There is no shortage of quotes posted on Twitter every minute of every day.
Many are the motivational kind. The kind of quote that is easy for Tweeters to find, post, and re-Tweet. The kind that people can instantly feel inspired by regardless of how helpful it actually is or isn’t.
[I don’t want to digress too much, but the following sidebar might be worth considering in this context. Consider this post that points out how overemphasizing motivation, and ignoring ability and triggers, is what makes Facebook Behavior Change Apps ineffective: “5 Reason Facebook Behavior Change Apps Aren’t Working”.]
But I digress a bit with that. Getting back to my point….
Sometimes I, too, enjoy the clever words in motivational quotes.
However, more often than not, these quotes also just make me want to point out the non-universality of their contrite claims. Read more »
There were some recent news reports that the board game, Scrabble, was changing the rules of the game to now allow Proper Nouns.
But, before anyone, who hasn’t yet heard the whole story, gets overly excited about nothing, be comforted to know that any kind of sacrilegious move like that would not apply to the Classic version, but would only apply to an upcoming Family Friendly version of the game.
While Scrabble really is “just a game”, our first knee-jerk reaction to the initial news reports does tell us something about ourselves. Read more »
As you may have noticed, it’s been a few months since I’ve last updated this blog.
As you may not know, this wasn’t exactly a planned hiatus. Probably not unlike other writers out there, somehow I got myself into this rut where I didn’t believe I had anything worthwhile to say that wasn’t already probably being said by someone else. So, I stopped writing. Though, that is not to say that I didn’t miss the satisfaction of getting my thoughts down in black and white, which I truly did miss.
Anyway, a number of different inspirations have come together for me lately to inspire me to recommit to some new goals for this blog and I wanted to start by sharing these insights with you here. I’m hoping these will guide me on a new course, one that we’ll both consider worthy of sticking around for. 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”.
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 »
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 »
There is no shortage of quotes posted on Twitter every minute of every day. 
