The latest “rule” about the “new economy” and the “new job market” (or, rather, on how to take advantage of the economic downturn by becoming an entrepreneur) seems to be: “get ahead by breaking the rules”.
I’ve always found that advice to be a bit suspect or a bit too “convenient”, overshadowing the role that luck and selective memories often play.
Of course, that’s not to suggest that we don’t benefit from the “learning opportunity” of missteps, whether due to breaking the rules or not. However, when it comes to rules, sometimes the “learning” is that some rules aren’t meant to be broken in a willy-nilly way. Read more »
What makes my thoughts or ideas any more or less prophetic, important, or meaningful than anyone else’s?
I’m sure I could say some things that some people in search of such wisdom haven’t heard before. They’d probably be rather impressed with what I’d communicate. Who knows though…if I were referencing commonly held beliefs or affirmations often heard in circles that others just haven’t encountered yet, perhaps they would hear the same thing somewhere else along their journey anyway. Isn’t there a phrase about: “When the student is ready, the teacher will be there”? Read more »
Confidence and conviction are admirable traits. Thus, many of us are familiar with the phrase: “if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”
Yet , when it comes to things like political discussions, even the civil ones, with all the divergent points of view out there, I always wonder how anyone can be 100% sure that their view is the only right (or best) view.
When we look at experts’ forecasts about what the future holds, we don’t have to look too hard to find almost every possible point of view vehemently defended by someone. In the end, who is ultimately most accurate will only be revealed by time. Someone will clearly be right, whether by design or by accident, it’s just a question of who, what, and when.
Recently on Bloomberg radio I remember hearing “the future” described as this: “the future by definition is unknown and unknowable” and it’s about “tilting the odds in your favor”. Read more »
The ubiquity and accessibility of the Internet has long since given flight to the belief that: “Everyone has a book in them.” Some of us will write that book. Some of us won’t.
Motivational gurus will work to encourage us to get our book(s) written. Additionally, The Long Tail theory will insure that a broad range of books (of varying content and quality) will get written and read.
Clearly writing a book that gets published and read by others makes most authors feel worthy and satisfied at putting forth their best effort to leave a, hopefully lasting, legacy of some sort behind.
Yet, just because a book gets written doesn’t mean it’s a good book. Of course, “good” is a broad and relative term. Clearly not every book idea is worth writing or reading, regardless of whether or not that indubitably will take place.
Of all the good books that do get written by good writers, the reality about books is as follows: Read more »
Today, October 15th 2009, is Blog Action Day with the theme of Climate Change. I hope this post is able to contribute some small part to help raise awareness about this important issue.
Whether You Believe Or Not
There are people that passionately believe global warming is real. And there are those that just as strongly disagree with the concept entirely.
It’s actually quite interesting to consider how awareness for climate change has grown in the U.S. since the 1930s. First, it took a considerable amount of time to reach some level of scientific agreement about the problem. Then it took even more time to build up public awareness around the issue to the point where political action was seriously being sought and demanded.
It’s actually quite amazing how far we’ve come just since Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth” in 2006. This year (2009), there are high hopes for some monumental outcomes arising from International talks at a United Nations meeting in Copenhagen this December. Check out 350.org for more information on the CO2 goals for this Treaty as well as the “day of action” planned on October 24th, 2009 to drum up even more support for a favorable CO2 Treaty Agreement.
But aside from the climate change awareness movement, the best way that I would respond to any naysayers of global warming is that we should care about our environment regardless of whether global warming or climate change will ever hit crisis levels. Read more »
When people argue over politics, the arguments usually eventually always come down to the same cliché positions that puts you either on the side that “government is necessary” or “government should not intrude.”
The pro-government people defend their idealistic view that government can efficiently provide services and opportunities to the less fortunate in order to level the playing field.
At the same time, the anti-government people focus on their idealistic vision that self-regulation and personal responsibility is their cure-all for society’s ills.
Pro-government advocates, just like their anti-government counterparts, generally don’t ever acknowledge that any inefficiencies, flaws, or limitations exist within the system they believe in.
In reality, does either system alone really function ideally? Don’t we probably really need a blend of both? Read more »
In this fast-changing world of ours, decisiveness is clearly the name of the game.
In the book “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell, we learn that those with expertise in a particular subject matter can be quite accurate in their quick instinctual gut reactions to certain claims or situations.
And, conversely, those without expertise in a particular area of focus generally don’t fair so well with this kind of quick decision-making. Hence, the phrase “rushing to judgment” doesn’t have such a positive connotation.
“Decisiveness is a characteristic of high-performing men and women. Almost any decision is better than no decision at all.” ~Brian Tracy
So, what do we make of this common advice that: “making any decision is better than making no decision?” We could all probably readily agree that it is true that inaction, like procrastination, has let many high-potential projects go uncompleted or forever remain un-started. But should that really be the only criteria we are considering here? Read more »
It’s my pleasure to introduce you to Greg Hayes from Live Fit Blog. In today’s guest post, Greg shares some great advice on the key ingredient needed to get healthy – advice that can easily be applied to making changes in all areas of our lives.
Note: Greg is one of the great people I’ve met through fellow blogger, Josh Hanagarne of World’s Strongest Librarian. Josh is really building up a great network of like-minded readers (with an intriguing range of interests) via the openness of his blog, his guest blogging and commenting.
After reading this post, be sure to visit Live Fit Blog and World’s Strongest Librarian at any time for more (or just to say “hello”). We always enjoy reading any and all comments you’d like to share.
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Why Change? – A Guest Post by Greg Hayes
Most of us can probably agree that we should be paying more attention to our health. Turn on the news at any given time of day, and you’re apt to hear someone debating this subject. Inevitably, the discussion turns to obesity and its contribution to rising healthcare costs.
Seven years ago, I could have been their poster child. By any metric, I was obese. Not that I saw myself that way. Read more »
For me, one of the best things about the internet is meeting people that you probably wouldn’t have otherwise met. One such person, who I’d like to introduce you to, is Josh Hanagarne (pictured below), writer of the blog: World’s Strongest Librarian.
I first “discovered” Josh via a guest post he had written for Problogger. I’ve since come to love his writing style. He is a great storyteller. He’s funny and smart and not afraid to share his personal side, too. He has an equally intriguing set of readers that regularly leave thoughtful comments on his posts (which he freely replies to, as well).
I’m proud to share the following guest post that I asked Josh to write as part of the Guest Post Ultra-Marathon he has embarked on. Let me/us know how you like it.
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Two Questions To Ask Yourself Before Making A Difficult Decision – A Guest Post by Josh Hanagarne
By the time a person with an average respiration rate is fifteen years old, they’ve typically taken upwards of 150,000,000 breaths. Of course, when you’re panicked, you breathe more than usual—like when you’re faced with questions, problems, and dilemmas that don’t have easy answers.
But before you start sucking wind and saying, “Oh man oh man oh man what do I do?” there are two questions you can ask yourself that will guide you—provided you can actually answer these questions. Read more »
I must admit that when I first saw the agenda for the Writer’s Digest Conference, taking place in NYC this year, I didn’t quite understand why there was such a big social media focus at the event. I wondered if the event organizers weren’t just jumping on the bandwagon of the latest online trends.
Gladly, my skepticism turned out to be quite short-lived. Right from the very first session I attended, I immediately understood that this apparent merging of topics wasn’t any kind of a forced fit, but instead was a natural union that made perfect sense. The book publishing environment is clearly changing — it’s not just about getting an agent and finding a publisher anymore.
I decided that since my learnings might be of interest to some of my fellow creative friends, I put together this list of 8 things I learned about “21st Century publishing” and how social media can be used to legitimately bypass the bombarded Gatekeepers and make you a successful Gatejumper. Read more »
The latest “rule” about the “new economy” and the “new job market” (or, rather, on how to take advantage of the economic downturn by becoming an entrepreneur) seems to be: “get ahead by breaking the rules”. 