We're up to the letter T:
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
10 ways
Yesterday I presented 61 ways.
Today we have 10 from another guy named Scott:
Years don’t make you wise.
Wisdom has nothing to do with how much time has past and everything to do with how much intelligent reflection you did during that time.
In the words of the wise philosopher, Indiana Jones, “It’s not the years – it’s the mileage.”
LESSON LEARNED: If you want to be wise beyond your years, you need a game plan.
Try this:
1. Get direct experience any way you can. Wisdom comes from doing. Not from reading books. Or attending seminars. Or listening to audio programs in your car on the commute to work.
Those things might make you smart – but not wise.
You need to run the gauntlet of genuine experience. You need to make mistakes. To travel outside of your comfort zone. To get lost in foreign countries.
Maybe break a few hearts. And definitely have your own heart broken too. That’ll learn ya real good. Do you need to read more books about other people’s adventures – or go have an adventure yourself that’s worth sharing?
2. Speed up your unlearning curve. Learning is for monkeys and kindergartners. If you want to become wise beyond your years, try forgetting a few things for once.
Just beware: Unlearning is a painful process for most people.
Fist, because it requires mental flexibility in an age of terminal certainty. Secondly, because it threatens your ego’s power. Third, because cognitive dissonance is a brutal force. And finally, unlearning is painful because it activates the change process. And last time I checked, most people still hate change.
If you want to become wise beyond your years, consider unlearning the following things: Dangerous prejudices, outdated desires, false interpretations, inherited biases, outworn assumptions, previous definitions, useless fears and stale scripts.
Remember: Any idiot can be smart. It takes a real genius to unlearn. What mental constructs do you need to let go of?
3. Walk the wise – then record the footprints. Hanging out with a bunch of wise people won’t make you wise. Unlike poison ivy, wisdom isn’t something that just rubs off because of proximity.
The secret is to ask questions, listen closely to people’s answers, document your learnings and ultimately decide for yourself what you believe to be real and true.
Otherwise you’re just an advice leech. And the wisdom handed down to you will fall on deaf ears, shut eyes and a blocked heart. How many mentors do you have?
4. Take advantage of unlimited and instant access. Contrary to popular belief, the Internet does serve a purpose besides pornography and online gambling. I’m talking about the democratization of information.
The fact that you can find things out that there’s no possible way you could have known at your age is a beautiful thing. Imagine: Past generations actually had to wait around until they experienced things to learn them.
Ha! You can speed up your learning curve dramatically simply by becoming an avid researcher. And although nothing can replace direct, real experience, the web is a nice placeholder.
My only caveat is to triangulate your research. To validate every fact from three credible sources. This helps protect yourself from the worst part about the Internet: Everybody has a voice. And some of those voices smell like farts.
Be careful who you listen to. What have you researched this week?
5. Intentionally put yourself in situations that force you to grow up quickly. My cousin Justin interned as the village doctor in Honduras during his second year at medical school. My friend Rory spent four summers selling textbooks door to door.
My pal Anthony moved to Tokyo without knowing a single word of Japanese. My mate Joey took the hardest, lowest paying job at his father’s plumbing company.
And me? I moved across the country to Portland because I’d never been there, didn’t know anybody and didn’t have a job.
Notice the commonality? All of these situations were intentional, risk-laden, out of our comfort zones and chock-full of opportunities to depend on our own resources to survive.
Nothing will dispense wisdom quicker. How much longer can you realistically suffer from Peter Pan Syndrome?
6. Be the world’s expert on yourself. In The Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu wrote, “He who knows other is smart – but he who knows himself is wise.”
What about you? Which do you focus on? Memorizing the names of Brad and Angelina’s fourteen Cambodian children or knowing what makes your heart sing?
If you want to be remembered as being wise beyond your years, claim expertise on one domain: Yourself. Otherwise your vast knowledge of everybody else’s business is nothing but empty calories.
Like the song Wasting Time by Jack Johnson:
“Nobody knows anything about themselves because they’re all worried about everybody else.”
Don’t be that guy. No matter how tempting the gossip trap looks. Instead, focus on knowing yourself inside out. The people who matter will notice. Do you need a copy of US Weekly or a blank journal?
7. Use your past to see their present. A great mark of wisdom well internalized is the ability to see the old version of yourself in the people around you.
But not with a judgmental posture. Rather, with a calm and curious intrigue, reminding yourself of how far you’ve come.
For example, when I sit next to people on airplanes whose actions are hurried, violent, stressed, frustrated and oxygen-deficient, it always makes me smile. I think to myself, “Wow, that used to be me. But I’m so over that now.”
Again, this isn’t said with arrogance or smugness; rather, with celebration and recognition of wisdom you didn’t recognize until you encounter a person who practiced the opposite. What's your past worth?
8. Start teaching earlier. Stop waiting for permission to be a teacher. You don’t need grey hair. You don’t need a degree. You don’t need a chalkboard. And you don’t need a tweed blazer with patches on the elbows.
A teacher is someone who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. A teacher is someone who has the willingness and ability to share what he’s learned from what he’s done.
What’s more, teaching is an attractive role. It means authority, it commands credibility and it indicates expertise. The challenge is finding your classroom.
Fortunately, the meaning of the word “classroom” word has evolved in the past few decades. Especially with the advent of numerous online portals, you now have thousands of potential classrooms at your fingertips, both online and offline.
For example, your classroom might be lunch with your friends. It might be the break room at work. Or it might be the dinner table with your children. Online, your classroom might be on your blog. It might be your Facebook page. Or it might be your monthly teleseminar or webinar series.
The bottom line is: There’s no better way to learn something than to teach it to someone else. Do that every day and your wisdom factor will skyrocket. What lesson plan are you preparing this week?
9. Learn to trust your voice. I recently did a five-hour video shoot with my client, The Australian Institute of Management. During our lunch break, my cameraman, Derrick, made an interesting comment:
“On-camera work is a completely different animal than public speaking. You have to be quick on your feet and good off the cuff. The problem is, most people don’t have the confidence that when they open their mouth, something good will come out.”
What about you? Do you trust your voice? If not, consider these suggestions for doing so.
First, write every day. Doesn’t have to be much. Fifteen minutes is enough. You’ll discover two things: Writing is the great clarifier; and writing it makes everything you do easier and better – including trusting your voice in person.
Second, practice. Debate yourself. Grill yourself. Challenge yourself. Anything to acclimate yourself to articulating your thoughts clearly and quickly.
Ultimately, trusting your voice takes time, patience and practice. And here’s the best part: One day, two years from now, in the middle of a conversation with your boss, you’ll pull a one-liner out of your ass that’s so incredibly lucid and insightful, he’ll wonder if you accidentally slept on a dictionary.
You’ll give new meaning to the term “wise ass.” Are you prepared to sign your name under your voice and let the whole world know how you feel?
10. Establish your learning plan. I can’t tell you how to do this. It all depends on how you think, how you learn, what you need learn and why you want to learn it.
Instead, here’s a snapshot of my own learning plan to inspire your to do the same.
Reading: Five books a week.
Journaling: Thirty minutes, three pages, first thing every morning.
Writing: Four to seven hours a day.
Mentors: Fifteen people I regular converse with in person or virtually.
Mastermind: Three that I meet with throughout the year.
Speaking: Ten hours of preparation for each presentation.
Education: Three to five seminars a year.
Miscellaneous: Daily observation, note taking, question asking and research.
Now, that’s not the whole enchilada, but you get the point. And while I don’t expect you to copy or even emulate my learning plan, I do challenge to think about – and physically write out – your own.
Commit to doing that, and your wisdom will make your years look like days. What did you learn yesterday?
ONE MORE THING: Growing up doesn’t mean growing old.
That’s the only caveat: To make sure that your pursuit of wisdom doesn’t eclipse your practice of childlikeness.
Because the last thing you want is to position yourself as the precocious young genius that doesn’t know how to have any fun. Be sure to keep your inner child in check. Otherwise all the wisdom in the world won’t do you much good. You'll end up like one of those annoying, hyper-articulate child actors that people are tired of by the time they're twelve. (I'm looking at you, Haley Joel Osment.)
REMEMBER: Being wise beyond your years isn’t about the years themselves; it’s about what happened during those years, and how you reflect upon that.
Indiana Jones would be proud.
LET ME ASK YA THIS...
Are you making people forget your age?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS...
For the list called, "65 Things I Wish Somebody Would Have Told Me When I Started My Company," send an email to me, and you win the list for free!
* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur, Mentor
scott@hellomynameisscott.com
Today we have 10 from another guy named Scott:
10 Ways to be Wise Beyond Your Years
Years don’t make you wise.Wisdom has nothing to do with how much time has past and everything to do with how much intelligent reflection you did during that time.
In the words of the wise philosopher, Indiana Jones, “It’s not the years – it’s the mileage.”
LESSON LEARNED: If you want to be wise beyond your years, you need a game plan.
Try this:
1. Get direct experience any way you can. Wisdom comes from doing. Not from reading books. Or attending seminars. Or listening to audio programs in your car on the commute to work.
Those things might make you smart – but not wise.
You need to run the gauntlet of genuine experience. You need to make mistakes. To travel outside of your comfort zone. To get lost in foreign countries.
Maybe break a few hearts. And definitely have your own heart broken too. That’ll learn ya real good. Do you need to read more books about other people’s adventures – or go have an adventure yourself that’s worth sharing?
2. Speed up your unlearning curve. Learning is for monkeys and kindergartners. If you want to become wise beyond your years, try forgetting a few things for once.
Just beware: Unlearning is a painful process for most people.
Fist, because it requires mental flexibility in an age of terminal certainty. Secondly, because it threatens your ego’s power. Third, because cognitive dissonance is a brutal force. And finally, unlearning is painful because it activates the change process. And last time I checked, most people still hate change.
If you want to become wise beyond your years, consider unlearning the following things: Dangerous prejudices, outdated desires, false interpretations, inherited biases, outworn assumptions, previous definitions, useless fears and stale scripts.
Remember: Any idiot can be smart. It takes a real genius to unlearn. What mental constructs do you need to let go of?
3. Walk the wise – then record the footprints. Hanging out with a bunch of wise people won’t make you wise. Unlike poison ivy, wisdom isn’t something that just rubs off because of proximity.
The secret is to ask questions, listen closely to people’s answers, document your learnings and ultimately decide for yourself what you believe to be real and true.
Otherwise you’re just an advice leech. And the wisdom handed down to you will fall on deaf ears, shut eyes and a blocked heart. How many mentors do you have?
4. Take advantage of unlimited and instant access. Contrary to popular belief, the Internet does serve a purpose besides pornography and online gambling. I’m talking about the democratization of information.
The fact that you can find things out that there’s no possible way you could have known at your age is a beautiful thing. Imagine: Past generations actually had to wait around until they experienced things to learn them.
Ha! You can speed up your learning curve dramatically simply by becoming an avid researcher. And although nothing can replace direct, real experience, the web is a nice placeholder.
My only caveat is to triangulate your research. To validate every fact from three credible sources. This helps protect yourself from the worst part about the Internet: Everybody has a voice. And some of those voices smell like farts.
Be careful who you listen to. What have you researched this week?
5. Intentionally put yourself in situations that force you to grow up quickly. My cousin Justin interned as the village doctor in Honduras during his second year at medical school. My friend Rory spent four summers selling textbooks door to door.
My pal Anthony moved to Tokyo without knowing a single word of Japanese. My mate Joey took the hardest, lowest paying job at his father’s plumbing company.
And me? I moved across the country to Portland because I’d never been there, didn’t know anybody and didn’t have a job.
Notice the commonality? All of these situations were intentional, risk-laden, out of our comfort zones and chock-full of opportunities to depend on our own resources to survive.
Nothing will dispense wisdom quicker. How much longer can you realistically suffer from Peter Pan Syndrome?
6. Be the world’s expert on yourself. In The Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu wrote, “He who knows other is smart – but he who knows himself is wise.”
What about you? Which do you focus on? Memorizing the names of Brad and Angelina’s fourteen Cambodian children or knowing what makes your heart sing?
If you want to be remembered as being wise beyond your years, claim expertise on one domain: Yourself. Otherwise your vast knowledge of everybody else’s business is nothing but empty calories.
Like the song Wasting Time by Jack Johnson:
“Nobody knows anything about themselves because they’re all worried about everybody else.”
Don’t be that guy. No matter how tempting the gossip trap looks. Instead, focus on knowing yourself inside out. The people who matter will notice. Do you need a copy of US Weekly or a blank journal?
7. Use your past to see their present. A great mark of wisdom well internalized is the ability to see the old version of yourself in the people around you.
But not with a judgmental posture. Rather, with a calm and curious intrigue, reminding yourself of how far you’ve come.
For example, when I sit next to people on airplanes whose actions are hurried, violent, stressed, frustrated and oxygen-deficient, it always makes me smile. I think to myself, “Wow, that used to be me. But I’m so over that now.”
Again, this isn’t said with arrogance or smugness; rather, with celebration and recognition of wisdom you didn’t recognize until you encounter a person who practiced the opposite. What's your past worth?
8. Start teaching earlier. Stop waiting for permission to be a teacher. You don’t need grey hair. You don’t need a degree. You don’t need a chalkboard. And you don’t need a tweed blazer with patches on the elbows.
A teacher is someone who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. A teacher is someone who has the willingness and ability to share what he’s learned from what he’s done.
What’s more, teaching is an attractive role. It means authority, it commands credibility and it indicates expertise. The challenge is finding your classroom.
Fortunately, the meaning of the word “classroom” word has evolved in the past few decades. Especially with the advent of numerous online portals, you now have thousands of potential classrooms at your fingertips, both online and offline.
For example, your classroom might be lunch with your friends. It might be the break room at work. Or it might be the dinner table with your children. Online, your classroom might be on your blog. It might be your Facebook page. Or it might be your monthly teleseminar or webinar series.
The bottom line is: There’s no better way to learn something than to teach it to someone else. Do that every day and your wisdom factor will skyrocket. What lesson plan are you preparing this week?
9. Learn to trust your voice. I recently did a five-hour video shoot with my client, The Australian Institute of Management. During our lunch break, my cameraman, Derrick, made an interesting comment:
“On-camera work is a completely different animal than public speaking. You have to be quick on your feet and good off the cuff. The problem is, most people don’t have the confidence that when they open their mouth, something good will come out.”
What about you? Do you trust your voice? If not, consider these suggestions for doing so.
First, write every day. Doesn’t have to be much. Fifteen minutes is enough. You’ll discover two things: Writing is the great clarifier; and writing it makes everything you do easier and better – including trusting your voice in person.
Second, practice. Debate yourself. Grill yourself. Challenge yourself. Anything to acclimate yourself to articulating your thoughts clearly and quickly.
Ultimately, trusting your voice takes time, patience and practice. And here’s the best part: One day, two years from now, in the middle of a conversation with your boss, you’ll pull a one-liner out of your ass that’s so incredibly lucid and insightful, he’ll wonder if you accidentally slept on a dictionary.
You’ll give new meaning to the term “wise ass.” Are you prepared to sign your name under your voice and let the whole world know how you feel?
10. Establish your learning plan. I can’t tell you how to do this. It all depends on how you think, how you learn, what you need learn and why you want to learn it.
Instead, here’s a snapshot of my own learning plan to inspire your to do the same.
Reading: Five books a week.
Journaling: Thirty minutes, three pages, first thing every morning.
Writing: Four to seven hours a day.
Mentors: Fifteen people I regular converse with in person or virtually.
Mastermind: Three that I meet with throughout the year.
Speaking: Ten hours of preparation for each presentation.
Education: Three to five seminars a year.
Miscellaneous: Daily observation, note taking, question asking and research.
Now, that’s not the whole enchilada, but you get the point. And while I don’t expect you to copy or even emulate my learning plan, I do challenge to think about – and physically write out – your own.
Commit to doing that, and your wisdom will make your years look like days. What did you learn yesterday?
ONE MORE THING: Growing up doesn’t mean growing old.
That’s the only caveat: To make sure that your pursuit of wisdom doesn’t eclipse your practice of childlikeness.
Because the last thing you want is to position yourself as the precocious young genius that doesn’t know how to have any fun. Be sure to keep your inner child in check. Otherwise all the wisdom in the world won’t do you much good. You'll end up like one of those annoying, hyper-articulate child actors that people are tired of by the time they're twelve. (I'm looking at you, Haley Joel Osment.)
REMEMBER: Being wise beyond your years isn’t about the years themselves; it’s about what happened during those years, and how you reflect upon that.
Indiana Jones would be proud.
LET ME ASK YA THIS...
Are you making people forget your age?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS...
For the list called, "65 Things I Wish Somebody Would Have Told Me When I Started My Company," send an email to me, and you win the list for free!
* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur, Mentor
scott@hellomynameisscott.com
Thursday, September 23, 2010
61 Ways
from the DLM Blog:
Life isn't always hunky dory. No matter how good we are at what we do, and how well we plan things out, we do get stuck. That's when we need inspiration - inspiration to move on, to do what we are supposed to do, to start something new, to build what we were trying to build...inspiration to carry on with life.
This article has a number of tips to help you find inspiration. They are written keeping in mind everyone who's stuck at something, doesn't matter what it is, is looking to get inspired. Hope you find some of them useful.
1. Talk to someone you love.
2. Watch a kid play. Watch how he lives in the present, enjoying every moment.
3. Watch a movie.
4. Read a book.
5. Read an inspirational story.
6. Watch a TED video that inspires.
7. Watch a Youtube video that inspires.
8. Recall great moments from past.
9. Think about the things you are good at.
10. Strike up a conversation on Twitter.
11. Connect with someone on Facebook.
12. Join a LinkedIn Group.
13. Browse through Flickr photos that inspire.
14. Check out Boston.com's Big Picture.
15. Listen to music.
16. Attend a music concert.
17. Get back to that sport you stopped playing.
18. Read an autobiography.
19. Read about the life of your favorite sportstar.
20. Read about successes and failures.
21. Read about underdogs who overcame.
22. Find a date.
23. Get married and start a family.
24. Draw something.
25. Read about something you've never read.
26. Visit a place you've never visited.
27. Learn a language you thought you could never learn.
28. Get some inspirational wallpapers for your computer.
29. Read some inspirational quotes.
30. Take a walk.
31. Go on a long hike with a group of people.
32. Call up your old friends and relatives.
33. Sing out loudly.
34. Join a dance club.
35. Use StumbleUpon.
36. Go out with your camera and click some pictures.
37. Scour through the archives of your favorite websites.
38. Write anything. Don't think, just write as the thoughts come.
39. Meditate in solitude.
40. Spend some time with nature.
41. Break your routine. Do something unexpected.
42. Read poetry.
43. Watch a play.
44. Explore religion.
45. Exercise. Do yoga.
46. Scour through Delicious.
47. Watch the sunrise and sunset.
48. Volunteer for a noble cause.
49. Help someone with a task.
50. Teach and share knowledge.
51. Create a blog on Blogger or Wordpress.
52. Get started with Tumblr or Posterous.
53. Play with your pet.
54. Cook something amazing.
55. Celebrate a festival you've never celebrated.
56. Camp in the woods for a few days.
57. Form a new habit.
58. Quit something you've always been trying to quit.
59. Take part in a marathon.
60. Listen to what people around you have to say.
61. Remember, only Google has the answer to life, the universe and everything. ;)
Cheers,
Abhijeet
61 Ways To Find Inspiration When You're Stuck and Feeling Down
Posted: 15 Sep 2010 08:56 AM PDT
Life isn't always hunky dory. No matter how good we are at what we do, and how well we plan things out, we do get stuck. That's when we need inspiration - inspiration to move on, to do what we are supposed to do, to start something new, to build what we were trying to build...inspiration to carry on with life.
This article has a number of tips to help you find inspiration. They are written keeping in mind everyone who's stuck at something, doesn't matter what it is, is looking to get inspired. Hope you find some of them useful.
1. Talk to someone you love.
2. Watch a kid play. Watch how he lives in the present, enjoying every moment.
3. Watch a movie.
4. Read a book.
5. Read an inspirational story.
6. Watch a TED video that inspires.
7. Watch a Youtube video that inspires.
8. Recall great moments from past.
9. Think about the things you are good at.
10. Strike up a conversation on Twitter.
11. Connect with someone on Facebook.
12. Join a LinkedIn Group.
13. Browse through Flickr photos that inspire.
14. Check out Boston.com's Big Picture.
15. Listen to music.
16. Attend a music concert.
17. Get back to that sport you stopped playing.
18. Read an autobiography.
19. Read about the life of your favorite sportstar.
20. Read about successes and failures.
21. Read about underdogs who overcame.
22. Find a date.
23. Get married and start a family.
24. Draw something.
25. Read about something you've never read.
26. Visit a place you've never visited.
27. Learn a language you thought you could never learn.
28. Get some inspirational wallpapers for your computer.
29. Read some inspirational quotes.
30. Take a walk.
31. Go on a long hike with a group of people.
32. Call up your old friends and relatives.
33. Sing out loudly.
34. Join a dance club.
35. Use StumbleUpon.
36. Go out with your camera and click some pictures.
37. Scour through the archives of your favorite websites.
38. Write anything. Don't think, just write as the thoughts come.
39. Meditate in solitude.
40. Spend some time with nature.
41. Break your routine. Do something unexpected.
42. Read poetry.
43. Watch a play.
44. Explore religion.
45. Exercise. Do yoga.
46. Scour through Delicious.
47. Watch the sunrise and sunset.
48. Volunteer for a noble cause.
49. Help someone with a task.
50. Teach and share knowledge.
51. Create a blog on Blogger or Wordpress.
52. Get started with Tumblr or Posterous.
53. Play with your pet.
54. Cook something amazing.
55. Celebrate a festival you've never celebrated.
56. Camp in the woods for a few days.
57. Form a new habit.
58. Quit something you've always been trying to quit.
59. Take part in a marathon.
60. Listen to what people around you have to say.
61. Remember, only Google has the answer to life, the universe and everything. ;)
Cheers,
Abhijeet
 | Written on 9/15/2010 by Abhijeet Mukherjee. Abhijeet is a blogger and web publisher from India. He loves all things tech as long as it aids in productivity. He edits Guiding Tech, a blog that publishes useful guides, tutorials and tools. Check it out and subscribe to its feed if you like the site. You can also find him on Twitter. | Photo Credit: Faithful Chant |
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Tech Tuesday Tip
Tech Tips for the non-techie
On Labor Day, I was listening to an author talk to Diana Rehm on our local NPR station about how connected we are with the rise in technology and how we need time to disconnect.
Fortunately there is technology that helps you with that!
First my own personal story:
In 2003 I bought a couple of new computers including my first laptop, which needed a plug in wireless card to get online.
I'm on my 3rd or 4th laptop now, (I've kept this one for nearly 3 years).
Cell phones. I inherited a Trac Phone and a desktop computer when my Mom passed away in 2001. In 2002 I bought a regular cellphone for my wife and one for me. 4 years ago we switch carriers and got new phones and this summer I finally upgraded to a smart phone.
My radio station work requires me to use email everyday. Usually I use my laptop, as there are other programs on that computer that I use in conjunction with email for work.
My blogs are updated via my laptop and most of my Twitter, and Facebook activity is also done with my laptop.
However I have nearly 1200 Twitter followers and over 500 Facebook friends. How do I keep from it becoming overwhelming?
With Twitter, you get to decide who you are going to follow. It's not automatically reciprocal the way it is with Facebook. Twitter also lets you create lists. Everyone I decide to follow I place on at least one or more lists. These lists are fully customizable. I have a list of "Fort Wayne" people. I have a list of "Marketing-Advertising" people. But the key was to put everyone on a list.
Lists are limited to 500 people. But you can put people on more than one of your lists. And here comes the sneaky part. One of my lists is RF. These are the people that I am Really Following.
My RF List is fluid. People come and go on that list. I may drop someone from my RF list for awhile and then bring them back.
Facebook. I rarely use it, but since so many people are on it, I use it by default. I learned a few months ago, that you can block applications for games like Farmville and Mafia Wars from showing up on your Facebook home. Just visit the privacy settings and set them up.
Now to manage Facebook and Twitter, I use third party applications. On my laptop I use a program called Tweetdeck. (On my Droid phone I use Twicca for Twitter, while Tweetdeck continues to improve their Droid App.)
Tweetdeck is free.
Tweetdeck allows you to create customizable columns. I have 4 columns on my Tweetdeck.
They are Twitter/RF; Twitter/Mentions; Twitter/Direct Messages; and Facebook/Status Updates.
That's it.
I get an email when someone sends me a direct message on Twitter.
I can check my Twitter lists on my Droid if I want to.
But overall, I am not tied to my laptop or a screen which is good since most of my real work involving earning money is best done face to face with people in my own community.
How are you managing your connectiveness?
Monday, September 20, 2010
How to get rid of your Spud Butt
from the DLM Blog:
How to Get Fit When You're a Couch Potato
Posted: 11 Sep 2010 08:43 AM PDT
If you know you're not very fit – and some days you only walk from home to your car to your desk and back – then exercise advice can feel overwhelming.
After all, most of the books and blogs and podcasts about exercise are produced by keep-fit types. Thin, muscular, glowing with good health...
...and kinda annoying.
I know they don't mean to be. They're just sharing what they know and love. But the problem is, if you're a coach potato, it's easy to feel judged. And, it's easy to give up before you've even begun. You don't want to spend hours every week in the gym. You don't want a body like a magazine cover model.
You just want to feel comfortable in your own skin. You want to be able to run for the bus, or walk up stairs without getting breathless. You want to be a bit healthier, and a bit more energetic.
The truth is, you don't need to be a health nut and go all-out in exercising fanatically. It doesn't take much to go from couch potato to reasonable fitness. Here's how:
Start Really Small
The worst thing you can do when starting out is to get over ambitious. You're either going to injure yourself, or get exhausted and give up.
Even a tiny amount of exercise is vastly better than none. You might not be able to jog for half an hour – but perhaps you can run on the spot for five minutes. The thought of going to the gym might be enough to put you off "exercise" – but you could face taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
And yes, these little steps might not get you up to recommended exercise levels (around 30 minutes of moderate exercise, five times a week). But they're a start – and that's what matters.
Try Walking: Easy, Free, Painless
One of the best forms of exercise is incredibly simple: walking.
It's free. It's easy – you don't need any special kit or equipment, just comfortable clothes and shoes. If you have joint problems, you'll need to be careful and perhaps get medical advice – but for most of us, walking is painless.
Can you fit more walking into this week? How about setting a goal to walk for just fifteen minutes each day?
Make Your Daily Routine Work for You
You probably don't have a very active job. Most of us sit at a desk all day at work, and sit on a couch or at a computer when we get home in the evenings. And we tend to drive everywhere, too.
If you're struggling to find the time to exercise, see what activity you can fit into your day. You might be able to cycle to work, or walk part of the distance. Perhaps you can get out of the office for a walk at lunch time, instead of staying at your desk.
Most of us don't want to spend hours each day in the gym. But exercise doesn't have to take up a huge chunk of time. By fitting activity into your day, it becomes almost automatic – rather than something which takes a ton of will-power.
Don't Treat Exercise as a Chore
Some exercise advice focuses on constantly being better, leaner, meaner, relentlessly self-disciplined and pushing yourself harder and harder. And that can be a real turn-off, especially when you're just starting out.
Exercise isn't a job or a chore. It's perfectly OK to enjoy it! If you don't like a particular form of exercise, don't do it; I hate jogging, for instance. Find something which you like, and look for ways to make it even more enjoyable ... like buying headphones so you can listen to your own music in the gym, or playing a game with a friend instead of working out alone.
It's Never Too Late
Even if you've been unfit for years or decades, even if you've already got health problems due to your lack of fitness, it is never too late to change things. Of course, consult your doctor if you know that exercise could be problematic for you – but don't assume that there's nothing you can do.
Don't be put off by exercise nuts. It's perfectly possible to be fit, healthy and happy without spending hours working out. Take small steps. Get started today and, you never know, you might just find you enjoy it.
 | Written on 9/11/2010 by Ali Hale. Ali writes a blog, Aliventures, about leading a productive and purposeful life (get the RSS feed here). As well as blogging, she writes fiction, and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing. | Photo Credit: DaGoaty |
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Lessons from our Elders
from the DLM Blog:
7 Must Read Success Lessons from Ralph Waldo Emerson Posted: 07 Sep 2010 07:29 AM PDT  Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American philosopher, poet, lecturer, and essayist. Emerson is most noted for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was also regarded as a chief leader of individualism. Emerson circulated his ideas through dozens of published essays, and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States. Emerson gradually moved away from the religious and social beliefs of his contemporaries, expressing the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his classic 1836 essay, “Nature.” Considered one of the great lecturers of his time, Emerson had an excitement and respect for his audience that captivated the crowds. Emerson's work has influenced nearly every generation of thinker, writer and poet since his time. Without further a due, here are seven success lessons from Ralph Waldo Emerson. 7 Must Read Success Lessons from Ralph Waldo Emerson: 1. Thoughts Become Things “A man is what he thinks about all day long.” Anyone who has successfully changed a bad habit knows that right thinking is the foundation for change. This person knows that to the degree their thinking has changed is to the degree their desires have changed. Desires are birth from thoughts. What are you thinking about? Whatever it is, it is creating your life. What you ponder you become! Thoughts of success will produce success, and thoughts of failure will perpetuate failure. To change your life you must change your thinking. Thoughts are the root of all change. 2. The Compensation Principle “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” To help yourself you must help others. The quickest way to succeed is to genuinely help as many people as you can. Bill Gates has helped billions, which explains why he has billions. How many people are you helping? You will only be compensated in this lifetime for helping others. 3. Action Trumps Theorizing “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” It’s easy to sit around and theorize, but the reward is in the action. It’s imperative that you’re in action! Don’t just discuss your theories, test them, and test them today. Action always trumps inaction, get in motion, have some failures, and it time, success will be yours. 4. Build Something Better “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.” To succeed you must build something better. You must first use your difference to perceive something better, and then you must use your existing resources to build it. If you build well, you will be rewarded. Emerson said, “Doing well is the result of doing good. That's what capitalism is all about.” 5. Keep Good Friends “It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.” A large part of success is having good friends. A good friend is someone who you can be yourself with. You don’t have to put on a show, and you don’t have to be smart for a good friend. In the words of Emerson, “you can afford to be stupid with them.” Recognize your good friends, mark them, they are a part of your success. 6. Raise the Bar “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” If you’ve ever done any serious weight training you know that your muscles won’t grow if you keep on doing the same thing. They will max out! As in the gym, so it is in life. If you don’t stretch yourself, if you don’t get out of your comfort zone and do what you haven’t done before, you will never grow. So commit to raise the bar today, stretch your horizons, and you will stretch your life. 7. Start Small “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” It’s okay to start small. What’s small today will one day be enormous, if you stay consistent. Don’t be concerned with your current size; be concerned with the direction that you’re traveling in. If you’re going in the right direction, you will eventually get to your goal. You will eventually become, what you were destined to become. At last your greatness will be revealed. Thank you for reading be sure to “tweet” or “share” on FaceBook!
 |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)