

Sidenote: If your speech is a relatively short one (say 5-10 mins), focus on just
one message. In that way, your audience has a higher chance of remembering it.

. Three points max

What are three reasons why this IT project is critical to the growth of your company?
What are three ways your team can follow their heart?
What are three problems that can be solved by using your product?

For every point you made, substantiate with an example or even tell a mini story to
underscore your point.

. Work on an attention grabber

The first 30 seconds of your speech is the most important as your audience will
subconsciously decide if they should listen to you for the next 9 minutes and 30
seconds. So you should always aim to grab their attention right from the start. It can
come in many forms. Here is a list of attention grabbers that you can try for size.

Startling fact
Expert Opinion
Quotation
Dramatic gesture
Rhetorical question
Videoclip
Joke
Anecdote
Reference to a current event
Live demostration

My personal favorite is the use of rhetorical questions because it gets the audience
thinking. There was once I gave a keynote speech that inspires the audience to live
for the moment. I started my keynote with three questions.

When was the last time you sat down and saw the entire sunset?

When was the last time you have ever taste your food?

When was the last time you have called your mum and tell her how much you love her?

That immediately set the tone of my keynote. My guess is that most of them have
not done the above three things for a long long time. Asking these rhetorical
questions gets them interested to know what I have to say next.

Together with your attention grabber is an answer to the following question – “Why
should the audience listen to you?” or “What’s in it for them?” This will create a stake
for them and you will have them eating from your hands.

Lastly…

Practice makes permanence! I cannot emphasize the importance of practice! Try out
the techniques as often as you can. You will find yourself getting increasingly
competent. With the extra time at hand, you can then focus on improving the quality
of your speech or honing your delivery skills. In no time, you will be on your way to
become a highly effective speaker!

“It usually takes more than three weeks to write a good impromptu speech.” American writer Mark Twain

“The very best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance.” American writer Ruth Gordon

“Always be shorter than anybody dared to hope!” Lord Reading, English politician

“Be sincere; be brief; be seated.” President Franklin D. Roosevelt

With these factors in mind, let us look at 10 commonly used attention grabbers.
1. Ask a question
2. Use an anecdote or story
3. Give a definition
4. Use a quote
5. Use an analogy
6. Use humor
7. Relate a personal experience
8. Give a demonstration
9. Do a survey
10. Give a quiz

Source: communicatebetter.blogspot.com
Advanced Public Speaking by Ruth Livingston

THE GIFT OF WORK: The Family Values Journal & Key
It takes a lot of work to keep things running well – whether it’s family life, a business or a volunteer organization. In every group of people, there are usually people who stand out for doing more than their share of the work. They are working hard and know the power of a job well done — and they deserve to get a little recognition for it. Use this Certificate of Hard Work to show them how you recognize and appreciate the efforts they are putting forth. Add a special thank you or even a treat to give along with the certificate to further sweeten the surprise. It’s the type of thank you that works every time!

THE GIFT OF PROBLEMS: Words of Wisdom
In The Ultimate Gift, Red Stevens recalls, “One of the great errors in my life was sheltering many people from life’s problems. If we are not allowed to deal with small problems, we will be destroyed by slightly larger ones.” We each have problems of all sizes in our lives, but it’s the spirit in which we greet them that truly determines their magnitude. Use this day to look for a way in which you can help someone discover this important insight – and also share with them the other inspiring gifts you have received from The Ultimate Gift.
We have so much to learn from those around us, especially those who have lived enough to understand how to handle difficult situations. Wisdom has the ability to turn obstacles into opportunities from which we learn and grow. Ask an older member of your family to share their “story”

THE GIFT OF FRIENDS: I’m Always with You
Friends are people we can count on through thick and thin. They are the ones who support us when we make good choices and tell us the truth when we don’t.
Friends bring us joy and remind us that life is meant to be shared. They feel a lot like family but there’s one big difference – while we can’t choose the family we are born into, we can definitely choose the friends that surround us.
But remember that you have to be a friend to have a friend, and friendships must be nurtured to keep growing to their fullest. In the spirit of The Ultimate Gift, Once Upon A Family® has created a special Friendship Card so you can remind your friends of how valuable they are to you. Download, print and fill out this card then give it to friends as an unexpected surprise.

THE GIFT OF GIVING: Gift of Values
In The Ultimate Gift, Red Stevens explains, “Conventional wisdom would say that the less you give, the more you have. The converse is true. The more you give, the more you have. Abundance creates the ability to give; giving creates abundance. This principle is true in every area of your life.”
There are very few acts of goodness in our lives that compare to the act of giving. That’s because true giving is completely selfless. It comes with no strings attached. Giving is about focusing on the needs of another while leaving your own goals and desires behind. Giving reminds us of how rich our lives are and how easily we can make a real impact on those around us.

THE GIFT OF GRATITUDE: Thanksgiving Album & Leaves
It’s so easy to get caught up in all of the frustrations and disappointments that are part of normal daily life. Sometimes we need a little reminder to help us stay focused on all of the wonderful things we have. Ask each family member to write 10 things they are grateful for on their own personal Golden List. You can help the little ones by writing it for them or having them draw symbolic pictures. Hang these Golden Lists in places where you’re sure to see them everyday, such as the bathroom wall, the bedroom doorknob or the kitchen bulletin board. This simple tradition will make being grateful a daily habit for everyone in your family.

THE GIFT OF FAMILY: Family Tree Poster & Leaves
Then, every Friday night, one member of your family pulls out a card and announces which activity the family will enjoy together over the weekend. It’s a simple, spontaneous way to connect and grow closer – plus have fun while you do so!

THE GIFT OF LEARNING: Family Tree Booklets
“In Your Shoes” is a fun activity developed by Once Upon A Family to help your family better appreciate and understand the unique lives of each one of you. Put everyone’s name in a hat and have each family member draw a name. Each person then uses a piece of paper and a marker or crayon to trace the foot of the family member selected, and then writes out three or more things that make that person different from them. These traits could include, for example, the person’s position in the family, what’s important to them, what they worry about, or what makes them happy. Talk over these differences together and create a dialogue about how important it is to respect and appreciate each other’s own special traits. Every member of the family will have a better idea of what it takes to live “In Their Shoes”. And, together, your family will have enjoyed yet another rewarding step on the lifelong journey made possible by The Gift Of Learning.

THE GIFT OF MONEY: The Birthday Book
Money is a confusing thing. Everyone says it’s not important and it can’t buy happiness, yet many act like money is very important and work as if they will be happy only if they had more. We do need a certain amount of money to satisfy our basic needs. But, as we learn in The Ultimate Gift, too much money can make people just as unhappy as not having enough. Today, as you celebrate how your efforts have helped to support a charitable cause, make it a point to explore the Gift Of Money with your family using the three conversation starter cards provided by Once Upon A Family®. They’ll help you work together to share and shape your ideas on what’s truly valuable to each of you. Then, enrich the conversation by also discussing other acts of giving you plan to do as a family in the months ahead.

THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER
Happy people generally have a positive, joyful outlook on life. They tend to look for and think about the positive aspects of people, things, situations, and events. They can laugh at themselves and brush off little setbacks that others will brood over for days. Even in our saddest moments, laughter can be the best medicine to heal our heart and mend our minds. Start a healthy family habit that will help everyone develop a more positive outlook on life. Make the dinner hour, when you are all together, a time to share with each other the best part of your day. Take turns and really listen. This simple ritual expresses a lot about who we are and what makes us happy. Use the Joy Chart to stimulate some healthy competition. Anyone who can think of three or more good things that happened to them that day earns a happy face on the chart. Whoever has the most happy faces by their name wins the best prize of all: a life full of joy and all the good things that come to someone who looks for them!

THE GIFT OF A DAY: Family Fun Box & Family Fun Pad
Although spending time together as a family is one of the most important things we do in our lives, so many other things seem to get in the way. In this modern, fast-paced life, we all need to step back and make the effort to be together. Start a tradition that reminds you of The Gift of a Day all year long, thanks to this family-connection concept from Once Upon A Family®. Place 52 stones in a jar to represent the 52 precious weeks you have to enjoy with your loved ones during the year. Remove one stone each week at a time when the family has gathered together, and share your best moments from that week. Just seeing the jar of stones sitting on your table will make you think twice about how you spend your days and how to make the most of the little time we do have together. And, to add to the sense of connection, make a day out of choosing the stones that will represent your year of togetherness. It’s an unforgettable family experience.

THE GIFT OF DREAMS: Time Capsule
Dreams are an important part of who we are as individuals. The ability to dream and believe in a dream is the foundation for success in every aspect of life. People who accomplish great things all begin with a dream, while those who don’t chase their dream are often disappointed. When we allow the Gift of Dreams into our lives and summon the courage to follow our dreams, we begin to experience life at its fullest. The key to making dreams come true is making them real. This means putting your dreams down on paper, sharing them with others and actually planning the steps you can take to move closer to making your dreams come true. Use this Share A Dream Card to tell a friend – whether that’s a spouse, a sibling or a co-worker – about your dream so they can help support your quest…and enjoy being a part of your accomplishment.

THE GIFT OF LOVE: Dear Sweet Child Letter Box (The Ultimate Gift)
One of the most precious gifts you can give someone you love is your time, especially in today’s busy world. When was the last time you invited your spouse out to dinner or took your mother to lunch? Can you imagine how special it would be if you invited your daughter on a ‘date’ where you help teach her how a man should treat a lady? Or how about planning a fishing trip with your grandson – just the two of you? Couples need to make time for their relationship to keep their love alive and strong. And children crave the one-on-one time that makes them feel cherished. None of us, no matter what our age, ever outgrows the need to feel loved and appreciated. Your time is a Gift Of Love and it’s easy to give. Use this invitation from Once Upon A Family® to plan a date with someone special in your life and let them know just how much they mean to you.

Sources:
The Ultimate Life (The Ultimate Series #2) by Jim Stovall
The Ultimate Gift (2007) DVD
El Ultimo Regalo (Spanish Edition)

When’s the last time you heard somebody in the media or education system say, “We need to build up entrepreneurs,
because new businesses will become the foundation of our communities” ?

For all those who assume us money-grubbing entrepreneurs are driven by greed, selfishness and ego, let me share with you the results of a study by the Center for Data Analysis and the Heritage Foundation:

Charitable Giving by Household Income, based on IRS data:

Income Class Entrepreneurs Non-Entrepreneurs

$65,480+ 3.23% 2.42%
$37,381-$65,480 3.47% 1.84%
$21,661-$37,380 3.29% 1.14%
$10,661-$21,660 2.25% 0.74%
$0-$10,660 1.55% 0.35%
Average 2.53% 1.27%

Looks like entrepreneurs are TWICE as generous as everyone else. ESPECIALLY the ones with low incomes(!)
Why is that? What’s going on here?
It’s real simple.

Most people only understand scarcity. Entrepreneurs understand abundance.

My experience of entrepreneurs is we overwhelmingly tend to take care of everybody else before we worry about ourselves.

My friend, if you tapped every resource to pay everyone, if you went to bed not knowing how tomorrow’s bills were going to get paid, then at least you had faith in the goodness of providence and the power of imagination and resourcefulness to find a solution.

THIS is why people in the modern world have three meals a day and microwave ovens and beds to sleep in and health care
and straight teeth and computers and movies and modern music.

Because… somebody had faith in the power of ingenuity. They dreamed and schemed and innovated and gave until it hurt. Believing that somehow, somewhere, success would show up when it was most needed.

None of us can ever predict when or how solution to some vexing problem will present itself. We just have faith that it will.

I don’t know what problem you face today, but I know that one of two things is true:

1) Someone somewhere has already solved it, or
2) The ability to solve it WILL be given to you

Most of all I want to salute you in pursuing a journey that most people never even have the courage to undertake.

When you find the success you seek, you deserve it.

The talking heads on TV may not appreciate us. But we appreciate each other. And I appreciate you.

Source: Perry Marshall’s Daily Renaissance Newsletter

Basically, the U3-X is a stool with a unique directional wheel system that allows it to travel diagonally, as well as right, left, forward, and backward – a robotic unicycle if you will.

When I read the article and saw how the device worked, I thought, “Nice technology, but stupid… who would ever buy one of those things?”

It reminded me of the General Motors joint venture with Segway to develop the PUMA, or Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility (pictured below), which was lovingly described by planetmoron.com as follows:

Combining the range and speed of an assisted living community golf cart with the cargo-carrying capacity of a pair of bike shorts, the PUMA encompasses much of what the federal government hopes to get out of its investments in the automobile industry. A vehicle that is small, green, and will make people want to take public transportation instead.

It turns out, however, that I judged Honda too quickly. Honda didn’t build the U3-X thinking people would actually buy it. Rather, the U3-X is more about showing off an engineering breakthrough. In this case, Honda contributes to the legs vs. wheels debate among roboticists that has been going on for years.

And therein lies the difference between a company like Honda and a company like GM. Honda is wildly successful (although it has taken sales and earnings hits recently) because of its forward thinking and long-term (I’ve heard 200-year) strategic plan. GM, on the other hand, which thinks people are actually going to show up and buy the PUMA, is a company stuck in the past. (The director of the PUMA project for GM readily admitted: “There’s no technology that has to be invented here. It’s really just putting the pieces together.”)

Although Honda appears slightly overvalued at the moment in terms of fundamentals and GM does not currently trade, I certainly know which one of these companies I will be investing in a little way down the road. And you should too.

DAVID GALLAND: Could you provide us a quick introduction to generational research?

NEIL HOWE: We think that generations move history along and prevent society from suffering too long under the excesses of any particular generation. People often assume that every new generation will be a linear extension of the last one. You know, that after Generation X comes Generation Y. They might further expect Generation Y to be like Gen X on steroids – even more willing to take risk and with even more edginess in the culture. Yet the Millennial Generation that followed Gen X is not like that at all. In fact, no generation is like the generation that immediately precedes it.

Instead, every generation turns the corner and to some extent compensates for the excesses and mistakes of the midlife generation that is in charge when they come of age. This is necessary, because if generations kept on going in the same direction as their predecessors, civilization would have gone off a cliff thousands of years ago.

So this is a necessary process, a process that is particularly important in modern nontraditional societies, where generations are free to transform institutions according to their own styles and proclivities.

In our research we have found that, in modern societies, four basic types of generations tend to recur in the same order.

DAVID: The four generational archetypes. Can you provide a sketch of each for those of our readers unfamiliar with your work?

HOWE: Absolutely.

The first is what we call the Hero archetype. Hero generations are usually protectively raised as kids. They come of age at a time of emergency or Crisis and become known as young adults for helping society resolve the Crisis, hopefully successfully. Once the Crisis is resolved, they become institutionally powerful in midlife and remain focused on outer-world challenges and solutions. In their old age, they are greeted by a spiritual Awakening, a cultural upheaval fired by the young. This is the typical life story of a Hero generation.

One example of the Hero archetype is the G.I. Generation, the soldiers of World War II, who became an institutional powerhouse after the war and then in old age confronted the young hippies and protesters of the 1960s. Going back in American history, we have seen many other Hero archetypes, for example the generation of Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, and President Monroe. These were the heroes of the American Revolution, who in old age were greeted by the second Great Awakening and a new youth generation of fiery Prophets.

After the Hero archetype comes the Artist archetype. Artist generations have a very different location in history — they are the children of the Crisis. For Hero generations, child protection rises from first cohort to last. By the time Artists come along, child protection reaches suffocating levels. Artists come of age as young adults during the post-Crisis era, when conformity seems like the best path to success, and they tend to be collectively risk averse. Artists see themselves as providing the expertise and refinement that can both improve and adorn the enormous new institutional innovations that have been forged during the Crisis. They typically experience a cultural Awakening in midlife, and their lives speed up as the culture transforms.

A great example of the Artist archetype is the so-called “Silent” Generation, the post World War II young adults who married early and moved into gleaming new suburbs in the 1950s, went through their midlife crises in the ’70s and ’80s, and are today the very affluent, active seniors retiring into gated lifestyle communities.

The third archetype is what we call a Prophet archetype. The most recent example of this archetype is the Baby Boom Generation. Prophet generations grow up as children during a period of post-Crisis affluence and come of age during a period of cultural upheaval. They become moralistic and values-obsessed midlife leaders and parents, and as they enter old age, they steer the country into the next great outer-world social or political Crisis. Boomers, for example, grew up during the Postwar American High, came of age during the Consciousness Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s, and are now entering old age.

Finally there is what we call a Nomad archetype. Nomads are typically raised as children during Awakenings, the great cultural upheavals of our history. Whereas the Prophet archetype is indulgently raised as children, the Nomad archetype is underprotected and completely exposed as children. They learn early that they can’t trust basic institutions to look out for their best interests and come of age as free agents whose watchword is individualism. They are the great realists and pragmatists in our nation’s history.

The most recent example of the Nomad archetype is Generation X. This generation grew up during the social turmoil of the 1960s and ’70s and are now beginning to enter midlife. They are the ones that know how to get things done on the ground. They are the stay-at-home dads and security moms trying to give their kids more of a childhood than they themselves had. Their burden is that they tend not to trust large institutions and do not have a strong connection to public life. They forge their identity and value system by “going it alone” and staying off the radar screen of government. It could be very interesting to see the rest of the life story of this generation, particularly as they take over leadership positions.

DAVID: Could you tell us the general age ranges of these archetypes now?

HOWE: One Hero generation that is alive today is the G.I. Generation, born between 1901 and 1924. They came of age with the New Deal, World War II, and the Great Depression. They are today in their mid-80s and beyond, and their influence is waning.

Today’s other example of a Hero archetype is the Millennial Generation, born from 1982 to about 2003 or 2004. These are today’s young people, who are just beginning to be well known to most Americans. They fill K-12 schools, colleges, graduate schools, and have recently begun entering the workplace. We associate them with dramatic improvements in youth behaviors, which are often underreported by the media. Since Millennials have come along, we’ve seen huge declines in violent crime, teen pregnancy, and the most damaging forms of drug abuse, as well as higher rates of community service and volunteering. This is a generation that reminds us in many respects of the young G.I.s nearly a century ago, back when they were the first boy scouts and girl scouts between 1910 and 1920.

DAVID: Then following the Hero, we have the Artist, right?

HOWE: Yes. As I mentioned earlier, one example of that archetype is the Silent Generation, born between 1925 and 1942. This generation was too young to remember anything about America before the Great Crash of 1929, and too young to be of fighting age during World War II.

That 1925 birth year is filled with people like William F. Buckley and Bobby Kennedy, first-wave Silent who just missed World War II. Many of them were actually in the camps in California waiting for the invasion of Japan when they heard that the war was over. Part of their generational experience is that sense of just barely missing something big. Surveys show that this generation does not like to call themselves “senior citizens.” They did not fight in World War II. They did not build the A bomb. They are more like “senior partners.” Unlike G.I.s, they are flexible elders, focused on the needs of others. Many of them are highly engaged in the family activities of their children and grandchildren. In politics, they are today’s elder advisors, not powerhouse leaders.

There is a new generation of the Artist archetype just now beginning to arrive. They started being born, we think, around 2004 or 2005. We did a contest on our website to choose a name for this new generation, and the winner was Homeland Generation, reflecting the fact that they are being incredibly well protected. So we are tentatively calling them the Homelanders.

This generation will have no memory of anything before the financial meltdown of 2008 and the events that are about to unfold in America. If our research is correct, this generation’s childhood will be a time of urgency and rapid historical change. Unlike the Millennials, who will remember childhood during the good times of 1980s and ’90s, the Homelanders will recall their childhood as a time of national crisis.

So, those are the two examples today of the Hero archetype, and two examples of the Artist archetype.

DAVID: What about the Prophet and the Nomad generations?

HOWE: There is only one Prophet archetype generation alive today: the Boomer Generation. We define them as being born between 1943 and 1960. Those born in 1943 would have been part of the free-speech movement at Berkeley in 1964, the first fiery class whose peers include Bill Bradley, Newt Gingrich, and Oliver North. The last cohorts of this generation came of age with President Carter in the Iran Hostage Crisis.

For the Nomad archetype, we again have only one example alive today, and that is Generation X. We define Gen Xers as being born between 1961 and 1981. Actually, there may be a few members of the earlier Nomad generation still around – those of the Lost Generation born from 1883 to 1900, but today they would be around 110. This was the generation that grew up during the third Great Awakening, the doughboys who went through World War I. They were the generation that put the “roar” into the “Roaring ’20s” – the rum runners, barnstormers, and entrepreneurs of that period. They were big risk-takers.

DAVID: Is the Millennial Generation the next group up in terms of controlling or being a powerful force in society?

HOWE: It depends what you mean by a powerful force in society.

DAVID: Who is going to be in the driver’s seat?

HOWE: Let me put it this way. The generation that is about to be in the driver’s seat in terms of leadership is Generation X, the group born 1961 to 1981. In fact, we now have our first Gen-X President, Barack Obama, who was born in 1961 and who is in every way a Gen Xer, despite being born at the very early edge of his generation. His fragmented family upbringing, with his father leaving while he was young and his mother moving all over the world, is typical of the Gen X life story. A telling anecdote from his biography is that, when he arrived at Columbia University, he spent his first night in New York sleeping in an alley because no one had arranged to have an apartment open for him.

His life story has a “dazed and confused” aspect. He made his own way against a background of adult neglect and lack of structure. It’s interesting that he is the first leader in America to call himself “post-Boomer.” As a matter of fact, he talks regularly about how he intends to put an end to everything dysfunctional about Boomer politics: the polarization, the culture wars, the scorched-earth rhetoric, the identity politics, all of that. I understand a lot of people do not believe he can actually do this, but it’s interesting that this is the rhetoric he chooses. That rhetoric is one reason why the vast majority of Millennials voted for him.

Obama is the opening wedge of Gen Xers who will assume very high leadership posts. They are not yet the senior generals in control of the military, but they are taking over the reins of government and, of course, the top spots in American businesses.

Source: Casey Research
Other References:
Lost Generation (1883–1900)
Greatest Generation (1901–1924)
Silent Generation (1925–1942)
Baby Boomer (1943–1960)
Generation X (1961–1981)
Millennial Generation (1982–2001)
Generation Z (2001–?)

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Imagine cavemen sitting in comfort before a fire in a communal cave being urged by their mates to go hunting for food on a cold, rainy, winter day. They are being called on to make a sacrifice. They are being asked to give up the comfort of their cave temporarily for greater rewards. Of course, there is initial resistance. But by accepting the task, they discover their rewards far outweigh the comfort they temporarily set aside. For they will come to experience the joy of victory over the foul weather, the exhilaration that follows a successful hunt, the praise of their mates and offspring, the sharpening of their survival skills, the camaraderie of working as a team, and the intense pleasure of returning to the cave.

Life has changed in many ways since the cave dwellers. Yet, in many ways it remains the same. After all, we are bound by an immutable law of the universe that states ALL ACHIEVEMENTS REQUIRE SACRIFICES. Those who refuse to make sacrifices refuse to grow. They refuse to succeed. They refuse to discover the joy of accomplishment. They refuse to establish meaning and purpose in their lives. And when they do so, they pay a heavy price. For the pain of future failure will be far greater than any discomfort a sacrifice would have required. Don’t join the ranks of those who have yet to learn that it’s not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us successful.

We are social creatures. We depend on one another. We cannot achieve our goals without the help of others. Yet, others have their own agendas, goals, and interests. So, how can we work together without compromising? To succeed, we need to learn that we have to let go of one thing to gain another. We have to understand that sacrifice, or doing what we don’t want to get what we do want, is inexorably enmeshed in life. The extent to which we are willing to sacrifice controls the extent to which we will be successful. Or, as James Allen (1864 ~ 1912) wrote, “He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.”

Most of us realize this, but before we can make a sacrifice, we have to overcome the resistance to doing so. How can we make our task easier? How can we reduce the sting? The greatest favor we can do for ourselves is change our perspective. That is, change the way we look at things. The problem is the word SACRIFICE has a negative nuance. It implies making an effort, doing what we don’t want to, and undergoing pain. Why not put a positive spin on it. Why not focus on the beautiful things suggested by the word?

For example, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 ~ 1882) had this to say, “Self-sacrifice is the real miracle out of which all the reported miracles grow.” So, instead of calling something a sacrifice, why don’t we call it a MIRACLE? Think about it for a moment. We are the only animals that can willingly do what we don’t want to do. That is a miraculous power. Sacrifice is the miracle that makes great things possible.

The word SACRIFICE is made up of SACRI and FICIO, which means TO MAKE HOLY. So, when we make sacrifices, we are sanctifying our actions, for whenever we raise ourselves to a higher level, we are bringing ourselves closer to our Creator. Rather than looking at sacrifice as something negative, look at it as a miracle, a holy act, a heroic act, a joyous, creative act, the means to our goal, an investment in the future, and a step to greatness. Look at it as a commitment and determination to succeed. When we look at it in these ways, it becomes much more palatable. When seen in this light, we realize that sacrifice is not about LOSS but about GAIN.

Another way of looking at sacrifice is as a source of happiness. And the greater the struggle that sacrifice entails, the greater the happiness that follows. Consider the words of the American Women’s Suffrage Leader, Olympia Brown (1835 ~ 1926), who said, “He who never sacrificed a present to a future good or a personal to a general one can speak of happiness only as the blind do of colors.” Yes, those who refuse to let go of their present, transient comfort or pleasure are blind, and don’t know happiness. Their refusal to sacrifice defeats the very purpose of their being. For we are here to experience endless growth, joy, and freedom, all of which are realized by acts of sacrifice.

Yet another way to look at sacrifice is as service. Personal sacrifice for our own improvement is a holy act, but sacrificing for others, for their enrichment, as a parent does for a child, is the holiest of acts. Such sacrifices breed loyalty from those we serve and crown us with abundant blessings. To the enlightened soul, serving others isn’t seen as a sacrifice. Rather, it is viewed as joyful giving.

Those who reject sacrifices, remain enslaved by their own weaknesses. American Author Bruce Barton (1886 ~ 1967) wrote, “What a curious phenomenon it is that you can get men to die for the liberty of the world who will not make the little sacrifice that is needed to free themselves from their own individual bondage.” It is bizarre, isn’t it, that some young men and women are willing to make the supreme sacrifice for their country, yet hesitate to sacrifice small things for their own welfare and happiness.

Everyone would like to achieve great things, but the ordinary person sees only the sacrifices that must be made and gives up the struggle. The rash person sees just the prize and jumps into the fray without enough preparation and loses the fight. But the wise see both the difficulties, which they carefully overcome, and the prize, which they win. Once you know what needs to be done, don’t delay, as many prizes have been lost not because of the inability to act, but the failure to act quickly enough.

Willingness to sacrifice is a sign of a strong character and is to be encouraged. A German saying makes this same point, “When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, everything is lost.” While we can rightfully be proud of our many accomplishments because of the sacrifices we have made, let’s not forget the sacrifices made for us by others. So, let our achievements be marked by a feeling of gratitude and not one of smugness.

Sometimes, despite the sacrifices we make, we do not reach our goal. If we are stuck in a quagmire, making no progress, it may be time to change direction. After all, persistently pursuing something that was not meant to be merely stands in the way of going after another, even more valuable, dream. Besides, sometimes the best win is to lose. How many times have your past ‘failures’ turned out to be blessings? It has happened in the past and will continue to happen. So be prepared for it and remain upbeat, changing course whenever necessary. And when you do ‘fail,’ use the accompanying feelings of disappointment and pain to empathize with others and offer them encouragement. By approaching life with open eyes and an open mind and heart, we can change ‘negative’ events into positive occurrences. Don’t think ‘sacrifice;’ think joy, growth, and freedom!

Source: Chuck Gallozzi

It will most likely infect 30-40% of the U.S. population, or about *100 million people* according to flu expert Ira Longini, from the University of Washington’s School of Public Health.

Initial supplies of the swine flu vaccine, which will be available sometime between mid-September to late October 2009, are expected to be very limited — barely enough to inoculate the 160 million people who are at high risk of becoming infected. An even bigger concern is whether the fast-tracked vaccine is safe and effective — since it’s being rushed to market without the appropriate testing and safety evaluations.

A new book, “The One-Minute Cure: The Secret to Healing Virtually All Diseases,” offers compelling evidence
that the swine flu virus can be rendered powerless in the body when one self-administers a natural oxygenating substance.

Madison Cavanaugh, the book’s author, states that public fear is incorrectly placed on the swine influenza
virus itself. “Microbes, germs, harmful bacteria and viruses, such as the swine influenza virus, do not cause disease in and of themselves,” Cavanaugh states. “They do seek their natural habitat — such as an oxygen-deficient body — rather than being the cause of the disease. It’s no different from the way mosquitoes seek out stagnant water, but do not cause the pool to become stagnant.”

Cavanaugh’s assertion is consistent with the findings of Dr. Rudolf Virchow (1821 – 1902), also called the “Father of Pathology.” It is also supported by Louis Pasteur, the notable 19th century French chemist and microbiologist best known for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and prevention of disease, who recanted his germ theory of disease at his deathbed, stating, “The microbe is nothing. The terrain is everything.”

The terrain of which he spoke refers to an oxygenated environment in the human body, which makes for a strong immune system. A weakened or suppressed state of the immune system only occurs when the human body lacks oxygen, thereby allowing viruses, such as the swine influenza virus, to breed.

It therefore stands to reason that the swine influenza virus does NOT cause disease, but rather seeks out an
environment where it can thrive best — and that is in oxygen-deprived bodies. “A sufficiently oxygenated body is uninhabitable by disease,” Cavanaugh states, and viruses can neither survive nor thrive in it.

Therefore, the best defense against microbes, germs, harmful bacteria and viruses, such as the swine flu virus, is to keep the body oxygenated.

Cavanaugh’s book, “The One-Minute Cure,” discusses the therapeutic use of the only natural substance which stimulates the movement of oxygen atoms from the bloodstream to the cells to a dramatically greater degree than is usually reached by other means. This action creates an oxygenated environment that enables the body to cure itself of virtually all diseases ranging from influenza to cancer, heart disease, asthma, diabetes and arthritis.

The natural oxygenating substance which is the core subject of the book has a long history of therapeutic use dating back 170 years ago when it was used to reverse a wide variety of illnesses — from minor ones like colds and flu to serious ones like cholera and malaria. It has even been used to help stop the Spanish Flu of 1918.

Over the past 70 years, this safe, inexpensive and powerful healing modality has been administered by an
estimated 15,000 European doctors, naturopaths and homeopaths to more than 10 million patients to successfully treat practically every known disease. The natural remedy can be self-administered at home in less than a minute, and costs only 1-1/2 cents a day to use. For more information, click here.

Our past and future picks are a provocative and comprehensive challenge to anyone who thinks the age of prosperity is behind us. But, as always, we value your views. Post them to our 85th Anniversary discussion forum.

As this is an anniversary event, we’ve drawn up an vintage Forbes covers to recall and classic cover stories to read.

Finally, try the When Was That Invented? quiz and see how you do against other readers.

What are the greatest breakthroughs of the last four score and five years? A collection of people, products, services and companies that have changed our lives in a profound way. This is not a list of the greatest business minds–that’s why you won’t find Bill Gates on it. It is not a roster of the deserving (Gandhi) or the powerful (Stalin) or the biggest empire builders (Kaiser). It is a history of lightbulbs that went off and changed the world. The transistor gave rise to a trillion-dollar piece of the economy and a potent deflationary force. The pill altered human behavior; the polio vaccine and protease inhibitors altered life spans; the discount brokerage changed our capital markets.
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1917 Sneakers
When U.S. Rubber introduced Keds, the first mass-marketed rubber-soled sneaker, the company used the reigning color scheme for men’s leather shoes: black soles and brown canvas uppers. Keds remained a big seller until the late 1960s, when sneakers got a face-lift from University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman, whose waffle-soled running shoe would form the foundation of Nike and trigger an explosion in the athletic shoe business.

1923 Business Management
Long before Steven Covey and Tom Peters, Alfred P. Sloan (1875-1966) created modern corporate management as he rescued an ailing General Motors and made it the most powerful corporation in the world. He reinvented governance with an independent board of directors and executive and finance committees–a balance of power that has slipped lately. He decentralized decision-making for divisions that met financial benchmarks, a style widely imitated.

1923 Multiplane Camera
With his brother Roy, Walt Disney (1901-1966) turned a small animated cartoon shop into an entertainment epic, first with silent Mickey Mouse strips, next with feature films (Fantasia, Cinderella, Peter Pan), then with theme parks, his playgrounds of fantasy. Though Disney will always be remembered for characters like Goofy and Donald Duck, his biggest contribution to filmmaking was developing the multiplane camera. Traditional animation stacked cells on top of each other, giving little sense of depth. The multiplane camera got around that by placing each cell at a different level, allowing elements of a scene to move independently, giving them more realistic dimension. Moviegoers first experienced the magic with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.

1924 Frozen Food
1924 Mutual Fund
1925 Bell Telephone Laboratories
1926 Rocket Engine
1927 Television

1928 Penicillin
After working in field hospitals during World War I, Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) struggled to find a cure for the infections that killed more soldiers than bullets did. He came up empty–until one day, cleaning up his cluttered lab and sifting through old petri dishes, he discovered that a mold killed staph bacteria. Penicillin landed him a Nobel Prize in 1945.

1929 Synthetic Rubber
1930 Jet Engine
1933 Frequency Modulation
1933 Wallboard
1934 Value Investing
1934 Nylon
1935 United Auto Workers
1937 Blood Bank
1937 Pulse-Code Modulation
1938 Xerography
1939 Automatic Transmission
1939 Helicopter
1940 Radar
1942 Electronic Digital Computer
1945 Nuclear Power
1947 Cellular Phone
1947 Microwave Oven
1947 Instant Photos
1947 Transistor
1947 Tupperware
1948 LP long player
1949 Magnetic Core Memory
1950 Diners Club Card
1951 Levittown
1951 The Pill to prevent ovolation
1952 Thorazine to reduce shock suffered after anesthesia

1952 The Conglomerate
Seeking protection from the business cycles of the textile industry, Royal Little considered diversifying into nonrelated businesses in the 1920s. But it wasn’t until the early 1950s that the ailing textile business made the idea a necessity. Little’s Textron would go on to acquire 70 companies, including Bell Aircraft and golf cart maker E-Z-Go, becoming a template for modern conglomerates like GE, ITT and Tyco. The form survives, despite a crash in conglomerate stocks in the 1970s and the recent travails of Tyco.

1952 Holiday Inn
1954 Fortran
1954 Polio Vaccine

1955 Fast Food
Though he had a nice business selling commercial milkshake machines, Ray Kroc (1902-1984) figured he’d make more money flipping burgers. In 1955 he opened his first McDonald’s in Des Plaines, Ill. The Golden Arches changed the American landscape, doing to restaurants what Kemmons Wilson did to hotels: making them predictable. The franchise concept caught on, and Kroc went national with just a dollop of capital.

1956 Containerized Shipping
Trucking magnate Malcolm McLean (1913-2001) tired of the slow speed of transporting cargo across country and overseas. Adapting a truck-trailer design to railcars and ship cargo holds allowed quick loading. The first containerized cargo ship set sail from New Jersey in 1956–spawning a new industry that set a precedent for the likes of FedEx.

1956 Disk Drive
1956 Fiber Optics
1956 Ampex VRX-1000 for analogue video tape recording
1958 Implantable Pacemaker
1958 Laser
1959 Three-Point Seat Belt
1959 Integrated Circuit
1961 Pampers
1962 Telstar I satellite telecomunication
1962 Modem

1962 Point-of-Sales Data
Former J.C. Penney management trainee Sam Walton (1918-1992) opened his first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Ark. Four decades later the retailer has sales of $238 billion and 4,300 stores. He married a genius for efficient distribution and inventory with point-of-sales databases. In the mid-1980s Wal-Mart began sharing store-by-store sales info with vendors so they could tweak product lines–and let Wal-Mart leverage better prices from its biggest suppliers. If Walton were alive today, he’d be the richest man in the world.

1964 Mainframe Family
IBM’s System/360 product line was the first that consisted of a family of commercial computers using a common program language, so that customers moving up the scale in computer power could take their software with them. The creator of the 360 line, Gene M. Amdahl, left Big Blue to create a mainframe competitor in 1970. He later went on to found three additional computer companies.

1965 Consumerism
Long before he became a presidential election spoiler, Ralph Nader was America’s chief corporate scold. His Unsafe at Any Speed targeted GM’s Chevy Corvair. The book influenced Congress to pass the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act in 1966. Perhaps more important, it provided a template for “activists” looking to target corporations for a variety of ills–real or perceived–and bolstered the market for plaintiff lawyers.

1968 Mouse

1969 ATM Automated Teller Machine
Bankers talked about automated cash dispensers for years, but Donald Wetzel, a former minor league baseball player and IBM salesman, gets credit for the first working model. The vice president of product planning at Docutel, then an automated baggage-handling equipment maker, installed the first ATM at a Long Island branch of Chemical Bank. The first machines were offline, but today some 1.1 million units are linked together across the globe. Wetzel left Docutel to start his own companies that sold banking equipment like vault doors.

1969 Charge-Coupled Device

1969 The Internet
Who knew that the military-industrial complex would become the midwife for Web porn? Designed to let scientists working for the U.S. military communicate via computer, the Arpanet started small, connecting terminals at Stanford and UCLA. The National Science Foundation later took the technology and created a network that could handle greater traffic; it still helps support the Internet today. As it became less military and more commercial, the Arpanet morphed into the Internet.

1970 Compact Disc

1970 Relational Database
Oxford-trained mathematician Edgar F. (Ted) Codd developed the concept of the relational database while working as an IBM researcher in 1970. Earlier computer databases had fields of data arranged in a rigid way; Codd’s notion was that disparate data sets could be combined by linking fields they have in common (say, a customer number). Codd clashed with his bosses at IBM, who were pushing a more primitive system. But the relational database is now standard–and the basis for Larry Ellison’s Oracle fortune.

1971 Answering Machine
1971 Microprocessor
1972 Computed Tomography Imaging
1972 Ethernet to describe the system of wires and microchips that allow computers linked locally to talk to one another
1972 UNIX/C Programming

1972 E-Entertainment
Nolan Bushnell (b. 1943) gave geeks another reason to stay indoors by introducing Pong, a crude electronic tennis game, which was later miniaturized for the home. Bushnell’s Atari dominated the videogame market, but he eventually sold out and started the Chuck E. Cheese’s pizza parlor chain. The game brand he created is more visible today on hipster T shirts than on TV screens. But the industry he started, now dominated by Sony and Microsoft, generates more money in the U.S. than the movie business gets at the box office.

1973 Discount Brokerage
It’s unlikely taxi drivers would have turned into day traders had it not been for Charles Schwab (b.1937). He positioned his company as the anti-Wall Street firm, dumping all the trappings of a typical brokerage house–the commissions, front-end loads, markups and fees–in exchange for simple, low-priced, per-trade fees. Today his San Francisco-based outfit serves 8 million investors who control $800 billion in assets.

1974 Catalytic Converter
1974 Index Fund, a basket of stocks made up of the 500 largest companies.

1976 Personal Computer Chic
Apple cofounders Steven P. Jobs (b. 1955) and Stephen Wozniak (b. 1950) helped usher in the era of the PC by making their machines accessible and cool–as desirable, in their way, as sports cars. But because Apple never made a serious stab at the business market, it has always been a shrimp compared with larger outfits. Those same competitors, though, were always ready to adopt Apple’s innovations in user-friendly design and clever marketing. Wozniak retired in 1985; Jobs was forced out of the company in 1985, but returned in 1997 to lead Apple’s latest incarnations.

1976 Recombinant DNA
Robert Swanson, then a 29-year-old venture capitalist, teamed up with University of California, SanFrancisco professor Herbert Boyer to commercialize Boyer’s breakthroughs in “recombinant DNA” technology–splicing together strands of DNA to whip up marvels like human insulin for diabetics, growth hormones for children and antibodies for cancer patients. The two founded Genentech, the first in a wave of biotech companies. It went public in 1980, raising $35 million. Swanson died in 1999. Today his $17 billion (market cap) company does $2.2 billion in sales.

1977 Cash Management Accounts
After a meeting with members of the Stanford Research Institute, Merrill Lynch chief financial officer Thomas Chrystie came up with the idea of an all-in-one account that included check-writing, money-market benefits, a Visa card and brokerage services. The idea was slow to take off, and Merrill nearly abandoned it. But it eventually became copied to the point of ubiquity, giving inspiration to those who harbored dreams of creating megabanks.

1977 Original-Issue Junk Bonds. Michael Milken opened up the capital markets to fledgling firms by putting together a $30 million bond issue for a small oil company called Texas International. The bait for investors: a high yield of 11.5%.
1979 Spreadsheet
1984 Liquid Crystal Displays

1984 Customized Mass Retail
Michael Dell got into the disintermediation business–bypassing distributors–during his freshman year at the University of Texas at Austin. He bought overstocked IBM PCs at cost from local dealers, then sold them to consumers at 10% below list. He dropped out of school that year, and started selling his own homemade versions of the computers for $795–built to customer specs. Now Dell dominates the PC market, posting $31 billion in annual sales. More impressive, his customized retail strategy, once an anomaly in the computer business, is now standard practice. That’s good news for customers and for the mass distributors who parcel out the machines, but worrisome for conventional retail outlets.

1987 Mevacor
It took more than 35 years for scientists at Merck to conjure up Mevacor, the first widely used drug that reduced cholesterol. The pill worked by blocking an enzyme from creating mevalonic acid, thwarting the liver’s production of cholesterol. Under Chief Executive P. Roy Vagelos, Merck researchers developed Zocor, a second generation of the drug, and proved that it, as well as other cholesterol-lowering drugs, reduced the risk of heart attack. Zocor sales jumped in 1995 when the FDA approved it as a product to prevent heart disease in patients who already suffered a heart attack.

1987 Prozac
Ray Fuller, a researcher at Eli Lilly, developed a drug that blocks serotonin, a neurotransmitter thought to cause depression. Today Prozac is the world’s most widely prescribed antidepressant, with over 40 million users in 90 countries. The pill also challenged traditional concepts of psychology and identity, igniting a debate between enthusiastic advocates and those who believe that mental states are too complex to be treated like a common virus.

1991 World Wide Web
Software consultant Tim Berners-Lee developed Enquire, a program that linked documents from various computers around the world, effectively granting a visa to the masses to travel through cyberspace. Marc Andreessen brought further order in 1993 by creating Mosaic, a program that allowed people to view pictures as well as well as words. Two years later, Netscape: a point-and-click browser that made surfing an indoor sport, and ushered in the era of high-flying Internet public stock offerings. Yeah, and you think it hasn’t changed the world forever?

1995 Protease Inhibitors
In December pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche received approval for Invirase, the first protease inhibitor for patients suffering from HIV. The new class of drug disabled the protease enzyme from duplicating the HIV virus in cells, offering the first glimmer of hope for an AIDS cure after nearly two decades of searching. Years later doctors used the drug as part of a triple cocktail that includes AZT. When taken, the cocktail virtually wipes out signs of the HIV virus in most patients.

1995 Internet Business
Lured by the promise of a new business paradigm, Jeffrey Bezos started selling books online at Amazon.com, and Pierre Omidyar launched Ebay, an online marketplace. Hundreds of other entrepreneurs followed suit, selling everything from bicycles to bubble gum. Most flamed out, often in spectacular style, but Amazon and Ebay endured.

1998 Viagra
Working in Pfizer’s Sandwich, England office, researchers Peter Ellis and Nick Terrett noticed an uplifting, if unintended, side effect in test patients taking sildenafil citrate, a drug being developed to treat angina. They patented Viagra, making erectile dysfunction part of the national conversation and Bob Dole an unlikely celebrity spokesman. Approved by the FDA in March 1998, 3 million prescriptions were filled in the first three months. Since then some 16 million men have taken the drug and an average of nine tablets are dispensed every second. Sales to date: $5.8 billion. Viagra imitators and drugs for female sexual dysfunction are in the works.

2000 Automated Sequencing Machine
Using 300 high-speed DNA-sequencing machines, gene guru J. Craig Venter stunned the scientific world when his company, Celera Genomics, deciphered the entire human genetic code in just over two years and with a research budget of $270 million (it took Uncle Sam 13 years and $2.5 billion). By studying the genetic variations among humans, scientists will be better able to diagnose and ultimately cure diseases like diabetes and schizophrenia.

Source: Forbes
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What will the next 85 years bring?
The last century has seen only a few major display innovations, among them the move from black-and-white monitors to color and the introduction of flat, liquid crystal displays to replace cathode ray tubes. If Richard Friend’s discovery lives up to its promise, the LCD will someday be tossed aside in favor of the OLED–organic light-emitting display.

OLED could open new areas of art or, more prosaically, lead to a new kind of camouflage bodysuits, even constantly updated newspapers that look and feel like the original thing. “One always falls into the trap of going into the straight-replacement mode,” he says. “But with a revolutionary technology you should not simply map it on to existing products. Not if you are an optimist.”

“It is my desire to inspire people of all ages and social demographics to think about leadership on a broad level, contemplate what it means to them and what individual impact they can have when it comes to leading,” said Nitin Nohria and Amanda Pepper of Harvard Business School.

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Why continuos learning?
1) The average person will increase their salary by only 2-3% annually.
2) Each year inflation increases by approximately 2-3% annually.
3) That means that, without lifelong learning, it’s virtually impossible for the average person to get ahead.

However…
1) Top Achievers, people who are continually learning and growing, DOUBLE their income every 3-5 years.
2) This is why the top 10-20% earns more than the bottom 80%! To separate yourself from the pack, you often need to know just one additional skill…and that will make all the difference in your pay scale.

“The greatest success principle in history is ‘Learn from the experts’, you’ll never live long enough to learn it all yourself” by Brian Tracy

What is your Entertainment VS Education Ratio?
Do you know what your EVE ratio is? this is your entertainment vs education ratio. How much do you spend every month on cable tv, movies, sports, hobbies, vacations, dining, drinking, internet, video games, social clubs, etc? What do you spend every month in continuing education or personal improvement? The average person has a ratio of 50 or 100 to 1! Do you think this could partially explain the cause of the current economic turmoil?

Grab a piece of paper and find out what YOUR EVE ratio is! Create columns similar to the graph below and do your very best to think of all your expenses in these areas and be as accurate as possible. List all of the items and the time and expenses associated with each. When you have completed the list, add up the totals, and you have your EVE Ratio!

iLearningGlobal.TV officially began its journey in March of 2008 when months of ideas, concepts, and dreams turned into reality. After a meeting with success legend Brian Tracy and his business partner, it was clear that the perfect storm of ground breaking technology and the teachings of the worlds leading personal development experts combined would change the way people learn forever. Brian Tracy joined the founders and original executive team of 4 as the iLearningGlobal Chief Learning Officer and dozens of the world’s top speakers, authors, and trainers followed suit to create the most respected online faculty ever with over 50 topics.

Source: iLearning Global

Thoreau believed that as we get older we fall into a routine, gradually and mindlessly beating a track for ourselves. Bogged down with daily trifles, we lose our gusto for living.

The great mass of men, he wrote, live lives of quiet desperation.

More than 150 years ago, Thoreau blamed this on the rat race and materialism:

* Most men would feel insulted if it were proposed to employ them in throwing stones over a wall, and then in throwing them back, merely that they might earn their wages. But many are no more worthily employed now.

* Men labor under a mistake. The better part of the man is soon ploughed into the soil for compost. By a seeming fate, commonly called necessity, they are employed, as it says in an old book, laying up treasure which moth and rust will corrupt and thieves break through and steal. It is a fool’s life, as they will find when they get to the end of it, if not before.

Thoreau wanted to avoid this trap. So he escaped to Walden Pond for two years “to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.”

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately,” he writes, “to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, to discover that I had not lived.”

Of course, vanishing into the woods isn’t a realistic option for most of us. Some might even say it smacks of running from your problems rather than confronting them.

But Thoreau believed that personal peace and serenity are only found in communion with nature. It is where the great truths and existential secrets are discovered.

For Transcendentalists, nature is the key to spiritual attainment. It offers the solitude to think about how we spend our time. It provides the silence where Thoreau’s “different drummer” can be heard.

Do not live foolishly like other men, he warned, but according to universal laws. That meant studying the ancients, revering wisdom, and living according to its dictates.

A successful life, Thoreau argues, is built on simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and meaningful work.

Reading him today awakens something inside us that modern society suppresses. Thoreau asks us to make a new estimate of ourselves, to think bravely about our lives, and boldly ask, “How shall I live?”

My friend John – and others suffering from the same ennui – might benefit from answering his call for personal renewal.

Thoreau reminds us that human life is a great privilege. We have the whole world to devour and explore, if we will only awaken to it.

Some may call the Transcendentalists dreamers. And there is certainly an element of idealism here.

But they were also chroniclers of the human spirit. And their advice to scorn appearances, conduct your life with wisdom and integrity, and transcend the often-deadening effects of modern culture is timeless.

We’re only here once, they remind us. Life should be an ecstasy.

Or as Thoreau famously said, “To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.”

Source: Alex Green

Optimize
I must get better.
Take a deep breath and remind myself we live in an abundant world
Focus on revenue producing activities
This is not a time to slow down. This is a time to speed up.
Take massive action now!
Where are my best opportunities right now?
What would God want me to do?
Embrace change
Be resilient
Buyers are still buying
Find a man with a problem

1. The age of instant communications.
2. A world without economic borders.
3. Four steps to a one-world economy.
4. Internet commerce and learning.
5. The new service society.
6. The marriage of big and small.
7. The new age of leisure.
8. The changing shape of work.
9. Women in leadership.
10. Your amazing brain rediscovered.
11. Cultural nationalism.
12. The growing underclass.
13. The active aging of the population.
14. The new do-it-yourself boom.
15. Cooperative enterprise.
16. The triumph of the individual.
All 16 trends are fully developed in chapter one of  “The Learning Revolution” by Gordon Dryden and Dr. Jeannette Vos.

What about Web Trends

We’re well into the current era of the Web, commonly referred to as Web 2.0. Features of this phase of the Web include search, social networks, online media (music, video, etc), content aggregation and syndication (RSS), mashups (APIs), and much more. Currently the Web is still mostly accessed via a PC, but we’re starting to see more Web excitement from mobile devices (e.g. iPhone) and television sets (e.g. XBox Live 360).

What then can we expect from the next 10 or so years on the Web?
Here we have 10 Web trends to look out for the next decade.

1. Semantic Web
2. Artificial Intelligence
3. Virtual Worlds
4. Mobile
5. Attention Economy
6. Web Sites as Web Services
7. Online Video / Internet TV
8. Rich Internet Apps
9. International Web
10. Personalization

Our society is about to go through major transformation. It’s not just about new trends in technology, relationships, economy and lifestyle. We will think differently and perceive things very differently in a short while. Those who understand upcoming changes have a better chance to succeed in the future.

What do you thik is going to change in your environment, in your industry, in your life?

Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they’re not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.

Thanks to his parents, who ignored the advice of doctors that he would live life in a persistent vegetative state, and Tufts University engineers, who recognized that his sense of humor indicated intelligence, at the age of 12, Rick was able to learn how to use a special computer to communicate, using movements from his head. The first words he typed were, “Go Bruins!”, and the family learned he was a sports fan. They entered their first race in 1977, a 5 mile benefit run for an injured lacrosse player who was a schoolmate of Rick’s.

Dick is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard. Rick earned a college degree from Boston University in special education, and now works at Boston College. They continue to compete in races, and are also motivational speakers.

Sources:

http://www.cjcphoto.com/can/

http://www.squidoo.com/dick-rick-hoyt

http://www.teamhoyt.com/

Just couldn’t pull it off, because of random acts of viciousness and distraction ladled upon my poor vulnerable head by the universe.
Visited last year. Might go next year, too.
I’ll see this Burn, though, through the sky-cam there in the smoldering Black Rock desert, if I see it at all.
However, just thinking about that amazingly unique event generated a familiar thought about survival.

I call it “The Hard Knocks Lesson Of Three’s“.
It applies to stuff like attending an event like Burning Man… which is a week-long freak show in the middle of the playa, way the hell in the middle of the northern Nevada desert.

Nothing you’ve ever done in your life, to this point, can totally prepare you for the experience.
One day before the event, the desert is a wasteland, free of humans. One day into the event, it’s suddenly a Mad Max-styled city of 40,000 partiers who stay up all night torching stuff and dancing themselves into madness to blaring trance music (which goes 24 hours a day out there).

Lots of art, and street theater, and comraderie, and general naughtiness ensue, at levels you simply are not prepared for.
Man, it’s fun. But daunting fun, at first.
You gotta bring every drop of your own water and food (or barter for it from others — no money is allowed inside Black Rock City)…
… and you’re on your own dealing with the sand storms, the brain-melting heat, the absolute lack of basic resources, and all the other details of maintaining good-animal health in the middle of Hell.

Trust me, it’s a blast. People arrive from every corner of the globe, eager to get the party started again.
Burners take the self-reliance code to heart. They truck in everything they need, and truck it back out again when the show’s over. No trace is left of the massive city, or the party.
This once-a-year bacchanalia has been going on since the 1980s, with little or no mayhem or tragedy.

Self-reliant partiers. It’s a concept.

The lesson, however, applies to all sorts of new experiences. Like starting a new job. Or putting together a market launch of a new product. Or engaging in a new course or mentoring program.

Here’s what I’ve found:

1. The first time you do anything new, your senses are kind of overwhelmed. You may not even realize if you’re having a good time, or a worthwhile experience, until after you’re done and you can look back on it.
This first time is essential to the process.
Just get it done. Do the best you can, and expect nothing and everything, while allowing the experience to wind out as it will.

2. You will either have a good experience, or a bad one.
It doesn’t matter which (unless you’re a pussy and the bad experience sours you on going further into the process forever).
If it’s good, you have a benchmark for what a “good” experience is about. And you may want to attemtp to repeat it the next time out. Or top it.
If it’s a bummer, you have a benchmark for what a “bad” experience is about. And you will want to take steps to avoid it next time.

3. After you’ve had two rounds, you have accumulated a little storehouse of insight, knowledge and hands-on experience. It could be all good, all bad, or a mix.
But it’s the third time out where you can now call yourself “experienced”.
You have context, now, to judge and adjust and feel at home with the process.
I’ve lived in many different cities in my time. Had many different jobs, started many different relationships, gone on many different adventures.
And all these different experiences started out overwhelming… and got dramatically easier to maneuver through on the third time around.

I even used it as a way to build up familiarity in strange towns. The third day in a row you go to the same cafe for lunch, sit in the same place, and order the same thing… you’ll get noticed. You’re no longer an invisible face in the crowd.

You are now seen in context.

(When I first moved to Virginia City, I stopped by the Bucket O’ Blood saloon once a day on my daily walks around town for a beer. On the third visit, the bartender leans over and whispers “Are you a local? Damn, I’ve been charging you ‘tourist’ prices for that beer. This one’s on me.”)

In even the scariest new job, the third day gives you solid hints to what your daily routine will become. Getting there on time, knowing the rules, figuring out who the assholes are and who the cool kids are.

It’s a process of collecting and consciously analyzing incoming data.

At Burning Man, the dramatic self-reliance required can be shocking the first time out.

By the third year’s journey, you can probably call yourself a veteran Burner. Sure, there will always be unexpected stuff. But while alarming, the new tweaks to the experience will fit into the greater perspective you have from having been there before.

Just knowing this rule can take a lot of heat off your stress levels.
As a rookie, you’re a liability to the people around you. You’re encountering everything for the first time, and you have no context for how you’re going to react.
The next time, you’ll do better.
And by the third go-round, your comfort level with the very stuff that may have alarmed you before will be astounding.

It may occasionally take more than three attempts to “get” any given situation or experience down pat.
You certainly will not be an “expert” at it yet.
But you will have some history, good or bad, and that allows you a little internal reference library of experience to draw on.

During those stretches in my life where I was constantly experiencing upheaval, radical change and emotional turmoil, keeping this simple rule of 3’s in mind helped a lot.
I never put pressure on myself to excel right out of the blocks. I took it slow, kept copious notes, and built upon every minor success while correcting the mistakes.

People fear change and new things. It’s in our DNA.
The key to beating fear is to acknowledge it, and engage in the experience anyway. Know that you’re probably not going to ace it this first time out… but what you learn will give you a foundation to becoming more confident and comfortable each successive time.
I’ve been a rookie, a lot. I welcome most opportunities to try new things.

And I’m a grizzled veteran of nearly everything I’ve experienced and liked (or needed to like, to further my goals).
I’m also a pro at dealing with a lot of the bad shit that can come crashing down on you. Been there, done that.
It’s a process.
Just a little advice to help you navigate the dusty road.
Stay frosty.

Source: John Carlton

According to Deepak Chopra, tapping into and then acting on this inner intelligence creates far less stress than using acquired knowledge only. It also expands your imagination, putting you in a transcendent state that creates miracles.

There are two kinds of intelligence: one acquired,
as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts
from books and from what the teacher says,
collecting information from the traditional
sciences as well as from the new sciences.

This second knowing is a fountainhead
from within you, moving out.

Source: Poems by Rumi

1. Set goals and record them. By setting goals you are already ahead of the game. Most people don’t know where they’re heading and so they can’t get there. Writing goals is a powerful signal to yourself that you intend to achieve them. The feelings invoked by this process call into motion the law of attraction, which starts to operate to get things done with and for you.

2. Do what you love. Why do you love certain things and not others? Do we, in fact, have a `life mission,’ as many writers suggest, or do we actually choose our experience from a smorgasbord of possibilities? Aaron assumes the former (I don’t entirely agree, but this is a topic for another time) and suggests that you should focus your energies doing only what you love since this is where your passion is and when you pour your passion out, the law of attraction starts to work with you and things start happening.

3. Delegate what you don’t love. The reason people procrastinate is because they don’t want to do the things they’re putting off. Although we’ve been taught that procrastination is a bad thing, in fact it is a signal that our energies are being focused in the wrong place. To get around this problem, Aaron suggests that we need to delegate tasks we don’t like to others (who may well like them). Like a lot of good ideas, our modern puritanical work ethic gets in the way and we start worrying about laziness and `passing the buck.’ These are not, in fact, terrible sins, but delegation doesn’t imply laziness anyway, it implies using our energies more effectively. Why do something you hate when you can get someone else (who doesn’t hate it and may even love it – yes, it takes all sorts to make a world) to do it for you? For me, this was the most important lesson to be gleaned from the book.

4. Develop in a holistic way. Aaron divides his areas for goal setting into six `pathways,’ which he abbreviates by using the acronym MAINLY. They are:

(a) Cleaning up a Mess
(b) Acknowledging something (showing gratitude)
(c) Increasing wealth
(d) Trying something New
(e) Learning something
(f) Doing something for Yourself

Aaron suggests that you cover these areas every month. These are good suggestions in that they are specific areas for setting goals and taking action, though other ways of dividing things up might work as well. I use a four-fold way of thinking about things – money, success, relationships and happiness.

5. Celebrate success. One of Aaron’s points seems to be that if you `lower the bar,’ you can enjoy success much more easily, and this makes you feel good, spurring you on to greater things. He suggests using an `MTO’ approach – set a minimum target (which you are almost certain you will achieve, something you’ll probably do anyway), a medium target (more of a stretch) and an outrageous target. Achieving lots of little goals over a long period will all add up to make a big difference and will also probably lead to the bigger being achieved, at least now and again.

Aaron also suggests writing goals as if they have already been achieved. He invites his reader to imagine themselves at the end of the year, writing a letter of congratulations to their past self for having achieved the goals that were set. This `annual backwards goals’ process has the benefit of making you feel as if you have already achieved the goals and hence invoking the law of attraction in a more powerful way.

6. Record goals in the right way. We’ve heard of SMART targets – Aaron takes this idea and slightly changes it as a result of his `groundbreaking research’ (something of an exaggeration – what he describes is neither groundbreaking nor research in any real sense), suggesting that goals should have specific characteristics. Goals should

(a) have a deadline
(b) be measurable (e.g. go to the gym ten times this month)
(c) be brief
(d) state the intended result and not the means of getting there
(e) be stated in a positive way, not as something you are going to negate
(f) state the total number of times, not stated as (e.g.) x times per month

That goals should be well written is a point well taken, but it is down to the reader to decide whether or not to adopt this system.

Aaron goes into great detail about setting and recording goals and seems to over complicate things with a stack of forms which have to be completed in just the right way and a scoring system for assigning numbers to the completion of various goals. For people who love making lists, this might be a very motivating thing, but it will not appeal to others, whom I suspect may just find the whole process a chore. When goal setting becomes a chore, of course, that’s when you’re not going to get anywhere.

The book is worth a read and I certainly got something out of it.

Source: Double Your Income Doing What You Love: Raymond Aaron’s Guide to Power Mentoring

MTO method to achieve goals (scales: minimum, target, outrageous)
How to stop procrastination? delegating to others what you don’t like.
How to increase your incomes? each mess is a lock to be rich and increase your finances goals.
what is more effective to learn from: yourself, friends or mentors?

10. Troubleshooting stem cell therapy
9. Turning water into fuel
8. Marking greenhouse gas levels — 800,000-year high
7. Building loudspeakers from carbon nanotubes
6. Sequencing entire genome of a cancer patient, including tumor
5. Breaking the petaflop barrier
4. Curing HIV in Germany
3. Finding another building block of life in our galaxy
2. Growing a new organ from a patient’s own stem cells
1. Finding ice on Mars

Source: wired.com

0. Flexible Displays
Researchers have worked on thin, paperlike displays that can be folded, rolled or sewn into the sleeve of your hoodie. Flexible displays could change the way we interact with the info-universe, creating new kinds of cellphones, portable computers, e-newspapers and electronic books.
Meanwhile, Hewlett Packard announced a manufacturing breakthrough that allows the thin-film transistor arrays to be fabricated on flexible plastic materials, enabling manufacturers to “print” displays on big, newsprintlike rolls. Samsung showed off a mobile phone prototype with a flexible display that folds like a book.

The data is then sent to an online repository or a cellphone for the physician and the patient to track. Proteus says its chips can keep score of how patients are responding to the medication. That may be just the beginning, as the chips could improve drug delivery and even insert other kinds of health monitors inside the body. Now doctors may have a better answer to a common patient complaint — they will know exactly how it feels.

If proven in clinical trials, edible chips could let physicians look into a patient’s system in a way that could change how medicine is prescribed and how we take the drugs.

. Speedo LZR
Michael Phelps. 2008 Olympics. Enough said. Phelps and others were able to log faster times because of Speedo’s LZR swimsuit. It blends new materials and a dose of NASA rocket science to boost the speeds of elite swimmers — legally.

. Flash Memory
When Apple blessed the iPod with flash memory, it gave new life to a technology that had long played second fiddle to hard disk drives. Now flash memory is a mainstay of most consumer electronics products, from ultralight notebooks to digital cameras and media players.

Next, the who’s who of the tech industry — EMC, Sun Microsystems, Intel and Hitachi — are championing flash drives for larger business users.

The advantage? Solid-state flash drives offer faster response times than hard disk drives and they require much less power. The hitch is that they are almost eight times more expensive than hard disk drives. But with the star power behind flash storage, the prices have nowhere to go but down.

More data centers are likely to move to flash storage in 2009, which is likely to drive prices down further. If this trend takes off, say goodbye to the hard disk drives in your house. It will be time to flash your drive.

. GPS
The Global Positioning System is old, old, older than you think. The system has been operational since 1978 and available for commercial use since 1993, but for years its use was relegated to expensive personal navigation devices and the dashboards of high-end cars.

This year, suddenly GPS popped up everywhere else, from the iPhone 3G and the T-Mobile G1 to notebooks such as Fujitsu’s LifeBook series.

And devices that couldn’t or didn’t include true GPS made do with cell-tower triangulation or geolocation based on Wi-Fi hotspots. Now getting lost is no longer an option.

With widespread GPS capabilities throughout the gadget world, services that make use of geographic data, like Loopt and Yahoo’s Firebird, will be able to build critical mass.

. The Memristor
It’s not often that a fundamental tech breakthrough has the potential to change how we compute. Nearly 37 years after it was first described in a series of mathematical equations, researchers at HP Labs proved that the fourth fundamental element of electronic circuitry is for real. The “memristor,” or memory transistor, now joins the three other widely known elements: the capacitor, the resistor and the inductor.

The discovery will make it possible to develop computer systems that remember what’s stored in memory when they are turned off. That means computers that don’t need to be booted up and systems that are far more energy efficient than the current crop.

. USB 3.0
Fasten your seatbelts. The data-transfer freeway is set to turn into an autobahn. The Universal Serial Bus, or USB, a popular standard for transferring files to your PC or charging your iPhone, got its first major update in eight years. USB 3.0 will be 10 times faster than the current USB 2.0 standard, and will increase the amount of electrical current that can be delivered through a USB cable.

Users need the increased speed — 4.8 gigabits per second, to be precise. Digital cameras and pocket-size HD video recorders generate a torrent of bits, all of which need to be transferred quickly to computers, so they can be uploaded to YouTube, adding to the internet video that only a handful of people will ever watch.

And as consumers carry around more devices, charging them off a PC using a USB cable will be much easier than carrying multiple chargers. With the USB 3.0 specifications nailed down this year, the standard will bump up the power output to 900 milliamps from 100 milliamps, allowing more devices to be charged faster.

At least half a dozen manufacturers are likely to release Android phones in 2009, increasing the pressure on other smartphone operating systems. The iPhone is likely to remain the top-selling smartphone through the end of the year, however.

. Apple’s App Store
Until this year, mobile app developers lacked an easy way to get their software into the hands of consumers, forcing them to make deals with finicky and power-hungry carriers if they wanted to get any distribution at all. Apple’s App Store changed all that. It made creating and distributing mobile applications for cellphone users easy — jumpstarting the mobile-app development market and creating clones such as the Android Market. It even forced Research in Motion to offer a BlackBerry Application Storefront. For thousands of programmers, the cellphone is the new PC.

Outlook: App stores have changed forever the way we use our phones, turning them into personalized devices filled with utilities, handy tools and copies of Tap Tap Revenge.

Source: wired.com

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web.

In 1994, Amazon.com is launched. It is a store that sells everything, personalized for its users, that can even offer suggestions.

In 1998, Google is unleashed by two Stanford University students, promising a faster, more effective way to search.

In 1999, Blogger is founded. Google comes out with Google News, a service unique in that it requires no human intervention.

In 2002, Friendster is released.

In 2003, Google buys Blogger.

In 2004, the rise of Gmail gives competition to Microsoft’s Hotmail. Microsoft’s Newsbotster comes as a response to Google News. Picasa and A9 are also released this year. In August, Google goes public, acquires Keyhole (now Google Earth), a company that maps the world, and begins digitizing and indexing world libraries. Reason Magazine sends its subscribers satellite photos of their homes, with information tailored to them inside.

From this point EPIC passes into the realm of fiction.

In 2005, Microsoft buys Friendster in response to Google’s action. Apple Computer comes out with WifiPod, which allows users to “send and receive messages on the go”. Then, Google unveils the Google Grid, a universal platform offering an unlimited amount of space and bandwidth that can be used to store anything. It allows users to manage their information two ways: store it privately or publish it to the entire grid.

In 2007, Microsoft Newsbotster, a social news network, ranks and sorts news. It allows everyone to comment on what they see.
Screenshot from EPIC 2014, depicting the logo of the fictional Googlezon corporation.

In 2008, Google and Amazon merge to form Googlezon. Google supplies Google Grid, Amazon supplies their personalized recommendations. Googlezon is a system that automatically searches all content sources and splices together stories to cater to the interests of each individual user.

When explaining how Googlezon profiles its users, the identification card of a man named Winston Smith appears on screen. Smith is the main character in George Orwell’s classic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, in which a dystopian society is ruled by a media-distorting government.[2] The photograph on the identification card depicts Robin Sloan.

In 2010, the news wars rage between Microsoft and Googlezon. These “News Wars of 2010″ are notable in that they involve no actual news organizations.

In 2011, the slumbering Fourth Estate awakens to make its first and final stand. The New York Times sues Googlezon, “claiming the fact-stripping robots are a violation of copyright law”, but the Supreme Court rules in favor of Googlezon.

In 2014, Googlezon unleashes EPIC, the Evolving Personalized Information Construct, which pays users to contribute any information they know into a central grid, allowing the system to automatically create news tailored to individuals, entirely without journalists. The word “EPIC” is an amalgam of three fundamental physical and mathematical constants; e (Euler’s number), pi (?) and c (the speed of light in a vacuum). These are depicted in the shadow of the EPIC logo.

EPIC stores and categorizes not only news, but the demographics, political beliefs, and consumption habits of every user. At its best, EPIC is “a summary of the world — deeper, broader and more nuanced than anything ever available before … but at its worst, and for too many, EPIC is merely a collection of trivia, much of it untrue.” EPIC is so popular that it triggers the downfall of the New York Times, which goes offline and becomes “a print newsletter for the elite and the elderly.”

The narration ends with the statement: “Perhaps there was another way.”

Source:
Google Controversy
Googlezon Effect

Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Helen Haste has identified five that we should begin teaching our students. We  business managers should also consider how to bring these skills to our companies and careers.

• Managing Ambiguity. “Managing ambiguity is that tension between rushing to the clear, the concrete, and managing this ambiguous fuzzy area in the middle. And managing ambiguity is something we have to teach. Because we have to counter the story of a single linear solution.”
• Agency and Responsibility. “We have to be able to take responsibility and know what that means. Being an effective agent means being able to approach one’s environment, social or physical, with a confidence that one actually will be able to deal with it.”
• Finding and Sustaining Community. “Managing community is partly about that multitasking of connecting and interacting. It’s also, of course, about maintaining community, about maintaining links with people, making sure you do remember your best friend’s birthday, that you don’t forget that your grandmother is by herself this weekend, and of course recognizing also that one is part of a larger community, not just one’s own private little world.”
• Managing Emotion. “Really it’s about getting away from the idea that emotion and reason are separate… Teaching young people to manage reason and emotion and not to flip to one or the other is an important part of our education process.”
• Managing Technological Change. “When we have a new tool, we first use it for what we are already doing, just doing it a bit better. But gradually, the new tool changes the way we do things. It changes our social practices.”

Remember the story of Roger Bannister, the first man to run a mile in under 4 minutes? At the time it was widely believed that it was impossible – For years, the 4-minute mile was considered not merely unreachable but, according to physiologists of the time, dangerous to the health of any athlete who attempted to reach it!

But once Bannister had broken the 4 minute barrier what happened?

Within 46 days of Bannister’s breakthrough John Landy, another runner considered one of the great milers of that era, who had never even got closer than within 1.5 seconds of the 4-minute barrier before surpassed Bannisters record by over a second. Within 3 years of Bannisters’ record, 16 runners had logged sub-4-minute miles. So what happened? Simply that Bannister had broken a psychological barrier as well as a physical one. Everyone who had previously thought it impossible had their limiting belief shattered. Now in its place was an empowering belief that it could be achieved.

We will always behave in ways consistent with our beliefs and values, and limiting beliefs can restrict our choices and limit our capacity to change the ways we behave, and hold us back from achieving success. When you express limiting beliefs with statements like: ‘I can’t…’ , ‘I have to…’ or ‘It is impossible to…’. These leave you with no choice or alternative possibilities, and are ultimately disempowering. Too often, we get stuck in habitual thinking patterns and we can’t find new ideas or solutions.

What limiting beliefs could you be holding, which no longer serve you or which hold you back from achieving the success and happiness you deserve? Think about some of the clichés you may unconsciously be holding as truths.

One Empowering Belief it may be useful to adopt is that you can successfully challenge and change your own limiting beliefs!

You can do this very powerfully through the use of life coaching questions. For example, whenever you come across a limiting belief ask yourself questions such as:

• What would happen if you didn’t?
• What would happen if you did?
• What would happen if you were?
• What would happen if you weren’t?
• Who says?
• What stops you?
• How do you know?
• Has it ever been different?
• Has anyone else ever done it?

These types of question prompt a line of thinking which moves you from a perception that you have no choice to realising that you do in fact have choices and possibilities for change.

Beliefs are like clothes that we can change to suit our situation and our circumstances – why don’t you try a few new ones on for size!

So, What are the four minute miles that are holding you back in your personal and professional life?
Are their any role models who are challenging existing limits that you can learn from?

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What is your big challenge

What is your greatest weakness?
Do you know what it takes to overcome those weakness?

What is your big idea?

Questions, when phrased and timed well, entice us to go inside and look around the many rooms of our heart-mind. We emerge knowing ourselves better than we did before. Here are Seven great questions:

What do you want? And what else?
What’s holding you back? And what else?
What is it costing you to continue holding back? And what else?
How do you want to change your mind’s programming on that topic? And what else?
What new habits will you put in place to fortify your new mindset?
And what else?
What is the most meaningful action you could take now? And what else?
What new skills or support systems will ensure your success? And what else?

The best treasures are buried deep. Try these questions on yourself and then use them to support your clients as well.

Isn’t it amazing? These are just simple coaching questions. But even a room full of six and seven figure business owners get continual value out of these kinds of questions. The right question can help anyone zoom past obstacles and into a power zone of action and attraction.

Think about it. If we can ask ourselves and our clients questions that bring out fresh information, we’ve brought about growth and transformation.

I took the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory — an online quiz to determine where you spend your mental time (past, present or future) — and my score for “future time perspective” was off the charts.

Future oriented folks make more money, are more hopeful, make the best of failure, and simply, get the job done. But there’s also a dark side. According to Zimbardo, future-focused folks sacrifice family, friends, and sex for success. Apparently we are so driven for a better future, we fail to recognize and appreciate the present. And that’s where the doorknob principle comes in.

If you find yourself focused on the past or the future and want to “live in the moment” a little more, the next time you come home, don’t just automatically open the door. First cleanse your head of all of the extraneous thoughts and baggage. Do this by consciously clearing your head. Forget about the traffic jam you were just in, the angry customer who couldn’t be pacified, how your son was a horror all day, or what you’re going to say at tomorrow’s meeting. Pause and focus on the doorknob. What color is it? It is wood or metal? Does it feel cold? By examining the doorknob you’ll help flush out the mental noise.

Now focus on who is on the other side of the door. It is your spouse? Your children? Whoever is on the other side of that door is probably one of the most important people in your life. Think about what they mean to you. With your heard cleared, open the door and enter. Make it a point to properly greet whoever is inside. For a great example of this, check out Jim Fannin’s video of the 90 Second Rule:

This simple three-step process is effective because it forces you to experience the now and become conscious of your intentions. It works just as well at the office as it does at home. Instead of rushing in to talk to your boss or a co-worker, first clear your head. I can’t think of a better way to spend 30 seconds a day of my other 8 hours.

Pareto’s rule states that only 20 percent of your work accounts for 80 percent of your output. Be ruthless in cutting down the amount of time you spend on the less important 80 percent

Parkinson’s Law

Parkinson’s Law states that “work will fill the time available for its completion.” Give yourself strict deadlines and cultivate a desire to finish projects.

Energy Management

Think of results as a function of energy, not time invested. Working intensely for a short period of time can accomplish more than working for days, tired and distracted.

Only Use Sharp Tools

Skill saves time. Don’t waste your time doing things that you can’t, or won’t, do well. Delegate them to someone else.

Rule With Numbers

Assumptions are the biggest waste of your time. When your intuitions don’t match the way the world works, you can never be efficient. Combat false assumptions by testing them, and paying attention to the numbers.

The Marginal Rule of Quality

Whenever the extra input you invest in perfecting something exceeds the output gained, stop working on that task.

JOB
Delegate Tasks — One of the easiest ways to reduce stress and be happier at work is to delegate some of your smaller tasks to others when possible. Make a list of your tasks and decide what you need to tackle personally and what you can delegate to others. With fewer things to worry about you’ll be able to better concentrate on the important aspects of your job.

Make Friends at Work — It may be conventional wisdom that work and personal life should be kept separate, but most people find that having close friends at work makes going to work more fun. If work stress is getting to you, or you simply want company for a coffee break, a work friend can be a great way to make your work environment, and you a lot happier.

Personalize Your Workspace — You’ll be a lot happier to spend hours at your desk if it’s a pleasant place to be. Put up some pictures of friends and family or get some nice desk accessories to spruce up your space. But be aware of office rules and politics and stay tuned with your overall office environment.

Find a Job You Love —While this may be easier said than done, having a job you enjoy can make a big difference in your overall happiness. You spend a good portion of your waking hours going to work, so shouldn’t it be something you enjoy? Think about what you don’t like and do like about your current job and what you’d truly like to do. It may take some work to make it happen, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Get Outside —A little fresh air can make a big difference. Take some time out of your workday to get away from your desk and go outside.

Sit Up Straight —Sometimes the key to feeling more energetic and productive is to act the part. Stop slouching in your chair and sit up straight. Not only will it help your posture (not to mention reduce back and neck stress) but it will also help you feel more alert.

Don’t Keep Treats Around — Keeping treats on your desk can be a quick way to sabotage what might otherwise be a healthy diet. A few handfuls of candy each day can start to add up over time if you’re not careful. If you feel you have to keep treats at work, keep them out of sight so you won’t face the constant temptation.

Keep Your Desk Clean —A chaotic desk can make completing even the simplest tasks an ordeal. Take a few minutes each day to tidy up papers on your desk. It will help you work more efficiently and reduce the amount of time you spend looking for those important documents.

Don’t Procrastinate —If you have a nagging task that needs to get done, don’t put it off. Get the least desirable of your responsibilities out of the way as soon as you can while you feel energetic. You’ll feel a lot better after it’s taken care of, and you’ll be able to focus your attention on other tasks without the worry in the back of your mind.

Clean Out Your E-mail — Don’t let your inbox overflow with e-mails. Create a simple filing system for e-mails that you need to keep, and periodically move the rest to the trash can. This will make it easier to find what you need, and also help your e-mail function more quickly.

Learn to Say No — Saying no can be a difficult thing to do. It can make you feel guilty or that you aren’t meeting the expectations of others. But sometimes, in order to maintain sanity, no is the only answer. If you’re too busy or already have other commitments just say no- you don’t have to please everyone and you’ll save yourself a lot of stress and worry.

Make Things Manageable — Sometimes a big project can seem so daunting you hardly know where to begin. If you break it up into smaller parts it can become more manageable, and you’ll be happier feeling like you are making some progress by checking off each of the smaller parts as you complete them.

Take Vacations —Many people think they simply can’t take a vacation, that their work won’t be able to get by without them and convince themselves that they can’t get away. But taking vacations is part of being a healthy and productive employee. Without breaks from work, you can become burnt out and your work might suffer as a result. So use your vacation time wisely, even if you just spend it at home with kids.

Schedule Around Energy Levels — If you always experience a post-lunch slump in energy then don’t schedule an important meeting or your most difficult tasks for that time. Work with your body’s natural energy highs and lows as much as possible. It will make you more productive and reduce the amount of stress you feel at work.

Ask for What You Want — Think you deserve a raise? Want to work from home a few days a week? Then don’t be afraid to ask. Many people fear the rejection of their requests so much they never bother to ask. It’s true, you might not always get what you want, but it’s better to know where you stand than to waste your time wondering.

Always Be on Time —Some people truly struggle with being on time. The fact is, being late makes you look unprofessional. If you have trouble getting out the door on time in the morning, get up a few minutes earlier or lay out your clothes and work necessities the night before. Not always having to rush will not only make you look better at work, but it will also reduce the amount of stress on you.

Don’t Hide Behind E-mail — E-mail is a great tool for work but there are some things that are simply better discussed in person. Make the effort to go into a coworker or boss’ office to discuss things in person.

Protect Your Private Time — It can be hard to balance work and personal time. But in order to be a happy and healthy person you need time to yourself outside of work. Schedule times when you will be completely work free – no e-mail, cell phone or PDA and do something you truly enjoy doing.

Ask for Help — Sometimes we simply have more than we can handle. There is no shame in asking for help if you truly need it. Let your boss or coworkers know that you’re in need of help and see if something can be worked out to lighten your load.

Control Interruptions —While we all love getting the occasional forwarded e-mail or coworker that stops by to chat, these kind of interruptions can make it very hard to get work done. You cannot eliminate interruptions, but you should do your best to control them. Set aside blocks of time where you don’t check e-mail and let calls go to voicemail so that you can complete the work you need to with fewer interruptions.

Work Close to Home —Working nearer to home can eliminate hours spent commuting. Commuting is essentially time wasted and you’ll be happier putting your energy into something more rewarding.

AROUND THE HOUSE
Stay Organized —If you’ve ever spent several frantic minutes searching for your keys on your way out the door or looked everywhere for that hammer just to hang up a few pictures, you know that being disorganized can eat up a lot of your time. Clean out closets, under sinks, and even your basement and put items you want to keep in boxes or bins with labels so that you’ll be able to find the items when you need them.

Get Rid of Unwanted Items —Inevitably, we all collect “stuff” as we go through life. But sometimes this stuff simply becomes clutter and we need to figure out what is worth the effort to keep and what is simply crowding our space. Go through your old items and get rid of anything you don’t want or things that you haven’t used in the past year. You’d be surprised how little you miss these things, and there will be much less sitting around gathering dust.

Plan the Night Before —Tame your hectic mornings by taking a few minutes before you go to bed to lay out the essentials for the next day. Pick out your clothes, fix lunches, and put your important things in one place. It will only take a few minutes and you’ll help to make starting your day much more relaxing.

Don’t Let Things Pile Up —It’s easy just to throw all the mail into a pile on the table to take care of later but this process can easily get out of hand and before you know it there’s weeks worth of papers. You can save yourself time and trouble by creating a sorting system to manage your incoming papers, deciding what’s important to keep and what can go to the recycle bin before it becomes an unmanageable clutter.

Fix-Up or Rearrange Your House —Sick of your same old living room or the squeaking screen door? You don’t need to move. Sometimes just fixing up or rearranging things around the house can make your space seem like new. Take pride in your home and fix up little things around the house. Embrace your inner interior designer and try moving your couch to the other wall, or changing out the curtains. Have some Feng Shui fun and discover the “lucky places” in your home. Improving your surroundings can often have a big impact on improving your mood.

Cook Ahead — If you find yourself constantly eating out because you don’t have the energy to cook every day after getting home from work, then you could save money and eat healthier by cooking meals ahead of time. Take one day a week and cook several meals for teh week ahead and freeze them. That way, you’ll simply have to take dinner out before you leave for work and it will be waiting for you when you get home.

Schedule Time for Projects —There are always lots of little things that need to get done around the house, but finding time to do them can be hard. Schedule a specific time to do these kinds of tasks so they don’t pile up and stress you out.

Clean House Bit by Bit — Cleaning a messy house can be a big task. Help yourself out by cleaning your house bit by bit. You can start by cleaning one room at a time, or to be more proactive, always take a few items with you each time you leave a room to put away. You’ll save time, and won’t feel overwhelmed by cleaning the whole house at once.

Program Your Thermostat — You can save a lot of energy and money by getting a programmable thermostat. Adjust the settings so that the heat goes down when you leave for work and comes back up shortly before you get home. There is no sense in paying for heat that you aren’t there to enjoy. This is not only greener, but can also save you quite a bit in utility costs.

Sun Dry Clothes — While this isn’t a year round practical option for many people who live in colder climes, in the warm months sun drying clothes can be a way to save on the energy that would have been used by your dryer. Instead of paying for your dryer to do the work, let the sun do it instead completely free of charge. Plus you can enjoy some fresh air in the process!

Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies — Cleaning supplies can be expensive and many are filled with chemicals that are harmful to the environment and potentially to your family. Fortunately, you can make many of the same cleaning solutions at home for a fraction of the cost and with things you might already have around the house. For example, you can make a simple glass cleaner from ammonia, rubbing alcohol and water. Always make sure to follow a tried and true recipe, however, as some combinations could produce unwanted reactions.

Do Less Laundry — Do you really need to wash the shirt you wore for 2 hours at dinner? Before you throw that shirt into your laundry hamper, take a second look. Does it really need to be washed or could it go for another wearing? This little action will save time, energy, and help your clothes to last longer.

Wash Your Car — Skip the trip to the carwash and wash your car at home. Get some helpers and this can be a great way to bond with family and get you outside for some good clean fun.

Recycle — One of the easiest ways to live greener is by recyclinginstead of simply throwing everything away. Many communities have curbside recycling programs which make it no more difficult to recycle than to take out the regular garbage. If your community doesn’t offer this service find out where local recycling centers are located. For some recyclables, such as aluminum cans, you can actually get money back for the items you recycle. Find a local Freecycle so that you can recycle locally and save on gas!

Maintain Your Car — Keeping your car well maintained not only increases its life, but can also save you money on gas and repairs in the long run. Make sure to monitor your tire pressure, under filled tires can cause your car to use more gas and be less efficient.

Start a Compost Pile — Recycle your kitchen and yard waste by making a compost pile. A compost pile not only provides you with a means to throw away less, but also is a great source of fertilizer and mulch for the rest of your yard. With a small investment in time, you can contribute to the solution to the problem of overfull landfills, while at the same time enriching the soil and improving the health of the plants on your property.

Get a Water Filter — If you’re worried about the quality of your water, get yourself a good water filter. Bottled water might seem like a good solution, but it’s considerably more expensive and also creates a lot of waste. So get your water from the tap (you’re paying for it anyway) and the filter will take out any impurities you might be worried about.

Bring the Outside Inside — Nothing spruces up a room like bringing in a few plants. Find plants that won’t aggravate any allergies or that may be poisonous to any humans or pets. They can add life to a room and provide you with a little bit of nature even when you can’t get outside.

Repurpose Old Items — Just because you’ve lost a use for an item in it’s original purpose doesn’t mean it’s garbage. Experiment with using items around the house in creative ways. Turn your old ice cube trays into places to store jewelry. Have a wine rack you don’t use? Turn it into a magazine rack. Look around your house to figure out your own solutions for reusing items and creating less trash.

Plant a Garden — Having a garden can be a very rewarding experience. You don’t have to go full scale. You can begin with just a few plants in pots if you don’t have the space or time to maintain a large garden. Packets of seeds or young plants cost very little and can produce lots of fresh fruits and vegetables for you and your family. Tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce are great plants to start with.

Learn to DIY — Almost anything you can pay a service person to do you can learn to do on your own. Hemming your own pants, changing your own oil or doing your own taxes can all be things you can learn to do on your own. Not only does this save money, but you will gain the confidence and satisfaction of knowing you did it all on your own.

Bring Your Own Bags — One way to start living greener is by bringing your own bags, preferably canvas, with you when you go shopping. This way, you won’t be bringing home a bunch of plastic bags with you, and cloth bags can often be much more comfortable to carry.

Use Less — The easiest and most simple way to save money and resources is simply to use less. When you brush your teeth, make sure to turn off the tap. When you leave the room, turn out the lights. These are simply solutions that will reduce your monthly bills and save energy.

Take Care of Your Things — So you’ve finally found the perfect sweater/couch/pair of shoes, don’t let your intrepid purchase fall apart before its time. To make sure your purchase lasts as long as possible make sure to take care of it appropriately. Mending holes, taking care of stains and putting things away where they belong will help prolong the life of your favorite things.

Stock up With Bulk — Buying non-perishable items in large quantities can be a great time and money saver. It’s more difficult to run out of toilet paper or paper towels when you buy in bulk, and you won’t get stuck running to a more expensive corner store to pick up a last minute necessity.

Buy Classics — One way to reduce the stress of what to wear is to buy simple, classic clothes that you can mix and match. Classics are also an investment, as you won’t have to get rid of them before they wear out because they’ve gone out of style.

FINANCE
Schedule Bill Paying — Schedule a time each week to sit down and take care of your bills. If possible, set up your major bills to all be due on the same payment schedule. This will save you time, and will allow you to not constantly worry if bills have been paid or not.

Have a Yard Sale — Yard Sales can be a great way to make some extra money from items that you no longer want or need. Make the small investment to place an ad in the local newspaper (save money by sharing the cost with neighbors who would also like to have a sale). Whatever you don’t sell you can donate to a local charity or thrift store.

Make a Budget — The first step to feeling secure financially is to make a budget that can help you pay for everyday needs, as well as take care of debts, and save for the future. The best way to create a budget is to figure out how you’re spending your money right now. Track all of your expenses for a few months down to that morning cup of coffee. Then, figure out how you can make changes to best suit your needs. Be realistic about your changes and it will be much easier to stick to your new spending plan.

Save Your Change — While a few pennies may not seem like much, a whole jar full of them can add up quickly. Make a habit of putting your change in a piggy bank or jar and taking it to the bank periodically. It can be a helpful way to have extra money for treats and personal expenses from money that might have just ended up in the couch cushions or the cup holder of your car.

Create an Emergency Fund — One way to set your mind at ease is to make sure you always have a cushion for emergency expenses. An emergency fund can help protect you from going into debt should any misfortune befall you such as unexpected car repairs or illnesses. How much should you save? This is up to you and depends on your income and the amount of debt you have, or whatever makes you feel secure.

Keep Separate Accounts — Separate accounts can help you save money easily and simply for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it helps to have an account solely for holiday expenses or for a college fund. You can set up a main account that automatically places a set amount into each account so you don’t have to worry about transactions. Create checking or savings accounts with compound interest, and you can make money on those accounts.

Eliminate Credit Card Debt — Credit card debt is a common financial hang up for millions of people, and can cause a great amount of stress. Help reduce your credit card debt by paying as much as you can on it each month, even if it means going without a few other things. You can also help yourself by transferring your debt to a card with a lower APR— there are many cards available that have low or zero APR for the first few months you hold the card. This can give you a chance to make payments on the card without incurring any new interest.

Educate Yourself About Finances — The more you know aboutfinances – including budgeting, investments and insurance – the more confident you’ll be in making decisions that affect you financially. Take a class or read a book about an area you’d like to learn more about. Take advantage of Investopedia’s free information and you’ll save money even further!

Live Within Your Means — Keeping up with your neighbors can be a very expensive endeavor and one that leads some people to financial ruin. Learning to live with what you have is an important step in making yourself more secure financially. A plasma screen TV is great, but only if you can truly afford it. When you are considering making a large purchase, think about how many hours you will have to work to pay for the item- expensive items might require an entire months worth of work to pay for. Is impressing the neighbors really worth a month of your life? Learn to overcome the temptation to buy things you can’t afford and you’ll appreciate it later.

Pay Yourself First — One of the easiest investment strategies is to always pay yourself first. Decide on the amount you can afford and make a payment to yourself- either to you savings, IRA, or other retirement accounts. You can have this amount automatically deducted from your account so that you’ll never miss it, and never be tempted to use it for something else. By making your financial security a priority, you’re setting yourself up for future financial success.

Pay In Cash — It’s easy to overspend if you’re always paying with plastic. Paying in cash gives you a visual representation of every dollar you are spending. You can also help limit your spending by only bringing a certain amount of cash with you when you go shopping.

Evaluate Your Priorities — An important step in financial happiness is figuring out what is important to you. Take stock of where the majority of your money goes – it could be that you are making investments in things that are not as important to you as others. Be honest with yourself in what you truly value and what you can and can’t live without spending on.

Plan for the Future — The sooner you create a plan for your financial future, whether it’s retirement, saving for a house, or your child’s college education, the sooner you can start working towards it. Set some goals for yourself both in the short term and the long term and create a plan that will help you keep on track to those goals. The better your plan is the less stress you will have in thinking about your future.

Cut Back on Treats — It’s hard to resist giving yourself the occasional treat, but consider how much you spend on things like coffee, soft drinks, and candy over the course of a month. It can add up very quickly. You can cut back on these expenses without completely depriving yourself. You might find that the money you save can buy you a better treat in the long run.

Keep Good Records — Keeping good records is essential to keep track of how much money you are spending and how much money you are making. Keeping track of your expenses can prevent you from overdrawing your account and will also help you track where you money is going. It’s also useful come tax time when you are trying to prepare those pesky forms. Keeping track in the first place will save you a lot of time and stress in the long run.

Realize Money Can’t Buy Happiness — Studies have shown that those with large amounts of money are no happier than those with less. While money can help reduce the day to day stress of paying bills, no amount of stuff is going to make you happy if you aren’t already happy. Put more time into worrying about relationships and your personal goals than money.

Pay Bills Online — Save yourself time and stamps by setting up bills to be paid online. Most bills that are due each month can be set up to be paid automatically from your account so you won’t have to worry about writing checks or making sure that bills are paid while you’re away.

Invest Wisely — Knowing what to invest in and how much to invest can be a complicated and delicate endeavor. Try to make sure your assets aren’t all in one basket, and avoid investing too heavily in company stocks (if something were to happen to the company you might not only be out of a job, but out of your investment as well). If you’re unsure about where to invest, try getting some professional advice to learn how to secure your future.

Look at What You Already Have — Before you rush out and buy new stuff go “shopping” in own your closet or on your bookshelves to see what you already have. You might be surprised at what you have – books you never got around to reading or clothes hidden in the back of your closet. Rediscovering something you already have can be just as great at getting something completely new.

Buy Used — Many thrift stores and garage sales can be a great source of low-cost gently used items. This can be a great way to save money, but can also provide a fun treasure hunting excursion.

Research Big Purchases — While the flashy cars and appliances on TV may be very appealing, it’s best to do a little research before making any large purchase. Many fancier products have more parts that can break, which can translate to more repair costs over the life of the product and the cheapest products might not always be the best investment over long term either. They are probably cheap for a reason. Do some research online or in consumer testing magazines to find out what products have proven themselves to be the best for your money.

Make Use of Free Community Resources — Most communities are full of places you can go for free entertainment and education and you should take full advantage of them when you get the chance. Many libraries offer free or low cost movie rentals, as well as CDs, books on tape, and the standard paper bound books. Community parks can offer many free and reduced cost recreational programs. Give your local libraries and parks a chance, you will save money and get the chance to meet others in your community.

GOALS AND BELIEFS
Keep Visual Reminders — Goals, whether saving for a vacation or losing weight, can sometimes seem far off, and you might forget the reason you’re going without to reach that goal. Keep visual reminders around the house to help you remember what it is you’re working towards. When you get the impulse to order those new shoes take a peek at that sunny beach and remember what you’re saving for.

Never Stop Learning — Whether you’re seeking to advance in your career or to simply explore your interests, learning new things can be a wonderful way to keep life interesting. Learning something new doesn’t always that you need to take a formal class. It can be as simple as picking up a newspaper and reading all the stories, not just the ones that interest you. Learning new things can open you up to new possibilities and ideas you hadn’t previously considered, and this practice could expand your outlook on life.

Volunteer — Studies have shown that we live longer and happier lives if we spend time helping others instead of just thinking about ourselves. Take an opportunity to help out in your community. You can volunteer for an after school program or to help clean up a local park. Giving to your community and others around you can help you to make new friends and feel needed and valued.

Stop Worrying — Many people find it difficult to stop worrying, and worrying too much can start to take a toll on activities such as work or time with family and friends – not to mention give you wrinkles. Much of worrying is about problems that aren’t immediately solvable. Take a step back and stop worrying about them for a while – you might find a solution where you least expect it.

Do a Good Deed — Do something nice for someone around you- helping your neighbor carry in groceries or a few simple words of unexpected praise. Doing good for others can help you to feel good about yourself, and makes the people around you happier as well.

Analyze Your Commitments — It’s easy to fall into patterns of doing things simply because they are habit, but that no longer make sense with your present goals and desires. Analyze your weekly schedule and see if there are any things that you simply aren’t getting any joy from anymore or that don’t suit your goals for the future. Cut back or quit doing these activities to leave you more time for things you really want and need to do.

Accept Your Weaknesses — Nobody is perfect. As soon as you learn to accept that there are some things that you just can’t do, you’ll be happier with yourself and better able to focus on all the wonderful things that you can do.

Take the First Step — Making changes in your life can be a scary prospect, even if they are ones you are looking forward to. You’ll never get where you want to be by standing still, so push yourself to take that first step in the direction you want to go.

Be Grateful — So you don’t live in a mansion and drive a fancy sports car. It’s easy to get caught up in lamenting the things that you don’t have. Take a moment to reflect on all the things you do have. You might find that you are richer than you thought. Focus on these things that you can be grateful for each day.

Don’t Take Things Personally — Criticisms aren’t always meant as an attack on you as a person. Learn to take criticism as a learning experience and use it to become better at whatever you are doing. If someone is truly being unkind, just remember that their words probably have more to do with what’s wrong with them, than what is wrong with you.

Always Do Your Best — Putting your best foot forward in everything you do will help you make the most of your time and effort. For example, if you want to lose weight you need to get up off that couch first. Or, if you want to make more money, learn first how to ask for that raise.

Focus on the Good — Bad things happen to everyone at some point in their lives but that doesn’t mean that you have to dwell on them. You will be happier and healthier if you try to concentrate on the things in your life that are positive.

Put Your Money Where Your Goals Are — Sometimes the motivation to start working towards a goal can be as simple as investing money in that goal. Take the initiative to sign up for that language class or join that gym. Once you’ve made the initial investment you won’t want to waste your money and will give yourself the motivation to start working towards your goal.

Find Beauty in the Everyday — Often schedules are so packed and life is so hurried that there is little time to slow down and appreciate the world. Take a moment to reflect on the simple pleasures in your life which you might have otherwise taken for granted.

Mean What You Say — While it may be tempting to say things you don’t mean to placate others or because you are angry try to make everything you say as true as possible. When you are honest and say what you mean, your words will have more value, and others feel that you are worth of their trust.

Don’t Make Assumptions — Our intuitions and first impressions can be a valuable tool but they’re not without flaw. Many people have gotten themselves into pretty embarrassing situations by making assumptions. Take the time to ask questions and delve deeper before you make a judgment.

Find a Cause — Having something that you are truly passionate about can be a great way motivator. Find something that excites or engages you and let it inspire your goals and your life.

Keep Your Perspective — It’s hard to keep perspective when life hits you with an obstacle that seems insurmountable. In reality, few things in life are truly insurmountable. Give yourself time to deal with your problems, but also make sure you look at the bigger picture.

Set Deadlines for Yourself — So you’ve come up with a great plan for your future, but how does it practically fit into your life? Set deadlines for yourself to accomplish certain goals by so that you can keep yourself on track.

Monitor Your Progress — Planning for things far in the future can sometimes be discouraging if you still have a long way to go. So concentrate on how much you’ve accomplished already instead of how much you still have left to go.

Keep Balance in Your Life — Don’t let any one aspect of your life take over. Try to strike a balance between work, home and personal interests.

Keep a Journal — Keep a journal of your accomplishments and even about your troubles. A particularly good ordinary day can be something worth writing about. When you’re feeling bad about life you can look back on these good days as a reminder that things aren’t always horrid.

Take Your Time — Don’t rush into anything that could make your life more difficult down the road. Take your time to make important decisions and don’t let others rush you into situations you’re not comfortable with.

ROMANCE
Be Accountable — One of the most important aspects of a healthy relationship is trust. Part of trusting someone is knowing that they will stick to their commitments and be where they say they will be. Your relationship will be happier and healthier if you make sure to always be accountable for the promises you make to your partner.

Listen — By listening more than talking, you become both more receptive to your partner’s feelings and ideas and you give yourself more time to think of a response. Couples who can communicate clearly with each other have a much better chance of overcoming problems and staying together.

Let the Past Go — The past will always influence who you are and how you perceive life, but it shouldn’t hold you back from having the relationship you want. If you’ve been hurt by past partners or your current partner, sometimes the only way to find happiness is just to let it go. You don’t have to forget, but learn to forgive and move on.

Give Compliments — Compliments can be a simple but powerful way to improve your relationships. Let your partner know the things you like and admire about them- no matter how small.

Say Thank You — It’s important to make a partner feel appreciated in a relationship. It can be as simple as saying thank you. If your partner cleans up around the house or does something nice for you make sure he or she feels that you are grateful.

Be Yourself — It might be hard to do, but put aside what others think of you, and just be yourself. You will get much further in life and be so much happier in just being yourself, and the best part is that you won’t be just like anyone else in the world!

Make Contact — You’ve probably already heard that touching of any kind – including hand holding – can make you happier because it boosts endorphins, which improves your mood. A little contact can also reduce stress and make you more relaxed.

Turn off the TV — You and your special someone might enjoy watching a TV together, but sitting and watching TV together doesn’t grow relationships. Turn the TV off occasionally and spend some time just talking and focusing all your attention on each other.

Be Willing to Compromise — Inevitably, there are going to be times when you and your partner won’t agree. Work to find a middle ground that you both find acceptable.

Be Creative — Relationships are a balance of security and adventure. It’s nice to know your partner will be there day and night but your relationship can also fall into a rut. Try to keep things interesting by surprising your partner with special dates or gifts that you can your partner can enjoy.

Don’t Lay Blame — When there’s a problem it really doesn’t matter who’s at fault, so don’t start pointing fingers (pointing a finger at someone else points four fingers back at you!). Just start working towards a solution, a practice that helps to build a more solid relationship.

Make Dates — It’s important to make time in your busy schedule for your significant other. Even if you live together, make dates to spend time with each other free from other distractions.

Be Independent — Being with your sweetheart can be great, but make sure you’re making time for your own life and interests as well.

Spend Time, Not Money — Anyone can purchase expensive gifts or lavish dinners. It’s not that these things aren’t nice, but you don’t need to spend exorbitant amounts of money to have meaningful experiences. Sometimes, a simple night in of playing board games or a picnic in the park can be much more romantic and memorable than anything money could buy.

SOCIALIZING
Explore Your Surroundings — If you’re bored of the same old places in your routine, get out and explore your city. Chances are that there are tons of parks, restaurants and shops you didn’t even know about and you’ll get to know the place where you live even better.

Embrace Your Inner Child — Who says you have to act your age?Reconnect with the fun loving, innocent, without-a-care in the world part of you. Take a break from your responsibilities to enjoy a childlike activity. Get dirty, blow bubbles, go to the playground – anything that can help you feel fun and carefree.

Play a Sport — Playing a sport can be a great way to get some exercise and make new friends. It’s not always necessary to join a formal team. An informal neighborhood get together at the park can be just as beneficial for your health and social life.

Enjoy Seasonal Activities — While you might be longing for the beach come mid-January, try to make the most of the changing seasons and the special kind of activities they offer. Build a snowman, go sledding, or enjoy the changing of the leaves. Let the world around you entertain you, free of charge!

Create a Babysitting Exchange — Want to get out but can’t afford to pay for a babysitter? Set up a babysitting exchange with some friends or neighbors. In exchange for watching your kids, they can watch yours and allow you to go out knowing that your children will be well taken care of and at no additional charge.

Pick Up a Hobby — If you’re pondering how to spend your Sunday afternoon, perhaps it’s time to pick up a new hobby. Hobbies can be a great way to release stress and possibly meet people with similar interests.

Learn Something New — No matter how much you know there’s always something that you don’t. Take an art class, learn to cook something new, learn to ride a horse. You’ll keep your mind active and be happier in the process.

Send Letters — While phone calls and e-mails might be quicker, there are few things that make people feel as good as getting real honest to goodness mail. If you’re feeling extra creative you can construct your own cards or postcards to send. Letters let the recipient know you were thinking of them, and gives them a tangible reminder of your relationship.

Make Time — While it may seem like a no-brainer, many people forget to make room in their lives to spend with friends and family. Schedule time to meet with your loved ones for dinner, game nights, or perhaps just over coffee.

Give Personal Gifts — While store-bought gifts are nice, homemade gifts can be much more unique and personal, and also easier on a tight budget.

Help Out — One way to connect with friends and neighbors is to offer to help them out. You might shovel the walk of your elderly neighbor or bring soup to a sick friend.

Be Confident — Everyone has flaws, but that shouldn’t stop you from being confident. Your confidence will make you more attractive to potential friends and mates and make you social interactions more fulfilling.

Organize Group Meetings — Organize group activities like book clubs, pub meets, or potluck suppers. That way you can catch up with multiple friends at once, give friends a chance to meet each other, and perhaps make a new friend yourself.

Use Dead Time to Connect — Stuck in a traffic jam or waiting in line at the doctor’s office? Don’t just waste the time sitting there. Use it to connect with those you care about. Give friends and family a call or take the time to write letters. Just remember to hang up that cell phone when that traffic gets moving again, otherwise you could complicate your life with an accident.

Keep an Open Mind — You won’t make any friends if you’re a shallow, close-minded person. People may not always say things you agree with, but learning to at least hear them out can be a great step towards turning an argument into a productive and engaging debate.

Have Family Dinners — Meals are a great time to get together your friends and family. Eating together has been linked to better nutritional intake and children who eat family meals often get better grades and have better outlooks on their future.

Get Involved in the Community — There are plenty of opportunities throughout the year to participate in a variety of community events. Becoming more active in your community can give you a greater sense of pride and also help you to meet and connect with others in your area.

HEALTH AND DIET
Exercise — Exercise can help you feel great in the short and long term. It releases powerful endorphins that uplift your mood and can be a great boost to your self-esteem. Exercise also helps keep your weight in check and helps prevent many diseases. You don’t need to join a fancy gym. Just get outside and take a walk, rent a workout video, or go dancing.

Get More Sleep — The majority of us don’t get nearly enough sleep. Lack of rest can affect many aspects of life, not to mention making you cranky. With busy schedules it can be hard to get to bed, but try to stick to a bedtime that will allow you to get enough rest to be at your best.

Care for Your Appearance — For most people, having a positive outlook is closely related to looking good. Take care of your appearance, and you don’t have to spend money. Style your hair, brush your teeth, wear a dab of perfume or cologne – this can be enough to make you feel confident about your appearance and give you a positive outlook on your whole day.

Pray — Prayers can help reduce stress and help you relax. One of the benefits of meditation is that you can practice it anywhere – on the bus, work, or at home. Meditation can help provide a sense of stability, calm and peace and can be as simple as taking the time to breathe deeply. Take the time to add meditation to your daily activities.

Quit Smoking — Quitting smoking is the single best thing you can do for your health. Smoking can lead to a number of diseases, cancers, strokes as well as chronic lung problems. If you need help, see your doctor for medications or solutions to help you quit. If you’ve never been a smoker, don’t start!

Smile — Becoming happier can be as simple as just smiling more. Smiling feels great and also lets others see your happiness and encourages them to smile as well. So you not only smile when you’re happy, but smiling in itself can make you happier and feel better. Try it next time you’re feeling down.

Drink More Water — Drinking enough water everyday can prevent dehydration, clean out the body, promote healing and help you be more alert and look better. How do you know if you’re getting enough? The average amount recommended for adults is eight 8oz glasses. If you have trouble getting that much water try keeping a glass of water near places you’ll be sitting for a long time or adding a splash of lime or lemon to give your water a little flavor.

Schedule Time for Yourself — It can be hard with so many commitments to work, family, and day to day life to find time for yourself. But it’s important to set aside at least a few minutes for yourself everyday. Go somewhere where you won’t be bothered, take a walk, read a book, or do something you enjoy. You’ll be happier and better able to take care of your other commitments when you’re done.

Ride a Bike or Walk — Ride your bike or walk to work or to run errands and you’ll get fit, save gas, save money and improve air quality. Before you commit to a daily biking routine do a test run when you’re not pressed for time so you won’t be late when it counts.

Eat Less Meat — Meat can be one of the most expensive things to buy at the grocery store and eating too much of it can also have consequences to your health. On average, people who eat less meat weigh less than those individuals who eat meat more frequently. This doesn’t mean you have to cut out all meat, but you should exercise moderation when adding meat to your diet. You can also help yourself by choosing leaner cuts of meat or low fat options such as fish when you do eat meat.

Plan Meals — Planning meals can help you balance your nutrition and also help you to not waste food. By planning meals then sticking to the plan, you’re not only guaranteed to achieve your goal, you eliminate the uncertainty about meals and the need for on-the-fly judgments about what, when, and how much to eat that are a prime contributor to weight gain in people living stressful, chaotic lives.

Eat Breakfast — Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. It’s tempting to skip breakfast when you’re in a hurry or if you’re trying to lose weight, but people who skip breakfast often eat more calories throughout the day. Eating breakfast revs up your metabolism early in the day so you actually burn more calories. Plus, skipping breakfast can make your body feel starved, actually causing you to put on more weight. If you’re in a hurry, grab a whole wheat English muffin or a yogurt and a piece of fruit on your way out.

Read Labels — Food labels give you information to help you make healthy food choices and compare similar foods. Reading food labels can help you to control portion size, keep track of the fat and calories in each food, and make sure you’re getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals.

Get Some Sun — Sunbathing, when not done to the point of crispness, can actually be beneficial to your health. The sun helps in the production of vitamin D, an important factor in fighting cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. You don’t need to spend hours in the sun, a few minutes a day will suffice to give you the benefits, and getting out in the sun can help elevate your mood as well.

Eat Slowly — Studies suggest that when you eat slowly you can actually eat less and feel satisfied. Put down your fork in between bites, take time to talk to your dining companions, and savor every bite.

Work With Your Doctor — Your doctor is there to help you live longer and healthier. One of the ways you can do this is by having regular check-ups and having preventative screenings for conditions for which you might have a high risk.

Relax — Everyone experiences stress in their day-to-day life but chronic stress can lead to health problems. It’s important to take a step back and make sure you’re taking time to relax as well. Take a walk, read a book, or take a long bath, anything that helps you slow down and relax.

Shop the Farmer’s Market — Get fresh fruits and vegetables from your local farmer’s market. These will be locally grown, and many times you can get organic products much more cheaply than at the grocery store.

Find a Partner — Working out or watching your diet can be a lot more fun if you find someone to do it with. Finding a workout partner, for instance, can help motivate you not to skip your classes or help you do that last set of reps. It’s also a great way to spend time with a friend or relative and get in shape at the same time.

Exercise Moderation — Everyone needs to indulge from time to time, but just make sure it’s an indulgence and not a habit. Treats such as sweets and alcohol are fine, just as long as you can enjoy them in moderation.

Dance — Dancing can be a great way to lift your mood, socialize and get exercise all at the same time. Can’t dance? Sign up for a class with a friend or if you’re just too embarrassed, stick to dancing around the house when you’re alone. Just get moving!

Learn to Laugh — Laughing can help lower physical and emotional tension, not to mention simply make you feel happy. A good laugh can positively affect your psychological, social, and spiritual health.

Allow Yourself to Feel — Repressing or denying feelings of sadness or anger can lead to even more stress. It’s ok to have feelings, and you should let them out. Vent them to someone you trust or write in a journal, and then learn how to express negative feelings so that you don’t hurt anyone. Just getting negative feelings off of your chest can help.

Park Far Away — While trekking across the parking lot may not be the most desirable pastime, it’s still exercise. And it will save you the time and stress of circling the lot looking for that elusive close spot.

Remember that you don’t need to tackle the elephants to help make your life healthier, happier, greener, and just plain better. Try a few of these suggestions (just a few—changing everything at once won’t make your life any easier) and watch your life change!

Source: Frugalist Blog
The Ultimate Getting Things Done Index

Recommended by Octavio Urzua at octavio@audiobookslearning.com

“That’s a great catch,” said the tourist. “How long did it take you?” “Mmm. Not so long,” said the Mexican. “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” “Well, that’s enough to keep my family provided for.” “But what do you do with the rest of your time?” Take the free test that can determine if you will be a success… or a failure. “Well, I sleep late, I fish a little, I play with my children, then I have lunch, take a siesta with Maria, my wife; we stroll into the village every evening. We sip wine, we play the guitar, and I play cards with my amigos. It’s a full and rich life, señor.”

“Well, I think I can help you,” the visitor said, wrinkling his nose a little bit. “You see, I’m a Harvard MBA, and this is the advice that you’d receive at business school. You’ve got to spend more time fishing, buy yourself a bigger boat, make more money, and then perhaps several boats until you’ve got a fleet. Don’t sell your catch to a middleman; sell directly to the processor. Eventually perhaps opening your own cannery. Then you control the product, control the production, and control the distribution. You could then leave this small little town, move to Mexico City, then to L.A. and perhaps eventually to New York to run your own expanding firm.”

“But señor,” said the Mexican, “how long would this take?” “Oh, 15, 20 years.” “But what then, señor?” “Well, that’s the best part, the businessmen laughed. When the time is right, you could float on the stock market and make millions of dollars.” “Mmm. Millions you say. And what then, señor?” “Well, then you could retire and go home. Move to a pretty village by the sea. Sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evening, sip wine, and play guitar and cards with your friends.”

Well, what is the good life? Three centuries before Christ, Greek philosophers debated what made up the good life. I think perhaps the most convincing view came from Epicurus, who took his own advice and lived very happily. “I don’t know how I could imagine the good life,” he said, “if I take away the pleasure of taste, if I take away sexual pleasure, the pleasure of hearing, or the sweet emotions caused by seeing beautiful forms.”

Epicurus said there were only four things we needed for happiness. Number one, food, shelter, and clothes. Number two, friends. Number three, freedom. And number four, thought. To live one’s entire life in happiness,” he said, “the greatest by far is the possession of friendship. A handful of true friends.”

So he took a house outside of Athens and moved in there with seven friends. “Never eat alone,” he advised. “Eating with friends is much better.” Epicurus’ circle valued freedom. To avoid unpleasant work, they formed what we would call a commune. They grew their cabbages, onions, and artichokes, and relished their independence. They exchanged ideas, and several of them wrote books.

Life was simple; it was far from lavish, but it was fully satisfying. “Luxurious food and drink,” Epicurus said, “do not produce freedom from harm or a healthy condition. We must regard wealth beyond what is natural as no more use than water to a container that is full to overflowing.” Epicurus and his friends actually believed in more with less.

Contrast this with the modern “more with more” compulsion. A recent survey of our own subscribers asked how much more money they’d need to be free of worrying about money. Now it turned out that those with incomes more than $100,000 thought they needed far more money than those with incomes less than $40,000. The high earners were five times more likely to say they needed at least another $90,000 annual income. Now this should tell us that once we adopt a more with more philosophy we can never, ever win. We can never, ever be satisfied.

I don’t think it’s innate greed that propels us toward wanting more with more. I think it’s deep in the structure of modern life and its compelling, insidious options. Modern life insists that success is a matter of more money. That more money requires more work. That there’s only a fast track and a slow track, and that the fast track requires us to lay out huge effort for huge rewards. So we work more than we want, we buy more than we can value, and we cut ourselves off from the simple joys of romantic love, family, friends, and abundant time.

But what if it really is possible to get more with less? Then we can experience the marvelous parts of modern life. The challenge of exciting work, the discovery of our talents, material aplenty, while also relishing control of our own time and rich, personal relationships. We square the circle by focusing on our 80/20 activities, those high-value activities, those of high value to other people and to ourselves. And by cutting out the trivial ones. We simplify, we purify, we intensify, and we relax all at the same time. Since the pursuit of more with less runs counter to modern life, we must make a deliberate decision to step off the treadmill of more with more.

Now why does this seem so difficult? Perhaps there are three reasons. One is that our desires are infinite and contradictory. We’re restless, we’re ambitious, and we’re conditioned to think that more is better.

The second thing is that we tend to compare ourselves with other people. As some friends become richer, we don’t want to fall behind. If the neighbors have a new car, I want one, too, even though I’m perfectly happy with the old model. If I make enough money to buy a yacht, I’ll notice that the owner at the next berth has just bought a bigger one with more powerful radar.

And I think the third reason is that many of us believe that ambition, effort, and striving are good in themselves. That we must develop our abilities; that we must reach for the stars. And we feel guilty if we’re not competing and not struggling to go further.

But to leave this treadmill of more with more with a light heart, consider a couple of things. First is that the vast majority of our desires don’t lead to more than fleeting happiness. To be happy, we need to focus our demands; we need to boil them down to the few that are most important to us and that result in our happiness. When other desires come along, we exclude them, not because they’re the work of the devil, but because we know they won’t make us happy. We simplify.

Comparing our belongings with the neighbors’ is as old as history. I’m sure Adam and Eve compared their fig leaves and Moses’s 10th commandment, you’ll remember, forbade hankering after the neighbor’s house, wife, houseboy, au pair, or ox, but the consumer society raises the temptation, I think, to an art form. The advertising and marketing industry has addicted us to joyless comparison and acquisition of goods, and, in fact, our economy revolves around the pointless, never-ending race for more.

But if we must compare ourselves with our neighbors, is it sensible to compare our relative wealth or our relative happiness? You know, Moses’s job would have been a great deal easier if he’d said, “Now, come on friends, covet anything you like, but realize it’s been scientifically proved by psychologists that possessions don’t lead to happiness.” Now, would you rather have lots of houses, slaves, and cattle, or would you rather be happy? I think each of us should ask ourselves, Do we have too few possessions or too many? Would your long-term happiness be greater by adding complexity or by simplifying?

One test is do you use all your possessions? For one answer, look in your closets. Have you simplified your wardrobe to the point where it contains only clothes you wear frequently? Or is it stuffed with the 80% of clothes you wear less than 20% of the time?

On the third point, stretching and cultivating ourselves is good. We become happier, more individual, and also more used to other people.

So I’m not against achievement and setting ourselves goals and all those other excellent things. But striving to the point that we’re stressed out, that we’re time poor, that we become snappy and we become unhappy is just plain stupid. We do more good when we’re relaxed and focused. We add most of the happiness for those we love when we ourselves are happy. And we’re happiest when we simplify our lives down to the essentials that work best for us. The happiness point is the degree of effort and striving that makes us and everyone else happiest in the long run.

Where are you in relation to the happiness point? Would you be happier or more developed with more striving or with less? Only you can answer that. To jump off the treadmill requires a clean break. Decisive action to reject the complexity of modern life, crafting instead our own simple good life, confident that we can create more with less.

Resolving to seek more with less is difficult because we have to shake off all the erroneous assumptions of modern life. But having made the commitment to more with less, the process of finding it is not that hard. And why is that? It’s because it’s a process of subtraction. We don’t need to do more; we need to do less. We don’t have to reach the unknown; we can simplify our life back down to the best and most fulfilling parts of a life we already have. We don’t try to get more; we give up grasping, we let go, relax. We simplify. And our natural happiness inside is released. We don’t strive for more effective habits; no, we drop habits that don’t work for us. We stop spending time on anything that doesn’t bring us happiness and fulfillment, that isn’t necessary for our living or for the happiness of the people we care about.

We don’t have to say yes when people ask us to do things. We just ask ourselves, Is this something that I really want to do that is part of the life I want? And if a task doesn’t connect in some way with our purpose, we say no. We do less. We simplify. We enjoy more.

We take items off our list. Less work, less shopping, we clear the closet clutter. We give things away that we don’t need. We recycle them. We give up feeling angry or depressed. We close off an old grudge. We forgive our enemies, and, what I find harder, our friends. We stop comparing ourselves. We’d be content with being happy, and we’d be happy with what we have. We stop striving after things that make us restless and unhappy.

We edit our lives. We cut out unsatisfying meetings, travel, or relationships that are not going anywhere; stop. As I suggested, we give up our snake pits, those areas of life where we cope badly. Modern life may advocate expensive, difficult training to cope with difficulties. A shrink, a guru, a motivational expert who will train us to deal better with stress and our bad behavior. To me, this is just like learning about snakes to deal with them better. Why bother. Rather, we avoid our snakes as far as we can.

More with less means getting rid of all the stressful and unrewarding parts of our lives. There is always a way if we are determined.

Here are some ideas to simplify your life. A simple life means less of the following: less of work you don’t like and are not good at, things done for duty, routine, activities with a low return on your energy, time spent waiting, seeing people you don’t like, going places you don’t like, phone calls, travel and commuting, driving, exercise you don’t like, crisis, taking the rough with the smooth, information overload, spending, habits you don’t much enjoy, and big things that make little difference.

And it means more of the following: doing work you like and are good at, fun and recreation, surprises, activities with a high return on your energy, events you enjoy, seeing good friends, places you like, time to think, peace and quiet, walking and cycling, exercise that you do like, thinking to avoid crisis, taking the smooth with the smooth, information on your special interests, giving things away and recycling, daily rituals that you love, and the little things that make a big difference.

Can I suggest three ways to the simple, good life? The first is to define what the simple, good life would mean for you. What is it? How would your life be simpler? How would your ideal simple life be different? Once you’ve defined what the simple, good life would be, how do you find it? First of all, avoid your snake pits. What are your personal snake pits, and what could you do to avoid them or at least to avoid spending so much time in or around them?

Let me mention the 55 Principle, which is a close cousin to the 80/20 Principle. It’s about getting rid of things that don’t matter. It turns out that about half the things that we do lead to only 5% of our happiness and results. So, just as 80% of things only lead to 20% of results and happiness, so 50% of things, half of things, only lead to 5% of our results and happiness. So, it’s quite easy to boot out the bottom half of your activities, all that useless clutter. It’s getting rid of things that take up a lot of time and energy but produce almost nothing in return.

In finding your 80/20 route to a simple, good life, ask yourself these questions. Which tasks clutter your life but yield very little happiness or results? And then, how could you chop them out? Ask yourself which simple inexpensive luxuries you could swap for expensive luxuries? Which simple luxuries could you expand and which expensive luxuries could you do without? How are you going to do this? Could you imagine a life where most days were full of your favorite simple luxuries? How can you begin to move toward this ideal life?

And the third thing, as always, is to take some 80/20 action. I would suggest you define three actions. What are the three immediate simple action steps toward that destination of the simple, good life? The steps that will take you further along the simple, good life line with the least energy. Action one, action two, action three. Make a list of them. If you can, do it now. If not, do it within the next day.

Ask yourself, am I fully committed to taking these steps to reach the good life? And am I going to start today or this week?

When these steps are completed, take another three steps until you reach “la dolce vita,” life in the modern world, but without the tyranny of more with more. Because the truth is, it’s always possible to find more with less, a professional and personal life that is simple, refreshing, exciting, and constructed around what you love doing.

Source: Richard Koch

I’ve often wondered about these men and women. What gives them that special indefinable quality that makes them so enjoyable to be around?

Some will say its education, talent, money, humor or celebrity. But I think it’s something that’s within the reach of us all: curiosity.

Curious people are interested in the world and everything in it. They seek out new friends and experiences. They pay attention to what’s going on around them and why.

Astronomer Carl Sagan once lamented that when a child asks a perfectly good question like “Why is the sun round?” it’s not unusual for an adult to give a dismissive response like, “What do you expect it to be, square?”

(Of course, most adults probably don’t know that intense gravity pulls material towards the sun’s center, forming a sphere. But there’s never any shame in answering a question with, “I don’t know. Let’s find out.”)

By the time we reach adulthood, many of us are already jaded or closed-minded. We tend to speak with, read and praise people who share our point of view.

When our views are challenged, our instinct is to defend them (even if they might be wrong). In the process, we may miss the opportunity to learn something.

Other times it is the desire for certainty that suppresses our natural curiosity. After all, why look into a matter further when you’ve already got it all figured out?

Uncurious people tend to see the world in black and white. People are good or bad. Choices are right or wrong. Yet outside of mathematics, alternatives are rarely that stark.

Sometimes life comes in infinite shades of grey. And nothing demonstrates a low tolerance for ambiguity like a lack of curiosity.

High curiosity, on the other hand, opens us up to multiple perspectives. It is regularly tied to greater analytic ability, problem-solving skills, and overall intelligence.

Curiosity drove many of the world’s finest scientists and explorers. Our greatest discoveries often come when we question authority, the status quo, or our own beliefs.

Curiosity is also what leads many of us – often late in life – to take up the piano… or fly-fishing… or ballroom dancing… or visiting all 50 states.

And it is something that can be practiced. Often it’s just a matter of greater awareness. When you’re making your schedule, what are you planning that you haven’t tried before?  When you’re talking, what opinions are you hearing that you haven’t heard before? When you’re traveling, what are you seeing that you haven’t seen before?

Curiosity is essentially an attitude toward living. It shows we are interested in adding to our knowledge, our skills, our areas of competence. We are willing to break out of our routine and experiment with our lives.

When you’re curious, you’re energized. You’re learning. Your focus goes beyond yourself and your own petty concerns. You’re making discoveries, finding opportunities, adding to your quality of life.

Best of all, these pursuits don’t just make your life more fascinating.

Source: Alexander Green

. Repetition
Repeat something new over and over and you’ll develop ‘muscle memory’ that will help you memorize a new subject. Whether is a particular set of words or phrases in a foreign language, or cooking a recipe, the secret is to repeat the task over and over several times until it’s stuck in your memory.
I recently needed to learn a new programming language for a project I was involved with. The fastest way for me to learn the new language, was to sit down at my computer at the start of the weekend and, write lots of new software, over and over. I spent the whole weekend working in the new language, writing the same software many times. By the end of the weekend, I was confidently fluent in the new language.

. Association
Associating new subjects with ones you know is a great way of learning. The most popular application is the use of mnemonics. Find a word or phrase and associate each letter (or initial letter of that word) with the topic you’re learning.
For example, the first letters of Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vein spells out the colors of the rainbow in order: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.
Google ‘mnemonics’ and you’ll find plenty of websites listing mnemonics for a huge range of subjects.

. Watch video tutorials
It’s easy to learn from other people, and one of the best ways to do this is by finding how to videos and tutorials. Learning a new piece of software becomes a piece of cake when you can sit in front of your computer, be talked through the process, see exactly what’s on their screen as they talk, and then repeat the actions yourself.
You can do the same for playing a musical instrument, learning a foreign language, drawing, making things, learn new concepts, and more. Have a search around, you’ll find hundreds of examples online.
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Every subject requires a different approach to it depending on its nature. It is not correct to generalize that the best way to learn a new subject or skill is to study small segments or details in great depth rather than to start by trying to develop a sense of the whole.

The method to learn a new subject or skill depends on the type of the subject. In some cases the best way to learn is to study small segments in great depth without trying to develop a sense of whole. In other cases it might be important to develop a sense of the whole to develop an interest in the subject. Sometimes the study requires intermingling of both the techniques.

People always learn a new language by first trying to develop a sense of the whole. The study of a new language begins by identification of important words in that language. These words help people to start making sentences that make sense. These sentences might not be grammatically correct but they can convey what the person is trying to say. It is more practical to study a language this way. For example if a person travels to a foreign country, it would be important for him to understand and be able to convey his thoughts. It would not matter if he does not understand the nuances of the grammar or all the denotations and connotations of a particular word.

Children begin learning new subjects in school by trying to understand subjects as a whole. For example by the time children reach middle school they begin to understand that geography deals with study earth and its environment, science deals with logical explanation of all processes, history deals with the past etc. This introduction gives them the opportunity to decide their field of interest. If the learning of biology began by letting children know in great depth of a particular plant, they would not know biology deals with lots of other things besides that plant. It is important to tell that biology is the study of all living beings because if they are interested to study about animals later, they will know how to go about it and which field to pursue.

On the other hand the learning of a new computer programming language begins by learning its parts in detail. A computer program can be developed in various ways using the same language. The study begins by learning the details of the different syntaxes of the programming language. The students compare and contrast each new syntax with previous ones and try to develop the best way to program in that language. It is important in this case to study each part in great depth to understand the programming language as a whole.

The study of a skill like dance or knitting also requires learning by studying its parts in detail. The study of dance begins by learning to do basic steps. The next step is to learn some simple combinations of these basic steps. As the learning progresses, the student develops the sense of the whole dance form. It is impossible to learn the dance without knowing the steps. The same holds true for knitting.

The study of a new subject on which there is no prior information requires study of parts in a little detail to form a vague idea of the subject. After the formation of the idea, the details of the subject need to be explored further to make the idea stronger. For example the people who took up the study of possibility of stepping into the moon did not know if it were possible. They studied the parts of the moon, the atmosphere between the earth and the moon, the variance of climatic conditions etc in detail before they decided that it was possible for man to go to the moon. Then they explored the details further to prove the fact that it was possible to step the moon.

Source: Articlegarden

Richard Friend’s supermolecules will give us paper-thin display screens–and much more.

The Secrets of Scent

Linda Buck maps the brain using her nose.

Steely Dan

Daniel Branagan and his heroic metal.

Mister Natural

Masatsugu Taniguchi tries to create the first nonpolluting economy in the world–and a profit.

Plastic Man

Bob Langer may help you grow a new heart.

Millions Served

Florence Wambugu feeds her country with food others have the luxury to avoid.

The Titan of the Teensy

Charles Lieber sees lots of cheap, tiny devices in your future.

Mr. Burns’ Dilemma

Larry Burns has a new engine.

Science Beyond Belief

Steve Quake wants to speed up drug discovery by setting off a million reactions at once–all in a one-inch-square slab of rubber.

A New Kind of Entitlement

Hernando de Soto’s radical plan to end world poverty.

A Dirty Business

Chaitan Khosla makes drugs from soil.

Safe at any Speed

Steven Wallman tries to make the market more efficient for individual investors.

The Matchmaker

Vanessa Kirsch reinvents charity.

The Biggest Damn Opportunity

Charles Simonyi’s smarter software.

Brave New World

Will Wright’s videogames simulate life–or at least the life we might live in the future.

When Bannister crossed the finish line of Oxford’s Iffley Road track on May 6, 1954, he could hardly see straight. Completing the mile in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds, he had not only trimmed two seconds off the world record, but also run the world’s first sub-four-minute mile.

“People thought it was like bouncing off a brick wall,” explains close rival John Landy, who had come within three seconds of the four-minute mark six times.

“It was a sense of relief,” says Bannister, recalling the momentous event more than 50 years later. “There was a mystique, a belief that it couldn’t be done, but I think it was more of a psychological barrier than a physical barrier.”

#1 Roger Bannister: Sub-Four-Minute Mile
#2 Lance Armstrong: Seven Consecutive Tour de France Victories
#3 Jesse Owens: Four World Records In 70 Minutes
#4 Nadia Comaneci: Seven Perfect 10s
#5 Joe DiMaggio: 56-Game Hitting Streak
#6 Muhammad Ali: Three Heavyweight Titles
#7 Mark Spitz: Seven Gold Medals
#8 Gertrude Ederle: Swims The English Channel In Record Time
#9 Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay: Climb Mt. Everest
#10 Babe Ruth: 60 Home Runs In a Season
#11 Wilt Chamberlain: The 100-Point Game in Basketball
#12 Bob Beamon: World-Record-Shattering Long Jump
#13 Michael Jordan: Ten Seasons At The Top
#14 Bobby Jones: Golf’s Grand Slam
#15 Wayne Gretzky: 2,857 Points in Hockey
#16 Martina Navratilova: 20 Wimbledon Titles
#17 Bill Russell: 11 NBA Championships
#18 Don Larsen: The Perfect World Series Baseball Game
#19 Eric Heiden: Five Individual Winter Gold Medals in speed-skating
#20 Gordie Howe: 33 Professional Hockey Seasons

Future by Design

Venus Project Tour

Venus Poject Part 1

Venus Poject Part 2

Source: The Venus Project

1. Wake up laughing. ‘Decrease Your Distress.’ This is why I conditioned myself to remember something funny the moment I woke up. I also kept some joke books on my bedside table so I could read a joke first thing in the morning. It seems like such a small thing to do, but it works for me,” says Brandon.

2. Get up within five minutes. “Don’t overuse your snooze button. You have to get moving by stretching your limbs within five minutes of waking up. If you just lie there, you can quickly lose track of time or, worse, you could start thinking about distressing things.”

3. Drink up. “The course emphasizes that our bodies need the proper fuel, so, I’ve gotten into the habit of drinking two glasses of water upon waking up. Dehydration causes fatigue so you have to deal with it early on. It makes a lot of difference. Remember to drink your water slowly. You will slowly feel more energized as you do so.”

Source: Brandon Charles