How The 24-Hour News Cycle Is Killing Your Creativity (And What To Do About It)

I rarely watch the news, but I found myself clicking over to my local outlet the other day to see what was going on. The top story? A stabbing death just a few blocks from my place. I immediately felt uneasy. What’s going on in my neighborhood? Is this happening everywhere? I did a Google…

This Harvard Study Can Predict When You’ll Make Bad Decisions (And When You’ll Make Good Ones)

A few years ago, I was on the hunt for some new financial investments, and doing a lot of research. After giving it some thought, I decided to buy some individual stocks. Which specific stocks doesn’t really matter because buying them now would not be a wise bet, but for transparency’s sake, they were: Cato…

Research Shows Building This Trait Will Help You Outperform Natural Genius

In 6th grade, my family got its first computer. In 7th grade, I started taking it apart to see how it worked. I’d asked my parents if I could upgrade the RAM—the computer was slower than I wanted it to be—and the answer was an unequivocal “no.” It was an expensive machine and I wasn’t…

False Positive: Life Transformation via Self-Trickery

I just finished a book by Brian Greene, The Hidden Reality—a fascinating read about the current work of physicists and mathematicians exploring string theory, trying to prove that the world is, in fact, part of a multi-verse with many galaxies, planets, and stars just like ours. They’re testing every possible hunch they can in order…

You Got Sharked: A Street Hustler’s Guide To Building An Audience For Your Idea

Whenever I’m in San Franscisco, I like to wander The Embarcadero—it’s one of the best places in town for people watching. This trip didn’t disappoint, and we ran into a street hustler playing the shell game—a ball is placed under one of three identical looking shells before they’re quickly rearranged while you try to keep track…

The Curse of Knowledge

If you can’t explain everything someone needs to know in one sentence, then your explanation is too long. When you have an important message inside of you, then you also want to spread it. The problem is the more you learn about something, the harder it is to explain it to someone else in a…

The Reality Distortion Principle Helps You Make Happier Choices In Life, Work, And Beyond

What’s socially “correct” today has not always been that way and probably won’t be forever, either. Will you change them, or wait for them to be changed?

How to Start [and End] a Conversation

The problem: We all want to be social, make friends, and develop good people skills, but we can’t predict how people will react to us, so we avoid interaction altogether. The solution: There are a number of subtle tactics you can use to identify how someone will react to you and tricks you can use…

How to Be An Artist

“Art” is quite a buzzword these days. Everyone wants to be an artist. That’s great because, contrary to popular belief, the only way to make…

A Tribute to Scott Dinsmore

Twenty-four days ago my friend, Scott Dinsmore, passed away near the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro—the same mountain I struggled on four years ago.