Understanding and comprehension are slightly different. We can comprehend something without truly understanding it. Hindsight is often the difference. First hand experience provides a deeper understanding that can lead to behavioral changes whereas comprehension, even with common sense, may not affect behavior either way. By experiencing things first hand, you not only gain an understanding but also your tolerance for whatever it is you are learning about.
Read MoreCategory: Self Improvement
The Anomalous Observation
Pattern recognition helps us navigate the world using a form of stereotyping. However, when a pattern deviates from the standard, we’ll experience an anomaly. Anomalies are peculiarities or inconsistencies in what is expected. An anomalous observation is often immediately ignored… But sometimes anomalies can be business opportunities. For instance, Akio Morita created the Sony Walkman by initially observing that teenagers were carrying ridiculously large radios next to their heads. It didn’t make sense, but they were doing it anyway. This observation led to the creation of the Walkman which changed music…
Read MoreThe Longest Line
The Longest line is sometimes an indicator of something good… Wait long enough and you’ll have what’s at the end. But sometimes the length of the line and the quality of what’s at the end have little to no correlation with one another. Sometimes the length of the line grows just because of the story we tell ourselves about the line length. We tell ourselves that a long line means something worth waiting for… And so the line grows. Starbucks doesn’t want smaller lines. But if all we choose to…
Read MoreHow Long Is A Patent Good For Once It’s Awarded?
If you have an idea for a product, or invention, you may be wondering if you should patent your idea, how much it will cost and how long is the patent good for. If your idea is patentable, then go for it… Just be aware that the patent protection you receive is limited to a specific period of time and is territorial. Once you receive your patent award, the patent is good for 20 years from the date of first filing. The cost of a patent will vary depending on…
Read MoreSuccess is Largely Mental
Success is largely a mental game… To accomplish what you know you can and should accomplish, you need to take care of your brain and body as a first priority. This means exercise, eat right, get sleep, don’t drink alcohol or do drugs. If you do drink, do it rarely and in moderation… If you can stop drinking (especially if you want to stop), do so. Everyone’s different. Some people can literally destroy their bodies and brains and still function at a high level. I am not one of those…
Read MoreIs Social Media Hurting Your Selling?
To be the best salesperson you can be… You need to be able to understand and empathize with other people. The way you gain empathy is by talking with others… Engaging with them in conversation. But social media does not allow this… It replaces conversation with memes, posts, likes, comments and other signs. By some accounts, social media has been shown to reduce empathy for others. Empathy can be reduced online, where some people engage in bullying or other mean behaviors against others online, but social media can also affect…
Read MoreDoes Facebook Erode Empathy?
One of the arguments in Jaron Lanier’s book “10 Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now” is that the business models of social media companies, such as Facebook and Twitter, have a negative effect on our ability to empathize with other humans. Losing empathy makes it harder to understand others, which makes it more difficult to engage with each other and generally just get along in society. This argument was perhaps the most disturbing that I read in his book. It was mostly disturbing because it rang true.…
Read MoreFear Can Be Nourishing…
Fear can be bad if you don’t know what to do with it… Being afraid to confront fear is bad… But fear can be nourishing when you confront it and eat it. By eating irrational fears, you become stronger and more resilient. Several days and weeks of eating fear changes you. It helps you avoid becoming the perfect failure. Eat irrational fear every day.
Read MoreShould I Delete My Social Media Accounts? Take the Quiz.
Wondering if you should delete your social media accounts, such as Facebook or Twitter? Take the quiz to find out how much you know about social media’s potential impact on you and society.
Read MoreThink Small, Work Hard, Stay Frugal
If you’re an artist, financial troubles can dampen your creativity… There is a link between freedom and debt. Debts can kill dreams. So artists often accept that they may never make money from their work. They think small, work hard and stay frugal. Don’t think small with your business or art… But with your living situation. Pressure to perform creatively can have a negative effect on production. A research paper titled “Perspectives on the Social Psychology of Creativity” by Teresa M. Amabile and Julianna Pillemer at Harvard Business School states: “…the…
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