Summaries from getabstract.com 1 1. How to take smart Notes-------------------------------5 2. Atomic Habits -----------------------------------------10 3. How to read books /Adler ------------------------------13 Power up your brain -------------------------------------22 Overcoming Addicition -----------------------------------28 5Sec Rule -----------------------------------------------34 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Artists --------------------37 Steal like an artist ---------------------------------------39 The Death of the Artist -----------------------------------44 Mindful Self-Discipline -----------------------------------48 GTD ----------------------------------------------------55 No Excuses /Bryan Tracy ---------------------------------58 Deep Work ----------------------------------------------64 The Procrastination Cure ---------------------------------71 The Motivation Myth ------------------------------------77 Bullet Journal -------------------------------------------83 ADHD at Work -------------------------------------------86 The Cognition Crisis --------------------------------------88 Manage Your Day-to-Day --------------------------------90 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People --------------------95 The 48 Laws of Power ------------------------------------102 Peak ---------------------------------------------------107 This Idea Is Brilliant -------------------------------------113 Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers ------------------------------119 The Power of Full Engagement ----------------------------125 The Secrets You Don’t Know About Negotiation -------------134 Unlabel /Marc Ecko --------------------------------------138 Soundtracks --------------------------------------------143 Thinking, Fast and Slow ----------------------------------149 The Simplicity Principle ----------------------------------155 Barking Up the Wrong Tree -------------------------------160 7 Things Resilient People Do Differently--------------------166 Talent Is Overrated --------------------------------------172 Rich dad poor dad ---------------------------------------179 Eat the frog ---------------------------------------------182 2 Kiss That Frog! ------------------------------------------187 Manage Your Mind --------------------------------------193 The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck-------------------------198 Finish --------------------------------------------------203 The Obstacle is the way ----------------------------------209 Time Power /Bryan Tracy ---------------------------------216 I don’t agree --------------------------------------------222 Say less - get more --------------------------------------228 Ego is the Enemy ----------------------------------------234 Ego check ----------------------------------------------241 Courage is calling ---------------------------------------246 Make it stick --------------------------------------------252 The burnout x ------------------------------------------257 Hyper-Learning -----------------------------------------263 So good they can’t ignore you / Cal Newport ---------------269 Flow /Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi ----------------------------275 Unlimited memory ---------------------------------------279 5% More ------------------------------------------------285 Embrace the chaos --------------------------------------291 Aware --------------------------------------------------298 Mind hacking -------------------------------------------301 Simple Habits for Complex Times --------------------------307 Lifescale -----------------------------------------------313 5am club -----------------------------------------------317 You are awesome ---------------------------------------322 the 10x rule --------------------------------------------328 How to Talk to Anyone -----------------------------------334 Nudge --------------------------------------------------338 managing your own mind --------------------------------343 The art of thinking clearly --------------------------------358 the power of habit --------------------------------------363 willpower ----------------------------------------------366 The mental toughness -----------------------------------372 art of saying no -----------------------------------------376 get it done ----------------------------------------------380 fi 3 the 4 disciplines of execution ----------------------------389 the one thing -------------------------------------------394 The habit of courage -------------------------------------400 becoming bulletproof ------------------------------------405 perfectly con dent -------------------------------------409 tness habit --------------------------------------------414 Subtract ------------------------------------------------419 Thrive --------------------------------------------------422 the creative thinking ------------------------------------426 the big strecth ------------------------------------------430 my morning routine -------------------------------------434 how to learn anything.. fast ------------------------------439 start with why ------------------------------------------441 nd your why -------------------------------------------446 the purpose effect --------------------------------------450 mindset ------------------------------------------------455 open to think -------------------------------------------460 multipliers ---------------------------------------------463 essentialism --------------------------------------------468 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management 471 the little book of stoicism --------------------------------477 the bravest you -----------------------------------------485 pause breathe choose -----------------------------------489 think like a monk ----------------------------------------495 stillness is the key --------------------------------------498 creativity code -----------------------------------------504 win at all costs ------------------------------------------512 Courage to be disliked -----------------------------------517 sapiens ------------------------------------------------522 hyperfocus ---------------------------------------------528 man's search for a meaning ------------------------------534 how to begin --------------------------------------------546 the laws of human nature --------------------------------558 4 fi fi fi achievement habit --------------------------------------383 1. How to take smart Notes Researcher and author Dr. Sönke Ahrens explores the meaning of writing and discusses how to write effectively using the “slip-box system.” He explains how to follow the lead of Niklas Luhmann, a prolific author and sociologist who produced 58 books in 30 years. Luhmann’s slip-box, notetaking system allowed him to connect notes he’d made from his readings with other information from a variety of contexts. Whether you follow this manual’s process or create a digital version, the concept remains the same. It starts with writing notes about what you read and tracking how they intersect, which makes this illuminating for students, academics, researchers, businesspeople and other writers. Take-Aways • • • • • Your willpower has limits; your ability to think does not. Niklas Luhmann, who created the “slip-box system,” wrote 58 books in 30 years. Follow the steps of the slip-box system to prepare and write nonfiction material. The slip-box system increases your freedom to explore ideas. To master the slip-box system, always read “with a pen in hand.” Summary Your willpower has limits; your ability to think does not. Many self-help books on writing focus on what to do when you confront a blank page. They overlook the potential of creating an informationgathering process that ensures your page isn’t blank when you begin. Most writing manuals omit an important part of academic, research, business or non-fiction writing: taking notes. Bad note-taking has no immediate repercussions. The problems appear later, when you attempt to write a cogent work based on flawed notes. At that point, many people will reach for a how-to book so they can get on track. But by then, it’s too late. You write daily. For many people, writing is akin to breathing. If you hit a snag when you begin to write, it may be because you’re trying to retrieve arguments and points of information from your head. Combining smaller points and referring to the material you have already written might make writing significantly easier. “ The key to successful writing lies in the preparation.” To have these smaller pieces ready to use, you need a system that allows you to concentrate on ideas and arguments instead of trying to remember 5 minutiae, which most people can’t retain anyway. Having a powerful information retrieval system helps you write without significant energy or willpower. It allows you to enter a state of “flow,” wherein the work itself pulls you forward. This process isn’t about planning, which limits your flexibility and saps your energy. Instead, become an “expert” by structuring your information supply to enable you to concentrate on creating a new understanding of your topic. The slip-box system provides a simple way to deal with the complexity of academic, research, business and non-fiction writing. It links your notes in an external manual or digital system, allowing you to connect disparate pieces of information and leaving your brain free to concentrate on ideas. Using a slip-box doesn’t mean redoing everything you’ve done; it means modifying your workflow moving forward. As with any change in how you work, you may find it initially awkward, but it will soon become routine. Niklas Luhmann, who created the slip-box system, wrote 58 books in 30 years. German sociologist and author Niklas Luhmann developed this system to support his learning and writing. Luhmann was the son a German brewer. After getting a law degree, he worked in a government office while spending his free time reading about “philosophy, organizational theory and sociology.” He wrote notes as he read, but realized he couldn’t access them easily. He started annotating his notes with a number and putting them in a box. This led him to realize that subject categories weren’t linear. An idea from one subject often proved relevant in another context, so he changed his annotation method to record new ideas and indicate connections among the notes. His slip-box became a “dialogue partner…and productivity engine.” In the late 1960s, Luhmann wrote up his research findings and gave the information to a distinguished German sociologist, Helmut Schelsky, who encouraged Luhmann to take a position as a professor of sociology. Luhmann demurred, since he had neither a doctorate nor the additional thesis required. But within a year, he had both. He achieved this remarkable feat by using his slip-box system. In 1968, Luhmann became a sociology professor at the University of Bielefeld. Luhmann’s life-long project, studying the “theory of society,” explored “law, politics, economy, communication, art, education, epistemology,” among other subjects. His was groundbreaking work. Unlike many academics who wring as many works as possible from one idea, Luhmann never ran out of new concepts. When he died, he left numerous nearly completed manuscripts on other subjects. Unlike many academics today, who often 6 collaborate on published works, Luhmann was the sole author of his books and papers. How was Luhmann able to be so prolific and consequential? By making his writing effortless. “I only do what is easy,” he said. “If I falter for a moment, I put the matter aside and do something else.” This attitude reflects the findings of various studies of highly accomplished people. They apply a martial-arts mentality to avert “resistance” instead of pushing through it. Luhmann developed simple way to work that added value to every step, especially when connecting complex ideas. “Writing notes accompanies the main work and, done right, it helps with it.” He used his main box for individual ideas based on what he read. He kept another box for bibliographical information. He wrote each note in complete sentences and limited any note to one page. Instead of organizing his slip-box topically, he gave his notes numbers and letters. When he included a note, he linked it to other notes in the box. Writing notes in your own words allows you to make sure you understand a concept fully. The act of externalizing what you know by writing notes deepens your comprehension. Writing notes isn’t the goal; notes are a consequence of your reading, thinking and learning. Collating your notes in a slip-box provides a structure for working with them outside your brain. Follow the steps of the slip-box system to prepare and write non- ction material. Follow these simplified steps to use the slip-box method to create any nonfiction work. Everything starts with learning to take smart notes. 1. Write any ideas that come to you as “fleeting notes” – Jot them down in a notebook or on a scrap of paper. They serve to remind you of an idea. “Process” them later. 2. When you read, create “literature notes” about the content – These notes should include elements you might use in your work. Write concisely to convey the meaning of what you read. Keep these notes with bibliographic information from the book. 3. Daily review your fleeting notes and literature notes – Reflect on how they connect with your work. How does the new information affect your current ideas? For each idea, write one “permanent note” that you will put in your slip-box system. Write these in full sentences with sources and references indicated. Throw away your fleeting notes and file the literature notes along with relevant bibliographic information. 4. File and link your notes – Luhmann created his slip-box manually, but free computer programs, such as Daniel Lüdecke’s Zettelkasten, smooth the process of creating and referring to your fi 7 notes. The software enables you to file and link permanent notes behind numerous other notes. If you’re saving a new line of thought, file it behind the last note in the system. Link it to your index. 5. Develop your projects from the “bottom up” – Even when you’re starting out, you will have ideas for projects to add to your box. Use your slip-box system, whether manual or digital, to modify your initial idea whenever you uncover information that leads in another direction. Because you are reading and creating notes that add up, the information and the links in it lead to new, better questions to investigate. 6. Write based on the information in your system – When you have researched and noted enough information to decide on a writing direction or subject, your writing is now grounded in information you have on hand versus an unfounded supposition. Look through the links in the system and collect the information by copying it to the Zettelkasten or similar desktop – if using a computer. Due to your method of connection, much of the information is already organized. Check what information might be missing, and do more research if necessary. 7. Using the notes, create an initial draft – This document should contain your argument as constructed from your notes. When you find problems with your assertion, add information, do more research or change your assertion. 8. The last stage is to edit your manuscript and start on the next one – These steps outline a linear process, but in most cases, you won’t be working on only one idea. The slip-box method allows you to work on numerous projects at one time. You will move between ideas without losing your place or momentum. Your process requires only four tools. Your first tool is the ideas you write down – fleeting notes. You can use a phone, computer or tablet instead of pen and paper, but gather the notes in one place. Your second tool is a reference management tool such as Zotero, which is free and available for multiple platforms. Using this tool, add notes and link them to your reference material. “Good tools…help to reduce distractions from the main work, which here is thinking.” The third tool is your slip-box. If you prefer to do the work manually, use an actual box. Otherwise, Zettelkasten is free and easy to use and follows Luhmann’s process.While software makes adding links and formatting easier, a greater boon is that it’s more portable. The last tool is an editing program. Programs such as Microsoft Word, OpenOffice and others are compatible with the Zotero program. Writing with software that can access your reference system makes annotations easier. 8 The slip-box system increases your freedom to explore ideas. As you add notes to your slip-box and link them, your system becomes exponentially more valuable. It becomes a repository for ideas you may have forgotten that you can easily access. “The slip-box is designed to present you with ideas you have already forgotten, allowing your brain to focus on thinking.” By contrast, if you organize information based on topics, you make your brain responsible for remembering what information you put where. Working with Luhmann’s system leaves your brain free to think along the lines of the linked notes in your system. To master the slip-box system, always read “with a pen in hand.” People who write successfully follow certain guidelines. The first is to understand how the brain works. Multitasking, which includes interruptions from emails or texts, cuts your productivity by 40%. Shortterm memory has its limits, also. To retain information, transcribe what you read in your own words and put its ideas into context. When you transcribe information into the slip-box process, this frees your mind to stop thinking about it. This counters the “Zeigarnik effect” – when your short-term memory tracks tasks you haven’t completed. When you write a note and add it to the slip-box, your brain believes you’ve completed the open issue. When you move ideas out of your brain and into the slip-box, you “forget them,” which, strangely, improves your “long-term learning.” Psychologists once found a man who remembered conversations verbatim. However, because he was unable to forget anything, he couldn’t zero in on the relevant information or context from a conversation or book. For him, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was not about tragic love, but concerned only two feuding families. The ability to forget information helps you let go of data that isn’t relevant to a given situation. Transcribing what you read in your own words means you understand what you’ve read; this proves beneficial to your work. “While writing down an idea feels like a detour…not writing it down is the real waste of time.” When you turn to your slip-box to generate ideas, don’t use it as an “archive.” It should be a place to explore your thoughts and change your understanding of a topic as you learn more. Use it to create a “latticework” of ideas instead of simply facts. Connect your notes, and build your theories based on the information you record to nourish your learning cycle. 9 Stories of scientific breakthroughs often describe a moment of inspiration that resulted in a discovery. But any insight is the culmination of time spent researching and thinking about an issue. The slip-box allows ideas to interact in ways that helps generate new insights. Perhaps the most important factor in creating a slip-box is to embrace the process. Instead of internally mandating new routines for researching and reading, incrementally create new habits to replace the old. When you sit down to read, pick up a pen and paper. Then, you’ll more readily write down ideas, put them in the slip-box and link them to other notes. About the Author Education and social science researcher Dr. Sönke Ahrens also wrote the award-winning Experiment and Exploration: Forms of World-Disclosure. 2. Atomic Habits Best-selling advice guru James Clear offers a workable manual for ending bad habits and creating healthy habits. Given the booming market in advice relating to business and individual habits, it’s hard to name one advice guru who stands atop the heap – but James Clear is a worthy candidate. With more than a million copies sold of this New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller – one of Fast Company’s Seven Best Business Books of the Year – a website with millions of monthly views, a for-pay newsletter and his business consultancy – The Habits Academy – Clear is a one-man advice industry. His advice is simple and clear. This is a manual – a practical guide. He embraces a methodical system designed to overcome how today’s media-rich world has shortened the human attention span and left you prey to your own most spurious impulses. You may find a Zen calm by following Clear’s counsel. He advises living in a more conscious way by replacing your less than helpful habits with those that nourish your life. 10 Glamour.com wrote, “Clear will show you how to overcome a lack of motivation, change your environment to encourage success, and make time for new (and better) habits.” And Ryan Holiday, author of Ego is the Enemy, called it, “A special book that will change how you approach your day and live your life.” Small Steps Clear points out that frequent repetition automates behaviors, turning them into habits. The author argues that most people try to change their habits by listing “what” they want. His alternative to this practice centers on “who” a person wants to become through creating “identity-based habits.” Your identity emerges out of your habits. Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. JAMES CLEAR For example, people who take pride in their athletic skills will vest in habits that maintain their physical ability and identity as athletes. Changing a Habit Clear maintains that daily routines represent an individual’s identity. He reminds you that the quest to change revolves around who you wish to be; making small changes helps you achieve that identity. Building Habits When you encounter a situation, your brain determines how to react. Clear says that when it decides to enact the same behavior repeatedly, the behavior becomes the standard solution in that situation – a habit. Habitual, automated performance decreases your stress and “cognitive load.” Genes do not determine your destiny. They determine your areas of opportunity. JAMES CLEAR Habits, Clear reveals, follow a four-step process: “Cue, craving, response and reward.” Cues are the activators; cravings are the motivators. Responses are the answers that yield a reward. Clear structures his advice around “The Four Laws of Behavior Change”: “Make It Obvious” 11 Clear describes how the brain operates by absorbing information, analyzing it and acknowledging repetitive experiences. Thus, he teaches, repeated experiences culminate in a habit, because the brain identifies a recurring situation and reacts in a standardized way. To eliminate a bad habit, Clear instructs, remove the cues that trigger it. He explains, “It’s easier to avoid temptation than resist it.” “Make It Attractive” Clear details how, when you experience pleasure, your brain’s reward system releases dopamine. This makes you likely to repeat a rewarding experience. Desire is the engine that drives behavior. JAMES CLEAR But, Clear reveals, when you merely plan to repeat a pleasant action, you get a dopamine hit then, even before you start. Thus, the expectation itself becomes rewarding. That’s why, the author asserts, it’s easier to form a habit when it’s attractive. “Make It Easy” Clear defines a habit as a repetitive behavior you perform so often it becomes automatic. And, he notes, frequency is key. Because the brain seeks to conserve energy, he recounts, it selects options that require the least effort. Choose the path of least resistance. Start small, the author recommends, by engaging in the relevant activity for two minutes. To break a bad habit, make it more difficult to perform. “Make It Satisfying” Behavioral change works through repeating behavior that is “immediately rewarded” and by avoiding behavior that is “immediately punished.” Clear explains that the brain craves quick success, even in small increments. Habits change, he says, when people find the alternatives “attractive, easy and obvious.” Good Habits Every behavior requires mastery exercised in small, continuous steps until the activity turns into a good habit. This is bedrock Clear: over time, good habits become mindless, everyday practices. Two Minutes While not offering much innovation, Clear delivers an inspiring pep talk. His enthusiasm makes you want to start right away and put his 12 recipes into practice. Although Clear refers to the science underlying the nature of habits, he focuses on practical guidance and presents useful examples to illustrate its key concepts. He links to further resources on his website, which offers templates and bonus chapters. One of our greatest challenges in changing habits is maintaining awareness of what we are actually doing. JAMES CLEAR Anyone who has the intention to change something in his or her life – but has struggled to get started – will appreciate Clear’s counsel. It’s encouraging to hear that an investment of as little as two minutes can be the starting point for achieving remarkable change in the long run. And even if you knew this already, it’s reassuring to learn that the little, “atomic” things in life count. Though the advice world is a crowded field, stand-out ancillary reads include Frank Rivers The Way of the Owl and Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements. A popular book with a different take on developing organizational habits is The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. 3. How to read books /Adler According to the late professors Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren, schools don’t teach the higher-level reading skills you need to engage with and enjoy both informational and enlightening literature. You also need such skills to tackle books you might at first think are beyond your understanding or energy. Those very books, the authors say, ultimately provide the most profound, lasting insights. This manual outlines a systematic approach to help you build and sustain new reading abilities. These skills will help you connect with the most difficult, complex or multi-level works. First published in 1940, this revised edition radiates an enjoyable, rare tweedy-professor ambiance. In keeping with the biases of an earlier era, every pronoun is “he” and the prime reading list from the European and American canon has only two women (Jane Austen and George Eliot). Anachronisms duly noted, this clear manual still will serve any 13 reader pursuing personal growth and excellence. Executives, managers and entrepreneurs will especially benefit from increasing their reading comprehension and retention. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Reading well is better than reading widely. Generally, US schools do not teach reading skills beyond elementary school. Most people can read at a ninth-grade level, but you can achieve higher levels. To read actively, write down your thoughts and questions about a book’s contents. To see if a book is worth reading, “inspect” it with “systematic skimming” or “pre-reading,” to scope out its plan and design. Read the great books analytically, seeking enlightenment, not information. To read a book analytically, ask four crucial questions: What is it about? What does it say? Is it true? Does it matter? To see what a book really says, seek its ideas, assertions and arguments. What “terms, propositions and arguments” does it use. You truly understand a book’s point when you can paraphrase it in your own words. At the highest reading level, you can synthesize several books’ arguments. To do so, treat each one with the “syntopical” process: find the good parts, define the terms, develop propositions, consider the issues and analyze your findings. Summary Skillful Reading When you’re curled up with a good book, reading can feel relaxing and effortless. For many people, however, a book is just a first-class ticket to slumberland. But a wondrous alternative awaits – even for reluctant readers. You can learn 14 to embrace reading at a more skillful level that offers much greater rewards, including knowledge, self-awareness and inspiration. “In tackling a difficult book for the first time, read it through without ever stopping to look up or ponder the things you do not understand right away.” When you read skillfully, you read “actively.” You’re awake and focused. Instead of passively absorbing information, you collaborate with the author. The writer provides the material, but you analyze it, argue with it and question it. Instead of merely adding to your store of information, you increase your comprehension of yourself and your world. “Elementary Reading” Unfortunately, most readers never learn how to gain this level of joy and wisdom from reading. Reading education in the US focuses on the skills needed at a beginner’s elementary reading level – the ability to recognize words, comprehend sentences and derive the meaning of new words from context. Once you can read at that level, you’re pretty much on your own. Most high schools and colleges in the US offer no instruction in higher levels of reading. The idea is that the basics are sufficient if you are reading for amusement or information. But, to increase your understanding, you must attain higher levels of reading skill. “Inspectional Reading” Imagine you are at a bookstore contemplating whether to buy a certain book. How can you determine, in a short time, if you’ll find the book worth reading? The answer is to “inspect” the book by using “systematic skimming” – or “pre-reading.” Sometimes you’ll be able to get everything you need from a book by skimming it. Other times you’ll decide to bring the book home for a more careful perusal. “We must become a nation of truly competent readers.” 15 Pre-reading is highly active; you approach the book like a detective sniffing out evidence. Start by examining the title page and preface for clues to the book’s subject and its perspective. Read the table of contents and index. Both can reveal the breadth of the territory the book covers. Read the publisher’s blurb. Although the blurb is mostly a marketing tool, it reveals what’s inside the book and explains why it might be worth your time. At this point, you can probably deduce which chapters will matter most to you. Quickly read through these chapters’ introductory and concluding paragraphs. Then flip through the book, sampling sentences or paragraphs. Read the final few pages with care since that’s where many authors sum up their argument. “Good books are over your head; they would not be good for you if they were not.” Even when you plan to read a book carefully, give it a prereading. The insights you’ll gain into the book’s plan and design will provide a useful map for your journey deeper into the book. The other skill associated with the inspectional level is “superficial reading.” When you are reading a difficult book, you might stop when you encounter an unfamiliar term so you can look it up. Or you may want to take time to ponder a complex concept. These habits break your reading momentum and your connection with the book. By pausing and shifting your attention, you lose the flow of the work. Trying to eliminate each obstacle as you encounter it can be so frustrating that you might just toss the book aside. Instead, give the work a first, superficial reading, plowing straight through what you understand and what you don’t. Then give the book a more careful read. Once armed with a superficial understanding of the whole, you’ll be in a better position to untangle the more intriguing aspects or mysterious knots during a deeper, second read. “Analytical Reading” 16 At this stage, you thoroughly dissect a book, discovering its structure and outlining – and judging – the author’s arguments. At this level, you read for enlightenment. That requires an active effort to wrest every drop of understanding from the book, regardless of how long it takes. When you read a book analytically, ask four crucial questions that cover the analytical basics. 1. “What Is the Book About as a Whole?” Start analyzing a book by answering the first essential question. Identify the author’s main point and how he or she develops that theme. “The sentences important for you are those that require an effort of interpretation because, at first sight, they are not perfectly intelligible.” Begin by inspecting the book. Look for clues to what kind of book it is by checking the title, the preface and the table of contents. Determine whether it is fiction or an expository book. If it is expository, is it history, science, biography or another genre? Is it theoretical or practical? A theoretical book aims to convey knowledge for its own sake. A practical book shows you how to turn knowledge into action. “Enlightenment is achieved only when, in addition to knowing what an author says, you know what he means and why he says it.” Next, look at the book with “X-ray eyes” to discern its theme: the underlying structure that holds the entire work together. You should be able to summarize this main point in your own words in a few paragraphs or less. List the parts of the book. Outline how they relate to each other and how each division and its subdivisions support the overall structure. “Ask questions while you read – questions that you yourself must try to answer in the course of reading.” 17 The final component of this analytical stage is divining the author’s intentions. See if you can summarize the questions the author attempts to answer or the problem he or she has set out to solve. Decide whether these are theoretical questions such as “Why does X exist?” or practical questions like “What is the best course to take?” 2. “What Is Being Said in Detail, and How?” The second element in analyzing a book requires asking what it really says, down to the smallest elements, and uncovering its ideas, assertions and arguments by examining these rhetorical building blocks: • • “Terms” – Find the most important words in a book. Determine how the writer uses them and what he or she means by them. Deal with language the author uses and also consider the “thought behind the language.” A word that has one meaning in everyday conversation may take on a different meaning in a book. In Darwin’s Origin of Species, for instance, the important words include “variety,” “selection” and “adaptation.” Your task is to figure out the technical meaning that Darwin assigns to these everyday words. A good author will try to alert you to any special intent, but an analytical reader should apply rational thought and imagination to ferret out the author’s meaning. “Propositions” – Next, scope out the book’s most crucial sentences. These will likely contain the author’s propositions – the ideas he or she finds most meaningful. Earlier, you tried to determine what questions the author hoped to answer. Think of propositions as the answers to those questions. The writer should back up these propositions with evidence and examples. To find a book’s critical sentences, look for those that are not completely comprehensible. It’s likely you will have the most trouble grasping concepts and ideas the author regards as most important. Another tip-off is that a proposition is likely to contain the pivotal terms you 18 • identified earlier. You can feel satisfied that you understand a proposition when you can paraphrase it in your own words and come up with your own examples to illustrate it. “Arguments” – An argument consists of a series of propositions that leads toward a conclusion. The author may state the argument in a single, complex sentence or stretch it over several paragraphs. If the argument appears scattered across various places around the book, track them down and synthesize them into a coherent whole. Make a note in the margin when you come across a proposition that builds the argument. Review each proposition. You should understand the entire argument well enough to restate it in a nutshell. 3. “Is the Book True, in Whole or Part?” Once you’ve performed your rhetorical analysis, identify which problems you think the author solved and which ones remain mysteries. In the last stages, talk back to the book, offering your criticism and judgment of what you read. Address the third essential question, “Is it true?” 4. “What of It?” How does the book matter or what is most significant about its contentions? When you feel confident you understand the book, respond to questions three and four by taking one of these “critical positions”: • • You agree with the author – If you agree with the book’s argument, you have finished the analytical reading. You don’t agree – In this case, hold an argument with the author’s conclusions. To do so fruitfully, avoid contentiousness. Acknowledge your emotions about the issue so you can stick to reason, rather than feelings, in your assertions. Acknowledge and reveal your assumptions – unless you recognize that, given your prejudices, you can’t give the author’s conclusions a fair 19 • hearing. Finally, aim for impartiality by sincerely attempting to understand the author’s point of view. You suspend judgment – Abstaining also can be an act of criticism. Abstention says the book didn’t offer enough for you to judge its soundness. “Syntopical Reading” At this highest level, you will be able to read a range of books on a subject and synthesize their arguments into something new. Start with a problem you want to solve or a question you want to answer. Draw up a list of books that might address that problem. Most likely, you’ll come up with an unwieldy bibliography to winnow down. Draw upon your inspectional reading skills to determine which books merit a closer reading. “What is true of ordinary conversation is even more true of the rather special situation in which a book has talked to a reader and the reader talks back.” When you’ve compiled a catalog of the books that seem most relevant to your inquiry, subject them to the five-step syntopical process: 1. Find the good parts – The goal of syntopical reading is not to understand the whole book. The goal is to use the book to solve the problem you set or to answer your question. Use inspectional reading to identify passages most pertinent to your investigation. 2. Define your terms – The authors in your bibliography may use different words for similar concepts. Synthesize a “neutral terminology” that is not specific to any author but that can incorporate concepts from any of them. 3. Develop propositions – Do the same when you identify a list of propositions. Devise neutral propositions that may not come from any single author but to which each author may contribute answers. 4. Consider the issues – You can delineate an issue whenever you discover a question that different authors 20 answer different ways. Map out and compare the disagreements. 5. Analyze – Organize the issues, and outline how they relate to each other. Why Bother? The higher levels of reading require mental effort. This intellectually rigorous process is worthwhile because learning the skills of inspectional, analytical and syntopical reading opens a path for you to follow into the great books: the books that will teach, inspire and satisfy you simply because they are over your head. “The reader must do more than make judgments of agreement or disagreement. He must give reasons for them.” Like the body, the mind grows stronger with exercise. Unlike the body, the mind’s expansion has no limits. Books can provide the mind-stretching exercise that ensures your growth, and a great book can offer an unending source of such growth. Reading a great, rich book once is usually not enough. Every time you return to such a book, you’ll discover something more – new ideas, concepts and deeper truths that are – again – just beyond your current knowledge. About the Authors Mortimer J. Adler (1902-2001) was a philosopher and a professor at Columbia University and the University of Chicago. Charles Van Doren (1926-2019) taught at Columbia University and the University of Connecticut and was assistant director of the Institute of Philosophical Research. 21 Power up your brain In Power Up Your Mind, Bill Lucas attempts to teach readers how to learn. To accomplish this goal, he sets out to provide a blueprint to the workings of the human brain through easy-to-grasp descriptions and illustrations designed to explain how the brain ingests and processes information. What’s lacking is a comprehensive review of the basic theories of learning that experts have deduced from the biological structures and mental functions that Lukas describes. Nevertheless, getAbstract recommends this book for its theoretical insights and practical advice about learning and memory. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Human brains like to explore and understand the world, make connections, create patterns and imitate. They don’t perform well under excessive stress. People have three brains: the reptilian brain, which handles basic functioning, the limbic brain, seat of the emotions, and the cortex, the center of higher learning. The left side of the brain primarily handles logic and rational processing; the right brain primarily handles creative and associative processing. Learning starts with unconscious incompetence - in which you don’t know what you don’t know - and evolves through several steps to unconscious competence. To improve your learning, work with your brain’s natural processes, like its propensity to create and identify patterns. There are several techniques that you can use to prepare your mind for learning. Starting with the big picture makes learning easier by providing context. Five factors contribute to effective learning: resourcefulness, remembering, resilience, reflectiveness and responsiveness. The three basic mindsets for learning are: ready, go and steady. To memorize, fix the information in your mind, review it and develop memory pegs. Summary Understanding Your Mind 22 Most people know more about how their cars work than how their minds work. To improve your ability to learn, you must first understand how your mind works. The common notion of intelligence has been warped by the widespread acceptance of Alfred Binet and William’s Stern’s IQ or intellectual quotient. IQ as a measure of intelligence places too much importance on the use of language and figures at the expense of other types of intelligence like creativity, common sense and control of emotions. “Learning to learn is learnable.” Psychologists have identified at least eight types of intelligence, and scholars like Daniel Goleman are paying more attention to new concepts like emotional intelligence. Paul Maclean has proposed that every person actually has three brains, rather than one: 1. The primitive or reptilian brain, which sits at the bottom of your brain and governs your most basic survival instincts, such as the fight-or-flight response, blood circulation, breathing and digestion. 2. The limbic brain, which sits like a collar on top of the reptilian brain, processes emotions, sensory input and long-term memories. Human beings share this brain with most mammals. 3. The cortex, which is the outer brain wrapped around the limbic brain, is responsible for advanced learning and higher-order thinking and functioning. “Now that ideas have become the currency of success, it is even more important that we copy and learn from other people’s. Whereas the theft of a thing leaves an obvious debt, the imitation of an idea simply breeds more ideas and leaves the original intact.” Your brain is also divided into two parts that each handles different functions. Your left brain mainly handles sequential, mathematical and logical processing, while your right brain is more creative and associative in its workings. Your left brain is more logical and rational, makes judgments and houses your intellectual functioning. Your right side is the source of your intuition and imagination. Your right side is also characterized by playfulness and its ability to create new patterns and solutions. 23 “When your brain is under severe stress, it can only think of survival.” According to one popular theory developed by Ned Hermann, who worked at General Electric and applied ideas about brain functioning to the workplace, your brain can be divided into four quarters. People can be similarly divided into four groups, based upon which quarter of their brains are dominant. “To ensure that your brain is powered up, you need to give it as many new experiences as possible.” Hermann proposes the following groups: 1. Logical, analytical and mathematical – You are a factfocused problem solver. 2. Imaginative, synthesizer and artistic – You are drawn to big picture and theoretical thinking. You are full of ideas and drawn to fantasy. 3. Controlled, conservative and a planner – You are a process-focused organizer and administrator. 4. Interpersonal, emotional, musical and spiritual – You are a good communicator, emotionally aware and focused on your feelings. Common Patterns In evaluating theories of learning, it’s important to know how these biological and functional structures translate into behavioral characteristics. Human brains share characteristics not only in the processes through which they work, but also in resultant thinking patterns. “Pattern making is at the heart of your brain’s filing system, its ability to make sense of what it has learned.” These basic characteristics are the critical foundations to any effective learning theory: 1. The brain likes to explore and understand the world, so give your brain as many new experiences as possible, along with the time to make sense of them. 2. Your brain likes to make connections, so it will often fill in the gaps, even when it is lacking information. 3. Your brain likes to create patterns and make sense of what you have learned. 4. Your brain likes to imitate what it perceives. 24 5. Your brain doesn’t operate under excessive stress. The optimal environment for effective learning is a balance between a high challenge and low threat. Getting Ready to Learn To learn effectively, you must be internally and externally ready. In other words, the things going on in your mind and the things going on around you must all be conducive to learning. Internally, you need to be motivated and curious. “Brain + Personality = Mind.” You must also be largely free of fear and stress. Some amount of stress - in the form of a challenge - often can motivate learning, but it’s clear that any excessive amount of stress inhibits learning. Low self-esteem can also pose a barrier to learning. As a result, some people will need to overcome their esteem problems through methods like cognitive behavioral therapy or neurolinguistic programming before they are able to improve their ability to learn. “A model of how we learn - Ready, Go, Steady - can help you transform the way you perform.” Improving your ability to learn requires the acquisition of some basic skills, including: • Resourcefulness. • Remembering. • Resilience. • Reflectiveness. • Responsiveness. These skills are combined and exploited in a process that includes three phases, each of which correspond to a particular mindset: 1. Ready – You must be in the right emotional state so you can start learning. You must be in an environment conducive to learning and, most importantly, you must actively switch on your mind. 2. Go – Once you’re ready, you’ll need to be able to employ a wide range of techniques and understand how you learn and express your own creativity. You also need staying power and the ability to deal with success and failure. 3. Steady – After you learn something, you must reflect on it and apply it to your own life. “Spiritual intelligence is about the capacity to make meaning. It is linked to the capacity to see lives in wholes, not fragments, and to regenerate ourselves.” 25 Being optimistic contributes to learning, whereas being pessimistic will impede it. Exercising your brain improves its performance, just like any other muscle. Some scholars like Danah Zohar and Ian Marshall now contend that a sense of meaning - or spiritual intelligence - can improve your ability to learn. As psychologist Carl Rogers concludes, learning combines "the logical and intuitive, the intellect and the feelings, the concept and the experience, the idea and the meaning." Switch On Your Mind Once you understand how your mind works and have achieved a state of internal and external readiness, it’s time to switch on your mind. In other words, you must actively engage your mind and prepare to act. “In too many businesses, learning to learn is not rewarded. Yet, if learning is the single most potent form of competitive advance in the Knowledge Age, it is surely what should be measured and monitored.” To do this, follow these steps: • • • • • • • • Understand what motivates you among the fundamental human drives, which include curiosity, family, distress avoidance, independence, order, power, prestige, social acceptance, social contact and spirituality. Reward your own learning with extrinsic and internal rewards. Use the RVPI+M formula to increase your motivation. This refers to your R (Readiness to learn), V (anticipated Value of the learning), P (Probability of the learning being effective), I (likely Impact of the learning on your life) and M (your Motivation to a particular learning opportunity). Get the big picture first, so you understand why you are learning. Balance challenge and threat to create a high-challenge, lowthreat environment. Find places to learn that are conducive to learning, like home, work, or a library. Determine how you learn best: alone or with others; through research or from a teacher. Overcome any barriers to learning, including responsibilities that interfere. “Learning to learn involves learning to develop the full range of your intelligence in your work and in your personal life.” 26 There are many everyday considerations that affect how well you learn. For example, getting enough water - about eight glasses every day and a balanced diet helps the brain function properly. Laughter, music and adequate sleep also serve to feed the mind. Going For It Think of learning as an active process that starts from an actual experience, followed by a learning cycle as proposed by the Swedish knowledge expert Klas Mellander. This continual cycle has at its base motivation. As a result of your motivation, you acquire information, process it and eventually experience a conclusion or "aha" moment, in which you convert experience and insight into knowledge. The cycle continues as you convert knowledge into skills and attitude, and finally gain feedback through which you reflect and refine what you learned, producing the motivation to learn again. The process of learning progresses through four steps: 1. Unconscious incompetence – You don’t know what you don’t know. 2. Conscious incompetence – You realize what you don’t know. 3. Conscious competence – You pay attention to what you are learning and practice to gain mastery. 4. Unconscious competence – You have achieved an unconscious mastery. Your learning style is influenced by three main factors: where you prefer to learn, how you take in information most easily and how you handle the information you have taken in. For example, some people are visual learners, while others rely more on sound. People can be divided into four categories based on the way that they process information: 1. Activists – Tend to act first and think later. 2. Reflectors – Like to absorb and think about data before making a decision. 3. Theorists – Like to think about things in a sequence or fit things into patterns. 4. Pragmatists – Like to try out new ideas and experiment. Improving Your Learning Ability 27 The first step in learning anything new is to pay careful attention and fix the information in your memory. This isn’t as obvious as it sounds, because the brain works according to its own set processes. For example, the brain tends to remember the first and last things that it observes. Working with that process, it makes sense to break down large volumes of information - like the content of a long meeting - into a series of manageable, bite-sized chunks. This will provide more beginnings and endings for the brain to latch onto. It will also provide you with the opportunity to identify and create patterns between the information bites - capitalizing on another natural propensity of the brain. Finally, use memory pegs like acronyms to help you recall a sequence of items. Buttress this process with the qualities of persistence, creativity and flexibility. Maintain your persistence by adopting a spirit of adventure - keep yourself interested and focused by trying new things. By keeping yourself open to new ideas and concepts, you can bring your own creativity to bear. A sense of adventure and creativity will help to keep your brain flexible - ready to change, adapt and learn. About the Author Bill Lucas is the founding CEO of the Campaign for Learning. He is a well-known speaker, facilitator, strategist and consultant in the learning field, and he has advised many organizations, including Lloyds TSB, Accenture, Centrica, BT, and the Department of Trade and Industry and Education in Great Britain. He is co-author of more than 20 books, including The Future of Corporate Learning. Overcoming Addicition Addictions to alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, gambling and sex destroy millions of lives every year. In clear language, counseling psychologist Michael Hardiman explains the physical and psychological components of addiction and details why some people are particularly vulnerable. He is not concerned with offering broad solutions to this monumental social problem. Instead, he wants to help individual addicts and their loved ones untangle themselves from the web of addiction. If you think you or someone 28 close may be addicted to substances or behaviors, getAbstract strongly recommends this primer on the nature of addiction. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • The desire to seek pleasure or relieve pain fuels addiction. Addicts use denial and rationalization to avoid acknowledging their problems. Drug addicts try to duplicate the pleasurable feelings they initially experienced but cannot. Television and the Internet can be addictive. All addictions alter the brain’s chemistry. Addictive relationships are potentially life threatening. Few addicts can recover without the support of others. Boredom is a significant problem for most addicts. Legal drugs damage society much more than illegal ones. You can’t force addicts to change. They must make the decision themselves. Summary The Slippery Slope Science has not determined exactly why some individuals become addicted to a substance or activity and others do not. Nor is it clear why the intensity of an addiction differs from person to person. But without a doubt, dependence creates negative behaviors that harm addicts and those around them. “In general, becoming addicted is a gradual process, measured by the intensity of the compulsion, the depth of the dependence and the degree of destructiveness.” These are the four primary elements of addiction: 1. “Compulsion” – Addicts feel they must engage in their addictions. Although they are making a conscious decision, the drive is overwhelming. 2. “Dependence” – Addicts believe they’ll experience negative consequences if they don’t act on their addictions. 3. “Regularity” – Addictive behavior is a constant in the addict’s life. However, frequency can range from three times a year to every day. 4. “Destructiveness” – Addicts’ quality of life inevitably deteriorates, although the deterioration can be either rapid or gradual. Factors in Addiction Professionals look at addiction differently depending on their orientation. Some medical doctors believe that addiction has a genetic component. 29 Psychologists point to emotional and societal issues. Religious leaders cite moral shortcomings. “Some people seem to be more prone to chemical addiction than others.” Pinpointing one cause for addiction is impossible, but three factors always figure into the equation: 1. The characteristics of the abused substance – Chemicals that quickly leave the body, such as nicotine, and substances that deliver short, intense highs, such as crack cocaine, are highly addictive. 2. The addict’s motivation – People seek excitement or euphoria, they want relief from emotional or physical pain, need self-assurance, a sense of control or a way to fill a spiritual void. 3. The addict’s susceptibility to dependence – Due to their brains’ chemistry, some people are particularly vulnerable to certain chemicals or activities, such as gambling. How Dependence Takes Hold Addicts often have fond memories of their first drink or pill. The “high” transported them to a new and wonderful place where they could forget their troubles, and they are constantly trying to recreate those feelings. “A very common cause of addiction is the use of chemicals or addictive behavior to relieve emotional pain.” Certain kinds of personality changes are typical of addiction: • • • • “Denial” – Addicts often resist facing their pain or admitting they have a serious problem. They refuse to face reality, even when others clearly recognize personality and behavioral changes or deteriorating physical health and appearance. “Rationalization” – Individuals in the early stages of addiction frequently try to justify their behavior. The businessman who has a double scotch every day after work says it relaxes him. The food addict says eating helps her cope with the demands of her young children. Addiction can cause ethical human beings to rationalize stealing from their parents or robbing convenience stores. “Minimization” – Addicts claim that their addictions are minor issues. Potheads don’t make the connection between regular smoking and their lack of motivation or even employment. They insist that tobacco is far more dangerous than marijuana. “Projection” – Addicts take out their frustrations on others or blame the world for their problems. They refuse to take responsibility for their own behavior or misdeeds. “Addiction usually brings an increase in the use of denial by the addict as a defense mechanism to protect himself from the negative consequences of addiction.” 30 Physical symptoms of addiction usually are quite noticeable, although you should never be quick to judge. Wild mood swings, red eyes, runny noses, sleeping late, constant fatigue, loss of appetite, compulsive lying and sudden weight loss are typical of drug addictions. The signs may be less noticeable in people whose addictions are to activities such as gambling or sex. In these cases, typical life changes include severe financial problems or long absences from work. Chemical Abuse Mood-altering substances affect brain chemistry differently and change emotions, thinking and functioning to varying degrees. “The negative impact on society and on human life from the use of illegal drugs is minuscule in comparison to the damage from those that are legal.” Some of the most commonly abused chemicals include: • • • • • Alcohol – Ethanol, the active ingredient in alcoholic drinks, is a potent depressant that affects brain and body functions. Small amounts of alcohol lower inhibitions and brighten moods. Larger amounts lead to an increasing loss of control, including slurred speech, aggressive behavior and poor judgment. In many cases, alcoholism is progressive. Alcoholics risk losing their jobs, families or even their lives. Nicotine – This is the active ingredient in tobacco. It is a highly addictive stimulant that travels almost directly to the brain through smoking. Despite documented health risks, millions of people continue to smoke and incur massive medical bills. Nicotine is particularly dangerous as it creates both psychological and physical dependence. Tranquilizers – People often abuse benzodiazepines, anti-anxiety prescription medications such as Xanax and Valium. Addicts develop a tolerance for tranquilizers and must ingest greater and greater quantities to attain the initial effect. Tranquilizers also cause withdrawal symptoms. Sleeping pills such Halcion and Royhypnol fall into the tranquilizer category. Amphetamines – Originally manufactured to treat asthma and later used as diet pills, these powerful stimulants can be extremely dangerous. They produce an exhilarating high while boosting mental and physical prowess. However, they also cause anxiety and paranoia. The severe withdrawal symptoms often lead users to turn to tranquilizers for relief, leading to “cross addiction.” Antidepressants – Though these commonly prescribed drugs do not produce a high, they are addictive because of their effect on the level of serotonin, the brain chemical that influences mood, according to some experts. Some individuals who quit taking antidepressants suffer wild emotional swings and physical discomfort. 31 • • • Opiates – Heroin is the most widely abused of the drugs that imitate the natural endorphin high that pleasurable activities, such as sex or physical exercise, produce in the brain. Users build up a tolerance and can suffer excruciating withdrawal symptoms. Hallucinogens – Drugs such as LSD and psychedelic mushrooms alter the user’s perception of reality and can be dangerous, even though they are not physically addictive. Marijuana, used recreationally by millions all over the world, is “mildly hallucinogenic” and can cause psychological dependence. Psychostimulants – Addiction to cocaine, which produces a heightened sense of well-being, can be rapid and devastating. Ecstasy, a powerful amphetamine and hallucinogen combination, can cause serious physical problems. Addiction to Behaviors Although the outward signs are far less noticeable, psychological addiction can wreak great havoc. The compulsion to engage in destructive behavior can be just as strong as the urge to drink alcohol or snort cocaine. “Children whose intellect and brain functions are still being formed are particularly vulnerable to computer game addiction.” Like chemical abusers, individuals with psychological addictions are treating their emotional anguish. The most problematic psychological addictions include: • • • • • • Gambling – Winning and losing is secondary for the compulsive gambler, who is addicted to the “action.” These individuals are so entrenched that not even the prospect of losing their families and material possessions can stop them. Eating disorders – Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are insidious body-image disorders that can be extremely difficult to treat longterm. Anorexics compulsively starve themselves while bulimics binge and purge, setting in motion a potentially life-threatening cycle. Shopping – Shopping and buying provides pleasure and distracts individuals from their problems. Whether they actually need the items is secondary to the experience. The small screen – Some individuals need the constant stimulation of a television or computer. They find quiet unnerving. Sex – Some people use sexual hookups, pornography and fantasy in a vain attempt to compensate for lack of intimacy. They lose sight of normal sexuality, and their behavior can be damaging to their relationships and mental health. Work – Workaholics sacrifice their health and family relationships chasing financial security and fulfillment at the office, even if they realize that work will never bring complete satisfaction. 32 • Relationships – People in dysfunctional relationships may be suffering from low self-esteem or have a high pain threshold. They sometimes remain in relationships despite physical and emotional abuse. The Road to Recovery Addicts can only begin the journey to health under two conditions: They must admit they have a problem and they must be willing to change. Most addicts find the motivation to quit when their habits jeopardize their health, families or livelihoods. A small percentage of those severely addicted to alcohol, heroin, cocaine or pills require hospitalization to clear their bodies of toxic substances. In addition to the primary effects of their addictions, poor diet and erratic sleep habits can contribute to toxic buildup. Healthy individuals are less prone to the negative physical and emotional effects that can stall recovery or even trigger relapses. “Very few people can make significant changes in their lives without the support or influence of others.” Recovering addicts must change their surroundings and the people with whom they socialize. Almost every American soldier who regularly used heroin in Vietnam stopped within a year of returning to the different social setting of the U.S. Thus, alcoholics trying to quit drinking often avoid bars, nightclubs and restaurants, where familiar sights, smells, sounds or tastes, or an encounter with a former drinking buddy, can spark a relapse. Even a whiff of tobacco can entice a former smoker to pick up a cigarette in a weak moment. Addicts who decide to change often benefit from the support and guidance of peer self-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. People who have been through recovery can help others. They understand the importance of creating a recovery plan that includes a structured daily routine with limited distractions. Ultimately, however, addicts must be self-motivated and view their recovery as a longterm project that will continue to unfold. Keeping Your Distance Few experiences in life are as sad as watching a loved one destroy his or her life through addiction. Friends and family members often expend a great deal of emotional energy before realizing that they are powerless to halt the addiction’s onslaught. “People in addictive relationships do not have a secure sense of their own identity.” If someone close to you is an addict, maintain your own mental and emotional health by following these guidelines: • • Do not pretend that the problem doesn’t exist. Learn all you can about the addiction and enlist the aid of a specialist counselor. 33 • • • • • • Do not engage in “enabling” behavior by giving the addict money or in any way facilitating his or her substance abuse. Join Al Anon, Nar Anon or similar support groups that address the problems and issues of individuals who have close relationships with addicts. Calmly explain to the addict that you believe he or she has a problem and needs help. Nagging is not effective. In fact, it’s counterproductive. Do not allow the situation to continue indefinitely. Addicts living in denial will make your life miserable. Insist that they leave your house. Do not allow the addict to threaten or abuse you. Contact the police. Be aware that you can’t convince, cajole or force the addict to change. You can control your behavior but not that of others. About the Author Michael Hardiman is a counseling psychologist who practices in Ireland. He is the author of Healing Life’s Hurts. 5Sec Rule by David Meyer Mel Robbins’s mega bestseller details how you can gain courage, overcome procrastination and improve your health just by saying five little words. Readers have bought more than two million copies of acclaimed motivational speaker Mel Robbins’s self-help classic, The 5 Second Rule. It has been translated into more than 30 languages, and received, across a variety of formats, more than 100,000 five-star reviews. Clearly, Robbins’s ideas created a niche. A big niche. Millions of people credit the author’s simple countdown technique with solving their anxiety and procrastination issues, while boosting their selfconfidence. Robbins details how she herself overcame financial and psychological challenges by thwarting her brain’s negative orientation and finding the courage to honor her instincts and pursue her dreams. She urges you to do the same. Redemption Robbins recounts how her life fell apart in 2009 as her husband’s pizza restaurant business lost money and she was an unemployed attorney. The 34 bank had placed a lien on her home, she drank at night to cope with depression and couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. Her marriage was suffering. Things appeared hopeless. Then, one night, Robbins saw a TV commercial depicting a rocket launch. The announcer counted down to blastoff: 5-4-3-2-1! Robbins told herself she would blast out of bed like a rocket the next morning. Robbins explains that a potent psychological connection exists between instinctive action and goal-setting. Your goal-related impulses, urges and instincts are there to guide you. You need to learn to bet on them. MEL ROBBINS The next morning, Robbins counted backward from five. Then she got out of bed. That marked the launch of the “5 Second Rule.” Robbins explains that this simple act can profoundly affect your mentality and behavior. Counting backward disrupts your thought patterns, moving you away from your excuses. She describes the 5 Second Rule as a “starting ritual” that stimulates your brain’s prefrontal cortex – the seat of cognitive control. You have only five seconds between your impulse to take action and your brain shutting that impulse down with excuses. By counting down, Robbins contends, you focus your brainpower on the change in behavior you’re about to instigate. She maintains, and her readers’ reviews fully agree, that your productivity and confidence will grow exponentially. The author first mentioned the 5 Second Rule in 2011 during her TEDx Talk, “How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over.” Her speech triggered a viral online response. Robbins’s consequent research into the science of this rule showed that people hesitate when facing a challenging or unsettling scenario. Anxiety and insecurity can flood your system, causing self-doubt to short-circuit good intentions. Nothing but Feelings Feelings prevent people from taking the initiative, Robbins reveals, even when they know how to fix their problems. She notes that people typically base their decisions on feelings, not intuition, logic or common sense. She cites neuroscientist António Damásio, who regards humans as “feeling machines that think,” not “thinking machines that feel.” Change your behavior first because when you do, you change how you perceive yourself. MEL ROBBINS Robbins asserts that the 5 Second Rule enables you to push past moments when your feelings scream at you to avoid action. She exhorts you to 35 implement the 5 Second Rule tomorrow morning by setting your alarm for half an hour earlier than normal. As soon as it rings, do your countdown and get out of bed. Integrating this rule into your daily routine will increase your productivity, and, the author insists, help you overcome interruptions and distractions. Robbins admits that it won’t be easy; you just have to do it. Procrastination Procrastinating, Robbins explains, doesn’t mean you’re lazy or a poor planner. It’s a mechanism for dealing with stress. However, when work you avoid starts piling up, it elevates your stress level, and thus makes you procrastinate more. If you want to improve your life, you’ll need to get off your rear end and kick your own butt. MEL ROBBINS Robbins urges procrastinators to let go of guilt. Picture yourself in the future after you finish the task you can’t seem to finish, she says, and vest in the 5 Second Rule as your starting ritual to get going. Worry Negative thoughts arrive unannounced, often repeatedly, when your mind is occupied elsewhere. Robbins acknowledges that you may have to evoke the 5 Second Rule multiple times a day to combat anxiety. When your mind takes you somewhere sad, dark, doubtful or negative, you don’t have to go with it. MEL ROBBINS When you replace your gloomy thoughts with grateful ones, you can focus on the positive aspects of your life. Grateful feelings alter your brain chemistry and trigger the release of dopamine – a feel-good hormone. And that, Robbins says, makes you want to be even more positive, healthy and productive. Genius In decades gone by, the most crucial career survival skill for a non-fiction writer was the ability to stretch a magazine article into a full-length book. Malcolm Gladwell is the avatar of this skill, and his continued success speaks to his mastery of it. But today, with attention spans shortening every second, that crucial skill has mutated. Today’s writers must be able to stretch a TEDx Talk into a full-length book. And at this contemporary skill, Robbins is a genius. Her brilliance manifests, for example, in her remarkable understanding of how to build her brand and her empire of 5 Second Rule books and games. 36 If you can change your morning routine, you can change anything. MEL ROBBINS Robbins could easily detail her thematic idea in a 20-minute talk. And she seems to recognize this, given how much secondary psychological and philosophical padding she wraps around her revolutionary, easy and effective method of changing your life. In this, she evokes Brené Brown, whose many tangents often prove equally fascinating and who offers, as does Robbins, an array of esoteric experts to cite in furtherance of each book’s thesis. Robbins, like Brown, is a lively, charming writer who offers continual compassion to her readers and encourages them to extend compassion to themselves. This makes her prose all the more intimate-seeming, and her sound advice easier to follow. Mel Robbins’s spinoff universe offers Stop Saying You’re Fine, The High 5 Habit, The 5 Second Journal, various editions of The 5 Second Rule Game and multiple Audible 5 Second products. The 7 Habits of Highly E ective Artists While it’s unclear whether the seeds of creative talent are innate or acquired, Blender Guru founder Andrew Price believes that artists can grow and improve by changing their behaviors to work more effectively. Though his advice treads well-worn ground, Price provides some useful reminders that may inspire doubting artists to stay the course. getAbstract recommends his advice to artists, writers and anyone striving to turn a creative hobby into a career. Take-Aways • • • Making art requires daily discipline. Churn out a large portfolio of work to maximize your learning rather than wasting time honing each composition. Effective artists borrow techniques and ideas from other creators whom they admire. The more artists you imitate, the more original your work will seem. Mindlessly practicing your craft for hours on end won’t improve your skills. You must make a conscious effort to learn new techniques to get to the next level. ff 37 • • Take a break from rough drafts of your work so you can review them with fresh eyes. Solicit critique from experts, and absorb their advice. “Create what you love.” To produce your best work, let your “personal intrinsic motivation” guide you. Summary Becoming an effective artist requires developing good behaviors and working hard. Adopt the following seven habits to keep moving forward on your creative path: 1. “Daily work” – Find time to work on your art every day rather than, say, setting aside a large chunk of time at the weekend, a plan that rarely unfolds as you intended. You may feel tired after a long day at the office, but simply laying out the tools you need to engage in your creative project will motivate you to work for an hour or two. 2. “Volume, not perfection” – Artists’ pursuit of perfection often undercuts their progress. To reach the next level of mastery, you must churn out a large portfolio of work, as Pablo Picasso did. Many artists spend the majority of their time honing their works’ finer details. Yet learning and growth occur mainly at the beginning of a creation. The more work you produce, the better your chances of constructing a masterpiece. 3. “Steal” – No good idea is truly original. Effective artists borrow techniques and ideas from other creators whom they admire. Save examples of works you respect, and refer to those compositions when you need to draw fresh inspiration. The more artists you imitate, the more original your work will seem. 4. “Conscious learning” – Practice alone doesn’t make perfect. For instance, no matter how much time you dedicate to mindless doodling, you won’t improve your drawing. Unless you challenge yourself to develop new approaches and techniques, your skills will plateau. Engage in conscious learning to progress. 5. “Rest” – Detach yourself from rough drafts of your work for a spell so you can review it later with a fresh perspective. Once Stephen King has written the first draft of a novel, he sets it aside for six weeks. That distance allows him to return to it with a critical eye. 6. “Get feedback” – Great artists solicit and heed feedback. They recognize that first drafts are merely launching points for excellent work. Kanye West collaborated with 38 artists and producers in the creation of his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album, which many consider the best hip-hop record of the past 20 years. 7. “Create what you love” – Director Christopher Nolan is fascinated with the workings of the human mind, and his movies explore this theme. Entrepreneur Elon Musk is fervent about advancing humanity, and his firms pursue this passion. These creators would produce mediocre work if “personal intrinsic motivation” didn’t guide them. 38 About the Speaker Artist Andrew Price created Blender Guru, an instructional website that educates artists in Blender, a 3D computer graphics software product. Steal like an artist Artist and poet Austin Kleon writes in an accessible, breezy, conversational shorthand. Few of his sentences run longer than eight words, and his message is simple: Learn all you can, develop a library of influences and never stop believing in your own creativity. His best advice to artists – get out of and stay out of your own way – recurs throughout the book in various forms, and Kleon offers simple, effective methods to do just that, organized as 10 creative spurs. His little sketches and profound, often humorous quotes from great thinkers and artists from across the centuries feature throughout this pocket-sized guide to unleashing your inner Picasso. While Kleon’s unchanging tone can feel a bit precious, getAbstract still recommends carrying his guidebook around for boosts of creative confidence and doses of friendly, workable commonsense advice. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • To nurture your creativity, follow these 10 tips: First, understand that all artists steal from material that inspires them. “Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started.” Self-knowledge comes from creative action. “Write the book you want to read.” If you’re stumped creatively, work on whatever is the most fun. “Use your hands” to get the physicality back into your creativity. Your work and your interests can meld to create something totally new, so “side projects and hobbies are important.” When you “do good work…share it with people” online. Find inspiration on the web. “Leave home.” To be creative, you may have to hit the road. “Be nice,” because the world is so small now that, more than ever, manners matter. “Be boring.” A routine and a paying job can fuel your creative work. “Creativity is subtraction.” Cull what’s unnecessary, and leave what’s brilliant. Summary Creative License 39 Artists and creators throughout history have known that, as Pablo Picasso said, “Art is theft.” Every innovator has built on the work of others, using ideas, formats or things in fresh and exciting ways. Originality doesn’t exist. Everything is a confluence of influences, thefts, mutations and interpretations. Even the Bible says, “There’s nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Whether you’re an artist or you’re simply looking to add some creativity to your life, consider these 10 ideas: 1. “Steal Like an Artist” First, start by looking around for something worth appropriating. If copying, altering or borrowing it has no value, look for another inspiration. Regarding the world through the prism of “Is it worth stealing?” will keep you from wasting time wondering if something has intrinsic or aesthetic value. What matters is whether it serves you. And it needn’t even help you today. Remember what you reject; you might want to pinch it “tomorrow or a month or a year from now.” “Every artist gets asked the question, ‘Where do you get your ideas?’ The honest artist answers, ‘I steal them’.” Once you acknowledge that what you create will never be unique, any fear of owning and accepting your influences will vanish. You are the sum of your family genetics and of your “genealogy of ideas.” You choose the experts you listen to, the music that moves you, the books that stimulate you, the art that speaks to your soul, and the movies you must see again and again. These influences, along with a variety of others, shape your artistic identity – your creative roots. “You are...a mash-up of what you choose to let into your life.” Don’t try to learn the entire scope and legacy of the art you hope to make; you’ll drive yourself crazy with overload. Pick “one thinker – writer, artist, activist, role model” – who profoundly affects you. Learn all you can about that person and his or her influences. Study those influences and learn who influenced them. “Climb up the tree as far as you can go.” Once you’ve climbed high enough, create your “own branch.” “Your job is to collect good ideas. The more good ideas you collect, the more you can choose from to be influenced by.” When you’ve established your set of creative ancestors, honor them. Regard yourself as the continuation of their work. Put photos of the artists you love around your workspace. Select what you want these artists to teach you and ignore everything else. Read as much as you can. The books you start out with may not help you immediately, but they will definitely take you to the ones that will help you the most. “The great thing about dead or remote masters is that they can’t refuse you as an apprentice. You can learn whatever you want from them.” Always carry a pen and paper to write down whatever occurs to you wherever you have an idea. Never be self-conscious about it – you are making yourself smarter and more observant. Note the conversations people are having as they pass by. 40 “Copy your favorite passages out of books.” Photograph what catches your eye. Maintain a “swipe file” – a notebook or tape recorder or cellphone in which you store the ideas you steal from other artists and from the world around you. 2. “Don’t Wait Until You Know Who You Are to Get Started” You may not fully know yourself, and if you expend all your energy navel-gazing, you never will. Self-knowledge derives from action – creative action. Nobody can tell you where “the good stuff” springs; it comes from being present and doing your work. Think later – work now. “You are only as good as the stuff you surround yourself with.” Behaving like a writer or a musician or an artist will get you to your own style, so “fake it ’til you make it.” Practice makes perfect. Emulate those who inspire you, but don’t slavishly copy their work; because people aren’t able to imitate anything perfectly, the results you get will be uniquely yours. Try to understand your idols’ motivations and worldviews. If you can see the world through their eyes, you’re on your way to getting to the heart of creativity. 3. “Write the Book You Want to Read” When writers wonder what to work on, other writers or teachers often tell them, “Write what you know.” That is the worst possible advice. Never mind what you know – write what you’d like to read. Write what makes you smile when you read it. Write what makes you want to read more and write more. If you’re stumped creatively, pick whatever is the most entertaining to you – not the hardest or the most profound, but the most fun. “Don’t worry about doing research. Just search.” For example, indulge in “fan fiction”: Come up with the sequel to a popular movie or book. Compose your favorite band’s next album. Study your inspirational gurus’ work and figure out where you’d make improvements or additions. “Do the work you want to see done.” 4. “Use Your Hands” Work produced on a computer is too abstract. To experience all the joy and knowledge that comes from creating, you must use your hands. “You need to find a way to bring your body into your work.” Your brain learns from your body just as your body learns from your brain. Pick up your drumsticks or your paintbrush or your welding torch or just your pen and paper – get the physicality back into your creativity. “Your morgue file is where you keep the dead things that you’ll later reanimate in your work.” Author Austin Kleon’s first book was a collection of poetry he made by blacking out lines from newspaper stories with a marker. That gave him full tactile engagement with his materials – cutting newspapers, wielding the marker, combining two different lines to make a third – thus following the crucial creative formula, “1 + 1 = 3.” 41 “If I’d waited to know who I was or what I was about before I started ‘being creative,’ well, I’d be sitting around trying to figure myself out instead of making things.” Try making a workspace with two sides, one “analog” and one “digital.” Your computer and electronics live on the digital side. All the work you do with your hands – which can include writing drafts in longhand or drawing cartoons – happens on the analog side. Keeping these worlds separate nourishes your creative impulses. 5. “Side Projects and Hobbies Are Important” The things you do when you’re avoiding activities you think you’re supposed to be doing will invariably turn out to be your most important work. That’s why you should never restrict yourself to one project at a time. The activity you pick up to distract yourself from your main work may be what your heart most desires. When you have several projects going on at once, you can “practice productive procrastination” on one by working hard on another. And “if you’re out of ideas, wash the dishes.” “Nobody is born with a style or a voice. We don’t come out of the womb knowing who we are. In the beginning, we learn by pretending to be our heroes. We learn by copying.” Don’t ignore something you’re passionate about to focus on something else. Your work and your interests can meld to create something totally new. Don’t discard what moves you, including hobbies. A hobby is creative work that won’t bring you money or fame, but “it makes you happy.” If you like to play the guitar, for example, go jam with your friends on weekends. All these aspects – your hobbies, passions and procrastinations – are manifestations of your creative self. “Don’t worry about unity – what unifies your work is the fact that you made it.” 6. “The Secret: Do Good Work and Share It with People” When you toil in obscurity, you get to make all your mistakes in private. Plus, you can do whatever you want. Work hard at your art every day. You will get better. And when you do, share it. At one time, you had to find a gallery to show your art or a club that would let your band play or a magazine that would print your articles. Now it’s simpler: “Put your stuff on the Internet.” “Your hands are the original digital devices. Use them.” Sharing your work online requires two steps: 1) “Wonder at something” and 2) “Invite others to wonder with you.” Think about things and ideas that move you or are on your mind. If nothing’s on your mind, don’t worry: You will find ideas to discuss simply by putting yourself out onto the web. The Internet is a potent “incubator” for work you may not even know you’re about to start. Some people fear that going online will drain their creativity, but it’s more likely that the Internet will inspire you. “A hobby is something that gives but doesn’t take.” Absorb and learn all the necessary technical web skills. Create your own website; learn about social media and blogging. Spend only as much online as makes you 42 comfortable. If you don’t want to share your full concepts, instead offer some tips or links to help others. Don’t worry about people poaching your ideas: “You can share your dots without connecting them.” 7. “Geography Is No Longer Our Master” Location means little today. The world is your world, and the world you make is the world people come to visit. No matter where you live or how alienated you might feel from your surroundings, a community of like-minded souls is only a click away. If the physical world discourages you, create your own realm. Fill your area with art, movies, music and books that make you feel whole. “All you need is space and time – a place to work, and some time to do it.” “You don’t put yourself online only because you have something to say – you can put yourself online to find something to say.” And whether you’re ready or not, you eventually have to “leave home.” You must shed your normal routine and most-loved places to go spend time around people who don’t think like you. Going to new places makes you new and makes your “brains work harder.” As for where to go, “bad weather leads to better art,” so consider someplace where the summers are hot and steamy or the winters are dark and cold. Find a place where artists, writers and filmmakers congregate. It helps if the local cuisine rocks. “You have to find a place that feeds you – creatively, socially, spiritually and literally.” And, wherever you go, your online community will still be there. 8. “Be Nice” The world is so small now that, more than ever, manners matter. If you speak poorly of someone online, they will know it all too soon. To crush your online enemies, pretend they don’t exist. To gain new buddies online, say something kind about them. If somebody makes you mad, don’t respond; head for your workspace and let your anger fuel your work. Find people online who are “smarter and better than you,” and, when you find them, listen to what they’re talking about. If, over time, you come to realize that you are the smartest person who’s doing the best work, find somewhere else to hang out. “Freedom from financial stress also means freedom in your art.” You will go through long stretches during which no one will care about anything you do, say, build or post. To get through those lonely days, create a “praise file.” Keep emails or tweets or notes that say nice things about your work. Delete anything unkind immediately. Save your praise file for a day when you’re feeling down or discouraged. Then read through all that wonderful encouragement – and believe every single word. 9. “Be Boring” The biggest problem with pursuing the myth of the self-destructive artist is that, sooner or later, you will self-destruct. Your energy is precious. Apply it to your art, not to burning yourself out. 43 “In this age of information abundance and overload, those who get ahead will be the folks who figure out what to leave out.” Taking care of yourself also means taking care of your finances. “Do yourself a favor: learn about money.” Track your expenditures. Keep away from credit cards, expensive coffee and fancy electronics. If you can’t make a living from your art, employment will keep you sane and properly disciplined: “A day job gives you money, a connection to the world and a routine.” If you cover your expenses, you never have to compromise on your art for money. You can create what you want until your work is so good you can live off the proceeds of selling it. But how do you find time for your creative pursuits if you have a job? Surprisingly, a routine helps you be more productive, because a schedule lets you identify the finite amount of time you have to devote to your passions. Diligently work that period of time every single day, even on holidays or when you’re ill. Soon enough, you won’t even notice you’re working. 10. “Creativity Is Subtraction” Paradoxically, restrictions – even conceptual ones – can focus your creativity. Author Dr. Seuss took on his editor’s dare to write a children’s book using just 50 different words; Green Eggs and Ham is now a classic. Cull what’s unnecessary from your work, but leave what’s brilliant. Use what you have now to create. Cut back on your most ambitious ideas. Less is more. About the Author Work by artist and writer Austin Kleon has appeared in The Wall Street Journal and on PBS NewsHour and NPR’s Morning Edition. He is also the author of Newspaper Blackout. The Death of the Artist by David Meyer Essayist and critic William Deresiewicz offers a depressingly realistic assessment of the agonies of earning a living as an artist. Award-winning essayist, critic and bestseller William Deresiewicz warns that big tech only wants to pirate art, so that it can make more money. As a result, artists can’t make a living. The author sees today’s artist as a paid producer. But, he insists, artists must regard themselves as workers and organize to undermine big tech’s cultural monopoly. Deresiewicz’s analysis pre-dates the pandemic, which further decimated the arts economy, but his overview remains relevant for artists, nonprofit leaders and everyone who 44 cares about art. His promise: Pay artists to make art they love, and they’ll make art you love. Deresiewicz’s book drew admiring reviews from a fascinating mix of readers – art critics, authors, musicians, choreographers – those who learned the hard way about making a living as an artist. Art Is Work Artists should get paid. They invest in their own work, and with the money they earn from the “culture industry” – publishers, record companies, art galleries and television – they finance their lives and their next projects. If art is work, then artists are workers. No one likes to hear this. WILLIAM DERESIEWICZ Almost no artists are middle-class. They’re either poor or wildly successful. Funding for the arts in the United States across all levels of government totals only $1.38 billion – 0.0066 of the GDP. Artists must be entrepreneurs. If they don’t work, they don’t earn. Where Artists Live The cost of living has been rising everywhere, but nowhere as quickly as in the cultural hubs of Los Angeles and New York. Rent is a major problem, since artists need living and studio space. The expectation is that artists must dwell near their patrons, publishers and galleries. But galleries and publishers are also suffering as increasing amounts of international money “parks” in big population centers, driving up rents for residents. One result is that more than 20% of music venues in New York have closed since the early 2000s. In San Francisco, a 2015 survey found that 70% of artists had experienced being evicted from their homes or studios. The solution for artists is to leave urban centers and start new communities in less-frequented locations with affordable rents. Artists have found Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Denver, Austin, Oakland, Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Anchorage, Alaska appealing. 45 These places will not stay affordable for long. Hipsters and yuppies prefer the authenticity of artist enclaves. When they discover these little Bohemias, the places lose their Bohemian status. Cool cafés and nightclubs appear, displacing artists, as developers convert creative industrial workspaces into residential lofts. To make matters worse, poor but educated white artists then “colonize” neighborhoods that belong to people of color. This pattern repeats and repeats in affordable cities all over America. The Web The internet’s devastating economic impact is destroying the music industry. With streaming services owned by the “Big Three” – Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora – artists get paid only a few cents per stream. The most lucrative contracts are for “synchs” – licensing music to video games, commercials and movies. Amazon decimated publishing by underpricing on a mass scale. Publishers have fewer resources to cultivate new writers, especially literary ones. Writers must write for corporations or freelance. The industrial economy laid claim to our bodies. The knowledge economy laid claim to our minds. Now the creative economy is laying claim to our souls. WILLIAM DERESIEWICZ The exception is television. TV’s demand for content seems endless. Between Netflix and Amazon, viewers will spend almost $25 billion on content by 2022. Writers have to write spec scripts and network constantly, but with new technology, anyone can put a pilot or web series online. Netflix and Amazon are devouring the market, which, in the future, may mean far fewer edgy, niche projects. Fallacy The number of college degrees earned in the visual and performing arts increased by an incredible 97% from 1991 to 2006. What was once a knowledge economy is now a “creative” economy. Art school graduates bring creative skills to every field, because creativity is the new “yeast that makes the dough rise.” 46 One of the presiding commonplaces of our age, to deny which is to commit a kind of thought crime, is that everyone’s an artist. WILLIAM DERESIEWICZ Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees confer legitimacy on artists, giving them a network and providing teaching jobs, though many of those jobs are precarious and pay poorly. Teachers show themselves to be increasingly unqualified to help art students learn to make money. Students need other skills, such as critical thinking, speaking and writing, especially grant writing. Piracy Pirating is rife, and it is lucrative for pirate websites, payment processors, ad sellers and Google. Too many people think they deserve free material, a bias that big tech encourages. Piracy is theft. Art is not a gift, and information “doesn’t want to be free.” If your business model depends on not paying people, it isn’t a business model; it’s a criminal conspiracy. WILLIAM DERESIEWICZ Creating the illusion that everything on the internet should be free profoundly damages the arts and artists’ careers. Organize Deresiewicz states the obvious when he says organizing artists isn’t easy because they value individual autonomy. Artists seldom support one another, even if they personally benefit. Musicians work for love, writers will write for free, amateurs make better art: All of this is baby talk, make-believe. WILLIAM DERESIEWICZ To help artists, law enforcement must hold big tech accountable. Governments must rein in Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook. It should also roll back destructive policies, tax the wealth, reinvest in the arts and raise the minimum wage. If you pay artists for their work, they will make more art. Straightforward message 47 Deresiewicz’s bleak assessment of the art world’s prospects for creative careerists is as depressingly accurate as his proffered solutions are pie in the sky; governments aren’t going to tax the rich, raise the minimum wage or increase arts funding. Artists are, as ever, on their own. To the author’s credit, he attempts no cheerleading and, to say the least, he’s no Pollyanna. His message is straightforward: Artists must learn to negotiate the contemporary economic landscape because the world will not offer them a helping hand. Deresiewicz’s opus would be considerably more depressing if he wasn’t such an able, witty, farseeing writer with a such clear, powerful sense of compassion for artists and outrage at their dilemma. William Deresiewicz also wrote the bestsellers Excellent Sheep and A Jane Austen Education. Other readings regarding artists in America include How To Be an Artist by Jerry Saltz, Art/Work by Heather Darcy Bhandari, and You Are an Artist by Sarah Urist Green. Mindful Self-Discipline Some people mistakenly believe self-discipline encourages selfshaming or imposes unwelcome restrictions on their lives. Meditation teacher and coach Giovanni Dienstmann aims to counter these misconceptions by extolling the virtues of mindful self-discipline. Cultivating self-discipline, he argues, improves your focus and wellbeing and gives you the personal power you need to achieve your goals. Dienstmann’s comprehensive three-pillar approach helps you uncover your true aspirations, gain self-awareness to overcome obstacles and start your journey. Take-Aways • • • • Use the power of self-discipline to journey toward your goals without fear, doubt or distraction. Cultivate your aspirations by discovering your purpose – the “why” behind your goals. Once you realize your true aspirations, establish the “how” of achieving your goals by building self-awareness. Advance your aspirations with decisive action. 48 • Implement self-discipline in your daily life by integrating your activity with your aspirations and values. Summary Use the power of self-discipline to journey toward your goals without fear, doubt or distraction. Self-discipline embodies more than just good habits, organizational prowess or time management proficiency; it is an essential life skill. Self-disciplined people possess the ability to find happiness and live a fully engaged life. When you learn the art of self-discipline, you acquire the capacity to navigate the distractions and busyness of life today and to achieve your future goals. “Self-discipline is the art of living in harmony with your goals and values.” To cultivate self-discipline, align your actions with your aspirations and acquire the power you need to achieve them. With self-discipline, you integrate the many virtues that enrich your life, such as growth, self-control, determination and optimism. You stay focused on your future, finish what you start, resist temptation and use your time well. “Without self-discipline, the loftiest goal is just wishful thinking. With self-discipline, even a mediocre goal will take you somewhere.” Think of self-discipline as the one life skill that gives you the power and ability to work toward your true aspirations. It helps you resist the diversion of temporary, fleeting enjoyment today at the expense of your future success and happiness. When you balance your ambitions with your expectations, you find a greater sense of self-acceptance and gratification. Consider the benefits you gain with self-discipline: • The ability to work through distractions and focus on activities that align with your goals. • The ability to break your bad habits and develop good ones. • Improved relationships with family and friends. The three pillars of mindful self-discipline focus on the “why” (y0ur purpose), the “how” (your awareness) and the “what” (your actions): • • • Discover your “why” by probing your true aspirations. Establish your “how” by building self-awareness. Plan your “what” and call yourself to action. 49 Cultivate your aspirations by discovering your purpose – the “why” behind your goals. When you start a journey, you usually have a goal. For example, you begin a boat trip with a specific destination in mind, or you set personal goals to lose weight or to improve your work productivity. Your aspiration’s “deeper why” underlies that goal. For example, you want to lose weight to feel healthy and energized; or you want to improve your work output to highlight your skills and challenge yourself. While your journey’s destination represents your goal, your underlying purpose is why you want to get there. “We all have a deep aspiration inside of us, waiting to be discovered, owned and realized.” Start with your goals in mind, then take these seven steps to clarify your true aspiration: 1. “Find your purpose” – Examine your core values and what you truly care about. Think about what inspires you the most, consider experiences where you felt your best or how you choose to spend your free time and money. Analyze a current goal and examine why you want to achieve it. 2. “Magnify your purpose” – Measure the effects of both fulfilling or disregarding your aspirations in various areas of your life. Consider your family, your wealth, your career and your health. 3. “Specify your purpose” – Further evaluate your aspirations with both quantitative and qualitative measures and create effective goals based on those measures. The SMART goal concept, for example, encourages you to design goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. You generate more motivation when you set clear and attainable goals. 4. “Prioritize your purpose” – Measure your goals against the resources you can commit – your time, money and energy. To truly follow through with your aspirations, you must give your goals the attention and time they need. 5. “Resolve self-sabotage” – Recognize and resolve conflicting feelings you project toward your aspirations. For example, while you sincerely want to speak out more at work, part of you may fear judgment. Likewise, you may want to curtail your time spent on social media, but you fear missing out. 6. “Cultivate your mind-set” – Take full ownership of your purpose and truly believe in your abilities to achieve. Trusting in 50 yourself instills motivation and gives you the energy you need to grow. 7. “Make your offering” – Decide what aspects of your personality hold you back and cause you to disconnect with your aspirations. For example, to increase your productivity, you need to stop sleeping late in the morning. To become fit, stop having that chocolate bar every day. Recognize and break the habits that will hinder your ability to achieve your goals. Once you realize your true aspirations, establish the “how” of achieving your goals by building selfawareness. Building self-awareness helps you establish how to move forward on your desired journey. Being self-aware provides you with the ability to choose. For example, if you want a healthy lifestyle, but recognize you love junk food, your awareness gives you the willpower to choose aspiration over temptation. “[Awareness] gives you the freedom to choose how to respond to life as it happens, thus helping you live in alignment with your goals and values.” Awareness also means you refrain from shaming yourself if you falter, since that invites a cycle of emotional stress and negativity. Choose instead to forgive yourself and recommit to your goal. Practice three methods daily to help yourself build self-awareness and stay on track with your aspirations: 1. Meditate at the start of your day to spark your awareness and clearly see what you need to do. 2. Reflect – by journaling or tracking – at the end of each day to bring perspective and focus on how you aligned your emotions and your choices with your goals. 3. Integrate your aspirations throughout the day with activity. The PAW method – Pause, Awareness, Willpower – is an essential practice to help you fight impulses and distractions. It encourages you to stop and reflect before taking action: • • When you pause, you slow down and consciously think before acting on impulses – for example, when you encounter a conflict with your aspirations, such as eating junk food or smoking. Pausing provides you with the time and space to become aware of your choices. Do the available actions take you nearer to or further from your goals? For example, you hit the snooze button (further), eat a healthy lunch (nearer) and stop at the gym after 51 work (nearer). Tally your score at the end of the day to see how well your choices reflect your intentions. • Finally, use willpower, if needed, to intentionally shift your actions. Apply the PAW method to overcome daily life’s obstacles, such as idleness, diversions and rationalizations. Pause and gain perspective by looking at your long-term goals. Connect emotionally to the version of yourself who follows through – who accepts temporary discomfort today in exchange for long-term success. Advance your aspirations with decisive action. Action requires effort and planning. Without a plan, you will be unlikely to move forward. Planning also uncovers how much effort it requires to advance your aspirations. Take these four steps to plan your journey: 1. Select one aspiration and one of its SMART goals. 2. Establish separate tasks or milestones. 3. Set start and end dates. 4. Repeat for each goal. Once you establish your milestones, design habits to strengthen your commitment. Your milestones may require action habits, such as writing in a journal or committing to daily meditation, or replacement habits that require you to introduce a new habit to replace a harmful one. Effective habits are both specific and enjoyable: • Specific habits describe the what, when and where of your activity. For example, if you set a goal to write a book, establish a habit not just to write every day, but to write a certain number of pages after dinner in your office. • If you don’t enjoy the habits you set, you likely will abandon your commitment. Find a process you enjoy or can learn to enjoy. To form habits, create effective cues that will prompt you to action. You likely already unconsciously respond to cues today. When your phone dings, for example, you pick it up. The smell of coffee prompts you to crave a cup. Cues also encourage negative habits. When you wake up feeling tired, you may snooze the alarm or when you see a pile of papers on your desk, procrastination likely kicks in. Creating purposeful habits requires that you set deliberate cues which inspire positive action. 52 Create a template with your cues and use your environment to prompt action: “When X happens, I will do Y.” For example, when you see your running shoes by the door, you will go for a run; when you see your journal on your bed, you will write in it before retiring; or when you get paid, you will plan your monthly budget. Until the desired action becomes automatic, give yourself a cue. Just as cues are important for spurring action, so are rewards which will drive you to maintain those actions. Types of rewards include the following: • • • Intrinsic rewards, which include enjoying the activity itself or the pleasure you get knowing it moves you closer to your goal. Extrinsic rewards, which include adding a pleasurable activity after your action, such as watching a movie after completing your chores. Painful consequences, such as losing something if you fail to do your activity. Implement mindful self-discipline in your daily life that integrates your activity with your aspirations and values. Consider effective ways to harmonize mindful self-discipline and your aspirations, such as time management, routines and meditation. Managing your time wisely ensures your daily activities align with your aspirations. Successful time management, which mirrors the pillars of self-discipline, includes time prioritization and time awareness. Key elements include the following: • Planning, which allows you to determine priorities and ensures you carry out your intentions. • Setting boundaries by establishing what you will and will not do. • Engaging time awareness to protect your schedule from getting off track. • Focusing on your priorities and rebuffing distractions. When you set and follow routines, you are more likely to adopt the fundamentals of mindful self-discipline. Begin with the morning and evening routines where you have more control. The morning routine prepares you for the day, while the evening routine offers a time to review and wind down. Both routines share common principles of a fixed start time and length, a structured set of habits, effective focus and an achievable set of activities. 53 “Self-discipline is a form of personal power. It’s the power to accomplish the goals you set for yourself and get things done… Use it wisely. ” Meditation offers a superior method of awareness training and serves as a solid foundation upon which to build mindful self-discipline. Meditation also benefits your overall health and well-being. Several types of meditation exist, but all involve relaxation, focus and awareness. If you find one style of meditation decreases your passion and drive, try another method. You should focus on certain key areas when you incorporate meditation into your life: • • Habit – To reap the benefits of meditation, practice it every day. Technique – Choose the approach that best fits you and your lifestyle from among the many styles of meditation available. • Transformation – Extend your meditation practice into your day by incorporating the ability to pause, reflect and manage your emotions. Through mindful self-discipline, you enhance your virtues, or personal strengths – such as patience, courage, confidence and resilience – which you can then use to navigate everyday challenges. These virtues also boost your well-being. Make sure you balance your strengths to prevent them from becoming liabilities: • Balance accountability with letting go to prevent being too hard on yourself. • Balance self-belief with humility to prevent arrogance or recklessness. • Balance perseverance with acceptance to avoid staying with something long after it loses its usefulness. When you develop mindful self-discipline, you give yourself the power to understand your true aspirations and set yourself on a journey to accomplish anything you want to achieve. About the Author Giovanni Dienstmann is a best-selling author and speaker who advocates for improving your life through self-discipline and meditation. He coaches and teaches meditation at schools, hospitals and spiritual centers. 54 GTD David Allan advocates allocating your limited time by managing your resources, workplace and actions. To begin, identify what you need to do well in advance of when you need to do it. Many people today take on more projects than they can handle, David Allen argues, thereby increasing their stress. Continual change and fuzzy boundaries hamper many projects, he explains, so you may not be sure when you’ve even finished a job. This lack of borders creates added work and spurs unnecessary, frequent memos and discussions. “If it’s on your mind,” the author writes, “your mind isn’t clear.” Anything you consider unfinished in any way must be captured in a trusted system outside your mind, or what I call a collection bucket, that you know you’ll come back to regularly and sort through. DAVID ALLEN An author, lecturer and founder of his own management consulting, coaching, and training company, Allen has another bestseller to his credit, Ready for Anything. He is a popular speaker on personal and organizational effectiveness. He explains that to accomplish your projects effectively and efficiently, you need to reach two goals. First, capture everything you need to do, now or in the future, in a logical, organized, reliable system that records everything outside your memory, so you don’t have to think about these issues until you are ready. Second, discipline yourself to make advance decisions about how much information and instruction you need to facilitate planning what you’re doing and to change plans as necessary. You probably have a complete calendar, Allen recognizes, but he warns that it’s not a sufficient organizing tool – it shows only a small portion of what you have to organize. Instead, he advocates a thorough, all-encompassing organizational system that combines everyday details with “big-picture thinking.” Appropriate Ripples To put yourself in the right mental state to get things done, Allen offers an attractive metaphor: imagine that you have a mind like a body of calm water. If you throw a pebble into it, the water reacts appropriately. The ripples created on the surface, he reminds you, are in proportion to the pebble’s mass and impact, and once the water has absorbed the impact, it returns to a calm, tranquil state. 55 How does the water respond? The answer is, totally appropriately to the force and mass of the input; then it returns to calm. It doesn’t overreact or under react. DAVID ALLEN Allen urges you to approach tasks with this level of awareness, so you give each task appropriate attention and effort. Efficiency, he underscores, means managing your commitments appropriately, so don’t make too many promises that add to your stress. If something is unfinished, release it from your mind. Put it in a trusted collection system so you can sort the information when you’re ready. Once you decide what actions to take, set up a system of reminders and check it regularly. To test this approach, Allen suggests with signature practicality, pick the project or situation that concerns you most at the moment. Write a list of everything you need to do to move it along. This should give you a sense of control, relaxation and focus. Then tuck the list away to get it out of your mind literally and metaphorically until you’re ready to deal with it. Managing Your Actions Clarify each project’s action steps before you start, rather than proceeding and having to spend more time dealing with problems as they develop. The key ingredients of relaxed control are clearly defined outcomes (projects) and the next actions required to move them toward closure, and reminders placed in a trusted system that is reviewed regularly. DAVID ALLEN Allen finds that most people are so involved in day-to-day commitments that they lack the time and breathing room to focus on the big picture. The cure: get yourself up-to-date and in control of issues that concern you now, and then broaden your view. Plan and manage your commitments, projects and actions with horizontal or vertical controls. Horizontal controls coordinate your actions across your activities. Vertical controls guide your thinking through individual topics and projects, such as a sequence of tasks. With these controls, Allen insists you can get things off your mind and do them in sequence to gain control of your work and your life. Mastering Your Work ow Allen outlines five steps for managing the horizontal aspect of your life by putting everything into an organized system. The first step is collecting. In one of his more powerful and practical metaphors, he tells you to get everything out of your head and into a “collection” system. Pick your tools – from a physical in-tray to an electronic system – and sort things into as few buckets as possible. To empty these buckets regularly, take step two and process their contents. With each item, ask yourself “What is it?” and decide whether to deal with it now, defer it or discard it. If you are going to act now, decide whether to do it yourself or delegate it. fl 56 Then, you’re ready for step three, organizing. This might be Allen’s most basic recommendation, but it abounds in common sense and clarity: Set up an organizing system, such as putting non-actionable items in categories called “trash,” “incubation tools” or “reference storage.” Categorize your action items, perhaps with a list of projects, plans and materials, a calendar and a reminder check-list. Contain each category physically or electronically. Then, review your identified actions and options weekly and update your lists, so you feel clear, current and complete. The culminating step is to decide what you are actually going to do. Check four criteria: your context (location and tools), time, energy (physical and mental), and priorities. With those factors aligned, Allen assures you, you can decide which action matters most to do now. Natural Project Planning Allen then walks you through the vertical component of productivity. He lays out five more steps (he’s a list guy) that, he believes, reflect how people unconsciously think and plan relatively easy tasks. He understands that not many people follow these steps when consciously planning a project. Thus, Allen concludes, informal, “natural planning” often garners better results. It reflects the real thought process people use to address daily tasks, like getting dressed. The real issue is how to make appropriate choices about what to do at any point in time. The real issue is how we manage actions. DAVID ALLEN Begin by “defining your purpose and principles.” Determine what methods work for you, align your resources and motivate yourself to act. Then focus so you can generate ideas and set goals. Brainstorm with tools that help you visualize and grapple with your options, such as mind mapping or listing ideas to analyze later. Don’t judge or criticize; emphasize quantity not quality. His next two steps are entirely logical. Organize the pieces you need for each project and sort them into their components, processes or priorities. Finally, note your follow-up actions and jobs you’re waiting for others to complete. Stress-Free Productivity Allen encourages you to put his basic principles into practice by carving out the time, space and tools you need. Create a block of time and prepare a workstation with the necessary space, furniture and gear. Allen treats his readers a bit like schoolchildren as he details the necessary tools and supplies. Gather and organize your stuff and tidy your cubbies. Keep a running list of projects to start, projects underway, commitments, budgets, pending communications, seminars to attend, and so forth. Put loose items in your inbox, and work through it until it’s empty. Discard anything you don’t need, complete quick actions, delegate, add ticklers to your system 57 and consolidate larger projects. Allen reiterates his thesis: now that you’re organized, you have the clarity to know what to do next. Sound Ideas, Somewhat Obscured David Allen can get in his own way, and this can obscure his worthy, practical advice. His observations about stress, productivity and how the mind works complicate his useful time- and task-management techniques. The popularity of this manual and it’s 2015 update probably owes a lot to people’s stress levels. However, his method has genuine, wide-ranging value. He argues for using common sense and dealing with physical and mental clutter through a series of do-able deeds. As Allen recognizes, the discipline of adhering to his methods can add greatly to your efficiency – and your peace of mind. No Excuses /Bryan Tracy In this ambitious work, Brian Tracy presents a formula for overcoming life’s major challenges. It boils down to applying self-discipline to achieve overall success and happiness. Tracy’s topics range from acting with integrity to making sales to strengthening your marriage. With such a broad span, his advice is necessarily general and elementary. However, if you avoid looking for specific solutions, and focus on the overall theme of the book, you will find it quite helpful. Tracy espouses that you need to accept responsibility for your own contentment and career. His “No Excuses” approach eliminates handy scapegoats and teaches that you must take charge of your own destiny. getAbstract recognizes that much of the book’s counsel appears in various forms in this prolific author’s previous work. However, that’s no excuse for not giving it a thorough read. Take-Aways • • • • To be happy and successful, stop making excuses and concentrate on making progress. Employ 21 self-discipline methods to succeed in every aspect of your life. To best utilize those methods, clearly define your goals. Accept responsibility for your own happiness; don’t blame others for your problems. 58 • • • • • • Master your craft and develop your skills to increase your earnings potential. Focus only on those activities that will help you achieve your desired results. Succeeding in business requires self-discipline and a thorough understanding of sound business principles. Manage your time efficiently by prioritizing your tasks and then completing them in order of importance. The ingredients of happiness are good health, meaningful work and relationships, financial independence and living up to your potential. Invest in your spiritual health to attain inner peace. Summary “Losers Make Excuses; Winners Make Progress” You can always come up with dozens of reasons why you haven’t achieved your goals. Perhaps you had an overbearing mother, or the economy is tough or your boss doesn’t appreciate you. The list of excuses is endless. However, if you want to be successful, redirect the energy you put into making excuses into making progress. You will surprise yourself. Life is difficult for everybody, but successful people achieve their goals in spite of life’s obstacles. They eat “dinner before dessert.” They forfeit immediate pleasure for long-term satisfaction. They set goals, work hard and apply themselves. They develop and repeat good career practices until they become second nature. This requires self-discipline. By applying the following 21 methods of selfdiscipline to every aspect of your life, you will improve in the three major arenas: “Personal Success; Business, Sales and Finances; and Personal Life.” By practicing “self-mastery” and “self-control,” you will like yourself more. You’ll feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, and enjoy an enhanced self-image. Ultimately, you’ll feel empowered, in charge and positive about the future. Method One: “Success” Imagine your perfect life. When you define what success means to you in work, family, health and finances, you’ll immediately see what you need to do to attain your ideal life. Now that you know what you want, you can discipline yourself to get it. The “Pareto Principle” defines the 80/20 relationship; for example, the top 20% of society enjoys 80% of its riches. To become a 20% member, identify the skills you need and the actions you must take. Study techniques, read books and attend workshops of the people who have succeeded before you. If you are willing to apply yourself and work hard, you can achieve your goals. 59 Method Two: “Character” The defining trait of character is integrity. Acting with integrity requires the self-discipline to resist succumbing to temptation and to do what you know is right. Your true character becomes apparent during a crisis or when you are under pressure. Study the values exhibited by those whom you most respect and admire. You can develop character through “instruction, study and practice.” The “psychology of character” consists of “your self-ideal, your self-image and your self-esteem.” Your self-ideal represents the good person you want to be. Your self-image is how you see yourself, and your selfesteem reflects how you regard yourself emotionally. Practice the value you want to adopt until it becomes an ingrained habit. When your actions align with your values, you experience high self-esteem. Method Three: “Responsibility” Author Brian Tracy worked in construction when he was 21. He lived from paycheck to paycheck, barely earning enough to get by with no opportunity for advancement. One night, sitting alone in his bleak apartment, he experienced an epiphany. Tracy realized that only he could change his life. In his first step toward manifesting his goals, he bought a self-improvement book and studied it diligently. Negative emotions stem from anger and depend on your propensity to blame others for your circumstances. That is the easy way out. Accepting responsibility for your own success and happiness requires effort and self-discipline. That acceptance leads to control over your life and your destiny. Method Four: “Goals” Follow this method to set goals and achieve your ideal life: Determine what you wish to achieve, “write it down” and establish a deadline. Create a list of all the actions required, arranged by time and importance. Start to carry out these steps right away. And then “do something every day that moves you in the direction of your major goal.” Method Five: “Personal Excellence” Your most valuable asset is yourself. By investing in your craft and developing your skills, you increase your worth and earnings potential. However, you need to commit to making this a priority throughout your life and career. Begin your day a little earlier. You’ll be surprised by how much you can achieve in your first hour. If you read for only an hour a day, you’ll read over 50 books per year. Listen to educational audio programs whilst in your car. Soon, you’ll be an expert in your 60 field of study. Write at least 10 daily tasks down. Don’t multitask; work on each undertaking single-mindedly from start to finish. After every business meeting, ask yourself, “What did I do right?” and “What can I do better?” Method Six: “Courage” Everyone is afraid of something, and most people particularly fear “failure, poverty and loss of money.” Self-discipline helps you develop the necessary courage to face your terrors. Practice confronting what you dread by identifying a person or situation you’ve been avoiding and resolving to deal with it straightforwardly. Sometimes fear takes the form of worry or anxiety. Isolate exactly what is bothering you. Next, imagine the worst-case scenario and realize that you can deal with its consequences and survive. Method Seven: “Persistence” Nothing great in life is achieved without persistence. The ability to persevere will get you through setbacks, frustrations, impediments and even crises; it will make you feel happier and more in control. To increase your perseverance, repeat: “I am unstoppable!” and “I never give up.” Don’t make excuses, indulge in self-pity or act like a victim. Method Eight: “Work” People spend too much time on unproductive tasks. Once again, the Pareto Principle comes into play: 20% of your professional activities produce 80% of your desired results. The “Law of Three” states that three tasks in your job are responsible for around 90% of your value as an employee. Identify your most productive activities and focus on them, don’t be distracted from working your hardest. When surveyed, a group of executives said that the two qualities they look for in an employee are “the ability to set priorities and work on high-value tasks,” and “the discipline to get the job done quickly and well.” Method Nine: “Leadership” Inspiring, effective leaders are masters of self-discipline. They have clarity of purpose and demand a stellar standard of excellence. Great leaders put the success of the organization over their personal goals. However, they are realists and see where their company needs to improve. They’re open to new ideas and are committed lifelong learners. Winning leaders are trustworthy, steadfast and consistent in their thinking and their actions. Method Ten: “Business” 61 Your product or service must be something that consumers desire, use willingly and pay a competitive price for. Work harder, longer and better than your competitors do. Know your target audience and your “unique selling proposition.” Focus on providing a high level of customer service, and always measure your performance. You will know you are doing well when your customers promote your business to their friends and family. Method Eleven: “Sales” A sales role can be challenging but has a huge earning potential. Ask yourself frequently, “Is what I’m doing right now leading to a sale?” Fearing rejection is a big obstacle; salespeople often avoid cold calling and stray off task. To succeed, know that “rejection is not personal.” Play the numbers game: Cultivate more prospects and you’ll close more sales. Method Twelve: “Money” Most people get into money trouble because they don’t exercise selfcontrol. They want immediate gratification; they equate happiness with acquisition. Change your thinking so that saving cash becomes a source of satisfaction. As your savings grow, you’ll be much more secure and contented. Alleviating worry about money leads to personal satisfaction. Method Thirteen: “Time Management” The “ability to choose the sequence of events ” defines the art of time management. If you prioritize tasks and then complete them in order, you can manage your time efficiently. Think of every activity as an investment and consider whether you are getting the maximum return. Use the “A B C D E Method” to manage your day: Make a list of everything you need to do. Then assign a letter from A to E to each task, weighing its relative importance. Go through your A tasks first, and continue down the list. Never work on something that isn’t the best use of your time, focus and energy. Method Fourteen: “Problem Solving” Most successful people respond to challenges. Many use the following approach to problem solving: First, clearly define the dilemma. Ask yourself, “Is this really a problem?” Is it something you can resolve, or is it beyond your control? Consider the roots of the problem so you can make sure such a thing never happens again. Brainstorm all possible solutions and then pick the one that makes the most sense at the time. 62 Decide how to implement the answer of your choice and who will be responsible. Then, as always, measure the results. Method Fifteen: “Happiness” Humans are social beings who depend on others for happiness. However, everyone experiences increased happiness when they feel in control of their emotions as well as their circumstances. So, take the first step toward a happier life; assume power and put yourself in charge. When you fulfil your potential, you feel better about yourself in every way. When you exercise self-discipline in physical fitness, good relationships, purposeful work, monetary security and “selfactualization,” you increase your odds of finding contentment. Method Sixteen: “Personal Health” Get solid information on how to reach and maintain good health. By following some basic rules, you will live longer and healthier. Eat regular meals, avoid snacking and don’t overeat. Replace white flour with whole wheat, and don’t overdo the sugar and salt. Method Seventeen: “Physical Fitness” Exercise for around 30 minutes as an essential part of your daily routine. You don’t need to train for the Olympics, but you do need to work out regularly. Always wear your seatbelt, don’t smoke or drink to excess. You can only feel truly happy when you are physically fit. Method Eighteen: “Marriage” A long-term, committed relationship is essential to your well-being. The keys to a happy marriage are “compatibility” and “temperament.” Your basic characteristics, especially your values, should mesh with and support those of your spouse. Maintaining a strong relationship takes effort and good listening skills. To become an effective listener, focus on what they’re saying, without interrupting. Take a brief moment to consider your response before speaking. If you don’t understand something – and never assume that you do – ask questions. Lastly, confirm what they said in your own words. Method Nineteen: “Children” The best you can do for your children is to let them know that you love them unconditionally. There are no shortcuts to or substitutes for spending time with your children as they grow up. Your responsibility is to create a safe environment in which they can explore and experiment. Through your daily actions, your children learn values, 63 and they will emulate your behavior. If you show self-control, when dealing with problems, they will do the same. Method Twenty: “Friendship” The key to being a good friend is to give others what you want for yourself. Show them that you like and respect them, and that you value their friendship. Accept them for who they are without judgments. Let them know that you appreciate what they have to offer. Say “thank you.” Make sure you are someone people want to spend time with; be pleasant and affable. Be aware that when you criticize or complain, it can be destructive to someone else’s self-esteem. Practice the three “C’s”: “courtesy, concern and consideration.” Method Twenty One: “Peace of Mind” Invest in your spiritual health to attain inner peace. Discipline yourself to separate your emotions from material things. Let go of the “need to be right.” Stop blaming others for getting in the way of your wellbeing. Practice forgiveness to achieve tranquility. “The discipline of forgiveness is the key to the spiritual kingdom.” About the Author Brian Tracy has written 13 books, including the bestsellers Eat That Frog and The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires. He is a much-sought-after corporate adviser and trainer. Deep Work Professor Cal Newport presents a multipart argument for deep, concentrated work. He explains that work that demands your full focus is intrinsically valuable and rewarding. You need to be able to handle “deep work” to succeed in an information economy. Yet people face increasing distractions or social pressure that drive them toward shallow work. Newport develops his ideas with a blend of formal research, stories and personal accounts about the challenges and rewards of deep work. He provides tips for arranging your life to support deep work, which he sees as valuable, productive and rare. He makes his case persuasively and even poetically. getAbstract 64 recommends his guidance to knowledge workers and anyone else who is seeking flow, creativity or focus. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • “Deep work” is professional work that requires intense focus and concentration. Deep work is essential for and central to knowledge work. It is necessary for mastering complex topics more quickly. How much elite work you produce equals the time you spend on your task multiplied by how intensely you focus. Obstacles and conflicting demands are increasing every day and they hinder deep work. Deep work promotes a sense of flow, meaning and sacredness. Evaluate your habits and actions with the goal of structuring your time to protect the attention you need for deep work. Some people integrate deep work into their lives in daily units. Others, like Bill Gates, withdraw from the world periodically for periods of complete focus. To promote deep work, “embrace boredom,” “quit social media” and “drain the shallows” of your life. Summary “Deep Work” and Why It Matters Deep work is professional work that requires complete focus and full concentration. Deep work pushes your creative and analytical abilities to their limits. For real achievement in art, science, business or other fields, you must work deeply. To understand deep work, compare it to ordinary, “shallow work.” Shallow work is work you can do while you’re distracted. It doesn’t ask much of your mind, and contributes little that’s new or valuable. “Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capacities to their limit.” Current trends push you – and the rest of the world – toward shallow work. This push to network, tweet, respond quickly and multitask can fill your days with shallow work. But, that’s dangerous. Often, people automate shallow work or skip it. Putting shallow work at the center of your professional activity puts your career at risk. Shallow work has limited value; deep work offers profound value. Being able to do deep work is becoming increasingly important. 65 “Deep work is necessary to wring every last drop of value out of your current intellectual capacity.” Technology places new demands on workers, and many struggle to keep up. Among other challenges, technology is splintering and restructuring the economy. This eliminates some jobs, but rewards others. Firms need “high-skilled workers” who can master complex technology. Specialization In the past, companies hired from their local labor pool or paid people to relocate. In that environment, local experts reaped rewards. Now companies might ask specialists to telecommute. This displaces local workers while validating superstars. It pushes job markets toward a “winner-take-all” model. In fact, information technology lets the “superstars” in a field multiply their influence and rewards. To earn a place in one of the employment groups that the information economy rewards most highly, you need to master “hard things” and to learn complex material quickly. That requires deep work. And you must “produce at an elite level.” For that, deep work is essential; it focuses your attention and ability like a lens. “Deliberate Practice” Deep work involves periods of deliberate practice. At such times, you focus on the specific skill you’re trying to develop and you don’t switch among tasks. Deliberate practice calls for “uninterrupted concentration.” It forces specific neural circuits to fire repeatedly, fixing these skills in place. Deep work helps you reach better results. How much elite work you produce equals the time you spend on your task multiplied by how intensely you focus. If you switch tasks often, you suffer “attention residue” – part of your attention clings to a previous task, lowering your performance level. Get feedback to correct your practice and make it more productive. “Shallow Work: Noncognitively demanding, logisticalstyle tasks, often performed while distracted.” Deep work is uncommon, and many aspects of the modern business environment work against it. People tend to do what is easiest at any given time. In today’s corporate world, that increasingly means staying connected and focusing on how fast you can respond to messages, rather than evaluating the quality response or the best use of your time. People now tend to spend less time prioritizing tasks and making sure they’re doing what’s most important. They just plunge in, using “busyness as a proxy for productivity.” This is understandable: You can 66 measure speed and task completion, but you can’t measure depth. Measuring knowledge work can be ambiguous. Those seeking metrics might seize on factors, like speed, that their bosses can measure clearly. “Cult of the Internet” People act as if using the Internet and making the most of its connectivity equates to doing revolutionary work. Today, firms whose service or products have nothing to do with the web invite people to like them on Facebook. Companies push knowledge workers to use Twitter and other social media channels. This scatters their attention instead of letting them put in the concentrated focus that is crucial to their real contribution. Using Twitter pulls them away. This is unfortunate, because deep work matters more than shallow work to society and to those doing it. What You “Pay Attention To” Studies of consciousness argue for the merits of deep work. Winifred Gallagher, a science writer, spent years studying how attention shapes the quality of life. She found that the way you manage your attention is incredibly important for leading a good life – more important than your circumstances. Your brain creates your experience according to what you pay attention to; where you focus and how you approach experiences shape your emotions and results, “down to the neurological level.” Accenting the positive aspects of your reality trains your “prefrontal cortex” to keep your amygdala from firing as strongly in response to “negative stimuli.” In deep work, you focus on topics that matter. That reshapes your reality positively. The challenges of deep work and its structured nature generate the psychological state known as “flow,” making deep work its own reward. “Without structure, it’s easy to allow your time to devolve into the shallow – email, social media, web surfing.” In their 2011 book All Things Shining, Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly make a philosophical argument for deep work. They examine how meaning and sacredness have changed over time. The sacred seems further away than it once did. They trace this diminishing access back to the Enlightenment – to René Descartes, specifically – and to the demand that individuals must determine what is meaningful for themselves. Dreyfus and Kelly propose craftsmanship as one solution. 67 “To succeed with deep work you must rewire your brain to be comfortable resisting distracting stimuli.” Focus lets artists shift from having to create meaning to finding meaning in the objects they craft. Deep work allows knowledge workers to return to the sacred. Following four rules will help you embrace deep work: 1. “Work Deeply” Make deep work a regular part of your life. Remove distractions and increase your level of focus. Many distractions come from within. Basic desires like food and sex can distract you. Other distractions are social and technological, like the desire to check your email or watch television. Developing a deep work routine helps you maintain your focus. Some people follow a “monastic philosophy,” shutting themselves completely off from the world. They disengage from email for blocks of time – perhaps permanently – and focus entirely on intellectual work. “Instead of scheduling the occasional break from distraction so you can focus, you should instead schedule the occasional break from focus to give in to distraction.” Others find that this doesn’t work for them due to their professional obligations. They follow a “bimodal philosophy” and alternate extended periods of deep work with periods in which they focus elsewhere. Some academics, for example, cluster their classes and focus on teaching for one semester and then turn their attention to research during the rest of the year. “Those who use their minds to create valuable things [are] rarely haphazard in their work habits.” Other people find that a “rhythmic philosophy” works best: They schedule deep work at the same time daily. They apply a “chain method” in which they add a new link of deep work each day. People who lack control over their daily schedules or who easily “switch into a deep work mode,” find the “journalistic philosophy” useful. These thinkers take advantage of any breaks or gaps in their schedules to work deeply on their core projects. “When you’re done scheduling your day, every minute should be part of a block. You have, in effect, given every minute of your workday a job.” 68 Once you find an approach that works for you, ritualize your choice to build habits that support focus. Think about where you will do your deep work and how long you’ll focus. Plan how “you’ll support your work.” Do you need to eat first? Take a walk? How will you maintain focus while working, and how will you measure your results? Will you outlaw the Internet until you’re done or track how many words you write? Making “grand gestures” helps solidify focus. J.K. Rowling checked into a hotel to finish writing the last Harry Potter book. Bill Gates took “Think Weeks” when he’d leave Microsoft and go to a cabin to read and focus. 2. “Embrace Boredom” People in today’s world suffer an addiction to distraction. The focus that deep work requires means that you must escape that addiction. Without distraction, however, you will suffer boredom. When trying to concentrate intensely, you will yearn for something to break the tedium. But if you stop fighting that boredom and recognize it as proof of your focus, you can make focused concentration a “habit,” something you do regularly because it is good for you. 3. “Quit Social Media” Social media are entertaining, and keep you in touch with people. These benefits are minor compared to what social media cost you. When considering the use of any social media tool, identify which factors create “success and happiness in your professional and personal life.” Use that tool only if it offers more benefits than negatives. “Figure out in advance what you’re going to do with your evenings and weekends before they begin.” Think of this as “the law of the vital few,” or “the 80/20 rule” or “Pareto’s principle.” Identify your top two or three goals in the personal and professional arenas. Name the top two to three activities that contribute to reaching these goals. Review the network tools you use now. Evaluate their impact on your pursuit of your goals. Use the Internet for a substantive purpose, not entertainment. 4. “Drain the Shallows” Shallow work crowds out more valuable deep work. Deep work is exhausting because it pushes you to your limits. Most people have a maximum capacity of four hours of deep work a day. They have to build up to that level. Starting with an hour isn’t uncommon. 69 “In a business setting without clear feedback on the impact of various behaviors to the bottom line, we will tend toward behaviors that are easiest in the moment.” Many people overestimate how much they work and underestimate how much television they watch. Schedule literally “every minute” of your workday. Group batches of related activities together. As you use this schedule, you’ll see that your time estimates probably are off; you’re likely to underestimate how much time new activities take. You’ll experience interruptions. When these things happen, make a new schedule. Over time, you’ll get better at estimating your time use. Schedule “overflow conditional blocks” of time after an activity. If the first activity runs over, continue focusing on it. If you finished by the original deadline, have a second activity planned. Leave time for spontaneous inspiration. Rigidly adhering to a schedule isn’t the goal. Your objective is to use your time intentionally. Deep Work Tools “Quantify the depth of every activity.” Estimate how many months it would take you to train a smart new employee to complete this work. When you know how much effort a job requires, place your work on a depth spectrum. Push yourself to move toward the deeper end of the spectrum. Construct a “shallow work budget.” Determine how much of your time you spend “on shallow work.” Most people need to spend 30% to 50% of their time on shallow work: attending meetings, answering emails, filling out paperwork, and the like. If shallow work makes up all or almost all of your job, plan your transition to deeper work. “The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy.” Apply the principle of “fixed-schedule productivity” to enhance your work. If you work in a traditional office job, this means finishing all of your work by 5:30 p.m. This serves as an antidote to the belief that you must work extra long hours and on the weekend to succeed. Be more selective about what tasks you tackle and what meetings you attend. Select work that shapes your “professional fate.” Protect Your Time Becoming harder to get in touch with can protect your deep work time and drain your shallows. Because sending emails is easy, people do it casually. Many recipients feel a compulsion to answer. Don’t. Respond selectively. Make the people who contact you “do more work.” For 70 example, rather than offering a general email address, use a “sender filter”: a brief preface asking correspondents to contact you with specific opportunities related to particular activities. “Identify the core factors that determine success and happiness in your personal and professional life. Adopt a tool only if its positive impacts on these factors substantially outweighs its negative impacts.” Do more work when you answer emails. Don’t answer quickly to express general interest or agreement. Push forward with specifics. If someone asks to meet with you, agree, list specific times you’re available and ask the person to agree to one of them. If you’ve received a request to help with a project, give that help and define the next step, so you’re not sending emails back and forth. Don’t answer ambiguous, open-ended emails, notes that don’t interest you, or emails that offer no benefit if you answer and no penalty if you don’t. About the Author Cal Newport teaches in Georgetown University’s computer science department. He also wrote So Good They Can’t Ignore You: How to Win at College. The Procrastination Cure Would you love to stop procrastinating, become more productive and have less stress? Productivity expert Damon Zahariades, once a world-class procrastinator himself, can help you accomplish these goals. He explores the nature of procrastination in this comprehensive productivity guidebook, which is light on theory and heavy on best-practice tips. Along with 21 tactics filled with advice you can act on, Zahariades details what constitutes procrastination; why people – you specifically – procrastinate; the blatant and hidden costs of delaying what you know must do; and how to avoid procrastination in the first place. Take-Aways • • Everyone has to deal with procrastination. Procrastination is a manifestation of inferior decision making. 71 • • • • • • • The jobs and tasks that people delay and anticipate with dread often seem harder than they turn out to be. Perpetual procrastinators share some common traits. Negative self-talk feeds procrastination. You can put 21 tactics to work to defeat procrastination. If you procrastinate, forgive yourself. Then try not to do it again. “Active procrastination” means substituting another vital task for what you originally planned to do. Conquer procrastination by making a commitment to yourself. Summary Everyone has to deal with procrastination. “Everyone procrastinates” – including productivity gurus, efficiency experts and time-management consultants. Procrastination is part of human nature. People routinely put things off until later. Procrastination is the most natural – and self-defeating – human activity. Don’t torture yourself about it. “Procrastination is a difficult habit to break. As with any habit, the longer you allow it to persist, the more deeply rooted it becomes.” Think of procrastination as “the act of deferring action on something when taking earlier action would arguably have been a better decision.” Everyone understands procrastination. The challenge is how to stop. Procrastination is a manifestation of inferior decision making. At its core, procrastination stems from bad decision making. Knowing some background information and some practical productivity tips may enable you make better decisions in the future and stop putting off until forever what you can do right now. “Sometimes procrastination is helpful, and it makes sense to embrace it rather than try to curb it.” People who successfully teach themselves not to procrastinate uncover their common “procrastination triggers” and then determine how to avoid them. The jobs and tasks that people anticipate with dread and delay doing often seem harder than they turn out to be. Once you start to do a task, the worry, nervousness and discomfort that accompanies the anticipation generally wanes. The important step is to take some – any – initial action. You’ll find that events will move ahead productively from even a small start. Procrastination can cost you personally and professionally. On the personal side, failure to address 72 concerns in your relationships usually guarantees that those issues will become more protracted and difficult to resolve. If you don’t pay your bills, your creditors will tack on late fees. If you feel sick, but you put off seeing a doctor, whatever ails you may get worse – endangering your health and even your life. And, in general, putting things off builds stress that generates harmful physical, emotional, mental and behavioral effects. “Break projects down to their smallest parts. Then, treat each part as a separate task. Focus on each one’s completion, at which point you can cross it off your to-do list.” On the professional side, failure to follow up on job leads means you’ll miss out on promising career opportunities. If you’re in sales and don’t stay on top of your prospects, your competitors will close them first. If you’re in management and don’t give your boss the reports he or she requests, your annual reviews will suffer, and you may find it difficult to keep your job. For businesspeople, professional productivity – a universal performance criteria – depends on being proactive and not letting things go by. There is no such thing as productive procrastinator. Perpetual procrastinators share some common traits. Are you a perpetual procrastinator? If most of these traits seem familiar, you have a procrastination problem. And you are not alone. Do you: Rush to finish work on time? Seldom estimate accurately how long tasks will take? Routinely put off today’s jobs until tomorrow? Always substitute easy jobs for tough jobs? Sit on long-term deadline jobs until right before they’re due? Pay too much heed to social media, emails and other distractions? Seldom show up on time? Keep your workspace messy? Let emails and voicemails pile up? Live by the motto, “I’ll do it tomorrow”? If that describes you, you can take some productive steps to stop procrastinating. Negative self-talk feeds procrastination. People’s reasons for procrastination generally include perfectionism, laziness, boredom, negative self-talk, inability to deal maturely with difficult events, worrying about failure or about success, feeling overwhelmed by pending work, not knowing where to begin, not knowing which decisions to make, wanting to do something different that provides instantaneous gratification, and not facing the immediate consequences of failing to act. Common questions about procrastination include: 1. “I’m a lifelong procrastinator. Can I really overcome this bad habit?” – Definitely, yes. Others have and so can you, but not overnight. It may take months, but you can make your life immeasurably better. 2. “I’m constantly distracted by social media and end up procrastinating on important work.” – Shut down your phone 73 notifications, limit your social media time and deal with people faceto-face. 3. “I procrastinate because I feel overwhelmed. How do I fix this problem?” – Make a list of what you must do. Do each job one by one, the easiest tasks first. This will give you a sense of accomplishment that fuels more accomplishment. You can put 21 tactics to work to defeat procrastination. Tap into this “treasure trove of tactics” to beat procrastination for good: 1. “Eat the frog first” – Mark Twain called the worst jobs “frogs” and advised doing them first. Once those unattractive frogs are out of the way, the remaining jobs are easy. 2. “Do the first 10 minutes” – You may become intimidated when you think of all the work a job will entail. Do the first 10 minutes of it. Once you start, the task will be easier to complete. 3. “Reward yourself” – To make jobs you don’t like more enjoyable, combine them with a reward. For example, lie down and read a book for 45 minutes after working for a few hours on a job you don’t like. 4. “Fill your calendar” – If you have free time, you’ll waste some of it and end up procrastinating. Protect yourself by staying busy; block out your workdays by allocating chunks of time to important tasks. 5. “Prioritize tasks and projects” – Assign priorities to upcoming jobs. Todoist, a free online app, can help you by assigning red, orange and yellow flags to various chores to indicate urgency. Color-code your most urgent tasks, and do each job according to its priority. 6. “Shorten your daily to-do list” – Most people put way too many jobs, projects and tasks on their to-do lists. They never finish all their tasks on the scheduled day, so they move unfinished tasks to the next day – and then to the next, and so on. This leads to additional procrastination, even paralysis. Set clear priorities, and take on fewer tasks. 7. “Apply Parkinson’s law” – The more time you allot to finish a job, the more time you will waste. Parkinson’s law says, “Work expands… to fill the time available for its completion.” Limit the time you set for every task. With less time available, you’ll focus more intently. 8. “Ask others to set your deadlines” – People often fail to meet deadlines they set for themselves. Research indicates that people do much better when others set their deadlines. Ask your boss or your spouse to establish appropriate deadlines for specific tasks. 9. “Leverage your peak-energy times of day” – People perform better at different times of the day and are reluctant to procrastinate during their peak-energy times. Monitor your energy levels for two weeks to identify your peak times. 10. “Be accountable to someone” – When you promise someone you will do something, you’re more likely to do it. When you have a task 74 you can’t afford to put off, find an “accountability partner” and promise that person that you will finish the job at a specific time. 11. “Take small steps”– Break a big job down into a series of small jobs. Do each separate little job. You’re less likely to procrastinate on many little jobs than on one big job. 12. “Avoid boring work (whenever possible)” – Procrastinating on boring jobs is easy, so, if possible, farm out tedious work. 13. “Get rid of environmental distractions” – If a distraction, such as a television, is sitting right in front of you, it’s easy to focus on that and not on your work. Move the distraction, or move your work space. 14. “Get rid of digital distractions” – According to Stanford lecturer Nir Eyal, Facebook and other social media channels want you to turn to them whenever your day is dull or you have even an instant of free time. Rid your office of these digital distractions. 15. “Use the time-chunking method” – Segment your jobs according to work type. Specify the amount of time you’ll need for each job. Break the job into chunks, and then schedule the chunks. Building in breaks between pairs of chunks will make it easier to avoid procrastinating. 16. “Eliminate as many unnecessary tasks as possible” – If you have trivial tasks on your daily to-do lists, you might pay attention to those pressing petty jobs and ignore significant ones. Leave minor tasks off your to-do lists. 17. “Focus on one task at a time” – Multitasking doesn’t work. It corrodes your focus, makes you distractible, increases mistakes and reduces productivity. And, it promotes procrastination. Many multitaskers tend to do easy tasks but neglect major jobs. 18. “Purge negative self-talk” – If you regularly engage in self-critical internal dialogue, you can see yourself as a failure. This undermines your motivation to stay with your work. Negative self-talk fuels procrastination. 19. “Limit your options to one”– Working on your primary project should always be your first choice. It shouldn’t be looking at email, listening to voice messages, going to a meeting or talking with colleagues. 20. “Figure out why you’re procrastinating” – What are the “personal triggers” that push you to procrastinate? Discover them. Once you identify them, you can learn to avoid them. 21. “Perform a weekly audit of your goals” – Regularly monitor your progress on your short-, medium- and long-term goals. If you procrastinate, forgive yourself. Then try not to do it again. These three strategies can help you channel your energy more productively: 1. “Use temptation bundling”– Tie a work activity directly to a fun activity. Wharton professor Katherine Milkman originated this 75 concept for herself. She was having a hard time maintaining an exercise routine. To gain motivation, she made a self-bargain: Each time she worked out in the gym, she earned the right to relax with a good novel. 2. “Use commitment devices” – This strategy constricts potential negative behavior. For example, you need to lose weight. You don’t want to overeat when you join a friend for dinner at a restaurant. So you promise to give your friend $100 if you have dessert. Freakonomics authors Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner call this kind of bargain a “commitment device.” 3. “Forgive yourself” – Procrastination is a habit, so it won’t be easy to change. Don’t beat yourself up when you do it. Self-forgiveness can help limit procrastination. “Active procrastination” means substituting another vital task for what you originally planned to do. Procrastination isn’t always bad. With the magic of active procrastination, you can actually increase your productivity. For example, let’s say you have plenty of housecleaning to do, but you actively procrastinate by not doing the housework and, instead, you pay some bills, go grocery shopping and prepare dinner. Those tasks are no less important and may be even more urgent than housework. “Our energy levels affect our tendency to procrastinate. So it’s worth identifying when your energy levels are at their peak and making maximum use of those times of day.” Once those tasks are done and you’re ready, you will do your housework. This is because you are an active, not a standard, procrastinator. As such, you don’t waste time when you procrastinate. You don’t take a nap, watch TV, or sit on the sofa and stare into space. You stay productive, but you work on something other than the tasks your originally intended to tackle. Conquer procrastination by making a commitment to yourself. If you’re a lifelong procrastinator, don’t feel bad. Many people are. As a lifelong procrastinator, you should feel good about getting this far in trying to figure out how to stop procrastinating. This is an important initial step, so give yourself credit. But remember that learning how to avoid procrastination isn’t enough. You must commit to conquering procrastination by moving from the theoretical stage of reading some applicable strategies to the all-important “application stage.” Tell yourself you can make this big jump. You’re in charge of your life. What happens is totally up to you, including whether you continue to procrastinate. You have learned why it’s important to stop procrastinating, as well as how to make the necessary changes. Now promise to yourself to put these tactics to work – now. 76 About the Author Damon Zahariades operates the Art of Productivity website and blog and is the author of Morning Makeover: How to Boost Your Productivity, Explode Your Energy and Create an Extraordinary Life – One Morning at a Time! The Motivation Myth Jeff Haden, an Inc. magazine contributing editor, asked successful musicians, race car drivers, corporate leaders and athletes how they sustain their motivation. They cited working hard, following a daily process and not relying on inspiration. Whatever your objective, Haden advises, define tasks to do every day without fail, and watch those small wins accumulate as you progress toward your goals. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • Motivation does not come from moments of inspiration. Reaching your goal requires focusing on small steps. You choose your goal, but the goal defines the process. Having multiple talents is ideal. An “Extreme Productivity Day” (EPD) can reset how you work. “Work your number,” whatever it may be. Observe a “superstar in action.” Create free time by streamlining your work. Summary Motivation does not come from moments of inspiration. Day-after-day motivation derives from completing the daily work your goal requires, not from flashes of inspiration. Daily work is enduring and inspiring, while a spark of inspiration is momentary and fleeting. Your confidence and motivation will grow as you create a list of the tasks you must do each day and work steadily to complete them. This positive combination is the road to reaching your goal; once it is part of your routine, it will appear in other parts of your life as well 77 “Motivation is a result, not a precondition.” Find a process that supports your goal, and stick to it. You may think sharing your goal with friends will keep you on track, but research finds the opposite is true. When you talk to friends about hiking the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail, for example, it gives you a false sense that you’ve done it. This undermines your determination to actually hike the trail. You may believe that others have greater innate willpower than you. But willpower is something you learn – no one is born with it. Successful people don’t need instant gratification, and don’t succumb to fear. They work consistently on their priorities. As you work on your daily tasks and improve your skills, you will see yourself gaining a higher level of accomplishment in your field thanks to the routine you set up months before. How you execute incremental jobs daily is now integral to who you are. At some point, willpower will no longer play a role. Reaching your goal requires focusing on small steps. The delta between where you are now and your goal can be huge. It’s daunting if you want to lose 40 pounds but in the first week you lose only one. The winning path is to have a process that helps you achieve your goal step by step. Whether you want to save $1 million or lose weight, concentrate on daily actions that help you succeed, not the overarching goal. “Set a goal, use it as a target that helps you create a plan…and then…forget all about that goal.” If you want to run a marathon, your first daily task is to run a mile. When you achieve that, you’ll feel good. That positivity will spur you to do it again tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. In two weeks, you may run five miles daily. Because you’ve run a mile each day, your improved ability will provide motivational boost. Defining a process and adhering to it improves your skill or ability, and that leads to success. You choose your goal, but the goal de nes the process. You can choose your goal, but you can’t choose how you achieve it. To reach your goal, you have to do what it takes. If you want to run a marathon, search for a training plan online. You don’t know what is optimal, so on the basis of your fitness, select one of the plans that are among your top search results. Make sure your plan has clear daily targets. If not, define the tasks so you know the specific distance, or fi 78 time and pace, you should master each day. Be clear about when you will start and complete your daily task. To make time for a daily activity focused on working toward your goal, change your daily schedule. That could mean cutting down TV time or changing when you wake up. Transcribe your training plan on a calendar. Define your daily tasks, and integrate them into your new daily schedule to make sure your plan is feasible. Instead of maintaining a huge to-do list, turn your agenda into a “wish list” and select a few items to complete. When you finish them, select the nextpriority tasks. If you find that your initial daily schedule isn’t working, change it. Maybe you have to get up earlier or stay up later. Solve any scheduling issues, but don’t stop doing your daily tasks. Don’t modify your daily process until you have sufficient data. If, while you’re on your first run, you have to walk part of it, don’t worry. Don’t compare yourself to others. All you need to do is complete the task, whatever that takes. When you do, celebrate. If your body needs less recovery time, then don’t use all three days of recommended rest. You can’t know this initially. It will become apparent only after time and effort. Exercising in the morning can improve your mood, increase your energy and provide motivation for the day. “Changing your behavior…is really hard.” Creating such a habit means not skipping a workout. Language can help you keep your resolve. Instead of saying you “can’t” have dessert, say you “don’t” have dessert. Researchers found that 80% of participants with a health goal who told themselves, “I don’t miss my workouts,” didn’t. Only one in 10 of the “can’t” group achieved their goals. Saying you can’t do something implies you would have been able to do it if something else hadn’t happened. Using “don’t” defines you. Having multiple talents is ideal. Venus Williams is a world-class tennis player. She has been numberone in the world several times, and she has won Olympic gold four times. She’s also an entrepreneur, and she’s earning her master’s degree in interior architecture. A common myth of success says you must concentrate on only one thing. When someone asks what you do, do you list your main job title or do you add other skills? People often believe – wrongly – that if you do more than one thing, it means you aren’t good at any of them. For example, Williams is active in all aspects of her company, EleVen. She even packs some orders. Like most successful people, Williams is a 79 “serial achiever.” Figure out what you want. If need be, do it on the side, but it doesn’t need to be separate from your current job. “None of us should be just one thing.” To search out your next challenge, create a list of what you’d like to do. If you don’t accomplish the items on your list, which ones would affect you most if you’re unable to undertake or complete them? While they probably do not relate to your career, achieving these targets will create new relationships and improve how you feel about yourself. Individuals define success differently. The core factor, however, is whether you are happy. If you earn a lot of money, but aren’t happy, then redefine what success means to you. Before committing to a goal, ask whether you are financially able to eat well, pay your bills and provide for your family. If not, then your first goal is to acknowledge how money matters to you and to create more. The second question is whether you are “fit and healthy.” That can carry many definitions, but ask if you are “comfortable with your body.” Prioritize self-care over self-actualization. If your goal is to build a great network, don’t concentrate on the goal, but rather think about people you’d like to cultivate. Reach out to those who excel in areas that align to your business. Establish connections so people enjoy being in contact with you. The last element is to create a marker that tells you when you've achieved your goal. Make it specific. Define the amount of weight you want to lose or the amount of money you want to make. An “Extreme Productivity Day” (EPD) can reset how you work. If you have a 12-hour project to complete, use an Extreme Productivity Day (EPD) to accomplish it. First inform your family, co-workers and significant clients that you’ll be unavailable for the day. To increase positive pressure on yourself, tell them what you plan to do. Determine how many hours you intend to work. Commit to making the deadlines you set. Break from your normal routine by starting early or working through the night. If you usually work with music, use it to motivate you later in the day. Don’t wait until you’re hungry or thirsty to eat or drink. Similarly, make sure you move around before getting stiff. Your goal is to keep working. If you stop before you finish the day’s project, you’re reinforcing the habit of quitting. When you stretch yourself, you change the limit of what you think you can do. 80 Apply the EPD philosophy to your week by outlining tasks on Sunday. Define time in your schedule to work on important jobs such as writing a proposal. Realistically define your work list and the time it will take to complete the tasks. If you know something requires 30 minutes, scheduling only that amount of time will improve your focus. Don’t multitask, because that divides your focus. Lunch is the only time when multitasking benefits you, if you can network with others while you eat. Pay attention to how you use your time. Document it. Be aware of any nonproductive patterns. Use “edge time,” such as commuting or airport waiting time, to make calls or read articles. When you are with your family, commit to spending that time only with them. Check emails or make calls later. If you want to drink more water, line up bottles of water on your desk. Remove the choices of what to wear or eat in the morning by laying out your clothes and prepping breakfast the night before. Don’t make excuses for doing less than your best. Determine your own standards, and don’t let comments or criticism sway you. If you’re fearful of something, move through it. That will help you gain the confidence you need. Optimize the way you think as you optimize your work. If you want to generate ideas, then work at that daily. Ask for help when you need it. Don’t ever stop. Keep working and striving. When you tie your work to accomplishing your goal, your willpower will grow stronger. “If you want to succeed, you can’t make excuses.” Determine your highest-priority task the night before, and start the next day with that job. Keep your goals visible. If you’re working to pay down a bank loan, tape a statement on your computer. If you worry you might skip your run in the morning, place your exercise clothes near your bed. The most important question you can ask when deciding to do something is whether it helps you achieve your goal. If it doesn’t, the answer is always “no.” “Work your number,” whatever it may be. If you know your ratio of calls to sales is 10:1, and you need, for example, five new clients a month, then call 50 potential clients. Use those calls to improve your sales pitch and increase the number of conversions you have with prospective clients. Whatever the result, your goal is clear. Achieve it. Working your number means repeating the hard work daily to accomplish your goals. Deconstruct your goal into workable daily activities. Adhering to the smaller daily goal 81 assures you’ll reach the big one. You will improve, reducing time and effort needed as you work each day to hit your number. “Successful people…approach learning in a consistent, systematic, results-focused way.” Whatever your goal is, push yourself daily, and make the work matter to you. Have a reason for what you’re doing. For example, to improve your public speaking, seek out small, informal opportunities to speak. Make sure you get immediate feedback. If you’re preparing for an exam, answer a section of questions in a study guide, then check your answers. If your process becomes repetitive, change your pace, focus on a small portion of it or redefine how you analyze it. Observe a “superstar in action.” To succeed at your goal, emulate someone who’s already achieved it. Avoid self-defined restrictions. You may stop when you’re tired instead of continuing, or quit when you feel that you’ve reached your skill limit and aren’t improving quickly anymore. Don’t do either. To expand your limits, watch a superstar in action. Whether the person is a musician, speaker or business leader, open yourself to learning from a master’s incredible talents. Create free time by streamlining your work. Beware of new situations that don’t fit your goals. Your time may be stretched, but re-evaluating your current work can enable you to create more free time. Your actions condition those around you. If you let people interrupt your phone calls, they’ll keep doing it. For example, one businessman created an “emergency” email account to funnel issues that need immediate action. He checks his normal account only twice a day. His staff knows and respects this. “Almost every decision you currently make can be taken over by people you trust.” If you have a customer who demands a lot of time without providing an equivalent income stream, adjust the service you provide, increase the cost or remove that customer. Instead of keeping a huge to-do list, turn it into a “wish list” and select a few items off it to complete. When those are done, select tasks that fit the next level of priority tasks. If you have to sign off on various steps of a project or file reports, see if you could you allow someone else to do it, especially someone more primary to the process. 82 To delegate decision-making, teach those you designate and give them guidance. Sharing authority will enhance their connection to their work and free your time. Even when things go wrong, maintain your focus and confidence. Remember, good leaders remain good leaders, even when they have bad days. About the Author Jeff Haden, a contributing editor at Inc. magazine, is a keynote speaker and ghostwriter of numerous books. Bullet Journal by David Meyer Renowned product designer Ryder Carroll offers a practical and meditative approach to organizing your life via an ancient artform: Handwriting. “BuJo” Digital product designer Ryder Carroll suffers from attention deficit disorder. Frustrated by his disorganization, Carroll developed the “Bullet Journal” – or “BuJo” – method to keep track of all the moving parts in his life. His method can help you sort your goals, remember books you read or want to read, track your progress on achieving your resolutions, plan your vacation, and separate your crucial and mundane tasks. In addition to explaining how his method works, Carroll – in this New York Times bestseller – includes reasons to turn the confusion in your head into orderly entries in your notebook. He offers his method to anyone ready to scrap productivity apps for the meditative peace of pen and paper. Meaning can reveal itself in the most unremarkable, unpredictable and quiet of moments. If we’re not listening to the 83 world around us, as well as the one within, we may miss it: the music in the mundane. RYDER CARROLL Concepcíon de Léon, writing in The New York Times, notes that the brain cannot recall or maintain more than a few thoughts at once. She admires that Carroll’s method has “more than three million related posts on Instagram alone and a dedicated following inspired to create blogs and innovations to the original system.” While being seduced by the beauty of Carroll’s method, de Léon admits to what might be a common – if seldom confessed – user problem: She “couldn’t keep up the momentum.” Organized Notebook BuJo is an organized notebook – an analog antidote to being overwhelmed. Your notebook, Carroll explains, gives you a quiet place to stop, reflect and focus with the goal of increasing your productivity. He offers his method as a tool to ground you in mindfulness about where you are now and how that relates to where you want to go. The author suggests starting with the daily habit of looking inward to discover what matters to you. Bujo isn’t only for keeping lists. While smartphones erode your attention span, the Bullet Journal forces you to go offline and think. A notebook is as flexible as you need it to be, unlike a productivity app designed by someone else. Writing by hand helps your brain learn and remember far more effectively than any app ever could. As soon as you put pen to paper, you establish a direct link to your mind and often your heart. This experience has yet to be properly replicated in the digital space. RYDER CARROLL The Bullet Journal system is modular. It combines a journal, a planner, to-do lists, a sketchbook and favorite quotes in one notebook. Embrace the modules you find useful and ditch the rest. Carroll breaks down his journal into the Daily Log– in which you capture your thoughts, responsibilities and experiences; the Monthly Log – a calendar on one page and your tasks on the facing page; the Future Log –tasks upcoming after the current month; and the Index – a list on the first few pages listing what the rest of your pages hold. Seasons of Life Carroll prioritizes starting a new journal at the beginning of each year. As you start your new journal, read through the index of your existing journal – if you have one – to see where you spent your time. Migrating tasks at the end of the month and the year to a new month and year makes you consider them anew. And if something isn’t worth the time it takes to rewrite, it’s not a priority. The power of the Bullet Journal is that it becomes whatever you need it to be, no matter what season of life you’re in. RYDER CARROLL Gain insight by reflecting on what you’ve written. Look beyond what you are doing to understand why you do it. Reflection lets you recognize shifting priorities, new meanings and dead weight. This is the emotional – rather than 84 functional – core of this system, and it aligns with Carroll’s endorsement of daily mindfulness. Consistently checking in to reflect for five minutes daily helps you break out of autopilot and deepen your understanding and self-knowledge. Thousands of Thoughts Each day, you have thousands of thoughts, which your mind constantly tries to prioritize. To avoid decision fatigue, reduce your daily decision-making load by writing down your choices. This helps you clarify your tasks and goals, declutter your mind and focus on what’s meaningful. To make future improvements, analyze what isn’t working for you now. Balance self-criticism with gratitude. Examine irksome situations during your Daily Reflections. Analyze events and whatever has happened to you and formulate your response instead of merely reacting. Frame the tasks within your control. Make them less about outcome and more about process. Take a hard look at your journal, because there you’ll see your story unfolding, written in your own hand. RYDER CARROLL Carroll asks you to consider whether a goal is still worth pursuing despite how long it will take to accomplish? If not, he says, scratch it off. He also provides a basic budget structure: columns for activities, the amount to save monthly to pay for them, total costs, and a tracking column to check and adjust what you’ve set aside month to month. Use longer entries to sort your priorities and unearth new tasks. Working with your Bullet Journal system, Carroll cautions, is an art form. He suggests using it for two or three months before customizing it to your best advantage. Then you can augment its format and value any way you like, but first become familiar with the system. A Mindful System Carroll acknowledges that the hardest part about writing lists is finding justification for the time it requires. Still, his method for slowing down and reverting to an analogue life-organization system may speak most loudly to two widely separated demographics: those who grew up with pen and paper as the default communication mode and those who have been digital since kindergarten. It may prove harder for those in the middle generations – who long since surrendered every task to digital modes – to adapt. If you look forward to coming back to your journal and feel that it’s your ally, then you’re doing it right. RYDER CARROLL The beauty of Carroll’s system is that you don’t have to embrace every aspect of it to benefit. It functions well as a philosophy – slow down, fight digital dominance of your life, and be mindful of your choices and how you spend your day – as well as it does an organizational system. Carroll’s approach – as with any Zen master’s method – shows breathtaking simplicity. The time he spent perfecting it and his 85 attention to detail means you can start utilizing his method well before you finish reading his remarkably practical, insightful and accessible guide. Related works on organizing your life include Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen; Martha Stewart’s Organizing: The Manual for Bringing Order to Your Life, Home & Routine by Martha Stewart; and, for adults who, like Carroll, have ADHD, Order from Chaos: The Everyday Grind of Staying Organized with Adult ADHD by Jaclyn Paul. ADHD at Work It’s hard to stay focused in a world of distractions. Resisting constant interruptions, however, is even harder for people suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Yet the condition doesn’t necessarily prevent those affected from succeeding at the workplace. Medical writer Royce Flippin provides hands-on advice for how people with ADHD can effectively manage their behavioral symptoms and make the most of their strengths. Indeed, the strategies he outlines can help anybody – with or without a diagnosed condition – to navigate the modern workplace more productively. Take-Aways • • • People with ADHD have a lot to contribute to the workplace yet often struggle to stay on top of their responsibilities. ADHD sufferers can implement a number of strategies to maximize their potential and minimize workplace difficulties. If you have ADHD, you are under no obligation to disclose your condition, but letting your employer know may help you get the support you need. Summary People with ADHD have a lot to contribute to the workplace yet often struggle to stay on top of their responsibilities. People with ADHD find it hard to stay focused, are easily sidetracked by external and internal interruptions, and often come across as disorganized or careless. Low activity in the frontal area of the brain, 86 which is responsible for prioritizing information and self-monitoring, is the likely cause of their symptoms. “Adults with ADHD frequently excel in the workplace, once they adapt to their disability and develop coping skills.” Many adults with ADHD, however, have gone on to lead successful careers – be it in entertainment, politics or business. People with ADHD often stand out for their people skills and creativity. The key for people with ADHD is to come up with individual coping skills to manage their condition. ADHD sufferers can implement a number of strategies to maximize their potential and minimize workplace dif culties. People with ADHD can manage their condition with a combination of medication and behavioral strategies. For one, ADHD drugs can help sufferers focus better and control their impulses. Yet, patients will need to time them properly to make sure the drugs don’t wear off while they are still at work. People with ADHD must develop appropriate workplace strategies – possibly with the help of an ADHD coach – to keep themselves on task. Some may find that working early in the morning, moving to a quiet workspace or letting phone calls go to voicemail helps minimize external distractions. Other strategies can help deal with internal interruptions: keeping a notepad handy to jot down random ideas for later, using a detailed planning system to have peace of mind that nothing important gets missed and making sure to stay engaged with work to minimize the temptation to daydream. Furthermore, setting a timer can help hyperfocused ADHD sufferers who easily lose track of their time. Taking advantage of every appropriate opportunity to move around in the course of the workday helps to manage hyperactivity. Finally, some may find it helpful to enlist a manager or co-worker to help them prioritize their work tasks and structure their day. If you have ADHD, you are under no obligation to disclose your condition, but letting your employer know may help you get the support you need. The traits that come with ADHD are often mistaken for character flaws – such as laziness or carelessness. Sufferers of ADHD may find more acceptance and understanding among co-workers who are aware of the situation. fi 87 “Ideally, by telling your boss, you’ll gain an ally in helping you to set up an optimal work environment.” ” In the United States, employees with ADHD also benefit from a number of legal protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which covers the condition. US law doesn't require you to disclose your condition to your employer, but if you do, you can ask for a number of workplace accommodations that will help make your work life easier and more productive. About the Author Royce Flippin is a freelance health and medical journalist in New York City. The Cognition Crisis Recommendation You inherited an insatiable thirst for information. It’s a trait that’s kept humans alive for millennia, but the advent of information technology turned the trickle of information your brain evolved to devour into an overwhelming flood. The bad news is that the flood is drowning your prefrontal cortex. Adam Gazzaley – a professor of neurology and psychiatric physiology – calls the correlated rises in depression, anxiety and dementia a “cognition crisis.” Could the technology that produced the problem also provide the solution? getAbstract recommends Gazzaley’s timely article to the parents, doctors and technologists who might save the population from serious cognitive decline. Take-Aways • • • • Digital technology has increased the amount of information humans take in every day, and the human brain hasn’t evolved fast enough to handle the deluge. Cognitive impairments like dementia, depression and ADHD are on the rise. Education and medicine are well-situated to help, but both suffer from five systemic flaws. The five flaws to overcome are “inadequate assessments, poor targeting, lack of personalization, siloed practices and open-loop systems.” Existing technology like biological sensors can improve assessments and provide real-time feedback. Digital technologies could allow for inexpensive but personalized intervention programs. 88 • Companies and laboratories are already developing “digital education and digital medicine” that might use personalized video games to train, maintain and enhance the brain. Summary Rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety and dementia are rising and present a hazard to humanity. The rise in dementia is expected; it reflects the growing numbers of the elderly. More worrisome is the epidemic of attention and emotional disorders in the young. The education and medical professions are well-placed to address this crisis, but before they do, they must address five institutional incompetencies: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Inadequate assessments – Making no assessment or using outdated or imprecise test instruments for diagnosis. Poor targeting – Prescribing generic treatment plans that don’t remedy specific problematic behavior. Lack of personalization – Issuing standardized doses of medication based on large clinical trials rather than on individual need. Siloed practices – Thus making complementary interdisciplinary treatment unavailable. Open-loop systems – Failing to get the necessary feedback to enable continual adjustments in treatment for optimal benefit. “Even if an individual’s cognition problems do not result in a medical diagnosis, subclinical deficits in attention, emotional regulation and memory have been found to confer a real risk.” Many labs and businesses are already pursuing digital medicine and digital education, which could use “noninvasive, affordable, safe and accessible” technology to address these inadequacies. Imagine a video game that uses accelerometers, voice recognition, heart-rate monitors, eye-motion trackers and brain imaging to sense human movement, brain activity, performance and emotions. The program would provide a personalized diagnosis and targeted interventions, which may include long-known cognitive enhancers such as exercise, time in nature, meditation, good sleep hygiene and increased socialization. The program may also include more time with the video game, which adjusts its difficulty level and rewards with real-time feedback, essentially using the brain’s natural neural plasticity to maintain and enhance cognitive abilities throughout a person’s lifetime. Eventually, artificial intelligence and virtual reality could play a role. Technology has already enhanced physical health, and it could enhance mental health, too. About the Author Adam Gazzaley, MD, PhD, is a professor of neurology and psychiatry physiology at UCSF. He founded and directs Neuroscape and cofounded Akili Interactive, JAZZ VP and Sensync. 89 Manage Your Day-to-Day Recommendation Editor Jocelyn K. Glei offers a selection of practices that leaders use to encourage inspiration and to avoid multitasking. To help your ideas bloom, she says, structure time for your own creativity. Her fascinating compilation, part of the 99U Book Series, draws on the insights of various creative thinkers, including coach Mark McGuinness, Behance founder Scott Belsky and behavioral economist Dan Ariely. Glei offers sound advice to help you work in tumultuous situations, connect with yourself instead of constantly communicating with everyone else, avoid the distractions of email and social media, and develop a productive routine. She also provides links to the websites of the thinkers whose insights she features. getAbstract advocates this best-selling compilation to those seeking to increase their focus, productivity and creativity. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Stop making excuses. Accept your strengths and the reality of your organizational limitations. At the start of each day, do vital tasks first. Establish a solid routine. Structure your time so you can work without interruption. Pay more attention to your intuition and gut feelings than to technology. Periodically turn off all media connections to give your mind a rest and open the door for a fresh take. Decide which issues to ignore in your email and social media. You’ll always find more topics demanding your attention than you can tend to effectively. Differentiate between what you do consciously and what you do as a result of an addiction. Accept your constraints as advantages, not obstacles. Your ability to overcome limitations can spark your creativity. Seek solitude to enhance your serenity. Don’t rest on your laurels. Continually strive to take on the next task. Summary “Building a Rock-Solid Routine” Scott Belsky, the founder of Behance, asked creative people about their work and their lives. On the basis of their responses, he advocates going beyond merely coming up with great ideas and taking the next step: putting your ideas into action. “To create something worthwhile with your life…draw a line between the world’s demands and your own ambitions.” As a frequent public speaker, Belsky often asks people if they have ideas. His audience members always say they do, but then they explain why they can’t act on 90 their ideas. Belsky urges you to recognize that the time has come to stop making excuses. Accept what you can do – and do it. Live with the reality that few organizations achieve perfection. Take the initiative to promote your ideas with the understanding that how you act defines your ability to do things well. How you seize the opportunity to improve your work habits will determine whether you can make things happen. Start by creating a rock-solid routine. 99U director Jocelyn Glei offers these tips: • • • • • • Put doing “great work before everything else” – When you start work, do whatever you consider most vital. Leave activities like responding to email until after you complete the day’s crucial tasks. “Jump-start your creativity” – Set up cues like playing the same music consistently or structuring your work area in a productive way to help you prepare for work. “Feel the frequency” – Commit to working on long-range assignments regularly to build your forward momentum. “Pulse and pause” – Alternate systematically between expending energy and recharging. Focus on your work during 90-minute sessions, and then take a break. “Get lonely” – To enhance your serenity, focus and energy, establish a practice of seeking some time in solitude every day. “Don’t wait for moods” – Work no matter how you feel. Being productive will put you in the mood to be productive. “Honing Your Creative Practice” Seth Godin, best-selling author of Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us and The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (And When to Stick) and many other titles, believes creative people must embrace their own “idiosyncrasies” to figure out the work habits that fit them best. He embraces the idea of a “practice” built on repeatable, productive, disciplined work habits. “When we focus on fulfilling our core needs and helping others do the same, we feel more satisfied and, consequently, are more effective.” Godin urges creative workers to be especially ambitious and dedicated even when they don’t feel like working. What distinguishes between your work and “your hobby,” Godin says, is that your emotions don’t dictate when you work and when you don’t. Fear is often the main reason people may find themselves able to take on shortterm projects, but unable to build a successful creative career over the long term. A person who makes a wonderful short film but proves unable to raise the funds to make a full-length feature, for example, may suffer from “self-sabotage.” “Block off a substantial chunk of time, most days of the week, for applying sustained focus to your most important creative tasks.” Perhaps you “feel like a fraud” when you present yourself to the world as a person capable of doing a superb job on a difficult project. This is scary, because people may criticize you. You’re making yourself visible to people who know and 91 understand the world in which you want to succeed. You might fear that they’ll see through you. “We are losing the distinction between urgent and important… It’s easier to do the trivial things that are ‘urgent’ than it is to do the important things.” Learn to tune out such messages; they’re just “noise in your head” urging you to believe you can’t succeed. Beware of perfectionism: It can be an unconscious tactic to paralyze yourself. “Finding Focus in a Distracted World” In 1971, social science expert Herbert Simon pointed out that information devours the concentration of those who receive it. A plentiful supply of information “creates a poverty of attention.” Since the time Simon summarized this dilemma, the demands on your attention have exploded due to the popularity of social media and the ubiquity of smartphones. “Curate “who you follow on social media. You’re letting those people into your brain and they’re going to influence your thoughts.” In a world that makes so many demands, your focused attention is the source of your competitive edge. To protect it, consider these ideas: • • • • • “Defend your creative time” – Structure your time so you can work without interruption. Your unbroken, focused blocks of time are as important as any business commitment. “Focus when you’re fresh” – Work on important tasks that require concentration at the beginning of your workday. Your ability to concentrate declines later in the day. Save that time for emails and for mundane tasks and chores. “Kill the background noise” – Turn off your phone and online social media. Log off from any other distractions when you work. “Give your brain a break” – During your uninterrupted work time, switch between difficult and easy tasks to give your brain an opportunity to recuperate. “Tap into transitional movements” – To open yourself to new opportunities to work and think, don’t check your smartphone when you unexpectedly have a break. “Taming Your Tools” Kevin Kelly, who co-founded WIRED magazine, notes that new technologies can have downsides. The more apparent a new technology’s benefits are, the greater the potential it offers for misuse. Most working people maintain an ambiguous relationship with technology. The demands technology makes might overwhelm you. You may suffer a constant temptation to post everything you think your friends would like. This is a common and toxic disruption of focus and work momentum. 92 “Being friendly while standing in line for coffee at a conference might lead to a conversation, a business card exchange and the first investment in your company a few months later.” To manage your relationship with technology: • • • • • • “Keep the long view in view” – Post your most difficult, long-term goals on your computer to keep them uppermost in your mind as you decide what you need to do next. “Be conscious of your bandwidth” – Ignore certain topics in your email and on social media. You will always find more things to pay attention to than you can heed or respond to productively. “Check yourself or wreck yourself” – Differentiate between what you do consciously and what you do as a result of an addiction. Does the brief, positive hit of dopamine you receive from a “Like” rule your day, and distract you from important tasks? If so, that behavior, however benign it might appear, is addictive. “Hit the rest button” – Periodically disconnect from all media – online, on-air, on your phone – to give your mind a rest and create a chance for a fresh take. “Don’t hold your breath” – Cultivate an appreciation of your body. Pay attention to your breath to make yourself calmer and allow yourself to think more clearly. To help you learn to breathe, perform yoga, meditate or try contemplative stretching. “In imagination we trust” – Your emotions are more perceptive than you may believe. Pay more attention to your intuition and gut feelings than to technology. “Sharpening Your Creative Mind” Executing important tasks can require a lot of hard work every day. Remember that you can’t resolve every issue by sheer willpower. Provide yourself with ample time for recreation, rest and non-goal-related activities. “The most successful creative minds consistently lay the groundwork for ideas to germinate and evolve.” Though this seems counterintuitive, time away from work fuels your energy and focus. Getting away from your tasks and from applying willpower can provide the inspiration to develop your thoughts and to start new initiatives. Get out of your rut of habits, explore unrelated activities, stop criticizing yourself and restrain yourself from seeking perfection. Most people use their creativity only to earn their living. “Everybody who does creative work has figured out how to deal with their own demons to get their work done.” However, work tasks should constitute just a small portion of your true capabilities. To achieve outstanding results, strive to serve your most important audience: yourself. To that end, consider these strategies: 93 • • • • • “Practice unnecessary creation” – Whether your own creative projects bring you income or not, work on them to use your talents and explore new interests. “Wonder lonely as a cloud” – Give yourself time to daydream when you face an obstacle you can’t resolve. Backing off from difficult subjects allows you to tap into your subconscious to find solutions you didn’t know existed. “Define ‘finished from the start’” – Decide when you begin a project what your finished result will look like. That will prevent you from making impossible demands on yourself that can block you from ever finishing. “Search for the source” – When you feel insufficient inspiration, don’t criticize your lack of capability. You could be facing other problems that cloud your perception. Try to identify the issues that could be worrying and distracting you. Take what steps you can to resolve them and be determined that they won’t thwart you. “Love your limitations” – Accept your constraints as an advantage rather than an obstacle. Your ability to identify and overcome limitations can unleash your creativity, energy and inspiration. Setting Out on the Journey When you’re young, you may have only a few skills to draw on when you begin an endeavor. You might get scared, and that anxiety might make you stumble. “Screen apnea is the temporary cessation of breath or shallow breathing while sitting in front of a screen, whether a computer, a mobile device or a television.” As you grow into being a professional who works through various moods and ignores anxiety, you’ll become stronger and more productive. Yet no one gains expertise overnight. Develop a working rhythm. In the beginning, that could mean sitting and working for an unbroken hour. A lot of people can’t manage even that. You may find that an hour of pure focus makes you restless and distracted. If so, work up to an hour in smaller increments. “With one eye on our gadgets, we’re unable to give our full attention to who and what is in front of us…we miss out on the details of our lives, ironically, while responding to our fear of missing out.” Make sure that you focus only on work for whatever time increments function best for you. After you are able to work with focus for one-hour periods during a day, try to maintain that steady rhythm of focus and productivity for several days. If doubt clouds your focus and you wonder if you could ever complete a project that could interest another person – like a piece of writing or art – stop for a moment of learning and consideration. The process of mastering your craft also helps you learn how to control your feelings rather than being controlled by them, helps you prevent yourself from stumbling and helps you focus on the virtues of persistence. 94 “An optimist [can] keep 50, a hundred or even a thousand emails hovering in their inbox in the hopes that, someday soon, they’ll get a chance to give each opportunity the precious time that it deserves.” When you complete a project, you might feel inner reluctance about taking up the next challenge. That’s natural, and you might need a brief rest. However, if you indulge it, this resistance can prevent you from achieving your potential and acting in a masterful manner. After an interval of positive reflection, during which you accept praise from yourself and others, tackle the next task, no matter how daunting it seems. “We are constantly forced to juggle tasks and battle unwanted distractions.” As you become a professional, continue to persevere at your vocation no matter how you feel on any given day or what happens around you. Professionals grow only more youthful and more innocent as they become more skilled. You might find that transformation puzzling, but without a sense of wonder about your work, continually pressing ahead becomes more difficult. “We must learn to be creative amidst chaos.” If you manage your work systematically, your emotions surrounding your own excellence will grow less complicated over time. Paradoxically, you will become more professional when you give up control and let your craft command you. This is not an easy path, but it is the most certain path to success and selfactualization. About the Authors Jocelyn K. Glei is editor-in-chief and director of 99U – which teaches how to make ideas happen. She’s the former global managing editor of the online media company Flavorpill. The 7 Habits of Highly E ective People Recommendation In this updated edition of the late Stephen R. Covey's bestseller, Sean Covey draws on ancient wisdom, modern psychology and 20th century science and wraps the mix in a distinctively American can-do program of easylooking steps calling mostly for self-discipline. This classic – now in a new ff 95 30th anniversary edition with a foreword by Jim Collins – is a popular, trusted manual for self-improvement, although you still may find some prescriptions easier to agree with than to act upon. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • You are what you habitually do, so adopt productive habits. You have the ability to improve your habits and your life. Focus on developing character, not personality. Choose sound principles – integrity, dignity, quality, service, patience, perseverance, caring, courage – and endeavor to live by them by adopting seven habits. Habit 1: “Be Proactive.” You are free because you can determine how you respond to circumstances. Habit 2: “Begin with the End in Mind.” Write a personal mission statement to clarify your principles and set your goals. Habit 3: “Put First Things First.” Balance the attention you give to each of your roles, responsibilities and relationships. Habit 4: “Think Win/Win.” Multiply your allies. Habit 5: “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood.” Communication and trust are two-way streets. Habit 6: “Synergize.” The cooperative whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Habit 7: “Sharpen the Saw.” Take the time to sharpen your tools: your body, soul, mind and heart. Summary You are what you habitually do, so adopt productive habits. You have the ability to improve your habits and your life. The seven habits of highly effective people are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. They take initiative. “Be proactive.” They focus on goals. “Begin with the end in mind.” They set priorities. “Put first things first.” They only win when others win. “Think win/win.” They communicate. “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” They cooperate. “Synergize.” They reflect on and repair their deficiencies. “Sharpen the saw.” Focus on developing character, not personality. Much of the business success literature of recent decades focused on developing a good personality. This emphasis is misplaced. Developing a sound character is more important and more productive. Your personality can emerge naturally when your character is rooted in and formed by positive principles. Forcing yourself to display a personality that is inconsistent with your character is like wearing a mask. It is deceptive, manipulative and ultimately destructive. 96 “In fact, until we take how we see ourselves (and how we see others) into account, we will be unable to understand how others see and feel about themselves and their world.” To develop a sound character, you need a sound paradigm, a solid new way of seeing things. Before the theory of germs established a new paradigm, for example, surgeons didn’t wash their hands. When patients died of infections, no one understood why. Sterile operating rooms came about as the result of a new paradigm, a new way of seeing how disease worked. Choose sound principles – integrity, dignity, quality, service, patience, perseverance, caring, excellence, courage – and endeavor to live by them by adopting seven habits. Today, many people have a deterministic paradigm. They believe that their genetic makeup determines how they will act, or that their parents’ failures permanently weakened their own chances and formed them irremediably, or that their environment or experience have curtailed their freedom to change. In fact, determinism is a paradigm. To forge a strong character, abandon determinism and accept a paradigm of freedom. This new paradigm allows you to see that you can change, that character is a habit and that a habit is what you do consistently. If you act consistently in a new way, you will form and become a new, improved character. “In choosing our response to circumstance, we powerfully affect our circumstance.” Certain basic principles and values make people more effective. They are fairness, equity, integrity, honesty, human dignity and worth, excellence, a spirit of service, patience, perseverance, nurturing, caring, courage, encouragement, and the can-do attitude that recognizes boundless potential. The person whose character grows from these classic principles is a leader who, having mastered him or her self, can inspire and help others. Character is habit. Excellence is a habit, not an aptitude. As Aristotle said, we are what we habitually do. To develop the habit of acting on these principles you must: • Know – Understand what you want to do and why you want to do it. • Develop skills – Become able to do it. • Desire – You must want and will yourself to do it. The most important work is the inner work. When you master your interior self, you will master what is outside of you. Many people mistakenly concentrate on production, on making a measurable, visible difference in the world outside. They neglect production capability, the source of power that makes production possible. They are like the fellow who runs several hours a day and boasts of the extra years he’ll live but neglects to notice that he is spending all of his extra time running. He may gain extra years, but he won’t be able to do anything more with them, and the time he spends 97 running might better be spent developing deeper relationships with his spouse, family and friends. Habit 1: Be Proactive. You are free because you can determine how you respond to circumstances. Highly effective people take the initiative. They are proactive. They don’t impose limits on themselves that prevent them from acting. They recognize that they have the freedom to determine the kind of character they will have because they can decide how they will act. They may not be able to control their circumstances, but they can decide whether to use those circumstances or be abused by them. They live by the “principles of personal vision.” “The most effective way I know to begin with the end in mind is to develop a personal mission statement or philosophy or creed.” Viktor Frankl was a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. His entire family, except for one sister, was murdered in the camps. As horrific as his circumstances were, Frankl recognized that he was free, because he could decide how he would think and act in the midst of the horror. Even when he was a starving prisoner, he visualized himself lecturing in a classroom, telling students about the horror and what he learned from it. His mental discipline made him stronger than the camp guards. He inspired fellow prisoners and even some of the guards themselves. Frankl was proactive. He took the initiative and accepted responsibility for his fate. He recognized that his fate was his to decide. He didn’t have the power to walk away from the camp, but he had the power to master it. “By centering our lives on timeless, unchanging principles, we create a fundamental paradigm of effective living.” Begin to be proactive by speaking the language of initiative and responsibility: • • • Not, I can’t do anything – but, let’s think about some possibilities. Not, that’s just me – but, I can change the way I am. Not, he drives me up the wall – but, I can choose how I’ll let him affect me. • Not, I can’t or I have to – but, I will decide and I will choose. Proactive people operate in the realm of the possible. They see what they can do and do it. By taking responsibility and acting, they expand the realm of the possible. They get stronger as time passes. They become able to do more and more. They begin by committing to change something interior and may eventually change the world around them. 98 Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind. Write a personal mission statement to clarify your principles and set your goals. Think carefully about your goals. Many people spend a lifetime pursuing a goal that proves meaningless, unsatisfying or destructive. You see them on the covers of tabloid magazines, rich, famous, busted for drugs or watching their marriages fall apart. Power, money and fame were the goals that they wanted and achieved, but at what price? Effectiveness is not just a matter of reaching a goal but rather of achieving the right goal. Imagine yourself sitting in the back of the room at your funeral. Imagine what people could honestly say about you based on the way you are now. Do you like what you hear? Is that how you want to be remembered? If not, change it. Take hold of your life. Implement “personal leadership.” “Principles are guidelines for human conduct that are proven to have enduring, permanent value.” Begin by drafting a personal mission statement that outlines your goals and describes the kind of person you want to be. Think carefully about this mission statement. Examine yourself. See yourself as you really are. Are you self-centered? A workaholic? Money-grubbing? Decide what you need to change and what you want to become. Write the statement. Make a commitment to yourself. Keep that commitment. Habit 3: Put First Things First. Balance the attention you give to each of your roles. You have the power to change who you are, but that means changing how you act. Never let your most important priorities fall victim to the least important. Many people spend their time reacting to urgent circumstances and emergencies, and never invest the necessary effort to develop the ability to prevent emergencies, to exercise “personal management.” They confuse the important with the urgent. The urgent is easy to see. The important is harder to discern. “Effective management is putting first things first.” Emphasize planning, avoiding pitfalls, developing relationships, cultivating opportunities and getting adequate recreation. Don’t think about cramming a lot of business into your schedule but rather about making sure that you spend the necessary time on important things. Think of your various roles as a spouse, a parent, a manager, or a community volunteer. Give each role an appropriate allotment of time on your schedule. Don’t rob Peter to pay Paul; make sure each role gets its due. Habit 4: Think Win/Win. Multiply your allies. In marriage, business or other relationships, exercise “interpersonal leadership” to make both parties winners. Two wins makes everyone better off; two losses places everyone in a worse situation. A win/lose relationship 99 creates a victor and leaves someone injured. Highly effective people strive for win/win transactions, which make it profitable for everyone to cooperate because all the parties are better off in the end. Any other kind of transaction is destructive, because it produces losers and, therefore, enemies and bad feelings, such as animosity, defeat and hostility. Highly effective people become highly effective by multiplying their allies, not their enemies. A good alliance is win/win. Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. Communication and trust are two-way streets. To develop win/win relationships, find out what the other parties want, and what winning means to them. Don’t assume you know. Listen. Always try to understand what the other people want and need before you begin to outline your own objectives. Do not object, argue or oppose what you hear. Listen carefully, and think about it. Try to put yourself in the other party’s shoes. “Think effectiveness with people and efficiency with things.” Good lawyers make it a practice to write the strongest possible case they can from their opponent’s point of view. Only when they understand the best possible arguments for the opposition do they begin to draft the case from their client’s point of view. This tactic is equally valuable in personal relationships or business arrangements. Always understand what the other party needs and wants, and why. Then, when you outline your own objectives, put them in terms that respond directly to the other party’s goals. That is acting upon the “principles of empathetic communication.” Habit 6: "Synergize." The cooperative whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Cooperation multiplies the power of one. In fact, “creative cooperation” may yield a force greater than the sum of the parts, just as an arch can support a greater weight than two pillars can hold. The arch multiples the power of both pillars. The buzzword to describe this kind of relationship is “synergy,” which means bringing together a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. “Real self-respect comes from dominion over self.” Effective synergy depends on communication. Many people make synergy impossible by reacting from scripts. They don’t listen, reflect and respond but instead hear and react reflexively. Their reactions may be defensive, authoritarian or passive. They may oppose or they may go along – but they don’t actively cooperate. Cooperation and communication are the two legs of a synergistic relationship. Listen, reflect, respond and actively cooperate. Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw. Take the time to sharpen your tools: your body, soul, mind and heart. 100 In an old yarn, a man is sawing a log. The work is going slowly and the man is exhausted. The more he saws, the less he cuts. A passerby watches for a while and suggests that the man should take a break to sharpen the saw. But the man says he can’t stop to sharpen the saw because he is too busy sawing! A dull saw makes the work tiresome, tedious and unproductive. Highly effective people take the time they need to sharpen their tools, which are, in fact, their bodies, souls, mind and hearts. It’s time for “self-renewal.” Effective people take care of their bodies with a program of exercise that combines endurance, flexibility and strength. It’s easy to plan such a program, and you don’t have to join a gym to implement it. Effective people care for their souls with prayer and meditation, if they are inclined to a religiously-grounded spirituality, or perhaps by reading great literature or listening to great music. Never neglect this spiritual dimension; it provides the energy for the rest of your life. “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” Mental repair may mean changing your habits, such as the habit of watching television. Television watching encourages passive absorption of values, attitudes and dispositions that dull the mind. Read, work puzzles, do math or engage in some challenging activity to keep your mind alert, active and engaged. The heart refers to emotions, which depend greatly on others. Work to develop your heart, your emotional connections and your engagement with other people. Communicate, listen and be undemanding. In everything you do, try to make others better off and put them first. By doing so, you’ll transform yourself into a highly effective person. About the Authors Sean Covey is Executive Vice President of Global Solutions and Partnerships for FranklinCovey and a New York Times bestselling author. His books include The 6 Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make, The 7 Habits of Happy Kids, The 4 Disciplines of Execution and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. The late Stephen R. Covey was vice-chairman of FranklinCovey and founder of the Covey Leadership Center. His bestsellers include The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. 101 The 48 Laws of Power This book is amoral, hauntingly true and indispensable. It should be on the bookshelf of anyone who aspires to any level of success in any organization or profession. It should not gather dust but should be read regularly, according to a plan - one law a day, for example, absorbed slowly and contemplated deeply. Author Robert Greene draws on a rich variety of sources including books so threatening that they were banned by the ancient Chinese. He cites the memoirs of Machiavelli, various con men and many others who swept aside what ought to be in order to focus on what is. It might seem that anyone who follows all of these laws in their rich, narrative detail will turn out to be a very unpleasant person. That’s probably not true. getAbstract suspects, in contrast, that the person who masters the laws of power will be extremely pleasant, with winning ways and a knack for likeability, yet awe-inspiring and in control - though not always obviously so. Doesn’t that sound tempting? Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Always look good, always be stylish. Never trust anyone - enemies are more reliable than friends. Make everything seem easy. Draw attention to yourself. Use the weaknesses and pain points of others to control them. Plan thoroughly and never overreach your plan. Do not force people to do your will; seduce and induce them. Speak as little as possible because speaking too much is dangerous. Keep yourself at some distance to inspire respect. Play dumb, because if people think they are smarter than you they will make blunders. Summary The Ways of Power The need for power is so fundamental, so essentially human, that when you feel you have no power over people or events, you are likely to be depressed. People who pretend to have no aspirations to power are either deceiving themselves or attempting to deceive others. Everyone wants power. The more they get, the more they want. “The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril.” Power is like a drug, but it does not weaken you. On the contrary, it makes you stronger. Yet, it is considered somewhat impolite and vulgar, almost an outrage, to seek power forthrightly. Those who want power must seem to have no interest in it. Indeed, they must pretend to care only about others. 102 The person who best projects an image of not caring for power will become the most powerful. It is paradoxical and, perhaps, unhealthy but you cannot honestly and straightforwardly pursue power. You must disguise your means and ends. This does not mean lying. Indeed, it is wrong to lie, not because lying is immoral, although according to moral codes it is, but rather because the risk of being exposed is too great. Power depends on trust. The known liar loses trust and, therefore, loses power. “What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after.” Duplicity is another matter. These laws may seem scandalously frank, but you can apply them without violating any of the strictures of public morality. In fact, that's the way to get the best results. The Laws 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Never eclipse your superiors – Always reinforce their comfortable sense of superiority. They are probably acutely aware of their defects and incompetence, and alert to any threat from below. If you make them look bad, they will crush you, stymie you and make you miserable. Prove your usefulness. Never outshine them. Do not trust allies, but understand the utility of enemies – Friends will betray you out of envy. They have a regrettable tendency to expect too much of you because of your friendship and to become demanding nuisances. Don't hire or appoint friends. Hire enemies. The enemy whom you forgive will always feel that he has to prove his loyalty. If you have no enemies, get to work making a few good ones. Don't tip your hand – If people don't know what goal you are seeking, they cannot defend against you. Keep your intentions secret. Move behind a smokescreen. Spare your words – The powerful seldom speak. The more you talk, the more you expose yourself, and then, the more familiar you become. The more familiar you become, the less awesome you seem. Speak sparingly. Protect your reputation – Reputation can defend you in any attack, but it is useless once damaged. Never tolerate or ignore any threat of a blemish to your reputation. Make yourself the center of attention – People judge on the basis of what they see. They do not know what they don't see. Forget toiling in obscurity. The only reward for that will be more toil and more obscurity. Make a spectacle of yourself. Take credit for others' work – Admittedly, it's not nice to take all the credit for other people's work, but it is very effective and you would be a fool to do otherwise. You will seem like a miracle of speed and competence, and no one will remember those who made your success possible, so they can't threaten you. Lure people – When you make other people move first, you are in control. Power means being in control. Never act first; never go to the other person's turf. Make adversaries come to you. Bait them, entice them, seduce them, but draw them to you. 103 9. Win by deeds not by debate — Instead of arguing (which creates losers who bear grudges), win by acting. Instead, demonstrate that you are right by your deeds. 10. Shun losers; unhappiness and bad luck are contagious — The drowning man drags his rescuers under. Avoid losers. Hang with winners. Shun the poor, the unlucky, the unloved and the unhappy. 11. Make people need you – It is good to have people depend on you. Keep them dependent. Then, you are in control. Never teach them so much they can get by without you or compete with you. Keep a secret or two that maintains your power. 12. Tell part of the truth and be tactically generous – When you are honest and generous, people relax and begin to trust you. Then they are vulnerable and effectively in your power. Seem generous and honest. Give people gifts. Remember the story of the Trojan Horse: it worked admirably well. 13. When you ask for help, let people know what's in it for them – Do not expect altruism. When people are altruistic (rare), you are in their debt. Usually, people will not want to help you for your sake. To get their support, appeal to their self-interest. If something will benefit them, exaggerate shamelessly; they will hasten to your aid. 14. Seem to be a friend to gather intelligence – Draw people out. Ask oblique questions. Get them to reveal themselves. Disarm rivals by seeming to be a friend. 15. Destroy your enemy – When you fight, do not leave your enemy alive to fight another day. Annihilate your enemies. Destroy them utterly. Even a small spark can start a forest fire. Drown every smoldering ember. 16. Absent yourself to inspire awe – When people see you too much, they do not respect you. Stay out of sight to inspire awe and perhaps fear. Scarce things are valuable. 17. Be unpredictable to inspire fear – If you are unpredictable, people will exhaust themselves trying to figure you out. In extreme cases, volatile changes of mood, temper or plan can empower you as a tyrant, allowing you to terrorize underlings. 18. Do not withdraw totally because isolation has its perils – It is one thing to make yourself scarce, another to hide behind the castle walls. You cannot trust anyone to bring you accurate information, so you cannot stay completely out of sight. Be out and about enough to know what is up. 19. Know with whom you deal; give no offense to the powerful – Be able to read people. Know what power and what friends your antagonists command. Make no assumptions. People often pretend to be what they are not, and may nourish a slight for years until they have a chance to repay it. 20. Make no promises – You are your only commitment. Avoid inseparable allies. As Washington advised, avoid entangling alliances. 21. Play dumb – There's no point looking smarter than people. It puts them on their guard. Disarm your victims by making them feel smartest. They like it, and it makes them shed all suspicion and fear, so you can manipulate them as you please. 22. Surrender to gain power – If you are weaker than your opponent, forget staging a good fight for glory. Surrender on terms that let you keep as much power as possible. Wait for your opponent to make a false step, and strike from the dark, unsuspected. 104 23. Focus your strength – Pick one point and bring all your forces to bear on it. Do not disperse your energy or power. Cultivate one powerful mentor or patron assiduously. 24. Be courtly – The courtier is adept at intrigue, manipulation, image, flattery, flirtation and conversation. The perfect courtier looks good and manages to assemble power without seeming to grasp. To control even the king, be the perfect courtier. 25. Re-invent yourself – Don't be what other people try to compel you to be. Carve out your own attention-getting identity. Be interesting, never dull. Be dramatic; have signature gestures, deeds, even costumes, so people always know who you are. 26. Don't get your hands dirty – Use someone else to do any dirty work. Then, find someone else to take the blame. Scapegoats and cats'-paws have their uses. 27. Exploit people's needs to build your cult – People want to believe. It hardly matters what or whom they believe. Offer them something to trust, someone to follow. Speak inspiringly and imply great promises, but spare the specifics so no one can charge you with not performing. Have your disciples sacrifice for you. They will empower you. 28. Act boldly – Never be timid. Take bold, decisive action. Any doubt on your part will impede you and increase the probability of failure. Never fail in public. The missteps of the bold are forgiven; the stumbles of the timid are not. 29. Plan everything – Leave nothing to chance. Plan every step, including the last step, and the one after that. Many have lost the fruit of their scheming by neglecting to plan the conclusion. As a result, the credit, money or power went to someone else. 30. Look as if everything you do is easy – Never show effort. Never break a sweat. Magicians conceal their stage apparatus and so should you. Amaze others with the ease of your accomplishment. Especially when you have run as far as you possibly can and are about to faint, seem to be full of energy and ready for another course. 31. You have to deal the cards to control the game – You must seem to allow others some freedom of choice, but always invisibly control the boundaries of their choices. Give them choices that make you better off no matter which alternative they pick. 32. Seem to offer what people have dreamed of and longed for – Never make people face the ugly truth. Give them the dreams they want and they will give you power. 33. Learn what hurts and use it – Everyone has a weakness, vulnerability, insecurity, need or sensitivity. Learn it and exploit it. Inflict or relieve pain as serves your purpose. 34. Play the king and people will treat you royally – Carry yourself like a king. Respect and value yourself. Other people will regard you as you regard yourself. 35. Timing is everything – The right act at the wrong time is the wrong act. The wrong act at the right time is the right act. Timing is everything. Part of appearing confident is the virtue of patience. Never seem hurried, harried or at loose ends. Behave as if everything is going your way and will work out in your favor. 105 36. Despise what is beyond your reach – Like Aesop's fox and the sour grapes, if you cannot reach a coveted prize, despise it. If you acknowledge a problem or a problem person, you empower the problem or the troublemaker. If you seem to ignore and disdain what others covet or fear, you will seem superior, and they will be in awe. 37. Be spectacular – Do not hide your light. Use symbols, grand gestures, dramatic words and staging to highlight yourself and draw attention. 38. Think what you please, but act like the crowd – There is no advantage in playing the eccentric or the fool. If you seem to run too much against the current of the times and against the customary practice, people will distrust and despise you. Show your inventiveness and originality only to those with whom you are intimate. 39. Make a splash and you'll fill your net with fish – Never get angry. Never give vent to strong emotions. Make your enemies do that. When they strike in anger, they will strike inaccurately, opening themselves to your patient, well-planned counter attack. 40. Don't look for a free lunch; disdain it – Anything that seems free is not. Something worth having is worth the price. Pay your own way; carry your own weight. Owe nothing. Do not rely on the generosity of others; make others rely on yours. 41. Don't try to fill the shoes of the great – If the shoes don't fit you, you'll stumble and look like a presumptuous fool. If the one who preceded you in a post was great, you will work in a shadow. Strike out on your own; show movement in a new direction. 42. Strike the shepherd to scatter the sheep – If the group is restive or truculent, look for the troublemaker. Often, a single malcontent can poison a whole community. Strike that one person and you will destroy an entire movement. 43. Win hearts and minds – Do not force people to do your will. They resent force and nurture dreams of revenge. Win them by guile, flattery and craft. Let them think they are following their own will and hearts. Then they will serve you out of love, and hope only to serve you more. 44. Enrage people by mirroring them – Do what your enemies do. Force them to face themselves. They will see themselves and they will not see you. You will enrage them, disarm them and defeat them. 45. Talk about reform but make changes slowly – People love to talk about change, but they hate to change. If you come to power, do not make big changes quickly. Talk up reform, inspire dreams of change, but make only small changes and work patiently. 46. Never look perfect – If you look too good, people will try to destroy you out of envy. Claim some fault so slight it is almost a virtue, but acknowledge it as a fault. 47. When you reach your goal, stop – Many have lost the prize by being too greedy or arrogant. Don't overreach. When you achieve your victory, you have reached the end of your plan. Stop. Do not go farther until you have made a new plan. 48. Be protean – If you have no shape, people cannot find your center and cannot attack you. Be fluid. Adjust to every circumstance. Like water, adapt to every vessel. About the Author 106 Robert Greene has a degree in classical studies and has been an editor at Esquire and other magazines. Peak What appears to be genius is not so uncommon. Mozart’s sister, Maria Anna, was also a child prodigy. The difference for top performers isn’t practice – it’s “deliberate practice,” a focused method of systematic improvement that psychologist Anders Ericsson spent a lifetime studying. He and co-author Robert Pool explain the science that supports deliberate practice and illustrate their manual with historical examples of top performers. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • Practice and the time they devote to the practice differentiates top and average performers. Focused practice that challenges homeostasis changes the brain. Top performers improve their skills by improving their “mental representations.” Nobody develops extraordinary abilities without putting in tremendous amounts of practice. To improve, you need to practice the right way. Maintaining practice over time is the key to steady improvement. The development of expert performance typically progresses through a series of recognizable stages: “starting out,” “becoming serious,” “commitment,” and, in rare cases, “pathbreaker.” Under the surface of what appears to be natural talent lurks lots of time dedicated to practice. In every discipline studied, deliberate practice has been shown to produce improvement. Summary Practice and the time they devote to the practice differentiates top and average performers. “Purposeful practice” aims at specific, well-defined targets. “Get outside your comfort zone but do it in a focused way, with clear goals, a plan for reaching those goals and a way to monitor your progress. Oh, and figure out a way to maintain your motivation.” 107 Instead of practicing your golf game, think specifically about what you need to do to reduce your handicap five strokes. Focus, perhaps, on adjusting your swing. Effective practice helps change your brain to increase your playing ability. Focused practice that challenges homeostasis changes the brain. Your brain size may not change, but the brain is highly adaptable, or plastic. When you undertake a physical fitness program, muscle cells contract and use available oxygen and energy. But now the bloodstream needs more, so you breathe deeper and tap other sources of energy. If you maintain a program of physical exercise that challenges the body, your cells respond by changing, activating different genes to handle the change. The muscles involved eventually create a “new comfort zone.” By setting up a program that offers continual challenge, “just outside your comfort zone,” you keep improving. The brain responds similarly to challenges by rewiring neuronal connections rather than generating new cells. London’s streets are labyrinthine, defying logic and confounding GPS systems. London’s cabbies develop an ironclad memory of streets, addresses and efficient routes. The posterior hippocampus is a brain structure that is important for our ability to navigate through space. Studies reveal these cabbies have larger posterior hippocampi than people of the same age who don’t drive cabs. “The brain’s structure and function are not fixed. They change in response to use. It is possible to shape the brain – your brain, my brain, anybody’s brain – in the ways that we desire through conscious, deliberate training.” Musical training over time changes the brain. Musicians have a larger cerebellum, a brain structure crucial to controlling movements, than people who aren’t musicians do. Changes that occur in training require maintenance: Use it or lose it. Retired cabbies had fewer of the brain changes than active cabbies. Top performers improve their skills by improving their “mental representations.” Divers and chess masters develop their expertise using different mental maps. These mental representations develop from working on a specific skill. “A mental representation is a mental structure that corresponds to an object, an idea, a collection of information, 108 or anything else, concrete or abstract, that the brain is thinking about.” As experts develop more sophisticated representations, they make quicker decisions. With deliberate practice, neural circuitry changes to create the mental representations they need. Chess masters manipulate their mental representations of the patterns they discern on the board. Doctors manipulate their mental representations of how illnesses present to hone in on the right diagnosis. Salespeople do something similar, and the larger their repertoire of “if…then” scenarios that make up their mental representations, the better their success on the job. When surgery doesn’t go according to a surgeon’s mental representation, the surgeon knows to take a moment, re-evaluate and come up with another plan. Nobody develops extraordinary abilities without putting in tremendous amounts of practice. Generally, fields with long traditions have a regimented structure for practice and for measuring progress. These disciplines share these characteristics: • • • • An agreement about what constitutes a good performance. Competitive top performers. Fields that evolve over long periods of time. Top performers who become teachers and improve training techniques, advancing their fields. In a study that separated three tiers – good, better and best – of topperforming violinists, researchers found all groups agreed that practice led to improvement, was difficult, and not fun. Yet all recognized that practice was the path to improved performance. One difference existed between these groups: The best students spent more time, and the top two groups spent a lot more time in solo practice than the “good” group – although even the least accomplished practiced thousands of hours. The principles of deliberate practice apply no matter what area you want to improve in. Identify top performers and the feats that make them the best. Adopt their training methods. To identify top performers, use objective performance measures or consider peer assessments. “In many fields it is the quality of mental representations that sets apart the best from the rest, and mental representations are, by their nature, not directly observable.” A word of caution about Malcolm Gladwell’s claim that 10,000 hours is the magic number of hours to gain expertise in anything. That particular number is wrong. Also it has yet to be shown whether just anyone can achieve expertise in any field through practicing. However, the message 109 Gladwell’s statement delivers is right: Improving is about continuing to practice. If it’s deliberate practice, that is. And so far, people have found no limit to the improvements that additional practice can bring. To improve, you need to practice the right way. Know that improvement is possible. Genetics do not limit your possible improvement. Mere repetition or trying harder will not lead to improvement. Focus on improving. “If you are not improving, it’s not because you lack innate talent; it’s because you’re not practicing the right way. Once you understand this, improvement becomes a matter of figuring out what the ‘right way’ is.” Most businesspeople don’t have time for deliberate practice. They must turn job scenarios into opportunities to practice skills. If you want to improve your presentation skills, for example, focus on telling more entertaining stories to engage your audience. To improve team skills, listeners can take notes and give the presenter feedback. This creates a virtuous process by which presenters steadily improve. What matters most isn’t what you know, but what you can do. Researchers found that physicians’ performances generally got worse over the years, despite their experience. Interactive techniques such as case solving, acting out roles and hands-on training improve skills. Passively listening to lectures or attending seminars do not. Maintaining practice over time is the key to steady improvement. You can start out learning in a group class or following someone on YouTube, but at some point you need a coach or teacher. Not all competent practitioners make good teachers. Some people are better at teaching kids, for example. Look for someone who teaches the specific skill you wish to improve. Since most of your practice is solo, you want a teacher to guide you to get better at these solitary sessions. Teachers correct misperceptions you may have in your mental representations. Change teachers as you grow and improve. Set clear goals to focus on in short training sessions. “Keep in mind three Fs: Focus. Feedback. Fix it. Break the skill down into components that you can do repeatedly and analyze effectively, determine your weaknesses, and figure out ways to address them.” You will inevitably hit a plateau. Typists improve their speed by typing faster and noting where they make mistakes. If they realize they err when they type words with “ol,” they design a specific practice using lots of those 110 words, and practice typing more quickly. To maintain motivation, establish a habit. Set aside a fixed time to practice. Musicians who got up in the morning and began practicing right away built a sense of duty around the habit. They slept better and were better time planners. Minimize distractions. Turn off your smartphone. Move your exercise class to the afternoon if you lack motivation in the morning. Maintain motivation by remembering your end goal. Eventually, mastery itself becomes part of your motivation. The development of expert performance typically progresses through a series of recognizable stages: “starting out,” “becoming serious,” “commitment,” and, in rare cases, “pathbreaker.” Stage one, “starting out,” typically begins in childhood. When the first female chess grandmaster, Susan Polgár, began as a small child, she saw chess pieces as toys, and playing as fun. Later she came to enjoy the challenge. This is typical for top performers. Parents introduce them to their area of interest as play. Attention and parental praise give children motivation. Parents teach self-discipline, hard work and constructive use of time. In the next stage comes deliberate practice, in which practice becomes work, and students get coaches or teachers. Eventually, the student makes a commitment to becoming a top performer, pushes continuously to improve beyond his or her personal best and in competition with others, sometimes worldwide. At this point, the student supplies the motivation. Parents play a part in financial commitment and emotional support. For baseball and ballet, starting in childhood makes a difference to training arms and legs for a full range of motion. Older participants can adapt, but not as much as children. “In fact, people can train effectively well into their eighties. Much of the age-related deterioration in various skills happens because people decrease or stop their training; older people who continue to train regularly see their performance decrease much less.” Adult brains learn differently from children’s brains. The earlier someone learns a second language, for example, the better their brain’s can adapt. In the fourth stage, top performers move beyond the performance standards in their fields and make innovative contributions. These “pathfinders” lay the ground for others to follow, even if they never share their receipe for success; “simply knowing that something is possible drives others to figure it out.” 111 Under the surface of what appears to be natural talent lurks lots of time dedicated to practice. Nicolò Paganini was a great violinist. According to legend, Paganini was such a genius that when a string broke during a performance, he kept playing. Another string broke, and “the audience was stricken,” but still the genius kept playing. When the third string broke, Paganini continued playing on one string to the delight and amazement of the crowd. To his listeners, it was miraculous. But the truth behind the legend is his performance wasn’t talent – it was practice plus showmanship. Improvement is a long process without shortcuts. Individuals with “Savant syndrome” demonstrate specific, extraordinary abilities in parallel with mental challenges. Some people can hear a piece of music once, then play it. While this may look like innate talent, studies suggest it requires practice – as with the acquisition of any other ability. Mozart, despite being labelled as “prodigy,” developed his abilities through years of concentrated practice. IQ doesn’t make much difference. Researchers found no correlation between chess expertise and IQ. Those players with lower IQ practiced more. When a skill is difficult to master and progress is slow, teachers may assume kids don’t have the talent to succeed and discourage them from trying, turning their belief into a self-fulfilling prophecy. In every discipline studied, deliberate practice has been shown to produce improvement. When teachers taught freshman physics students using principles of deliberate practice, students learned twice the information than those in more traditional programs. Students talked in small groups, and instructors used their answers to questions as feedback for their program. “Deliberate practice is all about the skills. You pick up the necessary knowledge in order to develop the skills; knowledge should never be an end in itself.” Instead of teaching students separate facts to memorize into long-term memory, connect them together as part of a mental representation. Thus, information has context. Information with meaning is easier to use. When you fail, revise your approach and try again. Knowledge comes as a byproduct of learning skills. “ The regular cycle of try, fail, get feedback, try again, and so on is how the students will build their mental representations.” When children develop their own mental representations through deliberate practice, they can improve their skills and innovate through trial 112 and error. They understand that the path to success in other fields follows this pattern. A generation of students with this mind-set will create a world of more expertise in all areas. About the Authors Conradi eminent scholar Anders Ericsson, PhD, teaches psychology at Florida State University. Robert Pool has a PhD in mathematics and is a science journalist. This Idea Is Brilliant Recommendation Editor John Brockman’s anthology of science’s most under-appreciated ideas is packed with 205 scientific ideas curated by cutting-edge thinkers and scientists. By necessity, the descriptions are short, but each one will spark your imagination and make you think. This is a treat for science buffs and science fiction aficionados alike. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • Some questions have definitive answers. Scientists seek these definitive answers – the truth – by using the scientific method. The idea that people feel they know the world better than they do is “the illusion of explanatory depth” (“IOED”). The “longevity factor” measures a civilization’s ability to survive long term. Some scientists want to name the current epoch the Anthropocene to acknowledge that human impact has changed the planet. The second law of thermodynamics states that systems tend toward disorder. Negative events, feelings and ideas influence people more than positive ones. The “Schnitt” is the explanatory gap between quantum and classical physics, the brain and the mind, what is living and what is not. The “Big Bang” theory bogs down in quantum mechanical considerations, so some scientists now posit that instead of a bang, the universe began with a “bounce.” Waves, consciousness and computations have distinct characteristics separate from their “physical substrate.” Summary Some questions have de nitive answers. Scientists seek these de nitive answers – the truth – by using the scienti c method. fi fi fi 113 Cambridge professor William Whewell coined the term “scientist” in 1833. Before the modern era, “natural philosophers” pursued science to glean the “mind of the Creator” in the world. Formalizing scientific study took it out of the realm of thought and into the arena of experimentation. The foundation of science is the “scientific method:” first comes a hypothesis, then an experiment, and then a result that confirms or contradicts the hypothesis. Humans are imperfect and have biases, sometimes unconscious. Sometimes money warps a science organization’s goal; the Tobacco Industry Research Committee actively worked for 40 years to stifle the truth about the harmful effect of tobacco use. Scientists evolved double-blind experiments – now considered a “gold-standard” of the scientific method – to avoid bias. In single-blind experiments participants don’t know whether they’re receiving a test drug or a placebo. In double-blind experiments, neither do those executing the study. The results are free from expectation. For scientists to accept conclusions as valid, different people in different organizations must repeat the experiment and get the same results. Perhaps the best-appreciated thing about science is the utility of little-known formulae such as the Navier-Stokes equation. It describes the second law of motion as it relates to fluids, and it has wide practical application in many fields such as vehicular design, the study of blood flow, weather and climate change predictions, the way animation represents water, and the “metamaterials” developed by scientists that are transforming industries. The idea that people feel they know the world better than they actually do is “the illusion of explanatory depth” (“IOED”). Humans have unprecedented access to knowledge, but that knowledge is often shallow. Social media algorithms keep feeding you information which is like the information you already know, and that adds to the problem. Scientists Leonid Rozenblit and Frank Keil demonstrated IOED by asking subjects to rate their understanding of common artifacts like a sewing machine or crossbow. They then asked people to write down how each of these artifacts work, and asked them to again rate their understanding. Faced with their own inability to write down the details, people lowered their ratings in the second round. An average of six Americans out of ten read only news headlines and not content. Cognitive scientist Philip Fernbach showed that IOED applies to political and policy issues as well, such as single-payer health care or a flat tax. He asked participants to rate their “attitude extremity” as well as their knowledge confidence level. Both ratings fell after people tried to describe an issue fully. This method has proven useful for “cooling off heated political disagreements.” “In any domain of knowledge, often the most ignorant are the most overconfident in their understanding of that domain.” Expertise in a subject tends to breed humility because the subject’s complexities are more obvious to an informed person. Perhaps understanding this phenomenon is a first step to deepening knowledge while “bridging the divides.” 114 The “longevity factor” measures a civilization’s ability to survive long term. “The Drake Equation” is a complex number scientists use to estimate the chances of other Milky Way civilization. One of the considerations in the equation is the longevity factor, or “the average life span of a technological civilization. As physicist Stephen Hawking pointed out, the chances of disaster wiping out Earth are slim, but that chance compounds over the years to become a near certainty sometime in the next 10,000 years. So as humans move into space, thinking on a galactic scale is important. While Mars is a nearby candidate for colonization, scientists need to think longer-term for the safety of the human species, because the same galactic event that might wipe out Earth could conceivably wipe out its neighbor Mars. A good target is Proxima b, which orbits a relatively near star. Humans will have to figure out how to move fast enough through space for colonization of it to be possible. In the meantime, von Neumann robots can conceivably replicate themselves and, using local materials wherever they land, colonize the galaxy. That would take only 10 or so million years. Even so, a “death bubble” moving at close to the speed of light might envelop new outposts of civilization. The likelihood is small, but it increases to inevitable over a long enough period of time. Galaxies are moving apart from each other at an accelerating rate; some will eventually be so far apart that light from one won’t reach the other. But if that’s the case, then they most likely won’t fall prey to the same “death bubble.” “By splitting into daughter civilizations and putting as much distance between them as possible, a civilization could ‘ride’ the expansion of the universe to relative safety.” Anticipating these problems and troubleshooting for them in accordance with the known laws of physics is the responsibility of today’s humans to protect tomorrow’s. The intelligent ability to do that is “the longevity factor.” Some scientists want to name the current epoch the Anthropocene to acknowledge that human impacts changed the planet. To put major modern events like the sixth mass extinction into geological context requires naming the current epoch the Anthropocene, acknowledging that humans are a “global geologic force.” The Holocene started 11,700 years ago with a warming Earth that made farming possible. But the Holocene doesn’t explain things like the dangerous overabundance of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use now in Earth’s atmosphere, or radioactive particles that persist in the stratosphere from nuclear explosions. Scientists have not reached a consensus about what year should mark this epoch’s beginning; many favor the mid-20th century with the dawn of nuclear technologies. Others argue that social scientists should weigh in on when the era 115 started. Traditional geologists note that epochs begin well before their effects are manifest. Most people agree, with or without formal declaration, that humans have significantly altered the earth. In just one example, Oklahoma had 907 earthquakes in 2015, most the result of extracting oil and gas by breaking up layers of rock. The second law of thermodynamics states that isolated systems tend toward disorder. The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system can never decrease over time, and is constant if and only if all processes are reversible. Isolated systems spontaneously evolve towards thermodynamic equilibrium, the state with maximum entropy. Isolated systems that emit no new energy become less organized over time until they settle into a “gray, tepid, homogenous monotony.” People use sayings like “ashes to ashes,” and “sh*t happens” in daily life to convey the self-evident nature of this law, suggesting that “misfortune may be no one’s fault.” “The second law defines the ultimate purpose of life, mind, and human striving: to deploy energy and information to fight back the tide of entropy and carve out refuges of beneficial order.” This overturned the previous pervading thought in science that everything has a purpose. When bad things happened, according to previous theories, it was on purpose, and therefore authorities must find a demon, witch or scapegoat to punish. Today, no one is in a position to understand and modify the encroachment and impact of algorithms. Perhaps the writer Jorge Luis Borges was thinking of the second law when he wrote “Lottery in Babylon.” In this short story, a game that begins as a voluntary contest where some people win prizes, becomes compulsory over time and punishes losers. Babylonians see the Company that runs the lottery as allpowerful. The phrase “Babylonian lottery” also describes algorithms and “the slow encroachment of programmatic chance.” An additional feature of the lottery is that while it’s well-understood by all at the beginning, over time fewer people know how it works. In the story, Babylonians willfully ignored the growing power of the lottery in their lives. “Because an ‘intensification of chance’ conflicts with our mythologies of self-made meritocracy, we too ignore the impact of algorithms for as long as possible.” In the story, the game exiles the narrator who either won or lost, the reader is not sure which. Another way to escape Babylon is by telling the story of its lottery, turning it from science and numbers into description. Stories help guide people to make decisions while algorithms are directives that determine outcomes. Telling the story interrupts the mindless iteration of lotteries and allows for new mistakes. 116 Negative events, feelings and ideas in uence people more than positive ones. In a crowd, an angry face is easier to see than a happy face. Literature offers many analyses of war, but almost none about peace. Scientists blame evolutionary necessity for human pessimism. In the evolutionary past, overreaction generally kept you safer than under-reaction. Conversely, scientists look to “positive illusions” to explain how people stay in love with their spouses. “The neural roots of tolerance, mercy and pardon may live deep in the human psyche.” Brain scans reveal that those who report that they’re still in love with their spouses after 20 years have less activity in the areas of the brain that respond to negative events. In other words, they tend to gloss over what’s negative to focus on what’s positive in their relationship. They maintain “positive illusions.” Emotions themselves are catching. They’re contagious. That’s why people mimic those they’re speaking and interacting with, and mirror their emotions and their mannerisms. Charles Darwin posited that this tendency was essential to human survival due to its role in communicating important information. Emotion contagion facilitates empathy and the maintenance of interpersonal relationships. “Like waves, emotions cascade across time and geographical space. Yet their ability to cascade across minds is unique and deserves wider recognition.” Emotion contagion happens over social media without the need to see or hear another person. Kindness as well as violence can spread like a contagion. Scientists are studying the characteristics of positive versus negative emotional contagions to understand better how joy and compassion connect people socially, while emotions such as pride may be socially isolating. The “Schnitt” is the explanatory gap that remains between quantum and classical physics, the brain and the mind, what is living and what is not. Many say that the “Schnitt” represents current limits of knowledge, but others believe those gaps are “unclosable.” Howard Pattee, a theoretical biologist, calls the Schnitt the “epistemic cut.” He says the way to reconcile gaps begins with accepting “complementarity,” that quanta have two complementary properties but only one is observable at any particular time. Quantum complementarity forced classical theories to consider quantum theories. Pattee says that complementarity forces scientists to see life as layered and to understand that each layer is intelligible only via its unique vocabulary. For instance, when you look at the Schnitt between mind and brain, on one side, neurons are firing, and on the other side, there are symbols and representations of reality which also have physical reality. “Only one side of the Schnitt can be evaluated at a time, although both are real and physical and tangible.” fl 117 The mind emerges from neurons because consciousness is neither just “information processing or neural dynamics.” Pattee’s approach shows how to hold two descriptions of the same system together at the same time by seeing them as complementary properties. The “Big Bang” theory bogs down in quantum mechanical considerations, so some scientists now posit that instead of a bang, the universe began with a “bounce.” In 1949, Sir Fred Hoyle conceived of the beginning of the universe as a “big bang,” but that’s a misleading phrase. It evokes the picture of a giant explosion of matter and energy, fixed in time and expanding into empty space all at once. Scientists observe that far-off galaxies are receding from this galaxy “at a speed roughly proportional to their distance.” By dividing distance by speed, scientists estimate the age of the universe to be 14 billion years. Even though it seems that the solar system is the center of the universe, in fact, if you position yourself in any other galaxy, it too would appear to be at the center of the universe. So there is no objective center from which an explosion erupted. Neither is there an edge to the universe. If the observable universe was once the size of a golf ball, that ball was just a small part of an infinite universe expanding within itself. “The actual universe appears to be infinite now, and if so it has probably always been infinite.” Scientists are pretty sure that conditions at the universe’s beginning were similar to the conditions created in the Large Hadron Collider, with subatomic particles. But there are still many questions. What if even the astronomical view of the universe is too small to encompass the true nature of the cosmos? In fact, this universe may be just one inside a multiverse. Scientists have no idea how many galaxies exist within or without any given horizon line. If space is large enough, eventually all possible combinations of reality would repeat and thus it’s possible for you to have an “avatar” in another galaxy. Perhaps there’s another world where another you is making better decisions. The universe emerging from nothing in a “sudden quantum event” doesn’t explain the observable uniformity of matter and energy. So scientists posit that a period of “inflation” followed right after the initial bang. After a long period of inflation, the universe smoothed out for the most part. What if instead of a Big Bang there was a “Big Bounce?” The “Big Bounce” theory suggests that inflation comes at the end of a period of contraction. This theory satisfies many of the thornier problems of the Big Bang theory with answers consistent with classical physics. Waves, consciousness and computations have their own characteristics separate from their “physical substrate.” Waves have frequency and speed. They obey laws embedded in the equations used to measure them, and it doesn’t matter in what substance they’re generated. Computations, as Alan Turing proved, are also “substrate independent.” A conscious character in a computer game of the future would have no way to know 118 whether its game was running on a desktop or a phone because the game is “substrate independent.” This ability to change out hardware without having to change software is the essence of the upgrade, consistently driving down the costs of computers. “It’s precisely this substrate independence of computation that implies that artificial intelligence is possible: Intelligence doesn’t require flesh, blood or carbon atoms.” Waves for intelligence require a substrate of some sort. But waves, for example, can traverse a lake even though its molecules of water don’t; those molecules just move more or less in place. And a surfer only cares about the properties of the wave, not the water. Waves have their own life. While scientists are improving AI to replicate human abilities like classifying images or recognizing speech or driving, that’s not the same as consciousness. When you drive a car you’re conscious of images, sounds and movement all around you. That’s your experience as you drive, the way it feels to you. What does it feel like to be an autonomous vehicle? Consciousness, as David Chalmers famously points out, is a “hard problem” because it’s different from asking how the brain works. Physicist Max Tegmark defines consciousness as how “information feels when being processed in certain complex ways.” If this is true, then consciousness itself is “substrate-independent.” It’s patterns, not particles that make the difference. About the Author Editor John Brockman is the publisher of Edge.org, an online science website, and CEO of Brockman Inc., a New York City literary agency. Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers Recommendation Your body is a sophisticated machine. If it were an automobile, it would be a topof-the-line, luxury-class vehicle with all of the latest options. There’s just one problem: Your body was designed for the savannas of Africa, not the streets and sidewalks of some urban metropolis. This is a major issue due to one of your body’s great fail-safe systems: the stress-response mechanism, also called the “fight-or-flight syndrome.” This mechanism provides your body with its best chance to get away safely from sudden peril, such as when a lion attacks you. It immediately floods your muscles with robust energy. Thus strengthened, you are far more able to evade the hungry predator. Unfortunately, this same stressresponse also kicks in during psychological stress. In much of modern city life 119 (even without stalking lions), such stress is often chronic, making your stressresponse mechanism work dangerously overtime, and putting your body at risk of numerous stress-related disorders and diseases. Robert M. Sapolsky, a leading neuroendocrinologist, explains it all in this lively and entertaining, yet highly informative book. He writes with delightful, ironic verve and dry, irrepressible wit. He details how chronic stress can undermine your health, and explains what you can do about it, even in the urban jungle. getAbstract feels calmer just suggesting that anyone experiencing stress could benefit from reading this book. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • The stress-response mechanism sends energy to the muscles during a short-term physical crisis. This “fight or flight” response helps you escape from sudden danger. Chronic stress can trigger this mechanism and keep it activated for long periods. Such sustained stress-response activity can be horribly damaging to your health. Even if you exercise, eat well, maintain a proper weight and get plenty of rest, you still may become seriously, even fatally, ill. However, science has not established a link between stress and cancer. Preventative stress relief can stave off or reverse many disorders. Regular exercise can substantially relieve stress. Other stress relief tactics include meditating, getting psychotherapy, releasing frustration, gaining control over your life or socializing more. Most experts say you should not live in denial, but if a major catastrophe rocks your life, denial can be a particularly effective coping strategy. Positive thinking can mitigate stress and its damaging effects. Summary Lions and Tigers and Zebras, Oh My! A zebra on an African savanna lives a less complicated life than the average urban-dwelling human – but it is in far more danger. A zebra, indeed, all savanna animals, must routinely contend with severe, acutely physical crises. While grazing, resting or just ambling along, a zebra must be ready to race away in a split second if a large predator, such as a lion or tiger, suddenly appears. Similarly, a lion must be instantly ready to stalk and pursue the zebra. Otherwise, the predator can’t eat. Physically challenging activities like racing away from predators or attacking prey are hugely stressful. “There has been a revolution in medicine...It involves recognizing the interactions between the body and the mind.” Today, most people do not have to deal with lions. Instead, they face daily psychological or social disruptions: worrying about taxes, getting along with relatives, feeling inadequate, being overlooked for promotion, fretting about feeling ill and a million other things. Such worries represent severe, sustained psychological stress. 120 “Stress-related disease emerges [because] we so often activate a physiological system that has evolved for responding to acute physical emergencies, but we turn it on for months on end.” Return briefly to that sweltering savanna, home of the alert zebra and the hungry lion. Both animals possess “physiological response mechanisms” that are perfectly adapted to deal with their immediate physical emergencies: for the zebra, racing away from the lion, and for the lion, capturing the zebra. Such stress-response mechanisms enable animals to deal with short-term, highly stressful physical crises. “Sustained or repeated stress can disrupt our bodies in seemingly endless ways.” Once the chase is over, however, the animals’ stress-response mechanisms relax (if the zebra survives). The stress-responses have done their jobs, and everything goes back to normal. The animals’ bodies return to homeostasis, a default condition where physiological traits such as oxygen level, temperature and acidity quickly stabilize. For the zebra, the lion and the other creatures, once a physical crisis passes, all bodily systems quickly return to default homeostatic “settings.” The stress-response did its job, the crisis is over and things can quickly revert to the way they were. “What goes on in your head can affect how well your immune system functions.” All animals, including humans, possess this stress-response mechanism. Most people no longer need to outrun lions, but this same stress-response mechanism unfortunately kicks in when people feel psychologically stressed and it can remain active indefinitely in people who feel chronically stressed. This can cause immense physical damage, and can lead to major stress-related medical problems and diseases. How Your Body Adapts to Psychological Stressors Simple worry can trigger an instant stress response. The primary purpose of this mechanism, also known as the “fight or flight syndrome,” is to deliver vast amounts of energy to the muscles for fighting or running. (Interestingly, a different response mechanism can trigger a separate “tend and befriend” response in women.) When the stress response kicks in, glucose, simple proteins and fats pour out of the liver and fat cells, and also come from certain muscles, to supply quick energy to the specific muscles that will keep you alive, for example, leg muscles to run from danger. At the same time, your breathing rate, heart rate and blood pressure increase to send oxygen and nutrients at an accelerated rate throughout your body. Digestion is not necessary in a physical emergency, so it immediately shuts down, as do growth and reproductive functions. Thus, when the stress-response mechanism kicks in chronically, men find it difficult to maintain erections, women ovulate less frequently, immunity is inhibited and the “perception of pain is blunted.” 121 “Our current patterns of disease would be unrecognizable to our great-grandparents...We are now living well enough and long enough to slowly fall apart.” The stress-response mechanism does a superb job of helping an animal in a short-term physical crisis. But the story is much different for humans. The radical physiological changes provoked by the stress-response mechanism over a sustained period of chronic psychological stress can be incredibly damaging. For example, mobilizing vast reserves of energy during a nonphysical crisis depletes needed vigor, resulting in chronic fatigue. Elevated blood pressure is great when you’re fleeing a hungry tiger, but having your blood pressure soar every time you look at your kid’s messy bedroom or sit in traffic fretting about being late to a meeting is worse than useless. “Many of the damaging disease of slow accumulation can be either caused or made far worse by stress.” Chronic stress is a likely path to eventual cardiovascular disease. Chronically stressed children can experience suppressed growth. Women’s menstrual cycles can swing wildly out of whack. Hormones secreted during stress can harm the brain. Constant stress increases your chances of becoming ill, including with infectious diseases, since the stress-response inhibits immunity. It is at the root of many “stress”-related diseases. Hormones and Their Relationship to Stress-Response The autonomic nervous system is directly involved with stress-response. It includes the sympathetic nervous system, which originates in the brain and travels through the spinal column to every part of the body. It mediates the “four F’s of behavior – flight, fight, fright and sex.” Stress makes this system release hormones, including adrenaline (also called epinephrine) and norepinephrine. Stress also releases glucocorticoids (steroid hormones) and glucagons, a hormone from the pancreas. These “chemical messengers” activate your organs during stress. The autonomic nervous system also includes the parasympathetic nervous system, which mediates calmness, “everything but the four F’s.” “Zebras and lions may see trouble coming in the next minute and mobilize a stress-response...but they can’t get stressed about events far in the future.” The brain is the “master gland” that mobilizes all activities during stress. When the brain experiences a stressor (worrying about taxes, getting yelled at), it quickly activates the stress-response mechanism, flooding the body with hormones, the “workhorses” of your stress-response mechanism, and raising your body’s glucose levels. The stress-response also inhibits other hormones, such as testosterone, estrogen and progesterone. “If you’re running 26 miles in a day, you’re either very intent on eating someone or someone’s very intent on eating you.” The immediate release of stress-fighting hormones to react to sudden danger can save your life, but the routine release of such powerful hormones over an extended period is incredibly harmful. Long-term stress-response is uniformly 122 destructive. It wrecks your metabolism, bursts blood cells, and elevates blood pressure and heart rate. It can cause atherosclerosis, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and hypertension. It increases the risk of gastrointestinal disorders and ulcers, which, by the way, are not a danger to zebras because their stress is periodic, not chronic. The lion comes: big stress; the lion goes: no stress. In human beings, chronic stress can affect memory and damage the brain, ruin your sleep and accelerate aging. It is often a factor in depression. The list goes on and on. (However, scientists have not yet established a firm link between cancer and stress.) Treating Stress Stress affects different people different ways, and so do stress relief methods. Experts offer many possible stress reduction solutions, and recommend maintaining your “cognitive flexibility” and perhaps trying various approaches to see if you are better served by changing the stressor or by adjusting how you perceive it. “Everything bad in human health now is not caused by stress, nor is it in our power to cure ourselves of all our worst medical nightmares merely by reducing stress and thinking healthy thoughts...Would that it were so. And shame on those who would profit from selling this view.” Should you concentrate on gaining control of your emotions or consider joining a club to gain social support? Your choices depend on your personality and circumstances, as well as the type of stressors you experience. You could adopt one coping strategy today and another one tomorrow. Just trying something new is often the best strategy. Change can be energizing and often extremely healthful. Different tactics you can test to try to ease the harmful effects of chronic psychological stress, include: • • • • Exercise – Improving your physical conditioning often significantly reduces stress. Exercise elevates mood, lowers resting heart rate and blood pressure, and increases lung capacity. Regular exercise lowers the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, or makes it less likely that stress will exacerbate them. Socialization – People who socialize often are less stressed than loners. But choose your pals wisely. Even a little time with cantankerous people can be very stressful. Control – When nursing-home residents exercise more control over their own affairs, they become happier and more content. Hospital patients who are able to self-administer their painkillers also experience less stress. Whenever possible, gain control of as many aspects of your life as possible, but don’t waste your time with recriminations about past events or with efforts to control what may transpire in the uncontrollable future. Predictability – Though the future is unknowable, you will feel calmer if you do know how and when something will occur than if you don’t. Thus, it often is helpful to establish predictability when possible. On the other hand, sometimes knowing too much about coming events can also become stressful. 123 • • • • • • Meditation – Glucocorticoid levels and blood pressure drop during meditation, but it isn’t clear whether these salutary effects remain after the meditative experience. The “80/20 rule” – The initial 20% of your efforts will reduce 80% of your stress. As any mental health professional will tell you, getting a person to do something about emotional problems – even just scheduling an appointment to discuss things with a therapist – often makes all the difference. Thus it is productive to take action of some kind to reduce stress. Instituting an immediate change is the best way to relieve stress quickly. Do something to change your life. Take action now. Denial – When life deals you a truly catastrophic hand, something that is far beyond prevention, control and healing, denial often proves to be the best coping strategy. In the face of utter disaster, never give up hope that things can improve. This may sound utterly naive and optimistic, but such a positive attitude will help you minimize stress. Find an “outlet for your frustrations” – Maybe it’s swimming. Maybe it’s smashing up ratty furniture in the backyard with a sledgehammer. Maybe it’s singing a song at the top of your lungs. Whatever it is, do it regularly if it helps. Repetition of stressful events – Ironically, the more often you do something stressful, the less stressful it can become. Studies of Norwegian soldiers show that their epinephrine and glucocorticoid levels are extremely high for hours before and after their first few parachute jumps. But after a large number of jumps, their hormone secretion patterns return to normal – except when they actually leap out of the plane. Psychotherapy – Professional help can change your behavior and the way you handle stress, as well as altering your cholesterol profile and other health indicators. In the Absence of Magic Cures, Try for Serenity Unfortunately, a magic pill for stress management does not exist. You may gain maximum control and predictability, become a social leader, and engage in numerous stress-fighting activities, and yet continue to suffer stress. Stress affects everyone differently, and how it hits you may have as much to do with your prenatal biology and other noncontrollable factors as with the positive steps you take. “Hope for the best and let that dominate most of your emotions, but at the same time let one small piece of you prepare for the worst.” Many believe that spirituality and religion greatly alleviate stress and improve health. While extensive literature exists on this subject, the jury is still out regarding the salutary effects of religion and spirituality on stress. Strive to maintain a default position of “energized calm” when stressors occur. While such a mental state may be hard to achieve during psychological stress, this idealized goal offers real benefits. “When something good happens, you want to believe that this outcome arose from your efforts, and has broad, long-lasting implications for you.” 124 How can you achieve such admirable serenity? Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr suggests one path with this immortal prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” The Quakers offer a profound, old-time saying: “In the face of strong winds, let me be a blade of grass. In the face of strong walls, let me be a gale of wind.” With psychological stress, sometimes your task may be to blow down a wall. Other times, it may be to bend in a strong wind without breaking. Wisdom means knowing when to be the gale and when to be the blade of grass. “When the outcome is bad, you want to believe that it was due to something out of your control, and is just a transient event with very local, limited implications.” Here’s something far more prosaic: Did your grandparents tell you to stop worrying so much? Or did your Mom? Such advice may sound banal and trivial, but scientists have reduced the chances that lab rats will get sick by making them perceive their reality in a positive way. Indeed, experts who study stress believe that your body’s “physiology is often no more decisive than [its] psychology.” Maintaining a positive, optimistic attitude in the face of trouble and stress can make all the difference. Think of the zebra; the lion will come when and if it comes and, until then, you might as well graze. About the Author Robert M. Sapolsky is a professor of biological sciences, neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford University. He conducts research on stress and neuron degeneration. In 1987, he received a MacArthur Fellowship “genius” grant. The Power of Full Engagement Recommendation Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz offer a lot of solid, common sense advice. The authors recommend going to bed and getting up at a consistent time - not exactly Ben Franklin’s "early to bed, early to rise," but close. They recommend regular exercise. They say it’s good to work and to rest, and each has its place. They say to examine yourself and try to see yourself as others see you. In other words, they recommend many time-honored techniques of physical, mental and spiritual growth, combined with prioritizing how you use your energy and how you recharge your batteries. This attitude makes the book unique. The principles may be ancient, but getAbstract finds the vehicle distinctly contemporary, a combo of New Age 125 jargon and workout-style performance charting, with (at last) a key to time management that makes sense and captures all areas of one’s life. Some readers will find that thrilling, others will groan. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Your most valuable resource is energy - not time. Energy management makes full engagement possible. Energy has four dimensions: body, emotions, mind and spirit. Each one is necessary, but no single one is sufficient. In mental training, as in physical training, exercise and then rest. Regain physical and spiritual energy by building recovery rituals into your routine. Positive habits create energy; negative habits waste energy. Emotional energy is generated by self-confidence, self-discipline, sociability and empathy. Pleasure builds job performance; negative emotions undermine performance. Stress and rest are both necessary, in a rhythmic cycle. Too much work can be a fatal addiction. Becoming fully engaged is a change that requires defining a goal, examining where you are and taking action. Summary Energy Excelsior Time is not your most precious resource. Energy is. People can manage time well and still find themselves exhausted, stressed, unable to concentrate and unable to give other people the attention they merit. People use calendars, clocks, Palm Pilots and other impedimenta of time management - but how many do anything about energy management? “Full engagement requires drawing on four separate but related sources of energy: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.” The path to power, productivity, success and satisfaction is energy management, the strategy of "full engagement." With full engagement, you’ll spring out of bed in the morning, champing at the bit to get to work, upbeat and positive. When you leave the office in the evening, you’ll look forward to going home and spending the evening with the important people in your life, or, what the heck, maybe hanging out and having fun alone. You’ll be creative, contented, challenged and fun. If you are a manager, your employees will be delighted to follow you, because you’ll show them the road to full engagement, and help them to align their individual goals and aspirations with those of your organization. 126 “To maintain a powerful pulse in our lives, we must learn how to rhythmically spend and renew energy.” Full engagement ought to be a bottom line priority. Companies incur trillions of dollars of unnecessary costs merely because 70% of Americans are less than fully engaged at work. And the longer people stay in a job, the less engaged they are! When top athletes were coached in full engagement, they learned to perform at the top of their games. This training didn’t show athletes how to hold a racket or skate. It taught them to manage their energy and get results. “Because we have overridden the natural rhythms that once defined our lives, the challenge is to consciously and deliberately create new boundaries.” Today, the same principles work for "corporate athletes," who benefit from the same four basic energy management principles: 1. Energy has four dimensions: body, emotion, mind and spirit. Draw energy from each. Every one is necessary, but no single one is sufficient. 2. Rhythmically balance stress and rest. 3. Push beyond your limits systematically. Building "mental, emotional and spiritual strength" is very much like building physical strength. No pain, no gain. 4. Use energy rituals. “In short, money may not buy happiness, but happiness may help you get rich.” Change comes in three steps: defining the goal, examining where you are and taking action. First, define what you want to become - your purpose. Look at how you spend your energy now. Then act, build a plan and establish rituals to help you use energy positively. Rhythm Flavius Philostratus trained athletes in ancient Greece. He was the first to discover, or at least to write down, the benefits of a rhythmic workout pattern - exertion followed by rest. The idea is simple: the body uses biochemical resources when it works, and must rest to replenish them. When athletes have trouble, it is usually because they trained too much or not enough. “Making changes that endure is a three-step process that we call Purpose-Truth-Action.” The same principle applies to daily life. Too much energy spent, with insufficient rest and recovery, leads to trouble. Too much rest, with not 127 enough energy spent, also leads to trouble. Full engagement depends on balancing, or oscillating between, rest and recovery, recovery and rest. No wonder. The whole universe is rhythmic and oscillating: sunrise, sunset; high tide, low tide; full moon, new moon. The heartbeat is rhythmic. Even sleep is rhythmic. “Our most fundamental need as human beings is to spend and recover energy.” Top competitors in tennis have routines, habits that allow them to recover between points in a match. Their heart rates may drop as much as 20 beats per minute between points. They regain energy in these recovery rituals. Top business professionals do the same thing. Wink Communications president Maggie Wilderotter goes on "lion hunts," prowling around her office asking people what they’re doing. This lets her relax while connecting with her employees. Herman Miller executive vice president Bill Norman doesn’t use voice mail or a cell phone. He is an amateur nature photographer who says his time off helps him develop his intuition. Another executive takes a bag lunch so she can eat in a park near her office and have a restorative interlude with nature to break up the business day. “We are oscillatory beings in an oscillatory universe. Rhymicity is our inheritance.” Although rest and relaxation are necessary, our contemporary world by and large condemns it, and exalts the destructive 24/7 instead. Our bodies aren’t machines, but we treat them as such. E-mail is particularly insidious. An America Online survey conducted in 2000 revealed that 47% of its customers brought laptops on vacation, and more than a quarter logged on daily to see their e-mail. We need a "Sabbath." Too much work may be an addiction. The adrenaline high is alluring. But it can also be fatal. The Japanese word "karoshi" means "death from overwork." The first reported case surfaced in 1969; now, Japan reports around 10,000 a year. Five factors crop up again and again in "karoshi" cases: long hours without regular rest, nocturnal work, skipped holidays and breaks, unremitting pressure, and both physical and mental job stress. Such stress isn’t all bad, of course. To make a muscle grow, you have to stress it beyond its usual activities. The rhythmic oscillation of stress and rest is healthy. Physical Energy It begins in the body. Even if you are desk bound, you need physical energy, which depends fundamentally on breathing and eating. Both need to be balanced. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day - it gets blood sugar levels up and kick-starts the body’s metabolic functions. Then, there’s water. By the time you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. Dehydration saps strength and energy. Drink at least two quarts of water a day. Australian research discovered that people who drank just 40 ounces of water a day were less apt to die of heart disease than those who drank 24 ounces or less. 128 “We grow at all levels by expending energy beyond our normal limits, and then recovering.” You also need plenty of sleep, and it is better to sleep at night. Nocturnal work is hard on the body and hard on the task. The worst industrial disasters of recent times happened at night. Night workers have more heart trouble than day workers. Sleep researchers find that workers who take frequent naps can keep alert and productive even without long, uninterrupted sleep. “The longer, more continuously, and later at night you work, the less efficient and more mistake prone you become.” Our bodies operate on rhythms that cycle every 90 to 120 minutes. Most of us have an energy ebb tide in the late afternoon (hence the traditional siesta). NASA found that a 40-minute nap improved performance 34% and boosted alertness 100%. Add exercise to this bodily rhythm, since exercise affects energy. Interval training, short exercise periods alternated with short rest periods, is the most effective. Even quick aerobic spurts of a minute or less followed by rest can boost your energy levels considerably, along with improving fitness, heart rates and mood. Don’t use only cardiovascular exercise; also work to build strength. Emotions Emotional energy expresses itself in self-confidence, self-discipline, sociability and empathy. Negative emotions such as frustration, anger, sorrow or fear are literally toxic. It’s possible to build positive emotions, just as it’s possible to build muscles. Too few people treat their pleasures as if they were really important - but pleasure is crucial. Nothing should be allowed to interfere with it. Positive emotional energy comes from doing things you enjoy. But the quality and depth of pleasure matters greatly. Watching television may seem relaxing, but it’s like eating potato chips not filling or lasting. “Emotions that arise out of threat or deficit - fear, frustration, anger, sadness - have a decidedly toxic feel to them and are associated with the release of specific stress hormones, most notably cortisol.” Relationships build emotional energy. Friendship is critical, and even affects job performance. Those with one good friend at work perform better. Time taken for relationship building, friendship and love isn’t time stolen from life’s necessities. It is one of life’s necessities. Practice listening to people and empathizing. “A single negative thought is what gets you hit in the face.” Ray ”Boom Boom” Mancini” Be aware that: 129 • • • • • • Pleasure builds performance, but negative emotions take a toll on performance. Self-confidence, self-discipline, sociability and empathy generate emotional energy. Effective leaders can bring up positive emotions at times of stress. Balance exercise and recovery in emotional as in physical training. Find something you enjoy and do it. Push past your limits, rest, then push again. Mind Physical energy and emotional energy help mental functioning. Mental, physical and emotional energy interact. Studies have demonstrated the correlation between productivity and positive thinking, which generates mental energy. The most successful salespeople have what one psychological researcher calls an "optimistic explanatory style." Of course, thinking takes time. Most jobs don’t build in time for rest, workout breaks and thinking. They should. People get their best ideas when they are on breaks, resting, jogging, gardening or just daydreaming. “’The greatest geniuses,’ da Vinci told his patron, ’sometimes accomplish more when they work less.’” The five stages of creativity - insight, saturation, incubation, illumination and verification - take time. Build downtime into your day, and allow your employees to do the same. Good leaders husband the energy resources of their people and their organization. Remember these points about mental energy: • • • • • • • Organization and attention depend on mental ability. Optimistic realism is the best mental attitude. Prepare, visualize, encourage yourself, manage time and create. Change from one activity to another to exercise different parts of your brain. Physical exercise is important to mental capacity. In mental training, as in physical training, exercise and then rest. Mental challenges slow age-related mental deterioration. Spirit Spiritual energy depends on taking care of yourself and others. The most important spiritual "muscle" is character: doing what your values tell you is right, even when it costs you. Spiritual energy heals. Actor Christopher Reeve said it saved his life after a riding accident paralyzed him. He thought of suicide, but decided to live to be with his family and to help others suffering from neurological damage. Examples abound of people who transcended their ordinary limits because they wanted to help others. The critical facts of spiritual life are: 130 • • • • • • Spiritual energy makes everything else possible, it’s the source of passion, fortitude and commitment. Spiritual energy requires selflessness. Spiritual energy stewardship depends on exercise and rest. Spiritual work can both expend and renew energy simultaneously. Spiritual development requires going past the limits. The spirit can be stronger than the body. Training Training for full engagement involves purpose, self-examination and established rituals. • First, define what your life is about, your purpose. Be positive and unselfish. • Second, examine yourself. Create a baseline by identifying how you now use your energy. Face facts squarely. Rituals are actions you take by plan or schedule that build good habits and break bad ones. Be precise, specific and positive. Be moderate. Chart the course and examine yourself each day, so you see how well you are doing. About the Authors Senior partners and principals at a performance consultancy, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz co-developed training packages that draw on their "Full Engagement" model. Loehr is a performance psychologist and the author of 12 books including Stress for Success. Schwartz co-authored Donald Trump’s Art of the Deal and also wrote What Really Matters: Searching for Wisdom in America. There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing Recommendation In a culture that recognizes physical hindrances to health while ignoring obstacles to mental health, take a moment to acknowledge the validity of 131 your current mental state. Are you flourishing; do you have a purpose and are you connected with other people? Are you depressed, lacking energy and feeling despair? Or are you neither of the above, but feeling stagnant, empty and joyless nonetheless? If so, you may be “languishing.” In this timely New York Times article, organizational psychologist Adam Grant describes the postpandemic “blah” and offers a simple prescription that may help cure it. Take-Aways • • • • “Languishing” is a common response to late-stage pandemic. Getting into a state of flow helps combat languishing, but it’s hard to achieve when you can’t concentrate. To attain a flow state, ditch multitasking and focus on one thing for a scheduled block of time. Set yourself up for little wins on “just-manageable” tasks. Summary “Languishing” is a common response to late-stage pandemic. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the threat of the virus and its surrounding uncertainty left many people in a perpetual state of stress. As the pandemic dragged on, they found strategies for dealing with their fears. For many, fight-or-flight gave way to something else entirely. Not depression exactly, but not flourishing either. So what label should you affix to your current, late-stage pandemic mental state? “Languishing” – a term that sociologist Corey Keyes coined to describe the feeling when you’re not quite depressed, but are still experiencing a lack of inspiration, focus and joie de vivre. “Languishing is the neglected middle child of mental health. It’s the void between depression and flourishing – the absence of well-being.” Research suggests that people who are languishing now are far more likely to experience depression or anxiety at some point in the next decade. Pandemic-specific research indicates that health care workers who experienced languishing early in the pandemic are three times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder now. Given these studies, it seems worthwhile to find a way to nip languishing in the bud. Managing your emotions requires being able to name them. The term languishing allows you to label your late-stage pandemic malaise. The next step is to figure out how to combat it. Getting into a state of ow helps combat languishing, but it’s hard to achieve when you can’t concentrate. fl 132 Flow is that magical state when you’re so engaged in a task that you don’t notice time passing. When in a state of flow, you may not be aware of your surroundings, and self-conscious thoughts flee your mind. The time you spend in flow is a decent predictor of well-being, perhaps more so than mindfulness or optimism. Creating a flow state may be your best remedy for languishing. “People who became more immersed in their projects managed to avoid languishing and maintained their prepandemic happiness.” You might find flow while playing a game, or even while watching a television show. Becoming absorbed in a work project also fits the bill. States of languishing and flow seem to be in direct opposition to each other, however. Absorption is hard when you can’t focus. To attain a ow state, ditch multitasking and focus on one thing for a scheduled block of time. Even before the pandemic, many people tended to multitask, moving to a new chore every 10 minutes, and checking email obsessively. During the pandemic, disruptions multiplied, with kids at home and remote colleagues being able to reach you through always-on devices. “Fragmented attention is an enemy of engagement and excellence.” Enable a flow state by scheduling interruption-free blocks of time. Populate that time with a project that interests you, strive to make progress on a worthwhile goal, or simply make time for a heart-to-heart talk, so you can feel a meaningful bond with another person. Schedule time for these things, then guard that time with your life. Your well-being may depend on it. Set yourself up for little wins on “just-manageable” tasks. Flow is most likely to emerge when you’re engaged in a task that’s “justmanageable”: a near-achievable goal that offers a stimulating challenge without overtaxing you. “Search for bliss in a bleak day, connection in a lonely week or purpose in a perpetual pandemic.” Your first step to flow doesn’t have to be momentous; in fact, it might pay to set up a small win, like solving a difficult word game, or cracking the answer to a whodunit. If you’re not languishing, try to recognize the symptoms in family, coworkers or friends. Understanding this shared postpandemic phenomenon offers an opportunity to help others. fl 133 About the Author Adam Grant is the host of the TED WorkLife podcast, the author of Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know and an organizational psychologist at Wharton. PODCAST The Secrets You Don’t Know About Negotiation Recommendation Archaic advice purports that negotiation is a zero-sum game, and participants must play mind games with their counterparts to gain the upper hand. But negotiations ought to be “incredibly empathetic mutual conversations” whereby all parties reach a satisfactory agreement. Nevertheless, negotiating can be excruciatingly uncomfortable for some, and, like every skill, requires practice. In this episode of the Jordan Harbinger Show podcast, entrepreneur Alex Kouts shares fascinating insights into negotiation. Follow his advice to become more comfortable with rejection and, ultimately, with asking. Take-Aways • • • • In negotiation, as in any skill, hard work matters more than talent. Humans are hardwired to be agreeable, which is why negotiating is uncomfortable. The negotiator who prepares most thoroughly is more likely to triumph. In a negotiation, you never want a fast “yes.” Your goal is to get to a solid “no” first. Summary In negotiation, as in any skill, hard work matters more than talent. 134 In the movie Rudy, a diminutive college student realizes his dream to play on the Notre Dame football team, through grueling hard work. Though Rudy doesn’t boast the physique typical of a football player, his efforts pay off. His coach selects him. Rudy makes a successful tackle, and the stadium erupts into cheers. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard, every single time.” The Rudy pyramid astutely illustrates the intersection of talent and hard work. At the base of the pyramid are the people with no natural talent who refuse to work hard. These individuals will always be subpar at a given skill. People who have inherent talent but don’t work hard occupy the second level. They perform slightly better than those at the bottom of the pyramid, but not by much. The third level of the pyramid is home to people who, like Rudy, lack natural talent but who are willing to work incredibly hard. People on the third level of the pyramid surpass those on the second in terms of skill. Finally, those with innate talent but who are eager to work hard reside at the apex of the pyramid. You may have no talent for negotiation, but if you’re willing to push through the painful initial learning period, and buckle down, you’ll outperform most of the competition. This is true for any new skill. Humans are hardwired to be agreeable, which is why negotiating is uncomfortable. Negotiation can feel painful because it prompts you to be disagreeable to get what you want. Pay attention when your negotiation partner tries to discourage you from haggling. For example, your boss might say, “It’s been a really rough quarter” to deter you from requesting a raise. A car salesman will try to build a rapport with you to make you feel as though he is offering you a special deal because he likes you, which might make you feel uncomfortable negotiating the price. Similarly, morticians know that haggling over the price of a funeral is distasteful, so some exploit their customers’ grief. “So many times people walk into a job and they get an offer and they take it even though that offer is below what they think they’re worth.” 135 To overcome your fear of negotiation, channel someone you admire. Picture how the singer Beyoncé might negotiate a contract, for example. Or imagine that the initial offer is an insult to embolden you to ask for more. Understand what’s at stake. When negotiating salary, for example, consider the foregone earnings of failing to negotiate. Picture three college graduates – Andrew, Betsy and Charlie. Each receives an identical job offer of $50,000 a year. Betsy and Charlie negotiate the starting salary and get a 12% increase. So they start at $56,000. All three work for 40+ years and receive a 3% cost of living adjustment each year. Based on that one early successful negotiation, Betsy and Charlie will have earned $500,000 more by the end of their careers than Andrew, who didn’t negotiate at all. Now imagine that Betsy negotiates every time she switches jobs. If she changes jobs seven times, by the end of her career, Betsy will have earned $1.985 million more than Andrew. Negotiation can be painful, but if you work hard at it, you can make it worth your while. The negotiator who prepares most thoroughly is more likely to triumph. Even master negotiators will lose if their opponents wield more information, so do your research. First, go over the basics: What are you negotiating? Do you have a deadline? Make an effort to know everything you can about your negotiation partners. Find out their best-case and worst-case outcomes. Know their best alternative to a negotiated agreement; that is, if they don’t choose you, whom will they work with? Armed with this knowledge, you can present yourself favorably vis-à-vis the competition. “Great negotiators are intensely empathetic. They not only understand the other side, but they understand how they’re evaluated, what their wins and what their losses look like, what their goals, their hopes and dreams, their worst nightmares look like.” Conduct business negotiations face-to-face so you can establish a relationship. But when negotiating salary, do so via email, which presents any offers in writing. Before responding, consider your ideal salary and the offer that would leave you disgruntled. Undercompensated employees can become toxic employees. Smart hiring managers don’t want to hire you at your resistance 136 point, because it can lead to trouble later. Moreover, consider any nonmonetary perks you’d like to negotiate. When an HR manager refused one job candidate’s salary request, the new hire instead asked to have lunch with the CEO twice a year. His wish came true; he found that knowing the CEO led to important career opportunities. In a negotiation, you never want a fast “yes.” Your goal is to get a solid “no” rst. Never make the first offer in a salary negotiation. If you name a number, and the hiring manager immediately agrees, you know you’ve forfeited potential earnings. When making a job offer, many HR representatives will ask about your salary expectations. Dodge this question. Explain that you’re comparing remuneration packages for several job opportunities, and you’d like them to outline their offering. Then wait for them to suggest a number. If they refuse to make the initial offer, don’t be afraid to walk away. The person who’s willing to walk away from a negotiation generally has the most power. The only time it’s appropriate to name your price first is if you know the other party will submit a low offer – for example, if you’re selling a couch on the internet and you suspect people will offer to haul it away for free. “In a situation where you have imperfect information, let the other side make the offer.” A negotiation should be a collaboration, not a zero-sum game with a clear winner and loser. You want your partner to be happy to work with you in the future. Employ tactical empathy: Arrive with an understanding of the other person’s needs, and use that understanding strategically, to help you reach an agreement that you both can accept. About the Podcast Alex Kouts, the founder and CEO of Indigov, teaches a negotiation course on General Assembly, a career development, education and networking platform. Host Jordan Harbinger started his podcast in 2018. He is a professional networking coach and former lawyer. fi 137 Unlabel /Marc Ecko Recommendation Marc Eckō shares an unfiltered narrative of his successes and failures as he built a multimillion-dollar, worldwide brand. He dreamed big, achieved a lot, fell hard, learned well and wears his battle scars proudly. Eckō also details his brand development process, “The Authenticity Formula.” With appreciation for this book’s creative, thoughtful design and illustrations, getAbstract recommends Eckō’s business saga as much for its autobiographical elements as for its practical advice. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • The “Authenticity Formula” springs from the personal business experience of Marc Eckō, the creative force behind the Eckō Unlimited brand. To succeed, be creative, honor your unique voice, be proud to sell what you’ve made and stay true to yourself. In any endeavor, what you know is always less than what you don’t know. “Talk is cheap. An authentic, unique voice is a doer.” An authentic brand is your compass, providing clear direction when economic downturns, creative differences, public criticism or management conflicts strike. “Emotional impact” carries more weight than advertising and promotion. A great brand always does what it says it will do. Even great ideas wither and fade unless you back them up with action. According to Eckō, “Great brands are nothing more than streams of connected promises that always deliver.” Dream big, but never lose touch with immediate practical realities. Summary “The Authenticity Formula” Authentic brands are organic, evolving entities, whether you’re discussing your personal brand or multiproduct corporate brands. No matter what you sell, an authentic brand serves as your compass, providing clear direction amid the economic downturns, creative differences, public criticism or conflicting management styles that can blow you off course. “This book is the story of how I unlabeled myself, defying classification so I could grow both creatively and commercially.” Marc Eckō’s brand began in the 1980s in his parents’ garage in Lakewood, New Jersey, where he airbrushed T-shirts to sell to his schoolmates. Over the next 15 years, Eckō built his brand into a retail business worth millions. Eckō reveals his process for brand development, the “Authenticity Formula,” through his personal 138 story. He discovered that, “Authenticity is equal to your unique voice, multiplied by truthfulness, plus your capacity for change, multiplied by range of emotional impact, raised to the power of imagination.” His advice for budding entrepreneurs: “Challenge yourself to shake free of the herd, find your...unique voice and create your personal authentic brand.” “Fear” Marc Milecofsky was a chubby geek who loved computer games, comic books and drawing. He wasn’t cool or popular. He listened to Motown and sharpened his drawing skills by tracing pictures from his dad’s comic books. When he was 12, he discovered graffiti, street artists like Dondi White and underground comic artists like Vaughn Bode. “The success or failures in my story, my company’s story and all of our stories boil down to authenticity.” Milecofsky sampled hip-hop music and graffiti to form his artistic style. He adopted the tag name Echo (later Eckō), because when he and his twin, Marci, were in the womb, the doctors described his heartbeat as only an echo of his sister’s. He discovered the power of art when running for seventh-grade class president. He covered his school’s hallways with posters featuring his original artwork. Winning by a landslide gave him confidence in his instincts and imagery. “I couldn’t rap, I couldn’t MC, I was too fat to break-dance, but I could draw my ass off.” That was the beginning of Marc Eckō. “Authenticity is equal to your unique voice, multiplied by truthfulness, plus your capacity for change, multiplied by range of emotional impact, raised to the power of imagination.” After Eckō saw a picture of rapper L.L. Cool J wearing a spray-painted shirt made by the Shirt Kings in Queens, New York, he bought an airbrush and compressor. After a year of practice, he wore one of his creations to school. Commissions poured in; Echo Airbrushing was born. Selling his graffiti-style artwork helped Eckō overcome his fear of social ridicule. But hesitant about the future, he chose to attend pharmacy school at Rutgers University in New Jersey rather than pursue his art. “Action” Eckō didn’t fit in at Rutgers. Both black and white kids were suspicious of this suburban white kid who spoke street slang. Eckō continued to paint clothing on weekends, earning around $500 per week. His friend Cale Brock, an aspiring R&B singer, shared Eckō’s artistic dreams. Brock spent as much time recording music as Eckō did working on his art. “Creation can’t be bound by some esoteric code of ethics that ends up limiting your vision or putting constraints on how far you can stretch or grow.” The two pushed each other; Brock sent tapes to producers, and Eckō mailed “swag bombs,” customized airbrushed clothing, to movie producer Spike Lee, hiphop’s DJ Red Alert and other celebrities. Marc’s sister Shari attended a Bel Biv 139 Devoe concert and presented Michael Bivins, a member of the band, with one of Eckō’s custom-painted denim jackets with Brock’s tapes in its pocket. After the concert, Bivins met Brock and later signed him to his label. Brock and Eckō saw that even great ideas wither and fade without action. “Talk is cheap. An authentic, unique voice is a doer.” Eckō needed capital to build his business, but was naive about creating a business plan. He pitched Bivins and Spike Lee to no avail. He joined forces with a local entrepreneur, a young Orthodox Jew named Seth Gerszberg. “Self” To get started, Gerszberg gave Eckō $5,000 in cash. Eckō created six designs to mass-produce on T-shirts and used the cash to learn the art of screen-printing, painstakingly cutting screens and hoping to achieve a high-resolution print. The shirts looked good, but Eckō never achieved the quality he wanted. The best process for making the color separations proved too expensive. “Vision for the Future is about having the courage to dream big, [and] having the discipline and the focus to look at what’s in front of your face.” The partners placed targeted ads in magazines, and the shirt business, which they ran out of Eckō’s apartment, grew. They hired Marc’s twin sister, Marci, to oversee administration and customer service. Seeking to promote their work at trade fairs, Marc and Seth attended a hip-hop convention in Atlanta called Jack the Rapper. Eckō regarded the trip as an adventure, a time to smoke pot and hang with Tupac and Snoop. When Eckō showed up stoned, Gerszberg told him that he had to handle their business, and himself, with professionalism and respect. Gerszberg said, “You need to dig deep, into your flesh and bones, to discover this core sense of self, and then you must own this self from your guts to your skin.” “You have only so many minutes in every day – so many ticks on the clock – and every action you perform means, by definition, you’re not performing some other action.” Eckō and Gerszberg attended the Action Sports Retailer show in San Diego, cobbling together a booth made of discarded forklift pallets. The orders raced in, but print quality remained an issue. At the next trade show, Eckō met a “stoner” named Drew who was selling beautiful, high-quality, marijuana-themed shirts. Eckō asked Drew for the secret to his printing and bartered with him to learn Photoshop. “What You Say” With sales increasing, the company opened its first headquarters. Eckō created a logo to serve as a “flag of the brand”; it featured a rhino, which Eckō felt expressed his values. The company threw huge trade show parties and featured hip-hop artists Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip in their ads. Sportswear International magazine named Eckō a “Top 10 Brand to Watch.” The company had $8 million in sales, but spending outpaced revenue. Eckō and Gerszberg struggled to pay the bills and to fill orders on time. Eckō learned that “Great brands are nothing more than streams of connected promises that always deliver.” 140 “If I had just focused on being truthful in the promise of my business – not just the promise of my brand – then we wouldn’t have pushed it to the bleeding edge.” The team needed to find a “Garmento,” someone knowledgeable about the garment industry who could handle production and merchandising. Eckō met Wu, a Taiwanese clothing manufacturer who produced a beautiful line of snowboarding jackets. They struck a deal for Wu to act as the company’s Garmento. “Respect history – learn from it, leverage it – but if you get too comfortable, this same history can blind you and trap you.” Two events threatened the growing start-up. First, the company received a ceaseand-desist letter from Echo Designs for copyright infringement, so the partners changed the company name to Eckō. Second, Marc legally changed his last name from Milecofsky to Eckō as well, which caused some confusion and generated additional expense. Eckō and Gerszberg discovered that Wu cheated them by marking up goods and reneging on production and delivery. This led to a lawsuit and an accrual of $6 million in debt. “I believe in not only disclosing that failure but also robustly diagnosing it and learning from it. This is the textbook I wish I had in college.” Ralph Lauren and Nautica wanted to buy Eckō. Instead of selling, Gerszberg brought in Alan Finkelman, a Texas-based clothing wholesaler. He covered $1.5 million in immediate debt and gave Eckō and Gerszberg three years to repay him. They needed only 18 months. “What You Do” When they repaid Finkelman, Eckō proved that a brand is strong only when “what you say” matches what you do. Finkelman put Gerszberg in charge of sales and Eckō in charge of design and marketing. Marci trained in operations. This management team proved a sturdy and necessary triangle of “Governance, (Marci), Brute Force (Seth) and Swagger (Marc).” “Building a brand is like creating your own personal religion. You need to be willing to fight for it, defend it, die for it.” Eckō masterminded the “Where’s Eckō?” campaign for the Magic trade show in Las Vegas; he flooded the streets with stickers and sold products out of a hotel room. The campaign became the talk of the show and went viral. Eckō realized that the “emotional impact” he could make carried more weight than flashy advertising and promotion. Spike Lee produced a video for an Eckō fashion show. “Whatever your product or service, you are essentially selling you.” The brand licensed with Sketchers for shoes and Timex for watches. Early licensing efforts failed but extended the reach and emotional impact of the brand. Eckō sought to develop a fashion magazine spotlighting street culture, fashion, 141 gaming, rap and hip-hop. He brought in Alan Ket, a friend with publishing experience, to oversee his creation, Complex. “Capacity for Change” By 2000, Eckō’s revenue passed $100 million. Eckō let the success go to his head, designing a new line, Rhetorical Distortion, which abandoned many of the brand’s core aesthetics. He turned down partnering with the National Football League (NFL), deciding he would create his own label called Phys.Sci instead. When Rhetorical Distortion and Phys.Sci tanked, their failures brought Eckō back to reality. “It’s ideas, not dollars. Artfulness, not computer graphics. Not models. Not celebrities. Believable, defendable ideas.” The company launched “subbrands” and new projects, including Eckō Red, a woman’s clothing line, and Getting Up, a video game published with Atari. The more the company earned, the more it could borrow for further expansion. Gerszberg wanted to open a chain of retail outlets with a flagship store in Times Square. The company moved into new corporate headquarters on 23rd Street, taking on 300,000 square feet of space. “One of the worst lies ever told is that perception is reality. I hate that phrase. Reality is reality.” These projects required cash, which the firm could generate with a sale to a big corporation, so it entered the high-finance world of mergers and acquisitions. Eckō said that he and Gerszberg didn’t realize that “what you know,” was much less than “what you do not know.” “It was one thing to have knowledge, but do you have the ability to grasp that knowledge, to internalize it, to learn from it?” They negotiated with Tommy Hilfiger and Li & Fung in Hong Kong. Both deals fell through. Eckō and Gerszberg were determined to build the company, but Marci decided to leave. Eckō and Gerszberg leveraged every asset and signed personal guarantees for financing. “Emotional Impact” Gerszberg launched Marc Eckō as a celebrity to become the face of the brand. Eckō engaged Sean “Puffy” Combs to collaborate on the sound track for Getting Up. He also enlisted Puffy as a mentor. Eckō was personally determined to learn how Puffy cultivated his personal brand and created such a widespread emotional impact. He learned, “More important than what you make – whether it’s a product or a service, physical or digital – is how that stuff makes people feel.” Eckō engineered several stunts that grabbed media attention. He traveled with an entourage and attended hot parties with other celebrities. This phase culminated in Eckō spending more than $750,000 to buy the baseball that Barry Bonds hit to break Hank Aaron’s home run record. The bigger Eckō’s name became, the worse Marc Eckō felt. The sense of impending doom affected his emotional state and his artwork. “I had confused my personal brand with my company’s brand and it was time to set that straight.” 142 “Loyalty to Nostalgia” In 2008, Eckō was severely overextended, the market crashed, consumer demand weakened and credit dried up. The Times Square store never opened. Creditors were avid, and banks recommended bankruptcy. Eckō and Gerszberg began to fight, employees left the company and the future looked dismal. Eckō realized that a “loyalty to nostalgia” and the desire to retain 100% control would ruin the company. He and Gerszberg “reconfigure[d] the firm without disfiguring it.” They sold 51% to Iconix, a fashion brand conglomerate. Eckō focused on Complex. “Vision for the Future” At the end of Marc’s journey from a small garage in Lakewood, NJ to corporate headquarters on 23rd Street in Manhattan, he gained clarity about what lies ahead. He teaches that a vision for the future is the “courage to dream big, but it’s also...the discipline and...focus to look at what’s in front of your face.” Eckō’s prescription for visualizing your future includes setting these priorities: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. “Be a creator” – Tap into the artist within you, even if you can’t draw or paint. “Sell without selling out” – “Never feel bad about successfully selling your creations. Never feel bad about creating art you can’t sell. Just create.” “Create wealth that matters” – Don’t measure success in dollars or accolades. “Be an Unlabel” – Find your own “unique voice.” “Authenticity is a pursuit, not a destination” – Finding your true voice is a constant and evolving process. About the Author Marc Eckō is the creator and founder of Eckō Unlimited, as well as the founder and chairman of Complex Media. He is an American fashion designer, artist, speaker and mentor. Soundtracks Recommendation Everyone has a pocket jury they need to silence – the whispers in your brain that judge you, give you pause and say you’re not good enough. Best-selling author and speaker Jon Acuff dispels the myth that you cannot control these thoughts, that you cannot flip the narrative. With humor and clarity, Acuff shares his secrets on how to stop overthinking and use positive affirmations to build your confidence and creativity. When you quell the negative noise in your head and convert your overthinking into positive 143 energy, he argues, you turn problems into opportunities and idleness into action. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • Your thoughts either move you forward or hold you back. Influence your ideas with action. You cannot turn off your thoughts; turn them down instead. Replace your “broken soundtracks” with the songs you want to hear. Use the power of opposites to change the direction of your thoughts. Recite motivational soundtracks aloud for 30 days and notice how that changes your outlook. Gather your true, helpful and kind soundtracks to create a chorus that sings during times you might overthink. Renounce your pocket jury – the internal judge who tries to thwart your progress – by gathering evidence. Translate your new soundtracks into a symbol that helps you embrace positivity. Summary Your thoughts either move you forward or hold you back. Overthinking leads to inaction. When your thoughts overwhelm you, they hold you back from realizing your dreams. Overthinking wastes your time, impedes your creativity and makes you less productive. You may believe you cannot control your thoughts, yet by listening to them too much, you allow them to influence your career, your personal relationships and your future. When you overthink, thoughts repeat or spin in your brain – longer than you expect, longer than you want. These thoughts often exaggerate things you said or did that you’d rather forget. These negative thoughts – “broken soundtracks” – play uninvited in your head and generate doubt and insecurity that leads to lost opportunities. “Even if we are very deliberate in other areas of our lives, we tend to treat our thought life as something we have no control over.” Over time, your brain repeats these broken soundtracks, and they reset your memories. You believe what your brain tells you and find evidence to support those beliefs. You can learn to control your brain and to ignore your broken soundtracks. Combat overthinking by replacing your broken soundtracks with new ones and repeat your new ones until they play automatically in your head. In uence your ideas with action. fl 144 Negative words adversely affect your actions, your health and your happiness. Likewise, when you prep yourself with uplifting words, they boost your well-being. Positive thoughts guide your actions, which, in turn, guide your thoughts. To break the negative cycle of broken soundtracks, choose new, positive ones. Use the power of your thoughts to instill hope and create opportunities. “What you think influences what you do, which influences the results you get.” When reflecting on your current thought patterns, ask whether they reflect these qualities: • True – Many people come to believe the story their thoughts tell without testing for credibility. A familiar refrain – that others perform a task better than you do, for example – hinders your ability to move forward with your career or interests. Broken soundtracks harm the culture and spirit of an organization if people fail to question the veracity of those messages. • Helpful – A broken soundtrack might be true – that you did have a certain unpleasant conversation, for example. When analyzing your thoughts about this conversation, however, consider: Do they fuel your progress or cause indecision? • Kind – Kind thoughts do not judge you. Google, for example, found that when team members treated their peers without judgment, these teams had higher levels of performance and innovation. When something does not go well for you, or you make a mistake, instead of berating yourself, try saying a non-judgmental “oh well,” and simply move on. You cannot turn off your thoughts; turn them down instead. Treating your thoughts as on or off – you either think or you don’t – sets you up for failure. Instead, aim to turn down the volume on your broken soundtracks. Consider these techniques to successfully reset your perspective: • • • Exercise, which releases endorphins that boost your mood. Make lists to sort out your tasks and help you prioritize. Complete a task or two, however minor, to give yourself a sense of accomplishment. • Distract yourself with a hobby, such as doing a jigsaw puzzle, knitting, reading a book or listening to a podcast. • Take a walk in the woods. • Breathe. Talking with friends can help break any unhealthy thought cycles and turn down the volume on negativity. Friends help you see the truth and provide a healthier viewpoint. They likely have a few broken soundtracks they cycle through themselves, so in return, they will welcome your positive insights. 145 Replace your “broken soundtracks” with the songs you want to hear. You will always hear the thoughts that cycle through your mind. Remember that you choose the playlist. If you don’t have new soundtracks ready to play, look around you. Borrow from others. Grab a pen and paper and listen for a phrase that strikes an encouraging chord with you. Write it down. When you hear simple words, such as “Nothing good is ever easy,” record them; they may inspire you when you lose faith in yourself during your next difficult situation or work project. When trying something new, instead of automatically downplaying your abilities, recall the time someone said, “No one is good at things they’ve never done before.” Borrow uplifting phrases, so when you retire your broken soundtracks, you have replacements at the ready. “You don’t think your way out of overthinking. You act your way out. You retire broken soundtracks. You replace them with new ones. You repeat those, so often they become as automatic as the old ones. Those are all actions.” As you collect your new soundtracks, see where they fit using the “win > soundtrack > action” template: • Identify ways you want to succeed – the wins you want in your life – such as having more confidence in sales meetings or taking a run outside, even in the cold. • Retire your broken soundtracks and ask yourself what new soundtracks resonate with you, and will give you the impetus to succeed. For your sales meeting, for example, remind yourself that, like other members in the group, you have valid contributions to offer. For your run, focus on how good you always feel afterward. • Take action. Conduct preliminary research for the sales meeting to solidify your understanding and your position. For your run, perhaps allow yourself to run inside on the treadmill. Keep a notebook and write down your new soundtracks. Owning a collection of new soundtracks to replace your broken ones gives you the lift you need to take action. Use the power of opposites to change the direction of your thoughts. Certain words in your thought patterns signify a broken soundtrack: “everything, nothing, forever.” You think, for example, that “nothing you can do will help,” when facing a challenging situation, or “none of your skills transfer” in today’s dynamic economy. Similarly, you might first react to change with criticism rather than with an open mind. Organizations, too, fall prey to these negative narratives. 146 When you hear broken soundtracks that deal in these absolutes, turn them upside down. Change goes hand-in-hand with life today, and flipping the narrative offers you a route to take action. Choose alternatives: • • • Curiosity over criticism. “What if I succeed?” over “What if I fail?” “I wonder how that could work here” over “That will never work here.” Tiffany from South Carolina, for example, learned to flip the broken soundtrack that had haunted her since high school: that she would never do well with math. Taking a job in payroll taught her an important lesson that allowed her to succeed: She learned she actually enjoyed – and excelled at – everyday math, just not algebra or geometry. Find your broken soundtrack’s opposite and flip it to create a soundtrack that encourages you. Recite motivational soundtracks aloud for 30 days and notice how that changes your outlook. Overthinkers repeatedly play broken soundtracks in their heads, whether those soundtracks prove true or not. Most find it easier to think negative thoughts, as they have done for years, rather than implant new, positive ones. To override broken soundtracks, replace them with new ones and repeat them, so your new soundtracks play automatically. Zig Ziglar, the renowned motivational speaker, suggests you start with a simple method: For 30 days, morning and night, repeat positive affirmations in front of a mirror, and reflect on the effect this repetition has on you. You might find traffic no longer has the power to ruin your morning,or you no longer let a simple mistake linger in your head for days. At first, these affirmations may feel contrived; yet repeating them for a month will improve your outlook and sprinkle optimism into your automatic reactions to daily occurrences. “Good days start with good thoughts.” When Tom Ziglar – Zig’s 16-year-old son – applied for a job, he used positive affirmations to counter his lack of experience and landed the gig. Tom learned from his father to focus on responding, not reacting, to his circumstances. For example, periodic airport delays pose challenges, and you may react with frustration. But they also create opportunities. When, for instance, you respond to the delay by catching up on work priorities, you create a win. Choosing optimism as your day begins prevents your thoughts from spiraling in reaction to problems and allows you to focus on finding solutions. Gather your true, helpful and kind soundtracks to create a chorus that sings during times you might overthink. 147 In a research study designed to test Ziglar’s 30-day positive affirmation proposal, 10,000 people agreed to read a series of 10 positive affirmations aloud in front of a mirror, morning and night. The participants repeated these phrases in the morning to launch them with optimism into their day, and in the evening to quiet errant thoughts and consider their day a success. The declarations addressed areas in which overthinking tends to hinder people’s ability to act. For example: • • • “Momentum is messy,” addresses perfectionism. “I’ve got a gift worth giving,” focuses on personal identity. “I am the CEO of me, and I am the best boss,” centers on responsibility. The study found that when people repeated these positive affirmations, they decreased their overthinking, boosted their productivity and overall satisfaction, and increased their likelihood of achieving their goals. Companies, too, benefit when they implement new soundtracks in the workplace culture that increase creativity, productivity and performance. Renounce your pocket jury – the internal judge who tries to thwart your progress – by gathering evidence. When you repeat broken soundtracks, you see situations around you that support them. Your pocket jury further amplifies negative thoughts by raising doubts about any new soundtracks you introduce. But when you repeat your new positive affirmations, they follow the same pattern. You find evidence in your daily activities to support them, and positivity begins to dominate your thoughts. For example, when you make a mistake, your pocket jury likens it to all the other mistakes you made in the past in hopes of bringing you down. However, if your new soundtrack emphasizes how things tend to work out for you, you see not the mistake but the opportunity that may arise from it. A canceled meeting, for example, turns into a chance to catch up on missed work. A delayed schedule on your weekend provides time to enjoy with your family. Not everything that occurs has a positive side, but, in most cases, when you look for evidence, you can find reasons to support your optimism. “You have to gather some evidence of what you want to be true in your life. This is not a passive experience. Proof won’t find you; you have to find it.” Quell the negative noise by taking action against your pocket jury. Ask if the evidence around you supports its claims and emphasize the truth. If you have listened to a broken soundtrack for years without proof, strike it down and, with conscious effort, replace it. 148 Translate your new soundtracks into a symbol that helps you embrace positivity. A library director from Nebraska, for example, keeps a rock on her desk to remind herself of the time she went on a harder hike than she thought she could handle. A pair of writers from Utah post bright encouragement stickers on their rejection letters to keep their focus on their future success. These participants understand that, like Nike’s swoosh or Livestrong’s neon yellow bracelet, symbols carry strong messages. “Overthinking steals time, creativity, and productivity by making you listen to broken soundtracks. Do you know what happens when you listen to new ones? You give your dreams more time, creativity, and productivity. ” To find your symbol, chose something personal, such as a favorite photo or an upbeat note from a friend. Remember that what works for others may not work for you. Keep your symbol visible to serve as a daily reminder – more like a tattoo you see every day than a shirt hanging in your closet. Consider other options when searching for your symbol, such as a favorite mug that reminds you of a memorable trip, a compass to remind you to keep moving forward or a race bib that gives you the inspiration to do more. About the Author Best-selling author and INC Magazine Top 100 Leadership speaker Jon Acuff has influenced companies around the world including FedEx, Nissan, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Chick-fil-A, Nokia and Comedy Central. Thinking, Fast and Slow Recommendation The topics that Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman addresses are both complex and integral to the human mind: He asks you to think about thinking by considering how your mind habitually contradicts itself, distorts data and misleads you. His prose is lucid, his reasoning rigorous and his honesty refreshing – more than once Kahneman illustrates conflicted thinking with examples from his own life. The result is a fairly slow read, but an ultimately rewarding experience. 149 Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • To understand how thinking works, consider this model, which says people use two cognitive systems. “System 1” works easily and automatically and doesn't take much effort; it makes quick judgments based on familiar patterns. “System 2” takes more effort; it requires intense focus and operates methodically. These two systems interact continually, but not always smoothly. People like to make simple stories out of complex reality. They seek causes in random events, consider rare incidents likely and overweight the import of their experiences. “Hindsight bias” causes you to distort reality by realigning your memories of events to jibe with new information. “Loss aversion” and the “endowment effect” impact how you estimate value and risk. Your “two selves” appraise your life experiences differently. Your “experiencing self” lives your life; your “remembering self” evaluates your experiences, draws lessons from them and decides your future. These two contrasting systems and selves disprove economic theories that say that people act rationally. Summary Your “Two Systems” and What They Mean When you have to make sense of something, you think about it. To understand this process, consider a model that says people apply two cognitive systems. The first is “System 1,” or the mental processing that reads emotions and handles your automatic skills, like driving your car or adding two plus two. System 1 takes over your thinking when you comprehend simple statements (such as “complete the phrase ‘bread and . . .’”), instinctively turn to see where a noise is coming from or grimace when you see a gruesome image. System 1 supplies associated meanings (including stereotypes) rapidly and involuntarily. “Although System 2 believes itself to be where the action is, the automatic System 1 is the hero of the book.” By contrast, you use “System 2” when you’re focusing on specific details, like counting or figuring out how to complete your income tax forms. System 2 applies effort consciously, such as when you do complicated math, try new physical activities or search for a specific person in a crowd. System 2 thinking is slower, but you need it for methodical thinking processes such as formal logic. “The main function of System 1 is to maintain and update a model of your personal world, which represents what is normal in it.” Human beings tend to value the measured System 2 while dismissing the mechanical System 1, but reality is much more complicated. These mental processes engage in a “division of labor” when it comes to thinking, and they 150 constantly interact. You usually live in System 1’s world, where its fast processing is extremely efficient. In fact, you can be reasoning about a task in System 2, get tired or distracted, and find that you’ve shifted over to System 1 without realizing it. If you’ve ever puzzled over an optical illusion, you’ve experienced what happens when these two systems work at cross-purposes. Duality and Collaboration Which system you use and how you think depends a lot on the effort you are expending. If you are doing something easy, like strolling on a known path, you’re using System 1 and have a lot of cognitive capacity left for thinking. If you push the pace to a speed walk, System 2 switches on to maintain your effort. Now try to solve an arithmetic problem, and you’re likely to stop walking altogether; your brain can’t handle the additional burden. Recent lab studies show that intense System 2 concentration lowers the body’s glucose levels. If your System 2 is busy, you’re more likely to stereotype, give in to temptation or consider issues only superficially. “People who are ‘cognitively busy’ are...more likely to make selfish choices, use sexist language and make superficial judgments in social situations.” System 1 likes to jump on the straightforward answer, so if a seemingly correct solution quickly appears when you face a challenge, System 1 will default to that answer and cling to it, even if later information proves it wrong. System 1 performs rapid “associative activation.” Pair two words, or a word and an image, and your mind will link them, weaving a story from those scraps of information. In the phenomenon of “priming,” if you see the word “banana” followed by the word “vomit,” your mind creates an instantaneous connection that causes a physical reaction. Similarly, if exposed to the word “eat,” you will more likely complete the sequence S-O-_-P as “soup” rather than “soap.” “A compelling narrative fosters an illusion of inevitability.” If you want to persuade people, appeal to their System 1 preference for simple, memorable information: Use a bold font in your reports, try rhyming slogans in your advertising and make your company’s name easy to say. These tendencies are markers of System 1’s larger function, which is to assemble and maintain your view of the world. System 1 likes consistency: Seeing a car in flames stands out in your mind. If you see a second car on fire at roughly the same spot later on, System 1 will label it “the place where cars catch fire.” Making Meaning, Making Mistakes System 1 prefers the world to be linked and meaningful, so if you are dealing with two discrete facts, it will assume that they are connected. It seeks to promote cause-and-effect explanations. Similarly, when you observe a bit of data, your System 1 presumes that you’ve got the whole story. The “what you see is all there is” or “WYSIATI” tendency is powerful in coloring your judgments. For example, if all you have to go on is someone’s appearance, your System 1 will fill in what you don’t know – that’s the “halo effect.” For example, if an athlete is good looking, you’ll assume he or she is also skilled. 151 “When an unpredicted event occurs, we immediately adjust our view of the world to accommodate the surprise.” System 1 is also responsible for “anchoring,” in which you unconsciously tie your thinking on a topic to information you’ve recently encountered, even if the two have nothing to do with one another. For example, mentioning the number 10 and then asking how many African countries belong to the United Nations will produce lower estimates than if you mentioned 65 and asked the same question. System 2 can magnify your mistakes, though, by finding reasons for you to continue believing in the answers and solutions you generate. System 2 doesn’t dispute what System 1 presents; rather, it is the “endorser” of how System 1 seeks to categorize your world. “Facts that challenge...basic assumptions – and thereby threaten people’s livelihood and self-esteem – are simply not absorbed.” The natural tendency to focus on a message’s content rather than its relevance affects your ability to judge. People seize on vivid examples to shape their fears and plans for the future. For example, media coverage of dramatic but infrequent events like accidents and disasters – as opposed to dull but common threats like strokes and asthma – sets those events up as anchors that people use to make wildly inaccurate assessments about where the risks to their health lie. “The idea that the future is unpredictable is undermined every day by the ease with which the past is explained.” People also reason incorrectly when they don’t recognize the “regression to the mean.” Over time, everything tends to return to the average, but people create and apply “causal interpretations” to what are, in effect, random events. For example, if a baseball player who has a strong first year subsequently falters in his sophomore slump, sports fans will ascribe the decline to any number of rationales – but, in reality, the player was probably just more fortunate in his initial outings than in later ones. Distorted Reality and Optimism Simplification is at work in the “narrative fallacy,” or the mind’s inclination toward the plain, tangible and cohesive instead of the theoretical, contradictory and vague. People derive meaning from stories that emphasize individual characteristics like virtue and skill, but discount the role of luck and statistical factors. You will tend to “focus on a few striking events that happened rather than on the countless events that failed to happen.” Due to “hindsight bias,” you will distort reality by realigning your memories of events to jibe with new information. And when telling stories about events you’re involved in, you tend to be overly optimistic and predisposed to overvaluing your talents relative to those of others. You also will give your knowledge greater weight than it should have. “We are confident when the story we tell ourselves comes easily to mind, with no contradiction and no competing scenario. But ease and coherence do not guarantee that a belief held with confidence is true.” 152 This intense, pervasive optimism is useful for the economy in many ways because entrepreneurs and inventors tend to start new businesses all the time, notwithstanding the overwhelming odds against them. Despite knowing that roughly only a third of enterprises make it to their fifth anniversary, more than 80% of American entrepreneurs rate their ability to beat that statistic as high; fully a third “said their chance of failing was zero.” Experts and Risk System 1 influences how candidly people assess their own “intuition and validity,” which means that not all experts always provide great counsel. Expertise relies on an individual’s skill, “feedback and practice.” For example, firefighters’ repeated practice in weighing the risks posed by specific types of fires and their experience in extinguishing those fires give them an impressive ability to read a situation intuitively and identify crucial patterns. Similarly, an anesthesiologist relies on regular, immediate medical feedback to keep a patient safe during surgery. “Most of us view the world as more benign than it really is, our own attributes as more favorable than they truly are, and the goals we adopt as more achievable than they are likely to be.” However, don’t put too much trust in the judgment of experts in fields where challenges vary greatly, where luck determines success, and where too great a gap exists between action and feedback. Those who predict stock values and political contests, for instance, are prone to fall into this category. Because System 1 lulls experts with “quick answers to difficult questions,” their intuition may be flawed, but your System 2 is unable to detect those inconsistencies. “Organizations that take the word of overconfident experts can expect costly consequences.” You’re especially prone to unclear thinking when making decisions about risk and value. Most people are “loss averse”: You hate to lose $100 more than you like winning $150. But financial traders tend to demonstrate less of an emotional, System 1-type reaction to losses. Individuals also suffer from the “endowment effect”: When something belongs to you, even if only for a brief period of time, you tend to overestimate its value relative to the value of things you don’t own. Homeowners exemplify the endowment effect, often overvaluing their properties. “Confusing experience with the memory of it is a compelling cognitive illusion.” When you combine all this with the fact that people misjudge how likely rare events are or, alternatively, give rare events too much weight when making decisions, you have the foundations of the modern insurance industry. How you frame risk shapes your evaluation of it. For example, if you hear a life-saving vaccine has “a 0.001% risk of permanent disability,” your reaction is much different than it would be to the same treatment that leaves one of 100,000 individuals forever incapacitated. Yet the two are identical. When you take all these tendencies into account, it is hard to believe any economic theory based on the idea that people are rational actors. But making good decisions depends on paying attention to where your information comes from, understanding how it is 153 framed, assessing your own confidence about it and gauging the validity of your data sources. “Two Selves,” One Mind Just as two systems interact in your mind, two selves clash over the quality of your experiences. The “experiencing self” is the part of you that lives your life; the “remembering self” is the part that evaluates the experiences you have, draws lessons from them and “makes decisions” about the future. For the remembering self, happiness is not cumulative, and the final stages of any event play a critical role in your recollection of its quality. For example, when researchers asked subjects to evaluate the life of someone who lived happily to the age of 65, relative to someone else who lived happily through 65 but was only moderately content for another five years, the subjects rated the first life as more desirable. “The experiencing self does not have a voice. The remembering self is sometimes wrong, but it is the one that keeps score and governs what we learn from experience, and it is the one that makes decisions.” Your remembering self’s evaluation of your life story is one part of how you judge whether you are happy. You rate your life by standards or goals you set. The moment-to-moment assessments of your experiencing self provide the other side of your happiness. These conclusions may conflict because they account for different aspects of reality. Work benefits and status that affect “general job satisfaction” do not shape people’s everyday moods at work. Instead, job context contributes more to happiness, including such factors as chatting with co-workers and being free from “time pressure.” “The way to block errors that originate in System 1 is simple in principle: recognize the signs that you are in a cognitive minefield, slow down and ask for reinforcement from System 2.” The things you pay attention to have major implications for your mood. “Active forms of leisure,” like physical activity or spending time with good friends, satisfy you a lot more than the “passive leisure” of, for example, watching television. You can’t necessarily change your job or your disposition, but you can change what you focus on and how you spend your time. Focus shapes your self-assessments: “Nothing in life is as important as you think it is when you are thinking about it.” Your two selves are intertwined with your two mental systems: System 2 constructed your remembering self, but your tendency to weigh experiences by their final moments and to favor “long pleasures and short pains” comes from System 1. The relationship between your selves holds implications for philosophers and policy makers. You would make different decisions about which social, health and economic issues to address, and how to address them, depending on whether you see the perspective of the remembering self or of the experiencing self as primary. In general, recognizing how these different mental systems work can help you realize that the purely rational beings favored by economic theory are fictional, and that real people need help making better judgments in their financial and life 154 choices. Understanding how your mind works can help you advocate for policies that take those issues into account. The converse is also true: Because your mind doesn’t function optimally in all instances, rules should protect people from those who would “deliberately exploit their weaknesses.” Because individuals find it difficult to catch glitches originating in their own System 1 processing, an organization can operate with more methodical rationality than can the separate individuals within it. About the Author Daniel Kahneman, a professor emeritus at Princeton and a Nobel laureate in economics, has written extensively on the psychology of judgment and decision making. The Simplicity Principle Recommendation If you’re thinking, “Stop the world and let me off,” you’re the ideal candidate for Julia Hobsbawm’s guide to untangling life’s complexities. The British author and intellectual uses nature and neuroscience as a framework for dealing sensibly with life’s demands. Hobsbawm warns against the poisonous effects of stress and explains why multitasking goes against nature. Hobsbawm offers a unique perspective on quieting the noise around you and embracing clarity amid confusion. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • The Simplicity Principle derives from two core concepts: “Keep it simple” and “Learn from nature.” “Hexagon Action” provides simpler solutions to problems. Use the six sides of simplicity to organize stress-free living: 1. “Clarity” – Clear the way for well-informed decisions. 2. “Individuality” – Being distinctive is a natural gift worth celebrating. 3. “Reset” – Pull the plug, and take a deep breath. 4. “Knowledge” – Beware of what information you consume. Ask how much of it is worth your attention. 5. “Networks” – Reach out, and stay in touch. 6. “Time” – Use what you have wisely. Summary The Simplicity Principle derives from two core concepts: “Keep it simple” and “Learn from nature.” 155 Life is complex and demanding, but doesn’t have to feel overwhelming or out of control. The Simplicity Principle shows you how to prioritize and effectively utilize your energy and intellect based on two foundational concepts: 1. Keep it simple – Learn to apply simpler solutions to make your life manageable. 2. “Learn from nature” – The bee’s honeycomb is made up of sixsided hexagons, a simple, sturdy and highly functional shape. Use a six-part framework to organize your life more simply. Stress takes a sizable toll on performance and psychological well-being. Stress costs the United States some $300 billion in business annually. “The challenge is to recognize complexity when we see it and find a way to personally side-step and cope when it is not working in our favor.” Technology should simplify life, but it often has the opposite effect. Drivers using mobile phones cause 25% of automobile accidents worldwide – mostly due to the misguided practice of multitasking. People can process only four to seven things at a time. Multitasking – an unnatural act – creates anxiety, depression and frustration. “Hexagon Action” provides simpler solutions to problems. The concept of Hexagon Action derives from using a six-sided shape to break problems down into identifiable components. Six is a practical number you can apply in organizing your work and your life. Six occupies a prominent place in nature and culture: insects have six legs; Judaism’s Passover Seder plate holds six symbolic foods; the Bible says man was created on the sixth day; volleyball teams have six players; cricket has six balls in an “over”; and a braille cell has six dots. “Six is a mysteriously alluring number which it turns out a great many of us are transfixed by without really knowing why.” Humans, like bees, are productive social creatures who perform specialized tasks within a disciplined communal framework. Both species evolve and survive “by constantly adapting to (their) surroundings.” No matter the size of a bee colony, the bees carry out their tasks with organized cohesion. Use the six sides of simplicity to organize stress-free living. Use Hexagon Action to limit yourself to doing no more than six things at a time. Your productivity increases when you clear away the clutter and zero in on what is most important. Ask yourself how you can do less, not more. Use the six sides of simplicity to organize yourself without stress: 156 1. “Clarity” – Clear the way for well-informed decisions. The absence of clarity confuses and weakens people. The human brain processes roughly 35,000 decisions every day, but many people remain uncomfortable making decisions. Deciding moves you from uncertainty to clarity and creates a clear path toward other actions. Having too many choices impedes progress. For instance, former president Barack Obama simplified his wardrobe options to focus on more important decisions. Habits simplify your life by limiting your options and decisions. They benefit you mentally and physically. Worrying about the repercussions of a decision is common, but waiting to act allows more problems to pile up. Make a decision, and then take action quickly. “The ability to decide is the difference between being stuck and moving to a new place. Making decisions is an act of clarity, clearing the way for other things to happen.” Too much distraction prevents you from paying attention – a phenomenon the digital era intensifies. You need around 23 minutes to get back on track after your distractions take you away from a task. Distractions can over-stimulate you and generate anxiety. Try pulling the plug on all of your electronics on Friday night to experience life offline. Moving toward clarity means establishing boundaries and realizing you can’t do everything. Organizing your life brings clarity and simplicity. Whether you’re working at home or in the office, reducing clutter and putting things in place will boost your productivity and clear your mind. Randomly scattered papers and documents create chaos and can make you frantic when you need to find something. 2. “Individuality” – Being distinctive is a natural gift worth celebrating. Your individuality makes you different and separates humans from machines. Individuality requires only acknowledging who you really are. Personalities are fluid and evolve with society. People change jobs and location more frequently these days. The boundaries separating personal and professional life have become less clear as people can and do work anywhere. Retirement can mean leaving one job and taking on several smaller ones. The internet complicates life. People frequently toggle between real time and online time; many have multiple social media accounts. People check their devices as frequently as 80 times a day and average six hours a day on the internet. Social media can exhaust you. Shut down your computer and take a break. 157 “The more we embrace complexity, the more we turn away from simple solutions and simplicity itself, the worse things get.” Practicing integrity according to the Simplicity Principle means taking the moral high road, trusting your instincts, paying attention to the facts and speaking up when something isn’t right. People in the workplace avoid speaking the truth because toxic cultures promote fear and mistrust. You cannot vest in reality without honesty. People who practice their individuality, even when others disagree, deserve respect and empathy. Compassion is good for you. Helping other people protects you from stress. To nurture your own individuality, think creatively. Creativity is the core of individuality. 3. “Reset” – Pull the plug, and take a deep breath. Find the on/off switches on your electronic device. Powering down your life is challenging in a culture that values constant motion, material acquisitions and endless to-do lists. Digital dependency is a fact of life, particularly as the freelance workforce rapidly expands. Society’s escalating use of alcohol and other mind-altering substances reflects a desire to escape the exhausting complexities of modern life. Admitting you need a break from anxiety and stress enables you to be proactive before desperation and bad habits set in. “We have to work extra-hard in a digital age to know where the human stops and the machine starts.” Instead of practicing meditation or mindfulness, consider “mindlessness.” Achieve this state of relaxation by applying your favorite disconnection technique, like changing into your pajamas or listening to classical music. Quiet your mind, and achieve self-awareness. A nice run or spin class can put you in a different space and enable you to return to your busy life with renewed focus and energy. Breathing is the easiest way to unplug. Numerous books, apps and websites offer information on effective breathing techniques. Active rest can mean going for a walk and observing what’s around you. Strolling through a forest is an excellent stress-buster that lowers your heart rate. Paying attention to insects and animals lends a sense of perspective you won’t find in the office. Napping is the ultimate reset device for people whose sleep is compromised by stress, increased screen time and intrusive smartphones. Naps don’t require equipment or fancy preparation – only a place to lay down. A 20minute nap is ideal for recharging your batteries. 158 4. “Knowledge” – Beware of what information you consume. Ask how much of it is worth your attention. Consuming too much information leads to “infobesity.” Loading up on informational junk without confirming its validity is harmful. The internet makes it increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction. Do your own research instead of blindly going along with the crowd. Reputable media sources have more sophisticated fact-checking systems than random tweeters or bloggers. Knowledge encompasses more than cramming facts into your head and spitting them out. Soft skills – getting along with others, being reliable and adaptable, showing empathy – have become increasingly important in the workplace. They separate humans from machines. Some soft skills come naturally; you can learn and practice others. Knowledge puts a strain on your memory, particularly when you have lots of programs, user names and passwords to recall. Overloading the brain leads to forgetfulness and makes it stressful to try to remember something. Instead, trust that your memory will come through when necessary. 5. “Networks” – Reach out, and stay in touch. The popularity of social networking reflects the basic human need to connect. People send around 60 billion messages every day on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. While social media provides connection, it isolates those attacked by online trolls or bullies. Social media increases anxiety in four out of five young adults. Typical social media users spend more than two hours a day on various platforms. However, nothing substitutes for face-to-face interaction. Social media helps people stay in touch, but relationships deteriorate without in-person connection. “The best way to think about networking is to adopt a relational not transactional mind-set.” In-person networking can be intimidating, especially if you are an introvert. Establish connections instead of wondering how every transaction can benefit you. Your time is valuable, so avoid events that are mostly transactional. Settings that “prioritize people and content” will open the networks you’re seeking. You may have hundreds of contacts in your networks, but can you identify the handful of people – your “Social Six” – you trust implicitly? Who matters most to you? Who can you count on when you need help, information or advice? Pinpointing your Social Six provides clarity, a true sense of your life and the pivotal figures in it. List your Social Six for work, family, friends and your children’s school. 6. “Time” – Use what you have wisely. 159 Considering the complexity of modern-day life and the finite number of hours in a week, time management is mandatory. You need deadlines to get things done, but people respond differently to time pressure. Taking on a task or project with an unrealistic deadline will create anguish, not efficiency. Use your best judgment before committing to something that isn’t possible or requires you to cut corners. “When we are overloaded, we make mistakes. We get stressed. Depressed. Angry. Disappointed. We struggle.” Controlling your time makes life more manageable, though not everyone has the luxury of a flexible schedule. Working more than “a tiny bit of overtime” significantly increases the risk of heart attack or coronary disease. Time management is even more critical in the gig economy. Up to 50% of American employees are expected to be freelance workers by 2030. In the face of all these various stressors and their unhealthy effects, learn to respond by opting for simplicity and finding time for yourself. About the Author British author and intellectual Julia Hobsbawm also wrote Fully Connected: Surviving and Thriving in an Age of Overload and Where the Truth Lies. Barking Up the Wrong Tree Recommendation This wide-ranging self-help style guide to a better life and career covers an enormous amount of territory. From whether to play it nice and straight, manipulate like Machiavelli, or “fake it until you make it,” lifestyle expert Eric Barker reels you in with all sorts of research-based evidence on one side, only to yank the carpet out from under your feet with at least as much evidence for the other alternative. His back-and-forth style continues through more than 250 pages of studies and stories, cases and examples, including how to get off the unhealthy wheel of competition, create your own definition of success and plan your life accordingly. As Barker points out, for every expert and every study, there are equal and opposite experts and studies, so read with a bit of skepticism and trust your judgment as you decide what applies to you. getAbstract recommends this guide about making productive career choices and finds that it would be especially useful to anyone just starting a career. Take-Aways 160 • • • • • • • • • • Often, your disadvantages in one arena mean you have advantages in another. Learn about your strengths; then find a career and an organization that encourages and appreciates what you contribute. Play nice, but not too nice. Extend trust, but retaliate if anyone tries to step on you. Don’t measure your success against other people. Define success for yourself. Quit extraneous activities so you can devote more time and “grit” to what matters. Turning your work into a game can help you build perseverance. Get out in public, make connections, build relationships and create the network you need for success and happiness. Practice self-compassion, which combines the best of confidence and humility. If you aim for prominence, prepare to devote your life to work. If you want a good career and a worthy life, find balance in the “four metrics that matter most”: “happiness, achievement, significance” and “legacy.” Summary Yin and Yang – Opposite Life Choices High school valedictorians do well in college and in life; most of them earn graduate degrees and almost half get top jobs. But they rarely change the world. Kids who conform excel in class and keep conforming throughout their careers, yet rule breakers are the ones who shake things up. A study of 700 American millionaires reveals they had a mean grade point average of 2.9. “When you align your values with the employment of your signature skills in a context that reinforces these same strengths, you create a powerful and emotionally engaging force for achievement, significance, happiness and legacy.” Outliers have different approaches and different genes. Their unique mix of personality traits gives society its greatest geniuses, musicians and leaders. Yet they frequently suffer depression, violent tendencies and alcoholism. But some factors that seem to be disadvantages sometimes become a competitive edge. Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps looks out of proportion on land, where he’s not much of an athlete. But his long arms, short legs, and big hands and feet make him weirdly aquatic and perfectly built to win gold medals in the pool. People who survive tragedies, like losing their parents at a young age – for example, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Gandhi and Michelangelo – often go on to incredible accomplishments. “Success is not the result of any single quality; it’s about alignment between who you are and where you choose to be.” Good fortune often accompanies bad. When you pursue one life path, you give up another. When you make a decision, you incur opportunity costs. Discover what you do well, and err on the side of playing to your strengths rather than fighting 161 your weaknesses. Once you know your strengths, interests and values, find a company that values your strengths and the type of person you are. “Nice Guys” In the short run at least, people who are nasty, lazy and disagreeable often do better than nice, hard workers, so long as they flatter their bosses or otherwise make a good impression. Nice guys get paid less and passed over for promotions. “Research shows that what makes students likely to be impressive in the classroom is the same thing that makes them less likely to be home-run hitters outside the classroom.” Over time though, jerks who get away with laziness or cheating rub off on others. If they’re unchecked, eventually almost everyone around them will grow selfish and distrustful. Ultimately, the group will collapse. Even one bad apple can diminish group performance by more than a third. And, if you get ahead with antisocial behavior, you may kill the conditions that allowed you to succeed. You’ll also have created a bunch of people you can’t stand working with. So be nice. “College grades aren’t any more predictive of subsequent life success than rolling dice.” Niceness can help some individuals. Wharton professor Adam Grant discovered that the good people he calls “givers” do either quite well or quite poorly. The difference lies in whether givers retain a healthy dose of skepticism. If you are trusting and helpful while remaining wary, you end up on the top. Don’t think in “zero sum” terms, where everyone else’s wins are your losses. “You do need to be visible. Your boss does need to like you. This is not proof of a heartless world; it’s just human nature.” If you don’t get reciprocation when you play nice, retaliate. Cooperate, and everyone wins. Cheat, and everyone loses. Help others think about the long term by building relationships. Join firms and teams you respect. Toot your own horn gently but loud enough for the boss to know your work. You’ll find it easier to give when you like those you work with. However, don’t give endlessly or you’ll get taken advantage of, and you won’t have time to get your work done. About two hours per week helping others should suffice. Balanced givers live longer, happier lives. “WGNF” To build perseverance, turn your struggles into a game. Challenge yourself to accomplish small pieces of a bigger goal. Make a game out of it and you make it fun, so you keep coming back for more. Create your games using these WGNF guidelines: • Make them “Winnable” – Even though people lose at well-designed games 80% of the time, they persevere in the knowledge that they can win. Lots of people do win, and they know they will if they keep trying. 162 • • • Build in “Novelty” – Great games introduce new challenges at the right time and offer levels with increasing difficulty. Never make the game impossible to win. Attach “Goals” – Identify objectives for the challenges that you set. Think of video games that captivate people with clear goals, constant feedback, as well as achievable but hard levels. Give “Feedback” – Like video games, your Fitbit and collecting air miles, games capture your attention because they provide a stream of feedback. You need feedback from your challenges and goals. Set a goal for your daily progress against larger objectives. Have “Grit,” but Know When to Quit Perseverance often leads to success and happiness. That doesn’t mean that you should never quit or give up. You have only so much time and energy. Choosing to do one thing means rejecting another. Life is a series of trade-offs. “Strategic quitting” means deliberately doing less of one thing so you can do more of another. “Hard work doesn’t pay off if your boss doesn’t know whom to reward for it.” ” You may not know what to focus on, so try lots of things. Fail fast, learn and move on. Knowing when to quit and what to stick with doesn’t come easily. When you date, you wonder if you should marry. Is this person the right one? Mathematicians calculate that your odds of finding your soulmate are one in 10,000 lifetimes. In the short term, love matches work better, but their successes fade after 10 years. In the long term, arranged marriages succeed at a far higher rate. “WOOP” So how do you make a choice? The answer lies in the WOOP process: “wish, outcome, obstacle, plan.” Dream about what you want, specify the outcome you want, identify the obstacles in your way, and then craft a plan to overcome them. This process works only when your goals are achievable – that is, if you have the qualifications for the job or a path to getting them. WOOP can act as a wake-up call. If you don’t know what to focus on – where to get gritty – run your projects through WOOP. Extrovert or Introvert? In most cases, for most careers, you should act socially like an extrovert – whether or not it comes naturally. Build as big a social network of associates and both close and distant friends as possible. Extroverts and those with bigger networks achieve more success; make more money; and lead happier, more productive lives, even if they just pretend at extraversion. People who get out, make friends and remain active socially enjoy longer, healthier lives. “Having ‘friends’ stacked like books in a digital library on a network is not the same as actually talking to people…That’s not a relationship; that’s virtual stamp collecting.” 163 Take, for example, Isaac Newton, perhaps the “smartest person who ever lived,” who accomplished all he did “entirely on his own.” Introverts tend to do better academically and in reaching expert levels in their fields, whether science, investment banking, programming, sports or music. Introverts commit fewer crimes and less adultery, lose less money, and get in fewer accidents. Most people land somewhere between introversion and extraversion. Either way, unless you’re Isaac Newton, you must build networks and collaborate. Listen, Don’t Talk Make friends, and build your network by helping other people, by listening rather than talking, by asking their opinions and advice, and by asking them for help. Allocate time to build your network. Connect or reconnect on social networks, but meet people in person or, at least, on the phone. Join interest groups, book clubs or professional groups with members who resemble the person you aspire to be. If you want to improve your health, for example, join a group of fit, active, healthy people. Don’t avoid people at work; those with the biggest social groups learn about opportunities sooner and earn promotions faster. Be Con dent with Caution Successful people have more confidence. The more success you achieve, the more confidence you gain. The more confidence you have, the more you earn. Even if you have no basis for your confidence, having it helps. Even faking confidence pays dividends. Leaders especially should put on an air of confidence even if they don’t feel it. Smile to make yourself happy, stay optimistic to increase your chances of success and strike power poses to gain confidence. But know that the benefits of “faking it” don’t last long. You are deceiving yourself as well as others. Overconfidence can get you hurt. Narcissistic CEOs regularly wreck companies. Powerful leaders often lose people’s empathy, commit more infidelities and tell more lies. “Don’t be afraid to do some experiments and quit the ones that don’t work…you need to try stuff knowing you might quit some of it to open yourself up to the luck and opportunities that can make you successful.” ” A little uncertainty and self-doubt helps you listen more, share credit, avoid acting belligerently, and remain open and curious. Humility helps people avoid mistakes, even if you force it on them by requiring them to follow rules or procedures. You need confidence, but with caution. Optimism helps, but some pessimism keeps you from doing silly things. Seek a balance. Instead of trying to show confidence or doubt, you may do better by improving your ability to forgive yourself. Self-compassion makes you feel good about yourself without arrogance. The benefits of confidence and humility include becoming stronger, more positive, healthier, happier and even wiser. Should You Work Insanely Hard or Settle for “Good Enough”? If you’ve decided you want to lead your field, prepare for monstrous dedication and work. You’ll need the 10,000 hours it takes to achieve expertise and a multiple of that number to achieve eminence. Super smarts won’t help you; only fi 164 hours and hours of hard work will cut it. This means learning and improving on your own time. Happily, hours of focused work don’t feel as taxing when you’ve chosen a field that deeply interests you and leverages your strengths. That passion and the importance of having “meaningful work” make your choice of career and organization supremely important, especially if you live to work. “YouTube started out as a dating site…eBay was originally focused on selling PEZ dispensers. Google began as a project to organize library book searches.” If you choose wisely and make the commitment, you might become the best at what you do. But high achievement comes at a high cost. A strong passion for a career often leads to strained and broken relationships with friends, spouses and children. Achievers must make these choices; few can have it both ways. When highly productive scientists and artists of all sorts marry, their output and contributions plummet. Expect this, even if you love your work. If you hate your job, overwork may lead to burnout. “Good enough is almost always good enough.” (Swarthmore College professor Barry Schwartz) ” Unless you aspire to greatness on the scale of Einstein or Mozart, reasonable work hours will make you happier; you may get more done and have more ideas. Get your sleep. Otherwise, you’ll walk around like a drunk, functioning at a level far below most well rested people, even those who aren’t as naturally smart as you are. “Gratitude is the tactical nuke of happiness and the cornerstone of long-lasting relationships.” Find a career that suits you, and don’t obsess about it. Overcome the rat race by setting your own goals and defining what you see as personal success. If you compare yourself to others, you set yourself up for stress and disappointment. The “Big Four” To lead a balanced life, devote your time and energy to “four metrics that matter most”: 1. 2. 3. 4. “Happiness” – Strive to find “pleasure and contentment” in your life. “Achievement” – Work toward reaching challenging meaningful goals. “Significance” – Ensure that your actions have a “positive impact.” “Legacy” – Live your life in ways that benefit others. Take Control To have a sense of control over your life, manage your time. Track where you waste time, and work to use your time more productively by devoting it to your big four. Free up time for things other than work by talking to your boss about your priorities. “Success does not lead to happiness as often as happiness leads to success.” 165 Instead of making a to-do list, schedule your day to get things done. Build in “protected time” to focus on “deep work,” as opposed to the “shallow work” of emails, phone calls and meetings. Find a quiet place for concentrated work. Plan when you want to leave the office for the day, and make sure you do it. Close the day by reviewing what you want to get done tomorrow. About the Author Eric Barker is the creator of the blog “Barking Up The Wrong Tree” which has more than 325,000 subscribers and is syndicated by Time magazine as well as other media outlets. 7 Things Resilient People Do Di erently Recommendation Peak performance coach Akash Karia discusses the seven major habits of “emotionally resilient” people and explains how to integrate these behaviors into your life. Experts claim that the most successful people aren’t necessarily the most intelligent or best educated; they’re the most emotionally resilient. They don’t let negative emotions cloud their judgment. Instead, they acknowledge such feelings as being inevitable and take responsibility for their actions. They can step back from a situation and not allow their emotions to take over. Karia provides tips for handling negativity, including adopting power poses, changing focus, using questions to develop greater self-awareness, and more. His easy-to-read manual contains valuable advice backed up by research. getAbstract recommends Karia’s useful method to anyone dealing with sadness, anger, frustration or other negative emotions. Take-Aways • • • • Everyone has to deal with negative emotions or experiences. You can’t choose what happens to you, but you can choose how you respond. Taking control of negative emotions isn’t the same as suppressing them. “Emotionally resilient” people accept their emotions and take ownership of their actions. They use questions to develop better selfawareness. ff 166 • • • • • • They adopt “power postures” or poses to help strengthen them and defuse negativity. Instead of reacting to a stimulus, they change their focus to shift the meaning of the stimulus to indicate a better outcome. Emotionally resilient people change or mold their beliefs to control their emotions. They ask challenging questions to improve themselves. They learn to modify their “self-talk and inner movies” by adjusting the controls. They rewire bad habits by modifying the “antecedent, behavior” and “consequence” (ABC) loop of events in their lives. Summary Processing Negative Emotions Say something negative happens in your life. It could be a fight with your spouse, a divorce, losing a promotion at work, a co-worker gossiping about you or failing a class at school. You might feel so hurt, angry or afraid that these negative emotions take over your life. Everybody responds to stress and negativity differently. Some may isolate themselves from friends and eat too much ice cream. Others may lash out by screaming. But successful people are “emotionally resilient,” and they can confront their negative emotions without being overwhelmed. “Many experts believe that emotional resilience is the #1 key to success – not education and not conventional intelligence.” Taking control of your negative emotions isn’t the same thing as suppressing them. Suppression is harmful because negative emotions are part of life. Instead of stifling your emotions, develop awareness of them. Learn to “mind the gap” between a stimulus – what just happened – and how you respond to it. People who are emotionally resilient take control of that gap. “Much of your ability to control your emotions depends on your ability to be aware of all of the complex things going on inside your head.” Emotionally resilient people have seven basic habits that help give them control over their feelings. To master your emotions, understand and implement these habits: Habit 1: Respect Your Emotions Resilient people “acknowledge their emotions, accept responsibility for them and learn to interpret the positive intentions of their emotions.” Wherever you are and whatever you’re feeling, take time out to honor this moment in time. Apply that sensibility to a real-life example. If someone says something mean to you, you might feel hurt or angry. How you 167 respond to those words will depend on factors such as what the person said, your past experiences, your personality, and more. You may get angry and yell instead of acknowledging that you’re hurting. “Suppressing thoughts and feelings can actually backfire.” In 2007, the British journal Behaviour Research and Therapy published a study written by Richard Bryant and Fiona Taylor reporting on the effects of “thought suppression” on sleeping dream states. They asked 100 participants to think of an unwanted thought, memory or image from the past. They asked 50 of the participant group to try to suppress that negative thought for five minutes before going to sleep. After examining the participants’ dream journals, the researchers discovered that those who suppressed their thoughts were more likely to dream about the negative experience they were trying to hold back. “People who are emotionally resilient…use this to their advantage by looking for the positive intention behind the negative emotion they’re feeling.” You are responsible for your emotions. You can blame other factors, like the heavy traffic during your Monday morning commute, but you alone are responsible for feeling rushed and angry. How you respond to something potentially upsetting is up to you. Recognizing that you’re angry or sad is the first step. Once you’re aware of your negative emotion, look for the “positive intention” that accompanies it. For example, you might become aggressive to protect yourself. Emotionally resilient people find the positive intentions behind their negative emotions. “While it is possible to use [the power of our beliefs] to our benefit, not all of our beliefs are productive. In fact, we each have certain beliefs that are quite disempowering.” One of the most powerful examples of emotional resilience comes from Viktor Frankl (1905–1997). In September 1942, Germans took Frankl to a concentration camp. He and millions of other Jewish people suffered cruel treatment at the hands of Nazis. Frankl survived because he knew he couldn’t control or change his circumstances, only his response to them. As he wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl realized that his pain and suffering could be teachers. After gaining his freedom, he gave back to others and became a psychiatrist and neurologist. Habit 2: Adopt “Power Postures” Your body language reflects what you’re feeling inside. If you’re sad, your posture will be slumped and droopy; you might frown with your lips curved down or cry. If you’re happy or proud, your shoulders are square and held high as you laugh or smile with your lips curved up. 168 “Beliefs…which put conditions on your desired emotional states (happiness, excitement, fulfillment, joy)…limit the amount of time you are able to experience that emotion.” Power postures or poses occur when you take up a lot of space physically, stand or sit up straight with your shoulders back and your feet shoulderwidth apart, and breathe deeply for two minutes. Within two minutes of adopting power postures, your testosterone levels increase by 20% and your cortisol levels decrease by 25%. Testosterone is a hormone found in both genders that increases confidence. Cortisol is the hormone that causes stress. “We actually can choose how we feel, but we can’t do that until we stop letting others control us and accept responsibility for our own emotions.” Use this physical technique to change your mental outlook. It’s hard to feel sad when you’re smiling. Even if you’re not happy, the small physical change of smiling produces positive effects. Practicing breathing can help you become calmer. Changing your physiology is a lifelong habit that will help you process negative emotions and become more resilient. Habit 3: Build Your Ability to Focus You react the way you do because your brain finds meaning in each stimulus response. If you change the meanings you find, you can change your responses – which will produce a different and possibly more positive emotion. Say two people both get fired. One proclaims that his life is over and he can’t possibly find another job as great. The other processes her pain differently. She sees it as a “blessing in disguise” and gives herself permission to try something new, such as switching careers or going back to school. “Experiment with [your internal] movie controls – brightness, color, focus, association, space and size – and see what reduces and what increases the emotional intensity of the experience.” What you pay attention to becomes your focus. To assign positive meaning to external events, adjust your focus. Control what you focus on. What you pay the most attention to represents whatever will come into your life. By this logic, if you focus on how great things are, you’ll think life is swell and you’ll notice more positive developments. The reverse is also true. Your focus is “a kind of lens through which you view your life.” Habit 4: Change Your Beliefs Resilient people can change or mold their beliefs and they respond to external stimuli in different ways. Your beliefs are so powerful that they 169 affect you physically. For example, take the well-known placebo effect. Patients who take a placebo – a fake or ineffective pill or treatment – often feel better simply because they expect the pill or treatment to make them feel better. Your beliefs can become self-fulfilling prophecies. If you’re fearful or anxious, you may feel physically sick. If you’re content or happy, you will feel better. “Less educated, less intelligent people who have mastered the ability to use their emotions rather than being used by them often achieve far more.” Replace a limiting belief with an empowering one. For example, “I am just a shy person” becomes “I have been confident in the past, which means I’m capable of being confident. I can do so at will as long as I learn how.” Repeat the new belief when the old belief tries to show up. Keep reinforcing your new belief until it becomes automatic. Once you’ve mastered those steps, you will be better equipped to control your emotions. Habit 5: Use the “Hidden Power of Questions” Emotionally resilient people understand how to use questions to improve themselves. Be aware that loaded questions set you up for a negative response. These include such questions as, “Why does my boss never respect me? What did I do to deserve this?” and “Why is life so unfair?” Even if these assumptions aren’t true, your brain will seek a response that fits. If you find yourself asking a question with a negative presupposition, make the conscious decision to challenge it. “When it comes to emotions, your body language tends to reflect the way you’re feeling on the inside.” Alternative questions include “What can I learn from this?” and “How can I use those lessons to be successful at my new goals?” These alternatives encourage positive thinking and forward momentum rather than self-pity and depression. Developing greater self-awareness leads to greater mastery of your emotions. Habit 6: Develop Positive “Self-Talk and Inner Movies” Think back to childhood. Perhaps some pleasant memories come to mind, such as remembering home-cooked meals and good times with friends. Others may be more painful. Some memories may be vivid because you remember them through all five senses: seeing, tasting, smelling, hearing and touching. Emotionally resilient people don’t try to suppress or erase their memories. “Your emotional response – anger, hurt, fear – holds more control over you than you would like.” 170 Emotionally, your brain recreates memories through three senses: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. For example, if you’re angry, your brain will see an image in your head associated with that feeling. Your brain also will hear irate phrases that you may internally repeat to yourself. You may possibly sense anger in other people through a feeling, almost like physical touch. Try practicing what your brain sees, hears and touches. If you experiment with your “movie controls,” you can diminish the impact of negative events. “Allow yourself to acknowledge rather than suppress the emotions that come your way so that you can identify them accurately, learn more about them and eventually even learn to manage them.” Think of something negative – but not too negative, since this is your first practice exercise. Is your picture in black-and-white or color? Try switching to the opposite format to see if that dampens your emotions. Try adjusting the brightness up or down. Look at the space around the memory. Is it happening near you or far away? Can you push it farther away if it’s too close? What happens if you make the size larger or smaller? Try to manipulate your association with the memory. Pretend it’s on a movie theater screen to gain some distance. Manipulate the focus by making it clearer or blurrier. See how that affects your memory. “Climb back into the driver’s seat, and put some of these strategies and habits to the test.” In addition to manipulating images visually, you can learn to manipulate auditory cues. Think about the words you’re hearing. Instead of thinking to yourself, “I’m such an idiot for failing,” use more positive words such as, “I’m glad I made that mistake, because now I’ll never make it again.” You can substitute silly phrases or ideas that make you smile to take the steam out of negative phrases. Try to change the tone of what you hear. Accepting negative messages is harder if they’re spoken in a rude or condescending tone of voice. Practice changing the volume of the negativity. Pretend there’s a mute button, and hit it. Physical and emotional memories have a kinesthetic aspect. As in the strategies above, you can adjust your kinesthetic memories by changing the “intensity, pressure” and “location” of any sensation. If your memories are intense, think of an imaginary dial you can turn to lower the intensity of negative recollections or to strengthen your view of positive memories. If you feel the pressure or weight of a situation, imagine having a balloon that could relieve the pressure. Examine the location of your memories. Can you move them to a different location either inside of or outside of your body? Habit 7: Controlling the “ABC Loop” Resilient people are better able to control their ABC loop. The A stands for antecedent or stimulus; B stands for behavior and C stands for 171 consequence. To see the ABC loop in action, consider author Akash Karia’s experience. As a teenager, he had problems managing his anger and would end up in physical fights at least once a week. The fight would start with some other boy making fun of the size of his nose or saying something that embarrassed him, which made him angry. That was the antecedent. His behavior was to hit the other boy. The consequence was that his teachers would punish him after his anger dissipated. Karia credits pediatric neurosurgeon and US cabinet member Ben Carson’s book Gifted Hands with helping him overcome his anger. Can you change anger’s antecedent? For example, if you’re dieting, removing chocolate from your house makes sense. If anger management is a problem, instead of clenching your fists, strike an alternative pose or relax your hands and breathe slowly to release tension. If you change the antecedent (stimulus) or actions, you can change and control the emotional consequence. “Future pacing” is a technique for controlling emotional reactions that involves “stepping into the future and visualizing a new ABC pattern.” The strategy lets your brain create different neural pathways that will help you handle the “offending antecedent” more effectively if and when it arises again. Many athletes mentally visualize themselves succeeding before they perform physical tasks. For example, boxing legend Muhammad Ali would see himself as victorious before he even stepped into the ring. Angie LeVan, a resilience coach who worked with the US Army, researched the brain patterns of weight lifters. She discovered that “mental practices” can have the same uplifting power as physical activities and that the two combined are more effective than either on its own. About the Author Akash Karia is a speaker and peak performance coach who specializes in resilience training. He has trained more than 80,000 people around the world. Talent Is Overrated Recommendation Author Geoff Colvin rejects the popular notion that the genius of a Tiger Woods, a Mozart or a Warren Buffett is inborn uniquely to only a few individuals. He cites research that refutes the value of precocious, innate ability and he provides numerous examples of the intensely 172 hard work that high achievement demands. Best performers’ intense, “deliberate practice” is based on clear objectives, thorough analysis, sharp feedback, and layered, systematic work. getAbstract finds that Colvin makes his case clearly and convincingly. He shows readers how to use hard work and deliberate practice to improve their creative achievements, their work and their companies. The author’s argument about the true nature of genius is very engaging, but, in the end, he makes it clear that the requirements of extraordinary achievement remain so stringent that society, after all, turns out to have very few geniuses. Colvin admits that the severe demands of true, deliberate practice are so painful that only a few people master it, but he also argues that you can benefit from understanding the nature of great performance. Perhaps, he says, the real gift of genius is the capacity for determined practice. You can improve your ability to create and innovate once you accept that even talent isn’t a free ticket to great performance. It takes work. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Recent research undermines the notion of genius as innate talent or ability. Talent is a factor in your career arc, but it is a poor indicator of your future achievements. In terms of excellent performance, sharp focus, hard work and a strong memory seem to matter more than a high IQ. “Deliberate practice” matters most. Deliberate practice involves defining a clear goal, analyzing the elements of success and designing a program for becoming excellent in each element. You can raise your level of innovation and attainment with deliberate practice. The amount of time you practice is the best indicator of your probable success. Deliberate practice enables you to perceive, know and remember more about your field. Age matters to great performance. Adults can accumulate expertise and resources, but their responsibilities may prohibit long hours of deliberate practice. The highest achievers seek copious feedback to help them do better work. Great performance is based on deliberate practice energized by intrinsic passion. Summary Where Are the Wellsprings of Great Performance? 173 As you listen to Mozart’s music, you may wonder about the nature of his genius. As you watch Tiger Woods accumulate triumphs beyond anything golf has seen before, maybe you also ponder the images of him as a toddler wielding golf clubs with shocking skill. Are geniuses on this level born with a talent that makes amazing results easy for them? If you ask regular folks to explain how the great figures of art, business, athletics and science acquired their gifts, they are bound to say that God or nature gave these stars an almost unnatural level of talent and skill. However, recent studies have shown that great performance is less reliant on talent than you might assume. Researchers find that extreme high achievers fill their lives with focused, intelligent, well-chosen hard work and practice, not just in spurts, but repeatedly, over and over. These great talents strive to improve their performance throughout their lives. “Great performance comes from deliberate practice, but deliberate practice is...so hard that no one can do it without the benefit of passion, a truly extraordinary drive.” Mozart and Tiger Woods were prodigies, but they both worked prodigiously hard as children. Directed, focused childhood work and practice also feature strongly in Warren Buffett’s biography. He was close to his stockbroker father and went to work in his office at age 11. He focused on money and investments as a young boy and later sought the best professional education available. “Successful people do seem to be highly intelligent. But...the link between intelligence and high achievement isn’t nearly as powerful as we commonly suppose.” This combination of evidence suggests reconsidering the idea of inborn talent and accepting a more complex equation that includes other factors of varying importance. A 1992 study sorted 257 music students by instrument, age, sex and income. Researchers asked them about their musical precociousness, how much they practiced and which of the nine standard levels of musical performance they achieved at school. The researchers found no profound or conclusive measurement of early musical ability that correlated with top musical performance. However, they did find that the top students practiced two hours a day versus 15 minutes a day for the lowest performing students. IQ and Talent versus Hard Work and Practice 174 An examination of the IQs of people who excel shows that while some are brilliant, others are merely bright and some are even below average in the general intelligence that IQ measures. These people are obviously exceptional in their fields’ critical skills, but IQ-type tests may not measure those factors very well. Most top performers also have exceptional memories. Spending years memorizing material develops their ability to remember. Also, their experienced perceptions help them recall items in relevant groupings and patterns that fit their tasks. Think of the patterns a chess champion can see and predict that average players can’t perceive. Can normal people groom such abilities? Yes they can. Anything other than the raw physical limits relevant to a task is up for grabs. For example, with training you can expand the range of your singing voice, though you cannot wholly transform it. So, you can’t grow an extra foot or two taller to play professional basketball, but you can build more kinds of skills and add more capabilities than you probably believe – although that requires a very special kind of hard work. “The difference between expert performers and normal adults reflect a life-long period of deliberate effort to improve performance in a specific domain.” Consider Jerry Rice: He took up football quite late in high school. No big-time college football program recruited him. However, he not only became an outstanding NFL receiver, he ruled the game much longer than most men even play in the NFL. So, what made Jerry Rice such a great wide receiver? The answer resides not just in how hard he worked and practiced, but how and what he practiced. He identified specific abilities he needed to improve and found ways, including great coaching, to build those abilities, layer by layer. He pushed himself to run and he did exhausting exercise. Rice persevered in working on his own even when it was painful and tedious, and he continued to dominate the NFL. “The best and better violinists practiced by themselves about 24 hours a week on average. The third group, the good violinists, practiced by themselves only nine hours a week.” By age 18, top violin students have accumulated thousands of hours of practice. The best have more than 7,000 practice hours, average players have around 5,000 and third-level musicians have only about 3,400 hours. The top students’ practice hours actually increase once they become professional musicians, since they strive to improve throughout their lives. While decrepitude eventually catches up with everyone, great performers rarely reach their peak achievements as 175 youths. They experiment, learn, strive and grow in mastery; “deliberate practice” sets them apart. Most People Don’t Use Deliberate Practice Think about how you practice a skill-based activity you care about, such as your golf game. Do you just swing your driver as hard as you can? Or do you run through every club and give them each a few swings? That isn’t what Tiger does. He carefully analyzes the elements of his swing and designs deliberate drills to improve those elements. He practices different skills away from his clubs to build the strength, flexibility and stamina he needs to play golf at his transcendent level. “Deliberate practice requires that one identify certain sharply defined elements of performance that need to be improved and then work intently on them.” Great performers pay a lot of attention to details and constantly repeat small skills, even the ones they use only occasionally. They know that greatness requires having every skill ready when the game is on the line. They seek feedback from teachers, coaches, onlookers and customers, and don’t rely solely on their own perceptions. Great performers put forth physical and mental exertion even when they don’t want to and don’t find it much fun, because they know complete preparation is vital to top execution. Whether their capacity for work is a gift or a byproduct of some other drive, they develop painstaking mastery so they can rely on their preparation, and free their minds to conquer the details and demands of the contest at hand. “Today’s best young employees...are demanding that employers help make them better performers.” Deliberate practice develops your skills and abilities in several ways: • • • “Perceive more” – Rather than just seeing the problem, you’ll see it in context with all its subtleties. This lets you anticipate your actions and make the best choices. “Know more” – Deliberate practice builds your skills in each layer and element of great performance, so you are more experienced and more expert than your competition because you have worked harder to learn. “Remember more” – Experience lets you see internal structures and retain more information about your work. High performance and strong memory go together because you can use past events and details to inform your present decisions. 176 “Working on people’s development early is a big change at most companies, where development programs were long reserved for an elite group several years into their careers.” Brain research indicates that the pathways your neurons use to communicate with each other change and adapt based on your activities, including extensive practice. Just as athletes alter their muscles, deliberate practice will enlarge the mental capacities that relate to your activities. Living Deliberate Practice How can you improve your performance in areas that matter? Try these measures: • • • • “Know where you want to go” – Have a distinct, settled destination in mind. Once you know where you want to go, figuring out how to get there becomes a clearer target. “Practicing directly” – Several models can help you frame your deliberate practice: The music model uses the idea of repetitively performing a composed piece. The chess model says to study your current position, analyze the outcomes of various moves and choose the best one. The sports model emphasizes building strength, capacity and specific skills. “Practicing in the work” – Think of your work in three vital phases: preparing, performing and seeking feedback. Evaluate your work so you can adjust and develop. “Deepening your knowledge” – Dig deeper into subject mastery. Sharpen the mental model you use to frame your knowledge about your area of performance. Clarify which data really matters and what you can safely drop. Use information to anticipate events. Applying Deliberate Practice at Work Rather than focusing on preventing errors, energize your organization with these concepts: • • • • • Ensure that each job helps the employee stretch and grow. Use jobs to develop leaders by teaching them, providing feedback and allowing them to exercise leadership. Build leader development into your organizational culture. Notice your top performers early in their careers and invest in their development. Inspire people rather than commanding them. Using Deliberate Practice to Unleash Creativity 177 Since people evaluate great performance relative to other existing performance, you can’t just manufacture it. You have to work at it. Achieving great performance is hard enough; sustaining that performance is supremely difficult, particularly since the bar measuring great performance rises when the general quality of performance improves. “We constantly see managers redirect people’s careers based on slender evidence of what they’ve ‘got’.” Contrary to myth, creative people do not wait for inspiration to fall from heaven. They work, experiment, succeed or fail, and try again. When a finished creative masterpiece dazzles you, try to see the long period of work that preceded it. Think of your creative efforts as an orchard of fruit trees. You have to plant and cultivate each one. Likewise, creativity begins small and follows a recognizable trajectory to superior performance. Creative people can become blind to difficult problems and overcome them, or fall into ruts that stifle their creative flow. They have ways of setting work aside and coming back to it with fresh eyes. Or they can jar their perspectives, recast challenges and see them in a new light. Deliberate practice lets you come to know your field of performance so deeply that you can work through each part of the process. Does Age Matter? Why do prodigies exist in music and math, but not in literature or particle physics? Since becoming expert in a field takes thousands of hours of work, children can become prodigies only in fields involving work they can do. Their expressions of innovation and creativity evolve as they age. When children develop in environments that support the creative endeavors they want to pursue, this happy circumstance enables their efforts to flourish. Real expertise, however, requires adulthood and life experience. Experts need time to develop creative ideas. Writers need to hone their craft to be compelling. Scientists need access to millions of dollars worth of equipment. On the other hand, adults also may develop responsibilities that distract them from creative work. Maturity can bring obligations that interfere with dedicated practice. “Most insidiously...we will try something new and, finding that it isn’t easy for us, conclude that we have no talent for it, and so we never pursue it.” Just as parents sacrifice and invest in their children, your organization must do the same for its employees. Hoping to reap where you did not sow is not a long-term plan for great performance. 178 Deliberate Practice and Passion How do great performers work so hard, and in such a focused, deliberate way? You can find the answer in the emotional fire often referred to as passion. And, what ignites strong, long-lived passion? In some cases, passionate people act in response to outside or “extrinsic” drives, like kids whose moms and dads force them to go into the family business or even just to practice playing the piano or the violin. Extrinsic fuel is external to the performer. “The price of top-level achievement is extraordinarily high. Perhaps...not many people will choose to pay it. But...by understanding how a few become great, anyone can become better.” Of course, having an inner fire creates a stronger drive. The “intrinsic” drive is uniquely conducive to creativity and long-term great performance. If a child is to accumulate the small advantages of dedicated practice and high performance, the drive has to come from within. The fact is that great performers pay a high, painful price. The world has so few truly great performers not because there is so little talent, but because so few people have the drive to pay the necessary price. You can learn from them. Success is not predestined by the luck of the DNA raffle, or limited to just a few. If you really desire it, and you’re willing to sweat for it, higher performance awaits you. About the Author American journalist Geoff Colvin is a senior editor at large for Fortune magazine. He is a frequent public speaker, and TV and radio guest. He appears on the CBS Radio Network daily and co-anchored Wall Street Week on PBS for three years. Rich dad poor dad by David Meyer Best-selling author Robert T. Kiyosaki offers dueling dads and valuable financial planning advice. Bestseller Robert T. Kiyosaki built an empire of Rich Dad, Poor Dad books – a dozen of his 16 titles feature the words “Rich Dad.” Kiyosaki had two dads, one rich and one poor. Both provided life lessons as reflected by his 179 account of each man’s character and experience. One was a fearful loser and died owing money. The other was a bold winner and died leaving money to charities and his family. Their diametrically opposite attitudes – loser/ winner; small timer/major leaguer; scaredy-cat/big bad wolf – provides the narrative horse that Kiyosaki rides. And rides. And rides. Windy Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a windy fable. Kiyosaki describes himself at different ages and presents what he claims are word-for-word versions of the at-first baffling – then later, profound – teaching moments both fathers provided. The rich dad talked in riddles. The young Kiyosaki found this perplexing until – after he made financial mistakes that led him to his true course in life – a blinding flash of revelation revealed his rich father’s purpose. This narrative method conveys each lesson, but it gets old really fast. Money often makes obvious our tragic human flaws, putting a spotlight on what we don’t know. ROBERT KIYOSAKI Kiyosaki, writing here with CPA Sharon L. Lechter, fills pages with perfect fluff. For instance, he recounts the story of his early misunderstanding of the phrase “making money.” The story neither rings true nor justifies the space Kiyosaki spends on it. But that’s the author’s gift: He’s a hokey but likable storyteller, and he pads his advice like a mattress. However, Kiyosaki is not a repeat bestseller for nothing. His prose rips along, all short simple sentences and rhythmic punch lines. He writes page-turners. Worthwhile Advice Once he finally sets aside his pervasive, somewhat grating two dads device, Kiyosaki delivers straightforward, worthwhile financial and life advice. He doesn’t write for investment bankers or at-home high-speed traders. He writes for low-income or middle-class workers trying to understand the complexity of their finances and of potential investments. In these instances, Kiyosaki does not speak in parables. He details what you should do with your money and why. He proselytizes you to embrace a new, empowered mind-set. He wants you to regard your money as a tool, whether you have a lot or a little. Kiyosaki does not despise the $100 investor. His book and his career exist to convince you that no matter how little or how much money you have, you have enough to make it work for you. Many financial problems are caused by trying to keep up with the Joneses. Occasionally, we all need to look in the mirror and be true to our inner wisdom rather than our fears. ROBERT KIYOSAKI 180 Kiyosaki maintains that money isn’t magical or disposable or the stuff you use to buy beer. Money is a fulcrum, a device that lets you lever the circumstances of your life into financial security – if you understand and apply a few basic principles. Kiyosaki’s practical advice is so practical – and he states it so clearly – that you will wonder why he bothers lugging around the two-dad stories. One reason is that two dads is Kiyosaki’s brand, the lure that brings readers to his advice. Another is that the two dads render Kiyosaki’s abundant common sense accessible and easy to accept. Perhaps the most important reason is that without the dad stories, Kiyosaki’s book would be about 50 pages long. Even as it is, those 50 are more than worth the price of the other 200. Necessary Principles In those 50 pages, Kiyosaki capably teaches basic, necessary principles. For example, he urges you to buy assets, whatever they are, however small. If can purchase an asset that might grow in value, get it. Don’t buy a new TV or a car, and don’t buy a new suit or expensive dinner, he insists. Take that money, find something that you know will gain in value and acquire it before you spend your hard-earned coin on something that will not appreciate. With each dollar that enters your hand, you and only you, have the power to determine your destiny. ROBERT KIYOSAKI Kiyosaki maintains that nothing else matters: Buy assets and hold them until it’s clearly time to sell. Or, hold them until you find an even more valuable asset in which to invest. Payoff Few authors, bestsellers or otherwise, tell you that they’re going to clarify complex ideas and then actually do it. Kiyosaki is one of them. He offers admirably simple, revealing, easy-to-understand diagrams of your likely cash flow. These useful illustrations demonstrate the author’s genius for simplifying complex economic questions. It also demonstrates why you might refer to his book often. He outlines the relationship between income and expenses, and between rising income and rising taxes. Every apparent discursion proves to be another riddle – another story you must read to its end to understand how to apply its lessons to your finances. The difference between his two dad riddles/fables and his real-world riddles/fables is that the latter prove consistently compelling. And Kiyosaki’s payoffs reveal worthwhile conclusions you might not have reached on your own. 181 Aside from the infinite number of Kiyosaki’s other Rich Dad books, you can find sound, basic financial advice – often with fewer parables – in a bookshelf full of competing manuals, including Complete Guide to Money by Dave Ramsey; How to Make Your Money Last by Jane Bryant Quinn; Suze Orman’s Financial Guidebook (and her other titles); and two evergreen classics, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. Eat the frog Recommendation We all have our frogs - important tasks that we’ve put off for whatever reason. The key to success is to eat your frogs quickly, completely and with focused determination. So says Brian Tracy, the master of hard-nosed time management. You’ll find no touchy-feely personal development pabulum here. The message of this book: Action leads to accomplishment. With that simple rule in mind, Tracy rolls out tools and techniques that will get you off your backside and into motion. getAbstract.com, while uneager to take up noshing on amphibians (well, maybe just the legs, in plenty of garlic butter), strongly recommends this book to anyone caught in the swamp of procrastination. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • If you want to gain control of your life, change the way you work. Action is the key to accomplishment. People who do better do things differently. They do the right things right. Eating the frog means identifying your most important task and tackling it with single-minded focus until it is completed. Launch directly into your most important tasks. Your ability to focus on your most important task will determine your success. People fail because they aren’t absolutely clear about their goals. The best rule for success is to think on paper. Write down your goals. Every night, make a list of what you want to accomplish the next day. Have a master list, a monthly list, a weekly list and a daily list. Identify the one skill that, if you developed it, would have the biggest impact on your career. Summary Amphibian on Toast 182 If you eat a live frog each morning you will know that you have already experienced the worst thing that will happen to you that day. You probably have frogs hidden on your desk and on your to-do lists. Your frogs are the tasks that you know are priorities, but that you’ve put on the back burner for whatever reason. It’s time to learn how to snack on those difficult problems. The good news is — it’s a high-protein diet. “An average person who develops the habit of setting clear priorities and getting important tasks completed quickly will run circles around a genius who talks a lot and makes wonderful plans but gets very little done.” OK, you don’t need to eat real frogs to be a success in business. But you do need to tackle critical projects and problems creatively and effectively. Here’s a plain and simple truth: The ability to focus in a single-minded fashion to accomplish the most important task before you is the prime determinant of your success. It’s that clear. The complication comes in, however, when you lack clarity about your true goals and objectives. “The ability to concentrate single-mindedly on your most important task, to do it well and to finish it completely, is the key to great success.” Lack of clarity can be a killer, because it impairs action, and action is the secret to success. Like everyone, you probably feel overwhelmed at times with too much to do and not enough time to get it all done. Select the most important challenge — that big, old frog slobbering in your in-basket — and address it effectively. Successful people launch directly without hesitation into the major task that confronts them at any point in the day. How do you develop this clarity? Well, it’s impossible without developing good work habits. Indeed, about 95% of your success in life will depend on the habits you cultivate. Good habits will be your best friends and bad ones will be your worst enemies. Winning is a Habit You require three qualities to develop successful habits. You will need to make choices. You will need discipline and you will need determination. For example, one essential habit is learning to think on paper. Would you be surprised to learn that only about 3% of adults have bothered to put their goals on paper? Here’s how you can get what you want out of life: • • • • • • Decide precisely what you want. Write this goal down. Set a deadline by which you plan to achieve it. List what you will need to do to achieve your goal. Turn the list into a plan. Organize it by priority and sequence. Take action immediately. Do anything, but don’t hesitate. 183 • Promise yourself to make some small step toward your goal each and every day. “Simply put, some people are doing better than others because they do certain things differently and they do the right things right.” After that, it’s mostly a matter of continuing to push forward until you attain your goal. While acting is better than procrastinating, action without planning leads to failure and disappointment, so learn to plan daily. Always work from a list. Draft your list the night before work so your subconscious mind will work on it all night long while you sleep. Create different lists for different purposes. Have a master list. Create a list for the coming month at the end of each month, make a weekly list in advance for the coming week and, of course, you need a daily list. Remember the 10/90 rule: investing 10% of your time in planning before beginning a project will help you use the other 90% of the time more effectively. Time-Management, Pareto Style In 1895, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto realized that 20% of people made 80% of the money, while 80% of the people had little money. He soon discovered that this ratio applied to all economic activity. The top 20% of your activities will generate 80% of your profits. Twenty percent of your customers will account for 80% of your sales. This pervasive fact is now known as Pareto’s Rule. The rule means that if you have a to-do list of 10 items, two of those items will generate 80% of the return you get from your entire list. Now, when you look at your list, you will be tempted, of course, to clear up a few small things first so you can check them off and have a sense of accomplishment. However, those items may not be significant to your economic activity. And that’s a problem. “The key to success is action.” What to do? Well, remember that the hardest part of any task is getting started. Time management is really just taking control of the sequence of events that affect your life. Effective people discipline themselves to address the most important task first, always. That is, they discipline themselves to eat that frog. Ummmmmmmm, good! Long-Term Thinking To succeed, think for the long term. Before you begin a project, ask yourself, “What is the consequence of not doing this task?” Be willing to delay shortterm gratification in order to achieve better long-term results. Of course, reconsider if taking on a task causes you more trouble in the long run. As motivational speaker Dennis Waitley puts it, “Failures do what is tensionrelieving while winners do what is goal-achieving.” Keep in mind, the root word for motivation is motive. To succeed, you must give yourself a motive for the choices you make. 184 The ABCs of Success Is success really as simple as ABC? Well, no. You have to add a “D” and “E” as well. Use the ABCDE method as a powerful tool for establishing your daily priorities. Here’s how it works: • • • Make your list. Place an A, B, C, D or E before each item on that list. Complete the tasks in alphabetical order. “You can get control of your time and your life only by changing the way you think, work and deal with the neverending river of responsibilities that flows over you each day.” An “A” task is one that you must do as soon as possible or face serious consequences. “B” items are tasks you should do, but ones that carry mild consequences. A “C” task would be nice to do, but carries absolutely no consequences at all. A “D” task is something you can delegate to someone else, so your goal is to delegate all of them to free your time for things only you can do. An “E” task is one you can eliminate altogether. It may have seemed important once, but it isn’t any more. Yes, you may have more than one “A” task. That’s fine. Simply number them sequentially...A-1, A-2, A-3 and so forth. Practice the ABCDE method daily, and you will be surprised by its positive impact on your work life. Key Result Areas To become more effective, ask yourself why you’re on the payroll. Most people aren’t sure. Obviously, you have been hired to get results. Most jobs have key results, specific things that must be done. To improve your performance, identify your job’s key result areas. Here, for example, are the key result areas for a salesperson at a typical organization: • • • • • Prospecting. Making presentations. Closing business. Sales service for existing accounts. Administrative duties and paperwork. “Clarity is the most important concept in personal productivity.” Identify your key result areas and make sure you allocate the appropriate resources to handle them. Then, grade yourself in each key result area. Your weakest performing key result area defines the ceiling of your performance of your other skills (a manager who cannot delegate will find that impairs his or her ability to move forward in other skills). Your weakest key result area is an anchor that keeps you from sailing on with your other skills and assets. 185 “Clearly written goals have a wonderful effect on your thinking. They motivate you and galvanize you into action.” However, if you improve your weakest key result area, you will improve your overall performance. Everyone has weaknesses. Identify yours and strengthen them. Ask yourself, “What is the one skill area I could improve that would have the greatest impact on my career?” Becoming more computer savvy? Learning a new language? All business skills are learnable, simply target the area in which you need improvement and move forward. The Law of Forced Ef ciency You probably don’t like the idea of forcing things. The Law of Forced Efficiency relates to the idea that any job will expand to fill the time you allow for it. If you have two days, it will take you two days (or perhaps more). However, the flip side is also true: If you have only one day to complete a two-day job, somehow you find the time to do it. One corollary to the Law of Forced Efficiency is the realization that you will simply never have enough time to do everything you want to do. To cope with this sad circumstance, continually ask yourself: • • • What is my highest value activity? What is it that only I can do that, if done well, will have a significant impact? What is the highest and best use of my time, right now? “The hardest part of any important task is getting started on it in the first place.” The answers to these questions will help you to manage your time. As Goethe said, “The things that matter most must never be at the mercy of the things that matter least.” Identify Your Key Constraints You have goals and you haven’t achieved them yet. So what is holding you back? Answering that question can be a critical building block for a more successful tomorrow. In fact, you must determine the answer. Constraints always affect the completion of a job. Identify these limiting factors, your key constraints, and the rest of your work will go much more smoothly. If you can resolve your choke point, you can make every other process flow more naturally. The 80-20 rule applies: 80% of your problems will stem from 20% of the obstacles you face. So which ones should you concentrate on? Ask, “What within me is holding me back?” Don’t blame someone else. Take responsibility and determine what you need to do to improve. Becoming Your Own Cheerleader Change is always a challenge; to meet the challenge of becoming more effective, you need support from the world’s greatest cheerleader — you! So grab your pom-poms and remember: fi 186 • • • • Become an eternal optimist — When you really rely on yourself, you no longer have the luxury of moping, feeling sorry for yourself or copping an attitude. Respond positively to other people’s behaviors, words and actions. Steer a steady course, unaffected by the countless, maddening, trivial setbacks of daily life. Always talk to yourself positively — Say things like, “I like myself” over and over, creating positive affirmations that become selffulfilling prophecies. Resolve to remain cheerful and upbeat — Optimists look for the good in any situation, search for the lesson and believe difficulties come not to obstruct, but to instruct. Visualize your goals —Imagine yourself sitting in that corner office. “Time management is really life management.” Eating the frog means having the positive attitude and the will to do the most difficult task first. Because you can’t do everything, indulge in creative procrastination — put off the things that do not carry a consequence. Break large tasks down into a series of simple ones. Work with a sense of urgency. And remember that all you have to do to succeed in business and in life is learn to eat that frog every day About the Author Brian Tracy talks to about 250,000 people each year about personal and professional development. His careers ranged from sales and marketing to investments and real estate development prior to founding his own firm, Brian Tracy International. He is the author of Get Paid More and Promoted Faster, Maximum Achievement and other books, as well as numerous bestselling audiocassette programs, including How to Start and Succeed in Your Own Business. Kiss That Frog! Recommendation Once upon a time, a princess kissed a frog. It turned into the prince of her dreams, and they lived happily ever after. The father-daughter team of motivational author and speaker Brian Tracy and psychotherapist Christina Tracy Stein expand on that fairy tale (which was also the title hook of his earlier book, Eat That Frog) to teach you to recognize and learn from your frogs – fears, uncertainties and wounds that prevent you from achieving joy and fulfillment. Their prescriptive approach can help you banish negativity and replace selflimiting behaviors with positive expectation. Short chapters include exercises and techniques that the authors promise will have near-immediate effects on your perspective. While some suggestions are reminiscent of other self-help books, 187 getAbstract recommends their 12 doable steps to leading a positive life to any princesses or princes who are still sitting by the pond waiting for life to change. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Frogs are “negative people, situations, past experiences, current problems, and your doubts and self-limiting beliefs.” Follow these 12 ways to banish them from your life: One: Believe in your value and destiny. Two: Imagine achieving your dream. Three: Gain power over your frog before dealing with it. Kissing a frog can mean seeing it as an ally, telling it goodbye or forgiving the injuries it caused. Four: Get rid of the frogs in your “mental pond” to make room for positive thoughts. Five: Drain the swamp of negative feelings that cloud your thinking. Six: Use affirmations, visualizations and mental preparations to ask for what you want. Seven: Accept what you can’t change. Eight: Define new positive goals. Nine: Drop the guilt and self-criticism. Ten: Expect good things for yourself and others. Eleven: Forgive those who have wronged you; apologize to those you have wronged. Twelve: Turn to positive “self-talk, visualization, people, mental food, training and development, health habits,” and “expectations.” Summary “The Frog and the Princess” Curriculum Once upon a time, a witch turned a prince into a frog, decreeing that he would remain a frog until a princess kissed him. The frog took up residence at a nearby lake. One day, a beautiful princess came along, sat by the water’s edge and dreamed about her perfect prince. The frog hopped over and said that if she kissed him, he would turn into a prince, marry her and love her eternally. She kissed the frog squarely on the lips and watched him change into a handsome prince. She married him, and they lived happily ever after. “The greatest motivation in life is the desire for gain. The second major motivation is the fear of loss.” The moral is that most people have frogs – “negative people, situations, past experiences, current problems, and...doubts and self-limiting beliefs” – that prevent them from achieving happiness and satisfaction. You can address your frogs with simple but powerful techniques that can help you experience joy, love, achievement and fulfillment. Happiness can be yours – if you use these 12 ways to “kiss that frog”: 1. “Seven Truths About You” 188 You already possess everything you need to live the life of your dreams. Acknowledge the “seven essential truths” that characterize the full potential existing within all individuals: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. You have “tremendous value” – Doubting your inherent worth leads to discontent. “You are important” – Feeling unworthy produces hurtful behaviors. “You have unlimited potential” – Believe you can have the life you desire. “You create your world” – Your beliefs become your reality. You are “free to choose” your thoughts – Decide to cultivate flowers, not weeds. You possess a “great destiny” – Believe that “you are designed for success and engineered for greatness.” You have “no limits” – Only your doubts and fears can stop you. 2. “Imagine Your Handsome Prince” The princess imagined the prince exactly as she wished him to be. Like her, you need a specific vision of the person you want to become and the life you want to have. Use these exercises to design your visionary dreams – don’t be afraid to dream big: • • • “The magic wand” – Wave a wand to reveal your ideal career, relationships, health and financial status. “Your perfect future” – Fast-forward five years from now. Write descriptions of your ideal job, your relationships and lifestyle, your health and fitness, and your net worth. “Your perfect day” – What if you could do anything you wanted for 24 hours? 3. “Look Your Frog in the Face” When the “wet, slimy, cold, ugly frog” asked the princess to kiss him, she could have either ignored it or taken a chance that the frog spoke the truth. “If you change your thinking about yourself, you change your life – almost immediately.” Everyone has frogs that need kissing. They might be negative emotions about past experiences, limiting beliefs in the present or fears about the future. Kissing one of your frogs might mean welcoming it as an ally, telling it goodbye or forgiving past injuries it caused. Gain power over your frog by looking it in the eye before kissing it on the lips. Try these techniques: • • • • • “Be realistic” – You can’t change other people. “Deal with reality” – Stress fades when you accept the truth of your situation. “Separate facts from problems” – You can’t change facts, but you can fix problems. Don’t hold on to the past – What’s done is done. Dump your baggage and move on. Be a “worry buster” – Eliminate anxiety by imagining the worst possible result, deciding to accept it if it happens and taking action to avoid it. 189 4. “Clear the Pond of Ugly Frogs” The biggest impediments to finding joy are negative emotions – the ugly frogs living in the “mental pond” of your mind – that produce frustration and misery. Evicting negative emotions leaves room for positive feelings that make you happy, loving and peaceful. Use these methods to banish ugly frogs from your pond: • • • • • Turn negatives into positives – Find the silver lining that borders every dark cloud. Regain control of your mind – Happy people are in command of their thoughts and, thus, their circumstances. Unhappy people abdicate control to external forces. Program optimism – “Thought precedes feeling, [which again] precedes decision and action.” Think before responding – Consider possible consequences before you speak or before you act. Use the “law of substitution” – You can hold only one thought in your mind at a time. Immediately replace every negative thought with a positive one. 5. “Drain the Swamp” Like most people, you may let fear, worry and doubt rule your thinking, mood and actions. These five key behaviors lead to negative emotions: 1. “Justification” – Allows you to feel angry and indulge negative emotions. 2. “Identification” – Causes you to take things personally even if they weren’t meant that way. 3. “Hypersensitivity” – Bolsters feelings of inferiority. 4. “Judgmentalism” – Leads you to hold others guilty to assuage your own anger. 5. “Rationalization” – Makes an “otherwise socially unacceptable act” acceptable. “Allow others to live their own lives in the same way you want to be allowed to live your own life.” Oust these ugly frogs and the anger and blame they produce by taking responsibility for how you see any situation that evokes negative emotions. It’s as easy as stating three simple words: “I am responsible.” Stop feeding the fire of negativity and start regaining control of your emotions. 6. “Change the Water in Your Pond” Infuse your mind with “fresh, healthy, positive ideas and messages” so you don’t sustain negativity and stagnation. Own a different future by changing your thoughts. Seek what you want. Try these techniques: 1. Positive affirmations – Create a powerful “mental immune system” by making your goals personal, using the present tense and describing your aims in positive terms. 2. Visualization – Create vivid mental images of what you desire. The longer and more frequently you focus on an image, the quicker it becomes reality. 190 3. Mental preparation – Prime yourself for an important event by affirming a positive scenario, visualizing it happening and feeling joy when it turns out successfully. 7. “Look for the Beauty in Frogs” How you interpret circumstances controls your outlook. Increase your level of happiness by acknowledging that pain always accompanies the lessons you are meant to learn in life, whether that pain is emotional, physical or financial. “From this moment on, refuse to interpret situations in a negative way. Instead, look for the good and seek the valuable lesson in every setback and difficulty.” Handle painful frogs by facing the truth and looking for deeper meaning. Change the terms you use to describe what troubles you. Replacing the word “problem” with the more neutral “situation” can help, but turning it into a “challenge” or an “opportunity” is even better. Practice “zero-based thinking”: Admit you made a mistake so you can move on with fewer regrets. Accept the things you cannot change. Eliminate the words “if only” from your vocabulary. Pledge to make better choices in the future. 8. “Leap Forward Con dently” Negativity stems from parental mistakes that cause children to suffer from “destructive criticism” and “lack of love.” Either or both of these “pollutants in the pond” create most of the misery and dysfunction that adults endure. Destructive criticism “kills the soul.” Withholding love breeds self-doubt, loss of motivation, perfectionism, low self-esteem and more. Two particular frogs plague troubled adults: the “fear of failure” – that is, the fear of losing money, health or love – and the “fear of rejection” – that is, the fear of criticism, embarrassment or disapproval. Explore both fears by asking how financial independence would affect your behavior and choices today and “What one great thing would you dare to dream if you knew you could not fail?” Psychologist Carl Rogers believes that “fully functioning” people have high levels of contentment and confidence; they’re “completely nondefensive” about their life choices; and they’re comfortable with their “thoughts, feelings, values and ideals.” Make this state of mind your goal. 9. “Kiss Your Ugly Frogs Goodbye” Children are born without guilt. Parents, siblings, friends, teachers and even churches use guilt to manipulate and control your thoughts, behaviors and actions. This leads to self-criticism and feelings of unworthiness, incompetence and, ultimately, victimhood. Guilt-ridden victims often complain, make excuses and deny responsibility. Take four steps to expel guilt from your life: 1. Modify your self-talk – Refuse to criticize or denigrate yourself. 2. Stop criticizing other people – Find positive things to say about them instead. 3. Never use guilt on other people – Show unconditional love and acceptance. 4. Don’t let other people make you feel guilty – Call them out and stand up for yourself. fi 191 10. “Expect the Best of Your Frog” As a child, you relied on predictability about how life works within the “rational, logical and orderly universe” of your upbringing. As you matured, you learned that some things do not work out as expected or hoped, and that the contingencies of life can thwart your best efforts. People who get stymied and fearful develop the two worst negative emotions – envy and resentment – which “feed on and reinforce each other.” If you are envious, that negative energy can drive away joy and success. If you admire others’ success, you will attract success to yourself as well. To overcome envy and resentment, “always want for others what you want for yourself.” 11. “Let Go of Those Painful Frogs” One reason people stay stuck in malaise is their refusal to forgive those who have wronged them. You must sincerely release and forget injustices so you can get on with your life. Absolving someone else doesn’t mean approving of what happened. Wrongdoers don’t even need to know you’ve forgiven them; you’re the only one who needs to know. To let go of bitterness, replace anger with thoughts of clemency. Pardon “four sets of people”: your parents, intimate friends from the past, everyone who matters to you today and yourself. “You have a wonderful mind. You can use it to make yourself happy, or you can use it to make yourself angry.” Apologize to people you have wronged. Just call them on the phone, say you’re sorry and ask for their forgiveness. Most people will react well and suggest getting together again. Forgiveness and apology carve the path to personal freedom. 12. “Seven Keys to a Positive Personality” A “physical diet” of high-quality food will improve your health and well-being. Your “mental diet” governs your character, personality and outlook on life. Use these seven keys to transform yourself into “a completely positive person”: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. “Positive self-talk” – Converse with yourself in only the most encouraging ways. “Positive visualization” – Make something happen by seeing it clearly in your mind. “Positive people” – Spend time with happy, successful people. Avoid the naysayers. “Positive mental food” – Read and listen to educational and inspirational materials. “Positive training and development” – Engage in lifelong learning. “Positive health habits” – Do what it takes to be dancing on your hundredth birthday. “Positive expectations” – Expect success. “Fortunately, as many as 99% of the things that you worry about never happen.” Go ahead – kiss that frog! 192 About the Authors Brian Tracy is a best-selling writer and frequent motivational speaker. His daughter, Christina Tracy Stein, is a practicing psychotherapist and personal performance coach. Manage Your Mind Recommendation What you put into your body has an impact on your physical health. You are in big trouble if you live on candy, chips and root beer. Similarly, what you dwell on in your mind affects your mental health. If your thoughts are selfcritical, obsessive and anxious, you will not be happy. In fact, you will probably be miserable and neurotic. Fortunately, just as you can improve your physical health with diet and exercise, you can also take specific steps to improve your mental health. Cognitive therapy experts Gillian Butler and Tony Hope show you these steps and teach you how to use them to develop a healthier, happier mind. They offer sensible techniques you can use to feel more self-confident, and less anxious, stressed and fearful. This self-help guide outlines techniques for achieving your mental health goals, including chapters on beating bad habits and building decision-making and memory skills. getAbstract suggests this exemplary book to anyone who wants to be more positive, upbeat and serene. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • To be happy, you must truly value yourself and treat yourself well. Work hard to achieve sound mental health. The mental fitness tools available to you include cognitive therapy and related techniques. Control your thoughts to gain control over how you feel about life. When your relationships don’t work, don’t try to change others. Change yourself. You need seven primary skills to attain positive mental health. They are managing time, being realistic, solving problems, befriending yourself, developing perspective, building self-esteem and learning to relax. You can recover from trauma, bereavement, past disasters and recent catastrophes. Depression is a common problem. Fight against it by re-engaging with life. How you feed and treat your body affects how you feel emotionally. It will not be easy, but you can break bad habits, step-by-step. 193 Summary An Effective Regimen for Mental Health Solid mental health requires effort, but the payoffs are better relationships, a more positive mood, less obsession, fewer worries, increased physical health and more restful sleep. A “psychological fitness” regimen can help you achieve such goals. Put the following program’s techniques and principles to work. Your mind will thank you for it. Basic Principles for Staying Mentally Fit Mental health requires two things. First, you must feel good about yourself, and deeply value and approve of yourself. Indeed, you should feel the same deep love for yourself that parents feel toward their infants. This is a prime foundation for mental health. Without that vital sense of self-approval, your ideas and actions can undermine your mental health. Second, you must believe that you can change; in fact, your body and mind are changing constantly. You can harness that flexibility so that it works for you, not against you. Don’t think that you are stuck in a mental rut. To embark on a fruitful transition, assess where you are now. Accept the present as the canvas you will paint your future upon; forget the past, since you can’t alter it. Move beyond recrimination. Even though the future is uncertain, look ahead hopefully. Boldly set out toward a new, better you. Seven Essential Skills for Good Mental Health A great pitcher must develop accuracy, a strong fastball and a good curve. Professional athletes need such basic skills to be competent at their jobs. Similarly, you need seven primary skills to attain positive mental health: 1. Manage your time – Use your time to do things that advance your goals. Most people waste their time because they lack clear aspirations. Here’s a useful thought experiment: Imagine how you would like people to remember you and your accomplishments at your funeral. What do you want them to say? Focus on the achievements you want them to mention. These are your priorities and goals. Write a “personal statement” outlining these objectives. Now, organize your time efficiently to achieve them. Don’t waste time on unnecessary activities. 2. Face reality – Whatever your problems are, face up to them squarely. Failure to be realistic will only make matters worse and lead to new problems. Acknowledge your dilemmas. When you confront them, you may see that they are not as bad as you feared. 3. Solve your problems – Once you identify your problems, develop multiple solutions for them. Use the “STEP” approach: “Select” the best solution. “Try it.” “Evaluate” the results. “Persist” until things are better. 194 4. Become your own best friend – Few people go out of their way to give themselves rewards and treats, so be generous with yourself. 5. Develop perspective – Do you see things clearly? Or, is your thinking distorted? How you view the facts – a process that also involves deciding which facts to view – determines your mood. Try to develop a positive outlook. Don’t give in to catastrophic “crooked thinking,” which involves engaging in “fortune telling,” taking everything personally and substituting emotion for logic. Avoid absolutist thoughts that involve these words: “should,” “must,” “have to” and “ought.” 6. Work on your self-esteem – Like a weightlifter who works to build muscle mass, you can build your self-confidence. Try new things to gain assurance. If you act confidently, you will lead other people to see you as confident. You may even fool yourself. Hush your internal critic. Speak positively to yourself about yourself. Do not be harsh. No one is perfect, not even you. 7. Teach yourself how to relax – Relaxing is a skill you can learn and develop, just like riding a bicycle. You must practice to become good at it. The process is simple and straightforward: Tense your muscles and then relax them. Work on one muscle group, then another. Free your mind at the same time. Imagine being somewhere that deeply soothes you. Breathe deeply. Eventually, you will relax. Once you have perfected this procedure, make it your daily relaxation regimen. Relationships People are social. They need each other. But relationships can be difficult. You will do better in your relationships when you strive to improve yourself, not others. Many people try to alter those around them, instead of themselves. Of course, changing yourself isn’t easy. You have spent decades becoming who you are. But improvement is possible with effort. Don’t expect the people close to you to applaud your attempts to grow, at least, not at first. They are used to the old you. The new you may make them nervous. They’ll get used to it, however. Meanwhile, accept other people for who they are. If change is hard for you, think how difficult it must be for someone else, particularly someone who doesn’t feel any need to change. “It is time for the techniques of psychology and of management to be integrated so that we can develop our own strategies for personal growth.” Having good relationships requires being assertive, that is, being prepared to stand up for yourself if necessary. You can’t be assertive if you lack selfconfidence, so work on that first. Determine just what you want from your relationships. Then, stake your claim. Some other relationship tips: Say no firmly when you must. Pay attention to the people around you. Respect them and their thinking. Accept joint ownership with them of the relationship you share. Negotiate points of contention. Don’t criticize people’s individual identities, even if you must criticize what they do. To 195 avoid feeling angry and upset, assertively protect your interests. Don’t let destructive parental or authoritarian “tapes” play in your head and interfere with your relationships. Heed thoughts and ideas that can help you better manage your relationships and your life. Anxiety and Stress Many people worry unnecessarily; much of what they fret about is trivial. Ask yourself how important today’s worry will be in five years, two years or even one year. If you can develop a sense of perspective, you will worry less. Are you a “what-if” thinker who spends time worrying about events that are unlikely to occur? Don’t ask “What if that happens?” Be more realistic. Ask yourself “What if that doesn’t happen?” Then realize that it probably won’t. Worrying about something that may or may not occur, now or later, doesn’t help you. To eliminate lots of worry, commit to stop agonizing over “the unimportant, the unlikely and the unresolved.” “It is a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit that the process of adjustment, or readjustment, starts almost immediately after a loss.” Stress occurs for numerous reasons. You change your job. You get divorced. You move. Someone dies. Stress can interfere with your thinking, tire you and make you feel like the whole world is on your shoulders. When you feel stressed, ease up a bit. Don’t push your activities. Put the “three Rs” to work: “rest, recreation and relationships.” Take time off. Have fun. Seek comfort with your friends. Depression Depression afflicts many people. Psychologist Martin Seligman calls it the “common cold” of psychiatry. If you are depressed, you may feel miserable, hopeless and sad. Depression robs you of energy and focuses your thoughts only on bad things. When you are depressed, you may have thoughts of suicide. You may retreat, avoid stressful but necessary actions, and fail to deal squarely with your problems. Have confidence: You can turn things around. Start by doing simple things that you may be avoiding – see your friends, communicate with others via letters and e-mails, and get out of the house. As best as you can, re-engage with life. Try to turn off your negative thinking. Use common activities like cleaning or shopping to distract you from depressed thoughts. Watching TV or going to a movie may lift your spirits. Rely on your family and friends to help you. They are your “support system.” Get enough rest and exercise. Eat well. Engage in pleasurable activities. In short, find some enjoyable ways to try to get outside of yourself. Emotional Trauma 196 Experiencing trauma of any kind is painful, from losing a loved one to suffering from some catastrophe or reliving exceedingly troubling past events that will just not fade. Fortunately, recovery from such trauma is possible. You can do it, even if you face these problems: • • • Bereavement – The death of a spouse, a child or a close friend can be immensely painful. Often, feelings of guilt, fear, rage and helplessness accompany such losses. If you are grieving the death of someone close to you, be sure to attend to your own needs. Eat properly. Get rest. Take time to recover before you make important decisions. Ghosts from the past – Negative past experiences can color the present and taint the future. Try to free yourself from these grim “ghosts.” Look at former painful experiences and events objectively. See them for what they are. Move beyond them by working to change your behavior, beliefs and feelings. Of course, this kind of change never comes easily. Give yourself the necessary time to overcome old habits and counterproductive ways of thinking about life. Take things one step at a time. Recent catastrophes – Life can physically or mentally injure you in a million different ways. If you find that you are continually reliving a horrible, traumatic experience, you can resist it. First, understand that, in most cases, your feelings about the event will lessen over time. You may wish to engage in “debriefing,” a process of deeply discussing the traumatic episode with someone else, like a therapist or a support group. This may help, but you have to know yourself. Some people find that discussing a trauma is counterproductive. What will help is getting back into a good routine. Seek others’ support. Accept the fact that painful memories almost always accompany traumatic events. When you are ready, find the strength to face the situation that caused the trauma. That is the only way to move past it. Don’t hide indefinitely from life. The Mind-Body Connection You must tend to your physical health to achieve good mental health. Eat the right foods; get plenty of exercise and sleep. Work to overcome bad habits and addictions. What you do to your body affects your mind, and how you use your mind affects your body – hence, the mind-body connection. Use these tips to eat and sleep better, to improve your memory, and to cut bad habits: • • Diet – Most dieters don’t do well losing weight. Typically, they gain back any lost weight when they stop dieting. Further, diets stress and fatigue the body. Instead of dieting, eat nutritionally, in light portions at set times. Other than those times, stay away from food. Leaving tempting food around the house is an invitation to snack. Sleep issues – To eliminate a sleep problem, make sure you have a comfortable bed. In the evening, stay away from alcohol, coffee, hot chocolate, tea, tobacco and diuretics. Set firm patterns for night and 197 • • morning activities. Once the lights are out, stop thinking. Rest. Count sheep instead. Bad habits – Your habits are how you deal with the world – and yourself. Deeply ingrained bad habits are not easy to break, but you can do it. First, make a firm commitment to yourself to eliminate the habit. Carefully examine it so you understand everything about it. Strategize on how to get rid of it. Substitute something positive for the habit. Each day that you don’t do the bad habit reinforces your decision to eliminate it. If you fail, try again. Keep at it until the bad habit is gone. Memory – To remember things better, make them stand out in your mind. If you just met Jack Dorfrey at a social event and want to remember his name, develop a memorable visual: a jack holding up a car that has a big sign on its front door reading: “FREE!” – jack-doorfree. To learn a foreign language or retain information about a new subject, confine your study to a period of no more than 35 minutes daily. Research shows that most people can concentrate fully for this period of time without difficulty. Trying to concentrate for a longer period is not efficient. Use the 35-minute period by spending 20 minutes absorbing new information. Take a very brief break. Then spend a few minutes going over new material you learned during yesterday’s 20-minute period, a few minutes on new learning from a week ago, and a few minutes on what you learned a month ago. In the final 5 minutes, review what you learned at the beginning of your current session. About the Authors Gillian Butler, Ph.D., is a psychologist and clinician. She helped found the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. Psychiatrist Tony Hope, M.D., teaches medical ethics at the University of Oxford. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Putting It Bluntly by David Meyer Mark Manson wants the generations whom social media and consumer culture affect most to question what they see and believe, to grow up, and to prioritize their values. He promises the process will be painful and challenging, but worthwhile. 198 This book hit the New York Times bestseller list in October 2016 and has remained there since. By May 2020, it had been a bestseller for astonishing 179 weeks. Mark Manson obviously found the voice his audience seeks and trusts. That voice is blunt, straightforward and surprisingly intelligent. It strives to convince you that Manson is a fount of commonsense knowledge that you understood in your gut, but needed someone to explain to you because so many other voices – the idiot wind of everpresent self-help books, blogs, TED talks and TV shows – drown out your own. And Manson proves convincing. I heard one artist say that when a person has no problems, the mind automatically finds a way to invent some. MARK MANSON Don’t Avoid Pain Manson moves quickly to identify sources of your likely angst. He states from the beginning that you must accept that modern life is hard. He notes that your newsfeed tells you everyone else is happy. Manson – accurately – savages how the average self-help book points out how you could improve. He rebels at these books’ core thesis: that happiness is a worthy goal. Manson stresses that negative feelings are normal. Excessive positivity masks the problems you need to solve to be happy. Setting a difficult goal and achieving it, Manson insists, makes you feel powerful. Habitually complaining, blaming others and feeling offended feels great, but won’t solve your problems. Manson offers a crucial, brief truth: True self-esteem doesn’t mean you feel good about yourself all the time. He offers a classic checklist for becoming fearless that springs from the Stoics of Ancient Greece and their best-known philosopher, Epictetus: Rule number one, don’t get upset about every little thing. Number two, indifference isn’t the answer, either. Three, quit pursuing comfort. Four, stop trying to dodge all sources of pain. And five, most importantly: Decide what is truly worth caring about, and pursue it. Solve Problems Manson evokes the Stoics when he writes that emotions are unreliable. Don’t base decisions on feelings alone, because what makes you happy varies day to day, and humans always want more. Manson reminds 199 you that you always face a trade-off between the pleasure you want and the price you need to pay. Manson offers science suggesting that suffering provides an evolutionary advantage. It ensures people develop creative solutions and prevail as a species. Physical and emotional pain, the author insists, are alerts you need to change your behavior to survive. Pretending you have no problems makes you neurotic. Pinning your problems on someone or something else makes you feel powerless. Manson again returns to the Stoics when he simply states his theme: solving problems makes you happy. The anger is merely the messenger for my fist in your face. Don’t blame the messenger. Blame my fist (or your face.) MARK MANSON Entitlement can result from traumatic life experiences that make your problems feel insurmountable. Your unconscious, Manson explains, interprets powerlessness as a sign that you are either uniquely blessed and great, or uniquely cursed and inferior. Either way, you decide you deserve special treatment. But, Manson asserts, you don’t. And neither does anybody else. Doubt Yourself Manson maintains that self-awareness consists of: 1. Identifying your emotions and expressing them in healthy ways. 2. Exploring what belief caused the emotion. 3. Knowing your values. Manson details how worthy values are realistic, good for society and actionable – such as being honest, vulnerable and charitable. Unworthy values derive from superstition, are antisocial and out of your control – such as feeling pleasure, having wealth, being right and maintaining positivity. Manson urges you to take responsibility. Choose how you characterize a problem and what you can do about it. He repeats that life’s not fair. Manson avoids riding a high horse as he offers this advice. He presents himself as someone who worked through painful emotional and psychological experiences. He offers his blunt style as the short-cut he was never able to find. 200 Don’t trust your conception of positive/negative experiences. All that we know for certain is what hurts in the moment and what doesn’t. And that’s not worth much. MARK MANSON Bad Brain If you wait for the truth before acting, Manson warns that you will waste your life. He leaves the Stoics and enters the realm of Zen when he calls on you to resist the urge to be certain of anything about yourself, good or bad. Certainty stops you from trying, experiencing and growing. Question your perceptions, emotions and assumptions. Accepting uncertainty relieves insecurity, and opens your mind about yourself and others. Manson offers modern neuroscience to detail how your brain deceives you. It misremembers, misunderstands and incorrectly attributes meaning to your experiences. Everything you believe is in some way wrong. Challenge what your brain tells you, Manson repeats, because it’s an unreliable narrator. Manson suggests action as a panacea. If you wait for inspiration to motivate you to act, he says, you get stuck waiting forever. Action stimulates inspiration and motivation. Do something – the outcome doesn’t matter. Death Your inevitable death, Manson avows, makes life meaningful. Death makes you want to contribute to something bigger than your small, fleeting life. You know you’re going to die, so there’s nothing to fear. At times, Manson’s authorial voice is too chummy, too frat-house living room on a Sunday afternoon. He addresses readers as “amigo” or revels in curse-words or dad-slang. This may soothe his – clearly young male – readers into heeding to his advice, but grows tiresome. Women readers will feel distinctly excluded by Manson’s tone and attitude. Despite this, Manson offers centuries-old wisdom for facing pain and problems and learning courage and maturity therefrom. /VERSION 2 Recommendation 201 Blogger and master of personal development advice “that doesn’t suck,” Mark Manson, explains why you shouldn’t care what others think or hide from adversity. His writing style is irreverent and unapologetically profane. If 127 occurrences of the word “fuck” seems excessive, this is not the article for you. For those who can get past his linguistic choices, he offers genuine insights into the habits that cause people to care too much about the wrong things. His playful style encourages self-reflection without angst. getAbstract recommends Manson’s perspective to readers with an interest in personal growth and a sense of humor. Take-Aways • • • • • “Not giving a fuck” is something we admire in others, but most of us have an ingrained habit of caring about what people think. People who are frequently annoyed usually have unrealistic expectations of life. Not giving a fuck is not the same as “indifference.” It’s about having the courage to be forthright in the face of adversity. You will only succeed at not caring about adversity if you have something bigger to care about that makes adversity worthwhile. With maturity, we realize that others don’t care what we do as much as we thought. This frees us not to care either. Summary Charismatic people generally don’t “give a fuck” about what others think. They are fearless about speaking their minds and leaving situations they don’t enjoy. Most people know someone who has succeeded by behaving boldly. While it’s theoretically easy not to care about unimportant things, most people find themselves taking offense or worrying about what others think of them at some point each day. “Most of us, most of the time, get sucked in by life’s mean trivialities, steamrollered by its unimportant dramas.” People who dwell on every little thing that bothers them expect the world to cater to their wants and needs. This sense of entitlement sets them up for disappointment, as life inevitably serves up a certain amount of failure, rejection and chores no one wants to do. Life actually gets less fraught when people expect and accept uncomfortable realities. It requires a conscious effort over time, but pays off in a more mature, resilient outlook. “Not giving a fuck does not mean being indifferent; it means being comfortable with being different.” To the surprise of many, “indifference” is not the answer: It’s just an attempt to hide from the pain of caring too much by living without any real passion or direction. Not giving a fuck means refusing to let the fear of adversity, failure or embarrassment get in the way of standing up for important beliefs. It involves accepting some minor emotional discomfort 202 in exchange for the freedom to be different. Far from not caring about anything, not giving a fuck means being willing and eager to pursue things that really matter. “If you find yourself consistently giving too many fucks about trivial shit that bothers you…,chances are you don’t have much going on in your life...And that’s your real problem.” The simplest way not to mind adversity is to have something bigger to care about. People who consistently stew over small annoyances generally haven’t got anything better to do. The human mind simply needs something to focus on; anything will do. It’s important to choose a priority worth caring about so your mind won’t fritter its time away on stupid stuff. As people mature, they gain perspective and realize many of the things they once cared about don’t matter. They see that no one notices much of what anyone else does, which frees everyone to focus on themselves and what matters to them individually. With age, people’s energy and desire to change the world diminish. People accept themselves and life more as they are and enjoy not having to give so many fucks about everything. This leads to an unexpected sense of peace and contentment. About the Author Mark Manson is an author, blogger and entrepreneur. He writes personal development advice “that doesn’t suck Finish Recommendation Setting new goals is easy, but finishing them is hard. In this blockbuster bestseller, blogger and popular speaker Jon Acuff shares his plans to help you actually achieve your goals. Acuff explains that perfectionism, the main blockade to reaching your objectives, delivers a negative message: the lie that something isn’t worth doing unless it’s perfect. People also fail to reach their goals because they set targets that are too ambitious. Acuff advises cutting your goal in half, breaking it down into smaller, more achievable chunks. He also advocates doubling your timeline, choosing how you will fail and making your goals enjoyable. You’re more likely to finish tasks that are fun, exciting and easy. Acuff goes off on long tangents, but his stories remain funny and relatable. getAbstract recommends his guidance as a helping hand for everyone who ever sought to complete a goal and just fell short. 203 Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • In general, people respond to two types of motivation: reward and fear. Perfectionism keeps people from finishing their goals. Most people quit as soon as life interferes or things get too tough. Starting toward your goal on Day 1 isn’t the most important step. It’s getting past Day 2, “the day after perfect.” To improve your chances of finishing, cut your goal in half or double your timeline for completion. Choose where to fail. Failing at lesser things frees you to succeed at what’s important. “Make it fun if you want it done.” Don’t let “noble obstacles” hinder your goals. When people try to avoid an undesirable outcome rather than working toward a desirable one, they’re responding to “avoidance motivation.” Use objective data to track your progress and ultimately achieve your goals. Summary Perfectionism Kills Getting started is hard, but it’s easier than finishing. You may have a bunch of half-finished projects and other half-done stuff. Many people make New Year’s resolutions, but research says that 92% of these intentions falter and fail. “More than likely, you’ve spent most of your life choosing to do more than is possible and beating yourself up for not being able to keep up.” Best-selling author Jon Acuff believed that he hadn’t been trying hard enough to finish what he started. He thought he was too lazy, or lacked hustle or “grit.” He even created an online video course called “30 Days of Hustle” to challenge people and help them to achieve their goals. Then University of Memphis researcher Mike Peasley asked to use Acuff’s course to analyze goal setting. Peasley surveyed more than 850 participants and found that those who finished the course were 27% more likely to achieve their goals compared to their attempts prior to finishing the course. Peasley also discovered that “the less that people aimed for perfect, the more productive they became.” Perfectionism kills momentum and keeps people from completing their goals. “The Day After Perfect” After Acuff read Timothy Ferriss’s book, The 4-Hour Body, he decided to try a new diet. He vowed to “get serious” about exercising. Ferriss 204 recommends eating eggs, spinach, black beans, salsa and cumin, so Acuff went to Costco because it sells black beans by the pallet. He bought in bulk because he intended to eat black beans for breakfast for the next 12 days. By Day 13, he quit because he got busy, didn’t want to follow through or just forgot about it. But once Acuff broke the daily black-bean routine, he found himself uninterested in starting again. Since his record wasn’t perfect, he stopped completely. “This is a surprisingly common reaction.” “Perfectionism will do its best to knock you down when you work on a goal.” People often use language that echoes this sentiment to explain why they’ve quit chasing a goal: “I fell behind and couldn’t get back on track,” or “Life got in the way and my plans got derailed.” These excuses are camouflage for perfectionism. You weren’t perfect, so you threw in the towel. You’re not alone. Everyone wants to get straight As. Nobody aims for Bs and Cs. But getting straight As is challenging and intimidating. That’s why many people don’t even bother trying. They think that if they can’t achieve perfection, why should they make the effort? To finish your goals, simply start and keep going. Even if you make mistakes, keep going. Starting toward your goal on Day 1 isn’t the most crucial step. That’s putting in Day 2, the day after perfect. Fifty-Percent Complete If you want to achieve your goal, aim for 50% completion. That is, cut your goal in half. In the “30 Days of Hustle” online challenge, participants increased their performance by more than 63% compared to previous attempts at finishing their goals. Fully 90% of them believed the strategy of cutting down to a reasonable goal “encouraged them to keep going.” Bloggers who set the goal of writing daily posts of 300-plus words can experiment by downgrading to 100-plus words a day for 30 days. One blogger who tried that strategy ended up writing more than 300 words a day for 28 days out of 30. Another person wanted to lose 10 pounds in 30 days, but lost only six. Yet, recognizing that he achieved half the goal gave him enough motivation to continue. “The exercises that caused people to increase their progress dramatically were those that took the pressure off [and] did away with the crippling perfectionism that caused people to quit their goals.” Cutting a target in half doesn’t work for every goal. Cutting your credit card debt from $50,000 to $25,000 is a notable goal, but you’d still have too much debt. In such cases, instead of cutting your goal in half, double your timeline. In this example, you would pay more in interest by taking longer to pay off your debt, but you would ultimately pay it off. Paying it off is the goal – not avoiding paying it and potentially declaring bankruptcy. You can apply these two tactics – cutting the goal in half or doubling the timeline – 205 to many goals. Slicing your goals in half or extending your timeline may feel like “cheating,” but either step will make you much more likely to reach your targets. Starting small may feel unnatural at first, but you will achieve big results. Workplace Goals Research says that setting realistic goals leads to much better performance than setting overly aggressive targets, but what happens in the workplace where you don’t control the timeline? You may want to have a conversation with your boss about the utility of setting achievable goals. One company took 20 years to make $5 million in revenue on a product. When the CEO suggested a goal of $5 million in the next five years on a new, untested product, employees were not happy. After a year of frustration, the company altered the goal several times and ultimately discarded it. Make sure your workplace goals are the right size from the beginning. Choosing Your Failures Time is your most valuable resource. To achieve your goals, pour that resource into your efforts. That means prioritizing where and how you spend your time. When you grant some of your time to one goal, of necessity you take that time from another goal. You can’t have it all no matter what you try to do. Yes, you can squeeze in a few extra things if you structure your days differently. Even so, you’re going to miss out on something. Instead of biting off more than you can chew and failing, choose what you’re going to fail at and succeed at something that counts. “Perfectionism has no sense of gray, things are only black or white. You do it perfectly or you don’t do it at all.” If you’re like most people, you spend your life aiming too high. You don’t have to lower your standards, just stay realistic about your time frames and what you can accomplish. “Say no to shame.” Executive TV producer Shonda Rhimes told Fast Company magazine that she was okay with letting certain things slide. Because she’s busy running popular shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, she doesn’t worry as much about actual running. She’s not ashamed about not having enough time to exercise because she accepts how she must prioritize her time. “You have only two options right now. 1. Attempt more than is humanly possible and fail. 2. Choose what to bomb and succeed at a goal that matters.” Acuff chose to fail at keeping up with Snapchat – he never understood the appeal of adding doggie ears to somebody’s selfie – and at following his email, mowing his lawn and staying up-to-date on the latest TV shows. He decided not to binge-watch Breaking Bad or other popular shows. Although some people gain satisfaction from mowing their lawn, Acuff ditched mowing his as soon as he could afford to pay someone else to do it. And he 206 checks his email only a few times a week, since he finds that most emails are not emergencies requiring an immediate response. Email is probably the trickiest thing to abandon because it’s a significant form of daily communication. However, you can identify constructive, less timeconsuming ways to use it. Have Fun and Get It Done Many people fail to achieve their goals because they think goals must be difficult. One huge lie perfectionism tells you is that goals don’t count if they’re fun. Scientists and others who study goal setting look at various factors, including satisfaction and performance success, measurements that capture “how you felt about the process” and “what you actually got done.” For example, losing weight is a worthy goal, but it’s hard. Motivating yourself to run on a treadmill every day is hard. The trick is to make it fun. Figure out how to add joy to your efforts. Fun is personal. One gym offered a “Hell Week” that required attendance five days in a row at 5:00 a.m. But each day, participants got a big orange star next to their names, and a free T-shirt at the end. Many adults clamored for stars like it was their first day of kindergarten. One of Acuff’s readers, Stephen Nazarian, shared his strategy for tackling a never-ending list of 15 to 20-minute tasks. After work, he starts one more job. When it’s almost done, he turns on his Jacuzzi. He finishes the task knowing a hot tub awaits. The lesson: “Make it fun if you want it done.” Reward and Fear Be careful how you package your fun. People respond, in general, to two types of motivation: reward and fear. Some people live for the reward. When they know what they want, their instinct drives them to achieve. For example, paying off their debt gives them the freedom to go shopping without stress, or wanting to fit into their old jeans motivates them to work out. Fear also motivates people: They fear the consequences of not acting. A couple may lie awake at night knowing they can’t afford to send their kids to college. So maybe one or both will take on a second job. When people try to avoid an undesirable outcome rather than working toward a desirable one, they’re responding to “avoidance motivation.” Alternatively, perfectionism sneaks in and makes you think that finishing your goals will have negative results or corrupt you in the process. For example, wannabe entrepreneurs don’t start businesses because they fear becoming workaholics. “Hiding Places” and “Noble Obstacles” Sometimes your hiding places – where you go to avoid work – are easy to find, such as watching your favorite show on Netflix when it’s time to clean the house. Some hiding places are sneaky; you think you’re being productive by emptying your inbox, but you’re actually avoiding writing your blog. Identify your hiding places by asking if you engage in “obvious 207 time wasters.” Ask your friends if you spend too much time, effort or money on tasks or hobbies that don’t help you reach your goals. “Some goals are difficult to cut in half. For those, don’t cut them in half; give yourself more time.” Noble obstacles are chores you must finish before you can attack your real goals. For Bill, for example, the noble obstacle is a garage sale. Rather than just cleaning out his garage, Bill tells his wife he wants to have a garage sale before tackling the job of cleaning out the garage. What could have been simple is now a 16-step process starting with picking a date, reviewing HOA rules, making signs to advertise the garage sale, hanging up the signs, and so forth. Noble obstacles often rely on the word “until” – as in, “I can’t do my taxes until I know what kind of business I’m really trying to build” or “Karen won’t start her blog until she’s checked in with a copyright lawyer first.” Using “until” as an excuse seems respectable. It seems as if you’re getting all your ducks in a row before taking action, but in reality, it’s just another form of perfectionism. It can lead you to throw your hands up and say meeting your goal is too hard, so you won’t try. “To use a term coined by author Josh Davis, "'Strategic incompetence' is the act of deciding ahead of time that you don’t care about your yard.” ” An alternative to saying “until” is saying “if…then.” It sets up a different form of procrastination. You procrastinate or don’t start working because you’ve set an imaginary clock or pre-goal for yourself and waiting for that to happen, you come to feel as if it’s too late to start toward your goal. It’s never too late to try. You always have time to begin. Using Data Unlike emotions, data don’t lie. Use data to measure your progress. Data clarify where you are, but you may find them hard to use. Ignorance is bliss. It’s so much easier to avoid checking your bank account, stepping on a scale, making doctor appointments, and so forth. Data will tell you, for example, that you spend too much at coffee shops. If you buy into the lie of perfectionism, you may avoid the objectivity of data. “This goes against every sappy motivational statement…but if you dream too big at the start, you curse your finish.” “When you ignore data, you embrace denial.” Having hard information can help you make informed decisions. Take Steve Butler, 48, who used data to examine his career track. Butler lost his job, so he took a “good enough” full-time position to meet his family commitments. It didn’t cover the bills, so he added a part-time job cleaning a dental office on weekends. Butler considered changing his career to work with computers, but he didn’t want to “waste his college degree.” When he studied the data, he saw that he hadn’t wasted it at all. He’d paid about $50,000 for a degree and had 208 worked in that industry for 26 years, so his education cost only the bargain price of about $5.20 per day. “‘Cut your goal in half’ is not the kind of thing you’d see painted on the wall of a gym. It felt like a cheat, but it worked.” Butler wanted to take computer classes online, but couldn’t find any that fit his schedule. By examining data, he learned he could squeeze in classes during his lunch break. Although he wanted to take a $20,000 intensive six-week program, that wasn’t feasible. Instead, he studied in small increments every day, day by day, until he achieved his goal. “Time and again, when I researched what really helped people finally finish, it was a friend who did the trick.” Information helps you measure any number of things related to your goals: time, products sold, pounds lost, miles run, how much money you saved, and the like. Pick one to three aspects of your life to measure. You may be tempted to measure more, but start small and win big. See how simple it is to track your progress. When you’re successful, you can add in measuring more factors. If you’re not happy with your progress, adjust your goal, timeline or actions. About the Author Jon Acuff, a New York Times best-selling author, and a public speaker and blogger, also wrote Start, Quitter and Do Over. The Obstacle is the way Recommendation Through the ages, people have relied on the philosophy of Stoicism to conquer their difficulties. In addition to ancient Greeks and Romans, proponents included Frederick the Great, Michel de Montaigne, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Adam Smith and Theodore Roosevelt. Every year, former US president Bill Clinton studies the writing of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, a well-known Stoic philosopher. Former Chinese leader Wen Jiabao has read Marcus’s immortal Meditations “more than 100 times.” Media strategist Ryan Holiday explains how contemporary people can utilize some venerable Stoic principles to turn obstacles into advantages. His lively, clear prose brings these ancient ideas to modern life. getAbstract 209 recommends his helpful guide to the Stoic path to leaders, entrepreneurs, and anyone facing significant challenges. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Stoicism – an operating manual for life – is a pragmatic philosophy that helps people overcome their difficulties. This venerable philosophy inspired George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Adam Smith and Frederick the Great, as well as many contemporary leaders. Stoicism rests on three primary disciplines: “perception, action and the will.” Perception is the way you see the world. Viewing it realistically or with a bias can help or hinder you. The right action is always directed, deliberate, bold and persistent. The world can break your body, but thanks to willpower, it can never break your spirit and mind. You – not some external entity – control your will. Obstacles that stand in the way of progress can actually promote progress. People improve by facing and meeting challenges head-on. The obstacles you overcome provide benefits you could not otherwise realize. How you think about and react to obstacles while maintaining your composure defines you. Summary The Stoic Way In 170 AD, Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote, “Our actions may be impeded…but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting.” He concluded, “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Marcus was a Stoic. His thoughts encapsulate the words of other illustrious Stoics: “Chrysippus, Zeno, Cleanthes, Ariston, Apollonius, Junius Rusticus, Epictetus, Seneca” and “Musonius Rufus.” “All great victories, be they in politics, business, art or seduction, involved resolving vexing problems with… creativity, focus and daring.” 210 An ancient Zen parable features an almost identical line of thinking, stating: “The obstacle in the path becomes the path…Within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.” Marcus knew about obstacles. Frequent wars were prominent throughout his 19 years as emperor, during which his realm suffered a horrible plague. He faced a meager treasury, an attempted coup, a hoggish brother-in-law, as well as toilsome travel throughout the Roman Empire – from Asia Minor to Syria, Egypt, Greece and Austria. However, he never lost his patience, grace or courage. People of his era admired Marcus as a great man and a good emperor. “Nothing we’ll experience is likely without potential benefit.” Stoicism and Marcus Aurelius’s wisdom motivated men and women throughout history, helping to spark the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, the US civil rights movement and Silicon Valley’s amazing high-technology advances. Stoicism addresses real-life issues that confront everyone: “Are you worthy?” “Can you get past the things that inevitably fall in your way?” “Will you stand up and show…what you’re made of?” “Focus on what is in front of you, right now. Ignore what it ‘represents’ or it ‘means’ or ‘why it happened to you’.” Obstacles can provide benefits. First, you must move beyond typical responses to trouble, including “fear, frustration, confusion, helplessness, depression” and “anger.” Marcus Aurelius’s courage and self-knowledge enabled him to transform trouble and tragedy into triumph. Achieve similar results by adopting the vital Stoic lesson: “The obstacle is the way.” “Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment.” (Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl) Marcus defined the methods to overcome obstacles: “Objective judgment, now at this very moment. Unselfish action, now at this very moment. Willing acceptance – now at this very moment – of all external events. That’s all you need.” “Contingent Disciplines” To act wisely, develop these perspectives: 211 1. The Discipline of “Perception” How you see the world provides meaning to the events of your life. Don’t assign “good or bad” labels to events. Put aside your fears and prejudices. See things for what they are. See the truth, not a biased interpretation of it. “Bad companies are destroyed by crisis. Good companies survive them. Great companies are improved by them.” (former Intel CEO Andy Grove) Here are some tenets and examples of the power of perception: • • • • • “Alter your perspective” – The American industrialist John D. Rockefeller once worked for just 50 cents a day as a bookkeeper in Cleveland, Ohio. As an investor, he rode out major national financial crises in 1857, 1873, 1907 and 1920. Where others saw catastrophe and chaos, the objective, unemotional Rockefeller saw valuable lessons and opportunities. So much so, that by 1877, his perception and his nerve helped him corner “90% of the oil market.” “Recognize your power” – During the 1960s, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was a leading middleweight title contender. Carter was unjustly convicted in a triple-homicide case. In jail, he never ceded power to the warden or guards. He maintained his independence and his identity. Carter – and not the authorities – held control over his mind and spirit. He spent his time in prison working on his legal case. After 19 years, Carter got his verdict overturned. Once released from prison, he never looked back. “Steady your nerves” – During the US Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant always seemed completely nerveless. Once, a shell exploded near him, and killed a horse right next to him. Unfazed, Grant calmly surveyed the battlefield through his field glasses. He saw that his troops were removing supplies from a steamship when it exploded. Everyone ducked for cover except Grant, who ran toward the shattered steamboat to help the survivors. “Control your emotions” – NASA trained America’s first astronauts to remain cool under pressure and to avoid panic. The agency had the astronauts practice every aspect of their space flight “hundreds of times,” until the routines became commonplace. Comprehensive training eliminated the unfamiliarity of spaceflight. “Is it up to you?” – Tommy John pitched in Major League Baseball for an astonishing 26 seasons. John always asked himself: “Is there a chance?” “Do I have a shot?” “Is there something I can do?” When he was 45 years old, the Yankees cut 212 • John. Unfazed, he appeared as a walk-on at the team’s next spring training. He worked hard, made the team and pitched the season opener, a win over Minnesota. Lessons learned – Stay objective. When necessary, change the way you interpret what you see. Don’t agonize over the past or worry about the future. Focus your thoughts and actions on the present. Find the good in the bad. Stay bold. 2. The Discipline of “Action” When you are deliberate, bold and persistent, you are better prepared to take “right and effective” actions. Use the “creative application” of action to dismantle obstacles, as in these examples: • • • • “The voice of Athens” – When Demosthenes was young, his prospects were not favorable. He was frail and sick and suffered a major speech impediment. His guardians stole his inheritance. But nothing knocked Demosthenes off his path “to become the greatest orator of Athens.” He constantly practiced oratory, often with his mouth full of pebbles. Demosthenes practiced his speaking skills in private. When he was ready, he filed suit against his guardians to retrieve his stolen money. He prevailed in his legal battle, thanks to his stirring oratory. Demosthenes became the voice of Athens, promoting the philosophy, “Action, action, action!” “Get moving” – Amelia Earhart’s goal was to become an accomplished pilot. In her time, the 1920s, women were supposed to be dainty, even feeble. Someone proposed that Earhart participate in “the first female transatlantic flight.” She wouldn’t fly the plane; a man would. She accepted this embarrassing offer, but a few years later, she became the first woman to “fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic.” “Practice persistence” – Thomas Edison tried 6,000 different filaments before he created the first incandescent light. Nikola Tesla “once sneered” at Edison’s perseverance, saying that if the inventor had to find a needle in a haystack, he would examine every straw. Edison understood that some situations demand such persistence. “Follow the process” – Nick Saban, head coach of the University of Alabama’s powerhouse football team, follows what he calls “the process.” He tells his players, “Don’t think about winning the SEC Championship. Don’t think about the national championship. Think about what you need to do in this drill, on this play, in this moment. That’s the process: Let’s think about what we can do today, the task at hand.” Pay attention to your process. Take things “one step at a time.” 213 • • “Use obstacles against themselves” – Gandhi’s fight for India’s independence was not a fight at all. The British did “all of the fighting” and “all of the losing.” Through peaceful civil disobedience, Gandhi demonstrated that action doesn’t always mean performing like an army. It can mean taking a stand and holding on to what is right. Lessons learned – Set out to develop the “Minimum Viable Product,” as identified by Silicon Valley’s iterative MVP philosophy. Remember the engineering touchstone: “Failure is a feature.” Learn from every failure. Treat your job like the most important work in the world. Stay aware that sometimes a flank attack will work better than a head-on charge. Like great athletes, try to operate “in the zone” by deliberately focusing. Even so, you may not always win. If you don’t, move boldly ahead to the next task. 3. The Discipline of “Will” The world can knock you down and break your heart. But if you harness your willpower, no knockdown blow can deter you. Your will – not anyone else’s – puts you firmly in charge of your life and accomplishments. Proper willpower is steady, not blustery. You connect to your internal power without braggadocio; the best strength of will springs from “humility, resilience and flexibility.” Examples of the power of the will include: • • • Master your will – Abraham Lincoln exemplified willpower. He grew up poor. He was for many years a failed politician, facing multiple ballot-box defeats. He suffered all his life from crippling depression, yet Lincoln had to lead the North through the bloody years of the American Civil War. Because of his incredible willpower, he never let these problems derail him or cause him to lose hope. No matter what the challenge, Lincoln endured, becoming the ideal president to head the US during its most calamitous, destructive period. “Build your inner citadel” – As a young boy, Theodore Roosevelt had severe asthma. Nightly asthma attacks nearly killed him. To build stamina, he worked out daily at a personal gym that his wealthy father built in their home. His hard work paid off: By “his early 20s,” Roosevelt had fortified his body and won his lifeand-death battle against asthma. He called his gutsy fight “the Strenuous Life.” Roosevelt said, “We must all either wear out or rust out: everyone of us. My choice is to wear out.” “Love everything that happens” – When he was 67, fire destroyed Thomas Edison’s “research and production” facilities. His “priceless records, prototypes and research” went up in smoke. Demonstrating amazing sangfroid, Edison’s reaction was, “It’s all 214 • • • right. We’ve just got rid of a lot of rubbish.” Any other response – crying, shouting, smashing things – would have accomplished nothing. Edison accepted his setback with grace, with a sense of lightheartedness. When the fire struck, Edison told his son, “Get your mother and all her friends. They’ll never see a fire like this again.” “Meditate on your mortality” – In 1569, French nobleman Michel de Montaigne nearly died after being thrown from a horse. In a mystical moment, he felt his life slipping away – on the “tip of his lips.” This near-death experience energized Montaigne. He became one of Europe’s most famous writers, a noted dignitary and a “confidante of the king.” He turned into an avid student of death, researching how people thought of it and what it meant in other cultures. Eventually, death betrays everyone. Use this knowledge to embrace your own mortality. In the meantime, like Montaigne, make the best use of the time you have. “Prepare to start again” – As a Haitian saying holds, “Behind mountains are more mountains.” You may overcome numerous major obstacles, but that doesn’t get you off the hook. More obstacles may emerge to block your path. Accept this reality. It’s life. Lessons learned – Postmortems are useful; so are pre-mortems – thinking in advance about “what could go wrong.” Sometimes you must simply acquiesce when things don’t go your way. Adopt the attitude, “C’est la vie. It’s all fine.” You are a part of the universe. Try to make your little corner of it as fulfilling as possible. Stoicism: The Operating Manual Across the centuries, academics in their ivory towers tried to assume ownership of philosophies such as Stoicism and tried to guard it as part of their exclusive domain. As developed by Seneca, Zeno and others, the philosophy of Stoicism was never intended to be isolated as remote, sterile intellectualization. Those sages first promulgated Stoicism as “an operating system for the difficulties and hardships of life,” and that is how it should remain. “Don’t let the force of an impression… knock you off your feet; just say to it: Hold on a moment; let me see who you are and what you represent. Let me put you to the test.” (Epictetus) The immortal Epictetus, who overcame bitter slavery to become a renowned Stoic philosopher, gave the title Enchiridion to his famous manual of Stoic ethical advice. Translated from the Greek, the title means “close at hand.” Epictetus and the other ancient Stoics regarded 215 Stoicism as something “to be in your hands, to be an extension of you.” Marcus Aurelius put this concept another way: Stoicism makes people “boxers instead of fencers,” battling boldly and bravely against life’s difficulties, challenges and obstacles. About the Author Media strategist Ryan Holiday is the former marketing director at American Apparel. His ad campaigns garnered coverage in Advertising Age, The New York Times and Fast Company. Time Power /Bryan Tracy Recommendation From your morning commute to your late-afternoon coffee break, your daily travel through time may be filled with costly detours and countless obstacles. Are your days typically disrupted by disorganization and delays? Do you spin your wheels on the dirt paths of life? Fortunately, Brian Tracy offers a concise map around the daily roadblocks. His text provides a toolbox of effective time management techniques, including New Age-style visualizations (”mental rehearsals”) to concrete 15-minute planning blocks. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • A carefully choreographed schedule will yield two extra hours daily or 1,000 additional hours over a 24-month period. Reprogram your inner clock with affirmations, visualizations and mental rehearsals. Clarity is the essence of time management. Outline your top goals for every area of your life. Create an action plan. Carefully set priorities for commitments, goals and deadlines. Don’t be seduced by false urgencies. Be faithful to your top priorities and goals. Determine which mental or emotional obstacles sabotage your deadline performance. Establish firm deadlines for minor and major milestones at home and at work. Every minute contains a lifetime. Don’t waste any of them. For example, use airplane flights and car rides to advance your agenda. 216 • • Make a conscious effort to be neat. Maintain a tidy workspace and desktop. Avoid the blame game. Don’t make excuses. Don’t rationalize. Accept full responsibility for your life. Summary The Waltz of Time Don’t squander time. Your productivity and happiness at home and work depend on a carefully choreographed dance with time. The failure to synchronize your inner clock with real-time deadlines will derail your career, deplete your income and endlessly delay your personal satisfaction. Pick up the beat by reprogramming your mind for success. Positive self-talk ("I will be on time; I will be on time") and nightly mental rehearsals are effective training tools. Pick an area of your life and immediately - here and now - resolve to improve your time management skills in that realm. Setting Your Life’s Agenda Outline your key goals with clarity. Write down your 10 most important objectives for the next year. Incorporate your professional and personal aspirations. Study the list and select your chief aspiration. Create a firm deadline for realizing it. “People who value themselves highly use their time well.” Next, write an action plan filled with intermediate steps toward that goal. List potential obstacles and possible solutions. Start now and make a commitment to take one action, however small, to move you closer to the goal line. Don’t surrender the stage. This is your life, not a rehearsal. Your interior engine for success will drive with greater efficiency when your goals are consistent with your deepest values. Know yourself and get acquainted with your most crucial aspirations and heart-felt values. What makes you happy? What are your beliefs? What matters most? Honest answers to those questions will provide a roadmap for your success. Set your priorities based on the answers. Making the "To Do" List Work Begin each day with a list of things to accomplish, ideally written the night before. The list should reflect your important projects and goals. Using letters A to E, prioritize your list. The "A list" is a directory of top priorities. Fine tune the A list by ranking tasks on a number scale. 217 Chores with an "A-1" ranking are the highest priority. Act on those first. “Time management is life management. Time management requires self-control, self-mastery and selfdiscipline.” Use the time proven 80/20 theory for planning every aspect of your personal and professional goals. This concept maintains that 80% of your pleasure or financial reward or success is typically derived from 20% of your activities or customers or products. Do the math and apply the 80/20 rule to your life. “Each minute spent in planning saves ten minutes in execution.” Schedule your day with realistic deadlines and use those deadlines as a motivating force to drive your efforts. Realistic deadlines accommodate a steady, but unhurried pace of work that avoids errorproducing rushes and costly delays. Work through lunch; minimize idle chatter and reward yourself (with treats or vacations) after successfully completing major projects Methods, Tools and Habits Stay focused by writing your objectives and goals and heeding the list. Create a detailed action plan of individual steps and top priorities. Don’t get sidetracked. Avoid detours. Boost your mind power with constant shots of positive images of success and peak performances. “To get the very most out of your family and relationships, you must create large periods of unhurried time.” Create clusters of time and activity. For instance, when you are planning your day look for similar tasks - phone calls or errands in the same geographic region - that can be performed in succession. Also carve out large blocks of time, at least one hour long, for completing A-1 priorities. Important goals require large segments of uninterrupted time. “Stop regularly and look up at the summit, your eventual goal, and then adjust your footsteps to ensure that every step is still taking you in that direction.” 218 Maintain a steady diet of self-talk ("I am efficient. I am efficient."). Constantly review and fine-tune your written plan. Use a date book and a calendar to bolster your efficiency. Taking Time Management to the Of ce Good work habits are essential to success. Rising at 5 a.m. - after a full night of sleep - will increase your productivity by giving you three to four hours of uninterrupted work time before the office opens. Arrive at the office early to bypass rush-hour traffic and eliminate phone and drop-in interruptions from colleagues and customers. “One of the best time management techniques is to do it right the first time, even if it takes a little more effort and concentration.” Maintain a clean desk and workspace. Gather the necessary materials for each task, but only focus on one task at a time. Concentrate on each chore until you’ve completed the task. File materials related to other projects. Don’t let clutter proliferate. File, delegate, throw out or take action on paperwork immediately. “When you set clear goals, make detailed plans of action, establish clear priorities and then focus single-mindedly on your most valuable tasks, you dramatically increase the likelihood or probability that you will be successful.” Get the most out of meetings and even phone calls by setting an agenda and establishing talking points. Don’t let the phone be a tyrant. Screen your calls or don’t answer the phone during your peak work hours. Establish call back times. Track Your Use of Time The statistics are stunning. Estimates say that you will spend seven years of your life in the bathroom, six years eating, three years sitting in meetings and five years waiting in store or bank lines. Likewise, other time busters - hunting for lost items, opening junk mail and gossiping - will consume large chunks of your time. To minimize time theft, develop your priorities, use a daily action plan and always keep your list of targeted long-term goals in mind. Procrastination steals time and undermines success. Delegate chores and create self-contained policies for staff members who may be faced with standard problems. Guard against time theft by thinking on paper. Segregate the relevant from the irrelevant. Discriminate against fi 219 urgent, but unimportant signals such as ringing telephones and beckoning e-mails. Other anti-theft devices include: • • • Step-by-step action plans - Write them down in increments. Benefits analysis - Review the positives of completing a job. Five-minute tasks - Pick chores that can be completed in five minutes. • 15-minute time block planning - Choreograph small steps of time. “The tendency to procrastinate is the primary reason that many people lead lives of quiet desperation and retire poor.” Avoid the temptation of making excuses or rationalizing. Don’t give yourself easy outs. The champions on the path to success take complete responsibility for their time and tasks. Value Your Knowledge An ongoing learning program will put your career on the fast-track. Continually look for new avenues of self improvement. Books, industry seminars, trade journals and audiotapes offer invaluable information for advancing your mind and improving your earning potential. “Learning to overcome procrastination is a vital step upward on the ladder of success.” Make a commitment to read at least 60 minutes daily in your craft or profession. That one-hour daily commitment translates into one book weekly and about 50 books in a year. Consider history: Leaders are shaped from the ranks of readers. Reading is an investment in your career that exercises your mind. Investing in your career through education will increase your income by 25% to 50%. Making Use of Your Travel Time Always travel with reading material. Rip out articles, carry paperbacks or listen to books on tape. Absorb snippets of text or short articles to make the most of unexpected delays and small blocks of time. Maximize your time by learning to speed read, subscribing to book summary programs and keeping a quick-summary file for future review “There is no such thing as being fashionably late. It is really just being inconsiderate and disorganized.” Effective use of air travel will add hours to your travel days and increase your productivity. These steps will heighten your in-flight productivity: 220 • • • • Seat selection - Pre-book a window seat that is not in the bulkhead. This selection provides a pull-down front tray and ample space for your briefcase. What’s more, you won’t be disturbed by seatmates heading for the washroom. Avoid seats near restrooms and the plane kitchen. Organize your briefcase - Arrange your work materials based on their subject. Pack all necessary materials such as envelopes, stamps and work files. With preparation, your briefcase can double as an aerial office. Arrive early - Check in at least two hours before departure time. This schedule allows you to relax, get settled and get to work as soon as possible. Resist distractions - Tune out newspapers, airline magazines and the in-flight movie. Wear earphones to discourage gabby seatmates. The Joys of Delegation You are not omnipotent and it’s impossible to be everywhere at once. Guard the value of your time - a limited resource - by delegating tasks to others. Effective delegation depends on clear instructions. Make sure that everyone involved completely understands each project’s deadlines and performance measures. Fine tune communications channels by asking for feedback and questions. “Think before acting.” If you are a sales executive, your revenue will increase if you double the time you spend with potential clients and existing customers. Take the time to establish yearly, monthly, weekly, daily and even hourly sales goals. Remember: a visible target improves your aim and a better aim improves your success. “The Law of Correspondence says that your outer life tends to be a mirror image of your inner life...” Organize your sales route by geography. Use research, preparation and rehearsal to thoroughly map out your sales calls. Pay attention to each client and the details of each transaction. Stay focused on sales development strategies that will maximize your selling time. Don’t squander the day with aimless lunches or coffee breaks with peers. Develop a Long-Term View Successful individuals in any field are those who have established a long-term agenda. Emulate that behavior. Plan your life based on longterm goals and use long-distance objectives to formulate your shortterm plans. Every trail - no matter how short - should feed into your long-term path. Long-term planning requires delayed gratification and 221 self-discipline. But hard work and a long view of time will yield positive benefits in every area of your life including career, wealth, health and relationships. The long view also taps into the short-term horizon. Pay attention to your use of time, money and career opportunities. Ask yourself key questions: Are you in the right job? Are you in the right marriage or relationship? Failure to make the right connections - either personal or private - could lead to a wasted life. Time is your most valuable asset. Safeguard that asset by declining commitments, assignments and tasks that do not reflect your deepest values, goals and desires. Ask yourself: "What would I do with my life if I had only six months to live? Six weeks? Six days or six hours?" Once you have answered those questions, manage your time - at home and at the office - with a discipline and passion that is consistent with your long-term and short-term goals. About the Author Brian Tracy is a business speaker and development consultant. A best selling author, he has written, among other books, Focal Point, TurboStrategy, Victory! and the 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success. I don’t agree Recommendation From childhood conflicts to boardroom brawls, it seems humanity is hardwired for heated conflict. But does people’s propensity to disagree spell doom to collaboration and cooperation? Not at all, argues digital marketing expert Michael Brown. In this highly readable book, Brown delves into the science and sociology of interpersonal conflict. Using examples he draws from a rich array of experts as well and his own personal experiences, Brown offers practical steps for understanding and solving key obstacles to consensus. Take-Aways • • Cooperation is possible if you consider your motivations, embrace clarity and acknowledge “attribution bias.” Seek team members whose diverse values complement one another. 222 • • • • • • • • Admit your weaknesses and use an ego-checking ritual to promote collaborative behavior. Develop authentic, rather than hubristic, pride. Embrace behaviors that “tend-and-befriend.” Understand cultural differences in body language. Adopt a collectivist approach to your interactions with others. Recognize your biases and their relationship to “tension creep.” Learn from high-stakes negotiators. Follow the five moves of multiple-stakeholder negotiating. Summary Cooperation is possible if you consider your motivations, embrace clarity and acknowledge “attribution bias.” Most people have nearly 90,000 disagreements with others before the age of 10. Disagreement is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. How you manage a conflict will determine whether the outcome is positive, however. One 2006 study of childhood squabbles between siblings showed that when parents or study directors helped siblings engage in “collaborative problemsolving,” 42% of disagreements ended in compromise. This shows that it’s possible to learn to disagree in ways that don’t result in simmering tension or one party ending up “the loser.” The root causes of altercations remain the same after you reach adulthood. One cause is that you employ “attribution bias” to identify others, rather than yourself, as the source of any given conflict. “Negotiators typically attribute any deadlock to the other person and give more credit to themselves for reaching an agreement – [a] phenomenon…known as attribution bias.” Another cause of disagreements is that you can’t see an opponent’s perspective as valid. When aiming to fight well, make sure you understand your opponent’s position clearly, and that he or she understands yours. A 1998 study about negotiation showed that people often overestimate the clarity of their arguments. As a result, each person assumes the other is acting out of spite or self-interest, and therefore is more to blame for keeping the disagreement going. If you take a moment to try to understand your opponent’s point of view, promise to try to express your own thoughts and motivations as precisely as possible, and acknowledge attribution bias, you will increase the likelihood of reaching consensus. Seek team members whose diverse values complement one another. In his studies of family dynamics, research scholar Frank J. Sulloway draws on Charles Darwin’s “principle of divergence” to help explain how younger 223 children adapt in order to set themselves apart from older siblings and gain parental attention. This process parallels something Darwin observed on the Galápagos Islands: Various species of finch evolved so that each type of finch eats a different kind of food. Rather than fighting for the exact same resources as their big brothers or sisters, younger siblings go after different resources – an important lesson for your working life. “Try and distill everything that you believe to be true, or would like to be true about yourself, into a handful of identifiable and easily communicable qualities.” If everyone on your team seeks the same reward – a certain job title, for example – collaboration becomes next to impossible. If, however, you build a team in which each individual pursues a unique personal goal, but whose work, collectively, accomplishes an overarching goal, you can undercut head-to-head competition. Build teams of people who have differing yet complementary strengths. Ask job applicants to take each item on their résumés and link it to one of four or five personal values of their choosing. This exercise will help make it clear if a person is living out his or her claimed values, and if that person is the right “finch” for the work culture you are building. Admit your weaknesses and use an ego-checking ritual to promote collaborative behavior. Collaboration is a favorite corporate buzzword, but successful collaboration in the workplace is rare. One six-year study revealed two primary obstacles to effective collaboration. First, an incorrect assessment of the value of a given collaborative effort, which resulted in a poor return on investment. And second, “turf wars” that keep individuals focusing on their own glory, rather than what’s best for the team. Some 73% of companies reported collaboration partners refused to share vital information with one another. Collaboration also suffers when one or more members of the team must focus on individual duties, leaving the burden of the collaborative work on the rest of the team. “When faced with a potential collaboration project, who can blame my dear colleague for posing the question, What’s in it for me?” Better collaboration begins with you. Start by making a list of all the weaknesses that could endanger a collaborative effort. Just as a surgical checklist helps doctors and nurses avoid accidentally skipping important details before or during an operation, your list can prompt the kind of conduct you wish to display when working with others, and can guard against any bad behaviors. Focus on your top two or three faults, and actively think about them before you engage with others. 224 An ego-checking ritual can also help. Before any meeting, author Michael Brown imagines himself removing an overcoat, which represents his competitive impulses. Then, he takes off an imaginary undervest, which represents his self-focus. This process helps put him in a more cooperative state of mind. Develop authentic, rather than hubristic, pride. While pride can serve as a source of conflict, scientists believe humans developed pride as a cooperative rather than a competitive trait. Pride may encourage people to strive for things – or exhibit behaviors that benefit the group, and then advertise those achievements to gain respect. When others respect you, you wield greater influence. Two distinct roads to getting respect exist: might (using violence or the threat of violence to cow others) and prestige (using your skills and abilities to help the group, and thus gain favor). The first route inevitably produces conflict. For example, Apple founder Steve Jobs had a brilliant mind, but he was also fickle and tyrannical. “Dominance is intrinsically linked to what is known as hubristic pride, whereas prestige tends to be associated with a variation known as authentic.” Prestige-based pride stems from the belief that your actions yield results, and that what you do matters to others. An average student who studies hard and achieves high marks as a result of his or her dedication will gain authentic pride. By contrast, bright students who believe that their achievements merely reflect their innate superiority to others will develop boastful, or hubristic, pride. Those hoping to rise through the ranks should embrace the first kind of pride and shun the second. Make a note whenever pride makes you respond badly to others. Ask yourself whether the other person hurt your authentic or hubristic pride, how you reacted, and how you might act better in the future. Embrace behaviors that “tend-and-befriend.” Men have a genetic predisposition to respond to stress with aggression. The gene in question, SRY, only shows up in the Y chromosome. Women, who have two X chromosomes, don’t lack fight-or-flight instincts. But research suggests they often respond to threats by attempting to defuse tensions – the tend-and-befriend process. In Darwinist terms, women increase their own and their children’s chances of survival by collaborating and building relationships. In the business world, this tend-and-befriend impulse results in greater profits when women are in charge. Women still drive hard bargains, but they temper the aggressiveness of their actions with tend-andbefriend behaviors. 225 “Is it possible that these so-called ‘male’ business qualities might be smoothed by the fine-grained sandpaper of tendand-befriend?” To nurture tend-and-befriend in the workplace, start with changing meetings. Men often talk over women and steal the spotlight from their female colleagues. To combat these problems, make sure meetings have an equal mixture of men and women, establish clear and egalitarian speaking guidelines, and call out those who violate the rules. Become aware of and work to combat unconscious gender biases. Exercises that allow staff and management to role-play situations that show how biases can come into play, interventions to correct problems, and retraining programs can help. An annual “equality audit” can also help you determine how well your company is doing in providing equal treatment, opportunity for advancement and support to all employees. Understand cultural differences in body language. Reading body language and presenting appropriate nonverbal cues of your own are important when you’re trying to find common ground with others. Differences in culture or personal background can cause inadvertent misunderstandings. How you intend others to take your body language may differ from how they receive it. People express even universal emotions like sadness or anger in subtly different ways around the globe. “The trouble with interpreting body language to aid conflict resolution is that we have so many words to describe the various shades and intensities of emotion. And many subtly different nonverbal ways to express them.” In one 1972 study, scientists showed upsetting films to American and Japanese audiences. Both nationalities expressed similar emotions to the films, until a top-level scientist stepped into the room with the test subjects. When that occurred, the Japanese audience began to hide their emotional responses. Japanese culture values social hierarchy more than American culture does. Thus, Japanese audiences adapted their reactions to fit with what they deemed was appropriate in the presence of the high-status scientist. To help ensure that others clearly understand your body language, begin interactions displaying neutral emotion. Then, gradually adjust your “emotional tone” until it feels correct for the audience and circumstances. Use deep-breathing exercises to lower your stress levels, and make sure any inner unrest does not come out in your body language. Adopt a collectivist approach to your interactions with others. Human cultures tend to fall into one of two camps: collectivism or individualism. Collectivist cultures, to which 70% of the world belongs, 226 prioritize the goals, norms and obligations of the group above those of the individual. Individualist cultures value personal aspirations and rights above those of the group, and evaluate relationships in terms of whether they benefit the individual. Individualist cultures are predominantly Western. “Human rights, as we folks from the 30% understand them, can be anathema to those in the 70%.” The West believes that its values and political systems are universal. This is, of course, not the case. The Arab Spring protesters, for example, were not looking for “freedom” or “human rights” as the United States defines these terms, but for their own version of freedom. As diversity increases, and non-Western states grow more powerful, it makes sense to gain a better understanding of collectivist ideals. Arguably, the West can also benefit from a more Eastern approach to conflict resolution and social harmony. In practical terms, adopting a more collectivist approach means valuing strong, long-term relationships with business partners. It calls for you to keep your emotions out of the process of making deals, and consider the common good when you’re negotiating. Recognize your biases and their relationship to “tension creep.” People have a natural tendency to like those most similar to themselves. This preference helps explain racial prejudice. It also applies in the realm of ideas, and underscores why it’s so hard to recognize biases. In seeking out support for a position, you reinforce your previously held beliefs and become less likely to see opposing ideas as valid. Issues like political polarization develop when unconscious preferences meet “tension creep,” which occurs when, over time, small disagreements become big ones as a result of biases. “Dissimilarity is a high predictor for avoidance of others, whereas similarity tends toward friendship formation.” Undo the problems that preferences and tension creep cause by acknowledging that people who don’t agree with you may still make valid points. UCLA professor Corinne Bendersky calls this act “status affirmation.” Affirming that opponents are equal and worthy, and that their arguments are sound, helps diffuse conflict in some ways – while still allowing you to make your own claims. Learn from high-stakes negotiators. High-stakes negotiators can offer a lot of wisdom about conflict resolution. Lt. Jack Cambria, the longest-running head of the New York Police Department’s Hostage Negotiation Team, suggests building rapport. Get the other person to communicate his or her problems to you, and listen 227 closely and in an unprejudiced manner to what those problems are. Engaging in such active listening shows the other person you understand them, and allows you to find common ground. “Personal attitudes can open or close paths to discussion or openness to arguments.” British Army officer and senior special adviser to the Afghan Ministry of Interior Ash Alexander-Cooper stresses that, when negotiating, you must not rush or ignore cultural nuances. Sir Jeremy Greenstock, former permanent UK representative to the United Nations and chairman of the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee, argues in favor of cultivating a culture of collaborative problem-solving. Former UK ambassador Jules Chappell advises understanding all sides of a conflict before attempting mediation. Follow the ve moves of multiple-stakeholder negotiating. Getting numerous parties, each with their own interests, to support and help you execute an idea is difficult. These five moves can help: 1. Establish who might say no to your proposal. 2. Use “self-distancing” techniques to see the endeavor from the naysayers’ point of view. 3. Identify and rank the likelihood of all the risks that associate with your proposal, and work to reduce the probability and severity of those risks. 4. Find an influential third party to champion your cause. 5. Close the deal by making the other people feel like valued partners, with an equal stake in the operation. Offer thoughtful countermeasures for any concerns. About the Author Michael Brown is a founder and long-term managing director of creative industries businesses. He guided his last venture, MKTG, to become an international marketing organization with 32 offices in 20 countries. Say less - get more Recommendation Skillful negotiation can enhance all aspects of your life, but fear can keep you from asking for what you want. Negotiation and communication expert Fotini Iconomopoulos aims to help you overcome anxieties surrounding fi 228 negotiation by grounding her negotiation strategies in the latest research. She offers a specific set of negotiation tactics that you can apply easily. Whether you want to petition your family for more alone time or ask for a salary increase, Iconomopoulos shares applicable strategies to become a more effective negotiator. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • Seize everyday negotiation opportunities to improve the quality of your life. The negotiation spectrum spans from competitive “my way” to collaborative “our way” styles. If you appear powerless, you won’t have leverage in negotiations. Build strong relationships, increase your likability and recognize biases. Seek alignment between your interests and the interests of others. In competitive negotiations, target the other party’s resistance point. Aim to create value for everyone involved during collaborative negotiations. Use verbal and nonverbal cues to get what you want. Summary Seize everyday negotiation opportunities to improve the quality of your life. Strong negotiation skills can improve the quality of your daily life. Many people fear negotiating, women in particular. Researchers found that only 7% of women negotiated their salaries at their first jobs after university, and just under 60% of men failed to negotiate as well. Those who did negotiate received offers that were 7.4% higher on average. “If the thought of negotiating makes you anxious, youre not alone. Luckily, negotiation skills can be learned and practiced.” The thought of negotiating can trigger anxiety symptoms, such as sweaty palms and rapid heart rate. Lessen these effects and become a better negotiator by teaching yourself to pause: Breathe deeply, and give yourself time to react and overcome your fear. If you view negotiation as a negative activity, shift your perspective. A negotiation is a process involving two or more people trying to find an agreeable solution. It doesn’t need to be combative. The negotiation spectrum spans from competitive “my way” to collaborative “our way” styles. Two broad negotiation categories exist: Competitive negotiations usually center around money. Participants seldom engage in relationship building. 229 They embrace a more zero-sum mentality, with clear-cut winners and losers. Collaborative negotiations tend to be more holistic, with participants working cooperatively toward longer-term objectives. For example, a marriage gives people ample opportunity for collaborative negotiations. By contrast, when you buy something at auction, you engage in a competitive negotiation, as the selling party cares only about earning as much money as possible. “Part of being an effective negotiator is recognizing where the best possible outcome lies; if the other party is not capable of moving along the spectrum with you, you maximize the opportunity on the darker side of it.” Most negotiations occur on a spectrum between competitive (my way) and collaborative (our way) tactics, with activities such as concession trading falling in the middle. Figure out which end of the spectrum you’re negotiating in by reflecting on context – do you sufficiently trust the person you’re negotiating with to cooperate with him or her? Will this be a onetime interaction, or are you building a relationship that requires a more collaborative approach? Gauge other parties’ willingness to collaborate. If they negotiate in a more aggressive, competitive manner, understand that doing the same may be your best option. If you appear powerless, you won’t have leverage in negotiations. People whom others view as powerless can engage only in more collaborative approaches. But if people think you’re powerful, use your leverage to negotiate more competitively. If you don’t have power, convince people you do to seize negotiation opportunities. Alternatively, you could have power, but fail to negotiate for your interests if the other party doesn’t perceive you as powerful. “When you have no power, you have no options. You have to give the other party whatever they demand. On the other hand, if you can increase your power, you increase your options.” Make yourself appear more powerful by: • Overcoming anxiety and fear – When your mind embraces an opportunity mind-set, you experience positive emotions such as excitement, and perform better than when you’re in a threat mind-set. For example, you will create weaker offers if you experience anxiety. Find your own method of dealing with your negative emotions, such as deep-breathing exercises. 230 • • • • Radiating confidence – Projecting confidence helps intimidate other parties, making them less likely to view you as someone they can easily manipulate. Considering alternate options – People have more power when they have more options, so be sure to have a BATNA, which is an acronym Harvard professors William Ury and Roger Fisher coined to reference your Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement. Understanding time pressure – People sometimes create deadlines to increase pressure on you. When negotiators feel pressure to make a decision, they concede more. Recognize when others use time scarcity as a tactic. Pause to gather your thoughts before you agree to anything. Only use time pressure as a tactic when you’re negotiating on the more competitive end of the spectrum. Acquiring knowledge – Gain information that increases your negotiating power by doing your research and asking questions. Try being silent for a moment, to see if others feel compelled to talk and share information. Alternately, share something about yourself to create trust, and prompt others to share, too. Build strong relationships, increase your likability and recognize biases. Strong negotiators understand people. Invest in relationship building to bolster your power and influence. You have more negotiating power when people find you likable because people will want to cooperate with you. Persuasion and influence expert Robert Cialdini says you can leverage likability to increase your powers of persuasion. People like people who give them compliments that feel genuine, who demonstrate cooperativeness and who share commonalities about themselves. Enhance your likability by pointing out something you have in common. Make your tone of voice more cooperative, and embrace authenticity. “Bias is such a big part of human nature that its impact on negotiation is impossible to ignore. Pausing to consider the biases of the other party is a huge opportunity to gain power.” Biases can influence negotiation outcomes. Bias takes many forms, including prejudice and endowment bias (the tendency to overvalue your possessions). Identify your biases – organizations such as the nonprofit Project Implicit offer self-tests – and learn to recognize biases in others. Use your awareness of other people’s biases to your advantage. For example, if you realize the other parties underestimate you due to their own implicit assumptions, you have a strategic advantage because you can surprise them. Cultivate self-awareness of your tendencies, and maintain awareness of factors such as your emotional triggers and differences between your worldview and that of others. People tend to have more difficulty 231 controlling their emotions when they vest in the outcome of a negotiation, so practice pausing to calm and focus your mind. Seek alignment between your interests and the interests of others. Identify your interest or objective during negotiations before making any proposals. Reflect on your inner motivations: Don’t simply ask yourself what you want. Examine why you want it. Identify the objectives of other parties, and assess whether their interests align with yours. When you’re negotiating more collaboratively, make proposals that create value for both the other party and for yourself. “Negotiations are easier, with better outcomes all around, when you can find common ground.” Assess the interests of those you’re negotiating with by asking yourself: • • • • • What’s their objective? – What do they need? What are the stakes? – What happens if they don’t succeed? Whom does this affect? – Whose interests do they represent? Who are the stakeholders? What leverage do they have? – How much negotiating power does the other party have? How do other parties perceive you? – Do they regard you as powerful or powerless? Do they think you vest strongly in the outcome? Craft your strategy accordingly. In competitive negotiations, target the other party’s resistance point. Apply these tactics to the competitive, noncollaborative end of the spectrum: • • • • • Consider power and issues – Identify each side’s issues, items to trade and any potential sources of leverage. Identify both parties’ resistance points – Decide on your reservation price, or the deal you’re least willing to accept before walking away. Keep this resistance point to yourself. Try to gauge the other party’s reservation price. Plot your moves – Make an extreme opening proposal, well outside the other party’s comfort zone. Then, make offers of decreasing value, without compromising on your resistance point. Anticipate their first move – In a competitive negotiation, the other party’s best-case outcome is your worst-case outcome, so prepare counter-moves to ensure you don’t settle for less. Go first – Make your proposal first, so you can anchor the negotiation. This ensures the final outcome won’t stray too far from your initial proposal. 232 • • Target the other party’s resistance point – After gauging the other party’s reservation price, make it your primary focus. Pause – Don’t rush into anything. Take time to mindfully consider all your options. Aim to create value for everyone involved during collaborative negotiations. Do the following to create valuable outcomes during more collaborative negotiations: • • • • • • • • • • • Focus on value – Remember that money isn’t your main objective. You seek to create mutual value. Suss out interests – Take time to figure out what the other party wants. Imagine different ways you could collaborate to serve both of your interests. Listen to the other party – People find satisfaction in others hearing them. Understand that acknowledging others’ points of view is not the same as agreeing with them. Decide what to share – Decide which information to keep secret and which you will share ahead of time. Identify possible value sources – Consider which variables you could trade to create qualitative and/or quantitative value for everyone. Potential variables range from advertising to exclusivity deals. Assess your variables – What are you willing to give away, what do you hope to get, and with what can you never part? Identify possible areas of conflict as you prepare your proposals. Don’t settle for a bad deal – Never give away more valuable variables than the other party gives you. Create conditions – When making proposals, make it clear that you will give other parties something of value to them only if they meet your conditions. Consider using MESOs – Make “multiple equivalent simultaneous offers” by combining several conditional proposals. For example: If you give me X, I’ll give you Y. Use MESOs at the beginning of the negotiation. Consider motivations – Reflect on other parties’ primary motivations and objectives. When introducing your proposals, frame the options you present by reminding them of your desire to create needed value for them. Pause – Avoid rushing to ensure you don’t make agreements you regret. Use verbal and nonverbal cues to get what you want. Use all three communication modalities: tone of voice, body language and words. Psychologist and communication researcher Albert Mehrabian discovered that the words people say account for only 7% of the messages they send. Body language accounts for 55%, and tone of voice for 38%. 233 Choose your words carefully and strategically. For example, in more competitive negotiations, use fewer words to make yourself seem more confident and likely to win. Avoid using words that make others view you as uncertain or full of self-doubt. For example, avoid saying “I think” before you express your opinion. Eliminate any tone habits that harm your credibility. Perhaps you raise your voice at the end of a sentence that’s not a question, which makes you sound unsure. Poor body language undermines your credibility. For example, people will be less likely to view someone with stooped posture as a leader. “We can communicate so much without uttering a word. In negotiations, body language can be extremely valuable and immediately effective.” It’s easy to panic and lose your composure during negotiations, so remember to take mindful pauses and stay authentic. Prepare your proposal beforehand to convey self-assuredness. Arm yourself with scripts that make the other party more receptive to your proposals. For example, a straightforward question – such as, “How close can you get to my figure?” – helps you anchor your negotiations to a number range that suits you. Use open-ended questions to gain information. People are more likely to take offense if you ask them why they did something, so phrase questions using how and what instead. About the Author Fontini Iconomopoulos is a Schulich School of Business professor of MBA Negotiations. She works to empower Fortune 500 executive teams to achieve their goals. Ego is the Enemy Recommendation Best-selling author Ryan Holiday recommends that people stop jabbering, forget their narratives, restrain their passions, learn from everything they do, accept failure and never stop working. He offers anecdotes about professional athletes, politicians and business leaders who learned hard lessons about the dangers of ego as well as tales of quiet workers who made enormous differences and remained unknown. Holiday’s conversational style reads like getting advice from a good friend. His chapters are short and easy to understand, though some entries cover similar topics. The partial bibliography directs readers to an extensive reading list on Holiday’s website. getAbstract recommends his alternative approach to people with 234 an interest in self-improvement, not self-aggrandizement. He believes that the best way to move ahead is keep learning and to tame your ego – and he shows you how. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Ego seems necessary for success, but vesting in self-importance impedes your career. Being great is different from doing great things. Engaging in building a “personal brand” confuses accomplishing something with talking about it. Cultivate restraint to manage your feelings of pride or anger. “Clear the path” for others, and you’ll help determine the path they take. Ego undermines the connection and engagement with others that both allow success to grow. Goal visualization helps at the beginning of a project, but it can produce a misleading impression of progress. Maintain “a student mind-set” to keep your ego in check by acknowledging that you always have more to learn. Ego is “the disease of me”; this world is far greater than you. Abandon ego’s attachment to success and commit to a path of constant improvement. Summary What Is Ego? Anyone with ambition has ego. People who marshal their skills to meet their goals have ego. Artists, athletes, scientists and entrepreneurs achieve their objectives by harnessing the focus and desire to create and discover. But, too often, ego drives these activities. Ego is necessary for getting ahead. But “an unhealthy belief” in how important you are has the opposite impact and blocks your progress. “What makes us so promising as thinkers, doers, creatives and entrepreneurs, what drives us to the top of those fields, makes us vulnerable to this darker side of the psyche.” Ego encourages lazy, self-congratulatory fantasizing. Defined as “selfcentered ambition,” ego undermines the connection with others and the engagement that both allow success to grow. To assess your strengths accurately, embrace a blend of confidence and humility. Recognize that ego offers the comfort of self-satisfaction, but it’s self-absorbed and can blind you to opportunity. Aspiring to Greatness Greatness is often a quiet act. The late US Air Force fighter pilot and strategist John Boyd helped revolutionize modern warfare across the US 235 armed forces, but the general public doesn’t know of him. To emphasize the difference between working for recognition and working to get something accomplished, he asked the soldiers he commanded if they wanted “to be or to do.” Just being somebody is much easier than actually getting things done. “Ego is the enemy of what you want and of what you have: Of mastering a craft. Of real creative insight. Of working well with others. Of building loyalty and support. Of longevity. Of repeating and retaining your success.” Though popular wisdom encourages people “to find their passion,” that can be the wrong advice. Passion leads to enthusiasm at the expense of thoughtful deliberation. Passion’s energy and excitement can hide weaknesses that will eventually appear. Instead of impatient passion, seek purpose with reasons and goals. “We start out knowing what is important to us, but once we’ve achieved it, we lose sight of our priorities.” Practice restraint. Anger, resentment and pride cloud your thinking. You’re not special just because you went to a good school, work hard, or came from a rich or influential family. You may dislike it when your boss is rude or your colleagues are frustrating, but being reactive and claiming that you deserve better will get you nowhere. Such behaviors stem from ego. Being restrained lets you focus on the work at hand and value the lessons that emerge along the way. “The Canvas Strategy” The canvas strategy builds on the notion of restraint, of being “a canvas for other people to paint on.” Shift away from the short-term satisfaction of resentment and move toward embracing the long-term enrichment of selfdevelopment. To follow the canvas strategy, keep these ideas in mind when first starting out in the world of work: • • • You will probably need to improve and cultivate a better attitude. You “aren’t as good” as you may believe, nor as important. You don’t know everything, and you need to learn more than your education taught you. “Once you win, everyone is gunning for you. It’s during your moment at the top that you can afford ego the least – because the stakes are so much higher, the margins for error so much smaller.” Your success often will come alongside the success of others. Work to make other people’s jobs easier. While an initial sense of subservience might confound your ego, starting at the bottom gives you an opportunity to learn how something really works. Overcome your ego by finding ideas to share 236 with your boss. Introduce people who might collaborate. Do the small tasks others avoid. When you “clear the path” for other people, you help determine the course they’ll take. Problems with Narratives Be someone who does things rather than someone who talks a lot. Social media encourage talk instead of productivity. Posting updates on Facebook and Twitter misleads you into focusing on speech over action. Filling boxes with text promotes the false presentation of confidence, ability and accomplishment. Don’t believe your own self-promotion. That’s your ego inflating itself. “The more difficult the task, the more uncertain the outcome, the more costly talk will be and the farther from actual accountability.” Gawker blogger Emily Gould described the challenge she faced in completing her novel. She had a “six-figure book deal,” but her writing bogged down because she was always posting on Tumblr or Twitter or scrolling through websites. These were distractions from the real work she had to do, but she convinced herself that it was work: she was building her personal brand. In the relentless pursuit of building, curating or refining a personal brand, people lose sight of the difference between actual accomplishments and fictional advertisements of themselves. All that posting and all that talk use up the energy you need for your real work. Some people like to mutter the thoughts that are leading them through solving a problem, but some studies suggest that talking aloud slows the process of discovery. Likewise, goal visualization helps at the beginning of a project, but after a while it produces the misleading impression of progress. When a project is hard, talk does not help. “It takes a special kind of humility to grasp that you know less, even as you know and grasp more and more.” Stories of success make success seem inevitable. Looking back at your own story is dangerous because you can reject all the pieces that don’t fit the narrative you want to tell. Such a narrative can offer false clarity and distract you from remembering the work that enabled you to attain your goals. Narratives of success mislead by suggesting they are conclusive, that the story ends after success. But in life, the story continues. After you succeed, everyone wants to beat you. More than ever, you must work hard to maintain the success you strived to achieve. Learning Focus Pride is dangerous. It inhibits learning. Instead, maintain “a student mindset” to keep your ego in check by acknowledging that you always have more to learn. Success doesn’t make you a master. Frank Shamrock, a mixed martial arts world champion, teaches that everyone needs “a plus, a minus 237 and an equal.” Learn from someone who has more skill than you, someone who acts as a teacher. Gain from teaching someone who knows less than you, because being a professional requires understanding your task well enough to describe it to others. Working with someone at your level helps you cultivate finesse and dexterity. “Ego needs honors to be validated. Confidence…is able to wait and focus on the task at hand regardless of external recognition.” Maintaining a student mind-set is easier in the beginning of your career. Success brings the temptation to overestimate your knowledge. John Wheeler, a physicist who helped develop the hydrogen bomb, said, “As our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.” The more you know, the more you realize you need to learn. “The need to be better than, more than, recognized for, far past any reasonable utility – that’s ego.” Jazz great Wynton Marsalis once told an aspiring musician to be humble, explaining that humility is evident in those who don’t believe they already know everything. As you learn, discover the processes that enable you to learn most effectively. Repeat those procedures to ensure your continuous education. “A smart man or woman must regularly remind themselves of the limits of their power and reach.” The “theory of disruption” proposes that every industry will eventually encounter a change that no one predicted. When that happens, established business models – already too comfortable with their familiar approach – won’t respond effectively because they’ve stopped learning and growing. Newcomers are more agile; since they’re still in a learning mind-set, they see an opportunity to fill a market need and take advantage of it. They study their competitors to learn which changes would help them grow. “Standard of Performance” Professional football coach Bill Walsh established a Standard of Performance as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers. Over the course of three years, he took a team that earned ratings as one of the worst in the league and made it a Super Bowl champion. People told the story of this climb by saying Walsh had a vision of the team’s Super Bowl win and executed it. He refused to buy into that narrative. Instead, Walsh described how he focused on what the team members needed to do, when they needed to do it and how they should do it. “Impressing people is utterly different from being truly impressive.” 238 Walsh instilled a sense of excellence by insisting on small behavioral rules: Players must stand while on the practice field; coaches must appear in tucked-in shirts and ties; the locker room must be clean. Bill Walsh expected the team to perform well on the field and off. After winning the Super Bowl, the team had two terrible years because the players became overconfident and self-satisfied. The team had to accept that the Standard of Performance was their route to victory before they started to win again and became recurring champions. Accept Failure Mistakes are inevitable. Being an entrepreneur or creative person requires taking risks, and risks don’t always work out. The problem isn’t failing. The problem is identifying with failure. Ego believes that the only options are success or failure. That is ego confusion. Failure isn’t indicative of who you are, only of what you did. Ego tries to prove that failure is, or will become, success. “Unless we use this moment as an opportunity to understand ourselves and our own mind better, ego will seek out failure like true north.” When Dov Charney was the CEO of American Apparel, his practices cost the company some $300 million and the reputational damage of multiple scandals. When the board asked Charney to step aside, he refused. He then wasted a fortune on a useless lawsuit to vindicate himself. He lost, and faced public humiliation when the media published details that the case revealed about his behavior. “At every step and every juncture in life, there is the opportunity to learn – and even if the lesson is purely remedial, we must not let ego block us from hearing it again.” Steve Jobs was fired from Apple, the company he founded, because of his huge ego. Jobs was angry and fought the company’s decision, but he didn’t let it ruin him. He sold all but one share of Apple and decided to try again. Learning from his management failures, he funded the animation company Pixar and slowly rebuilt his reputation. He eventually returned to Apple, and made it an even better company than he could have built before learning such hard life lessons. “You can’t learn if you think you already know.” As with Jobs, failure is an opportunity to learn. When success begins to wane, don’t attach yourself even more tightly to your job, project or goal. Recognize that something went wrong; try to identify how your behavior contributed to that error and begin to change. 239 Check Yourself When people first succeed, they may indulge in wild behavior. Success can transform that confusion and erratic conduct into self-assurance and bravery. If your success came from a surprising guess, recognize that you didn’t know what would lead to success. When others applaud your greatness, stay sober. Consider Germany’s Angela Merkel, one of the most powerful women in the world. When Russian president Vladimir Putin tried to intimidate her by allowing his hunting dog to interrupt a meeting, she didn’t take it personally or react badly even though her dislike of dogs is common knowledge. In the midst of adversity, she remained “firm, clear and patient.” As Merkel once said, “You can’t solve…tasks with charisma.” Success has the adverse effect of making people feel larger than life. Stress reinforces their sense of importance. Similarly, rebukes or failures hurt people’s inflated egos. Tame your ego by observing the vastness of the universe; “meditate on immensity.” Observe nature. Find something that allows you to connect. Let go of ego’s desire for retaliation or its efforts to reinforce its value. See how grand the world is. Ego is “the disease of me,” but the world offers much more than you. Do things for the purpose of doing them. Let the effort be enough. When a project becomes focused on success alone, your ego is in control. Your work might incur ridicule or sabotage. Recognition may never arrive in the forms you seek: public praise, financial success or approval from the one person whose respect you want. Focus on your expectations, not someone else’s. Ego drives the desire to succeed. Let the effort you put into your work be success enough. If it’s not, then maybe this isn’t the work you should be doing. Learn What Matters to You Ego makes everything about the self. Genuine self-awareness diminishes ego by allowing the self to grow and change. Ask, “What’s important to you?” so that you focus on self-evaluation and not on external measures. Learn what matters to you so you can be true to yourself. Recognize that the world has much to continue teaching you. Abandon ego’s attachment to success. Commit, instead, to a path of constant improvement. About the Author Ryan Holiday is the former director of marketing at American Apparel and a best-selling author. He wrote The Obstacle Is The Way, Growth Hacker Marketing, and Trust Me, I’m Lying and co-wrote The Daily Stoic with Stephen Hanselman. 240 Ego check Recommendation Mathew Hayward’s unusual book draws upon mythology to establish a major business premise and then proves it statistically. The premise is that hubris (CEO arrogance) is usually the source of illogical corporate mistakes, such as overpayment for acquisitions. The author draws heavily upon his research and other studies about “behavioral decision theory” to back up the concept that great pride often brings on a great fall. This profundity is basic to the philosophy of Greek tragedy, Dante, Shakespeare and Milton. The author used this concept to analyze more than 100 corporate mergers. He found that CEOs were usually the decision makers behind substantial overpayments for acquisitions. He concludes that egomania and narcissism, but not courage and conviction, must be “checked at the door.” getAbstract recommends this interesting, thoughtful book. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Many mergers and acquisitions reflect executives’ excess pride. This “hubris” is often the chief culprit in business decisions that fail, particularly overpriced acquisitions. It leads to “false confidence” manifested by mistakes, solo decision making, “ungrounded” judgments and failure to see consequences. Leaders must observe the fine line between boldness and bravado. “Behavioral decision theory” explains overconfidence and its results. To see hubris at work, examine corporations that were harmed when excess confidence ruled, including Apple, Vivendi, Segway and Dell. Overconfidence badly distorts decision making. Avoid “kidding yourself.” Don’t let ego keep you from consulting others and heeding cautionary feedback. Prepare for the consequences of false confidence by studying its results, such as Merck’s Vioxx fiasco. Summary The Fall of Icarus The sin of “hubris,” or excess pride, carries a heavy price. Extreme ego or misplaced self-confidence often destroy the culprit, and his or her company and associates. A CEO’s arrogance can harm a company’s employees, stockholders and creditors. Excess confidence is widely evident in literary classics, such as the Hellenic myth of Daedalus and his son Icarus, who escaped from prison by using artificial wings that Daedalus invented. The son was so thrilled with flying that he arrogantly ignored his father’s advice, flew too close to the sun, melted the wax in his wings and plummeted to his death. “Business has seen more than its fair share of overweening pride.” 241 Business schools now teach students about “the Icarus Paradox,” which says that originality and confidence can lead to enormous success, but arrogance and pride generate disaster. This ancient wisdom applies to modern culture, especially to the actions of large corporations. Consider CEO Ken Lay at Enron. The Danger of Excess Con dence Overconfidence manifests itself in four intermingled, dangerous qualities: acting based on excessive pride, failing to get the right help, failing to evaluate the reality of a business problem or opportunity, and failing to face the consequences of a mistaken policy or action. These conditions present pitfalls for any CEO. Just one capitulation to any of these four deficiencies can produce “false confidence” and the potential for corporate tragedy on a mass scale. “The key is to check our decisions and actions, ahead of time, to determine whether they reflect authentic or false confidence.” Generally, an ego-powered chief executive drives most of the decisions that go wrong in corporate America, because most large companies operate under the rule of a CEO rather than following the instructions of a board of directors. Boards often rubberstamp a CEO’s actions rather than taking on the complexities of corporate decision making. “Leaders [must] embrace the consequences, positive and negative, of important organizational decisions.” Brilliant inventor Dean Kamen had several significant successes before he launched the Segway personal transporter, an upright scooter. While the Segway has had some success in airports, theme parks and other venues, it has not yet revolutionized transportation as Kamen predicted. His company lost a fortune on its launch and early manufacturing because the market reality defeated his expectations. Apparently he had trouble building a senior management team because he micromanages. He also underestimated the impact of regulatory issues; for instance, San Francisco banned the Segway from its sidewalks. Reality Check: Don’t “Kid Yourself” In many ways, excess self-confidence is bred into the United States’ economic and social system. Myriad Americans are full of optimism and willing to take on tremendous challenges. Stock market investors, from simple amateurs to professional traders, often engage in hubristic actions. Most of them know the stock market is a “zero sum game” (an almost equal split between winners and losers). Nevertheless, millions of traders acting with arrogant pride bet heavily that they can “beat the market.” “Telling executives like (Herb) Kelleher and (Lou) Gerstner to check their egos at the door is like telling a kangaroo to walk backwards – the kangaroo will not listen and...the advice cannot work.” This overconfidence extends to individual attitudes toward personal health. Surveys show that many Americans believe they enjoy better-than-average health. They think they have a lower risk of cancer than everybody else. Were it fi 242 not for overconfidence, many more people would give up cigarettes, alcohol and fattening foods. The implication is very serious. When people underestimate their chances of becoming ill, they avoid checkups. “Successful leaders can also be proud, charismatic and extroverted.” Businesspeople regularly exhibit a lack of balance between the confidence they need to succeed and the danger of an overbearing ego, manifested as “getting too full” of yourself. Steve Jobs built Apple Computer, which has a long, oscillating history of success and failure. Having made initial, prideful mistakes by shutting out cooperation with Microsoft on the MacIntosh and NeXT computers, and by emphasizing product design over functionality, Jobs learned his lesson. “Obviously, not all autocratic managers become victims of the false confidence that induces hubris.” The iPod debuted with both hot looks and high performance – and it ran on a Windows platform from the very beginning, despite Jobs’ aversion to all things Gates-related. Apple also created an entirely new alliance with the music industry by building piracy protections into iTunes, which has sold more than one billion songs as Apple has sold more than 50 million iPods. “There are few more disastrous components of decision making than a failure to get – and act upon – feedback.” Despite Jobs’ reputation for “exaggerated pride” at times, this achievement is “grounded” in proof, market feedback and actual accomplishment. Decisions based on false confidence are often based on “selective,” “speculative” or “hapless” judgment, instead of being rooted in evidence. Failure to Anticipate Consequences Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, one of the 20th century’s most successful CEOs, lived a genuine rags-to-riches story. Born just before the crash in 1929, he was the son of a New York City candy store owner. He served as an Army Ranger in Normandy on D-Day and helped liberate Dachau. He won a Bronze Star as a captain in the Korean War. He went to work for AIG and became its CEO within seven years. He took over in 1967 when the stock was valued at $300 million. Under his leadership, it climbed to $150 billion some 40 years later. Greenberg owned about $2 billion in AIG shares, but arrogance brought him down. “[Merck management’s] false confidence may have lapsed into a culture of executive hubris.” In 2005, the SEC charged Greenberg with irregularities and fraudulent practices, including manipulating the value of AIG stock. The company agreed that it had overstated profits by nearly $4 billion and paid a settlement of about $2 million. Greenberg’s behavior had all the earmarks of a man who believed he was “invincible or untouchable,” a key symptom of hubris. He retired and his sons left the company they had been trained to run. Mergers: The Extent of Hubris 243 A merger or acquisition can be as nerve-wracking as warfare, particularly when ego rules. Take the merger of America Online (AOL) and Time Warner, which took effect on January 10, 2001. The union between CEOs Steve Case of AOL and Gerald Levin of Time began and ended in a remarkable display of hubris. “While there is nothing wrong with celebrity per se, it becomes an issue because, as [Michael] Dell puts it, ‘It’s easy to fall in love with how far you’ve come and how much you’ve done’.” Levin led the acquiring team in concluding the $350-million deal, which cost Time’s stockholders tens of millions of dollars in share value. AOL also saw its shares collapse rather than soar. Levin naively or arrogantly paid a high 70% premium in this fiasco of clashing corporate missions and cultures. He later told the press that he deliberately did not take protective insurance on behalf of his company because “I wanted to make a statement I believe in.” “Hubris may be humanity’s cardinal sin.” Megastar, an M&A research firm, recorded an average of more than 5,000 mergers and acquisitions globally each year from l970 through 2005. The low level was about 2,000 each in l987 and l992. In contrast, 11,000 mergers or acquisitions took place in 2000 and 2005. Megastar estimated the value of U.S. mergers in 2005 as more than $1.2 trillion. “We can stop hubris in its tracks by recognizing and managing the false sources of confidence ahead of time.” An analysis of 100 mergers in 2005 showed that “companies led by more hubristic CEOs – those with more recent media praise, successful performance” and superior salaries, “paid higher premiums.” That probably expresses personal biases rather than logical data analysis. An inflated premium can indicate the presence of a CEO with a swollen ego and an abnormal level of self-confidence. How can companies ride herd on CEO hubris? First, decide where decisionmaking powers reside. For example, General Electric “makes better deals by removing (its CEO) from acquisition pricing.” The Nightmare Results of Hubris Warren Buffett, a veteran of all types of investing, likened managers who make oversize payments for acquisitions to the mythical prince trapped in a frog’s body and brought back to human form by the mere kiss of a gorgeous princess. Buffett said the overpaying CEOs “are certain their managerial kiss will do wonders for the profitability” of the target company they are buying. Sometimes it does; more often it does not, for reasons that occur over and over: Reason 1: Failure to seek support and advice Marketing whiz Carly Fiorina was featured on the cover of Fortune magazine as a landmark female executive. A year later, she was enthroned as CEO of HewlettPackard. 244 “Understanding how hubris can wreck careers, companies and even lives may motivate us to manage those sources ahead of deciding and acting.” The transition was not easy. As she grew more autocratic and mistrusting, she absorbed many of her subordinates’ jobs and reduced the number of people reporting directly to her from 15 to six. She gloried in the job, enjoying such perks as a private jet. She pursued and landed an acquisition that was a dubious fit: the purchase of Compaq. The buyout was structured to eject hundreds of experienced Compaq executives and also led to the early departure of Compaq’s CEO. In her power play, Fiorina “effectively became the firm’s chairwoman, CEO, president and COO...but her failure to empower people to make key decisions was eroding her circle of influence.” “We must become more aware of heedfully managing our confidence.” HP’s financial results weakened. Fortune magazine came back to reveal Fiorina’s shortcomings. After six years on the job, she was dubbed “Fortune’s Fool.” A week later, she was canned. Reason 2: Delusion and denial Merck spent $2.5 billion to develop Vioxx , a COX-2 inhibitor “wonder drug” used primarily to treat stomach problems. The medication was discovered in l994, exactly when Ray Gilmartin became Merck’s chairman. Several of the firm’s medicines were soon going off patent and the stock price already was dropping in anticipation of poor financial results, so Merck rushed Vioxx through testing. In the middle of its development, internal and external scientists informed the organization repeatedly that the new drug could increase heart attacks “and may kill.” But the company launched it for trial use in January 1999, and the FDA approved it for marketing six months later. Two years later, in response to science articles and “Vioxx deaths,” the FDA required Merck to include a phrase on its label saying that Vioxx posed a “possible” risk of heart attack. On September 30, 2004, Merck pulled “its $2.5 billion Vioxx medicine from the market after 20 million Americans (had) taken it.” Merck shares lost $20 billion in stockholder value. Merck gave Gilmartin a $35 million golden handshake and replaced him with a longtime insider. A few months later, on August 19, 2005, a jury in Texas awarded $250 million in damages done to one Vioxx user. That year, an FDA scientist writing in a major medical journal estimated that Vioxx “may have caused up to 140,000 excess cases of serious coronary disease in the U.S.” Maintaining Perspective You and your company can reduce excessive conceit. The strongest antidote is to take pride only in achievements with widespread benefits. 245 To circumvent exaggerated self-importance, take these steps: • • • • • • • • • • Consider the consequences of every decision before you move ahead. Make sure your decisions are good for the business and yourself. Be consistent in your behavior and choices. Get the job done rather than positioning yourself to impress management. Discount plaudits from those who may have ulterior motives for praising you. Share the praise with others who helped complete a successful deal. “Avoid treating compensation as the sole objective.” Keep your compensation separate from your sense of pride. Don’t embellish; refrain from being self-serving or exaggerating your abilities. Don’t assume you can transfer your proven abilities in one area to another realm. Be sure your pride in an accomplishment is “grounded,” that is, realitybased. About the Author Mathew Hayward served in the Wall Street battlefield as a venture capitalist and investment banker. He turned to academe in 1992 to earn a Ph.D. at Columbia. He is now an assistant professor at the University of Colorado business school, a management consultant and a leading researcher on “hubris.” Courage is calling Recommendation Everyone feels the call to display courage at key points in their lives. Wise people listen to that calling and take action, writes best-selling author and podcast host Ryan Holiday. Courage is an essential component of living a virtuous life, he explains, yet it’s rarer than it should be because far too many people choose to live in fear. Drawing from sources such as Stoic philosophy and comparative mythology, Holiday exhorts readers toward courageous self-actualization with calm, clear advice. Fear-based decisions may help you feel safe, but raise the biggest risk of all, he says: wasting your short time on earth “playing small.” Take-Aways • • • Four virtues – courage, temperance, justice and wisdom – comprise the good life. Courageous action is a rarity because many people live in fear. Believe in your own agency to live an authentic selfactualized life. 246 • • • • • One courageous person can inspire a social movement. Don’t hesitate to do the right thing. Accept criticism and overcome your fear of people labeling you as “difficult.” Nobody can force you to betray your morals or surrender your power. Heroes selflessly risk their lives to benefit the collective good. People or events may break a hero, but she or he will heal and grow – not surrender. Summary Four virtues – courage, temperance, justice and wisdom – comprise the good life. The Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius regarded the four virtues of courage, temperance, justice and wisdom as “touchstones of goodness.” These “cardinal virtues” appear in texts from the ancient world from Christianity to Hinduism. The Greek philosopher Aristotle, for example, stressed that, as a harpist learns by playing the instrument, you become virtuous by practicing virtuous actions. You have multiple opportunities to choose virtue every day. The Greek root of the word “virtue” is arete, which translates roughly as “excellence.” Choosing virtue means choosing mental, physical and moral excellence. “There is nothing we prize more than courage, yet nothing is in shorter supply.” Courage can be physical – for example, saving someone from a burning building – or moral – for example, acting as a whistleblower. Both kinds are valuable and involve risk, sacrifice and determination that many people fail to display. Instead of doing the right thing, people often opt to do what feels safe. Courage is a rarity because many people live in fear. Brave people muster the ability to overcome fear. Comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell codifies the “Hero’s Journey”: a nearuniversal story arc in which mythical heroic characters progress through different stages before embracing their true destiny. When these potential heroes first receive “the call to adventure,” most don’t respond heroically. Their fear leads them to the next stage, which Campbell calls “the refusal of the call”: They choose something they perceive as safe to avoid the risks that embracing their life’s purpose raise. Like mythic heroes, anyone who ends up in the annals of history discovers that triumphing over fear is the “defining battle” of their 247 existence. This crucial moment – when you accept the call to change the world, to defy others’ expectations or to rise above your current position of power to be of greater service to others – requires courage. “It’s good that it’s hard. It deters the cowards, and it intrigues the courageous.” Logic helps you transcend fear. Investigate your anxious, fearful thoughts and consider the facts of the situation from a more objective perspective. Tell yourself that the worst-case-scenario version of events is unlikely to occur. Even if the worst does happen, remind yourself that you have the capacity to manage the situation. Practice empathy to discover how other people cope with their fears. Stop viewing your obstacles as negative forces blocking your path to success. Embrace them as valuable opportunities to challenge yourself. Don’t judge others for showing cowardice. Nobody can understand another person’s journey or the inner struggles he or she might face. Choose to believe in your own agency, and live an authentic self-actualized life. Nothing and nobody will give you agency. You must seize your agency and believe you have the power to change your circumstances. Your perception of your agency determines the power you have to change your life. You may be a billionaire, but if you feel you are a victim of circumstances rather than their creator, you will regard yourself as powerless, and indeed, you will be. Embracing your belief in yourself requires overcoming cynicism and nihilism, and understanding that there are things in life worth risking everything – and perhaps even dying for. Seek inspiration in heroes of the past who survived against all odds and stood up for what they believed. Embrace this tradition rather than the fear-based traditions of followers. “We choose what voice we will listen to. We choose whether we’ll play it safe, think small, be afraid, confirm, hide or be cynical.” Any meaningful growth requires a leap of faith and the courage to create the life you truly desire. You may feel that avoiding decisions helps you avoid consequences, but that’s a fallacy. Not making a choice to take courageous action supports the status quo by surrendering your agency. There is no such thing as certainty. Life is fundamentally uncertain, given that everyone must die. Being complicit in systems you don’t support and failing to harness the power of your unique gifts poses the greatest dangers you will encounter. Rise to the challenge by authentically showing up as 248 yourself, rather than the version of you others want you to be.Fear is not the enemy. Fear can be a potent source of information that directs you toward your biggest growth opportunities as you work toward selfactualization. One courageous person can inspire a social movement. Don’t hesitate to do the right thing. Sometimes, you must take courageous action alone. Yet, if you persevere, you will inevitably find a collective of people who share your commitment to a higher cause and support you. When Germany seized France in 1940, for example, one man’s courageous stance helped save his nation. Charles de Gaulle, an undersecretary of defense and brigadier general in the French army, urged the French people to continue to fight in a BBC broadcast, exclaiming “France is not alone! She is not alone!” In reality, France had lost, with many French soldiers – whom the British rescued – giving up to live in Nazi-occupied France. Courage is contagious, and de Gaulle’s public stance became symbolic of the united French resistance it ignited. One person can make a tremendous difference and create a majority. If you feel the call, don’t wait for someone else to inspire you. Don’t believe you need to know how to solve every subsequent problem. Others will find your momentum contagious and help you finish what you start. “The belief that an individual can make a difference is the first step. The next is understanding that you can be that person.” The Stoic philosopher Seneca famously described his pity for people who never face misfortune: “You have passed through life without an opponent,” he said. “No one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you.” When you face challenges, ask yourself if you have the courage to do what’s right, even if it’s difficult. Will you stand firm, or will you run away? Accept criticism and overcome your fear of being labeled “dif cult.” The greater good of society benefits from people who speak their truths, even when they conflict with the interests of the status quo. These people have different roles – whistleblowers, artists or comedians, for example – but share a willingness to publicly critique fi 249 the things with which they disagree. To be brave, overcome your fear of public criticism, knowing that people will, at some point, say you’re crazy or treat you like you’re difficult. It is not brave to please everyone all the time – even if you could – and you’re unlikely to make history doing so. “They’re going to call you crazy – because courage is crazy.” Overcome your fear of making mistakes, because inaction in moments that demand courageous action guarantees failure. Sometimes, you only have a few seconds to act courageously. Don’t let your fear of failure or possible embarrassment impede you. When the instant to take courageous action arises, focus on the present moment rather than entertaining a barrage of anxious thoughts about problems you might face in the future. Move out of your comfort zone each day to build a habit of overcoming fear. Perhaps this entails admitting when you don’t know the answer in a conversation, for example, or simply turning the water cold in the shower. Nobody can force you to betray your morals or surrender your power. Ease the path of courageous action by acknowledging that you are sovereign. Nobody has the right to abuse you or commit injustices against you. When people misuse their power, you don’t solve anything by reacting with submission. Seneca said that if you feel someone can force you to commit wrongdoing, you have “forgotten how to die.” Even if you feel you’re fighting a losing battle, relentlessly pursue your version of the good to protect yourself, others and your self-respect. Moments may arise that demand physical courage or violence to protect the moral good. For example, if someone threatens a loved one, you may need to react protectively with physical aggression. That said, never recklessly take action and create unnecessary risks in a moment of egomania. Always temper courage with the wisdom of moderation. Sometimes, courage requires retreating from a situation you can no longer endure, while embracing the risk and uncertainty of the unknown. “They can hurt you. They can yell at you. They can do horrible things. But you are not powerless. In fact, you have more power than you know.” Being courageous means overcoming the desire to avoid challenging situations – to give up or procrastinate instead of embracing your duty. Avoidance doesn’t work because when you fail to do the job you 250 agreed to do, you only force someone else to do it, or you create future impediments for yourself. Courage often entails mustering the belief that while the odds may be against you, you can beat them. People, like doctors and soldiers, whose roles require them to courageously perform their duties in high-risk situations, bravely take action even when failure seems possible or imminent. Reflect on whether you use your difficult circumstances as a chance to seize opportunities, or as a justification to fail to take action, thus allowing yourself to descend into despair. Paralysis never contributes to a solution. Heroes sel essly risk their lives to bene t the collective good. Stoic philosophers referred to heroism as “greatness of soul,” or Megalopsuchia. Courage is rare, but the courage that makes you truly heroic is even more so. Heroes surpass the demands of duty by risking their lives for others, sometimes even dying, so others can live – humbling all who benefit from their sacrifice. Heroism occurs when people display a selfless love for others that defies reason and embodies human greatness. External validation or reward don’t motivate true heroes. Their motivation lies in the desire to make a meaningful difference that benefits others, now and in the future. “If courage by itself is unreasonable, then love in this higher form – the truly selfless kind – is insane. It is baffling in its majesty.” Heroes must often suffer grim consequences for their actions. Many visionary, principle-driven individuals find their communities ostracize them. Others suffer physical harm, as, for example, prisoners of war do when undergoing torture for their refusal to share information about their nation. After Galileo disrupted the heliocentric paradigm of the universe by boldly asserting his truth – that the earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around – religious authorities placed him under house arrest for the rest of his days. Reflect on what you love above all else. Perhaps it’s a cause, such as Galileo’s scientific truth, your nation or your comrades. Let that love power you to stand up for what you believe in, even when you risk losing everything. People or events may break a hero, but she or he will heal and grow – not surrender. Being a hero means accepting that, while life may break your spirit, your only choice is to focus on healing to grow stronger and keep being fi fl 251 of service. Heroes don’t abandon their cause or surrender. Nobody can defeat a hero if he or she doesn’t give up or abandon courage. “ A hero gets back up. They heal. They grow. For themselves and others.” Heroes understand that, sometimes, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, silence constitutes betrayal – and they choose to keep fighting, even when afraid or when they risk losing everything. Their belief in the collective benefit of their mission trumps self-interest.They keep hope alive, rather than succumbing to despair. Heroes know they can’t build a better future without believing in it. About the Author Host of The Daily Stoic podcast Ryan Holiday also wrote Trust Me, I’m Lying, Ego Is the Enemy, Conspiracy and The Obstacle Is the Way. Make it stick Recommendation Professors Peter Brown, Mark McDaniel and Henry Roediger share insights from decades of learning research. Their work suggests that the majority of learners and teachers still practice outdated methods. These include the obvious: Don’t cram for exams – space out learning instead. But other techniques – such as mixing up the concepts and steps of a complex skill or knowledge set instead of mastering one element before moving on to the next – are less intuitive. Nevertheless, the authors’ research proves the nontraditional techniques are more effective than earlier approaches. The structure of the book reflects the professors’ advice, repeating ideas frequently and mixing concepts. This makes reading it harder – but it may make the ideas stick. Take-Aways • • • • You can use different strategies to learn something. But there is no learning without memory. Spaced out, repeated practice is more effective than cramming. “Interleaved and varied practice” counteracts forgetting. “Practice like you play.” 252 • • • • • “Effortful retrieval” from memory reinforces the underlying neuronal correlates. Employ mnemonics techniques to remember multiple items. Heed what you don’t know, and beware your biases. Reject the myth of matching instructional design with a learner’s best learning style. Adopt a can-do attitude. Summary You can use different strategies to learn something. But there is no learning without memory. For decades or longer, experts regarded intelligence as innate and immutable. But recent research in behavioral science, psychology and neuroscience refutes this, along with much accepted wisdom about how people learn. “For the most part, we are going about learning in the wrong ways, and we are giving poor advice to those who are coming up behind us.” Memories are formed through learning. But learning can occur in many ways and there are several strategies you can employ. Teachers and instructors often fail to consult peer-reviewed, controlled research findings and/or adjust their methods. Many instructors remain stuck on the outmoded notions that rereading, repeating specific elements of a wider skill or knowledge base, and cramming produce the best results. Spaced out, repeated practice is more effective than cramming. Instructors often pin a course’s grade on one or two exams per course or semester. As a consequence, cramming and rereading before an exam are popular practices among students. However, a series of shorter quizzes throughout a semester, each accounting for a small part of the overall grade, is more effective in the long term. “Rereading text and massed practice of a skill or new knowledge are by far the preferred study strategies of learners of all stripes, but they’re also the least productive.” At Columbia Middle School in Illinois, for example, teachers use frequent quizzes, flash cards, writing exercises and student presentations. Teachers space repetition, present it in different formats, and encourage students to attach the learning to prior knowledge while reproducing it in their own words. Teachers use quizzes and tests so they and students can gauge progress and identify areas for greater focus. At Washington University in St. Louis, Professor Andrew Sobel uses similar methods. For years, he graded students only on a midterm and final exam, but found students attended few of his lectures. He switched to surprise quizzes. Students hated them, and many dropped out of his course. Sobel then introduced a series of scheduled quizzes. Students knew these tests were coming and that the tests counted, which gave them the incentive to prepare. Attendance soared, and 253 dropouts decreased. Students loved the new approach because it offered fast feedback and opportunities for targeted studying, and because one poor quiz performance didn’t jeopardize a course grade. Frequent small tests and quizzes give students the spaced practice that improves memory retention and retrieval. Repetition reinforces the neuronal connections that are formed through learning. “Interleaved and varied practice” counteracts forgetting. More challenging learning can potentially yield greater benefits. One example is “interleaving” topics by studying all parts of a skill at once instead of in sequence. You rapidly forget about 70% of what you read or hear. Spacing out retrieval practice – through quizzes or tests – interrupts the “forgetting curve.” Trying to answer questions or solve problems before you receive instruction (“generative learning”) appears to spark curiosity, priming your brain’s receptors to encode and embed learning. “The more effort you have to expend to retrieve knowledge or skill, the more the practice of retrieval will entrench it.” For decades, teachers and coaches believed in the massed practice approach. You isolate a movement, such as a mid-court forehand in tennis, or long, decimal division in math. This repetition yields fast but fleeting results. These results might translate into desired outcomes if tennis matches and math exams unfolded according to script. When baseball batters, for example, focus their practice only on curve balls or sliders – concentrating in later sessions on fastballs – they don’t hit nearly as well in games as players who practice hitting all pitches in the same session. “Making mistakes and correcting them builds the bridges to advanced learning.” Your performance improves over time if you introduce variety and simulate reallife situations. In experiments, students who break problems down to practice the parts discretely score significantly lower on exams than those who mix up problems in practice. Intuitively, it makes sense to teach people one part or stage of a job at a time, waiting until they master the easier parts before moving on. But you’ll gain better results by interleaving practice – moving between and within steps and levels. Your trainees will make more mistakes and perhaps believe they’re failing. But they will retain more. Providing feedback to learners and encouraging trial and error emphasize more difficult, active learning over easier, passive learning. Varied practice might build better skills because it engages distributed networks of the brain. “Practice like you play.” A coach for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team drilled his players as most coaches did, by repeating the same plays over and over from the same place on the ice. When he moved to the Chicago Blackhawks, the coach drilled different types of passes from different parts of the ice, under circumstances that more closely 254 resembled true game conditions. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Blackhawks went on to become world champions. This learning practice works whether identifying bird types, studying art history or mastering legal jurisprudence. “It’s not just what you know, but how you practice what you know that determines how well the learning serves you later.” A math textbook might address problem types in sequence, chapter by chapter. But on an exam, students see all types of problems, and usually not in any particular order. Studying should reflect this reality. You can introduce contrast by, say, tackling different types of math problems or studying different styles of paintings in the same session. That approach enables you to perceive differences that help you discern nuances and discriminate between types. Practice like you play, whether you fly jets or perform surgeries. Practicing like you play is especially effective when your work might cost or save lives. It means on-the-job, experiential learning and/or simulations. Don’t rely on variety alone. Repeat experiential practice around specific skills. Train each skill separately so you don’t repeat one thing mindlessly. You must think and remember. When you master something, don’t set it aside. Revisit it occasionally to maintain memory. “Effortful retrieval” from memory reinforces the underlying neuronal correlates. After memories have been encoded by your brain they may be consolidated to form a long-term memory. During memory retrieval, you recall what you have learned earlier. At this point, making an effort can be beneficial in many ways. For example, as one form of effortful retrieval, spaced out practice reinforces the neuronal routes. As memories are reconsolidated, learning can be deepened. Effortful practice over thousands of hours can also allow you to combine several related aspects of a subject or skill into a mental model. Mental models then enable you to respond fast and expertly to a trigger. “The more we learn, the more possible connections we create for further learning.” It’s therefore beneficial to design learning to make it reasonably difficult and challenging. Employ mnemonics techniques to remember multiple items. Attach difficult-to-remember things to memorable phrases or images, such as the mnemonic “I Value Xylophones Like Cows Dig Milk” for remembering ascending categories of Roman numbers from one to 1,000. “Memory palaces” involve associating new concepts with familiar places, such as your bedroom. For example, your desk may become the first step in solving an equation, your chair the next, and your bed the third. This helps you remember as you visualize your room from desk to chair to bed. 255 Heed what you don’t know, and beware your biases. In most cases and for most daily decisions, automatism kicks in: This is what Daniel Kahneman in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow calls “System 1” subconscious thinking. System 1 thinking gets you through the day by not taxing your limited cognitive reserves to perform smaller, routine and repetitive tasks or mental chores. Sometimes, however, you can’t leave decisions to intuition. Pilots can suffer illusions under certain conditions, for example. In these cases they must deliberately fight System 1, which may tell them they’re climbing when they’re actually descending. “By wading into the unknown first and puzzling through it, you are far more likely to learn and remember the solution than if somebody first sat you down to teach it to you.” Your memories can change and suffer biases, particularly from the neat narratives you and others forge to describe the past and to make sense of life, or even from the power of suggestion. A wide range of biases can affect your thinking and memory, especially System 1 thought. To solve problems and make unfamiliar decisions, engage “System 2” – deliberate, conscious and slow thinking. This enables you to create increasingly complex mental models that gradually – through repeated use of System 2 – turn even complex routines into habits System 1 can manage. This degree of mastery, however, may cause you to underestimate how long it will take others to learn things you know cold. Again, slow down and let learners build their mental models using System 2. Learners who read about and believe they deeply understand a challenging concept tend to delude themselves. Until they have rewritten concepts in their own words, applied them to past knowledge and/or used them in practical application, they haven’t mastered anything. Help learners assess their performance and knowledge. For example, show them their test results in comparison with those of people with true mastery of the topic, and ask your learners to assess their gaps. This helps learners overcome biases and other obstacles. Pair learners with peers who have more experience, as airlines do with pilots or as interns pair with physicians. Use frequent, spaced testing and retrieval to allow learners and instructors to gauge progress, calibrate feedback and learning, and to build lasting competence. Consider “dynamic testing” – using results from tests to tailor subsequent lessons or other learning exercises on the basis of the learner’s knowledge gaps. Avoid catering to individual styles, but help learners discover their idiosyncratic strengths and intelligences, and apply those to help students learn. Reject the myth of matching instructional design with a learner’s best learning style. People may have learning preferences, but scientists have recently questioned the usefulness of the popular practice of matching teaching styles to those preferences. As a teacher, consider your instructions in terms of how it best 256 enables learning. Widen your approach as much as you can to engage learner’s “multiple forms of intelligence.” Some learners utilize more successful habits than others. Those who recognize key elements of the learning and who build mental models create advantageous learning structures or frameworks. “Everyone has learning preferences, but we are not persuaded that you learn better when the manner of instruction fits those preferences.” These learners build on concepts and can apply learning from one area more readily to another than those who memorize what they learn. Adopt a can-do attitude. Learning success largely comes down to believing you can do it. When kids adopt the attitude that they can learn anything, the chances that they will do so are higher. “Our brains are capable of much greater feats than scientists would have thought possible even a few decades ago.” Teachers and parents help kids more by praising their efforts than by telling them they’re smart. A person who believes he or she has natural talent may resist putting in the necessary thousands of hours of deliberate practice. About the Authors Washington University in St. Louis psychology professors Henry L. Roediger and Mark A. McDaniel study the psychology of learning. Peter C. Brown lives and writes in St. Paul, Minnesota. The burnout x Recommendation Burnout is a pervasive social problem in the United States. It leaves workers feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. In some cases, it can even cause death. Psychologist and Stanford University graduate Jacinta M. Jiménez believes today’s organizations need to do more than just treat the symptoms of burnout – they need to learn to prevent it altogether. In this practical text, Jiménez offers tools to stop burnout before it begins. The key, she argues, is to foster resilience on both an individual and an organizational level. With her science-backed “PULSE” practices, you can learn to lead a more purpose-driven life and support your team members’ well-being. fi 257 Take-Aways • • • • • • • • Success in the modern workplace takes more than grit – it requires resilience. Develop five capabilities to avoid burnout. Cultivate a healthy performance pace. Reduce distracting thoughts and work toward mental clarity. Prioritize leisure time. Strengthen your social wellness. Manage your energy carefully and live a purpose-driven life. Lead healthy teams by embracing agency, benevolence and community. Summary Success in the modern workplace takes more than grit – it requires resilience. In today’s global, hyperconnected world, people often believe that career success requires them to take on unsustainable volumes of work and be constantly available to tackle work-related tasks. Yet when you exert an unsustainable level of effort for too long, burnout often results. A Deloitte survey revealed that more than three-quarters of workers had experienced burnout in their jobs. High levels of workplace stress lead to an estimated 120,000 deaths per year. “It doesn’t matter if you work harder or smarter; if you neglect to also nurture a steady personal pulse, your success will be short-lived.” Organizations often focus on how to help employees recover from workplace burnout, but what they really need to do is teach their people how to avoid it altogether. That goal calls for learning ways to cultivate personal and professional resilience. Develop ve capabilities to avoid burnout. To keep yourself from suffering from burnout, you should engage in “personal PULSE practices” – strategies for nurturing inner resilience. You must Pace yourself, Undo unhelpful thought patterns, engage in Leisure activities, build a Support system and Evaluate how you spend your time. If you follow the PULSE practices, you’ll improve your capabilities in five key areas of your life: 1. Behavioral – Boost your professional and personal growth by developing a healthy performance pace. 2. Cognitive – Rid yourself of unhealthy thought patterns. 3. Physical – Embrace the power of leisure as a strategy to protect and restore your reserves of energy. fi 258 4. Social – Build a diverse network of social support to make yourself more adaptable and improve your thinking. 5. Emotional – Don’t let others control your priorities or time. Evaluate the effort you exert, and take control yourself. Cultivate a healthy performance pace. People tend to romanticize successful people, framing them as fundamentally different from ordinary individuals. But while it’s tempting to assume that J.K. Rowling, for example, had overnight success with her Harry Potter series, she actually worked on the first book for seven years, and faced rejections from a dozen publishers. Most successful people achieve their dreams via “deliberate practice”: They tackle their goals by breaking them into smaller concrete steps to help avoid cognitive and emotional exhaustion. “We love the idea of a ‘natural-born talent’ who defies normal human capabilities. But does our love affair with mavericks make sense?” Create a framework to ensure you sustainably work toward your goals via the “three P’s”: 1. Plan – Assess your skills and knowledge levels. Then, progressively push yourself slightly outside your comfort zone as you progress toward bigger goals. Keep goals realistic, feasible and specific. 2. Practice – Commit to continuous learning, treating your discovery process as a series of experiments. Get feedback and approach your experiments with deep focus. Don’t fear failure, as you can learn from it. Keep a log, consistently tracking your progress and learning. 3. Ponder – Once you’ve learned via experimentation and gathered feedback, leverage this knowledge to help you achieve your broader goal, and improve your approaches to strategy and experimentation. Ask yourself what did and didn’t work for you in the past, and how you could improve results in the future. Don’t forget to celebrate your small achievements as you approach success. Reduce distracting thoughts and work toward mental clarity. Rid yourself of stress-inducing cognitive distractions by embracing the “three C’s” of mental clarity: 1. Curiosity – Be curious about your thought patterns. Identify recurring thoughts. Then ask yourself if they’re grounded in reality and if you can find evidence to support your assumptions. Noticing cognitive errors helps you cultivate greater self-awareness. 2. Compassion – Overcome negative self-talk by practicing selfcompassion. Rather than fixating on the flaws you see in yourself, talk to yourself with kindness, the way you might talk to a close friend. 259 3. Calibration – Once you are more aware of the quality of your thoughts and have cultivated a broader, more realistic perspective on a given situation, ask yourself how you’d like to respond. For example, perhaps you’d like to act with compassion. Or you simply realize that you need more information. Cultivate more mental clarity and awareness by: • • • • • • • Stacking habits – If you’d like to embrace healthier habits, try bundling those new habits with ones you already engage in regularly, such as brushing your teeth. Scheduling reminders – Program your phone to remind you to check in with yourself three times a day, creating space to reflect on your thoughts. Breathing – Take long, deep inhalations and exhalations before reflecting. Writing down your thoughts – When engaging in the three C’s, write one or two sentences about each step. Learning about cognitive mistakes – People make several types of common errors. For example, are you engaging in binary thinking? Are you making assumptions about what others are thinking? Sticking with self-compassion – Being kind to yourself might feel awkward initially, but research confirms its positive benefits: increased levels of resilience, motivation and positive emotions, as well as a decreased tendency to get overwhelmed. Being consistent – If you practice the three C’s regularly, you can powerfully transform your neural pathways and boost your vitality. Prioritize leisure time. Media mogul Oprah Winfrey may have a never-ending to-do list, but she makes a point of unplugging from work and spending time in nature – going for walks with her dogs and working in her vegetable garden. The ability to enjoy stress-free leisure time is essential for Oprah, as it allows her to keep calm and centered, which, in turn, helps her handle the challenges life and work throw her way. If you want to protect yourself against burnout and improve your leadership skills, you too should find ways to prioritize leisure. Overcome the harmful myth that constantly working longer, faster and harder is the key to success. “ We mistake busyness for productivity. We value volume of output over the value of output. We no longer judge others by the quality of their responses – rather, we focus on how fast they respond.” Create more space for stress-busting leisure activities by prioritizing the “three S’s” in your everyday life: 1. Silence – Take control over the way you use your technological devices, reducing the mental fatigue you might experience from an 260 unnecessary onslaught of information and alerts. You can do this in small ways (such as not checking your phone when standing in a line) and in bigger ways (such as going on a meditation retreat). 2. Sanctuary – Most Americans spend 93% of their time inside. This is unfortunate, since time you spend in nature decreases the stresshormone cortisol and improves your mood, creativity, immunity and vitality. Schedule at least 20 to 30 minutes in nature per week, and try to leave your devices at home. 3. Solitude – Choose to spend time alone. Doing so activates your brain’s default mode network, improving your cognitive abilities by slowing down sensory input. Solitude can lead to greater levels of selfawareness, creativity and mental clarity. Strengthen your social wellness. Social wellness – when you feel you belong and can securely access support from your community – is an important contributor to good health. When you feel socially excluded, you activate the same regions in your brain that respond to physical pain — the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex. Research shows that workers who feel socially ostracized are less satisfied and committed to their work, and experience higher levels of physiological distress symptoms like headaches, muscle tension and back pain. By contrast, workers who feel a high sense of social belonging perform 56% better, take 75% fewer sick days and are 50% more likely to stay at their current jobs. “Loneliness doesn’t target a specific personality group such as introverts or extroverts — it can affect anyone. No one is immune to loneliness.” Decrease your risk of burnout and overcome feelings of social exclusion by embracing the “three B’s” of secure support: 1. Belonging – Strengthen your sense of belonging by actively working to be more compassionate. Display it cognitively by understanding others’ perspectives. Express it emotionally by empathizing with others, and show motivated compassion by strengthening your desire to take action to help others. Research shows that if you consistently practice loving kindness meditation (LKM) – mentally repeating phrases or sentiments expressing goodwill and care toward others – you’ll strengthen your sense of social well-being. 2. Breadth – Create a visual map of your “circles of support” by drawing four concentric circles: Place the names of those to whom you feel closest in the innermost circle, those who support you consistently during tough times in the second circle, and those with whom you engage regularly, but don’t view as confidants, in the third circle. Acquaintances go in your outermost circle. Notice the circles where support seems lacking, and try to address those gaps by expanding your network. You may want to join new hobby-centered 261 communities or change your daily patterns of social interaction, such as choosing to leave your neighborhood for lunch. 3. Boundaries – Reflect on your personal values, which illustrate your priorities. Choose the five that are most important to you. Consider what you need to do to cultivate more of these values in your life. Think about actions that would detract from these values. Using this information, write down your “boundary rules.” If, for example, you prioritize your family, you might refuse to take calls at home during certain hours. Make an effort to respect others’ boundaries, just as you’d expect people to respect yours. Manage your energy carefully and live a purpose-driven life. Overcome the myth that expending more effort is always better, and effectively manage your energy by embracing the “three E’s”: 1. Enduring principles – Identify a set of principles that can guide you in your current life stage. First, list the values and the skills you currently view as most relevant to your goals. Next, define the meaning behind the things you wish to pursue. Combine these elements to craft a mission statement to guide your actions. Use the following template: “Because I value X, I want to use my skills of Y to accomplish Z.” Finally, develop three principles, such as “practice gratitude” or “practice nonattachment,” to which you can commit as you work toward embodying your mission statement. 2. Energy expenditure – Take a week to assess how you spend your energy by tracking your activities, the people with whom you spend time and the environments you’re navigating. Determine how they make you feel. Rate these feelings on a scale of one to 10. If you realize certain situations, activities or people make you feel depleted, schedule more activities and encounters that energize you. Healthy relationships tend to restore your energy, and engender positive feelings such as mutual trust, respect and support. 3. Emotional acuity – Resist the tendency to ignore your emotions and embrace false positivity. Let yourself experience your full range of emotions, which will help you feel increased empathy for others and become a better problem solver. Strengthen your emotional intelligence by learning to better identify the emotions you feel. Start, perhaps, by learning a new word to describe an emotion every week. Treat your emotions as valuable information, and consider what they might be telling you. Lead healthy teams by embracing agency, benevolence and community. Lead resilient teams by cultivating a workplace culture that prioritizes the needs of people, and by employing the “ABC’s of Steady Pulse Teams And Organizations”: 1. A is for agency – Give team members a sense of agency by clarifying your expectations (explicit and implicit) for each individual’s role, 262 keeping the workloads and demands you make reasonable and feasible, and providing employees with opportunities to engage in professional and personal development. 2. B is for benevolence – Commit to doing no harm. Employ practices that rest on openness, trust, respect and equity in the workplace. Recognize employees for their accomplishments, and don’t tolerate dishonesty or unfairness. 3. C is for community – People find motivation at work through their desire to create positive social connections. Embrace practices that improve team members’ feelings of belonging, social inclusion and psychological safety. “How can my organization improve our employee experience to uncover and implement a fixed set of practices that bolster individual, team and organizational resilience?” Leaders who aim to put people first must commit to implementing practices that will increase resilience throughout all levels of their organizations. Use design thinking to continually improve the experience of people on your teams. Identify areas in need of improvement, develop solutions to bolster resilience levels, and deploy your solutions in the form of carefully monitored wellness initiatives. About the Author Dr. Jacinta M. Jiménez is a Stanford University and PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium graduate, a board-certified leadership coach and psychologist. Hyper-Learning Recommendation Quickening disruption is inevitable as AI and machines invade work that people once routinely performed, writes business professor Edward D. Hess. To help workers deal with this development, Hess prescribes lifelong learning, unlearning and relearning focused on creativity, collaboration and critical thinking – which people still do better than machines. His approach to learning is holistic, marrying mind, body and spirit – and it’s based on hundreds of journal articles, books and 17 years of teaching experience. Hess also offers numerous thought experiments, assessments and journaling exercises. Take-Aways 263 • • • • • • • • Hyper-learning demands continual learning, unlearning and relearning. Humans evolved to connect, cooperate and learn throughout their lives. Learning requires a quiet ego and safe environment. Inner peace facilitates optimal learning. A learning mind-set frees you from the fear of making mistakes. Make learning stick through behavioral change. Hyper-learning demands different ways of working. Promote trust, collaboration and communication within your team. Summary Hyper-learning demands continual learning, unlearning and relearning. To remain essential, workers must focus on the skills and abilities that machines perform poorly. These include soft skills such as critical thinking, improvisation, creativity, problem-solving, empathy and collaboration. As machines grow increasingly more capable, workers must stay a step ahead through continuous, focused learning and unlearning: “hyper-learning.” “The opportunity exists for all of us to continually rewire our brains, update our mental models and improve our thinking.” At present, humans outperform technologies in tasks requiring creativity, imagination, critical thinking and decision-making in conditions of ambiguity. Building these skills requires a mind and body approach combining physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological and social health. Humans evolved to connect, cooperate and learn throughout their lives. You must change and reinvent yourself at an unprecedented pace today, and do so many times in your lifetime. Dispense with the notion that you learn for the first one-third of your life and can forget about learning thereafter. Beware complacency. Continually question what you think you know, and connect with others to gain different perspectives, thoughts and ideas. “All learning occurs in conversations with yourself (deep reflection) or with others.” (psychology professor Lyle Bourne, Jr.) Open-mindedness, curiosity, focused listening and challenging your beliefs don’t come easily. Your brain naturally seeks to conserve energy and to protect your ego. Cognitive laziness and many blind spots caused by biases create barriers to hyper-learning. This renders you – like everyone else – a 264 “sub-optimal learner.” To optimize, you need other people to help you recognize and address your biases and overcome your cognitive resistance. Learning requires a quiet ego and safe environment. When listening, don’t think about how to reply or judge what you hear. Seek only to learn and understand. Pay deep attention. Hyper-learning needs a relaxed ego and a curious mind that remains open to new ideas. Set aside competition and self-promotion to engage in collaboration and experimentation. “Collective flow reflects a team becoming one – an emotionally integrated group of people devoid of fear and self-centeredness, totally engrossed in the common task.” Hyper-learning demands a psychologically safe and positive workplace that invites ideas from all. Everyone should feel safe to bring their authentic, whole selves to work, and caring teams must rally around a shared purpose and values. Command-and-control hierarchies – which impede or even forbid crucial openness, creativity and innovation – must give way to purpose, trust and strong relationships. These conditions often lead to “collective flow”: When team members think and collaborate almost as one person, losing their fears as barriers evaporate, their thinking crosses borders and performance soars. Inner peace facilitates optimal learning. Get your mind and body to a positive place that inspires meaningful conversations and learning. Inner peace comes from a quiet mind, body, ego and a positive emotional state; this peace forms the core of hyperlearning. Inner peace allows you to hear opposing ideas, build trust and see opportunity. With effort and practice, you can gain mastery over your mind and body. Prevent your mind from wandering by taking deep breaths and by monitoring your ego and emotions. “Inner peace comprises four key elements: a quiet ego, a quiet mind, a quiet body and a positive emotional state.” Don’t conflate your ideas or beliefs with your identity. Forge your identity around how well you listen, think, collaborate and learn. This helps you avoid reacting to triggers; you won’t worry about who likes you, care about sounding smart or become defensive when others disagree with you. Your mind and body aren’t separate; they influence each other. Quiet your mind and ego by practicing mindfulness meditation and appreciating and extending positive thoughts to others. Slow down, smile more, be kind, stay humble and don’t approach life or conversations as competitions. Listen to your body to recognize whether you feel tight or relaxed, anxious or open. Remain conscious of your body language as it sends positive or 265 negative signals during conversations. Subconsciously and imperfectly, your brain works constantly by recognizing – or inventing – patterns and making predictions to keep you safe. You can change your brain throughout your life. “Mindfulness meditation is actually inner peace superfood.” To make new neural connections – to learn, in other words – you must prevent your mind from wandering and from making assumptions or coming to conclusions based on fast, subconscious thinking. In addition to mindfulness meditation, go for a walk in nature, read or listen to a calming podcast to aid this process. These activities can take your brain off automatic mode, so it can focus, and you can think critically about new ideas or evaluate emotions your brain may conjure that can impede new learning and the creation of new neural pathways. Keep a journal to record your state of mind and body and to learn what activities, places, tasks and communities put you in a quiet, positive place. A learning mind-set frees you from the fear of making mistakes. No one can force you to learn. You need to want to adopt a hyper-learning mind-set, love it and pursue learning out of passion. Make learning personally meaningful by adopting a growth mind-set that opens you to learning and frees you from fear of mistakes, being wrong or feeling stupid. Shed those fears to create, consider opposing ideas, acknowledge what you don’t know, imagine and think critically – the very abilities you need to learn and remain essential in the workplace. These are also the very skills that no machine can develop. “We underestimate the magnitude of our ignorance, and we have been educated to avoid making mistakes, which means we tend not to take risks in exploring what is new or different.” Consider the teachings of some of history’s wisest people, such as Aristotle, Plato and Einstein. Plato believed you should be careful not to be swept up in constant stream of thoughts that dominate your day. He, and other towering philosophers, discussed the importance of mindfulness, curiosity, imagination and kindness. They advocated living the Golden Rule, adaptability, constant reading and continuous learning as the foundations of a successful life. What resonates most with you? To forge a hyper-learning mind-set, list 10 to 15 ideas, perceptions or thoughts in your journal that you discovered during your learning. Look for themes and compare the ideas you highlighted with the strengths you have and those you seek to develop. Make learning stick through behavioral change. 266 Put hyper-learning into practice through your behaviors. Think about how you learn. For example, do you learn by asking questions, remaining open, staying humble or keeping focused? Do you prefer quieting the ego, exploring, collaborating, testing assumptions or examining data and evidence? In your journal, list seven behaviors you find critical to your own learning. Then ponder the sub-behaviors that drive each of your seven behaviors. For example, if you chose “collaboration,” you might write “active listening” beneath. If “courage” appears on your list, add “challenging the status quo,” and/or “having difficult conversations.” “Behavior change requires the utmost self-discipline and daily effort and vigilance.” List the behaviors required to listen actively or others that impair active listening. This exercise results in a list of metrics against which to measure your progress. Reflect on your list and consider how it all comes together to encourage hyper-learning. Take Hess’s Hyper-Learning Mini-Diagnostic at: https://www.edhess.org/ blog/hyper-learning-mini-diagnostic. Analyze your results per the site instructions to gain further insight into your mind-set and areas in which you might improve. Re-create your story around your identity and what you must do to become a hyper-learner. Consider your fears and concerns and build your own business case for investing the time change demands. Choose one of your seven key behaviors – with its sub-behaviors – and begin working on it. Enlist a friend to keep you on track, measure your progress and ask experts for advice. Hyper-learning demands different ways of working. Even if you and the people on your team adopt the inner peace mind-set and behaviors necessary for hyper-learning, you all will not achieve optimal learning unless your work environment nurtures it. Unfortunately, most organizations still maintain outdated management practices based on fear and hierarchies. Leaders pretend to know it all, control and micromanage. Such environments stifle hyper-learning. Firms must instead emphasize collaboration, psychological safety, shared authority, autonomy, diversity, caring, trust, emotional intelligence and purpose. “Overbearing, all-knowing, elitist leaders will be severely challenged under the New Way of Working.” Seek to create a work environment that is a humanistic, “idea meritocracy” to which people bring their whole selves, engage with others warmly and have confidence in their leaders’ emotional intelligence. Employees must believe in their leaders’ commitment to enable, engage, support and serve them. Design people’s work in accordance with their strengths. Develop learning plans for everyone and create a safe 267 environment for even the most junior people to share ideas, concerns and recommendations. Leverage the pillars of human motivation: autonomy, relatedness and mastery. Know your people’s strengths, weaknesses and aspirations. Don’t fear uncertainty and complexity; by example, encourage your team to embrace them. Promote trust, collaboration and communication within your team. People need connections at work to find meaning and thrive. Make work about joy, not dread. People can’t learn alone, and their best thinking occurs with others. Small, close and diverse teams of people who care about each other and who share a common purpose, values and goals gain from each other’s candor, openness, mutual respect and unique perspectives. They increase their abilities through trust and a collegial environment. Positivity boosts people physically and mentally through the release of oxytocin, which engenders feelings of warmth and deeper connections – which in turn generate a virtuous cycle by triggering the release of more oxytocin. This cycle causes feelings of competitiveness to morph into feelings of safety, caring and the pursuit of mutual success. In meetings, smile, say positive things and ask questions about people’s weekends, kids, travels and activities. Consider what makes you care about other people and what they do that makes you feel they care for you. Leverage diversity and ensure your team is at least 50% female, because women prove more proficient at collaboration and collegiality than men. “High-performance teams have a specific purpose that every team member believes in and is committed to achieving.” As the digital age accelerates, teams must coalesce, trust and collaborate. Many teams cannot, which impairs their effectiveness. Consider the best teams you’ve been a part of. What made them great? How did people behave and how did you feel? How can you replicate those activities and feelings within your teams? Conversations drive connections and connections bring meaning. Help people build the necessary skills for meaningful conversations. Respect each team member’s uniqueness and perspective. Discourage telling; encourage asking. Meaningful and productive conversations happen in teams whose members ask: What’s missing? What alternatives exist? What data do we need? Which experiments should we run? Who else should we consult? What do you think? How do you feel? About the Author Edward D. Hess is Professor Emeritus of Business Administration, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia. He is the author of 13 268 books, including Humility Is the New Smart, Learn or Die and Smart Growth. So good they can’t ignore you / Cal Newport Recommendation Cal Newport, an assistant professor of computer science and frequent author, discredits the popular myth that following your passion will lead automatically to a successful, fulfilling career. He suggests that developing valuable skills and becoming “so good they can’t ignore you” is far more effective. He says pursuing your heart’s desire can lead to disappointment, including a lack of jobs in your chosen field and an underdeveloped skill set. He draws on the success of such notables as Steve Jobs, who perfected his skills as part of his relentless efforts to refine his craft. Newport frequently revisits the theme that nothing replaces hard work and persistence. He believes that if you become great at what you do, passion will follow. Using case studies, he highlights ways to focus your professional efforts and to create a meaningful career by working toward a mission. getAbstract recommends his advice to anyone intent on developing the right skills for career advancement. Take-Aways • • • • • • • Workers may pursue their passions in hopes of success. Alas, failure often ensues. You do not need passion to find happiness at work; you do need an opportunity to gain the crucial “career capital” of “rare and valuable” skills. The longer you do your job, the more likely you are to excel at it and to develop good relationships with your colleagues, both factors that contribute to job satisfaction. Follow four rules in the quest for work you will love: First, “don’t follow your passion.” Instead, take a job with growth opportunity where you can develop unique skills that are valuable in the market. Second, become “so good they can’t ignore you.” Don’t settle for being good enough; constantly push yourself to learn new skills and to improve. Third, consider a nontraditional route, such as refusing a promotion to gain lateral experience or taking an internship. 269 • • • Fourth, “think small, act big.” Take incremental steps to achieve your mission. You will become more engaged at work if you gain more control. Before engaging in a new venture, figure out what the market will pay for it. Summary Be So Good To become “so good” at your job that no one can ignore you, follow a simple program based on common sense and hard work. The program involves adhering to only four rules, but hewing to them with energy and focus. “Rule 1: Don’t Follow Your Passion” At some point in life, many people seriously consider quitting their jobs and pursuing careers that fulfill their passions. Scholars and writers have influenced generations of workers by encouraging them to pursue their passions and promising that success will automatically result. “Most jobs don’t offer their employees great creativity, impact or control over what they do and how they do it.” Alas, this illusion underestimates the value of hard work and neglects the importance of developing a valuable skill set. The reality of following your dreams rarely aligns with the fantasy. It can lead to “chronic job-hopping” and self-doubt. Common wisdom for several generations – beginning with the baby boomers – taught members of the workforce that pursuing your passion equates to success because you will be doing what you love to do. “Passioncentric” generations sought their dream jobs without understanding how to turn their visions into reality. However, Steve Jobs, for one, turned that truism on its head. Jobs identified his skill set and made a prosperous career out of his abilities rather than his passions. “Working right trumps finding the right work.” Workplace longevity is directly related to happiness: The longer you do your job, the more likely you are to become excellent at it, which greatly influences whether you enjoy what you do. Holding a job for a long time offers a greater likelihood that you’ll develop relationships with your coworkers, another contributing factor to loving your work. Having control and feeling competent, both of which come with time, also help determine job satisfaction. This discredits the theory that happiness at work results from following a pre-existing passion. Gaining expertise through practice while developing relevant skills fuels passion for your work. 270 “How can we follow our passions if we don’t have any relevant passions to follow?” Many authors – such as Richard Bolles of What Color Is Your Parachute? fame – encouraged generations of young people to identify their passions and seek related employment. This caused countless individuals to doubt their choices, frequently switch jobs and spend years unhappy in their professional lives. “Become good at something rare and valuable, and then invest the career capital this generates into the type of traits that make a job great.” Many individuals might think of their ideal job but lack the capital and skills to turn such prophecies into fulfilling careers. Myriad entrepreneurs attempt to open their own restaurants or exercise studios, for example, and fail because they lack the skills to run a business. This rule does have exceptions. Athletes and musicians who have always loved their sport or instrument can turn their pre-existing passions into successful careers. But this is not the norm. Even those with rare talent invest years of disciplined hard work into developing skills. Rule 2: “Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You” People who want to follow their dreams often crave independence and creativity, but gaining that level of autonomy takes hard work and sacrifice. Employees rarely receive license to do what they want, especially when starting out. Job freedom often comes only at the highest levels and then to those who have developed their skills and proven that they can lead. To achieve such autonomy, you must first become so adept at your work that those who promote employees and foster their growth cannot ignore your achievements or hamper your well-deserved advancement. “When deciding whether to follow an appealing pursuit that will introduce more control into your work life, seek evidence of whether people are willing to pay for it.” Individuals generally think about work in one of two ways: the “passion mind-set” and the “craftsman mind-set.” The passion mind-set focuses not on what the world offers you, but on what you offer the world. This attitude is counter-productive because it leads you to think of your job only in terms of what you don’t like about it. This is particularly hard if you are still in an entry-level position, which, by definition, isn’t “filled with challenging projects and autonomy.” Identifying what you truly love can be difficult. Workers who adopt this mind-set make themselves vulnerable to being unhappy with their careers over the long-term. 271 “If you want to identify a mission for your working life...you must first get to the cutting edge – the only place where these missions become visible.” The craftsman mind-set focuses on “what you can offer the world” and assumes that hard work leads to success. Artisans are realistic about competition. They know that they must concentrate on output and quality. They understand that even if their job doesn’t link directly to a pre-existing passion, becoming good at it lays the foundation for captivating work. When you undertake the craftsman mind-set, you operate with the understanding that if you become great at your work, people will notice. If you produce work of excellent quality – which builds “career capital,” meaning “rare and valuable” skills – you will position yourself to evolve professionally. “Once you have the capital required to identify a mission, you must still figure out how to put the mission into practice.” Craftspeople seek feedback and take suggestions constructively. Acquiring career capital isn’t always glamorous. It might mean furthering your education and networking ceaselessly. For example, if you are interested in opening your own organic farm or winery, you may have to harvest your own crops or pursue an advanced degree in horticulture. Unique, valuable skills are the most precious career capital. As a craftsperson, you should be highly motivated and persistent about achieving your goals through practice. Focus on output and improvement using “deliberate practice.” Recognize that hard work is the essential ingredient. Become more effective by documenting how you spend your time and by setting workday goals. If you must spend your days dealing with meetings, conference calls and work assignments, consider allocating only one hour a day to answering emails, so you can complete your other tasks more efficiently. Time for a Change Even if you are following your passion, never stay at a job you find miserable. To determine if you should seek a new career, answer three telltale questions: Do you lack opportunity to develop your skill set? Do you find your work useless or even harmful? Do you hate what you’re doing? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, the time for a change has arrived. “The more rare and valuable skills you have to offer, the more interesting opportunities will become available.” Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell examines the habits of successful people in his book, Outliers. He asserts that success does not rely on natural talent alone, but depends more on combining work and talent with being in the right place at the right time to gain the most practice. Some theorists assert that becoming a “grand master” at your work requires practicing and developing your skills for at least 10 years. Many successful actors, for 272 example, started working on their craft as young children. Top scholars rarely achieve success based solely on talent or intelligence. Musicians, doctors and even writers must practice a long time to succeed. “Giving people more control over what they do and how they do it increases their happiness, engagement and sense of fulfillment.” People often hit a wall or a “performance plateau” in their professional lives because they do not improve their skill sets. Avoid this problem by identifying the skills that you need to refine. Learning never stops. Don’t settle for being good enough; constantly push yourself to improve. Acknowledge that becoming great takes deliberate practice, time and effort. “People who feel like their careers truly matter are more satisfied with their working lives.” The type of market you work in also can greatly influence your career. In a “winner-take-all market” you may be competing with many other people for the same career capital. For example, television writers work in a winnertake-all market by competing to have their scripts considered. An “auction market” offers more options. Bloggers work in an auction market; they have a limitless platform and endless subject areas to pursue. Rule 3: “Turn Down a Promotion” You will become more engaged at work if you gain more control over your job. But your company won’t give you any independence if you lack valuable skills. Acquiring the relevant skills is the road to professional freedom. Once you gain expertise in your field, you will be able to take risks because you will be more valuable to your employer. When you have sufficient career capital, you’ll have more flexibility about deciding how to invest your time. Don’t expect to earn professional freedom until you have so much experience that your employer deems you too valuable to lose. Your employers will support your efforts – particularly along less-traditional paths – if they perceive you as a valuable asset. So prove your skill and dedication before asking your boss if you can work part-time while you pursue an advanced degree, for example. “A lifetime accumulation of deliberate practice...again and again ends up explaining excellence.” If you make nontraditional career decisions, expect skepticism and wellmeant advice from your friends, family and colleagues, especially if, say, you reject a promotion to go back to school, take a lower position to build career capital or turn down a paying position for an internship that provides great experience. You will encounter resistance if your methods are unorthodox. Others may think that you are moving backward, but you will know that building career capital sets you up for long-term success. Avoid the trap of investing your time in the wrong pursuit. Choose a career that 273 gives you opportunities to practice your current skills and to learn and grow. Consider “what people are willing to pay for.” Just because you see a career option as valuable doesn’t mean that others do. Consider the bottom line before you embark on any professional venture. Rule 4: “Think Small, Act Big” Having a calling makes even hard work meaningful, rewarding and worthwhile. Know the value of your mission. Pursuing it can be the engine of building a career you love, but first you must ensure that you have the right skills and capital. The challenge lies in creating a viable job that matches your ambition. Study the most current research as a guideline to what is possible in your desired field. Approach your work methodically. Determine how to carry out your mission. Rule out trying to discover the next big thing. Focus instead on the “adjacent possible,” the next step beyond what you’ve already achieved. “If you’re not in control of your career, it can chew you up and spit you out.” Beginning with a big idea is a common mistake. Scientists working on finding a vaccine don’t start from scratch; they build on the most up-to-date research. Work on smaller ideas and let your mission or big idea take shape. Make “little bets” – that is, explore your area of interest without committing to a big idea that may fail. Small chances lead to small successes and failures, which lead you to your bigger mission. Tackle several minor projects, rather than one large project. Make sure other people will see your work as valuable. To determine if your project is worthwhile, ask the crucial question: Will others pay for the resulting goods or services? “Think about skill acquisition like a freight train: Getting it started requires a huge application of effort, but changing its track once it’s moving is easy.” Your mission must capture a cause that others care about. Choose an undertaking that interests people and garners attention. Aim to make your product or project remarkable. Find an appropriate setting to launch your endeavor to give it maximum exposure. The Real World In most cases, people’s careers do not align with their passions. Don’t take a job because you are passionate about it. Take a job with growth opportunity where you can develop unique skills that are valuable in today’s market. You do not need a calling to find happiness at work, but you do need an opportunity to gain career capital. Working hard in your pursuit of this career capital is the one reliable constant. Push yourself to become better so you don’t stagnate on your career path. Set concrete goals, allocate your time to tasks that matter and keep records of your accomplishments. Refine your skill set and explore new experiences. Take on projects that let you 274 enhance your performance. Always ask yourself how you can work better. Seek feedback about how you can improve and follow the advice. Putting a mission at the epicenter of your work lets you cultivate a career you love, once you ensure that you have the skills and “financial viability” to pursue it. Do your research, and let the next step “beyond the cutting edge” be your guide. Lasting happiness in your career depends on how you approach your work. Acknowledge that hard work has no substitute and that the market may not offer a job that matches your pre-existing passion. Don’t be afraid to use others’ experiences as stepping-stones on your journey. Practice your craft, refine your skills and become so good that you are impossible to ignore. About the Author Cal Newport is an assistant professor of computer science at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He also wrote How to Become a Straight-A Student, How to Be a High School Superstar and How to Win at College. His blog, Study Hacks, discusses his efforts to “decode patterns of success.” Flow /Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi Vest in Life by David Meyer Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s now 30-year-old essay on achieving flow and awareness remains timeless and current. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD, gained fame and an international reputation from the central concept in this book. In this seminal, influential, perennially bestselling treatise, Csikszentmihalyi captures one of the deepest personal needs of contemporary people: making progress in their quest for harmony or, in his crystal-clear term, achieving flow. Professor Csikszentmihalyi’s research-based essay on the nature of human consciousness and the obstacles people put 275 in its path, first appeared, incredibly, in 1990 – but his presentation reads as if it were written tomorrow. Csikszentmihalyi, the Davidson Professor of Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker School of Management and director of its Quality of Life Research Center, cites current trends in self-obsession, selfhealing and the search for transcendence. Attitude is everything, according to his insightful depiction of the path to harmony. Three decades ago, he recognized that folks want to feel better about themselves and always have. The most daunting obstacle, the author reveals, is what goes on in your head. We do not understand what happiness is any better than Aristotle did, and as for learning how to attain that blessed condition, one could argue that we have made no progress at all. MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI Newsweek wrote that Csikszentmihalyi “rethinks what motivates people.” You might be amused to read The New York Review of Books 30-year-old summary: “Flow is important….The way to happiness lies not in mindless hedonism, but in mindful challenge.” This notion has become such a part of common wisdom that today few would bother stating it aloud. Adaptability Csikszentmihalyi assures you that your internal balance, strength and adaptability can enable you to cope with most struggles, including distracted or self-destructive inner voices and their outer manifestations. As he stresses in his introduction, Flow isn’t a guide to achieving happiness. It’s a description of how people attain flow, itself – deep, concentrated and pleasurable immersion in an activity – and the mental, emotional and physical methods they employed. Integrity of the Self 276 Eventually, Csikszentmihalyi says flat out, no matter your wealth, health, fame or satisfaction, life won’t play out the way you want. Disappointment, frustration and tragedy are universal. Your integrity derives from your ability to turn harmful chance into a positive way forward. You can’t transform negative events through denial, regression, drugs or alcohol, though you may try – and try again. Csikszentmihalyi insists that, instead, you need courage, resilience, perseverance and self-aware coping. How we feel about ourselves, the joy we get from living, ultimately depend directly on how the mind filters and interprets everyday experiences. Whether we are happy depends on inner harmony, not on the controls we are able to exert over the great forces of the universe. MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI The author believes that if you grow up with familial love and a strong community, your coping skills will flourish. If not, they may wither. If you can cope, you may still feel crushing sadness, but, he discloses, it shouldn’t warp your fundamental view of the world or your identity. Unselfconscious Self-assurance Csikszentmihalyi cites unselfconscious self-assurance as a tool for turning desperate moments into a positive flow activity. He discusses studies revealing that people who successfully coped with unimaginable stress – for example, those marooned in the Arctic or imprisoned in a concentration camp – never doubted that they controlled their own destinies. Surprisingly, given his academic credentials and bottomless research, Csikszentmihalyi’s anonymous case studies, while evocative, turn out to be less compelling than his personal insights. Engage 277 If you constantly look inward and value inner experience over engaging the world, Csikszentmihalyi teaches, your ego will leech away your precious psychic energy. Simply put, he believes the less you think about yourself, the greater your resilience. The author argues that if you examine and process your feelings when under threat or experiencing trauma, you will cope poorly. Life doesn’t stop, Csikszentmihalyi asserts, so you must engage. An individual can experience only so much. Therefore, the information we allow into consciousness becomes extremely important; it is, in fact, what determines the content and quality of life. MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI The author emphasizes that every situation, no matter how tragic, offers growth potential, and he encourages you to open yourself to unexpected opportunities. He suggests exercises you can use to expand your outlook and your ability to synthesize discord into harmony. For instance, he recommends setting goals to gain control over your life, vesting in whatever you do – even washing dishes – by concentrating on every task and savoring each moment of your life. Csikszentmihalyi’s other works, all profound yet readable studies of psychological conditions relating to creativity, include Beyond Boredom and Anxiety; Creativity and – as co-author – The Creative Vision; The Meaning of Things; and Being Adolescent. Other enriching works on achieving transcendental states of performance include Steven Kotler’s The Art of Impossible and James Clear’s Atomic Habits. Prescience Csikszentmihalyi seems to have – 30 years ago – unintentionally launched the industrialization and mass marketing of many contemporary self-reflective industries: martial arts, meditation, anger management, fulfillment classes, mindfulness, and so on. He lyrically, soberly dissects 278 ideal states of psychological and spiritual harmony with an academic’s eye for detail and a poet’s understanding of human foibles. Unlimited memory Recommendation Competitive memory champions can perform such feats of recollection as reciting the first 10,000 digits of pi. That might not seem useful for everyday life, but the competitors’ techniques prove applicable to any information: stock prices, people’s names, statistics, and more. Kevin Horsley, an International Grandmaster of Memory, shows how to remember vast amounts of information through simple techniques, such as turning abstract concepts into images and stories. In this quick, easy read, Horsley outlines memory techniques and provides motivation for readers with little confidence in their power of recall. Whether you’re in business, education, politics, science or the arts, you can benefit from Horsley’s advice. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • A good memory benefits every aspect of your life. To remember, learn to concentrate. A strong memory depends on creativity and connection. Use objects and places as memory aids. Link your images in a narrative. Create mental “pegs” for what you want to remember. If you struggle to remember names, the culprit might not be your memory. To remember numbers, make the abstract concrete. Regular reviews keep memories strong. Summary A good memory bene ts every aspect of your life. Imagine being able to remember the name of everyone you meet – or to make business presentations without cumbersome notes by instantly remembering facts and statistics. Improving your memory skills pays dividends: With instant access to more information, you make better decisions. You will discover useful fi 279 connections among people, events and facts. And you will improve your learning skills, because learning builds on the foundation of your previous knowledge. “When you improve your memory, you improve everything.” Improving your memory requires learning new ways of thinking about information and practicing these techniques until they become second nature. People utilize these methods to pull off such feats as, for example, memorizing the complete Oxford English Dictionary. These techniques have the power to help you access whatever you need to remember in your daily life. To remember, learn to concentrate. To improve your memory, you need to focus and direct your attention. But like many people today, you may not have much opportunity to practice the art of concentration. Modern life is full of distractions – phone messages, emails, to-do lists – all vying for a fraction of your attention. You may feel your awareness flipping as if through channels on a television. You rarely stop to focus on any one option. As a result, most people’s minds remain in an almost constant state of agitation. To concentrate, you need a calm mind, one that can bring its full attention to one thing at a time. “We live in an activity illusion and think that busyness’ is equal to good business, but it’s often just procrastination in disguise.” Fortunately, you can improve your concentration with practice. Sharpen your focus with the following steps: • • Examine your self-talk – Many people expend considerable energy chastising themselves for things they do wrong. This negative “inner voice” stirs conflict in the mind and negates the calm you need for concentration. Instead of upbraiding yourself for failing to notice where you parked your car, acknowledge situations in which you did pay attention. Don’t multitask – True multitasking is impossible: Your mind can only focus on one thing at a time. When you attempt to multitask, you rapidly shift your focus through a sequence of tasks, giving minimal attention to each. You can’t produce your best work this way. Multitasking undermines your productivity, creativity and decision-making. Learn to focus your attention on one activity at a time, and you will work more efficiently. 280 • Actively engage with information – Boost your concentration and increase your retention by keeping in mind why you are examining each bit of information, and what exactly you want to gain from it. You will remember information that interests you. Find ways to connect even the blandest material with your interests and goals. A strong memory depends on creativity and connection. To improve your memory, enlist your imagination. Trying to retain a list of cities or foreign vocabulary words through rote memorization – to jam them into your brain – proves inefficient because it involves only one sense (sound). To help information stick in your mind, connect it with images and stories, because that is what the human mind finds most engaging. To remember an item, turn it into an image and embed that image in a brief story. For example, if you want to recall that the Italian word for chicken is pollo, turn pollo into an image: It sounds something like “polo,” so picture a polo match. To associate it with chicken, imagine a polo match in which the players use a chicken instead of a ball. “People that learn quickly or have a so-called photographic memory apply creativity to everything they learn.” To create “sticky” imagery, use the following principles, which you can remember with the mnemonic “SEE”: 1. Senses – You use all your senses, and hence more areas of your brain, when you construct an image. Imagine how the image looks and how it might smell, what sounds it might make, how it feels to the touch, etc. 2. Exaggeration – Absurd and funny images stick more readily in your mind. Your image doesn’t need to make logical sense. It needs to be memorable. 3. Energize – Bring the image to life by including action, especially illogical or silly action. To remember that Canberra is the capital of Australia, for example, picture a kangaroo – symbolizing Australia – enjoying a “can” of “berries.” “Which is easier to remember: a strawberry that is normal size, or one the size of a house?” Images prove particularly useful for memorizing scientific terms and other abstract words. Break the word into parts and use similarsounding words that conjure up images. For example, remember “hydrogen” by turning its parts into the more concrete words “hydrant” and “gin.” Then imagine a fire hydrant sipping a glass of gin. 281 Use objects and places as memory aids. Turn your car, your body or your home into an imaginary repository for terms or concepts you want to remember. This method requires practice, but once you master it, it’s easy and effective. Embrace these approaches to creating repositories: • • Turn your car into a memory storehouse – This method works because you connect new information with an object that is already in your memory. For example, use your car to remember the seven principles from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Pick out seven features of your car, such as the front bumper, hood, windshield or rear tire. Create an image for each of the seven habits and place one image on each of the features you chose. For example, for Habit 1, “be proactive,” picture a “bee” who is a “pro” golfer, standing on the front bumper, about to take a shot. Choose a mental route around your car – front to back, or clockwise – so you encounter the objects in order. Use this method with buses or airplanes, or even your own body. Take a journey you’ll remember – Store information as you mentally make your way through a building that you know well, such as your home. For example, use your kitchen to store the first three of the 12 success principles in John C. Maxwell’s Today Matters. Pick out three objects in the kitchen, such as the dishwasher, refrigerator and stove. Store the first principle, “attitude,” in the dishwasher. Imagine someone with a poor attitude getting in the machine and emerging with a bright new outlook. Next, picture the principle “priorities” as a to-do list on your refrigerator. Store the principle of “health” on your stove: Use apples as a symbol of health, and imagine a buff person cooking applesauce on the stove. “Review[ing] the list backward…makes the images even clearer for your memory.” Use this method with any building or route you know well. This gives you an almost unlimited supply of memory storage space. Link your images in a narrative. To memorize an ordered list, come up with memorable images for each item, and link them in a story. The story provides a framework for recalling the order of your images. It provides an extra memory boost because using your imagination like this sparks your interest in the list. 282 “A whole syllabus or textbook can be condensed into a ridiculous story.” Here’s an image story that helps you remember the first three US presidents: Imagine you are “washing” a “tin” (Washington), when it begins to grow an “Adam’s apple” (Adams), which a “chef” and “her son” (Jefferson) grab hold of. You can extend this ludicrous story to memorize all the presidents. Create mental “pegs” for what you want to remember. In a memory-peg system, associate the item you want to remember with something already in your long-term memory. This technique eases transferring the new item from your short-term to your longterm memory. In the 17th century, Henry Herdson devised a simple but potent version, “rhyming pegs.” To use his method, pick a word that rhymes with each of the single digits from zero to nine, such as one-bun, two-shoe, three-tree, and so on. “You can use any list that is already in your long-term memory to create all kinds of new peg lists.” To memorize author Tony Robbins’s “10 emotions of power,” for example, create an image for each item that connects it to your rhyming peg. First on Robbins’s list is “love and warmth.” Assign the rhyming peg “bun” to the number one, then create an image for love and warmth that links to bun. For example, you could imagine a warm bun baked in the shape of a heart – to symbolize love. If you struggle to remember names, the culprit might not be your memory. Many people complain they have a poor memory for names, but they are wrong. Their memories are fine – they simply lack a good strategy to recall them. Follow these steps: • • Concentrate – Listen carefully when a person says his or her name. If you aren’t sure you heard it right, ask him or her to repeat it. Try to avoid getting caught up in thoughts about yourself in social situations – worrying about the impression you make or what you should say next. Shift your focus to cultivate an interest in the person in front of you. When you take an interest in something, you have an easier time remembering it. Invent an image – Most people have much better memories for visual stimuli than for sounds. That’s why you more readily remember faces than names. Use the sounds of a name to create a memorable image, as you did when memorizing a list of terms. 283 • • Make a connection – Mentally compare the new person to someone you know or to someone famous with the same name. Or link the name to a distinct feature of the person. For instance, if you meet someone named Janice who has notable blue eyes, turn the name Janice into “chain ice,” and imagine a chain of ice shooting from her eyes. Or, connect a person’s name with the place where you met. If you meet a woman named Rose at a buffet, create a mental image of a buffet table with a large rose on it. Use the name – Repetition will reinforce all the other strategies, so say the person’s name frequently in conversation. You might talk about his or her name – if the person has a foreign name, for example, ask what it means. To remember numbers, make the abstract concrete. A knack for remembering numbers is highly useful. Imagine the benefits of always having sports statistics, stock prices and dates at hand. Memory champions memorize long strings of random numbers because they use strategies that imbue an abstract sequence with meaning. In the 17th century, Stanislaus Mink von Wennshein invented a system, still popular with memory competitors today, that turns numbers into letters you can use to construct words. This system takes practice to master, but is extremely powerful. In this system, associate each of the digits zero through nine with letters. • Zero equals the S or Z sounds. Remember this by visualizing the zero as a wheel that makes a “hissing” sound as it turns. • One equals the T or D sounds. The numeral looks somewhat similar to a T. • Two equals the N sound. Visualize the N as a sideways two. • Three equals the M sound, because the M looks like a sideways three. And so on. In this system, the vowels and the letters W, H and Y have no numeric value. Use them as fillers in the words you create. “There is no magic when it comes to memory improvement; there is only management.” To remember, for example, the number 1,310: The letter equivalents for this number sequence are T, M, T and S. Turn TMTS into a word by adding the filler letters O, A and E. The result: TOMATOES. You 284 remember words more easily than you remember a number. Strengthen this memory’s stickiness with a mental image linking 1,310 and TOMATOES. Regular reviews keep memories strong. When you memorize new information, repeat it 10 minutes later, forward and backward. Repeat the exercise in an hour, then a day later, and then at increasingly longer intervals. At each interval, ensure that your images remain distinct. Perform a practice recitation. When you remember information after a three-month interval, you will probably never forget it. About the Author Professional speaker Kevin Horsley is a World Memory Championship medalist who has won the title of International Grandmaster of Memory. 5% More Recommendation Most people want to be wealthier, smarter, stronger, faster, healthier and happier. To that end, marketer and entrepreneur Michael Alden discusses how putting forth only 5% more effort in every area can create lasting change toward achieving your goals. He warns that, often, people either don’t act, or they try to grow by leaps and bounds instead of taking smaller, incremental steps. But, Alden assures you, putting in a little more effort can lead to big results. He constantly refers to himself and his associates as examples of how to succeed in various areas, so the self-promotion can become a little tiresome, but getAbstract believes it shouldn’t detract from his overall, helpful and optimistic message: putting in a little effort can lead to big results. Take-Aways • • • To succeed, put just 5% more effort into any aspect of your life you want to change. Many people fail to achieve their goals because they’re dreamers instead of doers. Instead of attempting to make huge strides, embrace small, incremental steps toward change. 285 • • • • • • • Students who give 5% more effort at school can improve their college entry test scores. Wealthy people make their money work for them instead of working for money. Become “stronger and faster” by increasing your physical fitness routine by 5%. Be happier by enjoying the little things and trying to see life through a child’s eyes. Give 5% more to others, including your boss, co-workers, spouse and children. Break bad habits or addictions by decreasing your consumption by 5% a day. To get 5% more results, hold yourself accountable. Summary Becoming 5% More Motivated Many people want a better life, but they fail to improve their lot due to a variety of reasons, such as unrealistic expectations or lack of action. They dream, but they don’t act. Successful people are doers. Perhaps you are a 200-pound man who wants to lose 5% of your overall body weight. If your usual workout routine is 30 minutes a day, three times a week, just add 5% more minutes to your workout and increase your intensity by 5%. If you’re in a spinning class, “go 5% harder for 5% more of the time.” You might not actually lose 5% of your body weight, but you’ll be actively working toward your goal. Reduce your caloric intake by 5%, and you will lose weight. “Almost everybody wants more. More happiness, better health, more financial stability, more discipline and just a better life.” To get 5% more results, hold yourself accountable. Start with your daily activities. Be honest with yourself about what you want to accomplish. Write down your daily and weekly goals. If you lead a team, write down daily and weekly goals for your team. Show your team members the numbers so they understand their accomplishments and can make incremental adjustments. Be realistic. Some managers set lofty goals and get upset when employees don’t achieve them. Ideally, individuals should set their own sales goals. Making 5% More Money When author Michael Alden sold cars before he went to law school, he worked with Brian, who was a great salesman. Brian loved selling cars. Brian sold five cars during the course of one summer day, yet he greeted a late customer enthusiastically. Alden reminded Brian he’d already sold five cars. Brian replied that he always told himself he just wanted to sell one car. And when he sold that one, he wanted to sell one more. 286 “You have to start somewhere. There is value in momentum and consistency.” That customer came back and bought a car from Brian the next day. Brian pushed Alden to succeed. Alden sold 15 cars in a month, but Brian was ahead of him at 17. Brian kept asking Alden if he could work a little harder. Alden greeted more customers, which netted more sales. He sold 22 cars that month, his best ever (top salespeople usually sell at least 20 cars a month). From that point on, Alden put forth a little more effort and became a top salesman. “No matter how big…a task you have in front of you, the best way to approach it is one small step at a time.” Alden’s mother made about $19,000 a year at a full-time job while raising him and his brother. To make ends meet, she delivered newspapers on the weekends, starting early in the morning. It was hard, but that extra work increased her income by 30%. In 2014, the US Census Bureau determined that a family of four making $24,091 is living in poverty. The US Department of Agriculture reports that such a family’s weekly food costs would run from $150 to $298, so food alone would take half their weekly income before taxes. What if that same family could make 5% more? How much help would another $1,200 represent? What if they could save that extra money to position themselves better for the future? “We have small wins and small losses every day. Recognize them for what they are – micro moments for the macro moments of your life.” In the United Sates, statistically, poor people are likely to stay poor. Few poor people know how to lift themselves out of poverty. Saving in small increments would allow them to meet modest goals, and earning even 5% more could eventually put them on a more secure path. Being 5% Smarter College graduates make more money over their lifetimes than high school graduates. A small difference in a high school student’s GPA or SAT scores often makes a big difference in his or her life. A higher score can lead to college admission and possible scholarships to pay for tuition. “You can increase your productivity in virtually every aspect of your life by just 5%, and it will have long-term and lifechanging benefits.” For example, a student with a 1240 SAT score (verbal and math) and a 3.85 GPA hits the basic requirements to qualify for a Presidential Scholarship at the University of Oregon. If a student with a pre-SAT score of 287 1200 and a GPA of 3.7 could increase his or her scores by 5%, that would result in a 1260 SAT score and 3.89 GPA – enough to qualify for the scholarship. These increases can occur only over time – not in the last semester of the student’s senior year. “Many times, you will fall short of your goals. You will suffer…temporary defeats. These are, essentially, lost battles during the war, but you never lose the war unless you surrender.” In How Children Succeed, Paul Tough discusses what makes children successful beyond academics. He reports that “small gains and small advances” help children make progress. Teaching a child about character traits such as “integrity, grit, discipline and empathy” spurs the child’s development. You can improve your child’s life by putting 5% more time into parenting. “Stronger, Faster, Healthier and Happier” Expend a little more effort on your physical fitness routine to become stronger and faster. Five percent can mean the difference between good and great results, even for Olympic athletes. Usain Bolt is the world record holder in the 100-meter dash. His time in 2009 was 9.58, but if you compare this time with his worst time of 10.03 in 2007, the difference is just under 5%. “Changing your habits can be extremely challenging, especially if they are deep-rooted, longstanding habits. But start by making small changes.” Asking Bolt, a gifted athlete, to get faster and to decrease his time by 10% sets an impossible goal. Changing his time by 5% proved doable, and may become the record he strives to beat. Olympians and other elite athletes train all day; their sport is their “job.” But even though average people can’t spend all day at the gym, they can still become 5% stronger or faster. “By doing a little more than what is expected…you are making your company more money, and then, ultimately, you will be pocketing more money yourself.” Mike, a member of Alden’s gym, is about five-foot-seven. He weighed about 230 pounds until he lost a dramatic amount of weight. Alden asked for his secret. Mike said he stopped drinking soda and eating ice cream, and he cut back on bread. These small changes in his routine eventually led to a 50pound weight loss. Relieve Your Stress by 5% 288 You can use stress relief tactics, such as massage or meditation, to improve your health and wellness. Meditation lowers the body’s level of cortisol, the stress hormone. Spending 20 minutes of your day meditating or staying quiet reduces your risk of heart disease, cancer, stress, addiction, and more. “Close your e-mail while working at your desk, and check it once an hour. This may not work for all office environments, but for most it should…you will actually become more efficient, less stressed and definitely happier.” A 2010 study in the journal Consciousness and Cognition found that using a mindfulness technique for 20 minutes a day reaped positive results after only four days of practice. In this study, 49 volunteers split into two groups to take tests on their cognitive functions. One group meditated while the other group listened to someone read aloud. In one test, the meditation group outperformed the group that didn’t meditate by a factor of 10. “The guys on the team who got the most attention were the ones who, at the end of the day, worked harder.” Many people think they’d be happier if they had more money or possessions, but they don’t know when to quit pushing. Some use drugs or alcohol to cope with their unhappiness. But your “brain actually doesn’t separate or care where the pleasure comes from.” You can gain a sense of gladness from simple things like completing a project at work or cleaning the house. Appreciate daily smaller joys in life, the “5% moments.” “Appreciate everything you have just a little bit more, from your family all the way down to the ground you walk on.” The vice president of a large software company had to choose between two staff software engineers who applied for the same management position. They had similar qualifications. Both graduated from prestigious colleges, held master’s degrees and had a strong work ethic. They both often arrived early and stayed late at work. But only one took advantage of the company’s free management training course, which ran two hours a night for six weeks. The engineer who put in that extra 5% got the job. Give 5% More to Your Kids Give 5% more to your children by encouraging them to stay curious and excited and by reading to them. A child’s brain is most malleable up until age five. Reading aloud to your kids helps them develop strong neural pathways quickly. It’s one of the best things you can do with your children. Start early and read to them often. “He said to me, ‘Every artist is a dreamer.’ I said all of them are broke. The successful ones have vision. They don’t dream. They have a vision and set goals and objectives.” 289 In 1989, Brian Gallagher and Dr. Jean Ciborowski Fahey founded Reach Out and Read, which distributes thousands of books and encourages pediatricians to stress the importance of reading. Educators often suggest having children read 20 minutes daily. That’s barely 1.5% of the total minutes in a day. Give that advantage to your kids by reading to them. It will help them in “reading comprehension, testing, social skills, communication skills and, ultimately, life skills.” “A dream without a plan is just a dream.” Parents who are illiterate or who don’t have time to read aloud can still help their children by talking to them, spending time with them and encouraging them to ask questions. The more words children hear, the more words they absorb. Try to notice children’s attitudes. When children see snow, they think about sledding and building snowmen. When adults see snow, they’re more concerned about shoveling it or having to drive in it. Kids think about how great watermelon tastes while parents worry about how much it costs. Children stay positive and quickly move past stress. To boost your happiness, try sometimes to look at the world through a child’s eyes. Give 5% More to Your Business Alden used to frequent a coffee shop and diner where he’d buy gourmet coffee and breakfast sandwiches. He was surprised to learn that the owner worked a second job and would soon have to close the shop. He suggested she raise her prices 5% and told her that customers who loved her coffee wouldn’t mind paying a little more. Ultimately, she didn’t take his advice, and she closed her place. Several months later, he learned that she’d relocated to a more prosperous area. She’d added more options to the menu, and her prices were about 20% higher. She was happy in her new, bigger shop and was making more money. Promote your wares without emphasizing price. If people like you and what you sell, they will happily pay a little more. A successful business must keep its loyal customers. Just putting in 5% more effort toward making your customers happy will earn increased loyalty. In the same way, you can increase your efficiency with small steps that save time, such as checking your email only a few times a day – and not leaving it open all the time. Alden’s company cut costs by decreasing its sales commission by 5% on its larger package and increasing the commission on its smaller package by 5%. The sales agents weren’t happy because they thought they were losing money. The large package was worth $300; with this change, they got $15 less commission on each one. The smaller package was worth $150; they’d made $7.50 on each smaller one. The unhappy salespeople “didn’t 290 account for volume”: The $150 package sold faster and more easily. Customers returned fewer of the smaller packages, which often better served their needs. Compound 5% The 5% strategy applies to making more money, which means changing your mind-set. Think like wealthy people and make your money work for you instead of working for your money. Many people bite off more than they can chew instead of working gradually toward a goal. You can burn out if you take on too much too soon. Growing by 5% increments makes a difference. The 5% approach can also help you break bad habits. You can use it to fight addiction. Imagine if you could break an unhealthy habit such as smoking, drinking or doing drugs by reducing your consumption gradually, by 5% each day. Say that you smoke 20 cigarettes daily – a full pack. If you reduced your cigarette consumption by 5% each day, one less cigarette each day, within a month you will have quit. You save money by quitting smoking. If yours is a lifelong habit, quitting smoking will increase your net worth by close to $2 million. Research supports the 5% less strategy for those addicted to the “highly addictive” drug benzodiazepine. The British Journal of Psychiatry published the results of a three-month randomized study of 180 patients with benzodiazepine addictions. They accepted doses of 25% less weekly with the choice of spreading out the last two weeks to a 12.5% reduction each week. Those who tapered off were more successful: 62% quit compared to 21% of the control group. About the Author Michael Alden is the founder and CEO of Blue Vase® Marketing, a direct-response firm that helps companies with marketing. Embrace the chaos Recommendation Bob Miglani provides a simple philosophy to fight the stress and uncertainty of corporate life: Accept it and move along. He illustrates relinquishing control and giving up over analysis with examples from his experiences in India, where he lives. The book excels in explaining how to avoid exhausting yourself on a fruitless quest for control, but it falls short when it suggests that most Indians believe the same things. 291 India is a nation of many beliefs, cultures and contradictions. While the book reflects some aspects of Hindu culture, it is not a guide to understanding India as a whole. getAbstract recommends Miglani’s advice to managers and students who seek a more relaxed perspective on management and life. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • You have less control than you think, and that may make you anxious. Abandon your desire for control. If you want to see how, watch daily life in India. Letting go of control exposes you to experiences you would not otherwise have. Learn to accept, to not “overthink” and to take action instead of waiting for certainty. Regardless of how uncertain, imperfect and complicated things are, accept them. Driving on Indian roads teaches you that safety and security is an illusion. Even with constant contact through instant messaging, texting and videoconferencing, a lack of “face-to-face” interactions may make you feel unfulfilled. Stop “overanalyzing,” overplanning or trying to predict what will happen tomorrow. Life often calls for walking through a web of “chance” and “coincidence.” What you seek is not somewhere out there – in India, for instance – but within you. Summary Out of Control You have less control than you think, and that makes you anxious. You “overthink,” overanalyze and hope that your future will unfold as you envision. But life is not predictable. You “can never really conquer the chaos,” you “can only embrace it.” Accepting that life is uncertain exposes you to experiences you would never otherwise have and helps you discover abilities you never knew you had. Recognize that the only aspects of life you can control are your actions and perspectives, so “let go” of the rest. “Taking action is your only certainty. Get working on what you can do, right here and right now.” 292 The everyday lives of Indians in a land of more than a billion people exemplify how to cope with and relish life by determining realistically what you can control and what you can’t. Indians manage to find joy and contentment despite the odds. They exemplify three principles to follow in your effort to let go: 1. “Accept” – Life is unpredictable, uncertain, imperfect and complicated: Accept that. Stop thinking about obstacles and abandon negativity. For instance, an Indian taxi driver knows he cannot trust anything but his own abilities and the collective abilities of other drivers to keep out of harm’s way. He focuses on doing what he must and doesn’t worry about what other people do – a better approach than letting chaos overwhelm you. 2. “Don’t overthink” – When you “overthink,” you can lose sight of what you really want. Overthinking causes you to hesitate, which may do more damage than undertaking something you think is risky. People and conditions you can’t control cause a lot of the situations you’ll encounter, so “why create stress...by worrying about something that might or might not happen?” 3. “Move forward” – India’s roads prove that safety and security is an illusion. They often lack street signs and traffic lights, and the drivers follow no rules. Indian drivers move forward in the direction they chose, “whatever may come.” They learn ways around barriers, rather than focusing on them. “Searching for God at Five Thousand Feet” Your plans may not work out. That could bewilder you. You might seek a scapegoat, whether someone else or yourself. You may blame circumstances and wonder why fate is victimizing you. You could feel paralyzed and invent reasons why you should not attempt anything else at all. If so, think about the eight million Indians who visit the Himalayan shrine Vaishno Devi every year. Pilgrims ascend more than 5,300 feet as they walk more than seven miles from Katra, a city in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This arduous hike can take eight hours. “At the heart of so much of our stress and anxiety...lies a feeling that we have no control.” The trek can go spectacularly wrong. Visitors must not carry any items made out of animal skins. They must leave their leather purses behind. If you are prudent, and tuck some money elsewhere, you’ll be fine. Imagine you visited the shrine, left your purse behind and find yourself stranded in a little town with no idea how to return to Delhi. Agonizing about your predicament and the unfairness of it all will not help. 293 “So often...we feel as though we’re about to move forward, but something holds us back. It is our own mind.” If your return flight is delayed before you can reorganize yourself, you could be in serious trouble. “They’ll never tell you a flight is canceled. They’ll say that it’s not operating today – I guess because ‘canceled’ is very definitive and nothing in India is ever definitive.” Your only hope is to jump in and make friends with local people and the staff at the airline. More often than not, people are willing to help. Lonely in a Virtual Crowd You live in a “hyper-connected” society, in constant contact with others via instant messaging, texting and videoconferencing. Yet you might yearn for “face-to-face” interactions. To feel connected and satisfied with other people in the real world, begin “accepting people as they are.” Try not to “fix,” “control” or “judge” your fellow human beings. “Accept the person” you find, not the one you hope to find. “We finally stop asking why and turn our attention to the now.” Retreating into yourself is difficult in India, a compulsively social country. You are expected to attend celebrations like marriages, naming ceremonies for children, birthdays and funerals. Such togetherness, while not perfect, helps you cope with an increasingly unpredictable world and replaces more ritualized religion. Indians are comfortable with open displays of affection – men often hold hands with their male friends. “We are held back...out of fear of taking a chance.” Most Indians are not afraid to tell their friends and family their innermost hopes and dreams. Such sharing builds strong human connections that give people resilience and persistence in the face of the most trying circumstances. You learn that “it’s OK to be pushed outside of your comfort zone.” Don’t Overthink Stop “overanalyzing,” overplanning or trying to predict what will happen tomorrow. Not even a genius can foretell the future. Even making good guesses is hard, because the world changes so quickly and is so interconnected. Your search for more data can actually do more harm than good, leading to decision paralysis. Refusing to act until you find an optimum solution can bring you to a standstill. Instead weigh one option against another. Constantly trying to plan 294 your next move reduces your consciousness of the present. That may lead you to miss out on the best parts of life. “We don’t control what we encounter on the road. We only control how we steer our way forward.” Don’t excessively ruminate about other people. Apply that energy to what you can control – your own actions. Trusting your instincts and judgment will lead you to make better choices. As you rely on your instincts, they will fine-tune themselves and lead you to your goals more easily. Indians learn to “adapt and improvise” because they live in unpredictable circumstances with few resources. Most Indians have arranged marriages. Relatives and friends select a suitable bride or groom. In the past, the two did not even meet until their wedding day. Arranged marriages work because younger Indians grow up with the knowledge that life is difficult. They believe they can sort out their differences with other people and they don’t expect a perfect solution. Simple Celebrations Society teaches you to believe that you must work hard to provide your family with comforts without which they cannot be happy. This notion is false. What you work so hard to provide may not guarantee happiness. Instead, you could be blind to far simpler things – a shared moment of hilarity, a carefree dance or a simple treat that you and your family enjoy together. Indian Weddings Indian weddings are chaotic. No one ever holds a dress rehearsal, yet everything falls into place. You must accept minor imperfections like a missing horse, tardy caterers and relatives who decide to stop to enjoy a drink though everything is woefully behind schedule. The bride and groom get married and everyone has fun in the meanwhile. If you focus on things going wrong, you’ll miss out on the magic and unexpected pleasures. Meditation Every morning, most Indians spend a few minutes in prayer. They recognize the essential uncertainty of life and believe in a greater power. Many Indians visit a temple during the course of the day. Indians encounter as much anarchy and complexity in temples as they do elsewhere; India has many gods, and people worship them in different ways. When you visit a temple, you must purify yourself and 295 participate in a number of rituals. Numerous other worshippers are there with you. In India, praying is individual rather than collective. Indian meditation and prayer almost force you to cease conscious thought and get on with doing things. “Navigate the Chaos” To work your way through confusion, you must act. Taking charge of your intentions – how you think and react to situations – provides greater certainty than trying to control everything around you. To be more confident, stop thinking excessively and start doing. “With distractions and challenges around every corner, it’s easy to feel as if we’re running around a hamster wheel and getting nowhere.” Take Tushar, an Indian pharmaceutical representative in Mumbai who faces a competitive market where products may not vary widely – except on price. No amount of traditional sales analysis can change his market or his harsh working conditions. When Tushar attempted all the prescribed sales methods, he ended up more frustrated. He has to manage a situation in which he has little control. The only way he could cope was to stop worrying about things he could do little about. As he says, “Rather, it is better to fix yourself and your mind than to try to understand other people. You can get lost in trying to think about what others say, think or do.” He learned from his “guru” that being too concerned about what other people said or did was pointless. Rather, the guru suggested, he must focus his energies on trying to become a better person. Timing Most people have a problem with timing and want it to be precise. Yet, they wait for the right partner, right job or the right home. Recognize there is no perfect anything. One way to learn that is to visit Delhi and try to board a local bus. The Delhi Transport Corporation runs hundreds of buses. They are always heavily overloaded with, apparently, no space for new passengers. Their drivers never come to a complete stop. When a bus approaches, you have to start running alongside and jump on. This is scary, but once you’re safely on board, the sense of achievement is immensely uplifting. “There is real joy and freedom in seeing something coming and, no matter how imperfect it seems, reaching out to take action, and in having some assurance” that when you begin to run and “grab on tight, helping hands will often help those who help themselves.” 296 A Higher Force You may face problems so overwhelming that you want to give up. Deep within you is something that can help you through: your ability to help someone else. External disturbances may sometimes drown out this understanding. “Each day a billion Indians, from poor farmers to Bombay billionaires...awaken to complicated, chaotic lives. Before they leave their homes...they undertake a ritual that has been practiced for generations...They fold their hands in prayer, yielding their lives to the universe.” Dr. Thakor Patel retired from the US Navy. While in the Navy, he worked on ships that provided disaster relief. He created a program to provide basic health care to villages in India. The program trained health care workers, like Prakash, to conduct simple medical tests and to spread awareness about hygiene. Prakash does not make much money – the program pays him about $100 a month – and he has little security, because the program’s funding depends on the generosity of donors in the US. Prakash placed the needs of others over himself and that drives him to continue working. God’s Way Many people visit Indian gurus for answers to questions that plague them. One such guru lives two hours outside the Indian city of Pune. He will ask you if God answers you when you worry about a question that perplexes you. If you say God does not answer, he will tell you that is God’s way of giving you the time and silence to look within yourself. What you seek is not somewhere out there – in India, for instance – but within you. No Straightforward Path You cannot follow some smooth, straightforward path to your goals and happiness. Life more closely resembles walking through a great web of “chance” and “coincidence.” Don’t obstruct the flow that got you where you are today. Given life’s “sheer luck, randomness and chance,” you didn’t reach the present “in a straight line” and the path forward won’t be straight, either. The Butter y Effect No one has mastery over life. When circumstances force you to a standstill and you give up wanting control, things will change. If you see yourself “as more than human and feebly attempt to make fl 297 predictions, to cast aspersions, to scheme and overplan,” you will “get stuck, because chaos spares no one.” You can reach your “fullest potential for a fulfilling and happy life” by relinquishing your egotistical efforts and “accepting the unpredictable nature of life.” About the Author Bob Miglani, whose family moved to the US from India when he was nine, is an executive at a Fortune 500 firm and the author of several books. Aware Best-selling clinical psychiatry professor Dr. Daniel J. Siegel offers a workable manual for understanding and practicing healthy mindfulness. Your Consciousness In this New York Times bestseller, UCLA School of Medicine clinical psychiatry professor Dr. Daniel J. Siegel explains that you can expand your consciousness by practicing “attention, awareness and intention.” This wider view of who we are is sometimes challenging to communicate – but it can be a matter of life and death. DANIEL J. SIEGEL The positive physical effects of these practices, Siegel claims, include strengthening the immune function, improving gene regulation, strengthening the cardiovascular system, and helping the body to repair itself and remain young. Siegel’s peers were generous in their praise. Bestseller Deepak Chopra, MD, wrote, “Read this book if you want true freedom and spontaneous creativity.” CEO of The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington, called this, “A life-changing journey into the deep nature of our consciousness.” And Jack Kornfield, author of The Wise Heart, called it, “… a visionary blend of neuroscience, physics and cutting-edge psychology combined with creative approaches to mindfulness and compassion.” Wheel of Awareness One of Siegel’s themes is that shifting your attention allows you to become less reactive and more receptive. He offers a primary principle of 298 neuroscience: Doing things repeatedly changes the neural structure as it strengthens specific clusters of neurons, so they fire together. When we learn to cultivate our capacity for being aware, the quality of our life and the strength of our mind are enhanced. DANIEL J. SIEGEL Siegel says people need a practice, like his “Wheel of Awareness,” to help them experience a new way to be and to act. The Wheel is Siegel’s visual metaphor for how minds can function. He asks you to picture a wheel with a hub, a rim and a single spoke connecting the two. The hub represents “being aware” or “knowing.” The rim contains known information, including the traditional “five senses,” plus “bodily sensations,” “mental activities” and “interconnection.” The spoke represents the focus of your attention. Siegel wants you to move the spoke of attention along the rim with your imagination, shifting focus from the senses that gather information about the external world to becoming aware of what’s going on in your body, mind or relationships. The Wheel of Awareness is a tool for helping us to differentiate and link energy and information in our lives. DANIEL J. SIEGEL Siegel advises drawing a map of the Wheel to help you move from senses to bodily sensations to your mind to interconnection. The Wheel, he says, helps you connect information and energy, and increases your awareness of your body, your inner self, your relationships, how you connect with others and how they differentiate from you. The author explains that your mind has distinct attributes, including consciousness, subjective awareness, information processing and selforganization. Siegel urges you to train your mind by focusing your attention inward. “Mindsight” Dr. Siegel encourages you to sense your breath, the movement of your chest and your abdomen, and let sensation move through your body. He refers to this as the use of “mindsight”: how you see your own and others’ minds and how you respect your distinct identity as you connect with others. Dr. Siegel details three related practices you can use to train your mind: Focus your attention, open your awareness and practice “kind intention.” When we practice integrating our consciousness, when we harness the hub and access the plane of possibility, we become more deeply aware of our interconnected identities. DANIEL J. SIEGEL 299 Siegel designates people who live in isolation and think of themselves as solitary as unhealthy. Relating to others, he insists, lets you exchange information and energy. In his analysis, your individual consciousness profoundly relates to your social context. He regards reading others’ intentions and practicing empathy as the roots of individual consciousness. Filters Siegel explains that people rarely experience reality or their own consciousness directly. They impose filters. He finds that those who suffer trauma, anxiety or depression benefit from releasing their filters and shifting their consciousness. He urges you to let information and energy emerge in a fresh, unfiltered way to nourish a more innocent and open mind. People share cultural filters, he divulges, but they use individual filters to shape their reality. Being Present Siegel returns to his fundamental tropes regarding meditation and other mindful disciplines: Training your mind, he assures you, will let you be fully present in your life. When we learn to cultivate our capacity for being aware, the quality of our life and the strength of our mind are enhanced. DANIEL J. SIEGEL Siegel concedes that many people practice spiritual or mental disciplines incompletely, leaving self-limiting past traumas and patterns intact. Mind training, he explains, can reduce pain and hasten healing. He notes that anything that increases awareness and integration has value, including yoga or walking in the woods. Awareness Siegel often falls into an academic voice that seems dry for his transcendent subject matter. He presents his most significant metaphor, the Wheel of Awareness, clumsily, and you may need several readings to gain a clear sense of how to apply this concept to mindfulness. Like many academics, he tends to repeat certain ideas and to hammer on his main themes. Energy is the movement from a potential to that potential being realized. DANIEL J. SIEGEL That said, his advice seems practical and aligns with most writing on the subject of increasing awareness and mindfulness. Dr. Siegel offers neither a mindfulness guide nor an academic discussion of awareness techniques – his work lies somewhere in between. However, even a superficial read provides a workable starting point for those who are less familiar with mindfulness and awareness practices. Those readers should skip any 300 models or concepts that seem complex, and embrace Siegel’s exercises that call for spiritual awareness and discipline. Dr. Siegel also wrote Mindsight, Brainstorm, The Developing Mind and Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology. With Tina Payne Bryson, he co-authored The Whole-Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline. And he and Mary Hartzell co-wrote Parenting from the Inside Out. David Meyer David N Meyer is a content editor at getAbstract and author of The 100 Best Films To Rent You've Never Heard Of, Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballad of Gram Parsons and His Cosmic American Music, The Bee Gees: The Biography, and other books. You can nd his essays on lm and music at davidnmeyer.com Mind hacking Recommendation Prankish entrepreneur Sir John Hargrave believes the mind revolution is underway. Once befuddled by drugs and alcohol, he drew on his coding background to hack his addiction and transform his life. He shares his system of objective mind training, offering ways to identify negative mental loops, generate fresh “positive loops” and embed them in your mind. Hargrave provides numerous “mind games” to build healthy patterns of concentration and “meta thinking.” This humorous, candid, practical guide offers a 21-day challenge of playful personal mind transformation. Freethinkers, innovators and those struggling with obsessive thinking will find intriguing solutions. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • Just as honorable, exploratory hacking of computers led to the digital world, “mind hacking” revolutionizes and systematizes the world of thought. Change your thinking by analyzing, imagining and reprogramming your mind. Use self-analysis to access an objective meta overview of your mind and to break free from constantly running, but inaccurate, “mind movies.” Your mind runs in compelling – but retrainable – “mental loops” based on your “Emotion-Thought-Action” patterns. Inserting new “positive loops” into your mind helps you change your external reality to match your internal reality. To reprogram your mind, you need a “blueprint.” Write down your positive loops with regular reminders. Imagination games clarify your desire to “feel, do, have, give and be.” Small, doable, replicable subgoals create momentum toward big breakthroughs. fi fi 301 Summary Just as honorable, exploratory hacking of computers gave birth to the digital world, “mind hacking” revolutionizes and systematizes the world of thought. Playing a prank, author John Hargrave tried to get a credit card in Barack Obama’s name. One consequence was a visit from the US Secret Service the day after Obama became the official 2008 presidential nominee. And another result was that Hargrave’s wife threatened to leave him if he didn’t get sober. Abandoning drink and drugs was the “mind hack” that led him to change his mental habits. He leveraged his lifelong love of programming t0 develop a routine for resetting his mind, poring over research to create active, measurable formulas and games he could use to address his faulty thinking. He shares the formula that worked for him to help you unlock your mind’s amazing potential to enrich your life. While working at Hewlett Packard in the mid-1970s, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs came up with a new idea: Sell a prebuilt computer. Their Apple I machine give birth to the digital society. At the time, the term “hacking” implied honorable technological exploration. The new 21st-century frontier of the mind now summons “mind hackers” to revolutionize the world of thought. Mind hacking is freely available for you to use in a spirit of experimentation as an attempt to master your mental processes. Change your thinking by analyzing, imagining and reprogramming your mind. Like open source software, the nascent science of mind hacking belongs to everyone. Mind hacking requires you to become the subject of your own mental experiment. The reward is the satisfaction of understanding your own mind. “To master your mind is to master your life. There is no more worthwhile pursuit.” The process of gaining mastery requires analyzing how your mind works, being willing to imagine new potential and reprogramming your thinking to reach that potential. Writing down your results as you routinely go through a set of mind exercise or games helps you measure your progress and activate the changes you want to institute during an initial 21-day burst of activity. Use self-analysis to access an objective meta overview of your mind and to break free from constantly running, but inaccurate, “mind movies.” Your senses constantly collect data, and your brain processes what you learn. Your mind grabs your full attention like an immersive movie, making you forget your position as its observer, but you want to try to achieve a separate objective overview of your mind. To gain mastery, you need “superuser” access with full programming privileges to your mind’s root system – that is, conscious control, 302 not just “user” access. The mind game, “What Was My Mind Just Thinking?” involves stopping and thinking about your last thought, stepping back from your usual fast-moving, internal “mind movie.” “Could I reprogram my mind? Could I hack into the source code and change the way my mind worked?…I began to look for ‘mind hacks’ – techniques to identify and reprogram my problem thinking.” ” “Meta thinking” refers to thinking about thinking; it’s also known as metacognition. Like a chess grandmaster, you can learn to take a higher level meta view of your mind in order to work on it, not merely in it. The idea is to seek conscious awareness of your mind. Too often, your mind bounds around like an uncontrollable dog, chasing fleeting thoughts like a puppy chases squirrels. If you try to still your mind, you’ll quickly notice its tendency to misbehave – as if it relishes turmoil. Imagine a parallel world where attention, not money, is currency. You live in that “attention economy.” You pay “attention taxes” all the time – watching TV, fiddling with your smartphone or viewing ads. Most people believe in multitasking, so they try to do different things at the same time – usually on their screens – and they don’t pay attention to other people who may be present. Yet multitasking is inefficient. This and other undisciplined habits – such as constantly checking social media or messages – drain your attention. Conditioned to disruption, the weakened mind struggles to find “the zone.” Learning to concentrate represents a kind of Star Wars Jedi training. With “voluntary” attention, you can direct your focus. When you pay “reflexive” attention, things catch your attention unwilled. To gain concentration, calmness and a competitive edge, “reclaim” and then “retrain” your attention. Focus it deliberately. Limit unnecessary distractions like instant messaging and app alerts. Regularly invest an hour in canceling and clearing out these distractions. Don’t respond instantly to every notice you receive. Retraining your mind begins with “concentration training,” which some view as meditation. Sit quietly on the floor with your legs crossed and eyes closed. Relax and pay attention to the breath at your nostrils for 20 minutes. You get a point for each time you direct your mind away from its movie. Note your score. Fit this training into your life by getting up a little earlier. Give yourself visual cues to meditate. Reward yourself appropriately. Find a consistent time, place, cue and reward for meditating. Choose a different variation that helps you focus, such as shooting at stray thoughts as if they were game aliens. Simply pause to observe your thoughts as they flow. Stray thoughts will arise. Notice them, set them gently aside and breathe. Your mind runs in compelling – but retrainable – “mental loops” based on your “Emotion-Thought-Action” patterns. In computers, various loops – “mental loops, counting loops, conditional loops” and “infinite loops” – perform functions as diverse as playing pranks and improving coding efficiency. Minds also run on loops. Through repetition, a 303 human baby goes from being helpless to being a complex, walking, talking entity in only three years. Powerful repetitive loops during a child’s upbringing affect his or her self-image lifelong. The content of the loops can become self-fulfilling. Negative effects like addictions arise from faulty mental loops. “There are mathematical simulations, financial simulations and weather simulations. But most important, there are mental simulations.” ” Like a coder fixing bugs in a beta software release, you can “debug” your frustrating mental loops. Use the "Five Whys" technique to reveal the roots of a bad loop by asking “why,” over and over up to five times, drilling down if necessary to get a real answer. Every time you think you’ve found an answer, ask why again. Use “Third-Person Perspective” to imagine what you would say to someone else who faced your current problems. The acrostic “METAL” – “My Emotion Thought Action Loop” – reminds you that your fears, thoughts and problems arise in the looping Emotion-Thought-Action sequence. To debug these loops, identify them and write them down. Inserting new “positive loops” into your mind helps you change your external reality to match your internal reality. Discover the reality of imagination. By inserting a fresh “positive loop” – a clear picture of what you want – at the end of habitual Emotion-Thought-Action sequences, you can reprogram your mental matrix and your reality. “Your loops create your thoughts. Your thoughts create your actions. Your actions create your life. Therefore, the quality of our loops determines the quality of our lives. Fix your loops; fix your life.” Psychologist Laura King found that people who – every day – write down the vision of their best possible future self become happier, more upbeat and healthier. Close your eyes and imagine that self for five minutes. Imagining your ideas clearly – as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos did with his unprecedented 1-Click Ordering concept – makes them realizable. To reprogram your mind, you need a “blueprint.” Write down your positive loops with regular reminders. Develop “positive thought loops” to overwrite negative ones. Positive reinforcement works, but yelling “No!” at your mind won’t shift it or calm it. Flesh out your loops with depth, detail and possibility. Find things you appreciate, because gratitude transforms thinking. Take empathetic care in selecting your mental loops. Put a self-confident “I” pronoun in your loops; ask yourself what you want in a positive way so you add value to the world. “Finding the you behind ‘you’ is the ultimate mystery. ‘Star Trek’ was wrong: space is not the final frontier. This is the final frontier, this exploration beyond the mind.” 304 Keep a methodical written overview “of” your mind to avoid getting stuck working “in” it. “Short, simple, flexible” plans are best; record them “Write Now” by listing your activities. The act of writing everything down gives you an overview of your progress and reshapes bad cognitive habits. Create a written “blueprint” of five main goals as a reminder, an opportunity to reflect and a basis for improvement. Harness the power of repetition by practicing concentration and writing positive loops. Repetition establishes new grooves in your thinking. Imagination games clarify your desire to “feel, do, have, give and be.” Use “imagination games” to train yourself to avoid positive or negative “magical thinking.” Choose a mood – like calm or empowered – that you’d like to feel. Imagine one thing you’d do if you inherited $50 million. What worldchanging contribution would you make? These games include: • “Five Words” – What five adjectives would you want someone at your funeral to use to describe you? Use these words down to express your desired sequence of feel, do, have, give and be. Write down the positive loops that correspond to the five words you chose. • “$10 Million Check” – This is based on the true story that comedy star Jim Carrey wrote himself a personal check for $10 million when he was a broke aspiring actor. This is a way to flip negative thoughts to positive. Write and then read an aspirational reminder every day. • “Smiling in the Shower”– Use your mental downtime to bring positive loops to mind. Forcing a smile actually makes you feel happier. • “Reminding Your Mind” – Create and set up a system to remind you to be positive. • “Shall We Play a Game?” – Think through the steps required to reach your goal, not just the end result. • “Block and Tackle” – Mentally simulate the difficulties of each step you need to take toward your objective. • “Self-Simulation” – Take a third-person view of yourself, as if watching yourself give a speech. This can propel you to take real-world actions. • “Share the Dream” – Tell a trusted person about one of your positive loops. To make your goals real, work with others. Nupedia, an early version of Wikipedia, failed because it lacked the mass collaboration central to Wikipedia’s success. “When you think of [your] five goals…what is the thought loop that will get you there? Choose your thought loops carefully, for they will determine the future direction of your life.” As recovering alcoholics well know, assisting others helps you, too. As you teach, you build knowledge, personal accountability and self-understanding. This reciprocity feeds positive change. Small, doable, replicable subgoals create momentum toward big breakthroughs. 305 To avoid being overwhelmed, plan your small actions that add up to reaching your goal. Use the mind-focusing acronym “LASER” – “Limited, Achievable, Specific, Evaluated, Repeatable” – to guide your micro-actions. See them as part of a “video game” in which you attain higher levels as you progress. Within LASER, do routine daily mind games, focusing on a relevant subgoal. Mirroring the dynamics of pushing a child’s swing, well-timed nudges from your microactions will create a repeating resonance that increases your upswing toward a big goal and sets up favorable habits. “These “powerful techniques…can help you accomplish anything you can imagine, whether that’s losing weight, changing habits, starting a business, finding love or building wealth.” This challenges your intuition and opens a “final frontier” for exploration. Follow the mind-hacking system with dedication and a sense of fun. On your “Practice Sheet,” set up a 21-day schedule of mind games, recording the results, reprogramming your thinking and rewarding your progress: • • • • • • • • • • • Day 1: “Accepting the quest” – Set a daily time to work on hacking your mind. Day 2: “What was my mind just thinking?” – Track how often you “check in” with yourself daily. Day 3: “Squirrel” – Be aware of what tugs at your attention or breaks your flow. Are you as distractible as a squirrel? Day 4: “The one-hour investment” – Take an hour to turn off unneeded digital alerts. Count how many distractions you ditched. Days 5 and 6: “Concentration” – Begin meditating 20 minutes daily. Record your progress. Follow the meditation routine until it’s embedded. Days 7 through 10: Add “Name That Loop” to the concentration exercises – Use the Five Whys to examine any negative mind loops, worst-case scenarios or third-person perspectives. Do a mind game daily that helps you activate your Feel, Do, Have, Give and Be cycle. Keep practicing and rewarding yourself. Days 11 through 14: Continue the “Concentration Game” – Add your Write Now exercises to the mix. Day 15: “Reminding Your Mind” – Continue to concentrate and write down your progress. Carry out additional mind games that remind you of your positive loops. Days 16 through 18: “The Simulator” – While still doing concentration and writing exercises, add one-minute mental simulations of positive loops. Reward yourself consistently Day 19: “Share the Dream” – Do all the previous days’ activities and tell a friend about a positive loop. “Sharing your goals…makes you more likely to achieve them.” Days 20 and 21: The LASER – Write a single subgoal. Use the LASER to develop a small step toward it, and take that step. On day 21, check it off as done, or set a simpler or different subgoal – and do it, too. About the Author 306 Sir John Hargrave leveraged his entrepreneurship into the content firm Media Shower. He also wrote Sir John Hargrave’s Mischief Maker’s Manual and Prank the Monkey. Simple Habits for Complex Times Recommendation Consultants Jennifer Garvey Berger and Keith Johnston present a challenging series of recommendations that will make you think until it hurts. They emphasize that survival and success in a VUCA world – one with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity – means you have to do what is difficult and often counterintuitive. Read and digest each chapter, reflect on it, discuss it and then move on to the next. In implementing the authors’ ideas, follow their advice: Gather varied perspectives, listen, experiment, learn, adjust and repeat. They show you how to work your way toward an agile, alert and ever-adapting organization. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • Leaders have grappled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) for millennia, but circumstances differ today. Get used to asking new and genuine questions. Complexity abounds. Address it, but don’t add to it. Sort your challenges into one of two categories: probable or possible. Strive to see complex systems as a whole. Ask how the components combine to lean toward certain outcomes. Though you may know little of what the future holds, set a clear and unambiguous direction. People think rationally and emotionally. The mix of many people’s logic and feelings adds up to the best decisions. Help people develop greater capacity to accept and engage with VUCA. Eons of natural selection coded you to act first and think later. You must adapt to a new world that demands the opposite. Summary Leaders have grappled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) for millennia, but circumstances differ today. 307 Today, unlimited information and data confront leaders, much of it flowing in real time and changing by the minute. Leaders must consider more factors than they can predict by relying on the past. Consider what is possible in an unknown future. “This rise in complexity, ambiguity, volatility and uncertainty is not just lingering around the edges of our workdays; it’s everywhere.” Evolution made people pretty good at making decisions according to what worked in the past. But in many circumstances, previously reliable understandings no longer apply. Now you must consider a range of possible scenarios, but knowing when and how to do that kind of thinking doesn’t come naturally to many people. Mastering this necessary new skill means forming new habits of mind. Get used to asking new and genuine questions. Avoid asking questions whose answers you think you know or questions whose answers you’ll ignore. Ask considered questions you truly want answered to open a broader range of possibilities and paths. People want to find a problem’s cause and make changes to fix it. This might work for a simple problem, but often fails in complex systems. Many problems defy simple solutions. “It’s totally possible that this task of leading in times as complex and volatile as today is a bigger stretch for us humans than anything else we’ve ever had to do.” Think through your organization’s system and consider how changing something in one part might affect other parts. Don’t expect to solve complex, systems-based challenges alone. To get into the right mind-set, ask different questions, and force yourself to consider other people’s perspectives, especially those that differ from yours. Resist classifying people into allies and enemies. Realize that people believe in the truth and efficacy of their own position. Stay curious. Complexity abounds. Address it, but don’t add to it. Sort your challenges into one of two categories: probable or possible. Adding more processes, rules, forms and procedures often make so-called solutions worse than the problem itself. If you have a simple problem, don’t seek complexity. You might, for example, believe that your firm suffers from a weak leadership pipeline. A new, complicated HR system to address it could cost a lot of money and frustrate the situation even more by requiring managers to create extra paperwork, track more metrics, hold more discussions and so on, taking even more time away from identifying and mentoring potential leaders. 308 In many cases, the past provides sound guidance. But just because tulips bloomed in mid-April last year doesn’t mean they will bloom this April, and a volcano that erupted 100 years ago and has a record of erupting only every 1,000 years or so could still blow tomorrow. Some problems fall into the category of probabilities, and that makes them simpler. Others depend on many variables within complex systems. Those reside in the more complex world of possibilities. “In every complex system, feedbacks are the lifeblood, the way that evolution and change begin and spread.” Before looking for solutions, consider where the problem falls: probability, or possibility? Even complicated systems respond predictably to adjustments and refinements across many components. Recognize these systems, and apply solutions that you base on past knowledge. Problems within complex systems don’t yield to discrete cause-and-effectbased solutions. Multiple variables cascade, combine and change. This level of complexity requires continual research, data models, investigations and experiments. You must detect even weak signals. Instead of seeking cause and effect, look for subtle, emerging patterns so you can intervene before they become steamrollers. Traditional planning matters – but in complex systems considering multiple perspectives, gathering diverse ideas and experimenting can replace the search for solutions to specific problems. Strive to see complex systems as a whole. Ask how the components combine to lean toward certain outcomes. Complex systems incline toward some things and resist others. A system of child protective services, for example, inclines toward the collective, prevailing habits and behaviors of many organizations, people, processes, rules, culture and practices. When it fails, it results in a spike in foster child abuse. Unless you find something specific, like an employee who deliberately ignored child protection rules, no single solution or silver bullet will fix it. Most problems in such a system are systemic problems. To address systemic problems, seek multiple perspectives on the issues and try to see the big picture before you start testing solutions. Nurture an environment of feedback, experimentation and openmindedness. Emphasize learning, and reward people for testing, failing, adjusting, trying again and iterating their way to improvements. These problems require a series of experiments that you follow up with learning, adjusting and additional experiments that will nudge you closer to understanding possible solutions. “Clarity is a core communication goal, and you can be clear about your direction even if you can’t be clear about your destination.” 309 Agile organizations must master giving and receiving feedback up, down and throughout the organization. Difficult conversations don’t come naturally. They take practice. Fight the notion that you know everything, though leaders resist this attitude change. Don’t view the people to whom you give feedback as problems you have to solve. Approach all conversations as learning opportunities. Ask, “What do I have to learn here?” This mind-set shift – whether in a performance review, casual conversation or meeting – changes how you perceive others and the questions you ask. Enter every interaction with the attitude that you will learn something. Remember that what you know, no matter how right it feels, is always only part of the truth. Ask other people for facts and evidence first, without judgment. Get them to say how they feel about an issue, and ask them to describe its impact. You may have good information, but you still have to learn from it by truly listening, which can be as difficult as providing sound feedback. The secret to good listening is to shift from thinking about what people’s words mean to you and considering what their words mean to them. Learning to listen deeply – not while planning what you’ll say next – takes conscious effort and time. Though you may know little of what the future holds, set a clear and unambiguous direction. The people you lead crave clear direction and priorities, especially in volatile, changing times. But in complex systems, leaders can’t know enough to articulate a clear vision, define a precise course of action or set the priorities that their people need to go forth and execute. Given many perspectives and ideas, leaders must set a clear direction – a path on which people can experiment and learn constantly, within boundaries their leader defines. Start with a shared vision, not a snapshot of the future or a set of targets, but establishing a direction that moves your organization toward the story you want to tell. Connect your vision to purpose and values. Listen to people, collect their viewpoints and ideas, and be aware of their signals, even weaker signals. Consider what your organization and system lean toward doing – the inclinations – and how they may need to change. Move inclinations through change gradually, with nudging and experimentation. “You need to understand that the future you’re moving toward is so ambiguous that you couldn’t possibly know what will happen, yet you have to be clear enough about what it is that you can get people off the course to which they have become accustomed.” 310 Consider the boundaries within your organization. These boundaries – explicit and implicit – define people’s behaviors and your culture. Get people’s perspectives on the boundaries, and then define and document these parameters. Decide which to keep and which to discard. Make sure everyone knows the boundaries within which to conduct “safeto-fail” experiments. To inspire trust, communicate a clear direction, admit what you don’t know and explain how you feel about it. Describe what you mean by a safe-to-fail experiment using examples from the past – celebrate what leaders and employees did that worked, and explain what they did that failed. Emphasize learning, and align people around the boundaries so that their efforts move in the broad direction you set. For example, Facebook rolls out changes continuously to small percentages of its users to gauge the impact of its experiments. These safe-to-fail experiments protect current attractors – their user interface, for example – and test new ones, such as a possible Facebook cryptocurrency. Run small experiments in parallel, and choose some that turn out contrary to your expectations. Repeat them at different times and in different contexts. Make them fast and cheap, invite as many diverse perspectives as possible, and design them to produce clear, measurable results. Motivate people by describing the journey as one of stages rather than one with a structure of due dates or specific financial objectives. For example, if you aim to cut costs by 10%, instead of announcing that goal, talk about experimenting in a direction of greater efficiencies. Acknowledge the fundamental role that emotions and feelings, as well as rationality and irrationality, play at work. People think both rationally and emotionally. The mix of many people’s logic and feelings adds up to the best decisions. You may think you can divorce your feelings and subjective notions from your decisions, but you can’t and you don’t, so acknowledge the role of emotion and utilize it. Even your so-called rational brain falls prey to many biases. Among the most prevalent, confirmation bias makes you unconsciously seek only information that supports your position. Recency bias puts undue importance on the latest thing you’ve seen or read. “The human brain has an enormous capacity not only to not see the whole picture but also to not notice that it hasn’t seen the whole picture.” 311 A bias toward the visceral makes you worry more about low-risk dangers – like a shark attacking your child – than about dangers that occur much more often, such as drowning. When you are leading, fundamental attribution errors can cause you to ascribe good or bad events and outcomes to people while you underestimate the influence of circumstances. You can’t detect these and other biases. Remain aware of them, and seek other perspectives and viewpoints to counter them. Help people develop greater capacity to accept and engage with VUCA. People evolve through stages of development. Some leaders and employees will continue to rage against uncertainty while others mature, accept it and know the firm must adapt. A few will welcome and celebrate VUCA. These people have leadership potential because they tend to adopt the most creative solutions after synthesizing many people’s perspectives. Don’t hire only the smartest people. Look for those who have demonstrably learned from failure. Encourage people to mature and grow in the way they deal with uncertainty by supporting their interests as well as the organization’s goals. Hold people accountable for their results, but not to the degree that you limit experimentation and risk taking, or leave no time for learning and development. Encourage healthy competition among your workforce, but not at the expense of collaboration or of stifling people’s willingness to listen and consider other perspectives. “A core desire people have from their leaders is direction and a sense of safety that someone knows where they’re all going. This is especially true in times of change.” ” Learning and work are not separate. Weave learning into personal work and teamwork, all the time. Assign work that stretches people and teams. Encourage genuine questions in meetings. Ask people to share at least one thing they’ve learned. Eons of natural selection coded you to act rst and think later. You must adapt to a new world that demands the opposite. Create a curious, learning-first, “feedback-rich organization.” Make it safe to share positive and negative feedback – good and bad news – up, down and across the firm. Share a constant flow of information with all employees. Communicate with logic and emotions, facts, feelings and honesty. Listen deeply. About the Authors fi 312 Jennifer Garvey Berger and Keith Johnston run a global leadership consultancy from New Zealand. They emphasize organizational readiness for success in a VUCA world. Lifescale Recommendation Your time and attention have never been more valuable. Tech companies vie for your attention and trade it as a commodity. They lure you into increasing your time on their platforms, and exploit neuroscientific discoveries to manipulate your online behavior. You succumb to the barrage of distractions, losing focus and creativity. “Digital anthropologist” Brian Solis noticed the demise of his own creativity and developed the Lifescale method in response. He provides a framework for recapturing your focus, rekindling your creative spark, and igniting a deep sense of purpose and well-being. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • Digital distractions gobble your focus and attention. In the “attention economy,” technology companies ruthlessly manipulate people’s behavior to monetize their attention. “Rapid toggling” – multitasking among activities – has many harmful effects. Creativity isn’t a special talent bestowed only on a lucky few. People often misperceive pleasure-seeking as happiness. Practicing mindfulness enables you to focus on the present. You become more aware of your environment and alert to your feelings. Purpose drives you beyond mediocrity into greatness. Positive thinking is a powerful tool for achieving your goals and aspirations. Increasing the ability to focus your productive energy enables deep dives into creative endeavors. Summary Digital distractions gobble your focus and attention. People suffering addiction to digital devices often drop out of real life to sleepwalk, zombie-like, through a virtual existence. They lose the ability to focus, meet goals and fulfill responsibilities. The detrimental effects of never disconnecting from the digital world include decreasing attention spans, loss of empathy, and less energy for creative activities or critical thinking. Productivity drops as workers spend an average of two hours a day on their smartphones. The time you spend on apps, networks, social media and texts does not make you happier. It erodes your sense of well-being, increases stress and anxiety, and engenders feelings of loneliness and self-doubt. “There’s a direct path to happiness and it’s through creativity; the benefits of that relationship are incredible.” Happiness correlates directly to creativity. Digital distraction inhibits creative flow. If you want to reclaim happiness and become more creative through learning how to resist the magnetic pull of distraction, consider “Lifescaling.” The Lifescale journey begins with developing awareness of why you succumb to distraction and relearning how to focus. You’ll define your values, and identify what brings you happiness and fulfillment. You’ll construct new routines and adopt creative habits for being a centered, present participant in your own life. 313 In the “attention economy,” technology companies ruthlessly manipulate people’s behavior to monetize their attention. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat monetize your attention. It’s a profitable commodity. Developers use “manipulation techniques” to influence user behavior, enticing you to spend time with games, social networks and apps. These techniques grow increasingly sophisticated as companies apply neuroscience to exploit human cognitive weaknesses. The ill effects are measurable. For example, teen suicide rates are rising. The frequent use of social media by the members of this age group increases their risk for depression. “We haven’t lost our ability to focus at all. We just need to reclaim it.” Distraction provides an escape, especially if you’re unhappy with your job or relationships. Digital distractions offer a welcome detour from responsibility, problems or difficult tasks. But now you can reclaim ownership of your mind. “Rapid toggling” – multitasking among activities – has many harmful effects. The human brain cannot multitask. What you’re doing is “task-switching” between one activity and another, and that depletes neural energy. The quality of your output suffers, your mistakes increase, and you lose comprehension and experience higher levels of stress. Multitasking negatively affects memory and inhibits creativity. In the first step of the Lifescale journey, incorporate techniques into your daily routine to realign your energy and attention. Understand that you procrastinate to avoid negative emotions – often originating in a task – such as worry, self-doubt or boredom. To reframe the task as a vehicle for engendering feelings of accomplishment, visualize the benefits of completing something you’ve put off. Reorder your morning routine. Tackle your most important projects first thing, and do less-demanding tasks later in the day. Abstain from multitasking. “Single-task” instead. Reduce distractions by turning off notifications, closing apps and windows, and silencing your smartphone. Work for an uninterrupted period, such as 25 minutes, and take short, five-minute breaks to re-energize. Refrain from checking email or surfing the internet during your breaks. Stretch or move around. Slowly increase the time of your work periods. Creativity isn’t a special talent bestowed only on a lucky few. Everyone has creative capabilities. Society and education systems suppress creative expression by putting less value on the arts than on subjects that supposedly prepare you to succeed. Everyone has the creative power to find solutions and discover new possibilities. Expressing creativity is essential to well-being. It engages the mind, promotes critical thinking and boosts innovation. When you’re immersed in creative activities, you’re resistant to distractions and you feel less anxiety. You gain self-confidence and awareness, take risks and accept failure as part of the process. “Many highly talented, brilliant, creative people think they’re not because the thing that they were good at in school wasn’t valued or was actually stigmatized.” Indulge your curiosity, ask questions and investigate possibilities. Start an ideas list, adding three new ideas every day. People often misperceive pleasure seeking as happiness. People believe that things, other people or activities make them happy, and that happiness is fleeting. They pursue the next delicious meal, exciting vacation, new romance or work promotion. You may seek attention and validation from outside sources and measure your worth by “likes” from strangers on social media. This brings less happiness, not more. To experience sustained happiness and well-being, engage in pursuits that provide you with meaning and purpose. Understand that what makes you happy springs from your values. 314 Values are the underlying belief system that is the fabric of your character and directs your life. These exercises will help you identify your core values: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. List times in your life when you felt the happiest. Note the times in your life when you felt the worst. Extrapolate the values from your best and worst times, and place them in a “matrix-style format.” Record every value you find important, such as hard work, generosity, fun, self-reliance, loyalty or tolerance. Group your key values together by themes. For example, values such as “learning, growth and development” fall under one theme. Pick one value from each group that represents the theme. Create subsets to include every value you find worthwhile. Consider actions you can take to fulfill and live by your top five to 10 values. Commit to living by these values by posting the list where you’ll see it every day. Practicing mindfulness enables you to focus on the present. You’re more aware of your environment and alert to your feelings. Most people live in a “me-centered” universe, according to “happiness guru” Dr. Srikumar Rao. They think about themselves constantly, falling into the trap of “accidental narcissism.” But, living in alignment with your core values requires shedding me-centered thinking and devoting yourself to the greater good. Develop self-awareness, which differs from thinking about yourself. Instead of questioning why things happen, ask, “What?” For example, “What do I find most important?” and “What is my life’s purpose in this moment?” Practicing mindfulness transports you from “why” to “what,” begetting a rich and fulfilling life experience. Digital distraction diverts your attention and prevents you from fully experiencing every moment. “Mental chatter,” the constant stream of thoughts, judgments and worries running through your brain, is the other big distraction. A mindfulness practice allows you to concentrate on the present, becoming cognizant of your environment and alert to your feelings. Mindfulness promotes creativity. When distractions don’t drain you, you’re free to focus on creativity. “Being in the moment is not just a slogan; it’s incredibly powerful. Not only for you, but for those you’re spending time and sharing life with.” Focus on your breath. Breathe in deeply, then hold your breath for five seconds and exhale in a big puff. Take a deep breath in, and hold it for a second before exhaling. As you repeat this breathing exercise, notice how it calms your mind. Promote mindfulness through the art of acceptance. Let go of those things you cannot control. Appreciate what you’re doing in the moment, such as eating a meal or sipping a cup of tea. A meditation practice is self-calming; it helps you let go and opens your mind. Purpose drives you beyond mediocrity into greatness. Purpose provides energy and focus, motivating you to perform as your best self. Clarity of purpose counters the mental chaos bred by spiritual aimlessness. It offsets me-thinking. “A more mindful, empathetic, loving and present life is the foundation of success as a process of living rather than as a plateau of achievement.” Participating in four kinds of life experiences can promote a clear sense of purpose: 1. “Physical and mental well-being” – Participate in activities that promote good health. 2. “Belonging and recognition” – Give and receive validation mutually from people who matter to you. 3. “Personally treasured activities” – Make time daily to do the things you love. 4. “Spiritual closeness and connectedness” – Seek a sense of connection to something bigger than yourself and the feeling of being a part of the collective human experience. Compose a personal purpose statement. This concise, one- or two-sentence statement sets forth your life passion and values, and a direction you can travel to achieve them. For example, 315 Oprah Winfrey’s purpose statement reads: “To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.” Positive thinking is a powerful tool for achieving your goals and aspirations. Incorporating purposeful behavior into your daily life is an ongoing process. Cultivating a positive outlook fuels motivation. The human brain has an innate, negative bias. But you can retrain your mind to have a positive bent. This doesn’t mean you are naive or thoughtlessly happy. It calls for controlling your reaction to input, thoughts and emotions. Simple methods for establishing new, positive thought patterns include practicing appreciation and gratefulness, finding inspiration from quotes and affirmations, and incorporating positivity into your mindfulness practice. Send positivity into the world to attract positive reactions. “You cannot control your mood, and you cannot always control the thoughts that pop into your head, but you can choose how you handle them.” ” Turn positive thinking into action through “visioning.” Generate mental images of what you’d like to achieve. Let your vision motivate and inspire you to perform at your highest level. Write a description of your goal or objective. Describe the desired outcome. Be realistic and choose an attainable goal. Create a vision board – a collection of images, words and pictures that form a visual representation of what you wish to achieve. Prominently display the board where you can see it daily. Create an action plan that describes the specific steps to take to achieve your goal. Seek input from people you respect and trust. Their support, feedback and practical advice can keep you on the right path. Increasing the ability to focus your productive energy enables deep dives into creative endeavors. Harness your productive energy and take a deep dive into creativity. Professor Cal Newport of Georgetown University defines deep work as “the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.” To switch between deep and shallow efforts, remove yourself from distraction to pursue uninterrupted work in a quiet place. Use blocks of time for concentrated work, and alternate between periods of deep and shallow work. Or dive deeply into work whenever your schedule allows, even if only for a short time. “Building your ability to focus creatively is like holding your breath. The more you practice it, the more you increase your ability to hold longer and deeper breaths.” Become ruthlessly protective of your deep-dive time, and stick to your schedule. Learn where you do your best work. Plan ahead to minimize interruptions. For example, have coffee and drinks on hand, keep highlighters and pens in stock, and construct an inspiring playlist. Investigate sharing a creative workspace to glean inspiration, feedback and support from others. Over time, you’ll experience periods of creative flow during deep work. As you immerse yourself in a task, you’ll see that time flies by, your creative juices flow, outside distractions recede, and you’re filled with a sense of personal truth and well-being. About the Author Brian Solis, principal analyst at the Altimeter Group, also wrote X: The Experience When Business Meets Design and What’s the Future of Business. 316 5am club Recommendation In consultant Robin Sharma’s self-help parable, an entrepreneur and an artist, both frustrated by failure, meet and travel with a mysterious billionaire, Stone Riley. The two travelers have front-row seats to inspirational speeches that Riley peppers with the mantra: “Own your morning. Elevate your life.” Riley emphasizes that success springs from starting your day at 5 a.m. He promises that will enable you to surpass your dreams, make history and free your inner genius. Sharma’s advice, though valid, is familiar from his other books. Recommended for his fans and those who love fables. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • Rising at 5 a.m. will help you let go of mediocrity and become extraordinary. The old “you” must die to make space for the new “you.” To be a “History-Maker,” work hard, avoid distractions, practice mastery and improve 1% every day. Your four “Interior Empires” are: “Mind-set, Heartset, Healthset and Soulset.” Good habits – waking early, working hard and being consistent – help you become a “Self-Discipline Spartan.” The “20/20/20 Formula” is “move, reflect and grow.” The “10 Tactics of Lifelong Genius” include focusing, setting targets, delegating and learning. “You enter the magic by using joy as your GPS.” Rising early will help you be forgiving and leave a lasting legacy. Summary Rising at 5 a.m. will help you let go of mediocrity and become extraordinary. An entrepreneur is unhappy, and wonders if life is worth living. She attends a motivational speech by the “Spellbinder.” He is old and seems unwell, but he’s inspiring about overcoming adversity so you can live your best life. Also present is an artist who is unsatisfied with his life and seeks a new path. The Spellbinder collapses. An apparently homeless stranger appears. He expresses admiration for the Spellbinder and shares a secret: The stranger says he is fabulously wealthy. The artist and entrepreneur are not convinced. The man invites them to enter a “secret reality” known only to geniuses and masters. He tells the entrepreneur that she is struggling with her employees because they can’t keep up with her vision. He advises the artist to take breaks from his technology. 317 “You truly can get up early. And doing so is a necessity in your awesome pursuit toward legendary. While doing one-armed push-ups, the man chants: “Own your morning. Elevate your life.” The artist and the entrepreneur agree that they would like to learn his secrets. He tells them they must break with their weak selves to find their strong selves. The old “you” must die to make space for the new “you.” The stranger is Stone Riley, who is, indeed, a billionaire. The artist and entrepreneur go to his compound. There they see the Spellbinder, miraculously revived. The entrepreneur tells the Spellbinder of her struggles with her shareholders. He reminds her she has chosen to change, to leave behind her old self and embrace her new self like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. He warns that nothing will happen if she hesitates. The billionaire tells the artist and entrepreneur that the Spellbinder taught him about owning his morning to elevate his life. The world is full of distractions, he says, but at 5 a.m. you have quiet. The entrepreneur gets a message from her partners threatening her with death if she doesn’t quit as CEO. Riley assures her his people are on the case. At 5 a.m. the next day, Riley shares his “3-Step Success Formula”: 1. “Learning and growing” for better awareness. 2. “Implementation and execution” for better choices. 3. “Income and impact” for better results. Dedication to detail sets the most successful 5% of people apart. Riley promises that with self-love and self-respect the artist and entrepreneur can become extraordinary instead of timid. The world is full of “superficial” people who are vague about what they want, so they produce vague results. The world has space for exceptional people because very few people try to reach beyond the norm. To be a “History-Maker,” work hard, avoid distractions, practice mastery and improve 1% every day. Riley reminds the artist and the entrepreneur never to take any day for granted. He says that thinking about dying makes you focus on what matters and feel grateful for the moment. “Your influence in the world mirrors the glory, nobility, vitality and luminosity you’ve accessed in yourself.” Riley then shares the “4 Focuses of History-Makers”: 1. “Capitalization IQ” – Innate talent isn’t as important as maximizing your talent with dedication and hard work. People don’t optimize their gifts, because they don’t believe they’ve got what it takes. 2. “Freedom from distraction” – Technology impedes the deeper connections that bring meaning to your life. Staying distracted indicates 318 you are afraid to the best you can be. Focus on one high-quality activity at a time. 3. “Personal mastery practice” – Dedicate at least 10,000 hours to your practice to become a master. Part-time commitment provides part-time results. 4. “Day stacking” – Even a 1% improvement over the previous day elevates your life by 30% in 30 days. What you do every day is more important than what you do once in a while. The entrepreneur gets another death threat from her foes at her company. She is less fearful now, strengthened from embracing the philosophy of waking up early. Your four “Interior Empires” are: “Mind-set, Heartset, Healthset and Soulset.” Riley discusses the importance of fulfilling the four Interior Empires, which are essential to happiness. People talk about elevating their mind-sets, but that is only one of four “sets”: 1. Mind-set – Important to developing personal mastery, the mind-set needs help from other empires. You can change the way you think, but you must change in other ways as well. 2. Heartset – Your emotional empire can “purify” your mind-set. Let go of sadness, resentment and fear. 3. Healthset – Do all you can to live as long as possible, including focusing intently on being healthy. 4. Soulset – All people have an “unstained spirit and spotless soulfulness” that informs their being. Riley reminded his guests that these “sets” are best activated in the early morning. Good habits – waking early, working hard and being consistent – will help you become a “Self-Discipline Spartan.” Success demands building good habits. By applying “grit,” even people who lack innate talent can achieve greatness. Riley shares the three elements of the “5-3-1 Creed of the Willpower Warrior”: 1. The five best ways to nurture good habits – Cultivate willpower, be disciplined, rest and recover when your willpower ebbs, make good habits into a routine and build self-control. 2. The three standards you need to build great habits – These values are: Be consistent, follow through and practice publicly what you do privately. 3. The “General Theory of Self-Discipline Spartans” – Take on difficult tasks that matter even if they make you uncomfortable. Riley tells the entrepreneur and the artist that your brain’s neuroplasticity enables you to grow, but routine is critical because creating a new habit takes 66 days. He says he pushed himself through the rigors of destroying his old habits and the chaos of change to emerge a titan. He practiced the 66-day habit change routine to build his ability to do 1,000 push-ups a day. 319 While visiting the Taj Mahal and listening to Riley further discuss waking up early to discover your hidden potential, the entrepreneur realizes how happy she is. She is in love with the artist, and she forgives the enemies at her company who threatened to kill her. Those who hurt others secretly hate themselves. By joining the 5 a.m. Club, she feels she will earn her right to greatness. The group goes to Rome where the artist and the entrepreneur announce their engagement. The billionaire presents them with an “Amazing Day” template to help them organize their work days for optimal performance. It suggests family time from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., focus on being a top performer from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and renewal from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. The Spellbinder warns them that not getting enough sleep leads to an early death. He says a nightly ritual is vitally important. The brain produces 75% of its human growth hormone (HGH) during sleep. HGH is essential to creativity and vitality. The optimal amount of sleep is 7.5 hours a night. The Spellbinder suggests a routine for the three hours before going to bed. • • • 7 to 8 p.m. – Eat the last meal of the day. Turn off your devices. Isolate yourself from overstimulation. 8 to 9 p.m. – Have conversations with loved ones. Meditate. Read. Take a bath. 9 to 10 p.m. – Prepare for sleep. Your bedroom should be cool, dark and tech-free. Lay out your gear for your 5 a.m. workout. Practice gratitude. The “20/20/20 Formula” is “move, re ect and grow.” Riley explained the three sections of the 20/20/20 Formula that unlocks the 5 a.m. “Victory Hour”: • • • 5 a.m. to 5:20 a.m.: Move – Get out of bed the moment your alarm clock rings. Exercise intensely for 20 minutes to cleanse your system and orient your focus. 5:20 a.m. to 5:40 a.m.: Reflect – Write in a journal or plan your day. Visit your gratitude. 5:40 a.m. to 6 a.m.: Grow – Read books, review your goals or study online. Deepen your knowledge to earn more and master your field. The “10 Tactics of Lifelong Genius” include focus, setting targets, delegating and learning. The entrepreneur’s enemies attack the SUV in which she, the artist and Riley are driving in Sao Paulo. The billionaire’s private security force whisks him away, but leaves the entrepreneur to find the artist, who has been kidnapped. Because she has been following the 5 a.m. Club morning routine, she is strong enough to fight her attackers and get away. She discovers her fiance in an alley with a gun to his head. She uses her wisdom from Riley’s teachings to convince the gunman to run away. “My business will be untouchable and I, personally, will become unbeatable as I execute on all these ideas.” The next day, Riley congratulates the couple, who credit his teaching with their recovery from the trauma of the attack. He tells the entrepreneur that he has fl 320 “taken care” of her enemies, who will never bother her again. Then, he shares his 10 Tactics of Lifelong Genius: 1. Build a “metaphorical moat” around your mental focus, physical energy, personal willpower, original talent and daily time. 2. For 90 days, use the first 90 minutes of the day to focus on the single most important work you can do to facilitate greatness. 3. Spend 60 minutes working at your highest level, then take a 10-minute break to walk, read or meditate. 4. During the second part of your 5 a.m. hour, set five “tiny targets” to accomplish that day. 5. Fast for 16 hours a day and eat during only eight hours. Schedule a second workout at the end of the day. Go for a nature walk. 6. Schedule two deep-tissue massages per week to reduce your cortisol (stress hormone), and to increase your melatonin and serotonin. 7. Use the time you spend in your car to grow professionally by listening to audiobooks or podcasts. Even one idea they inspire could earn you a great success. 8. Delegate tasks that don’t enhance your goals to employees dedicated to your success. 9. Take 30 minutes on Sunday mornings to create a plan for having a great week. 10. Take an hour to learn, every day, so you can fulfill your “mighty purpose.” “You enter the magic by using joy as your GPS.” The artist and the entrepreneur have a beautiful wedding, with Riley present. While sustainability is key to long-term success, he told them, you must work hard to stand out. He suggested alternating peak activity with recharging breaks by taking two days a week off from technology. Once they are more successful, he says, they should take summers off. “Tomorrow is a bonus, not a right.” To enjoy life, Riley says, everyone needs the right relationships, places and activities to fuel the engine that drives their GPS of joy. Riley gives the newlyweds several charms. They include a mirror that helps cultivate comfort with solitude, and a flower charm to remind them that miraculous experiences are more valuable than material things. The other charms are a door, which symbolizes moving on from failure; an eye amulet to ward off evil; a paintbrush to show the power of creativity and the power to make dreams real; and a money charm to remind them to give money freely, because the more you give, the more you receive. The last charm, a coffin, reminds them not to delay being happy to some future date when they think they will have more time. Rising early in the morning will help you be forgiving and leave a lasting legacy. Riley hosts the newlyweds on a visit to Nelson Mandela’s jail cell on Robben Island near Cape Town, South Africa. During his incarceration, Mandela got up at 5 a.m. every day to work out. Like Mandela, many great men and women suffered but held onto their core character traits: Courage, mercy, humbleness, honor, compassion, authenticity and courtesy. Strive for these qualities to realize 321 your greatness and make the world a better place. To establish a legacy, construct your life around doing good. “Every one of us must rise each morning – yes, at 5 a.m. – and do everything we can possibly do to unfold our genius, develop our talents, deepen our character and escalate our spirits.” Flash forward five years: The entrepreneur is wealthy. She volunteers to help homeless people and runs marathons. She doesn’t care about being rich, famous and powerful, though she is all three. The artist has become a vegan and a habitual exerciser. He’s famous and prosperous. They both work to bring others into the 5 a.m. Club. About the Author Leadership consultant Robin Sharma also wrote The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, The Greatness Guide and The Leader Who Had No Title. His books have sold 10 million copies. You are awesome Recommendation Best-selling author Neil Pasricha may seem to build a simple case for how “awesome” you are, basing his reporting on numerous research studies and expert opinions. He upends the current culture of perfection by stressing the importance of failure. He also tells you to find time to unplug from today’s constant connectivity. In his exuberant, sometimes simplistic way, he challenges you to do the work and take responsibility for your next step in life. You may think you know what lies ahead, but studies show you don’t. This book will give a boost to employees, managers and executives who want to become more resilient and to make sure they’re on the path that works for them. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • An ellipsis opens up possibilities. People aren’t focused on you, really. You can’t see the future, but continue moving forward. Changing your perspective changes the stories you tell yourself. Learn from your losses, and celebrate your growth. Create a way to externalize your concerns. Don’t fight with the pack, find your own way. Productivity can impede obtaining your goals. 322 • Believe in your choices and move forward. Summary An ellipsis opens up possibilities. The ellipsis was first used in a 1588 English translation of a Roman play. Adding those dots of punctuation to show a gap in a sentence can mark the transition from an absolute finality into a future option. An ellipsis also means an additional new challenge, which you may want to end with a period. Letting your process of transition continue, however, allows you to keep “fighting, working, trying.” A daughter of East Asian parents in Kenya used this as a mantra. She studied every day, scored the highest on a National Exam and won a scholarship to a posh boarding school before her father called asking her to come home before he died. In just a short time, she found hereself in London, then married off to a man she’d met once and, ultimately, living in a Toronto suburb. She held to the idea that she didn’t know her new culture“…yet.” Because she viewed changes as beginnings instead of endings, she could remain stronger internally. “There is magic in doing things simply. In doing things easily.” An MIT study found that even the hint of having an opportunity or door close makes that opportunity more attractive. Without being aware of it, you desire to have as many open options as possible for as long as you can. To do this takes effort to strive. See your plans as using an ellipsis instead of a period. You limit yourself by stating absolutes in your every day life. Usually the comments are negative. You may mourn not having a relationship, saying you “can’t” meet anyone. Open up doors and realize you haven’t met anyone…“yet.” This three-letter word yields tremendous power. People aren’t focused on you, really. In 2000 two psychologists created the term “spotlight effect” to describe how people feel others are paying attention—and judging—them more than is real. Subsequently, professors from three universities studied this by asking participants to guess how observers would rate their physical appearance, athleticism and video-gaming skills. The study found that the group consistently amplified how much detail the observers noticed.The researchers concluded that this self-created “fear of judgment” plays a part in anxiety. While you think you are the focus of others, you’re not. In 2016, a Psychological Bulletin study reported that the ideal of perfectionism is gaining traction in current younger generations. The goal of perfection combined with the idea that everyone is observing your failure is a dangerously powerful combination. 323 “We take tiny strings of trouble and extrapolate them into huge problems with our entire identities always on the line.” The reality is that people are really too self-involved to notice you. In addition, getting fired doesn’t lead to being homeless. The first failure you have, whether a job or relationship is hard, but you become more resilient with more experience. If reality shows there isn’t a spotlight focused on you for all the world to see, how can you change your perception? First realize how instinctive and self-centered it is to blame yourself. You need to separate yourself from the failure. While it may be next to you, it doesn’t define you.When you can move the focus away from yourself, you can continue to learn and grow. You can’t see the future, but continue moving forward. If your marriage ends in divorce, add a “dot-dot-dot” and realize that you’re not the center of everyone’s world. See your “failure” as one step on your life-path. A future path that you can’t know…yet. You can look behind you at experiences, like a staircase of steps and actions, but not your next ones. People find that hard to believe according to a 2013 study of 19,000 adults published in Science. Researchers asked participants how much they thought they had changed in the past 10 years and how much they thought they would change in the next 10. Across the board, participants believed they had changed more in the past than they would in the future. They were wrong. The reason, which researchers termed the “end of history illusion,” is because people base the future on their present circumstances. If you’re doing well, this might be positive reinforcement. If, however, you’ve just lost a job or gone through a divorce, the future may seem bleak. In short, people believe in the worst-case scenario, that if life is bad now, it will continue to be. But, if you see the setback as a step on the “invisible staircase” of your future, you can realize that although you can’t see how you will change, you will. You have to trust enough to take the next step up the stairs. “Real growth, real evolution…comes from taking what came before and integrating it into a greater whole.” One divorced man, alone in a 500-square-foot apartment, started the blog, “1000 Awesome Things.” His initially snarky commentary moved to reflections on gratitude for green traffic lights when late. It helped him make the transition to a life that includes a wife and son. Changing your perspective changes the stories you tell yourself. Sometimes you hit rock bottom and although you try to climb out, you slip back down. You might feel shame. Psychoanalyst Carl Jung called it “the swamplands of the soul,” encompassing the multitude of feelings connected 324 to shame. While dictionary definitions involve others shaming you, research reveals that shame involves how you view yourself. If you have a strong sense of self, your focus isn’t on how others see you to begin with. When interviewed, author Seth Godin relayed how The Book of est made him realize he was in charge of stories he told himself about the world. He learned to change them to be happier. If failing a test leaves you devastated, listen to the stories you attach to it. Instead of going to the worst-case scenario, “tilt the lens a bit.” It’s not easy to do this, but you can learn. When refining your focus, consider if you will care about the issue when you’re dying, if you can change your circumstances or if the problem is merely a narrative you are reciting to yourself. “We take what’s invisible to others and shine spotlights on it inside our own minds.” An article on deathbed regrets doesn’t mention any failed tests. These regrets usually concern larger, lifetime issues. If you carry shame from a childhood event, explore it with a therapist or talk to your parents directly. Some issues you cannot change. What you can do is change the story that repeats in your head about the issue. Determining what your stories are requires digging through layers of tales to find the seed of truth. From there, you can view the tales you’ve connected to it. You may not be aware of how you’ve germinated the seed with your stories. Failing a science test is the fact; failing your parents is the story. Only you can change the stories you tell yourself. Learn from your losses, and celebrate your growth. Losing can hurt, but it means you’re moving forward. If your “ambitions exceed abilities” that’s a good sign. You may fail, but on the way you’ll be learning and creating stronger resilience muscles. After 12 years and seven attempts, an author finally created a successful website. It won numerous awards, more than 50 million readers and led to a career as a writer and a lecturer on intentional living. Baseball’s Cy Young and Nolan Ryan, respectively had the most wins and strikeouts. They also had the most losses and walks. Their records reflect the significant amount of time they played. Commencement speeches extoll you to “do what you love.” The added phrase should be only if you love it enough to deal with the frustrations and work involved. If you want another job, then be ready to deal with the rejection of not getting most of them. To strengthen your resilience, expose yourself to new experiences where you might not feel comfortable. Go to an unknown author’s reading or accept a party invitation from someone you barely know. You may feel you’ve wasted your time, but you may meet new people who ignite your passions. 325 “Moving through failures is the real success.” Create a “failure budget” of $20 to try oysters or $5,000 to finance a new podcast. Your motto should be, “you win some, you learn some.” It’s also important to give yourself credit for your failures. Instead of hiding them, realize what they taught you. Write down your successes and losses, but be kind to yourself. Failure humanizes people. You will trust someone more if you know his failures. If he is unaware of his failures or pretends he doesn’t have any, watch out. Create a way to externalize your concerns. Previously religious confession offered a “healing for the soul” when thoughts or problems weighed you down. The fastest growing religion now is “no religion” according to National Geographic. Without the structural confession of most religions, there is no place for “mental release.” People also experience less of a sense of community since 40% of Americans live alone. People now turn to others online. Frank Warren, creator of PostSecret, began asking people in 2005 to send in their secrets on a postcard. People worldwide have anonymously sent him more than a million postcards. Therapy can help you address problems, but you can also spend twominutes every morning writing down your specific responses to three prompts: what you will let go of, what you are grateful for and what you will focus on today. It may seem ridiculous, but it is healing and can dissipate your anxieties. “In our loud and chaotic world we need a place to let our thoughts clarify, congeal and then fall right out of us.” A research study, “The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success,” found that beginning your day with positivity provides significant increases in productivity, sales and creativity. Another study showed that writing down five specific things you’re grateful for each week makes you happier and healthier within 10 weeks. The last prompt focuses on your plan for what you will accomplish that day. This cuts down on “decision fatigue” due to energy used by the complex, decisionmaking part of the brain. Don’t ght with the pack, nd your own way. Instead of following the pack to compete for a limited number of jobs, find another way. While successful companies recruit heavily at Harvard Business School, a former dean told a student seeking opportunity to look at “bankrupt companies” who didn’t wine and dine the students. When the graduate began working at Walmart, he found that his confidence increased because the company valued him. fi fi 326 “Regardless of age, socioeconomic background, nationality, or cultural upbringing, when you’re in a small pond, your opinion of yourself…goes up.” A series of studies found that your self-regard increases when you’re in a smaller pond. The positive self-worth you feel will continue for 10 years after you leave that pond. This can come with risks of abusing your power if you’re not self-aware. The goal is to give yourself a chance to grow in a more nurturing environment. Productivity can impede obtaining your goals. A 2015 McKinsey & Company white paper reported that today’s employee produces “2.4 times” more than in 1964. Everyone loves to be productive. It feels good. The downside, according to New Yorker writer Alexandra Schwartz, is that productivity is “improving ourselves to death.” Thus, says author Barry Schwartz, Americans now have more freedom of choice, but they don’t benefit from it psychologically. Author Ti Wu adds that if the reason for technology is to allow people to pursue their personal goals, it’s causing the opposite effect. You may do more work in a day than your ancestors did in a month, but you also have a harder time relaxing and having fun. You may not spend the time to make sure you’re taking the path you want to take. In The Happiness Equation, Pasricha splits a 168-hour week into three buckets. One 56-hour bucket is for work, one for sleep and one for fun. The first two enable the third. If your “hobby” of writing is in the third bucket, but you also want to spend time with your family, something has to change. Two questions can help you make this decision. First, ask if you’d regret not making the change. In this case the options were climbing a corporate ladder or being an author and speaker. The second question is what you will do if you fail. Returning the corporate climb was the author’s answer. Ironically, he wrote less during his first year of his new career than he had before. Instead of idyllic tranquil writing time, he found his days interrupted by phone calls, messages, meetings and interviews. His solution was to carve out a day per week that was “untouchable.” Although that day can move within a work-week, he never canceled it. During these uninterrupted days, he produces 5,000 words, 10 times more than in a normal day. The sanctity of the time allows him to concentrate more deeply on his work. Many people object to cutting their technical tether. Initially, the author’s wife had concerns that she wouldn’t be able to reach him in an emergency. He agreed to check his phone at lunch and found a barrage of buzzing alerts from dozens of texts, emails and feeds. There were no emergencies. Now he just tells her where he is working if she needs him. 327 “We have to learn to turn down the noise and find little ponds of tranquility…to help us reflect and make sure we’re going the right way.” If you’re an ER doctor or a CEO’s assistant, someone may need to reach you. You may not be able to take an entire day tech-free, but you could do an “untouchable lunch.” Take the time to walk alone without your phone instead of eating with everyone in the cafeteria. A third resistance is that even if you can take the time to unplug, people on your team have difficulty doing it. A study conducted by the author in Harvard Business Review detailed the results of “mandatory vacations.” Employees lost vacation days if they contacted the office during their time off. However you achieve it, it is possible and important. Believe in your choices and move forward. The core ingredient to resilience is always continuing to move forward. Try to keep decisions simple. Harvard professor Daniel Gilbert finds that when you’re making decisions if you think you don’t have a choice, you believe you’ve made a “better decision.” When you do have a choice, a tremendous amount of “second-guessing” occurs. If you’re stuck between two good options, just chose one. You can say that you had no choice. Also realize that conversations aren’t win-lose situations. If someone doesn’t understand what you’re saying, change how you’re explaining it. It’s your responsibility to have them understand you, not the other way around. That is the crux of empathy. About the Author Award-winning author Neil Pasricha has written six books on intentional living, two of which sold more than a million copies and spent 200 weeks on the New York Times bestselling list. He hosts the podcast 3 Books. the 10x rule Recommendation If you want to succeed, says sales training expert Grant Cardone in this bestselling motivational manual, set goals 10 times higher than you’d like to reach, and put in 10 times the effort that you anticipate is necessary. Cardone says you must value success highly enough to strive toward it resolutely. He tells you how to set a high bar for yourself so you can leverage the power of working intelligently and extremely hard. While he writes provocatively, his basic premise 328 – multiply by 10 – is pretty simple. getAbstract suggests his advice to anyone seeking a quick, quirky motivational boost. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • To succeed, set targets, work systematically, network and use your time effectively. Follow the “10X rule” to success: Set goals 10 times higher than you want to attain, and perform 10 times the effort you think necessary to achieve your goals. Without success, societies – like Ancient Rome – grow stagnant and wither. “Normal” employees, executives and organizations “blend in more than they stand out.” Even doing nothing takes effort. If you’re retreating, recognize the energy that backward movement demands. Dig in your heels and apply your efforts toward success instead. “Massive action” doesn’t mean counting the hours you work. It means ignoring them. Make your business invulnerable to competition; make competitors keep up with you. The world accepts that you should set limited goals because they are attainable. When the global economy goes through a contraction, most people strive for safety, not success. In hard times, strive to expand. Summary Setting “10X” Targets To succeed you need to set targets, work systematically and doggedly, use time effectively and network. When you consider your life, you may see that you succeeded in the past when you put in 10 times more effort than most other people. Those who’ve achieved enormous success in the arts, philanthropy, politics, athletics or entertainment all followed the 10X rule. “The 10X Rule is the one thing that will guarantee that you will get what you want in amounts greater than you ever thought imaginable.” Develop the capacity to foresee how much work you and your colleagues must sustain to achieve your targets. Then, set goals 10 times higher than that and undertake 10 times the effort that initially seems necessary. That’s what it takes to follow the 10X rule. Four Mistakes People tend to make four types of mistakes when they begin applying the 10X rule: 1. “Mistargeting” – They set limited goals whose targets don’t galvanize them. 329 2. “Severely underestimating” – They don’t realistically assess what it will take in effort, capital and gumption to achieve their objectives. 3. “Spending too much time competing” – They let their competitors dictate their pace of work and their goals. 4. “Underestimating the amount of adversity” – They don’t correctly envision the challenges they face. Meaning of Success Each person conceives of success differently. No matter how you define it, you must value success highly and strive to attain it. Success shapes the welfare of individuals, families and groups. Without it, societies can’t prosper and survive. “You must think in terms of being everywhere at all times. This is the kind of 10X mind-set necessary to dominate your sector.” Success means growth. History provides lessons of the consequences of an end of growth. Ancient Rome and Communist Russia, for example, both crumbled when they stalled. Success and the pursuit of success ensure societal survival. Embrace Your Potential Most people don’t consider success all that important, or they think that only other people can achieve it. Or they want only a little success, believing that would tide them over. These attitudes explain why most people don’t get anywhere. How much of your potential do you use? You might feel uncomfortable with the answer. If you don’t think success is imperative, you won’t live up to your potential. People may spend their lives explaining why they didn’t succeed. This could happen to you if you regard success as just another option rather than as something you must attain. Take Responsibility To decide your direction in life, accept responsibility. People who shirk responsibility don’t reach their highest potential level of achievement. High achievers accept responsibility for their success or failure. They don’t blame other people. They take charge of what happens. Those who think of themselves as victims tend to hand control of their lives over to someone else. They never understand their own capacities. “Four Degrees of Action” Individuals often fail because they don’t act appropriately. In most circumstances, you have four choices, but most people use only the first three: 1. “Do nothing” – Passivity brings failure. 2. “Retreat” – Giving up gets you nowhere. 3. “Take normal levels of action” – Doing just enough allows people to plod along. 4. “Take massive action” – Only a few outstanding people take massive action. Among other things, taking massive action means to stop measuring how much time you work. 330 “Success provides confidence, security, a sense of comfort, the ability to contribute at a greater level, and hope and leadership for others in terms of what is possible.” Any individual might take one of these actions at some time or another. Everybody has the capacity for each step. You might apply a normal degree of action to a healthy lifestyle and yet embrace massive action on “destructive habits” that undermine it. People may succumb to passivity and never understand that even doing nothing takes effort. Those who succumb to ennui, selfsatisfaction or “lack of purpose” waste a lot of energy and precious time justifying their behavior – especially to themselves. “Retreaters” People who retreat often fear success. Perhaps a retreater tried hard and failed, and so fears trying that hard again. Retreaters waste time making excuses for their fears. Yet they seldom fear the failure they suffered; rather, they are afraid of what they see as the meaning of that failure and how badly they felt about themselves afterward. Like doing nothing, retreating takes effort. It’s exhausting to urge yourself not to try, to fight against the innate desire to achieve. Wasting time hiding out, dodging opportunities and effort takes more energy than actual work. “The most successful follow up every action with an obsession to see it through to a reward.” If you claim that you can go no further in your arena – business, self-growth, healthy behavior, intimacy, creativity, political involvement, whatever it is – you are retreating. If you choose to remain a server in a restaurant and give up acting, that’s a retreat. If you decide that no one in your field will hire you and you stop looking for work, that’s a retreat. “Customer service is the wrong target; increasing customers is the right target.” Usually, no one can talk a retreater out of retreating. They take all the willpower they applied to going forward and apply it to moving backward instead. If you’re retreating, recognize the energy that demands. Dig in your heels and apply your efforts toward beginning to move ahead again. “Normals” Most people are normals. They do just enough work and live with just enough verve to have fundamental, if plodding, lives. One mark of normal employees, supervisors, bosses or organizations is that they “blend in more than they stand out.” “Criticism is not something that you want to avoid; rather, it’s what you must expect to come your way once you start hitting it big.” As long as times are good, normals thrive, in their limited way. But the moment an economic downturn or financial crisis hits, normals suddenly realize that their 331 cherished, easy way of life is under threat. In such times, a normal lifestyle may be irrevocably damaged. But most people accept being unexceptional and do just enough to survive. A penchant for the average means you giving up on your dreams. “Regardless of how superior your product, service, or proposition is, I assure you that there will be something you don’t anticipate or correctly plan.” Instead, reach for your dreams. Instead of being average, use the 10X rule and break out of the routine. Being average is being “less than extraordinary.” You can’t expect to lead an extraordinary life or live in extraordinary circumstances if your efforts are only average or slightly above average. If you have above-average capabilities, but you behave or perform in an average way, you are being passive or retreating If you have more vigor and originality than you apply to your daily life, use it. Don’t insist on remaining average? No one wants to buy an average product. No advertiser ever promotes anything as being average. To make your life extraordinary, you must embrace the massive action. Massive Action Spending time at a children’s playground should convince you that massive action is a person’s natural state. Kids never stop moving. If you go into the ocean, you will see nonstop massive action. Even the Earth itself, just below its surface, is in constant action, constant turmoil. “People who refuse to take responsibility generally don’t do well at taking much action and subsequently don’t do well in the game of success.” Some people waste their massive efforts in thrill seeking behavior, drugs, alcohol and other self-destructive pursuits. That usually results in boredom, and it can lead to paralysis or retreat. When you embrace positive massive action, don’t expect everything to go smoothly. The more action you generate, the more problems you may create. And the more you must solve. Massive action doesn’t mean counting the hours you work; it means ignoring them. When people comment on your energy, commitment and determination, you know you’re taking massive action. “It’s pointless for people to worry about time management and balance. The question they should be asking is, ‘How can I have it all in abundance’?” Treat every single day as if you will ruin “your future and your life” if you don’t take massive action. If people call you “a workaholic, obsessed” or “driven,” you know they’re not operating on a level of massive action. If they were, you would recognize them as kindred spirits, and they would similarly recognize you. When you finally succeed, rest assured that the passives, retreaters and normals will vilify you. That’s simply the fruit of massive action. Starbucks 332 Most workers in the United States read about one book a year and work fewer than 40 hours a week. They make about 300% less than senior executives who read more than 60 books a year. People often criticize the salaries of highly paid executives, but such critics discount how hard a well-paid CEO must work. “We are encouraged to conserve and protect ourselves from losses rather than to go for the big payoff.” In 2008, the US economy came under enormous stress. Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, did what most other executives did – he cut costs. He also did something most other executives did not: He traveled around the United States to meet his company’s customers. Schultz set out to discover how Starbucks could do a better job of satisfying its customers. His actions exemplify extraordinary massive action. Starbucks sells something customers want but don’t need, especially in tough times. But because it satisfies its clientele, Starbucks thrives. Competition Customers gain from competition. In fact, competing makes some people work harder. Most people believe in the benefits of competition. They don’t stop to question who stands to gain. Many businesses look to their competitors to provide a model of effort and expenditure. If these businesses manage to equal their competitors, they feel as if they’ve succeeded. However, to be a 10X businessperson, you must command, not compete. You must put in the effort to reach a controlling position in your field. You must make your business invulnerable to any competition and make your competitors strive to keep up with you. “Disciplined, consistent, and persistent actions are more of a determining factor in the creation of success than any other combination of things.” Apple, for example, sets the agenda in several fields. Apple sets its own business pace. It never lets rivals affect its tempo. You, too, can create a business that others want to emulate. Examine the practices of other businesses in your arena. Adopt the best ideas and figure out how to surpass them. Work until you decimate all the rival businesses in your market. The Trap of the Middle Class People who belong to the middle class often settle for getting just enough. They want a comfortable life, a good job and some money in the bank. In 2009, The Economist magazine said that almost half of the world belongs to the middle class due to growth in “emerging countries.” It suggested that the members of the middle class have the flexibility to spend a third of their incomes on discretionary things they want after they pay for basic needs. “Fear is actually a sign that you are doing what’s needed to move in the right direction.” But, in fact, the middle class is getting squeezed. Rising prices and the failure of salaries to match inflation account for some of that squeeze. Pundits, educational 333 establishments, politicians and the media urge most people to compromise rather than to work for abundance. That advice makes no sense. The richest 5% of people in the world control $80 trillion of its wealth. If you have the capacity and the gumption, shouldn’t you join them? Hard Times When the economy goes through a contraction, most people work to protect their assets and stay out of trouble. This approach ensures that they’ll never achieve their goals. Instead, emulate the people and businesses that take advantage of hard times by seizing opportunities and expanding. “Treating success as an option is one of the major reasons why more people don’t create it for themselves.” Striving to stay safe violates a fundamental of the 10X rule. The rule demands that you work and produce copiously, no matter what’s happening around you. At times, you might contract, but only for periods of retrenchment before advancing again. Some companies fail because they expand too fast, but many more suffer because they don’t prepare for expansion. The strategy of consistent expansion requires courage, but it will help you forge ahead in any situation. About the Author Sales training expert Grant Cardone has written best-selling books and appears on CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News and Fox Business, and contributes to Huffington Post. How to Talk to Anyone Recommendation "Language most shews a man: Speak, that I may see thee." The great English dramatist and poet Ben Jonson wrote these words in the seventeenth century. They are as true today as they were then. People evaluate you by the words you use and the way you use them. Of course, people also make judgments based on your body language, dress style, attitude, facial expressions and similar criteria that immediately register at a subconscious level. This outstanding book will put you well on your way to becoming a more attractive personality as it reveals the secrets that drama and speech coaches, sales trainers, communication consultants, psychologists and other behavioral experts employ to help their clients become more charismatic, dynamic and appealing. The famous journalist and social critic H.L. Mencken once wrote, "Before a man speaks, it is always safe to assume that he is a fool. After he speaks, it is seldom necessary to assume it." This cynical maxim may be true for many – but certainly not for those who study this book. It is chock-full of wonderful insights and proven techniques – a whopping 92 in all – that you can use to become the type of person that others admire. getAbstract recommends putting its valuable lessons to use. Take-Aways • • Successful people are not always the smartest, most attractive or best educated. Often, they succeed because they know how to get along well with others. 334 • • • • • • • • People respond to each other on a subconscious level. Research indicates that "as many as 10,000 units of information flow per second" between individuals. Numerous proven techniques can increase your attractiveness and dynamism. People learn everything they need to know about you within the first few seconds of meeting you. Meanwhile, you are also forming powerful first impressions. You send out clear signals about how you feel without saying a word. "Fine-tune your smile." To make people feel great about you, focus your conversation on them. Many people are as frightened to make small talk as they are to appear on the stage. You will come across as a far more intelligent speaker if you simply find substitutes for a few "overworked words" such as "smart, nice, pretty or good." Summary "Clever Hans, the Counting Horse" In Europe during the halcyon years before World War I, "Clever Hans, the counting horse," was, without a doubt, the most talked-about sensation on the continent. A brilliant entertainer with a unique act, Hans could somehow supply accurate answers to math questions that audience members posed to him. He did so by quickly tapping out the correct answers to any problem – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division – with a hoof. The horse's owner, Herr von Osten, was always by his side while Hans performed these seemingly miraculous feats – but he never spoke to the horse or signaled to him in any way. “There are two kinds of people in this life: Those who walk into a room and say, 'Well, here I am!' And those who walk in and say, 'Ahh, there you are'.” No one had ever seen such an amazing animal! Expanding beyond math, Hans "learned the alphabet." By tapping his hoof a certain number of times for each letter, he would answer questions from audience members concerning the latest news, or subjects such as geography and history. Hans always answered every question correctly. Eventually scientists and other leaders organized a special commission to investigate the "human horse." They asked von Osten to leave the hall for their test. Then, they had Hans perform his usual math and language wizardry in front of a crowd. But the horse still did not miss an answer, tapping out correct responses to numerous questions from the leader of the commission. No one could stump the brainy Hans. “No man would listen to you talk if he didn't know it was his turn next.” The public insisted that investigators form another commission. Members organized a second test in which the questioner whispered questions in Hans's ear so no one else could hear. This time, Hans could not answer even a single question correctly. Instead of being brilliant, the horse was revealed as a dummkopf! Can you guess how the commission's members proved that Hans was a fraud? Von Osten had taught the horse to read the audience members' "bodylanguage signals." As Hans tapped his hoof, people in the audience would exhibit clear signs of tension – straining forward, holding their breath – until the horse reached the correct number. Then they would all relax, at which point von Osten had taught Hans to stop tapping immediately. Hans was "clever" – but not because he was a math genius or geography expert. He simply knew how to take cues for his actions from the subtle responses of the people around him. "Know your audience" is one of the primary rules of effective communications. Hans the horse was able to learn this important lesson. Can you? Teach Yourself to Become Charming and Attractive The most accomplished public speakers, actors, politicians and salespeople were not born charismatic. They worked hard to learn how to speak effectively, to be appealing, and to charm and persuade others. How did they achieve their goals? The answer is simple: They each applied certain remarkably helpful rules of personal communication and, thus, developed themselves into winning and attractive personalities. Yes, such rules exist. Furthermore, they are easy to learn and employ. You can use these secrets and tricks to re-create yourself almost magically into a person of great charm and poise, someone everyone will admire and want to be near. "How to Intrigue Everyone Without Saying a Word" 335 First impressions are the most lasting. "The way you look and the way you move" provide 80% of the information people use to form their initial impressions of you. To make sure people get an overwhelmingly positive impression when they first meet you, use the following tips: • • • Smile slowly – Don't smile as soon as you meet someone. People will assume that you do this with everyone. Instead, wait a second or two, look long and deep at the person you are meeting, then smile big. This brief delay signals that you are not smiling because it is socially desirable, but because you see something special in this particular person that you really like. "Sticky eyes" – Show people that you truly can't take your eyes off of them. Maintain perfect eye contact while you speak with them. "The big baby pivot" – When you meet someone, pivot directly toward him or her with a "total-body turn," flash a genuine smile, and show the undivided and very special attention you would give to a young child who has just crawled up into your lap. "How to Know What to Say After You Say, 'Hi'" Many people, including senior executives, motivational speakers and great performers, hate to make small talk. But it is an art that you easily can muster if you follow these tactics: • • • The "mood match" – Don't speak with someone else until you first sample his or her mood. Once you have, make sure that your opening words "match that mood." This is particularly important for salespeople. "Wear a 'whatzit'" – Starting a conversation with a stranger is not easy. One way to get the ball rolling is to wear something distinctive that he or she is sure to comment upon – a novel tie-tack, a piece of antique jewelry, or a special lapel pin or button. The "swiveling spotlight" – People love to speak about themselves. Imagine a giant spotlight that rotates to light up your counterpart. Keep the spotlight – and focus – on that person and not yourself. He or she will think you are great for doing so. "How to Talk Like a VIP" You can always recognize important people by the commanding, intelligent way they speak. They have confidence, choose the proper words and don't use clichés. Follow their lead: • • • "Kill the quick 'me too!'" – To really impress, avoid immediately matching someone else's account of a personal experience or preference – say, a love of sailing – with your own story. Let your shared interest come out gracefully during the conversation. "Comm-YOU-nication" – Slip the word "you" into your discourse as often as you can. This focuses the content on the other person, and gains his or her attention and approval. Avoid euphemisms – Always speak directly and to the point. The use of "nicey-nice" words makes you appear equivocal and weak. "How to Be an Insider in Any Crowd" To be able to converse well with others, cure yourself of "Silent Outsider Syndrome." Use the special words and phrases that are common parlance to the people or group that you want to join: • • • "Learn a little 'jobbledygook'" – People will be impressed with you if you speak in terms they routinely use. Pick up the lingo by listening to others to find out what their special words and phrases mean so you can use them appropriately. Hit their "hot buttons" – Each professional group has its own provocative issues – for example, doctors get feisty about their relationships with hospitals. Find out what these issues are, then mention them to spice up your exchanges. "Read their rags" – The best way to gain inside knowledge about a specific field is to read the trade journals that report on it. An hour or two in the library can work wonders to improve your conversational prowess. "How to Sound Like You're Peas in a Pod" In general people are more comfortable with those who have similar values or interests. Your job is to provoke "sensations of similarity" in the thoughts of those you want to get to know: • "Join the movement" – Does your conversational partner make herky-jerky movements, or languid and graceful ones? Subtly match that person's movements to 336 • • make him or her feel more comfortable with you on a subliminal basis. But don't go overboard or you are almost sure to offend. "Echoing" – What special words and phrases does your conversational partner use to describe something? "Echo" your partner and use those words yourself. "The premature 'we'" – When you pepper your sentences with the word "we," you establish a subconscious bond with other people involved. "How to Differentiate the Power of Praise from the Folly of Flattery" Back in the 1930s, Dale Carnegie extolled the virtues of praise in his classic bestseller How to Win Friends and Influence People. The power of praise is just as strong today, but praise that does not appear genuine is certain to backfire, so proceed carefully using these helpers: • • • "Grapevine glory" – To praise someone without seeming to be an apple-polisher, speak highly of that person, but not directly to him or her. Instead voice your compliment to that person's closest friend or associate. Rest assured that the message will get delivered. "Accidental adulation" – Sneak praise into an otherwise mundane sentence: "Because you are so knowledgeable concerning..., I'm sure you can set the agenda." "Killer compliments" – Use them whenever you can. For example, you can say something like, "You are the most honest person I know." "How to Direct-Dial Their Hearts" You may look great, stand tall, dress in style and feel confident – but how do you project these qualities when you speak over the phone? Ensure that you: • • • "Pump up the volume" – When you speak over the phone, "turn your smiles into sound." Be animated and project a positive image through your tone of voice. "Name shower" – Repeat the other person's name over and over. A person's name is their favorite word. "Oh wow, it's you" – Always answer your calls in a professional way, then switch to a very sunny, happy demeanor as soon as the caller identifies themselves. "How to Work a Party Like a Politician Works a Room" Always put the "politician's six-point party checklist" to work when you attend a function: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. "Who will be there?" – After all, that's why you're going, right? "When should I arrive?" – The best advice is to get there early. "What should I take with me?" – At a minimum, you'll need your business cards. "Why is the party being given?" –Be sure and get the true reason. "Where is the collective mind?" – Will it be a party of financiers or environmentalists? "How am I going to follow up?" – Follow up to confirm the contacts you have made. "How to Break the Most Treacherous Glass Ceiling of All" Gaffes, intemperate or insensitive comments can kill any chance you have to get ahead. To avoid doing damage, keep these strategies in mind: • • • "See no bloopers" – Never comment on the "slips, fumbles and faux pas" of others. "Savor the favor" – If someone offers to do a good deed on your behalf, wait a little before you try to collect it. "Chance encounters are for chitchat" – You have been trying for weeks to schedule an appointment to speak to the boss about increasing your salary. But don't bring it up when you run into them in a checkout line. If you do, you'll never get the raise. Planned Communication – and Presentation – Makes All the Difference You cannot get ahead unless you know how to speak to people so they will want to listen. Fortunately, learning this skill is within anyone's grasp. Study how successful people accomplish this important goal – and then do what they do. It's really as simple as that. About the Author 337 Leil Lowndes writes and lectures extensively on communication, and acts as a personal communications coach for Fortune 500 company executives and employees. Nudge Recommendation In this lovely, useful book, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein examine choices, biases and the limits of human reasoning from a variety of perspectives. They often amuse by disclosing how they have fallen victim to the limitations of thought that they are describing. The fact that these educated, articulate professionals can fool themselves so often demonstrates how tough it is to think clearly, a point the authors emphasize and even repeat. Humans fall prey to systematic errors of judgment, but you can harness this problematic tendency productively several ways, including helping others make better decisions. Some of the authors’ suggestions may not be practical, but many are – and all are interesting. getAbstract recommends this book to anyone who wants to know how to shape responsible decisions. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • People don’t choose freely, even when they think they do. The context in which you make a decision always shapes your choices. People often make mistakes, especially in complex or emotional situations. Because people make mistakes, organizations need flexible, forgiving systems. Set up choices in a way that takes advantage of how humans make decisions. You can nudge people in beneficial directions. To help people make better decisions, give them clear, frequent feedback. To facilitate better decisions, design a default option that benefits people unless they explicitly choose otherwise. Help people understand the implications of their choices by offering examples. Use the RECAP approach to make decisions: “Record” how a chosen plan of action works, “Evaluate” it and “Compare Alternative Prices.” To improve voters’ decisions, make public policies as transparent as possible. Summary People and Choices People make choices all the time. They choose what to wear, what to eat, how to invest their money and what candidates to support. However, while they often choose without coercion, they do not choose without influence. The context in which people make decisions influences them noticeably, and often deliberately. “A nudge...is any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding options or significantly changing their economic incentives.” 338 Those who organize choices and present them are “choice architects,” and their choice architecture can affect public and private decisions so markedly that they deserve heightened attention. The things that influence people are not always rational, and people are not always aware of what is influencing them. Consider the black flies painted in the urinals in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. Men using urinals often don’t aim well and make a mess. However, if you give them a target, even a painted fly, spillage plummets (in this case, by 80%). “Small and apparently insignificant details can have major impacts on people’s behavior.” Every choice presentation is weighted, because the way you offer a choice shapes it. This means that your choice is not between framing choices or not framing them, but between framing them consciously and ethically, or framing them. To get people to act better, you can make a law and punish them for not following it. Or you can design their choices to “nudge” them toward better decisions. They’re still free to do as they want, even to act self-destructively, but you’ve increased the odds that they will act sensibly instead. This “libertarian paternalistic” approach tries to care for people by guiding them, rather than regulating them. Being nudged can help, because under some circumstances, even when you know better, you don’t always act rationally. “Choice architects can make major improvements to the lives of others by designing user-friendly environments.” This idea contradicts a popular stance expressed as “just maximize choices,” meaning the more options, the better. Sounds good, but it just isn’t true. People have trouble with decisions because the brain has two distinct systems. The “automatic system” provides immediate emotional responses. Answers come quickly, easily and often intuitively. You use this system when you know something really well, such as when you speak your native language, or when you act out of habit. On the other hand, the “reflective system” requires conscious thought, for instance, the extra effort you might expend to learn and speak a foreign language. You can train your reflective system, but it moves more slowly and, at first, using it seems laborious. Thumbs Up To reason about things more easily, people apply “rules of thumb” to common situations. Unfortunately, that brings a cluster of biases into play. One is “anchoring,” in which a familiar fact influences your later reasoning. People also make decisions based on “availability.” They judge risk based on how easily they can obtain related information. If you’ve been through an earthquake, you’re more likely to buy earthquake insurance, even if you live in a place where earthquakes are highly unlikely. If you present choices to people who are reasoning based on vivid but nonrepresentative experiences, help them reason better by offering examples in which things worked out well. A third heuristic that leads people astray is “representativeness.” People judge a situation based on how similar it seems to past situations. People who are guided by representativeness see patterns that aren’t there (like gamblers who feel they are on a hot streak). “A well-designed system expects its users to err and is as forgiving as possible.” 339 Human beings also tend to be overly optimistic. For instance, 90% of all drivers believe they have above-average skills. People also value gains and losses disproportionately. Once something is yours, you want to keep it. You don’t want to sustain a loss. The related “status quo bias” occurs because people like things to stay the same. To help them make productive choices that feel comfortable, do something as simple as setting their current situation as their default option (for example, when it is time to renew insurance plans), rather than asking them to evaluate all their alternatives anew each time. The downside of this bias is “mindless behavior” based on inertia. For example, if you start eating and get distracted, say by a TV show, you’ll probably keep eating on autopilot. To fight such tendencies, set up incentives that involve you emotionally, like a weight loss bet with a friend. Finally, people see things differently based on how an issue is framed. You are more likely to agree to an operation if you’re told that 90 out of 100 people who had it are still alive five years later than if you’re told that 10 out of 100 people die from it. “Humans are easily nudged by other humans. Why? One reason is that we like to conform.” “Social influences” also have a strong impact. You’re more likely to do something if you see it done often or if your peers do it. The desire to go along with the social climate is so strong that it can change your perception of reality; you might really see an object differently if your peers insist it looks a certain way. This means that you can guide people to better behavior just by telling them what others are doing. You can also make an action more likely by “priming” it, that is, asking people how likely they are to do something, such as vote, makes them more likely to do it. People learn to make good decisions when they get many chances to try, when they receive clear feedback and when they can control their impulses. Dueling Decisions People need help to make decisions if the stakes are high (health-care choices), if the situation is complex and rare (buying a house), or if human nature would lead them astray (saving money versus gambling). If the benefit is immediate (ice cream tastes good), but the risks or costs are delayed (your arteries will clog and you’ll get fat), getting advice about healthful choices can help. Some think the best choices come from having totally free options in a free market, but that’s not the case. People make bad decisions if they believe bad data, lack key facts or are misled by someone with selfish financial interests. “If choice architects want to shift behavior and to do so with a nudge, they might simply inform people about what other people are doing.” Use choice architecture to design a “path of least resistance” that benefits people. The simplest way is to establish a default that is easy to use, automatic and uncomplicated. Assume that people will make mistakes, and design your system accordingly. Make it easy for people to correct their errors or change their minds. Ideally, the system should work even if people make minor but common mistakes. For example, ATM machine designers use this sort of choice architecture by requiring you to take back your credit card before the machine will spout cash. Design your system so people get feedback. Make it easy to understand. “RECAP” (“Record, Evaluate and Compare Alternative Prices”) is a helpful tactic you can use to guide people who are making hard-to-compute decisions, like choosing among cell phone plans. Such a program would document cell phone use, for example, and provide clear data on exactly what different choices cost, like a call to another country. Divide a complex decision into distinct elements or stages, and compare them by attributes (price to price, speed to speed). Finally, offer incentives, 340 such as rewards or savings, but be sure decision makers can link the reward to the decision. Nudging People about Money Most people know they should save money, but many don’t save enough and may not even be sure what amount is enough. Most savings advice goes against human nature and asks people to make complex calculations. To help people save, nudge them. When it is time for employees to enroll in your firm’s retirement plan, make signing up the default. People can choose not to sign up or can quit any time, but inertia and the status quo conspire to keep them from doing what’s good for them. Try a “Save More Tomorrow” program that “invites participants to commit themselves in advance to a series of [savings account] contribution increases” as their wages rise. This approach recognizes that people fear loss, and may perceive savings as a loss of disposable income, so it links increases in their savings rate to parallel increases in their salaries. When people earn more, the company automatically deducts more in savings. They don’t have to decide to save. “Good choice architecture doesn’t need to originate with a wonkish professor and a powerful computer algorithm. It can be the brainchild of a local school official or two.” Even when people invest, human nature often leads them to invest in the wrong places at the wrong time. Because people follow each other, a market surge in a sector will bring in new investors long after those stocks have become overvalued. People tend to overinvest in their companies’ stocks and to diversify poorly. Help investors in your organization by providing a default option or a limited number of options (say three choices, based on their risk tolerance). Expect people to err, and give them chances to rebalance and diversify their accounts over time. Provide information on how investing translates into results. Simplify other financial decisions by applying the RECAP process. For instance, send an annual statement spelling out what fees your organization charged and for what; clarify the sources of debt and the implications of borrowing. People dealing with governmental programs particularly need such services. For instance, if you’re designing a retirement investing plan, you could require everyone to use one plan, removing all options. Or you could offer guided choices, say by establishing well-designed default selections, including letting people invest on their own. Nudging People about Health In the U.S., problematic changes in Medicare Part D demonstrated the role of choice architecture. This voluntary program was meant to help seniors pay for prescriptions. But the program tried to maximize choices and caused patients a lot of trouble. “Even the most sophisticated investors can sometimes find the decision about how to invest their money daunting, and they resort to simple rules of thumb.” For example, plans differed from state to state, so some patients faced being randomly enrolled, with complex local criteria for when coverage started and stopped. The plan was so complex that bewildered patients swamped their pharmacies, many seniors were left out and many ended up in the wrong program. The choice architecture went awry. To fix the situation, planners could use RECAP to educate people about the program. 341 “Although rules of thumb can be very helpful, their use can also lead to systematic biases.” Organ donations save lives; However, the U.S. has a shortage of donors and many people die before they get the organs they need. How could choice architecture make organ donation more likely? The government could institute “routine removal,” where states assume the right to harvest organs, but this violates common practice and many religions. At present, many states use “explicit consent”: people have to actively sign up to be organ donors. Switch that to “presumed consent” by changing the default, and you’d get more donations while maintaining self-determination. One milder variation might be “mandated choice,” requiring people to choose one way or another when they get their drivers’ licenses. “When markets get more complicated, unsophisticated and uneducated shoppers will be especially disadvantaged by the complexity.” Environmental dangers pose sweeping challenges, yet they are hard to correct because people don’t see the relationship between their actions and the unwanted results. To nudge people to make better environmental decisions, clarify these links. Putting informative labels on food is a great start. When the Environmental Protection Agency compiled data on toxic chemicals stored across the U.S. and required companies to disclose whether they produced such chemicals, many firms voluntarily improved their practices to stave off being put on an “environmental blacklist,” even though it carried no formal sanctions. Nudging People about Social Issues One way to resolve the social controversy over same-sex marriage and to nudge people toward more thoughtful marital decisions is to take government out of the marriage business. Governments would formalize civil unions between any two people to settle next-of-kin issues and certify legal partners. Individual organizations could take care of marriages and define them freely. If a church wanted to limit marriages to a man and a woman, it could. Any group could sanction marriage as it chose, creating a free market for marriage, rather than the existing government monopoly. Government could and should establish defaults to provide for children’s welfare, no matter who is in the civil union. Today’s one-size-fits-all model of marriage nudges couples to take things for granted, and not to discuss what model really would work best for them. People need a nudge toward discussing things before making commitments. “If incentives and nudges replace requirements and bans, government will be both smaller and more modest. So, to be clear: We are not for bigger government, just for better governance.” School quality is another area that needs better choice architecture. School choice should be broadly available. To make it work better, school systems should publish clear, accessible information about school quality (test scores, nature of the facilities). Schools also should nudge students to go to college. Such a nudge can be as simple as requiring high school seniors to apply to at least one college before they can graduate or teaching them the pragmatic benefits of attending college, such as higher income. “Libertarian paternalists care about freedom; they are skeptical about approaches that prevent people from going their own way.” Government action should be as transparent as possible. Government should provide background on how it makes decisions, who votes and what their votes imply for the 342 average citizen. This would help the less powerful members of society without markedly inconveniencing more sophisticated citizens. About the Authors Richard H. Thaler teaches at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and is author of Quasi Rational Economics. Cass R. Sunstein teaches at the University of Chicago Law School and is the author of Infotopia. managing your own mind Recommendation HIGHLIGHT COPY Edward Burger, president of Southwestern University, developed a 100-page course that aims to slow down your thinking and help you think through ideas. He lays out 25 challenging puzzles and guides you through solving them without revealing the answers. You may find Burger’s puzzles and hints either challenging or vexing, but he will inspire you to get up, walk around, ponder and puzzle. Those with the patience to practice and reflect will appreciate Burger’s unique work. Take-Aways • • • • • • • Don’t let gaining a credential and landing a job distract you from the true purpose of a formal education. The useful lifespan of skills decreases constantly. Continually strive to develop your ability to think effectively. Practice by applying the “five elements of effective thinking”: First, aim to “understand deeply.” Admitting that you don’t understand things puts you in a mind-set to learn. Second, “fail effectively.” Try things and falter, but learn a little each time you don’t succeed. Third, “create questions.” Think slowly through each of the many specifics that present you with an issue or challenge. Fourth, “go with the flow of ideas.” Connect your thinking. Think through a topic to connect it with other disciplines, ideas and subjects. 343 • • • Fifth, “be open to change.” Keep an open mind; be willing to see things differently. Take charge of your learning; don’t wait for others to educate you. Slow down, unplug your devices and ease your daily flurry of brain activity. Think, reflect, connect and let your mind renew and recharge. Summary Intentional Learning “Effective learning” requires the experience of doing, practicing, making mistakes and thinking through ideas. This leads to you generating your own thoughts and “making up your own mind.” Learning shouldn’t be a race toward earning a credential, certificate or degree and turning that credential into a job. Regard learning instead as a journey of self-discovery. “Effective thinking includes the objective analysis that is typically associated with critical thinking but also includes broader modes of creativity, originality, engagement and empathy.” Approach learning as an interconnected, multidisciplinary exploration of what interests you. Don’t merely learn a subject. Learn past it and beyond it into other subjects as you connect it to a greater understanding and reinforcement of learning. Connecting learning in one area to other disciplines brings the thrill of illumination and the profound enjoyment of gaining knowledge. Adopt what the ancient Greeks referred to as a paideia approach to learning, as used at Southwestern University: seek “intentional connections” between the things you learn in each discipline or subject area. “The ultimate goal is not to solve the riddle at hand, but rather to apply multiple practices of effective thinking to see that puzzle in as many different ways as possible even after a solution is discovered.” You face many puzzles in your life. Whether you cast them as problems or opportunities, they require thought to resolve. The more divergent your thinking, the better. You can and should 344 practice working through problems. Don’t focus only on solving them and moving on; think about the many ways you can approach each challenge and consider it differently. Effective Thinking and Critical Thinking Effective thinking differs from critical thinking. Thinking effectively requires combining analysis with your emotions and your creativity. To achieve that goal, apply the “five elements of effective thinking”: 1. “Understand deeply” – You never simply understand a thing or don’t understand it. Understanding exists on a continuum; you always possess a degree of understanding. You can always learn more to understand better. Having this mind-set helps when you don’t understand most of a complicated issue. It opens your mind and gives you confidence that you can improve your understanding. Reduce the problem down to what you do grasp. Gradually build from there to understand a little more of the issue at a time. Look for underlying patterns that might help explain the whole thing. Use a variety of adjectives to describe the issue, problem or opportunity in as many ways as you can. Think deeply about each of your descriptors. 2. “Fail effectively” – Zero in on discrete aspects of the issue or puzzle. Try possible solutions even knowing you’ll fail. Learn from each failure so you increase your understanding. Every misstep will reveal something that advances your thinking. Cycle through your failures quickly. Don’t procrastinate. For example, if you want to write a short article, start writing. Even a “miserable first draft” provides a better start than a blank page. Expect to keep failing. Examine and learn from each failure. By planning to fail, you enable yourself to see the puzzle differently each time. 3. “Create questions” – Think about questions; ask “what if…?” Even if you don’t ask all your questions, formulating them helps you consider alternatives. Asking questions ensures that you address the right issues and see the “big picture.” Play devil’s advocate, too, by 345 taking an opposite position on the issues or puzzles as you think through them. 4. “Go with the flow of ideas” – Follow through on your new thoughts and ideas, and connect them with your previous thinking. Consider what flows from your ideas by asking “what comes next?” Explore every idea through to the end, and consider multiple perspectives. Follow your doubts; don’t ignore them. Stay open-minded to alternatives. 5. “Be open to change” – All people are “truly capable of change.” Part of learning involves understanding that changing turns you into a “better version” of yourself. Change incrementally but constantly. The Puzzles Consider each of the following puzzles, for example. Think them through methodically from as many angles as possible using each of the five thinking processes. Take your time before reading onward after the puzzles to the suggested approaches and hints provided below them. “Commit to being open to new templates of thinking and modes of analysis.” Turn off your devices. Find a quiet place. Prepare yourself by remembering to take your time. Resist the seemingly easy answers so you can think through each puzzle even if you’ve seen it before and know the solution. Solving the puzzles almost doesn’t matter. Your thinking process matters much more. 1. “Who’s who” – Two college students, a math major and a philosophy major, are having a conversation. The one with black hair introduces himself as a math major. The one with red hair introduces herself as an philosophy major. “At least one of these students is lying.” What color hair does the one claiming to be a math major have? 2. “Three switches, two rooms and one bulb” – You enter a room with three light switches, all in the off position. One of the switches controls a lamp in a room you can’t see down a twisted hallway. How many trips must you make down the hall and back to know which switch controls the lamp? Determine the fewest trips possible. 346 3. “Five elements, but only four hats” – Four students line up in a row. An opaque, nonreflective screen separates students A and B, who face it on opposite sides. Student A wears a black hat. Student B wears a gold hat. Student C, wearing a black hat, stands behind student B. Student D, wearing a gold hat, stands behind student C. The students know that each one of them is wearing a hat that’s either black or gold. They know that there are exactly two black and two gold hats, but they don’t know the color of their own hats. Students A and B, facing the screen, also don’t know the color of anyone else’s hat. Student C, standing behind B, knows B’s hat color. Student D, behind B and C, knows both of their hat colors. The students can’t speak or touch. They will win $100 each if one correctly states the color of his or her own hat within 10 minutes. After a minute, one student knows for sure the color of his or her hat and shouts it out. Which student speaks up, and what color hat is the student wearing? 4. “Puzzling” politicians” – One hundred politicians are in a meeting. You know that at least one is honest and that within any given pair, at least one is crooked. How many politicians are crooked? 5. “Penny for your thoughts” – Some pennies sit on a table. Blindfolded, you count them. A researcher tells you how many lie heads up; otherwise, you have no way of knowing. You can move the pennies around and turn them over. The researcher asks you to divide them into two groups, each with an equal number heads-up. Can you do it? If so, how? 6. “A cross farmer needs to cross a river” – Farmer Francis stands on the bank of a river with a rabbit, a fox and a bunch of carrots. He must get them all across, but his raft is only big enough for himself and one passenger or item. If he leaves the fox and the rabbit together, the fox will kill the rabbit. If he leaves the rabbit with the carrots, the rabbit will eat them. The fox and the rabbit won’t run away if Francis leaves them alone together. How can Francis get himself, the fox, the rabbit and the carrots across safely? 7. “The crazy and exceptionally obnoxious CEO” – You love your job, but you have a terrible boss. The boss decides to downsize. He brings everyone to a meeting. He says that the next morning, you and your teammates will line up one 347 behind the other. He will place either a red or a green hat on each of your heads. You will only see the color of the hat on the heads of the people in front of you – not on your own head nor on the people behind you. You will be given a buzzer with a red button and a green button. The boss will ask the last person in line the color of his or her hat. That person will use his or her buzzer to say whether it’s red or green. After pressing the button, a loudspeaker will state “red” or “green” according to the button the employee pushed. The boss will immediately and loudly fire you if you’re wrong, but he’ll send you back to work if you’re right. He will move on to the next employee in line and ask the same question. You can’t speak during the process or share information other than pressing the buttons. That evening, you and your teammates get together to discuss a strategy that will result in the fewest firings the next morning. What is it? Suggested Approaches Don’t compartmentalize your thinking by moving from discrete topic to discrete topic. Think through each topic, borrow ideas from one discipline to gain insight, connections and even epiphanies. A vivid perspective on each puzzle lies within each of the descriptions above. It’s there if you think patiently and effectively. Try these tactics: 1. Who’s who – Examine each word carefully, even when they seem unimportant. Think through each option. What does it mean that, “at least one of these students is lying?” Go through the five effective thinking mind-sets. The puzzle says, “one [is] a math major; the other, a philosophy major.” These facts, plus the fact that one lies, means neither tells the truth. 2. Three switches, two rooms and one bulb – Start by throwing ideas out – any idea, no matter how absurd. Could you solve this puzzle blindfolded? Think about that to consider alternatives to discerning whether a lamp turns on. Slow down. What else can a light bulb do besides produce light? 3. Five elements, but only four hats – Put yourself in the position of each student, one by one. Try to see what they 348 4. 5. 6. 7. see and tap into what they think. What information does each student have? What information will each gain during the challenge? Consider that A and B don’t see any hats, so they start with no information. C knows that B wears a gold hat, but the solution lies in C taking the perspective of D. C knows D can see the color of her hat and of B’s and C’s hats. By thinking the thoughts of D as the game begins, C can determine with certainty the color of C’s own hat. C thinks about what D would say or not say depending on what D sees. If D stays silent for a whole minute, C has her answer and speaks up. Puzzling politicians – You have four certainties. Think through each to gain a more complete picture. For the statements to hold, at least one politician is honest. But in any given pair, at least one is crooked. Consider that the honest politician can pair with any of the others. Penny for your thoughts – Consider a smaller number of pennies being on the table. What if you had only two or three? Try to find a rule that works no matter the number of pennies. A cross farmer needs to cross a river – Think counterintuitively. Don’t consider only the order of the things that Francis will take across the river. Think about the opposite journey. He can bring an animal or item that he took one way back agains the other way. Neither the fox nor the rabbit nor the carrots have to travel in only one direction. The crazy and exceptionally obnoxious CEO – Consider the information you have now and will gain as the process begins. You will know the color of the hat on everyone in line in front of you. As the CEO announces whether a person has been fired, you learn the color of the hats behind you, one by one. By your turn, you will know the color of every hat behind you and every hat in front of you, but you won’t know the color of your own. Think about what data you may be able to share with your teammates in front of you, knowing the information you have at the precise time the boss asks you to choose. It helps to think small at first. For example, what if you only had a few other teammates with you in line? Put yourself in the shoes of the person in the very back. Think about what he or she sees and how many ways you can describe it. Make a list of those 349 things, and think about what the person in the back can convey with such limited communications options. Effective Thinking Slow down to think deeply, to think through challenges, to seek many perspectives, and to resist jumping to a quick or obvious solution. Learning to do this takes patience and practice. The payoff in developing this level of mindfulness extends to your personal relationships outside work. Turn off your devices, and turn off your busy mind. Give your brain what it needs to regenerate, to make new connections and to see things differently. To learn effectively, you have to take action and responsibility for your own learning. Look for challenges, think through them, and talk to people about their challenges and how they addressed them. Ask a lot of questions. Practice all these elements to become an even better version of you. “The mind needs an opportunity to settle and recharge in order to operate as effectively, wisely, creatively and joyfully as possible.” About the Author Southwestern University president Edward B. Burger designed a course around these thinking practices through entertaining puzzles, which he teaches as a mathematics professor at Southwestern.Recommendation HIGHLIGHT COPY Edward Burger, president of Southwestern University, developed a 100-page course that aims to slow down your thinking and help you think through ideas. He lays out 25 challenging puzzles and guides you through solving them without revealing the answers. You may find Burger’s puzzles and hints either challenging or vexing, but he will inspire you to get up, walk around, ponder and puzzle. Those with the patience to practice and reflect will appreciate Burger’s unique work. Take-Aways 350 • • • • • • • • • • Don’t let gaining a credential and landing a job distract you from the true purpose of a formal education. The useful lifespan of skills decreases constantly. Continually strive to develop your ability to think effectively. Practice by applying the “five elements of effective thinking”: First, aim to “understand deeply.” Admitting that you don’t understand things puts you in a mind-set to learn. Second, “fail effectively.” Try things and falter, but learn a little each time you don’t succeed. Third, “create questions.” Think slowly through each of the many specifics that present you with an issue or challenge. Fourth, “go with the flow of ideas.” Connect your thinking. Think through a topic to connect it with other disciplines, ideas and subjects. Fifth, “be open to change.” Keep an open mind; be willing to see things differently. Take charge of your learning; don’t wait for others to educate you. Slow down, unplug your devices and ease your daily flurry of brain activity. Think, reflect, connect and let your mind renew and recharge. Summary Intentional Learning “Effective learning” requires the experience of doing, practicing, making mistakes and thinking through ideas. This leads to you generating your own thoughts and “making up your own mind.” Learning shouldn’t be a race toward earning a credential, certificate or degree and turning that credential into a job. Regard learning instead as a journey of self-discovery. “Effective thinking includes the objective analysis that is typically associated with critical thinking but also includes broader modes of creativity, originality, engagement and empathy.” Approach learning as an interconnected, multidisciplinary exploration of what interests you. Don’t merely learn a subject. Learn past it and beyond it into other subjects as you connect it to a greater understanding and reinforcement of learning. Connecting learning in one area to other disciplines brings the 351 thrill of illumination and the profound enjoyment of gaining knowledge. Adopt what the ancient Greeks referred to as a paideia approach to learning, as used at Southwestern University: seek “intentional connections” between the things you learn in each discipline or subject area. “The ultimate goal is not to solve the riddle at hand, but rather to apply multiple practices of effective thinking to see that puzzle in as many different ways as possible even after a solution is discovered.” You face many puzzles in your life. Whether you cast them as problems or opportunities, they require thought to resolve. The more divergent your thinking, the better. You can and should practice working through problems. Don’t focus only on solving them and moving on; think about the many ways you can approach each challenge and consider it differently. Effective Thinking and Critical Thinking Effective thinking differs from critical thinking. Thinking effectively requires combining analysis with your emotions and your creativity. To achieve that goal, apply the “five elements of effective thinking”: 1. “Understand deeply” – You never simply understand a thing or don’t understand it. Understanding exists on a continuum; you always possess a degree of understanding. You can always learn more to understand better. Having this mind-set helps when you don’t understand most of a complicated issue. It opens your mind and gives you confidence that you can improve your understanding. Reduce the problem down to what you do grasp. Gradually build from there to understand a little more of the issue at a time. Look for underlying patterns that might help explain the whole thing. Use a variety of adjectives to describe the issue, problem or opportunity in as many ways as you can. Think deeply about each of your descriptors. 2. “Fail effectively” – Zero in on discrete aspects of the issue or puzzle. Try possible solutions even knowing you’ll fail. Learn from each failure so you increase your understanding. Every misstep will reveal something that 352 advances your thinking. Cycle through your failures quickly. Don’t procrastinate. For example, if you want to write a short article, start writing. Even a “miserable first draft” provides a better start than a blank page. Expect to keep failing. Examine and learn from each failure. By planning to fail, you enable yourself to see the puzzle differently each time. 3. “Create questions” – Think about questions; ask “what if…?” Even if you don’t ask all your questions, formulating them helps you consider alternatives. Asking questions ensures that you address the right issues and see the “big picture.” Play devil’s advocate, too, by taking an opposite position on the issues or puzzles as you think through them. 4. “Go with the flow of ideas” – Follow through on your new thoughts and ideas, and connect them with your previous thinking. Consider what flows from your ideas by asking “what comes next?” Explore every idea through to the end, and consider multiple perspectives. Follow your doubts; don’t ignore them. Stay open-minded to alternatives. 5. “Be open to change” – All people are “truly capable of change.” Part of learning involves understanding that changing turns you into a “better version” of yourself. Change incrementally but constantly. The Puzzles Consider each of the following puzzles, for example. Think them through methodically from as many angles as possible using each of the five thinking processes. Take your time before reading onward after the puzzles to the suggested approaches and hints provided below them. “Commit to being open to new templates of thinking and modes of analysis.” Turn off your devices. Find a quiet place. Prepare yourself by remembering to take your time. Resist the seemingly easy answers so you can think through each puzzle even if you’ve seen it before and know the solution. Solving the puzzles almost doesn’t matter. Your thinking process matters much more. 353 1. “Who’s who” – Two college students, a math major and a philosophy major, are having a conversation. The one with black hair introduces himself as a math major. The one with red hair introduces herself as an philosophy major. “At least one of these students is lying.” What color hair does the one claiming to be a math major have? 2. “Three switches, two rooms and one bulb” – You enter a room with three light switches, all in the off position. One of the switches controls a lamp in a room you can’t see down a twisted hallway. How many trips must you make down the hall and back to know which switch controls the lamp? Determine the fewest trips possible. 3. “Five elements, but only four hats” – Four students line up in a row. An opaque, nonreflective screen separates students A and B, who face it on opposite sides. Student A wears a black hat. Student B wears a gold hat. Student C, wearing a black hat, stands behind student B. Student D, wearing a gold hat, stands behind student C. The students know that each one of them is wearing a hat that’s either black or gold. They know that there are exactly two black and two gold hats, but they don’t know the color of their own hats. Students A and B, facing the screen, also don’t know the color of anyone else’s hat. Student C, standing behind B, knows B’s hat color. Student D, behind B and C, knows both of their hat colors. The students can’t speak or touch. They will win $100 each if one correctly states the color of his or her own hat within 10 minutes. After a minute, one student knows for sure the color of his or her hat and shouts it out. Which student speaks up, and what color hat is the student wearing? 4. “Puzzling” politicians” – One hundred politicians are in a meeting. You know that at least one is honest and that within any given pair, at least one is crooked. How many politicians are crooked? 5. “Penny for your thoughts” – Some pennies sit on a table. Blindfolded, you count them. A researcher tells you how many lie heads up; otherwise, you have no way of knowing. You can move the pennies around and turn them over. The researcher asks you to divide them into two groups, each with an equal number heads-up. Can you do it? If so, how? 354 6. “A cross farmer needs to cross a river” – Farmer Francis stands on the bank of a river with a rabbit, a fox and a bunch of carrots. He must get them all across, but his raft is only big enough for himself and one passenger or item. If he leaves the fox and the rabbit together, the fox will kill the rabbit. If he leaves the rabbit with the carrots, the rabbit will eat them. The fox and the rabbit won’t run away if Francis leaves them alone together. How can Francis get himself, the fox, the rabbit and the carrots across safely? 7. “The crazy and exceptionally obnoxious CEO” – You love your job, but you have a terrible boss. The boss decides to downsize. He brings everyone to a meeting. He says that the next morning, you and your teammates will line up one behind the other. He will place either a red or a green hat on each of your heads. You will only see the color of the hat on the heads of the people in front of you – not on your own head nor on the people behind you. You will be given a buzzer with a red button and a green button. The boss will ask the last person in line the color of his or her hat. That person will use his or her buzzer to say whether it’s red or green. After pressing the button, a loudspeaker will state “red” or “green” according to the button the employee pushed. The boss will immediately and loudly fire you if you’re wrong, but he’ll send you back to work if you’re right. He will move on to the next employee in line and ask the same question. You can’t speak during the process or share information other than pressing the buttons. That evening, you and your teammates get together to discuss a strategy that will result in the fewest firings the next morning. What is it? Suggested Approaches Don’t compartmentalize your thinking by moving from discrete topic to discrete topic. Think through each topic, borrow ideas from one discipline to gain insight, connections and even epiphanies. A vivid perspective on each puzzle lies within each of the descriptions above. It’s there if you think patiently and effectively. Try these tactics: 1. Who’s who – Examine each word carefully, even when they seem unimportant. Think through each option. What does it 355 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. mean that, “at least one of these students is lying?” Go through the five effective thinking mind-sets. The puzzle says, “one [is] a math major; the other, a philosophy major.” These facts, plus the fact that one lies, means neither tells the truth. Three switches, two rooms and one bulb – Start by throwing ideas out – any idea, no matter how absurd. Could you solve this puzzle blindfolded? Think about that to consider alternatives to discerning whether a lamp turns on. Slow down. What else can a light bulb do besides produce light? Five elements, but only four hats – Put yourself in the position of each student, one by one. Try to see what they see and tap into what they think. What information does each student have? What information will each gain during the challenge? Consider that A and B don’t see any hats, so they start with no information. C knows that B wears a gold hat, but the solution lies in C taking the perspective of D. C knows D can see the color of her hat and of B’s and C’s hats. By thinking the thoughts of D as the game begins, C can determine with certainty the color of C’s own hat. C thinks about what D would say or not say depending on what D sees. If D stays silent for a whole minute, C has her answer and speaks up. Puzzling politicians – You have four certainties. Think through each to gain a more complete picture. For the statements to hold, at least one politician is honest. But in any given pair, at least one is crooked. Consider that the honest politician can pair with any of the others. Penny for your thoughts – Consider a smaller number of pennies being on the table. What if you had only two or three? Try to find a rule that works no matter the number of pennies. A cross farmer needs to cross a river – Think counterintuitively. Don’t consider only the order of the things that Francis will take across the river. Think about the opposite journey. He can bring an animal or item that he took one way back agains the other way. Neither the fox nor the rabbit nor the carrots have to travel in only one direction. The crazy and exceptionally obnoxious CEO – Consider the information you have now and will gain as the 356 process begins. You will know the color of the hat on everyone in line in front of you. As the CEO announces whether a person has been fired, you learn the color of the hats behind you, one by one. By your turn, you will know the color of every hat behind you and every hat in front of you, but you won’t know the color of your own. Think about what data you may be able to share with your teammates in front of you, knowing the information you have at the precise time the boss asks you to choose. It helps to think small at first. For example, what if you only had a few other teammates with you in line? Put yourself in the shoes of the person in the very back. Think about what he or she sees and how many ways you can describe it. Make a list of those things, and think about what the person in the back can convey with such limited communications options. Effective Thinking Slow down to think deeply, to think through challenges, to seek many perspectives, and to resist jumping to a quick or obvious solution. Learning to do this takes patience and practice. The payoff in developing this level of mindfulness extends to your personal relationships outside work. Turn off your devices, and turn off your busy mind. Give your brain what it needs to regenerate, to make new connections and to see things differently. To learn effectively, you have to take action and responsibility for your own learning. Look for challenges, think through them, and talk to people about their challenges and how they addressed them. Ask a lot of questions. Practice all these elements to become an even better version of you. “The mind needs an opportunity to settle and recharge in order to operate as effectively, wisely, creatively and joyfully as possible.” About the Author Southwestern University president Edward B. Burger designed a course around these thinking practices through entertaining puzzles, which he teaches as a mathematics professor at Southwestern. 357 The art of thinking clearly Recommendation You are an irrational being, but don’t worry; that’s part of being human. Nobody is immune to cognitive errors, unconscious thinking habits that lead to false conclusions or poor decisions. Mere mortals are prone to an array of common thinking errors and will consistently overestimate their chances of success, prefer stories to facts, confuse the message with the messenger, become overwhelmed by choices and ignore alternative options. For more, see getAbstract co-founder Rolf Dobelli’s set of 99 short chapters, each detailing a cognitive flaw. Knowing these errors won’t help you avoid them completely, but it will help you make better decisions – or at least teach you where you slipped. Dobelli’s underlying humor and his choice selection of anecdotes make this eye-opening compendium of cognitive science theories warmly accessible. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Human beings are subject to irrational cognitive errors. Identifying the effect of these flaws in your thinking patterns will help you make better decisions. The “survivorship bias” leads people to overestimate their chances of success. In the grips of the “sunk cost fallacy,” folks tend to stick with a project – even a bad one – once they’ve invested a certain amount of “time, money, energy or love” in it. The “confirmation bias” impels people to emphasize data that confirm their beliefs and to discard information that conflicts with their worldview. Life seems easier to understand when stories explain it, but “story bias” distorts reality. Due to the “overconfidence effect,” experts generally overestimate how much they know. Humans find comfort believing they can control the world around them, even when they can’t. That’s the “illusion of control bias.” “Outcome bias,” or “historian error,” is the tendency to evaluate decisions based on results rather than process. The sadness of loss is stronger than the joy of a comparable gain; that’s “loss aversion.” “Cognitive dissonance” is at work when people recast negative events in a better light. Summary 358 To Err Is Human Human beings are prone to cognitive errors, or barriers to clear, logical thinking. Everyone experiences flawed patterns in the process of reasoning. In fact, many of these common mistakes have a history that goes back centuries. Even experts fall prey to such glitches, which might explain why supposedly savvy financiers hold investments for too long. Identifying “systematic cognitive errors” will help you avoid them. You can’t sidestep these irrationalities completely, because that would require a level of control and willpower beyond human capability. However, becoming familiar with these pitfalls will improve your ability to make astute decisions. Heed this selection of cognitive errors to avoid their consequences: “Survivorship Bias” Tales of garage bands making it big, authors self-publishing bestsellers or college athletes signing with the major leagues for millions are so inspiring that people tend to overestimate their own chances of duplicating such career trajectories. This bias makes most folks focus on the few stars who soar, not the millions of ordinary humans who falter. This tendency is quite pernicious among investors and entrepreneurs. The likelihood of a tech start-up becoming the next Google is almost nil, yet funders and techies risk money chasing that elusive opportunity. Dose yourself in reality and avoid this pitfall “by frequently visiting the graves of once-promising projects, investments and careers.” “Swimmer’s Body Illusion” You want to get in shape. You admire the slim physique of a professional swimmer, so you head for the local pool, hoping that you, too, can attain such a sleek body. You’ve fallen prey to the swimmer’s body illusion that causes you to confuse “selection factors” with results. Does Michael Phelps have a perfect swimmer’s body because he trains extensively, or is he the world’s top competitive swimmer because he was born with a lean, muscular build? Do cosmetics make women beautiful, or do already beautiful models display cosmetics to their best advantage? Does Harvard mold the world’s best and brightest, or do the smartest kids choose Harvard? These chicken-and-egg conundrums cloud the waters between selection criteria and results. “Sunk Cost Fallacy” The old saying about ‘throwing good money after bad’ expresses the heart of this fallacy: the tendency to persevere with a project once you’ve invested “time, money, energy or love” in it, even after the thrill or profit potential is gone. This is why marketers stick with campaigns that fail to show results, why couples stay together long after the spark dies, why investors hold stocks that keep losing value, and why Britain and France sunk billions into 359 the Concorde aircraft when it was clearly a dud. When deciding how long you want to continue a project, exclude incurred costs from your evaluation and keep the good money. “Con rmation Bias” People tend to discount information that conflicts with their beliefs. Executives emphasize evidence that their strategies work and rationalize away contrary indicators. Yet exceptions aren’t just outliers; they often disprove fixed ideas. If you’re an optimist, you’ll corroborate your positive viewpoint at every turn; if you’re a pessimist, you’ll find many reasons to see a situation negatively. People focus on feedback that fits their worldview. Business experts and self-help gurus concoct theories by using substantiating data and ignoring contradictory evidence. Their theories fail when information they ignored crops up anyway. Protect yourself from this bias by emulating Charles Darwin, who researched every item that contradicted his previous findings. “Nature doesn’t seem to mind if our decisions are perfect or not, as long as we can maneuver ourselves through life – and as long as we are ready to be rational when it comes to the crunch.” The material you follow on the Internet may reinforce your confirmation bias because it creates silos of like-minded people. When you visit a political site that reflects your opinions, it justifies your outlook. However, search engines personalize results to your online search history and your interests, thus filtering out data that diverges from your views. Fight confirmation bias by seeking opposing views and dissenting voices and by venturing into the other side’s intellectual territory. People also fall for the “falseconsensus effect.” They assume that most other folks share their worldview. If you believe in global warming, you expect that most people agree with you. Yet those who deny its existence also believe they hold the mainstream opinion. Moreover, people assume that those who disagree with them are idiots or poorly informed. “Story Bias” People find information easier to understand in story form. Facts are dry and difficult to remember; tales are engaging. People more easily find meaning in historical events, economic policy and scientific breakthroughs through stories. Relying on narratives to explain the world leads to story bias, which, unfortunately, distorts reality. Say that a car was driving across a bridge when the structure collapsed. A journalist covers the story by finding out about the driver, detailing his backstory and interviewing him about the experience. This puts a face on the incident, something readers want and need. But it ignores other pertinent questions: What caused the bridge to fall? Are other bridges at risk? Have authorities looked into the bridge’s compliance with engineering regulations? To dispel the false sense fi 360 of knowledge that news stories bestow, learn to read between the lines and ask the unspoken questions. The “fundamental attribution error” is a related misconception. People tend to give credit or blame to a person rather than a set of circumstances. Thus, CEOs receive undue credit for a firm’s profits, crowds cheer coaches when teams win and conductors get the ovation when orchestras perform well. “Overcon dence Effect” Most folks believe that they are intelligent and can make accurate predictions based on their knowledge. In most cases, they can’t. People, especially specialists and experts, overestimate how much they know. Economists are notoriously bad at predicting long-term stock market performance, for example. In spite of statistics to the contrary, restaurateurs believe their eateries will outperform the average, though most dining establishments close within three years. Compounding the overconfidence effect is the tendency to underestimate the time and costs of projects, such as Boston’s Big Dig and the Sydney Opera House. Counter this cognitive error by becoming a pessimist, at least in terms of plans that require your time or your hard-earned cash. “Chauffeur Knowledge” Nobel physicist Max Planck gave his presentation speech so often that his chauffeur could recite it. In fact, that’s what the driver did one day, while Planck, wearing a chauffeur’s hat, watched from the audience. When someone asked a question the driver couldn’t answer, he pointed at Planck and quipped, “Such a simple question! My chauffeur will answer it!” People operating under this thinking fallacy confuse the credibility of the message with the messenger. Viewers respect news anchors as serious journalists, but many are simply well coiffed readers. CEOs receive undue credit for showmanship not business acumen. Warren Buffett counters this bias by investing only within what he calls his “circle of competence” – his awareness of what he knows and does not know. Real scholars see their limits, while pundits spin smoke-and-mirror theories. “Illusion of Control” A man wearing a red hat arrives at the city center every day at 9:00 a.m. and wildly waves his hat for five minutes. One day, a police officer asks what he’s doing. “I’m keeping the giraffes away,” he replies. “There aren’t any giraffes here,” the officer states. “Then I must be doing a good job,” responds the man. Like the red-hat guy, people take credit for influencing situations where they have little control. They pick lottery numbers because they believe they have a better chance of winning that way than with numbers the machine randomly assigns. The illusion of control makes humans feel better. This is why “placebo buttons” work. People push a button at an intersection and wait patiently for a “walk” sign, even if the fi 361 button is not connected to the signal. Ditch your red hat by differentiating between the things you can control and those you cannot. “Outcome Bias” Outcome bias, or “historian error,” describes the tendency to evaluate decisions based on results, not processes. For example, in retrospect, it’s clear that the US military should have evacuated Pearl Harbor before the Japanese attacked. The decision to stay seems deplorable in light of today’s knowledge. Yet military higher-ups at the time had to decide amid contradictory signals. A bad result does not necessarily mean the decision was poor. Luck, timing and other external factors come into play. Avoid this bias by focusing on the process and data available at the time rather than concentrating solely on results. “Loss Aversion” Finding $100 would make you happy, but that happiness wouldn’t equal the distress you’d feel if you lost $100. The negative emotional hit from a loss is stronger than the positive joy of a comparable gain; loss aversion explains why investors ignore paper losses and hold falling stocks. Marketers exploit loss aversion to sell products and concepts. For example, persuading folks to buy home insulation by describing how much money they’ll lose without it is easier than getting them to buy it by showing the savings they’ll gain. “Fear of regret” is the cousin of loss aversion. A poor decision evokes unpleasant feelings. If you pass up a bargain today, you may be sorry tomorrow. This fear causes people to stay in their comfort zones with investments, personal risks and purchases. “Cognitive Dissonance” Aesop’s fable about the fox that muttered “sour grapes” when he couldn’t reach fruit hanging high over his head illustrates a frequent reasoning error. Humans reinterpret events when the results don’t pan out as they want. Cognitive dissonance is in play when, in the face of rejection – from a school, job or team, for example – you decide you didn’t want to be there anyway. It’s also a factor when people review their investments and find reasons to keep believing that they made smart choices in spite of evidence to the contrary. “Essentially, if you think too much, you cut off your mind from the wisdom of your feelings.” “Effort justification” is a form of cognitive dissonance that causes people to rationalize their behavior. In this case, folks come to believe that the amount of effort they put into a task or project translates into higher value. IKEA exploits this tendency to its advantage by understanding that when people assemble a piece of furniture, they feel more attached to it. Similarly, difficult school entrance exams or club initiations make acceptance seem more valuable. Don’t let effort justification influence your objectivity at 362 work. The more time and effort people put into a project, the less able they are to judge it clearly. “Alternative Blindness” Humans don’t think about all their alternatives when they contemplate an offer. Say that a city planning commission proposes building a sports arena on an empty lot. Supporters make the case that the arena would create jobs and generate revenue. They ask voters to decide between a vacant lot and an arena, but they don’t mention other options, like building a school. Making informed decisions means letting go of either-or choices. Ironically, modern people suffer from too many options. That’s the “paradox of choice.” At your market, you must select from many brands of yogurt and dozens of bottles of wine. Although having options is nice, too many choices cause people to freeze up, use limited criteria or continuously question their choices. Think how much easier finding a mate was when the selection was limited to two dozen singles in your village rather than thousands of people on web matchmaking sites. “Déformation Professionnelle” Mark Twain famously quipped, “If your only tool is a hammer, all your problems will be nails.” This statement beautifully encapsulates this false reasoning habit. People want to solve problems with the skills they have. A surgeon will recommend surgery not acupuncture. Generals opt for military engagement not diplomacy. The downside is that people sometimes use the wrong tools to try to solve problems. Check your toolbox for the right gear and the right cognitive framework. About the Author Rolf Dobelli is a co-founder of getAbstract and the founder of Zurich.Minds, a community of leaders in science, the arts and business. His earlier books – novels and aphorisms – were published in German. the power of habit You Can Change by David Meyer 363 Charles Duhigg analyzes how your brain forms habits, how companies also form habits, and how people and organizations can choose new, more healthful behaviors. Ever wonder why some people adopt a healthier lifestyle or realize professional achievement, while others flail and fail? Author Charles Duhigg attributes this to habit and explains that successful people learn to control and change their habits. First, he says, they understand how the three steps of the “habit loop” – “cue, routine and reward” – determine what people do without thinking. He contends that if you analyze how undesirable habits such as overeating, excess drinking or smoking operate in that loop by satiating cravings, you will be better equipped to control habits that seem to control you. Duhigg’s fun, educational book will help anyone seeking self-improvement. This New York Times bestseller garnered inclusion in The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times’ lists of Best Books of the Year. The New York Times Book Review called it, “Entertaining…enjoyable…fascinating…a serious look at the science of habit formation and change.” The Economist said Duhigg, “provides just the right balance of intellectual seriousness with practical advice on how to break our bad habits.” A Matter of Habit Duhigg describes a habit as an activity you deliberately decide to perform once and continue doing without focus, often frequently. Habits develop, he explains, because the brain is wired to seek ways to conserve energy. The author describes a three-stage habit loop. First, the brain seeks a cue that will let it operate on automatic pilot and indicate what it should tell the body to do. Second, that habit becomes a routine. Its reward teaches the brain whether it should remember the loop. When the cue and reward connect, the brain develops expectations, leading to craving and the birth of a habit or behavior loop. Once people learned how to believe in something, that skill started spilling over into other parts of their lives, until they started believing they could change. CHARLES DUHIGG Unfortunately, Duhigg relates, the brain does not judge whether the new habit is beneficial or detrimental. His theme is that you can change your destructive habits and adopt positive ones by understanding and managing the cue-routine-reward cycle. Duhigg advises focusing on cues and rewards, and altering your routine to thwart cravings and bad habits. 364 The brain looks forward to the reward of a habitual routine. Duhigg stresses that this process is not inevitable. You can, he insists, analyze your cravings to learn which one impels the habit. Or, he suggests, you can manipulate cravings to better ends; for example, if you value the endorphin rush of exercise, taking a morning run can become an automatic habit loop. Given determination and belief, Duhigg teaches, people can change their habits if they examine and analyze them to unravel the understandable cues, routines and rewards. You Can Change Duhigg asserts changing that your habits means embracing the belief that you can change. This sense of belief, he notes, turns out to be more effective if it occurs in a group – such as an AA meeting. The lessons AA provides demonstrate how almost any habit – even the most obstinate – can be changed. CHARLES DUHIGG The author argues that you can learn willpower as effectively as you can learn to play a musical instrument or speak a foreign language. When you master willpower, he cautions, you must keep it exercised and in shape, just as you would work to keep your muscles toned. Organizational Habits Organizations develop habits, Duhigg reveals, that help them do business or accomplish their goals. Starbucks’s rules for employees, for example, inculcate the concept of willpower. Starbucks’ workers, Duhigg learned, improve their lives and careers after they learn to harness their willpower to be cheerful no matter what their workdays hold. Dughigg offers the example of Starbucks teaching employees willpower by focusing on situations that may weaken their self-discipline, like dealing with dissatisfied patrons. Employees practice routines for handling discontented customers until they perform them habitually. If you focus on changing or cultivating keystone habits, you can cause widespread shifts. CHARLES DUHIGG Organizational habits, Duhigg underscores, keep firms functioning; without them, companies would descend into squabbling factions. He discloses that companies can also foretell and direct their patrons’ habits. He cites the way Target analyzed data from its consumers to enable its marketers to predict their behavior. Target learned, according to Duhigg, that patrons’ shopping habits changed most dramatically when they underwent a milestone in their lives, such as getting married, moving to a new residence or starting a family. 365 A Comforting Message As a journalist, Duhigg demonstrates excellent habits. He writes clearly with an emphasis on readability. He offers entertaining, illustrative examples without bogging the reader down in too much detail. He provides research and credible sources to back up his assertions. And he draws helpful conclusions that take the reader through his analysis of habits and how to change them. Duhigg offers the inspiring hope that no one needs to be a prisoner of bad habits. He describes cognitive and non-cognitive processes that suggest you are not entirely to blame for your habits, good or bad. That is a comforting message. Duhigg provides a guide to changing your habits, a compelling read about the processes of the brain, and a collection of insider stories of how businesses changed their habits and, thus, shaped their consumers’ choices. Charles Duhigg also wrote Smarter, Faster, Better. Other helpful books on the science of habits include James Clear’s Atomic Habits; Daniel Kahnemann’s Thinking, Fast and Slow; and Richard Koch’s The 80/20 Principle. willpower Recommendation People with the best intentions often fall short of their self-improvement goals. Social psychologist Roy F. Baumeister collaborating with New York Times writer John Tierney explain why, and give you some tools to work with as they share the results of years of study of human self-control. Their presentation is too academic for a self-help guide to correcting bad habits, since it cites study after study, but it is a very interesting backgrounder. getAbstract recommends this information-heavy look at why just saying no doesn’t work – and what you can do instead. Take-Aways • • • • A child’s level of self-control predicts his or her future behavior. When you deplete your willpower, you feel other emotions more strongly. This creates a “double whammy.” For example, you might overeat when you are upset or become upset when you overeat. Willpower, like a muscle, becomes stronger with exercise. All willpower – regardless of the temptation – flows from the same reservoir of inner strength. 366 • • • • • • The human body uses up glucose as it exercises self-control. Low glucose levels result in a craving for sweets. Setting goals and monitoring your progress are the first steps in developing self-control. Organize a to-do list to gain calmness and clarity. Make a plan for short- and long-term activities to hush your inner nag. New technologies, such as smartphone apps, make tracking and sharing your progress a lot easier. Make small changes, monitor behavior and set realistic targets to achieve your goals. Summary The Sirens’ Song Temptations and distractions lurk at every turn. Researchers who studied more than 200 people in Germany found that participants spent at least four hours daily resisting their desires. The urges to eat, nap, take a break, have sex, surf the net or watch television are constant lures. Participants succumbed to about one out of every six cravings, particularly those for food or media interaction. “Self-control is ultimately about much more than self-help. It’s essential for savoring your time on Earth and sharing joy with the people you love.” The concept of willpower as an inner strength that humans use to protect against moral decrepitude became popular in the Victorian age. People debated whether morality would influence behavior in the absence of religion, a reaction to society’s waning faith in dogma. Oscar Wilde’s exclamation, “I can resist everything except temptation,” was a rejoinder to this public worrying. The notion of willpower weakened in the 1960s as the “me generation” expounded the virtue of “if it feels good, do it.” By the 1970s, “self-esteem” became popular as studies showed that people with self-confidence were happier and more successful than those without. Behavioral scientists didn’t revisit the idea of “self-regulation” until the 1980s. “Research into willpower and self-control is psychology’s best hope for contributing to human welfare.” In the 1960s, Walter Mischel studied four-year-old children to determine their ability to resist immediate gratification. A researcher left children alone in a room with a marshmallow and said they could eat the marshmallow right away, but if they waited until the researcher returned, they could have two marshmallows. Some kids ate the marshmallow and some waited. The ones who resisted temptation distracted themselves with other activities. Years later, Mischel’s daughter followed up on the experiment, tracking down hundreds of participants. She found that those 367 who resisted the enticing treat went on to achieve higher grades and better test scores. They were more popular, earned more money, and were less likely to use drugs or gain excessive weight. “Self-control turned out to be most effective when people used it to establish good habits and break bad ones.” Researchers were astonished that the marshmallow test proved to be such a statistically accurate forecaster of adult behavior. The trait of self-control is more effective than IQ tests or SAT scores at predicting college performance. A study in New Zealand tracked 1,000 people from birth to age 32 and found that those with strong self-control were healthier, happier and more successful. “The Double Whammy” Social psychologist Roy Baumeister concluded that willpower, much like a muscle, grows weary with extended use. He used the term “ego depletion” to describe overtaxed people’s reduced capacity to control their thoughts, feelings and behavior. Individuals with depleted willpower feel other emotions more strongly. This leads to a double whammy: “Your willpower is diminished, and your cravings feel stronger than ever.” No wonder losing weight or breaking an addiction is so hard: “You have a finite amount of willpower that becomes depleted as you use it.” “When people have to make a big change in their lives, their efforts are undermined if they are trying to make other changes as well.” The willpower that resists one temptation comes from the same inner source as the self-control you exercise resisting another. For instance, staying patient with a cranky toddler depletes your reservoir of self-control, making it harder not to have some ice cream. Focus on one task or selfimprovement goal at a time. Trying to attain several objectives at once leaves you with less energy because you use “the same stock of willpower for all manner of tasks.” “You can’t control or even predict the stresses that come into your life, but you can use the calm periods, or at least the peaceful moments, to plan an offense.” Stress depletes willpower. During exams, college students’ self-control wanes in almost every area, including diet, personal hygiene and behavior. Temptations they successfully resisted earlier in the semester – smoking, drinking or staying up late – became much harder to withstand. People can conserve willpower so that they have it in reserve when needed to make a final push. The Accidental Discovery 368 Psychologists in Baumeister’s lab decided to test the Mardi Gras theory: the idea that people who succumb to every temptation before Lent are better able to withstand the weeks of denial that follow. Experimenters gave half their study subjects a delicious milkshake and gave the other half a tasteless concoction. Surprisingly, both groups showed greater self-control after consuming the drink. This experiment led to the accidental discovery of a link between glucose and willpower. The human body depletes glucose as it exercises self-control. You crave sugar to renew your energy. Rather than indulge in sugar, use the following strategies to replenish your willpower: • • • “Feed the beast” – Eat breakfast; don’t take on demanding tasks when you are hungry and don’t skimp on calories when you are trying to lose weight. “When you eat, go for the slow burn” – Avoid foods with a high glycemic index, such as white bread, white rice, snacks or fast foods. Eat foods with a low glycemic index, such as vegetables, nuts, raw fruits, olive oil, fish and lean meats. “When you’re tired, sleep” – Resting reduces your body’s glucose requirements and improves its ability to use glucose in the bloodstream. To Do or Not to Do Goal setting is the first step in self-control. Most people have too many targets and prepare to-do lists of dozens of items. Some ambitions conflict with others. For example, work goals demand a time investment that may conflict with family-focused objectives, such as attending all of your child’s soccer games. People whose goals conflict become anxious and unproductive. The best goal setting combines an action plan for “proximal” or short-term targets while keeping an eye on the long-term achievement of “distal” targets. “A personal goal can seem more real once you speak it out loud, particularly if you know the audience will be monitoring you.” David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) system can quiet your inner nag – that is, the voice that reminds you to do things. The GTD system suggests using “to-do lists, folders, labels and in-boxes” to help clear away mental clutter and attain the calm clarity of a “mind like water.” This is the opposite of the “monkey mind,” which jumps from one thought to another, inhibiting your ability to concentrate. Allen devised a process for categorizing everything into “four Ds: done, delegated, dropped or deferred.” Organizing this way isolates each project and prioritizes it. Making a plan for every item puts your mind at rest. The Zeigarnik effect, which proves this principle, emerged from a series of experiments that demonstrated that making a plan calms people’s subconscious, allowing them to act productively. 369 “With the exception of organized religion, Alcoholics Anonymous probably represents the largest program ever conducted to improve self-control.” Psychologists reviewed more than 1,000 parole board decisions in the Israeli detention system. They found a consistent pattern in the judges’ decision making: Prisoners who faced the board early in the morning had a 70% chance of attaining parole, while those who appeared just before lunch or late in the afternoon had only a 20% chance. As the judges made one difficult decision after another, they depleted their glucose levels, which made parole officers more reluctant to make difficult choices and grant parole. The correlation between decision making and willpower is reciprocal. “Decision making depletes your willpower, and once your willpower is depleted, you’re less able to make decisions.” The Behavior Track The first steps in regulating self-control are setting goals and tracking your progress. Technology makes self-monitoring easy. Websites such as Mint help you track your spending and financing. Most people using the site temper their spending because it shows clearly where their money is going. Smartphone apps allow you to track food and beverage consumption, sleep patterns, exercise timetables and mood swings. These programs are effective because users can share this information with others. For example, Nikeplus posts the length and time of your runs. Dieters can share their weight loss with other dieters. Experiments in Baumeister’s lab explain why sharing information keeps people on track toward achieving their goals. “Public information has more impact than private information. People care more about what other people know about them than about what they know about themselves.” “Willpower lets us change ourselves and our society in small and large ways.” Willpower wears out like a muscle and revives like a muscle: It responds to strengthening exercises. Researchers found that changing one habitual behavior – such as using your left hand instead of your right or focusing on sitting up straight instead of slouching – will increase your willpower over time. Strengthening your willpower in one area leads to benefits in others, but over the long haul, it requires more than a few simple exercises. “Yes, temptations are getting more sophisticated, but so are the tools for resisting them.” For example, take explorer Henry Morton Stanley, known for saying, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume,” when he finally found explorer David Livingstone in Africa in 1871. Stanley endured sustained misery and fear while trekking through the jungle. He practiced self-discipline from a young age, but he needed new strategies to survive. He learned to store willpower for the times when he needed it most, and he picked up new mental tricks to boost 370 his ability, such as “precommitment,” a technique for avoiding giving in to temptation by locking “yourself into a virtuous path.” For instance, Stanley wrote out his vow to continue his journey or die trying. He wrote that he would never “give up my search until I find Livingstone alive or find his dead body...no living man or living men shall stop me, only death can prevent me...I shall not die.” “Aiming for huge and quick transformations will backfire if they seem impossible.” Stanley began each day by shaving, even when he was sick and starving. Studies show that good hygiene and an orderly environment promote selfdiscipline. A well-made bed or a tidy desk influences your behavior. Once you establish healthy behavior patterns, they become automatic, and boost your self-control and productivity. The strongest source of willpower is the belief that you are serving a purpose greater than yourself. That belief kept Stanley going against all odds. A Higher (Will) Power? Guitarist Eric Clapton battled drug and alcohol addiction until he surrendered to a “higher power.” This empowered him to change and provided him with the self-control he needed to stay sober. Social scientists accept that faith and religion can fuel self-control. Religions contain mechanisms for boosting willpower and self-discipline. Followers believe that a supreme being – as well as members of their congregation or community – monitors their behavior. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) proves a similar, viable model. Its methods parallel self-control exercises. Participants set goals and monitor their progress. They receive rewards for remaining sober and rely on support from their sponsors and other AA members. They share their personal stories in a public forum, so peergroup pressure plays a significant role. The people with whom you associate influence your behavior. For example, people drink more when their friends are excessive drinkers. People eat more when their peer group is overweight. Teach Your Children Many of today’s young adults grew up in the self-esteem generation. Early studies in the 1960s touted the benefits of high self-esteem, so parenting evolved to promote it. But high self-esteem does not necessarily lead to increased productivity, less-addictive behavior or better grades. The two benefits of high self-esteem are an increase in confidence and a better feeling about oneself. Inflated self-perception can come at a cost to others, especially when it turns into narcissism. “For most of us, though, the problem is not a lack of goals but rather too many of them.” 371 Studies show that Asian-American children exhibit higher levels of selfcontrol than the rest of their American peers. Asian-American parents emphasize self-control and hard work, set high goals, and enforce tough standards. They believe that children must earn praise through accomplishment. Children need and want structure and discipline. Enforcing rules with appropriate consequences, speed and consistency helps turn kids into self-reliant adults. The Dieting Dilemma Most people equate being overweight with poor willpower. One of the world’s most famous dieters, Oprah Winfrey, disproves this prejudice. Winfrey exhibits exceptional self-control and determination, both traits that propelled the talk show host to the top of her profession. Yet even with a cadre of professionals helping her exercise and diet, she has struggled with her weight. The “Oprah Paradox” states that even people with excellent selfcontrol can grapple with controlling their weight. You should never go on a diet or promise to relinquish “chocolate or any other food.” Instead, set realistic goals first and then make gradual changes. Try the “postponedpleasure ploy”: Promise yourself a treat later. In the meantime, eat something healthy. Usually, your craving for the treat will pass. Use precommitment techniques such as keeping high-calorie foods out of the house or signing a weight-loss agreement. Some people plan their food intake and note everything they eat. Such monitoring will help you consume fewer calories. And “whether you’re judging yourself or judging others, never equate being overweight with having weak willpower.” About the Authors Roy F. Baumeister is a professor of psychology at Florida State University. John Tierney writes the science column Findings and has worked for The New York Times since 1990. The mental toughness Recommendation Damon Zahariades says the secret of enduring success is mental toughness: a mind-set that helps you navigate the unexpected challenges life presents. Zahariades endeavors to teach readers, including CEOs as well as professional athletes, the ongoing process of cognitively restructuring your mind by questioning your thoughts, attitudes and emotions. Transform your life, he urges, and inspire others in the process. Take-Aways 372 • • • • • • • • Success requires mental toughness – but many people don’t bother cultivating it. Overcome threats to mental toughness by increasing your awareness of them. Control your emotions and thoughts – even when facing adversity. Cultivate stronger impulse control and build better habits. Build your confidence and overcome your inner critic. Welcome boredom and conquer the desire to quit when working toward goals. Take purposeful action by building willpower, motivation and self-discipline. Navigate challenges and build mental toughness using Navy SEALs tactics. Summary Success requires mental toughness – but many people don’t bother cultivating it. Those who achieve enduring success possess mental toughness. Mental toughness is a mind-set which enables you to avoid catastrophic thinking and embrace positivity when facing challenges. It teaches you to use setbacks to your advantage. If you struggle to reach your goals and maintain your desired level of success, or perhaps feel discouraged, depressed or angry, know that you have the power to improve your circumstances and shift your mind-set. Many people don’t cultivate mental toughness, however, because it requires patience and work. “No matter where you are in your life, no matter what struggles you’re currently experiencing, you can improve your circumstances.” Mental toughness has numerous benefits: • • • • • • • Improved emotional and stress-management skills. A clarified sense of purpose. Higher confidence and performance levels. The capacity to overcome your fears. A healthier attitude toward failure and the ability to learn from mistakes. Greater impulse control. The ability to stop fixating on regrets and painful experiences while fostering a growth mind-set. Overcome threats to mental toughness by increasing your awareness of them. Mentally tough people focus their energy on what they can influence, as opposed to wasting time fixating on the things they can’t change. They’re flexible and adaptable when facing unexpected outcomes. These individuals are self-aware and can identify their emotions and understand what triggers their negative feelings. They accept uncertainty and don’t wallow in disappointments. Tough-minded people have high emotional intelligence and they can regulate their emotions. They are positive, yet pragmatic. Nobody possesses all of these traits innately – everyone must work to develop them. “No one is born mentally strong. It’s something each of us develops. That’s terrific news because it means that you control it.” Threats to mental toughness include self-pity, self-doubt, negative self-talk, fear, laziness, perfectionism, self-limiting beliefs and the inability to control emotions. Control your emotions and thoughts – even when facing adversity. Emotional intelligence is the ability to comprehend and manage your emotions, so you can perform at your best. Resist the temptation to repress your feelings; learn to identify them instead. The first step of mastering your emotions is increasing your self-awareness, so you’re better able to identify your feelings. Once you identify an emotion, evaluate it. Ask if your emotional reactions and any accompanying negative views of yourself are reasonable, or are holding you back. Reflect on whether you can influence the circumstances triggering your emotions. Take action if you see ways to improve your situation. Release yourself from your frustrations over situations you can’t control. 373 This exercise helps you control unwanted emotions: List the negative emotions you regularly experience when facing adversity, jotting down how each impacts your behavior. Next, write a plan detailing how you’ll respond to these emotions when they arise in the future. You might, for example, engage in mindful breathing. “Managing our emotions – that is, exerting emotional control – gives us an opportunity to acknowledge them, confront them, scrutinize them, and decide whether what we’re feeling is levelheaded given our circumstances.” Embracing mental toughness requires being open to failure and perceiving it as feedback that can guide you in taking purposeful action. To cultivate mental toughness, write down five of your most recent failures and how you responded to each one. Next, write down more positive ways you could have dealt with each failure. For example, if you missed an important deadline, you could have spent time reviewing your workload and re-evaluating how you manage your time. Overcoming your fear of failure doesn’t mean mustering false bravado or ignoring your weaknesses. Instead, take purposeful action toward your desired outcome after recognizing the reality of your situation and considering your options. Assess how you face the unexpected by writing down your typical responses. For example, perhaps you avoid making tough decisions. Cultivate stronger impulse-control and build better habits. Mentally tough people resist the temptation to indulge in something they desire in the present, and, instead, focus on attaining something they want more in the future. Practicing self-restraint builds your tolerance for discomfort and improves your cognitive resilience. Checking your urge for instant gratification bolsters your ability to tune out distractions. Change your expectations, so you don’t associate low-effort activities with high rewards. Identify compulsive desires and find reward-stimulating alternatives that are more productive. Give yourself small rewards, such as reading for pleasure, when you resist temptations. Define your guiding values and compelling reasons to pursue your goals, while reminding yourself of their importance. This exercise can help you understand that delaying gratification feels good: Describe two incidents, one in which you resisted temptation to complete a goal-oriented task, and another in which you succumbed to temptation and failed to work toward your goals. Then, describe how each decision made you feel. “Our habits signify what is important to us. They reflect our values and priorities.” To improve mental strength, take the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Rethink the past – Don’t let past events define you. Instead, view them as valuable training to help you overcome future adversity. Investigate negative emotions immediately – To avoid letting negative emotions overwhelm you, evaluate them as soon as they surface. Build self-confidence – You can’t overcome your fear of the unknown and persevere when facing obstacles without trusting yourself and your abilities. Practice daily gratitude – Rather than complain about challenges, remind yourself of things you’re thankful for. Develop change tolerance – Leave your comfort zone and seek out the unknown. Build your con dence and overcome your inner critic. When you possess confidence, you trust you’re prepared to face uncomfortable, difficult situations. You know you’re adaptable and capable of pivoting when necessary. Check in with yourself, reflecting honestly on whether you’re over- or under-confident, and align your confidence levels with the reality of your abilities. Build appropriate confidence by abandoning any need you might have to feel you’re in total control of your circumstances. Be open to emotional pain, so you’re not paralyzed by fear. Take inventory of your growth and skills development. Cultivate a positive outlook, and forgo the fi 374 need to seek external validation. List everything that contributes to your feelings of insecurity and jot down ideas about how you can lessen their negative effects. This might entail replacing recurring negative self-talk with a positive affirmation. “Your inner critic is a shrewd adversary. It knows that it doesn’t have to yell to get your attention. It doesn’t have to scream to pummel your psyche, wear down your self-confidence, and encourage you to adopt a negative attitude.” To overcome negative self-talk or your inner critic, take these steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Don’t ignore it – Examine the negative claims your inner critic makes about you, recognizing them as emotionally and mentally destructive. Check its facts – Ask if there’s any evidence supporting the negative stories you tell yourself. Remind yourself that failure can be a growth opportunity. Respond rationally to overgeneralization – When you catch yourself using words like “always,” and “everyone,” replace the baseless claims of your negative inner voice with reasonable statements. Avoid negative people – Don’t let cynical, demoralized or pessimistic people monopolize your time – emotion is contagious. Talk to yourself like you would to a friend – Give yourself the advice you’d give a good friend, and resist the temptation to insult yourself. Welcome boredom and conquer the desire to quit when working toward goals. Contrary to popular belief, boredom can be a gift; it provides you with an opportunity to selfreflect. You’re unlikely to increase your mental toughness if you avoid boredom. You don’t master a skill without experiencing boredom, as mastery requires repetitive practice work. Without mastery, you’ll feel a lack of control and confidence. To stop feeling discomfort when bored, identify and accept that you’re bored, reminding yourself of the broader goals your boredom serves. Meditation can help you connect to the present moment and prevent you from chasing distractions. Rethink boredom’s role in your life by listing the emotions you tend to associate with feeling bored. Identify what triggers those emotions, and reframe your boredom triggers more positively. “We don’t like to think of ourselves as quitters. But most of us have, at some point in our lives, abandoned goals due to the obstacles we faced at the time.” To avoid quitting when you’re trying to accomplish an important goal, consider the main reasons people give up: They get distracted; don’t overcome their impulses and bad habits; don’t take their commitments seriously; don’t clarify the rewards they’re working toward; and/or are overly optimistic and fail to anticipate potential setbacks. If you find yourself lacking the resolve to work toward your goals, question your motives for quitting. For example, has your outlook actually changed or do you have weak resolve? Reflect on whether your goals and purpose are worth abandoning. Make yourself more mentally tough by developing a more positive attitude. Build positivity by cultivating gratitude for the resources you have, and resisting the temptation to wallow in self-pity. Take purposeful action by building willpower, motivation and selfdiscipline. Willpower means controlling your impulses and resisting temptations and distractions when trying to accomplish something. Motivation refers to the impulse to take action toward change. If you can’t muster motivation and willpower, your habits can give you the structure to take action toward your goals. Turning purposeful action into a habitual behavior makes engaging in goal-driven activities more automatic. One practical method for building self-control is to take five minutes to 375 meditate whenever you feel tempted to indulge in an activity that’s not goal directed. Build motivation by writing down five activities that inspire you to take purposeful action, and five that detract from your motivation. Identifying the environmental factors influencing your motivation levels guides you in making adjustments that serve your goals. “Willpower is like that friend who’s occasionally there for you but mostly not. He – or she – cannot be relied upon. Self-discipline is like that friend who’s always there for you, regardless of the circumstances.” Five secrets of self-discipline help you cultivate self-control: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Eliminate temptations – Remove environmental temptations to avoid triggering impulse-driven behaviors. You won’t become self-disciplined overnight – Recognize that you’re in control of your mind by taking small steps toward increased self-discipline, daily. Make a strategy – Create a feasible action plan to enable your consistent progress by scheduling goal-driven activities. Get comfortable with discomfort – Tolerate feelings such as malaise rather than indulging your impulses. Focus on tasks – When engaged in a task, give it your full attention. Navigate challenges and build mental toughness using Navy SEALs tactics. Navy SEALs use these strategies when dealing with adversity: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. They embrace positive self-talk – Navy SEALs can’t afford to panic. They keep training after mastering skills – Navy SEALs understand that training is continuous, and continue practicing skills essential to their long-term success. They focus on micro goals – Practicing “segmentation” – breaking dauntingly large goals into smaller ones – helps Navy SEALs stay present and endure difficulties. They visualize – Psychologists believe your brain doesn’t differentiate between lived and imagined experiences, so visualizing yourself successfully tackling difficult tasks prepares you to do so in real life. They anticipate problems – They prepare for every possible adversity and rehearse their responses for each. About the Author Damon Zahariades created the blog ArtofProductivity.com. art of saying no Recommendation Are you a professional doormat? Do people constantly push you around to get you to help them? If so, author Damon Zahariades' best-selling instruction manual gives you useful techniques for saying no. Zahariades explains why you should speak honestly and directly about what you want to do and don’t want to do. This includes saying no when appropriate. He promises that the more often you say no now, the less often you’ll need to say it in the future. Take-Aways • • • • • In trying to be “nice” or helpful, some people become doormats who say yes to every request. Always saying yes to others means you’ll have little time for yourself. When you constantly say yes to everyone else, you are constantly saying no to yourself. Always saying yes is habitual “learned behavior.” Being able to say no is an essential life skill. 376 • • • • • You can learn how to say no and how to be more assertive – which is not the same as being aggressive. “People pleasers” can’t stand rejection; the idea of saying no fills them with dread. Successful people know how to say no. You aren’t responsible for other people’s negative feelings when you turn them down. The more often you say no now, the less often you’ll have to say it the future. Summary Are You a “Go-To Person”? Here’s a common dilemma: A friend asks you for help, and you comply. The 10 to 15 minutes of your time that your friend requested turns out to be closer to an hour. You feel good about helping, but you also feel bad: You could have used that time on important work that needed completing. Now, you’re further behind. And you might feel like a chump. “Saying no to people is one of the most important skills you can develop. It frees you to pursue your own interests, both personal and professional.” Soon afterward, another friend makes a similar request and, being “nice,” you lose another hour away from your work. Now, you’re even further behind. Unfortunately, this often becomes a pattern. In an effort to be kind, you assume the put-upon role of go-to person who always does favors for others. As a result, you may end up resenting the people who ask you for a hand. And you may be angry at yourself for giving up time you needed for yourself. Here’s a simple truth: Every time you say yes to someone else, you say no to yourself. Fortunately, there’s a productive way to get out of this predicament: Learn how to say no with poise, grace and tact – and without guilt. Protect Your Time If you don’t guard your time and your priorities, no one else will. Take care of your own business before you take care of anyone else’s. Failure to do so is self-defeating. If you spend most of your time helping others and not attending to your own needs, you will become tired, cranky and dejected. Then you won’t be able to help anyone, including yourself. The basic rule of self-preservation is to take care of yourself first. Once you do, then you can help others within reason and never to your detriment, at least not without thinking it through. Assertiveness Taking care of yourself first requires assertiveness, which demands developing self-confidence and selfesteem. You must be able to express what you want from life and then go get it. You must speak up for yourself when necessary and do as you think best. When you are assertive, you feel free to live as you wish without needing other people’s endorsement. “Saying yes is an ingrained habit for many of us. Its something we learn to do over a long period of time. The longer we do it, the more entrenched the habit becomes until its instinctive.” Assertiveness calls for forthright communication. As you learn to say no, you become more assertive. “No” will become a magic word that can change your life for the good. Assertive people aren’t aggressive. Being assertive means speaking your mind, not unpleasantly, but without fear of consequences. Being aggressive means you are belligerent, hostile, opinionated and threatening. Assertive people are respectful and never talk over others. Aggressive people feel as if they must dominate meetings from start to finish. They act as if they’re the only people in the room with good ideas. In group settings, they try to outtalk everyone else. Assertive people are considerate, but they don’t allow themselves to be pushed around. The Power of No “No” is a little word that carries tremendous power. This is one reason many people hate to say – or are afraid to say – no. When they do summon the courage to turn someone down, they often offer apologies and excuses. They practically beg forgiveness. “Its unsurprising that we often say yes when we know we should say no. Its an instinctive response born of our longing for other peoples approval.” Most children learn to be nice to others as the basis of their value systems. They want others to see them as helpful and caring; they demonstrate goodness by being nice. Saying yes becomes an important quality in this approach to life. When these kids become adults, many of them become virtual yes machines – saying yes to everyone about everything. 377 “The best way to help people over the long run is to ensure your needs are met first.” Some individuals become inveterate people pleasers. You’re a people pleaser if you’re afraid to speak up, feel you must always put on a happy face, act chipper when you’re down, avoid conflict, see yourself as selfish when you do anything for yourself, have weak “personal boundaries” and believe that only other people’s happiness matters. People pleasers can’t take rejection; the idea of saying no fills them with dread. “Learned Behavior” The tendency to say yes often becomes second nature or a strong habit, making it a learned behavior. When someone asks you for a favor, you don’t even think about the request, but instead automatically and instantaneously agree. You can unlearn this learned behavior. Start small. Instead of immediately acquiescing to a request, purposely pause for a few seconds and consider what the other person is asking you to do. This pause lets you short-circuit your knee-jerk habit of saying yes. Next, think about what prompts you to want to say yes to a particular request: validation? Approval? Low selfesteem? Realize that saying yes all the time is a habit you must work hard to break. Why You Can’t Say No People have trouble saying no for numerous reasons: • • • • • • • • • • To “avoid offending people” – Often people give in to avoid upsetting someone. Don’t fear saying no, but always say it with respect toward the other person. When you treat a person who is asking you for a favor with respect, you’ve done everything you can or should do. This knowledge can liberate you from feeling guilty. To “avoid disappointing people” – When you feel you’ve let someone down by saying no, remorse can soon follow. Remember that feeling remorseful for standing up for yourself isn’t appropriate. It’s not your job to protect others from disappointment when you decline their requests. To “avoid seeming selfish” – Often, people adopt a constant yes attitude because they don’t want others to think of them as selfish. If you consistently place the needs of others ahead of your own, your life will suffer. To “help others” – People like to feel good about themselves. One of the best ways is to assist others, but that’s short-sighted. Your time, money and attention are limited. Be selective in how you give away your assets. To build up “low self-esteem” – People who lack self-esteem often mistakenly believe their time has less value than that of other people. When you say no, your self-esteem can actually increase. To get “others to like us” – You think that when you say no to others, they’ll like you less. In fact, they’ll like you more and will respect you more, too. To “appear valuable” – Everyone wants to feel appreciated. But don’t succumb to the rush of helping others to the point that you undermine your own needs. You are valuable to others when you help them, but don’t put your life on hold to assist others. To avoid “missing out on opportunities” – Do you fear saying no to important people, like your boss? Do you worry that if you don’t do what the boss wants, he or she won’t think of you when other opportunities appear? Are you in danger of wasting your time doing something inconsequential for your manager to get a future chance to do something consequential for yourself. Instead, do consequential things to get on the path to being offered even more consequential things. To avoid “emotional bullying” – Bullies won’t let up until you agree to do what they want. Their heavy-handed tactics – yelling, threatening, swearing – are all forms of manipulation. See them for what they are and say no firmly and clearly to short-circuit a bully’s power. To prevent “conflict” – Sometimes conflict is impossible to avoid and harmony seems impossible to achieve. Be brave enough to embrace conflict to protect yourself. When you say yes to duck a confrontation, you only confirm the notion that your feelings matter least. “Saying No Without Feeling Like a Jerk” Reflect on how always saying yes might affect you negatively. Use these strategies to break your yes habit: • • • “Be direct” – When people ask you for favors that you don’t want to do, come right out and say no without excuses or equivocation. Be straightforward and honest. “Don’t stall for time” – Stalling merely strings out the requester and makes you seem indecisive. Stalling is disrespectful. Saying no right away is a more respectful than delaying. “Replace ‘no’ with another word” – You can communicate the idea of no without using the actual word. Soften the blow with different phrasing, for example, “I’d like to help you, but I’m swamped with this project right now.” 378 • • • • • • • • • “Resist the urge to offer excuses” – Invented excuses seldom fool anyone – for example, “I can’t help you move tomorrow because I threw out my back.” Making up excuses diminishes you and fuels your fear of conflict. Instead, simply say no. Honesty is the best policy. “Take ownership of your decision” – When someone asks you to do something and you say “I can’t,” almost always, truth be told, you could. Saying “I can’t” is a cop-out. Take charge of your life and your decisions. If you prefer, when you say no, you can add a reason – a true one. “Ask the requester to follow up later” – It’s not a stall when you ask the person making the request to check back when you’ve had time to consider it. This is a perfectly reasonable response and places the pressure where it should be – on the requester. “Avoid lying about your availability” – Are you in charge of your life, or is the requester in charge of your life? You call the shots in your life. At least, you should. This means you don’t have to lie if you don’t want to do something. And you don’t have to feel responsible for other people’s negative reactions. Their reactions characterize them and have nothing to do with you. “Offer an alternative strategy” – If possible, never leave a requester hanging. If you can’t or won’t do what he or she wants, suggest a different option – perhaps by recommending someone else. “Describe your lack of bandwidth” – A great way to say no is to detail the activities in your busy schedule to demonstrate that you really don’t have time to help out. “Be resolute” – Pushy requesters hate to take no for an answer, but don’t waver under their pressure. If you do, an aggressive requester will bore in and won’t give you peace until you relent. Give the situation back to the requester by saying, for example, “Sharon, I know you dislike hearing no and are inclined to persist. But I’m not going to change my mind.” “Be courteous” – Never be rude to a requester, even a rude one. Incivility on your part can come back to bite you later. You can be both courteous and assertive. “Say no by category” – You may have additional expertise outside of your immediate job description. Create a blanket rule – and make sure everyone knows about it – that you can’t help anyone in that extra area. That way you don’t have to turn down any specific personal requests. Say No Less Often When you always consent to put others’ needs ahead of your own – five minutes here, an hour there, two hours somewhere else – you throw away your most limited commodity: your precious time. Once you give away your time, you’ll never get it back. Those five minutes often turn into 45 minutes, and those two hours often turn into most of the day. If you’re the kind of person who will help out one or two people by donating your time, you probably also lend a hand to numerous other people on a regular basis. You may end up spending a good deal of your productive hours helping other people meet their goals and never meeting your own. “Self-care isnt selfish. Its necessary. The problem is [that] if youre constantly saying yes to other people, putting their priorities ahead of your own, you wont have the time or energy to care for yourself.” This is a recipe for personal disaster. You need a different way to operate “to turn down requests, invitations, favors…without feeling guilty.” Knowing how to say no gracefully and actually doing it are two different things. The first few times you stand up for yourself won’t easy. But over time and with regular practice, saying no with confidence and without excuses will get much easier. “If you dont prioritize your life, someone else will.” (essentialism advocate Greg McKeown) To become an expert at saying no, start out with little refusals and work your way up to big ones. For example, tell the server at a restaurant, “No, I don’t want dessert, thanks.” Once you’re comfortable with the little noes, move to medium-size noes and eventually to big noes. As you do, you’ll notice a new dynamic when you’re interacting with your friends and associates: They’ll stop bothering you with their constant requests for your time. As you become better at saying no, you’ll have to say it much less often. About the Author Lifestyle management expert Damon Zahariades has written several time-management and productivity books and produces the Art of Productivity blog. 379 get it done Recommendation In this engaging guidebook, creative entrepreneur and motivational guru Michael Mackintosh offers proven, practical techniques that you can apply to end self-destructive procrastination, turbocharge your productivity and finally get things done. Mackintosh’s productivity system, the “Unstoppable 21-Day Challenge” can help you expand your life and embark on a hero’s journey. His inspirational approach will awaken those who just need to get started. Even if you have no productivity issues, his good-humored advice will help you get out of your own way, and work smarter, faster and more efficiently. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • Most people never do the important things they want to do. Tap into 11 special “mind-sets and insights” to help you understand productivity in new ways. Use a step-by-step, 21-day system to enhance your productivity and meet your goals. The first stage of this system is preparation, or “Winning Before You Start.” In the second stage, undertake major focused action for 21 days. Each day is valuable. In the third stage, take time to celebrate your 21-day accomplishment and recharge your batteries. Refine the basic 21-day challenge format so it meets your needs. To achieve a satisfying life, think about three pertinent questions: “Who are you?” “Why are you here?” and “How can you enjoy every moment of your life to the fullest?” Summary Most people never do the important things they want to do. Bringing your dreams to life is tough. Many people work around the clock. They’re tired, stressed and busy, so they don’t get around to accomplishing what they most want to do. You may understand that you could be much further along toward reaching your goals. The problem is that you just can’t seem to get things done. “Today is the beginning of your life becoming the life you were meant to live.” So why not? You might need a reliable system to transform big ideas into an actionable, concrete agenda that will lead you to realize your dreams. The “Unstoppable 21-Day Challenge” might be the system you need, but you need to have the proper mind-set to make it work. Tap into 11 special “mind-sets and insights” to help you understand productivity in new ways: Consider these 11 ways to think about handling pain, making decisions, prioritizing your activities and dealing with fear and self-doubt: 1. 2. 3. “The prolonged pain or the short-lived pain” – Pain is an unavoidable aspect of life. Long-term pain comes from always taking the easy way out and avoiding discomfort at all times. To make pain as brief as possible, face up to life’s problems when they occur. This means accepting change, no matter how uncomfortable, and moving along. People who face pain get done what they want to get done. “The defining choice” – Do you want to live a successful life? Then prepare to transform from the old version of yourself into a new version. Drop the old ineffectual elements of your approach, and become a person of action who gets things done. For this change to occur, you must will it to be so – and then act on your intention. “The 80/20 rule” – About 80% of your work generates only 20% of your results, and the reverse is also true: 20% of your work creates 80% of your results. This rule applies to 380 all aspects of life, including your daily activities. The trick is to identify which 20% of your actions are the most productive, and then to prioritize those activities. 4. “Good is good enough” – Trying to be perfect is a vain pursuit, and it’s not necessary. Almost always, hitting the 90% mark in whatever you do is fine. The added value of the last 10% isn’t worth the extra effort. Your goal should be effectiveness, not perfection. 5. “The delusion of time management” – No one can manage time. Instead, think only about the present moment, “the Now.” Now is what you can manage, so that’s where you should focus your efforts. When you focus on the now, you automatically pay attention to self-management, not time management. Self-management involves what you think, what you feel, what you say and what you do. That’s what you can control – nothing else, certainly not time. 6. “Resistance” – When you try something new, your ego immediately jumps into action and tries to take over. Your ego takes the form of the Resistance. Its goal is “to decapitate you.” Resistance hates and fears change. It will do anything to protect and preserve the comfortable status quo. So when you attempt something novel, brave, different, special or hard, Resistance will use all its tricks to thwart you and your efforts. It is the “inner teenager” in your mind. Self-awareness and self-knowledge are the tools for beating it back. Conquer the Resistance by understanding what’s going on inside you. 7. “Fears and hallucinations” – Some fears are quite real. You’d never stand in the middle of a busy highway blindfolded, because you fear you’ll be hit by a car or truck. That’s a legitimate fear. However, most of what people fear isn’t real. Most of the horrible things you worry about will never happen. You must find the moral courage to move beyond your fears – real or not. As American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson advised, “Always do what you are afraid to do.” 8. “Focus” – Without focus, it’s extremely difficult to accomplish your big goals and dreams, especially if many projects compete for your limited attention. Many big dreamers have no trouble coming up with great new ideas, but they have a hard time turning them into practical realities – especially when they try to keep too many balls in the air at the same time. Think of the word “FOCUS” as an acronym for “follow one course until successful.” 9. “How to overcome self-doubt” – Some people worry about themselves all the time. Their natural orientation is primarily interior. They may experience severe self-doubt, either occasionally or all the time. To eliminate self-doubt, they must transform their orientation from interior to exterior, from themselves to other people. To do so, demonstrate compassion and find ways to help others. Willing recipients are all around you. Step outside yourself, and help someone else. 10. “Do it now” – The most basic truth of life is that time flies. One day you’re here; the next day you’re gone. You may want to do something big – write a novel, invent something great, maybe go into business for yourself. But you put off your dream, always planning to work on it tomorrow. One day – no one knows when – you will run out of tomorrows. If you want to do something special, do it now. 11. “Do less work to get more done” – People aren’t machines. They periodically need to take a little time off, but you may find this hard. You might unconsciously believe that if you don’t stay busy and if you’re not productive all the time, you’ll have no worth. Instead, take a two-hour break each day; schedule a day off each week; and, when you complete a big project, take a couple of days off to recharge your batteries. Use a step-by-step, 21-days system to enhance your productivity and meet your goals. This step-by-step system will enable you to complete your projects faster. Use it to bring your wonderful idea to life in 21 days. It will enable you to get done what you want to get done. “If you don’t have an idea of what you want or where you want to end up, you’ll invariably end up at the whims of other people’s desires, floating around like driftwood in the ocean.” The Unstoppable 21-Day Challenge moves you from “passive to active” in three stages. Combined, these three phases enable you to win your war against the Resistance, over and over again. The rst stage of this system is preparation, or “Winning Before You Start.” fi 381 The “prechallenge success setup” is your opportunity to learn everything about – and to wipe out – your enemy, internal Resistance. If you don’t understand what you are up against internally, you can’t conquer it. In this phase, you can move beyond delay, sloth and distraction. “Bringing our ideas to life isn’t easy and too often we find ourselves stalling, procrastinating or holding back.” For Stage 1, select one important goal – only one – that you reasonably can attain in 21 days. Write down a firm deadline. Use the acronym WHACK to remember these steps: • • • • • “What do you want to manifest?” – Be clear about your goal, the what, why, when and where of the end result you want to achieve after 21 days. To fuel your motivation, create or find a visual image that depicts your goal achievement. Put this image where you see it while you work. “How will you make it happen?” – Develop a plan of action to achieve your goal quickly with the least amount of trouble. Ask yourself if you can make your planned activities four times quicker and simpler to execute. “Absolute accountability” – Arrange to work with an outside person who influences you and will hold you accountable. Commit publicly to an “accountability contract.” Make sure your influencer can monitor what you do and achieve. Set up negative costs you will incur if you don’t focus and do your work. “Conditions and structures” – Make your work environment as perfect as possible. You want everything to support you, not distract or sabotage you. As you organize yourself, be aware of whatever you need on hand to do your best work. “Kick-start” – Develop a daily and a weekly action plan to get your important work done. Keep the 80/20 rule in mind. In the second stage, undertake major focused action for 21 days. Each day is valuable. Engage in significant, effective action for 21 days. You will achieve your objective by day 21 if you work hard and stay focused. Use these three proven tools and strategies to make each day productive: 1. 2. 3. Create a daily "impact" agenda – List one to three priority tasks for each day. These are your primary action steps. Avoid all distractions – Stay away from TV, social media, internet surfing and your smartphone with its distracting notifications. “The magic timer” – Set up an automatic timer for the span of time you allot to each of your one, two or three essential tasks. In the third stage, celebrate your 21-day accomplishment and recharge your batteries. Congratulations, you’re done! Now, renew yourself and reflect on what you’ve gotten done. Remember to plan – before you start the 21-day challenge – how you will have fun and reward yourself after this challenge. Honoring your accomplishment recognizes that you aren’t a machine. You need to have fun as well as work. Celebration adds meaning to your achievement. Re ne the basic 21-day challenge format so it meets your needs. Otherwise, you will never own it. And if you don’t own it, it won’t work for you. As you adapt this challenge, make sure you meet these criteria: • • • Try to have a good impact on everyone – Make win-win your positive intention in everything you do, so it’s good for all of those involved and it makes the world a better place. Strive for clarity – The quality of your results depends on being clear about your objectives and the purpose of your work. Proceed with a sense of gladness and strong motivation – Look for the joy in your activities and your achievements. fi 382 • • Take care – Take actions that demonstrate your love and appreciation for yourself and others. Exercise good ethics and follow the law – Never break moral or governmental rules. “You truly are the hero of your own life.” Procrastination isn’t always a bad thing. Just be aware that it is precisely when you are intently focused, busy, working and making good progress that Resistance will summon its subversive powers to try to sabotage you and your efforts. For example, that insidious voice inside your head will tell you that you can put the hard stuff aside and turn on the TV. That’s clearly not a good idea, but it is possible to take a break from your hard work – that is, procrastinate – without wasting time. Set aside your main goal only if you have other important work to accomplish so you stay fully productive. Refresh yourself by temporarily turning away from your main project so you can return to it with a clear mind, a fresh perspective and renewed purpose. To achieve a satisfying life, think about three pertinent questions: “Who are you?” “Why are you here?” and “How can you enjoy every moment of your life to the fullest?” It takes time to find your answers to those questions. Consider what you need to do to reach your goals. It won’t be easy and it could exact a heavy price, but living on too small a scale also has a daily toll. Apply two basic strategies to achieve a successful life and attain your goals: 1. 2. Each day, follow a list of rituals that make you feel cared for – Set up a routine of daily thoughts and actions that help you feel energized, fresh, glad and free. Such rituals will enable you to stay on track to accomplish your dreams and goals. Select rituals, however idiosyncratic, that are just right for you. Maybe they will involve regular meditation, a morning run or watching the sun come up. Try to achieve a healthy balance in your life. Make something meaningful daily – Leverage your greatest skills to focus 100% on your most important tasks. Spend a minimum of two hours every day on your most essential – that is, life-altering – work. Over time, increase the time to four to five hours a day and then even more. This is the best way to increase your productivity and to feel most alive. “Life isn’t about forcing ourselves into rigid systems. Systems are here to help us have a better life.” To achieve meaning, motivation and joy, apply these two core principles daily. That will enable you to fall sleep at night at peace with your efforts and achievements and wake up energized. It will give you the best opportunities to attain your most ambitious goals. About the Author Author, spiritual mentor and entrepreneur Michael Mackintosh co-founded Awakened Academy, Superhero Training and Ombar Chocolate, among other successful companies. achievement habit Recommendation This book is a pleasure. It offers helpful advice and engaging, illustrative anecdotes. Bernard Roth calls upon his design perspective – and lessons he learned as academic director at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford 383 University – to offer workable suggestions for building an active, successful approach to work and life. He provides ways to achieve goals you might not otherwise reach and shares the motivational secrets he’s been teaching his graduate design students for years. Most of his ideas are easy to implement – like to stop making excuses – and can make a big difference in your life. Roth also suggests deep breathing, meditative exercises and visualization to assist readers in overcoming a negative self-image. Overall, Roth provides worthy assistance for setting and achieving your goals. getAbstract recommends his insights to anyone seeking to free themselves from destructive habits and become more productive. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Anyone can learn how to improve his or her life. Be open to new perspectives. Your view of people and the world may not be accurate. Ignore your first reactions. Review situations before taking action. Excuses keep you from moving forward and accomplishing goals. When faced with two equal options, choose the one that offers more positives. Take responsibility for your choices. Don’t blame others for your lack of success. The real problem isn’t always the obvious problem. Effort is more rewarding than results. Failure can be an amazing teacher if you are open to learning the lessons. Every challenge offers new possibilities. Summary “Nothing Is What You Think It Is” Mike’s professor saw him as “a slacker” because he failed to complete a project. Years after college, Mike created an amazingly innovative exhibit at the annual Burning Man festival. The professor who considered Mike a talentless failure and totally dismissed him made a mistake. You, too, may perceive things in ways that might not be accurate. Be open to changing your mind and to seeing people and events in a new way. The professor clearly was wrong about Mike. “When something is a priority in your life, you have to be willing to walk away from anything that’s standing in its way.” To escape your current perceptions, take these steps: Breathe deeply several times. Shut your eyes and sit quietly for two or three minutes. Open your eyes and scan the room slowly. Look around and say, out loud, that each thing you see “has no meaning.” For example, “The chair has no meaning,” and so on. Consider the people in your life and remove their meanings, one by one. After you are done, see how you feel. You can now relate to everything and to yourself in a fresh, new way. State that you have no meaning, and be open to discovering a new you. Don’t think of yourself as a loser because you failed at something. Your goal is to develop the skills to deal with life’s challenges. Make achievement into a habit. People tend to engage in “functional fixedness,” a cognitive bias that causes them to view things in only the most obvious ways. Consider a container of cereal. It 384 holds food, and it also offers a source of “cardboard and wax paper” that you can use. Be open to new possibilities. “Who Controls Your Brain?” The amygdala part of the brain generates your initial reactions. Following your first reactions isn’t always the smartest course. Consider a speeding driver who cuts you off. The amygdala sends a message to stay with that car and fight, even when the safer decision is to take flight and run away. Your second thought is often more logical and fuels a better outcome. Take these four steps to move from a gut reaction to a thoughtful response: 1) Stand still and don’t do what your body pushes you to do. 2) Breathe deeply. 3) Observe how your body feels. 4) Access a pleasant memory to feel upbeat and content. Now that you’re calmer, consider healthier options. “Your Turn” To focus more intently on the “meaning of your life,” ask yourself the following questions, and say or write your answers. Ask each question over and over for at least five to ten minutes. Do this alone or with a partner. Ask: “Who am I?” “What do I want?” and “What is my purpose?” Be open to new ideas about yourself. “Right and Wrong” When you interact with others, forget about who’s right or who’s wrong. You are the one who infuses your life with meaning. When you worry about who is correct, you waste time and energy. You have the ability to alter how you think about every issue. If you hate cleaning the dishes, focus on the parts of washing that are pleasurable – the feel of your hands in water, how clean the dishes become and how much you enjoy having a tidy kitchen. Focus on the positive to feel the joy in any activity. “Reasons Are Simply Excuses” In reality, most reasons are simply excuses you offer because you didn’t rank a task high enough on your to-do list. Release yourself. You don’t have to “justify your behavior.” Steering clear of excuses frees you to discover fresh methods and ideas. You don’t have to share your reasons for what you do. “Trust yourself and act.” “Projection” People tend to see themselves in others. When you assign a particular emotion to someone else, you may feel that way about yourself. A “genuinely naïve, truthful person” assumes that everyone he or she meets speaks honestly. If you are deceitful, you often mistrust others. Consider the behaviors that push your buttons. For example, do you hate it when people are tardy? Perhaps you struggle with lateness. Write down co-workers’ behaviors that bother you, and consider how these issues manifest in your own actions. “Decision and Indecision” 385 If you have difficulty making decisions, consider the “Buridan’s ass paradox,” a 14th-century story attributed to philosopher Jean Buridan (c. 1295-1363). A donkey can’t choose between two mangers – one offers hay, the other water. Paralyzed by options, the mule dies of both hunger and thirst. When multiple choices are all worthwhile, choose the one with fewer downsides. List the positives and negatives. Then use the “gun test.” Transform your hand into a toy gun and point it at your head. Give yourself “15 seconds to decide or…pull the trigger.” “Achievement can be learned. It is a muscle and once you learn to flex it, there’s no end to what you can accomplish in life.” Try the “life’s journey method” of decision making. Describe one of your options and consider its effect on your current reality. For example, you are considering whether to get an advanced degree. Ask, “Then what happens?” You complete your coursework and begin to teach. “Then what happens?” You might meet the love of your life, marry and start a family. “Then what happens?” and on and on, until you “get old and die.” This exercise shows that you can’t predict where a choice will take you. Few decisions are matters of living or dying, so relax. “Who’s Really Stopping You?” Don’t play the blame game. Your loved ones, boss or other people don’t prevent you from achieving. Only you are in charge of your decisions. Some people say they don’t have adequate time. That’s just an excuse. Your days are as long as those of the people who achieve great things. If something is important to you, you will find the time. Jot down the activities you do for a week and note the amount of time you spend on each. Consider whether your time is well spent. “Getting Unstuck” If you feel stuck, make sure you’re asking the correct question and solving the appropriate problem. For example, if you are stuck on how to find a spouse, write your concern as a “what would it do for me?” question, such as, “What would it do for me if I found a spouse?” Generate new questions from the answers you reach about what solving your original problem would do for you. So if you are stuck on how to “find a spouse,” you would replace that question with, “How might I get companionship?” or “How might I get my parents to stop nagging me?” Even if getting married could answer these problems, it might not be the best resolution. When you search for better questions and better responses, you start solving your real problems. “If you stop labeling the world, your job and your life, you may find that an amazing trajectory is there for the taking.” To move forward, “reframe” or “change your point of view.” A group of students went to Nepal to help hospitals deal with baby incubators that kept breaking down. Initially, they focused on ways to fix the incubators. Then, they changed their focus to ways mothers could keep their babies warm. That led them to discover better options. Try other ways of generating solutions. You could brainstorm, make lists, create “idea logs” (like Leonardo da Vinci’s journals), joke around until fresh thoughts come to mind, speak to others, wonder “what if?” or “work backward” by pretending you fixed a problem and then working in reverse 386 from that point. Search for coaches or mentors who can help you achieve your goals. Use other people’s ideas as a springboard. “Many reasons are simply excuses to hide the fact that we are not willing to give something a high enough priority in our lives.” Make a “mind map” by jotting a word or two in the center of a page and then writing an idea the word brings to mind. “Connect the two words with a line.” Return to the original word, think of another related idea and add it to the sheet. Place a line between that word and the first word. Add words and lines until you can’t think of anything else. Review how you connect words and ideas. What does your map tell you about your problem? How can you make better, more appropriate associations? “Doing Is Everything” Attempting something and accomplishing it aren’t the same. When you are determined to get something done, nothing can stop you. Too often people believe the negative thoughts they have about themselves and dismiss positive thoughts. Focus your self-affirming comments on the work you do, not on your accomplishments. Praise how hard you try, not your outcomes. “It’s Like Riding a Bike” A 30-year-old woman wanted to “learn to ride a bike.” She had never learned because she had difficulty with balance. What issue did she think she could solve by learning to ride a bike? Was she focused on the real issue? When asked, she said her child recently mastered bike riding, and she worried she couldn’t share that experience. She could run next to her daughter, but when her daughter rode more proficiently, the mother felt she would be unable to jog along. Her real dilemma was to find a way to “keep up with her daughter.” To ride, she first had to solve her balance issue. How? Take a special exercise class? Take medication? Or, even better, maybe buy an adult-sized tricycle? That common-sense choice enabled her to ride with her daughter. “Your Turn” Don’t let the odds shake your confidence. If your likelihood of success is low, you can still be one of the few to succeed. Getting fired isn’t the end of your career. Oprah Winfrey’s boss asked her to leave her first broadcasting position. When circus clowns mess up their routines, they break into big smiles, stick their arms in the air and yell, “Ta-da!” They embrace, rather than hide, their mistakes. How would you approach projects if you no longer worried about your mistakes? “Watch Your Language” Choose your words carefully. Convey your stories clearly. What you say affects how you feel and what you do. Try to say yes when you would normally say no. Transform actions you must do into those you wish to perform. Replace the term “I need” with “I want”; instead of saying “I’m afraid to,” say, “I’d like to.” When you interact with others, share your emotions and experiences. Try not to interrupt them; they may say something of value. If someone shares a personal story, don’t tell a personal tale of your own in response. That may come across as 387 you “playing…one-upmanship” or trying to diminish the value of the other person’s story. “Our hatred of others is really the hatred of our own unwanted or feared capabilities, projected onto them.” To improve your conversations, use first-person language. Say, “I feel,” not “Everyone feels.” Don’t judge others or offer unsolicited guidance. Let people know that you paid attention to them, and ask questions if you don’t understand what someone says. Don’t shy away from tough interactions. Dodging a sensitive subject only creates more issues. “Self-Image by Design” How you see yourself affects what you can accomplish. If you believe you are a “risk taker and a doer,” you will probably take chances. Giving into fear or excess care undermines your potential choices. Many perceptions start in childhood. Your self-image develops as you interact with others, receive feedback from friends and family, and respond to life events. “The problem with reasons is that they’re just excuses prettied up.” Describe yourself as you are today using five adjectives. Invite five pals or relatives to list five adjectives about you. How does your list differ from theirs? Don’t confuse who you are with what you own or with what you do or have done. You can alter your self-image. Consider what steps you would take if you only had “ten minutes to live.” How about if you had that many days, months or years? As you respond, use the personal details that come to mind to consider how you might change the way you view yourself. “Start designing and changing!” You are the author of your personal story. You assign meaning to yourself and to everyone else in your saga. “The Big Picture” Know your main objectives, and don’t be inflexible about the road you take to achieve them. Don’t shut out other people or ideas. You don’t have to take or succeed at every opportunity. Accept that you may fail. Next time you tackle a problem, jump in with both feet. Don’t spend excess time reflecting. Act. About the Author Engineering professor Bernard Roth is a co-founder and the academic director of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University (also known as the d.school). 388 the 4 disciplines of execution Recommendation Strategy without an effective method of execution is worthless, no matter how good it looks on PowerPoint. Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling – all FranklinCovey consultants – provide managers with a process for realizing “wildly important goals.” They offer a simple yet effective four-step formula for execution, from goal setting to application and accountability. Although the concepts are basic, the clear instructions for implementation make this book a standout. Unfortunately, some of the content verges on being too promotional of FranklinCovey’s training, services and products. Setting this foible aside and focusing on the good stuff, getAbstract recommends this clear strategy manual to all business leaders. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • Implementing strategy amid the “whirlwind” of daily work is difficult. Identify your firm’s goals by detecting which changes would exert the greatest impact. The “4 Disciplines of Execution” (4DX) is a strategic process for achieving “wildly important goals” (WIGs). Discipline 1 teaches you to set a target. To achieve a WIG, define a measurable, specific time frame based on getting from one place to another by a set deadline. Discipline 2 identifies activities that provide the greatest leverage for achieving the WIG. “Lead measures” are actions that affect the outcome, while “lag measures” report the success of past activities. Discipline 3 calls for visible scoreboards that show how team members are performing. Discipline 4 instills accountability through weekly meetings called “WIG sessions.” The roll-out process includes extensive training for leaders and employee coaching. The 4DX principles also work well in helping you achieve personal goals. Summary Strategy Blockers Executives implement some strategies easily with a single order. They initiate such changes as designating investments, revising compensation or hiring additional staff simply by asking the appropriate managers to make it happen. However, more ambitious strategies require people to change their behavior, which is seldom easy. For example, if you ask your sales team to use new software when they already like what they’re using, you’ll hit resistance even if the new program is compatible. As Jim Stuart, an originator of the “4 Disciplines of Execution” (4DX), stated, “To achieve a goal you have never achieved before, you must start doing things you have never done before.” Resistance to change is a major hurdle in implementing a new strategy. 389 “When you execute a strategy that requires a lasting change in the behavior of other people, you are facing one of the greatest leadership challenges you will ever meet.” What else causes poor execution? Employees fail to implement strategy, first, because they often do not understand their organization’s goals. In one survey, most frontline people could not reiterate what their firm’s executives identified as its top three goals. In addition, employees said they rarely felt committed to a goal even when they knew what it was. Or, if they knew about the goal, they didn’t know how to contribute toward its fruition. And in most cases, managers didn’t hold workers accountable for making progress toward company objectives. Discipline 1: “Focus on the Wildly Important” Another obstacle to implementing strategy is the “whirlwind” – that is, “the massive amount of energy that’s necessary just to keep your operation going on a day-to-day basis.” Simply keeping up with daily demands takes most people’s time and energy. Achieving big goals in addition to staying on top of business is difficult. The four disciplines of execution will enable you and the teams in your company to execute important goals even as the work world swirls around you. Select one or two exceptionally crucial goals. Examine the abundance of good ideas. Then take on the challenge of saying no to some so you can concentrate your company’s time and energy on one or two “Wildly Important Goals” (WIGs) that really matter. This enables your staff to focus on the firm’s top priorities without the whirlwind blowing them off course. “The greatest challenge is not in developing the plan: It’s in changing the behavior of the frontline teams that must execute it while managing the never-ceasing demands of the whirlwind.” To identify your WIG, ask: “If every other area of our operation remained at its current level of performance, what is the one area where change would have the greatest impact?” Some corporate WIGs emerge from the whirlwind, such as an existing activity that is underperforming or broken, like poor customer service or escalating costs. WIGs that derive from outside the whirlwind are strategic matters, like new product launches, competitive threats or fresh opportunities. Many WIGs originate from “finance, operations or customer satisfaction.” Once you’ve chosen your firm’s WIG, the challenge is to implement it throughout your organization so that each team pursues one or two WIGs that support the company’s WIG. Follow four rules: 1. “No team focuses on more than two WIGs at the same time” – Achieving a WIG requires a keen, undivided focus. Do not let other demands dilute your attention. 2. “The battles you choose must win the war” – All activities must work toward accomplishing the WIG. 3. “Senior leaders can veto, but not dictate” – Middle managers must determine how their teams will support the WIG. If they set up a top-down process, their teams won’t feel high levels of commitment to the WIG. 4. “All WIGs must have a finish line” – State the finish line by using the WIG formula “from X to Y by when.” This declares that the organization will progress from this point to that point by a set time. WIGs must have a 390 clearly defined, measurable and targeted achievement completed in a specific time frame. For example, “Increase...annual revenue from new products from 15% to 21% by December 31st.” “When a team moves from having a dozen we-really-hope goals to one or two no-matter-what goals, the effect on morale is dramatic.” To implement Discipline 1, determine the best WIG for your business. Seek input at every level of your organization. Encourage ideas from each team by asking which facet of its work needs most to be improved and what the team’s “greatest strengths” are in terms of putting them to use in attaining the WIG. Rank the resulting suggestions by importance. Test the top-ranking concepts by asking if each proposed goal is measurable, achievable and specific to its team. Make sure it supports the companywide WIG. Choose ideas that test well and meet every condition. Then put them into the WIG formula (from X to Y by when) in the simplest terms beginning with a verb, such as, “Raise annual inventory turn rate from eight to ten by fiscal year end.” Discipline 2: “Act on the Lead Measures” This discipline identifies the actions that will give your firm the most leverage toward achieving its WIG. In this step, each team delineates specific activities with measurable targets that will move it forward in reaching its WIG as part of reaching the firm’s WIG. “The principle of focusing on the vital few goals is common sense; it’s just not common practice.” Apply two kinds of measures to gauge your progress: “Lag measures” report whether you’ve completed a goal by computing your success after you act, for example, consumer satisfaction reports and revenue calculations. Unfortunately, by the time you receive the results of lag measurements, you have already completed the activities they cover. “Lead measures” are more within your control. While a lag measure might report your car’s repair record, a lead measure might note how much routine maintenance you’ve done to prevent repairs. Thus, lead measures can be predictive and can influence lag measures. “Like a compass, the WIG provides clear, consistent direction toward a result that’s wildly important.” Younger Brothers Construction identified reducing accidents and injuries as its WIG. Management ascertained that enforcing strict compliance to safety standards in six areas would provide the best lead measures for reducing accidents. Managers required shift supervisors to check their crews’ adherence to specific standards daily, in spite of constant whirlwind distractions like shipping delays, vendor issues or foul weather. Within months of focusing on lead measures, the firm’s safety record, according to its lag measurements, improved radically. “What you ultimately want is for each member of your team to take personal ownership of the commitments they make.” 391 To implement Discipline 2, determine which lead measures have the highest impact on the WIG. Consider what new actions you can take, how to leverage your team’s strengths and where you can improve its weaknesses. Rank ideas by importance and ask these questions about each one: • • • • “Is it predictive” and “influenceable?” – Both these traits are essential. “Is it an ongoing process” or a one-time event? – Work toward a continuing effort with a goal. “Is it a leader’s game or a team game?” – Give the game to the team. Is it measurable and “worth measuring?” – Measurements create motivation. “People will work hard to avoid disappointing their boss, but they will do almost anything to avoid disappointing their teammates.” Once you determine the top activities, commit the list to paper in specific, measurable terms. Make each person accountable for taking a planned action by a set time. Discipline 3: “Keep a Compelling Scoreboard” Telling staffers exactly how they are performing creates engagement and dedication. Scoreboards drive action, promote problem solving, and boost energy and intensity. When you show progress visually, people feel excited. Seeing that they are winning is very motivational. An effective scoreboard meets these criteria: • • • • “It has to be simple” – The scoreboard must indicate clearly where the team is and where it needs to be. “It has to be visible to the team” – Computer data may help managers but lots of information alone won’t motivate the team. Put the scoreboard where everyone sees it. “It has to show lead and lag measures” – Viewers must be able to see quickly the result they want to reach (lag measure) and what they can do to attain it (lead measure). “It has to tell you immediately if you are winning or losing” – The scoreboard must communicate at a glance how participants are performing. “The whirlwind is urgent, and it acts on you and everyone working for you every minute of every day.” To put Discipline 3 into action, work with your team members to design a large, visible players’ scoreboard. Participants will be more invested if they participate in creating the scoreboard. First, choose what type of graph you want to display, whether it’s a bar chart, a pie chart or an X/Y axis diagram. Keep it simple, clear and easy to read, so you can display lead and lag measures. Update the scoreboard weekly. You will see that “people play differently when they are keeping score.” Discipline 4: “Create a Cadence of Accountability” 392 The discipline of accountability keeps WIGs from blowing away in the whirlwind. Create a sense of personal responsibility through weekly WIG meetings that follow a set agenda and that concentrate only on the status of the execution of the big goal. “Basically, the more you try to do, the less you actually accomplish.” WIG meetings have three components: First, participants report on the status of their commitments. Next, they “review the scoreboard” and discuss what is working and what they should adjust. Then they define what they need to achieve by the next session. These meetings are great motivators because, in addition to being accountable to their boss, employees are accountable to each other, which is more inspiring. “WIG sessions” promote creativity and innovation because teams collaborate to overcome obstacles. As they work on advancing the lead measure, they share experiences and ideas and bring out the best in each other. In action, “the WIG session is like an ongoing science experiment.” “The challenge is executing your most important goals in the midst of the urgent!” For the purposes of implementation, these sessions should not cover anything but the status of your WIG. The meetings work best when you hold them at the same time and place, on the same day of each week. Keep them to a half hour. Leaders should set an example by reporting on their WIG commitments each time. Together, teams commemorate successes, share what they’ve learned and help each other overcome obstacles. Keep the whirlwind out of your WIG sessions. 4DX Installation To ensure that 4DX is successful within your organization, you should put it into operation as an ongoing process, not a one-time occurrence. Involve all of your firm’s leaders and their teams, rather than working with just a few leaders at a time. Train your managers to head this effort. To roll out 4DX in your company, follow this tested, results-oriented six-step process: 1. “Clarify the overall WIG” – Follow the 4DX procedure for identifying your company’s wildly important goal. 2. “Design the team WIGs and lead measures” – Commit two days to training leaders in the concepts of 4DX. Once leaders have absorbed these ideas, they can work with their teams to identify WIGs that support the organization’s WIG. These managers should define the lead measurements they’ll need to put in place. 3. Run a “leader certification” workshop – Teach leaders how to create a scoreboard, manage a WIG session and prepare for launching 4DX within their teams. 4. Conduct a “team launch” – Kick-off 4DX in two-hour team meetings. The agenda is to teach the 4DX principles, review the organization’s WIG and describe the lead measures. Conclude the meeting with a practice WIG session. 393 5. Execute “with coaching” – Once you’ve launched 4DX, stay on track and work through problems with the help of a coach who has expertise in the four disciplines. 6. Organize “quarterly summits” – Leaders report to upper management in quarterly meetings. This gives them the opportunity to practice accountability and receive recognition for their successes. 4DX in Your Life The four disciplines are not only an effective tool for accomplishing goals in the workplace. You can apply the same principles in your personal life. One man used 4DX to lose weight. His WIG was to lose 80 pounds by his son’s high school graduation six months away. He identified his lead measures as walking several miles daily, limiting calories and not eating in the evenings. He kept a tracking chart on the kitchen wall, and he reached his goal in time for his son’s graduation. About the Authors Chris McChesney, a developer of the 4DX program, and Jim Huling, who has more than 30 years of experience in corporate leadership, are both consultants with FranklinCovey, where Sean Covey is an executive vice president and runs global operations. the one thing Recommendation Gary Keller, co-founder of Keller Williams Realty and a best-selling author, overcame his own issues about focus, which makes his claims about cultivating better habits even more compelling. Multitasking isn’t fruitful, he says, since success requires long periods of laser-like concentration, not scattershot swats. If you find your “ONE Thing,” Keller says, everything else will fall into place. Keller, writing with co-author Jay Papasan, breaks his approach down into manageable steps based on research and experience. With an engaging writing style and plenty of bullet points, this reads much faster than its 200-plus pages. Take-Aways • • • • Multitasking and following long to-do lists might pose the biggest obstacles to achieving your goals. Superior success comes from extraordinary focus on your “ONE Thing.” Developing a singular focus on what’s necessary puts many larger forces in motion. Aligning your purpose with your one thing brings you clarity and happiness. 394 • • • • • • Your aligned purpose directs your single priority and tells you how to spend your time. Trade your to-do list for a short success list, and use that to chart your course. From that list, block out time for what’s truly important for achieving success. Learn to say no and accept the chaos that accompanies any pursuit of greatness. Take care of your health and energy with good food, exercise, stress relief, family time and sleep. Create an environment that supports your goals. Summary The Importance of Focus In the early 1990s, a grumpy old cowboy named Curly, played by Jack Palance, revealed a great truth in a popular movie, City Slickers. “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that,” he told a city slicker named Mitch, played by Billy Crystal, offering a formula for success in a few words. “You want your achievements to add up, but that actually takes subtraction, not addition. You need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing more things with side effects.” One-shot prioritizing – or “going small” with a focus on a singular purpose or achievement – enables some people to get more done in a day. Desks groaning with to-do lists and calendars packed with dozens of projects divide your concentration into tiny pieces, while excelling at a few things is the way to succeed. Adding more projects without cutting others dooms your results, your family relationships, friendships, diet, sleep patterns and health. Chopped up, your life gets small, but developing a singular focus on one necessary target puts many larger forces into motion. When you prioritize your primary task, everything else falls into line, like dominoes. “The most productive people start with purpose and use it like a compass. They allow purpose to be the guiding force in determining the priority that drives their actions.” This functions in science, as Lorne Whitehead noted in the American Journal of Physics in 1983. He found that one domino can topple another that is 50% larger. Starting with a two-inch domino, “geometric progression” means the 23rd domino would be taller than the Eiffel Tower and the 57th would nearly reach the moon. So shoot for the moon by creating a domino effect to get there. Success builds on itself; it is “sequential, not simultaneous.” Very successful brands reached the top by focusing on “ONE Thing.” Consider Coors beer, KFC chicken, Starbucks 395 coffee and Google search. Your challenge is to find your one focal point. Until you find it, seeking it will be your one thing. “Applying the ‘ONE thing’ to your work – and in your life – is the simplest and smartest thing you can do to propel yourself toward the success you want.” Passion and skill often align with a person’s one thing. Singular focus leads to spending a large amount of time developing a skill that improves your results and adds to your enjoyment. Bill Gates developed his high school passion for computers into a singular skill for programming. He built that knowledge into success as co-founder of Microsoft. Forget the Lies Working and living according to the one-thing philosophy is simple. The hard part is moving beyond all the mistaken conventional wisdom you’ve absorbed. Various clichés, myths and untruths about productivity sound valid, but they aren’t. Problems arise when you fall back on them to shape important decisions. “Where I’d had huge success, I had narrowed my concentration to one thing, and where my success varied, my focus had too.” To succeed, eliminate these lies from your thinking: • • • • “Everything matters equally” – When life gets busy, your natural tendency is to make decisions quickly and haphazardly. Instead, winnow your lengthy to-do list – not to a few things you should do, but to the one thing that matters most. Use this as your guiding principle. Learn to say no or “later” to anything else. “Multitasking” – Doing several things at the same time doesn’t make you more efficient. It just gives you the chance, as motivational speaker Steve Uzzell says, “to screw up more than one thing at a time.” It actually slows your work, leads to stress and saps 28% of employees’ workdays since they must reorient to their main tasks after each distraction. “A disciplined life” – Success does not come from discipline, but from developing a habit of doing the right thing. You need discipline to establish that habit, but, on average, a habit takes only about 66 days to establish – a pretty fast track to success. Then, use “selected discipline” to simplify your life. Ditch your concerns for everything but your one thing. “Willpower is always on will-call” – Willpower is limited, and you shouldn’t rely on it. Willpower drains quickly and has little endurance, so schedule your important work for when your willpower is high. For many people, that’s early in the day. Feed your brain, which consumes a fifth of your energy calories despite comprising just 396 • • 1/50th of your body mass. Your brain needs protein and complex carbohydrates. “A balanced life” – The balanced life is a myth. “Counterbalance,” however, enables you to lead a life of significance and meaning as you constantly adjust priorities to achieve what might appear to be balance. Prioritize what’s most important at work so you can get home. Focus on the most important thing at home so you can return to work. “Big is bad” – Don’t succumb to thinking small about what you can achieve. Thinking determines actions, which determine results, so “think as big as you possibly can.” Look beyond the obvious and “double-down.” If a reasonable goal is 10, seek 20, and make a plan to achieve it. Don’t fear failure; it’s part of the journey to success. The Smooth Road to Success Always, the best way to get the right answers is by asking the right questions. Finding the answer to the pivotal “Focusing Question” will reveal the proper answer you can use to define your journey – which will become your life. Here’s the question: “What is the one thing I can do such that, by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” This is a simple question, but not an easy one. It provides both an overview and a laser focus on what you must do today to achieve your one thing. The question propels you to go beyond simple tasks on your to-do list and directs you to what is most important, that “first domino” that will make everything else fall into place. “Knowing when to pursue the middle and when to pursue the extremes is in essence the true beginning of wisdom. Extraordinary results are achieved by this negotiation with your time.” Asking, “What’s my one thing?” defines your “big one thing” by prompting you to craft a conceptual path for your career, your business and your personal life. Asking, “What’s my one thing right now?” reveals the “small one thing” that drives your daily activities. This puts your top priority at the center of your focus and leads you to a productive workday and a properly focused home life. “Willpower is like a fast-twitch muscle that gets tired and needs rest. It’s incredibly powerful, but it has no endurance.” Along the way, change a few other things in your life: • Start a few good habits – This sounds more daunting than it is; everyone makes and breaks habits all the time. Decide to set habits that will propel your life toward success. Asking the focusing question can become a habit that will affect your future. In the beginning, try to apply it to your spiritual, physical, personal, work and financial lives to form a solid foundation for fulfillment. Tweak the question to fit 397 • • each category and add a time element. For example: “What’s the one thing I can do such that, by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary...for my spiritual life?” Add “right now,” “this year” or – for larger goals – “someday.” Create a formula, starting with this set up, and adding the question, the time and the final phrase: “...such that, by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” If you want, you can get more specific; for example: “For my physical health, what’s the one thing I can do to ensure that I exercise such that, by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” Develop this approach in five steps so it can become a habit – 1) Accept the concept, making sure that you understand it; 2) Put it into practice, asking the question each morning; 3) Form a habit so you can access its full power; 4) Set up reminders so you don’t forget; and 5) Ask for help from your family, friends and co-workers. Use the key question to perfect your additional questions – This will lead to “big and specific” powerful answers. Define your answers in measurable terms so you’ll know exactly what you’re going to do to achieve them. Push your target beyond your comfort level to attain extraordinary results. The Extraordinary Key The formula for reaching your goals is “purpose, priority and productivity,” which are like the undersea parts of an iceberg. The tip above the water is a small portion of the iceberg, which is shaped by everything beneath the surface. For example, a business can rely on profit as a visible result – the tip of the iceberg – of its driving forces and the depth and sturdiness of its foundation. Charge your goals with purpose, priority and productivity to achieve results. Your purpose is your foundation. Your big one thing is your priority for action. Your small one thing fuels your productivity. “Time blocking is one thing; productive time blocking is another.” Momentary happiness that comes from, say, a raise, or things money can’t buy – doesn’t last. With purpose, you can seek lasting happiness as you pursue contentment. Being engaged and doing something meaningful are the best ways to find true happiness, according to Dr. Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association. Knowing your purpose and going after it daily brings success and happiness. A defining purpose brings clarity and conviction to your life and helps you make quicker choices. Often, this means you’re making decisions before others, a benefit that can lead to outstanding results. Purpose keeps you on your path, so everything else falls into place. If you don’t have a purpose, decide on a goal and make a plan to reach it. Understand Your Priority Identify your priority each day; you will get where you want to be. The word “priority” is singular, not plural. Until the 20th century, it was always 398 “priority,” a use that dates back to the word’s 14th-century Latin origins, and refers to something that “mattered the most.” Its relatively recent use as a plural dilutes its meaning: Focus your intent on a single priority. “The people who achieve extraordinary results don’t achieve them by working more hours. They achieve them by getting more done in the hours they work.” Focus only on the present, the only moment you can affect. Piling up these moments leads to success, according to economics research, because most people work harder for present rewards than for future ones. This innately human bias toward the present makes it easy to delay bigger challenges and bigger results. To override this bias, try “goal setting to the now.” Look inside a long-term goal to find the priority for today, inside the priority for the week, inside the priority for the month and so on until you reach your goal. Connecting these goals through time takes practice and thinking. As with dominoes, visualization helps, as does writing down your goals. People who write their goals are 39.5% more likely to accomplish them than people who don’t. Focus on Productivity Follow up on your steps and maximise what you do. As success almost always equals productivity, measure your results as money. Productive people earn more; they dedicate most of their time to being productive on one thing, and therefore achieve better results. “Activity is often unrelated to productivity, and busyness rarely takes care of business.” Working long hours for years might not work for everyone, so try “time blocking.” “It’s a way of making sure that what has to be done gets done” by focusing your energy on your most important work. Take your calendar, block off the time you need to accomplish your one thing – even if the amount of time seems disproportionate. A productive person’s pie chart might show spending half of the day on one big priority and half on everything else. Extend your time blocking for extraordinary results. “Taking complete ownership of your outcomes by holding no one but yourself responsible for them is the most powerful thing you can do to drive your success.” Follow three guidelines: 1. Block time for rest and relaxation – “Resting is as important as working.” 2. Block time for your one thing – Use all of the time allotted, and more if needed, to complete your one task. If you finish sooner, refocus the remaining time on the next step toward your one thing. Block this time out as early as possible in the day. Take four hours as 399 a minimum time-block for your one thing. Paul Graham, founder of the venture capital firm Y Combinator, believes that business as usual often interferes with productivity by interrupting creative, productive time – referred to as “maker” time – with “manager” time, which is often spent in meetings. He changed his company’s culture by clustering meetings at the end of each day. 3. Block time for planning – Use this time for setting and evaluating your goals and progress. Take an hour each week to look at your monthly and annual goals. Take time toward the end of each year to check in on your long-term goals. “Connect today to all your tomorrows. It matters.” Commit to success by seeking mastery. Find the best way to carry out each step along the way to your one thing and accept accountability for doing everything possible to achieve it. Look for a mentor who can direct you along your path. Use four tips to ward off productivity hijackers: 1. Learn to say no. 2. Accept the chaos that accompanies any pursuit of greatness. 3. Take care of your health with good food, exercise, stress relief, family time and sleep. 4. Create an environment that supports your goals. About the Authors Gary Keller, author of The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, is chairman of the board of Keller Williams Realty, where co-author Jay Papasan is vice president of publishing. The habit of courage Recommendation Kate Swoboda, director of the Courageous Living Coach Certification program, shares her journey and those of numerous clients to help you overcome the fear that stops you from living your dreams. She mixes anecdotes with written and reflective exercises and offers supportive online worksheets. Her exercises take time, but they’ll nourish new self-knowledge. Swoboda doesn’t repeat aphorisms or wave magic wands; she focuses on long-term, daily work. You can read the book quickly, but the work takes much longer. Nevertheless, it can only strengthen your self-awareness and your relationships. Managers, leaders and staff can apply her insights to challenge, understand and overcome their own self-doubt, fears and limitations. Take-Aways 400 • • • • • • • • • • People have a physical response to fear, though you might not be aware of others’ reactions. If you write about living a day without the limitations of being afraid, what you write will reveal the changes you want to make. Use the “Courage Habit” model to change your behavior or your life. Common “fear routines” include the “Perfectionist,” who camouflages imperfections by working harder. Be aware also of the “Pessimist,” who makes you think no effort is worthwhile, the “Saboteur” and the “Martyr Routine.” Your body often defaults to repeated behavior when you feel fear. Develop a relationship with your inner “Critic” so you can rephrase its reactions to your goals. Uncovering and examining “Stories” you have believed can help redefine your belief. Create a “courage-based” community that supports your change. Once you understand the Courage Habit model, apply it to other relationships in your life. Summary Do You Want to Change? Have ever felt stuck – or wanted to improve your career, marriage, health, or relationship with yourself? Whatever your impetus, you might fear change and what it can bring. The “Courage Habit” model provides specific steps you can use to understand what you truly want to change, why changing can be difficult and how to overcome the fear that blocks change. To achieve change, you must change your relationship with fear and with your internal critical voice, and then address some decades-old truths about life. “Liberated Day” To pinpoint specific elements of change, describe – by writing it down – a Liberated Day, a day when you live the life you want without limits. Be free with your thoughts, dreams and ideas while detailing what it would be like from morning until night. This exercise is not an action item list. It facilitates what living courageously as a state of being would look like for you. “Our personal ambitions aren’t selfish…Our desires deserve to be a primary focus in our lives.” A second writing exercise, “Honoring the Value of Courage,” explores what various areas of your life – family, friends, career and body – would be like if the bravest version of yourself were in charge. Fear appears in different forms for different people. Being aware of your feeling of being fearful opens the door to understanding your own processes. “You can’t control what others think or say about the new direction that your life is going in, but you can make a conscious choice to stay aligned with [your] choices.” Change can be overwhelming. Select only three items as your “Primary Focus” goals. These can be action-focused, such as trying to travel or becoming more spiritual, or being truer to who you are. “Compassionate goals” that involve doing things for other people empower you more than self-focused goals. Personal goals are likelier to succeed when you tie them to a “collective” benefit. Explain the “why” behind your three 401 Primary Focus goals, and work to identify the community benefit for each. This solidifies your desire to carry them out. The Brain and Habits The brain’s basal ganglia is a key area for forming habits and experiencing fear. It’s hardwired so that a “cue” triggers “behaviors or responses” – a “routine” – which a reward then follows. A reward is anything that reduces the stress of the initial cause. This process repeats all day. Some routines aren’t intense, while others raise immediate and crippling “fear or self-doubt.” To change a habit, you must change the routine of the cue-routine-reward cycle. Habitual “Fear Routines” Knowing how you automatically react to fear, self-doubt or uncertainty gives you awareness. Being aware of your actions is the first step toward changing them. While people handle fear many ways, the four most common reactions are: • • • • “The Perfectionist Routine” – You may be critical of yourself and those around you. You try to camouflage aspects of yourself while “overperforming.” Perfectionists often set incredibly high standards for themselves. “The Saboteur” – You may be psyched at first about a project, goal or direction, but falter before completing it. “The Martyr Routine” – Instead of working on your own goals or needs, you focus on others due to your fear of people being angry at you. “The Pessimist Routine” – You feel a profound lack of hope about meeting your goals. The Courage Habit Thinking about which of these routines resonates with you provides the insight and information you need to delve deeper into creating a “courageous life.” The Courage Habit model will help you achieve that goal. Its four areas build on one another. They are: 1. “Access the Body” Learn to understand what fear feels like in your body, and where you feel it. Fear manifesting in your body may make you revert to familiar choices that don’t function well for you. Understand what happens physically when you are “cued” into a habitual fear-response routine. Use a “body-scan” technique to check in with your body from head to toe for three to five minutes a day. Ask specific areas of your body a benign question, such as, “Hey, what’s up today?” You can hone in on sensations that might connect to fear. You may feel such a sensation in your stomach, in tight muscles or in a sense of distraction. “In asking the right questions…an aspect of the self that might have long been dormant starts to emerge…your ‘most courageous self’.” If sitting quietly and breathing don’t work for you, try dancing, running, doing yoga, stretching, hiking or visualizing during your body scan. Carry out your scan daily, and note the feelings that emerge. Some people may dislike the process or feel overwhelmed by their emotions. Both reactions usually connect to discomfort about facing issues. Find external ways to limit the scope of the exercise. This can provide you with a safe framework in which to explore emotions or any discomfort you feel. Set a timer, ask a friend to call, commit to a walk or exercise immediately afterward, or ask a friend to be 402 your “venting partner” – he or she will listen without judgment as you work through issues that arise. 2. “Listening Without Attachment” Learn how to listen to your internal “Critic” – everybody has one – without believing what it says. Then discover how to change the conversation. As the body physically reacts to fear, the mind has several ways of easing the stress. One is an internal voice or Critic, that by its criticism “protects you” and tries to help you avoid whatever the stressful situation might be. “Emotions are a package deal…if you try to shut down just your fear, you’re also clamping down on your capacity to feel joy.” If you regularly ignore, assault or gratify your Critic, you may believe you vanquish it. Take a moment to access your body and honestly transcribe the words your Critic uses when you think of your three Primary Focus goals. Don’t translate the Critic’s words. Write them down as they affect your goals. With the words on paper, check in with your body. That alone can change the cue-routine-reward process. It helps you distance yourself from the words of your inner voice by giving you compassion for the fear it embodies, and for your potential connection to the person or people the critical voice might reflect. “Knowing which fear routine you default to gives you the power to stop living on autopilot from a fear-based place, and to start untangling yourself from the overall ‘fear pattern’ of cue-routinereward.” That inner voice is a worthy friend who communicates poorly. Viewing it in terms of a relationship allows you to define boundaries and require more respectful communication. For example, if a wife comes home having forgotten, for perhaps the third time, to run a needed errand, her husband may make a sharp comment. The wife could ask her husband to “Re-Do, Please” his comment. Asking another person for more respectful communication is productive because it unveils the core issue in your discussion and can foster mutually respectful dialogue. “A body-based practice is to aid you in stopping the sensations of fear from getting you stuck.” Ask for the same respect from your internal Critic to discern the fear that underlies the reasons for the criticism or derision. Strive to uncover the basis of that fear. Seek to understand your “wound” that you must heal, not the “armor” the Critic wears on your behalf. Understanding your internal wounds – injuries everyone has – lets you take the next step in reviewing your constrained ideas of what you can achieve in your life. 3. “Reframing Limiting Stories” Learn to modify and change some of the “truths” that limit what you believe you can do. Have you ever wanted to do something that you thought you couldn’t, like compete in a triathalon? You may hold a “simple assumption” that you aren’t athletic – and you believe that assumption. This false truth is not your Critic. It’s a constricting “capital-S Story” that undermines your goals. 403 “Change starts with having a different relationship with the Critic. It’s neither your enemy nor the person who should be giving you advice.” Stories often come from childhood, a lack of resources or a perceived inability. These limiting Stories align with your fear routines. A pessimist may believe a Story that no effort will make a difference, while Perfectionists may believe that only incredibly hard work will make them worthy. To uncover your Stories, return to your three Primary Focus items and connect with the emotions they evoke. While in that feeling, finish the prompts of “I’m frustrated because…” or “This feels so difficult because…” Note how your Critic reacts to this. What does it say you should or shouldn’t do or be? “When the Critic drops its defensiveness, you’re speaking with the wound in need of healing, rather than the armor that keeps the old routine in place.” The next step again uses prompts, such as: “When I am most brave, I still think I cannot…” Pull out the Stories you may tell yourself. Using the information from these exercises, write down all the possible Stories you can identify. Be careful not to “edit” the stories through a logical lens before writing them down. Most of the Stories you hold as truths can’t exist in the light of day. This is why, as you wrote them down, you may have wanted to discount or change them. “Reframing limiting Stories happens when we question assumed beliefs about ‘the way it is,’ and then choose a different Story.” A question like “Do I truly believe this Story?” can bring to mind experiences that show the Story isn’t true, or that you found it untrue in your life. “Reframing” the beliefs you wrote down so they have basis in fact – in what you consciously believe to be true – can break the power of these repeating stories. “Isolation is both a Story and a choice…Creating more connection in your life is…some of the most courageous work that we ever do.” To reframe your Stories, start with an aspect of a Story that is true, such as, “In this moment, I am in debt.” By “stretching” it into a more optimistic direction, it may become: “In this moment, I’m in debt, and I’m determined to change that.” Maybe you are not a triathlete, but a disciplined training schedule could move you toward your goal of competing in an athletic event. After working through changing your Stories, choose whether to believe the absolute ones that initially appeared in your writing, or the “stretched” ones that empower you to realize your abilities and new possibilities. The work of understanding how fear appears in your body, being able to hear, without adhering to, your Critic, and changing your long-held Stories helps create and maintain new, healthy habits. 4. “Reach Out and Create Community” Learn to strengthen your community and create a larger, supportive one for your transition into a more courageous life. Participating in a group of like-minded people facilitates change. Defining your “courage-based” community means creating a network of existing friends or new acquaintances who demonstrate courage and overcome fear by helping each other. This can be a group of people or one person. They back up your dreams and your wish to change. 404 “Creating courageous communities that support your changes will make the change not just believable, it’ll make change truly possible.” ” Consider the people in your life, and note the ones you feel show their caring natures. Review your list for those who are vulnerable, optimistic and empathetic. Seek people who don’t talk unkindly about others. Your courage-based friends may question your actions or statements, but do so without judgment. If you’re an introvert, work through the physical discomfort – fear – of being social, as well as the Critic’s voice and any selftruths that you believe. “If our emotional lives are influenced by cue-routine-reward and we want to change something, the most effective point of change is…the routine.” The first three steps of the Courage Habit target your individual fears and goals. Use those steps to find new relationships and to improve existing ones. Being open about who you are creates a supportive community. Like most people, you may “hide” part of yourself. Often, that hiding is automatic, and you remain unaware of it. For example, perhaps you paint a perfect picture of your life on social media to hide reality. “Understanding the role of fear in habitual routines, breaking them down, and creating different, courageous habits is how you change your life.” ” Hiding yourself can become an infinite circle in which – because you don’t trust yourself or others – you find it harder to trust, which only makes you hide out more. Just as you have Stories underlying why you can’t do something, you may have similar Stories about people with whom you hide out or about why you hide. In some instances, your effort to forge better relationships might not work, such as with a family member who criticizes your new choices or goals. As you did with your inner Critic, request more respectful communication. If your difficult relationships are beyond repair, even if you use all aspects of the Courage Habit internally and when speaking with them, you may face difficult decisions about continuing those relationships. In other situations, showing yourself as your most brave may bring people closer to you as they recognize your new contentment. About the Author Kate Swoboda founded YourCourageousLife.com and leads the Courageous Living Coach Certification program. Greatist.com named her one of the 50 top health, fitness and happiness bloggers. becoming bulletproof Recommendation Evy Poumpouras, a former Special Agent of the US Secret Service, shares her knowledge about how to protect yourself. You can become “bulletproof,” she says, if you practice courage, read people’s cues and learn to exert influence. Poumpouras won the Secret Service’s highest 405 honor, the Valor Award, for her heroism at the World Trade Center in New York after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Take-Aways • • • • • • When you’re afraid, forget about yourself and try to help others. Bulletproof vests are made of many layers of fabric. To protect yourself, you need many layers of knowledge. Learn to read the cues that reveal whether people are honest or deceitful. Life is easier when you influence others, so learn to apply proven persuasion techniques. Never back down; never give up. Tiny and untested, Evy Poumpouras was fresh out of Secret Service training on 9/11. She became a heroine. Summary When you’re afraid, forget about yourself and try to help others. When catastrophe strikes and leaves you feeling deathly afraid, deal with your fears by forgetting about yourself as quickly as you can. Help others who may be in danger. This is the first and best way to make yourself bulletproof. “When it seems like the world is ending, being willing to help others is the antidote to fear.” That’s what author Evy Poumpouras, a former Special Agent of the United States Secret Service (USSS), did on September 11, 2001, when she and her Secret Service colleagues helped disaster victims at ground zero of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks. For their heroism amid the destruction of the towers, Poumpouras and her colleagues received the United States Secret Service Valor Award – the agency’s most prestigious honor. Bulletproof vests are made of many layers of fabric. To protect yourself, you need many layers of knowledge. Many people think bulletproof vests are made of steel, but in fact they’re composed of multiple layers of Kevlar – a purpose-made fabric. The thicker the vest, the greater the protection. The most protective bulletproof vests combine Kevlar layers with ceramic or metal. You may not have a bulletproof vest, but you will be safer if you accumulate layers of knowledge and knowhow which can help you prepare for life’s unexpected emergencies. “If you must fight, then fight.” The most elementary method of personal protection is the ability to fight back if someone physically bullies, attacks or tries to fight you. To prepare for situations when you have no other option but to get physical, seek training. When such moments come – and you cannot flee, outsmart the threat or get help – commit to fighting as strongly as you can. During the G20 Summit in Mexico, for example, petite Poumpouras had to fight an important Chinese general – a man more than twice her size. The general wasn’t on the permitted attendees’ list, but he didn’t respect Poumpouras’s refusal to admit him into the secure room where US President Barack Obama was meeting with China’s president. The general rudely knocked Poumpouras out of the way and barged into the room. She grabbed him and shoved him out of the room, sparking a knock-down, drag-out fight with the surly general and his associates. Poumpouras didn’t want to fight anyone, but she didn’t back down when it became clear she had no other option. Do not let people bully you or push you around. Fight if you have no other choice, but understand that getting into a physical fight is never a smart move. You don’t know if the other person has a weapon, is mentally ill or drunk, or has murderous intent. Instead of throwing a punch, draw on these layers of knowledge: 406 • • • • “Harnessing fear” – Managing your fears doesn’t always mean overcoming them. Instead, make them work for you. With a positive mind-set, fear can fuel achievement, make you resolute and even prevent you from becoming your “feared self”: the person you don’t want to be. “Mental armor” – This is your internal protection against other people’s bullying words or threatening behaviors. During Poumpouras’s Secret Service training, her instructors gradually increased the stress on trainees to help them strengthen their mental armor. “The Secret Service mind-set” – Prepare yourself, mentally and physically, for events that could paralyze you with fear. Don’t dwell on them, but acknowledge them as unfortunate components of reality. When you proactively plan for worst-case scenarios, you’ll fear them less. “Bulletproof your life” – Your home should have exterior lighting to discourage intruders. Keep your doors and windows free of shrubbery criminals could hide behind. Install good locks. Dead-bolt your doors. Carry as few credit cards, identification cards and insurance cards as you can to minimize the hassle and exposure if someone steals your wallet. To avoid identity theft, minimize the number of websites on which you enter your birth date. To protect your children, don’t post information about them online. Learn to read the cues that reveal whether people are honest or deceitful. In addition to traditional Secret Service protection duties, Poumpouras received specialized Department of Defense training to work for the agency as a polygraph examiner and interviewer. She became expert at reading people. “To him who is in fear, everything rustles. (Sophocles) ” She learned that you should never try to intimidate people into telling you the truth. They’ll just put up their guard. Instead, watch for signs of unsuitable nervousness and anxiety, and any pretense of a lack of interest in your questions. The more you talk, the less you’ll learn about the other person – including his or her deceptions. Listen instead. If what the person says sounds rehearsed, you may not be getting the truth. Active listening is the best way to tell truths from lies. Being alert to when someone is lying has always been important. In India, in 500 BC, for example, priests ordered accused criminals to enter a tent that was pitch dark inside and contained a donkey. The accused criminal had to pull the donkey’s tail. If the donkey brayed, they told the person, he or she would be considered as a criminal. However, because the tent was dark, the accused couldn’t tell that the priests had coated the tail of the donkey with soot. If the person came out of the tent with clean hands, the priests knew he or she had never grabbed the tail – and therefore was a liar and, they assumed, a criminal. Remember these tips to protect yourself from falsehoods: • “Everybody lies” – Accept the fact that every person lies. Many do so repeatedly. The typical individual lies, on average, once or twice a day. In a single conversation, the average person will lie one to 10 times. • “Reading people” – Become an avid student of body language, which can reveal what people are thinking. When people worry that others may know they’re lying, their jaws may clench, they may fidget, or they may put their hands over their mouths when they speak. Of course, everyone reacts differently to internal stress, so establish a baseline of how an individual acts without stress, so you can be alert for body language that shows stress when the person is lying to you. • “How people read you” – Consider how terrific the newscasters on TV look: perfect clothes, great posture, big smiles and every hair in place. On TV, and in person, first impressions endure. What first impression do you make? If you want others to read you positively from the outset, always look and act your best. • “What are they really saying” – Occasionally, people’s words have nothing to do with what they want to communicate. Listen for clues. For example, phrasing like, “As I’m sure you’re aware…” is a signal to work hard to understand the speaker’s message. Never expect to have a perfect radar for deception; no one does – not even an experienced polygraph expert. 407 Life is easier when you in uence others, so learn to apply proven persuasion techniques. The way you use your voice, dress or carry yourself can get people to come around to your way of thinking. So can the specific words you use. You can prime people to be receptive to your influence. Priming means getting someone ready for what comes next, just as auto body shop specialists add primer coats of paint before the finishing coat. “Heroism is quiet. It isn’t about bravado or being the biggest or the strongest. It isn’t about firing guns or being awarded medals. It’s about what’s in your heart and mind and spirit.” You can use the priming principle to achieve your ends. For example, if you schedule a meeting with a client, be sure you’ll be in a room with a window that looks outside. That environment promotes openness. To prime someone for openness, plan the exact sentences you’ll use to start the conversation. Choose your words wisely. To influence others, consider these tips: • • “How to influence” – Your words are your most potent weapons. Most people speak carelessly and choose their words without forethought. Being deliberate and selective about what you say gives you the best opportunity to influence others. “Undivided attention” – People who came to former US President Bill Clinton’s rallies loved him. While on duty with the Secret Service duties, Poumpouras saw firsthand how much Clinton’s people cared about him. She attributes this loyalty to Clinton’s ability to focus his attention with laser intensity on his rally attendees and to engage them in sincere, one-on-one conversation. Clinton made each person he talked with feel like the only person in the world. To win people over, give them your undivided attention. Never back down; never give up. When Poumpouras was nine years old, she went to the Greek Island of Chios with her father. He took her inside the ancient Agios Minas Monastery near Neohori, the village where he grew up. In 1822, the monastery was the site of an infamous massacre of thousands of Greeks by Turkish invaders. Persecuted by the Turkish Ottoman Empire for close to 400 years, the Greeks rebelled in 1821, declaring their independence. In response, the Turks attacked. To escape, the Greeks hid inside the stout monastery walls, but the Turks broke in. The Turks burned many of the Greeks, including children, alive. As a tribute to the victims, the monastery stores their bones and skulls. Poumpouras says her father took her to Chios as an impressionable child to teach her the importance of being tough and fighting back. He also wanted to teach his children not to fear death, but to accept it as an inevitable aspect of life. Poumpouras learned that fear is inevitable, and that no one can achieve total fearlessness. Even if you’re remarkably bulletproof, something can still make you afraid. Accept this fact, and deal with it maturely and bravely. “We are never done with fear. Whenever you think you’ve conquered one fear, there will always be another to take its place.” Fear is not all bad. Because everyone experiences fear, it can be a unifying thread – a universal connection among people. Never run from fear. Step up and try to overcome your fears, no matter how hopeless the circumstances seem. Find a way “to bear the unbearable.” When you achieve this state, you give yourself tremendous power. Each brave act provides you with another layer of Kevlar-like resiliency and makes you increasingly bulletproof. Tiny and untested, Evy Poumpouras was fresh out of Secret Service training on 9/11. She became a heroine. fl 408 Despite her fears, Poumpouras stayed strong amid the frightening rubble, haze and fire. She helped stunned and bloody victims survive. “In the end, when it’s over, all that matters is what you’ve done.” (Alexander the Great) At ground zero, Poumpouras became an inspiring heroine, though she was only 25 years old and freshly trained. The diminutive agent – five feet, two inches tall and weighing in at only 100 pounds – was an unlikely candidate for heroism. She was the greenest of the green. Nevertheless, “covered in toxic ash and debris, blinded and choking,” and certain she would soon die, Poumpouras did her duty, putting her fears aside to assist others. For that, the Secret Service awarded her its highest award. She candidly reveals that she had to reach deep inside herself to find the strength to be brave. To act with bravery and courage, be guided by your inner power, your perseverance and your empathy. Develop the skills that will help you cope with anything you encounter. When it comes to staying alive in the face of grave danger, you can depend only on one individual: yourself. Be prepared. About the Author Evy Poumpouras, former Special Agent of the United States Secret Service, appears frequently on NBC, MSNBC and CNN. She served in the protective details for US Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, William J. Clinton and George H.W. Bush. perfectly con dent Recommendation Confidence is a Goldilocks trait: The right amount serves you well; too little or too much can hurt you. UC Berkeley management professor Don A. Moore introduces three forms of confidence and provides examples that illustrate why wellcalibrated confidence is desirable. He offers valuable advice on how to develop and project a healthy sense of confidence that will reap benefits in your personal and professional life. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • Overconfidence and underconfidence are common and problematic. To calibrate them, weigh seven factors. First: Consider how you might be wrong. Second: Assess the probability that you’re right. Third: Calculate the expected value of an outcome. Fourth: Define and measure performance. Fifth: Consider what could go wrong. Sixth: Tap others’ perspectives. Seventh: Seek and believe the truth. Summary fi 409 Overcon dence and undercon dence are common and problematic. To calibrate them, weigh seven factors. Most people have more confidence than the facts justify. Overconfidence is one of the most common cognitive biases. It is a “gateway bias” that leads to other biases – such as anchoring, representativeness or availability – that undermine decision-making. Overconfidence can adversely affect performance by reducing effort, inducing complacency or prompting embarrassing self-aggrandizement. Promoting overconfidence in children, for example, can make them fearful of risking failure. Collective overconfidence leads to disasters such as the 2008 financial crisis. “Well-calibrated confidence is the map that can guide your life choices about what to undertake.” Too little confidence means missing out on life. Lower-income high school graduates, for example, don’t apply to college because they don’t think they will get in; good writers don’t write because they think they are bad writers. Underconfidence is common, especially regarding difficult tasks where success is rare, and it’s easy to overestimate the competence level of the other people performing them. Calibrate your level of confidence – that is, be as confident as the circumstances justify. To calibrate your confidence, you need facts, evidence, competence and a willingness to let go of delusions. Weigh these seven factors. First: Consider how you might be wrong. Evaluate evidence carefully to avoid falling for false claims. People are naturally more likely to think of evidence in favor of their views and to focus on things that are consistent with their beliefs. They tend to be biased toward thinking a hypothesis they’re testing is true. To counter this, deliberately try to prove your hypotheses or beliefs wrong. People tend to think they’re right and to have more confidence in their beliefs than those beliefs may deserve. Even after learning they’re wrong about something, they can jettison the incorrect belief and then retain faith in the accuracy of their updated beliefs. “Honest, constructive feedback is so valuable that there’s only one way to respond: ‘Thank you’. ” (Rich Lyons, former dean of the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley) Test your beliefs by asking yourself how you might be wrong. Help others calibrate their beliefs by asking them how they might be wrong. Embrace constructive disagreement, and invite a diversity of viewpoints. Average other people’s opinions rather than seeking consensus. Second: Assess the probability that you’re right. Every decision derives from a prediction – what you think will happen. Probabilistic thinking can help improve your predictions. Instead of trying to fi fi 410 predict a particular outcome, predict a range of outcomes and think about the likelihood of reality falling at various points within the range. Consider the costs and benefits of overestimating versus underestimating, and factor that into your decision. People tend to overestimate the likelihood of unlikely events and underestimate the likelihood of likely ones. This explains the popularity of insurance and of gambling, even though both require people to bet against the odds. To improve your predictions, ask other people whether they think something will happen and have them estimate the odds that they’re right. This works best with people trained how to see and measure uncertainty. Thinking through the likelihood of various outcomes and considering what happened in the past can help you grasp the range of possibilities, make better forecasts and thus make better decisions. Third: Calculate the expected value of an outcome. Calculate the expected value of a risky option by multiplying the value of the outcome by its probability. To decide whether to take the risk, subtract the expected cost from its expected value. Use data, reason, facts, evidence and logic to maximize the accuracy of your calculations. Be careful not to let your desire skew your estimate of likelihood, and don’t inflate the probability of the outcome you desire. People sometimes think optimism boosts their chances of success; research questions this belief. However, also avoid being overly pessimistic, which can lead to bad outcomes by causing you to be too cautious. Stay realistic about potential consequences and the likelihood of possible adverse outcomes. “Being able to explain the basis for your confident beliefs will make them more persuasive to others.” Say, for example, you are an entrepreneur. Even if you need to put on an optimistic face for funders and employees, you mustn’t overestimate the probability of success, lest you make bad investment decisions. That said, if the potential payoff is big enough, the project may be worth undertaking even if the odds are slim. Similarly, when you and your team set stretch goals as an organization, recognize that the right amount of ambition can motivate you, but unattainable goals can demotivate people and lead to cheating. Along with expected value, consider expected utility. Losses tend to make people feel worse than gains make them feel good. This means people avoid the risk of loss even when the gain has a positive expected value. To get the most out of the expected value approach, calculate the expected value of an outcome, then write it down. This will help you compare what you calculated with the actual outcome, so you can polish the skill of calculating expected value in the future. It also will help you convince funders or bosses that something is worth a try, and will enable you to remind them later why it was worth trying – whatever the outcome. 411 Fourth: De ne and measure performance. Avoid being exclusively results-oriented. Doing so rewards luck and discourages risk-taking. Encourage employees to take risks that have positive expected values. Reward “well-intentioned failure.” Build your skill at calculating expected values and encourage others to use this tool. After the fact, go back and see how you did so you can do better next time. Remember, this is not only about money; feelings matter as well. People prefer positive or flattering information over negative or threatening information,but that imbalance can distort risk assessment.To calibrate appropriately how much optimism is warranted or useful, seek the truth and pay special attention to reliable information that contradicts your assumptions and beliefs. “Although it can be painful to admit that your critics are right, confronting our imperfections opens the way to improvement.” To avoid counterproductive persistence, calculate both the expected value of staying the course and the anticipated value of whatever you would do instead, then choose the path with the highest expected value. Avoid impoverished yes or no decisions that consider “whether” to take a single option and instead make “which” (either/or) decisions, selecting between alternatives. Posing your decision in a “which” frame can help you compare expected values and consider possibilities you might not have thought of otherwise. Fifth: Consider what could go wrong. Postmortems – analyses of what went wrong – help avoid repeat failures. “Premortems” – thinking about what might cause a project to fail – can help you avoid failure in the first place. Preparing to respond to potential failures can boost your resilience and reduce adverse impacts.Similarly, backcasting – starting mentally to move toward a desired outcome and tracking back to imagine how you got there – improves your odds of success. “When a company is formulating strategy, it is useful to consider critiques, problems and likely reasons for failure.” Premortems and backcasting help you estimate the chances of failure or success. Together, those estimates should add to 100%. Have different teams conduct the premortem and backcast, and work together to come up with the final answer. One example of misplaced optimism is the “planning fallacy” – the tendency to underestimate how long it will take to accomplish something. To avoid this, break a task into smaller pieces and factor in what could go wrong with each piece. Incentives can encourage overconfidence. When bidding on a project, be explicit about how you will accommodate uncertainty. When you send a project out for bids, keep the planning fallacy in mind to avoid selecting the most overconfident bidder. fi 412 Sixth: Tap others’ perspectives. “Naive realism” impedes consideration of others’ perspectives, and instead believes that any disagreement is stupid or evil. Paying attention to other people’s views provides valuable insights into what might be wrong with your beliefs and ideas. Seek people who disagree with you and listen to their arguments. For example, when someone is willing to sell a stock at a certain price, that means his or her information tells them it’s a good deal at that price. It’s helpful to consider what he or she knows that you don’t know – or vice versa. “Others’ disagreement is…a gift of great value, but it is not always easy to appreciate it.” A related practice is to tap the wisdom of the crowd. If enough people, each with their own set of information, pool their insights, their collective perceptions are likely more accurate than those of any individual. This even works with yourself: To improve your estimate, come up with a number, then think, estimate again, and average the two. Seventh: Seek and believe the truth. Develop three main kinds of confidence: confidence in being able to do a task, confidence in how you rank relative to others and confidence in how right you are. To make the best decisions about whether to take a risk, analyze the situation. Beware of self-delusion. Consider the likelihood of various outcomes and the relative costs and benefits. Include others’ perspectives. As a leader, don’t express every doubt that crosses your mind because people will follow someone else who expresses more confidence. The right amount of confidence can help you succeed. It helps you be a good leader and makes you more convincing. “Honestly communicating the real uncertainty about uncertain things is a viable strategy for aspiring leaders.” Confidence increases your influence and social status, but confidence also can be used to swindle. Before you let someone else’s confidence sway your decisions, look for and assess any specific claims to see if they are true or false, or offer a bet to test the depth of his or her apparent confidence. False certainty undermines your credibility. Stay well-informed and wellcalibrated and speak confidently and specifically about the likelihood of a situation’s outcome. Review and learn from your past judgments, but don’t fall victim to regret. Strive for the sweet spot between overconfidence and underconfidence. About the Author Don A. Moore, PhD, an expert on the psychology of decision making, is a professor of management at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and co-author of Judgment in Managerial Decision Making. 413 Recommendation Start small, build up slowly and celebrate your milestones. Such is the advice of fitness enthusiasts Amaresh Ojha and Subhra Moitra to those hoping to embark on a new workout journey. While many individuals start to exercise with good intentions, they drop off soon after, claiming a lack of time or the motivation to continue. In this enlightening book, the authors discuss the science behind exercise and its effects on your physical, physiological and mental health. They offer clear, manageable steps on how to change your workout from a “sometimes” activity to one you don’t want to miss. Take-Aways • • • • • • • Many people know the benefits of regular exercise, but don’t know where to start. Your brain naturally develops habits to minimize conscious effort for routine tasks. It takes roughly 12 weeks to ingrain a new fitness habit. Start simple and build your fitness habit slowly. Understand the impact exercise has on your physical, physiological and mental health. Design a fitness environment that motivates you. Take the first bold step to start your fitness journey. Summary Many people know the bene ts of regular exercise, but don’t know where to start. A study conducted at fitness centers across India found that roughly 60% of participants stopped a new fitness effort within two months and 70% did not renew their yearly gym memberships. Stress-inducing work habits lead many people to gain weight and have other health issues. Most of these individuals understand the benefits of regular exercise, and may even set workout goals, but they still struggle to make fitness a part of their daily routines. Many people cite a lack of time or motivation. Additionally, they often lack the guidance necessary to design a plan to fit their needs. They set overly lofty or ambiguous goals, and view exercise as a punishment.When they add something unfamiliar like exercise into their daily routines, it takes them out of their comfort zones,and they quit before seeing any benefit. “We all want the gold but not the grind that is required to dig the gold out.” The secret of those who exercise regularly is that they have made fitness a lifelong habit. Instead of focusing, primarily, on achieving a fitness goal, like developing 414 fi fi tness habit abs or losing weight, they have learned to find intrinsic pleasure in the action itself. Sticking with a fitness plan requires you to change your behavior so that fitness becomes second nature. You don’t decide to exercise – you just do it, much like brushing your teeth. You may, initially, set goals to motivate you, but as you start to see results, the progress you make and the gratifying feeling you get from exercising drives you to continue. Two types of motivation, the need (extrinsic) and the desire (intrinsic), push you to work out and develop a fitness habit. Your brain naturally develops habits to minimize conscious effort for routine tasks. Humans subconsciously form habits: actions you take without thinking. Research shows the core of these habits – both good and bad – involves a neurological loop where a certain cue leads you to behave in a way that yields a reward. Your brain releases dopamine, which reinforces the habit. Interestingly, the surge of dopamine occurs not with the reward, but with the anticipation of the reward. You look forward to your regular routines, such as spending time on a hobby, visiting with friends or snacking on junk food because you anticipate getting pleasure from them. Most people find it difficult to change their habits because the cue-routine-reward loop perpetuates itself. To begin establishing a new habit, such as an exercise routine, you must start by creating a cue to exercise. For example, you can set your prompt to exercise after you have your morning tea or at a specific time of day, such as 7 p.m. “In short, ‘wanting’ denotes the motivational appeal of an outcome that drives us to seek the reward and act to satisfy the craving. In contrast, ‘liking’ is the pleasure felt during the consumption of anything with an anticipated reward.” Anticipating the reward, such as getting lean or having more energy, motivates you. Research shows, however, that those who exercise regularly don’t just enjoy the rewards that exercise delivers; they crave it. The strength of their desire is pivotal to sustaining their fitness habit. One individual, for example, quit his exercise regimen after three months. He stopped not because he hadn’t developed his habit loop – he worked out (routine) after work (cue) and lost weight (reward) – but because he didn’t crave the reward enough to continue. Another individual found she was able to make exercise a part of her normal routine by joining group classes, because she craved the energy she gained when working out with others. The habit stuck because fitness served as a means of fulfilling her strong desire to socialize. It takes roughly 12 weeks to ingrain a new tness habit. Research conducted in the 1950s studying surgery patients concluded that people needed 21 days to adapt to new circumstances. Others began applying this “standard” of 21 days to habit formation, concluding that it applies to any change you make in your routine. However, when studies focus specifically on individuals fi 415 developing a new fitness habit, results show it takes much longer, averaging around 90 days. After this time period, the fitness regimen becomes normalized, and individuals realize emotional and physical benefits from their workouts. “Forming a fitness habit is difficult; maintaining it is not.” People new to exercise gain the momentum to continue if they see results, such as weight loss. They are also more likely to stick to a routine if it involves a fun activity. Yet without this immediate gratification, they lack the intrinsic motivation – the craving – to continue. Regular exercisers, by contrast, see their fitness routines as priorities in their day; they do not need to see visual improvements to continue. They find motivation in the long-term health benefits, rather than immediate gratification.With persistence and patience – and cues that work for you – you, too, can adopt an exercise habit that will stick even after you meet your initial fitness goals. Start simple and build your tness habit slowly. Many people fail to sustain their fitness routines because they try to achieve too much too quickly. Others spend lots of time planning out their fitness journeys, but never actually get started.When beginning your new fitness habit, start small with manageable targets. Celebrate your small triumphs as you increase your abilities. You might, for example, note your increased stamina over time, which then enables you to add new elements to your routine. Your brain wants to see progress, and if you only focus on achieving big goals, you might lose motivation before you hit the week 12 milestone. Track your small, but important improvements to sustain your motivation. “To make fitness a rewarding experience in the long run, you should start as small as you can and stick to your cue every day. Even when you cannot spend five minutes, at least spend two minutes.” Other tricks that help make fitness a habit include the following: • • • Ask why – Ask yourself why you want to exercise. Do you want to lose weight; be leaner; build muscle mass? Instead of just stating a goal like losing weight, define why you want to lose weight. This gives you a stronger reason for pursuing your goal and provides the impulse you need to continue. Make it fun – Add fun to your routines by working out with others or by incorporating variety. Because different people find motivation in different places, experiment to find what moves and inspires you to continue. Choose your cue with care – Don’t miss your cue. Make it obvious, because your brain wants to make easy choices. To ensure you cook healthy meals, for example, load your pantry with healthy ingredients. Likewise, to make sure you incorporate fitness into your daily routine, you might, for example, put your workout clothes on your bed, so you see them when you return from work. Understand the impact exercise has on your physical, physiological and mental health. fi 416 If you have exercised in the past, you know the effect working out has on your muscles. Efforts such as walking or rowing require regular muscle contractions, which improve circulation, while resistance training, such as lifting weights, builds muscle mass. You also improve the muscle metabolism that enhances your body’s ability to burn fat and inhibit fat production. “Science has proved time and again that any form of physical exercise is the fountain of youth and the best medicine for our brains. If you want to keep your brain healthy, young and vibrant, move your body every day.” But regular exercise delivers other, lesser-known benefits to your physical and mental health, among them: • • • • Brain health – Exercise that involves coordination or physical movement boosts many facets of brain activity. It also improves your mood, energy, memory, blood flow and even your sleep. Stress reduction – Psychotherapists endorse exercise as a means for people to combat stress and improve cognitive function. In fact, studies show that regular workouts help ward off depression and anxiety, and improve mood by toughening the brain’s response to stress. Healthier weight – Studies show an inverse relationship between obesity and clear thinking.When you lose weight, in addition to improving your brain function and metabolism, you may also lower your blood pressure and cholesterol. Graceful aging – Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology constructed a measure of fitness age based on factors that include your heart rate, your waist measurement and your activity level. Studies show that your fitness age may predict your overall health and wellness as you age. Design a tness environment that motivates you. An accountant found he lacked the motivation he needed to sustain a fitness habit until he started running in a group with work friends. Now, he never misses a day and looks forward to his daily run. As social beings, people naturally gravitate toward others, and often adopt their mannerisms and behaviors. Surrounding yourself with others, in group classes or exercise clubs, inspires you to continue your workouts and helps spark the motivation you need. Tailor your environment to encourage your fitness habit and increase your chances of success. Mix with other active people, ensure your workout cue serves as a good reminder, ask friends to help you stick to your schedule and make your fitness options accessible by, for example, choosing a gym near your home or workplace. “Learning is always more interesting when we have a community to learn with.” At the onset of your fitness journey, you determine your why, give yourself a lofty goal and adjust your environment to motivate you – but you still might wonder how to actually start. If you fail to form a solid walking habit, you might want to turn to a personal trainer for guidance. Together, you will be able to find a fi 417 tailored fitness program that can help you tackle your particular health challenges and ultimately boost your self-esteem. A good personal trainer can help you: • • • Learn the fundamentals – A trainer teaches you the basics of fitness, without luring you with fads or impractical goals, and designs a plan to fit your lifestyle. Understand your motivation – A trainer grasps the importance of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and offers workout options that challenge without discouraging you. Progress with consistency – A trainer quantifies your progress, which gives you the encouragement you need to keep a daily routine. Take the rst bold step to start your tness journey. Once you make the decision to launch your fitness habit, be mindful of the distractions that can derail your plans. Your why – the reason you want to start – can make or break your journey, since an ambiguous goal does not, in and of itself, give you the impetus you need to change your status quo. “Small progress everyday manifests bigger results in the long run.” Consider these other tips to help you start exercising and to establish your fitness habit: • Don’t aim too high in the beginning. As with any new activity, starting slowly keeps you learning and encourages you to continue. • Set realistic goals that are challenging but don’t dishearten you, and adjust these as you make progress. • Remember the cue-routine-reward loop. Make your cue obvious and connect your routine to a reward, such as a fun activity. • Recognize the upbeat feeling you get after working out and use this to motivate you to continue. When the workout itself becomes the reward, you crave the feeling it delivers and will pursue your fitness habit even after meeting your initial goal. • Design a workout environment that motivates you. Running with a group or finding someone to support you, for example, can make you more consistent and provide an element of fun. Keeping fit rewards you both internally and externally by improving your body, mood, confidence and lifestyle. Yet you may get distracted by seeing others achieve their goals quickly while you struggle a bit. Stop comparing your progress with others. Focus instead on the efforts you’ve made, the progress you’ve achieved and the rewards you’ve celebrated. About the Authors Amaresh Ojha is the founder and CEO of Gympik, India’s leading fitness technology platform. Subhra Moitra is a fitness and wellness writer and content developer for Gympik. fi fi 418 Subtract More with Less by David Meyer Behavioral scientist Leidy Klotz builds a convincing case – with literary, scientific and historical examples – for the elegance and functionality of subtracting, not adding, in all aspects of life and thought. Leidy Klotz, the founder and director of the University of Virginia’s Convergent Behavioral Science Initiative, examines why people reflexively opt for more over less and argues that less often proves to be more. He explains – using myriad examples from numerous fields – how subtraction fuels positive change in personal psychology, human interaction, consumerist culture and planet Earth. Subtraction Klotz tells how, for almost a decade, city planner Sue Bierman studied the proposed benefits of removing the Embarcadero Freeway, which blocked the eastern waterfront of San Francisco. Tens of thousands of vehicles traveled the freeway every day, however. Despite the support of the city planning commission, voters vetoed Bierman’s proposal. In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake struck, damaging the Embarcadero Freeway beyond repair. After the city subtracted the highway, the Embarcadero became one of San Francisco’s most popular tourist destinations. Subtraction is the act of getting to less, but it is not the same as doing less. In fact, getting to less often means doing, or at least thinking, more. LEIDY KLOTZ When making a change, people tend to default to adding to an existing object, idea or process. While addition is not necessarily evil, failing to subtract can lead to negative outcomes: A surfeit of objects burdens people’s homes, for example, rules and regulations bog down institutional processes, and entrenched notions drive building on existing ideas rather than considering their flaws. Fortunately, says Klotz, with effort, it’s possible to acknowledge subtraction neglect and use it to inspire change. Subtraction Gets Overlooked 419 When building a Lego bridge with his three-year-old son, Klotz instinctively added a block to make the supports equal, while his son subtracted one. Klotz began to wonder if people generally neglect subtraction as an option for change. He and a team of researchers conducted a series of experiments to evaluate how often participants used subtraction to improve a structure, a piece of music or a busy itinerary. Their findings showed that subjects overwhelmingly opted to add more often than they subtracted. In fact, until prompted, most subjects failed to recognize subtraction as an option. Why? Obstacles to Subtraction Humans boast an innate drive to control their environment and a biological need to demonstrate competence. This explains why it feels so satisfying to check items off a to-do list, for example. Examining early human behavior provides clues as to why humans are more apt to add than to subtract. Some 40,000 years ago, hunting and gathering was pivotal to survival. Humans remain wired to accumulate, Klotz explains, even though finding food is no longer a full-time job. When the Collyer brothers died in their New York City brownstone in 1947, police found decades of stuff, piled to the ceiling. These hoarders exhibited an extreme proclivity toward “acquisitiveness” – a biological instinct to add. Neuroscientists have found a link between acquiring and feeling pleasure, substantiating the deep-rooted human need to add. Klotz outlines an experiment by Harvard professor Elizabeth Spelke, which found that kids sense the difference between more and less, even before they learn math. When children learn to connect the abstract idea of a number to a physical object, they develop a set schema to visualize concepts such as less or more. However, the concept of negative numbers is exceedingly difficult for children to grasp. These three elements – set schema, the biological instinct to add, and the satisfaction of demonstrating competence – all work against viewing subtraction as a viable change agent. Unchecked Consumerism As civilizations form, material culture follows. People begin accumulating objects that make life easier, and societies add frameworks for living together, such as laws, religion and ways to share ideas. Klotz cites philosopher Adam Smith, who argued that economic growth benefits the greatest number of people and referred to economic growth as a patriotic duty. Economist John Maynard 420 Keynes also framed individual consumption as serving the greater good. In our striving to improve our lives, our work and our society, we overwhelmingly add. LEIDY KLOTZ Yet, Klotz proposes, subtraction has immense profit potential. For instance, when Ryan McFarland reengineered a bike for his two-yearold, he considered which parts to eliminate. He removed the drive train and pedals, thus creating the Strider bike. Satis cing People rarely attempt to fix things that don’t seem broken. Nobel Prize winner Herbert Simon calls settling for good enough “satisficing.” Satisficing is a reasonable time-saver, but it can impede more helpful subtraction-related thoughts or actions. Stopping at good enough protects us from wasting effort, but if we are not careful, the same tendency can prevent us from subtracting when the effort would pay off. LEIDY KLOTZ Many authors, including Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway, applaud using fewer words. Fans of Marie Kondo embrace subtraction when following her home-tidying advice, which encourages getting rid of possessions that don’t “spark joy.” Humans have a biological limit on much they can absorb and process. While filtering, sorting and summarizing help to organize information, it doesn’t reduce the amount vying for your attention. Klotz recommends practicing selecting what is most relevant to you. Intentional subtraction reduces mental overload and relieves stress. Nurturing the Planet The principles of subtraction can aid the planet, Klotz posits. Costa Rica, for example, prioritized becoming a carbon-neutral nation by 2021, a choice that informs every decision regarding budgets, regulations and incentives and thus, inspires subtracting. Costa Rica benefits from its subtractions because drawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere sustains its rain forests, which provide a habitat for local species and draw tourists. Review Klotz provides myriad examples to illustrate his theme, which he could state as a sentence. Some readers might argue Klotz could have applied fi 421 subtraction principles to his text, but, despite the clutter, Klotz’s concepts make a strong case for subtraction. His enthusiasm shines through, as does his articulate curiosity about human nature and the forces that drive irrational choices. Other books on doing more with less include Marie Kondo’s The LifeSaving Magic of Tidying Up, Joshua Becker’s The More of Less and Daniel Kahneman’s Noise. Thrive Recommendation Mark Smutny – a facilitator with decades of experience with nonprofits and businesses – provides a wide range of advice for those who want to run inclusive, engaging and productive meetings. He covers the mindset and skills facilitators need. Those skills include planning a successful meeting, opening and structuring meetings that maximize everyone’s participation, and managing difficult or contentious gatherings. Smutny emphasizes the value of accessible events with diverse participants. He offers both specific suggestions and big-picture ideas. Take-Aways • • • • • • • • • • A successful meeting requires preparation: craft a well-structured agenda, and secure the supplies and equipment you'll need. How you begin a meeting sets the stage for a productive experience. Great facilitators commit to being inclusive and even-handed. Successful facilitators use emotional intelligence to cultivate conversational relationships. Effective facilitators are skillful listeners who ask great questions. Structure meetings and their settings to encourage inclusion and equal participation. As a facilitator, include diverse voices and be hospitable to people of different abilities and languages. With skillful facilitation, meetings can generate effective strategic plans and lead to significant change. The facilitator must ensure that difficult meetings have productive outcomes and must not allow meetings to go bad. Document and evaluate your meetings. End them on a graceful, constructive note. Summary A successful meeting requires preparation: craft a well-structured agenda, and secure the supplies and equipment you’ll need. To position yourself as an effective facilitator, begin with a meeting’s planning process. If a group or committee is setting up a meeting you will facilitate, ask questions and listen to their concerns, issues and advice. If you set the agenda, consult a representative cross-section of attendees. Identify the meeting’s agenda, salient issues and desired outcomes. Learn as much as possible about its logistical requirements. Most agendas include a welcome, a period of introductions and settling in, clarification of ground rules, a review of the agenda, an interval of discussion, a summarization of decisions and next actions, and an opportunity for feedback. Don’t cram too much into your agenda. Leave time for summarizing the outcomes and evaluating the meeting. To pose issues for discussion, frame agenda items as open-ended questions rather than simp
![English Tenses [Perfect English Grammar]](http://s1.studylib.ru/store/data/006268029_1-d9804e5431139308ef1164f7434d1150-300x300.png)
