Friday, October 21, 2011
The Constitution
Why do we trust our government to protect and defend the constitution of the United States? Think about it. There are thousands of laws on the books that the people must follow but the constitution is really a set of laws for us. It is a set of laws that our government must follow. The constitution is the only power check we really have against an overbearing government yet we lazily expect them to protect it for us. Why would they want to protect the very laws that act as their shackles? They don't and that's why it is now and it always has been up to the people to protect the constitution. More than ever we need to take our role as the protectors of our rights seriously.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Something political? Saving the free market without releasing the beast.
I've noticed a lot of candidates using the phrase "getting government out of the way". Usually this is followed by something like "so they can make more profit and hire people. ..
I hate the phrase "getting government out of the way". The divide between many sensible people is created with this idea and way of thinking. It's not hard to imagine why someone that is primarily a democrat (I use democrat because this is the republican primary) might look at that statement and see it as cutting the few restraints left holding a very dangerous creature that has so far only showed itself to want to rape and pillage humanity and the environment to gain more power for itself (speaking of big corporations of course).
It’s not hard to understand someone fearing this happening and thinking that anyone that would want to do this is either not thinking clearly or worse, is on the side of this beast.
The difference between when I hear Ron Paul speak of this vs someone like Palin or Cain is that Ron Paul seems to understand that it’s about the market (which is controlled by the needs and wants of the people) and not the massive corporations that just want to be free to rape and pillage more.
What needs to be talked about more is the fact that government regulation doesn't hold down the big scary beast at all; but instead it sets the rules so the beast can grow bigger and competition outside of a few major players becomes impossible. Government regulation doesn't get in the way of hiring people as much as it gets in the way of the free market doing its work and creating the jobs needed to supply this massive economy.
I think if that was talked about more with less about getting the government “out of the way” or lowering the burden on the haves so they can better open their hearts and wallets to the have nots, we might get an intelligent discussion in this country instead of two sides that not only don't understand each other but usually don't even understand the argument they themselves are trying to make.
To think about it another way, don’t you think that if the big corporations really wanted government “out of the way” they would be pushing like hell for someone like Ron Paul? What do they instead do over and over again? They give boatloads of money and resources to big government politicians that set the rules in their favor while disguising it as regulation. It’s much more profitable to have the rules set in your favor than to have no rules at all.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Increase your reading speed and comprehension
This is a great tool to improve your reading speed and efficiency. This is something everyone should be interested in doing in my opinion.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Why the US dollar's decline doesn't help imports
The US Dollar.
Today the US dollar took another hit, breaking key support levels. For years now you've heard that lower currency value is good for exports. Ever wonder why this wasn't ever the case before? Here's the truth.
When the dollar goes down, it doesn't help the US export more because we don't export in dollars. For instance, when Coke sells product other countries, they do so through their foreign counterparts just like many other companies. So for instance, let's say the Euro and the dollar are on equal ground and you can trade them 1:1. Now lets say that a 2 liter bottle of Coke costs $2 in the US and 2 euros in Italy but let's also say that Coke sells these 2 liters to their vendors for $1 and 1 euro respectively. What happens if the Euro gains on the dollar? Does Coke get to sell more to Europe? No.
For our example lets say that the dollar loses value to the Euro and now it's $1.50 to each Euro. Coke doesn't drop their price to European vendors, they leave it the same. See, to the average person living in Europe, the dollar dropping in value doesn't give them more buying power unless they are planning a trip to a country that uses the dollar as their main form of currency. Their pay stays the same, their rent stays the same, and their price on a 2 liter bottle of Coke also stays the same. They still pay 2 Euros and the vendor still bought it from coke for 1 euro. The difference now is that coke gets to exchange that for $1.50 instead of $1. On the flip side, a lower dollar value also allows them to "keep up with inflation" and raise the prices in the US too.
You may have noticed that even though Coke is now getting more money, they haven't actually increased their worth since those dollars they now have are worth less. It's like splitting shares of a stock, sure you have more shares but your portfolio is still worth the same amount. So why then is this good for the multinational corporations?
Coke, like many other companies is only as good as it's stock price. Stock is a currency that can be used to purchase assets, get cheap loans, and pay employees. If the price of the stock is stagnant, it's not worth very much to an investor and it doesn't work well as collateral. On top of that, if a companies stock price is low, it makes them susceptible to hostile buyouts and even lawsuits buy investors that say they aren't maximizing their shareholders value (which by law a public company must do).
The ultra wealthy don't get rich by having a job and saving; they get rich by using (controlling) the markets. This is their preferred vehicle because it's potential is virtually limitless. They also aren't investing like you and I and hoping for 10% gains each year, they are swooping in and swiping trillions worth of value at one time before setting up the pieces again. Every time a market crashes and the whole country is complaining about losing their money and CNBC is telling us that trillions of dollars evaporated, you have to realize that this money can't evaporate. You put it in, it came out somewhere and that somewhere is usually the the private banking cartels (that then claim to need tax payer bailouts in the trillions as well and get it while you lose your job and then they even get people to start screaming that we're a welfare society while the poor and middle class get services cut and the rich are handed trillions) I'm off course here.
The point is that for no extra work, the huge multinationals can appear to have massively increased their bottom line and they didn't have to hire more people or sell more product to do so. On a wide scale this increases the value of the stock markets which encourages everyone to put their money in it again. On top of this, money being worth less means that stocks have to sell for more so the market moves up even higher. The final piece is that the dollar is dropping in value so holding it is no longer a safe haven and that encourages even more investment in the market. Once again, we get a bubble and the market manipulators on top pull out the rug while the people lose all their value and pull out with less dollars that are worth even less and the rich get richer.
The argument of the cheap dollar being good for exports is a flawed argument. The reason China can have such cheap prices isn't currency manipulation but the lifestyle the Chinese lead and the efficiency of their operations. In America, if we don't have 3 flat screen TV's, 2 cars that are 4 years or newer, a kid with a smart phone, a guest room, 1500 channels, 2 different $400 video game systems, an iPad to match your MacBook for when your not around to use your desktop, designer clothes, and whatever else you might deem necessary, your life is hard. The live without all that stuff (not because they don't want that stuff) because they aren't paid enough to buy it so it doesn't permeate their society.
In other words, they can and do live on much less than we do so they can do everything cheaper than us. It's not their currency, it's their society. Lowering the currency value just makes it harder for the citizens of that country as pay never rises as fast as inflation, while making it easier for people in other countries to come over and buy our land, companies, and assets. It makes us less competitive in a global market, not more so. The only people it helps are those that control the markets and the huge multinational corporations that support them.
Please do your homework and please realize that this isn't a right vs left argument. I personally believe strongly that the government should be out of our lives and that includes much of the welfare their provide but I also believe that this can't be done until we expose the larger leak in our society at work and that is the Federal reserve, their member banks, and the huge multinationals with all the lobbying power. Our social programs aren't designed to help the people, they are designed to help the elite and while one day we will have to drop them, turning on each other on these topics right now is completely counter productive.
Today the US dollar took another hit, breaking key support levels. For years now you've heard that lower currency value is good for exports. Ever wonder why this wasn't ever the case before? Here's the truth.
When the dollar goes down, it doesn't help the US export more because we don't export in dollars. For instance, when Coke sells product other countries, they do so through their foreign counterparts just like many other companies. So for instance, let's say the Euro and the dollar are on equal ground and you can trade them 1:1. Now lets say that a 2 liter bottle of Coke costs $2 in the US and 2 euros in Italy but let's also say that Coke sells these 2 liters to their vendors for $1 and 1 euro respectively. What happens if the Euro gains on the dollar? Does Coke get to sell more to Europe? No.
For our example lets say that the dollar loses value to the Euro and now it's $1.50 to each Euro. Coke doesn't drop their price to European vendors, they leave it the same. See, to the average person living in Europe, the dollar dropping in value doesn't give them more buying power unless they are planning a trip to a country that uses the dollar as their main form of currency. Their pay stays the same, their rent stays the same, and their price on a 2 liter bottle of Coke also stays the same. They still pay 2 Euros and the vendor still bought it from coke for 1 euro. The difference now is that coke gets to exchange that for $1.50 instead of $1. On the flip side, a lower dollar value also allows them to "keep up with inflation" and raise the prices in the US too.
You may have noticed that even though Coke is now getting more money, they haven't actually increased their worth since those dollars they now have are worth less. It's like splitting shares of a stock, sure you have more shares but your portfolio is still worth the same amount. So why then is this good for the multinational corporations?
Coke, like many other companies is only as good as it's stock price. Stock is a currency that can be used to purchase assets, get cheap loans, and pay employees. If the price of the stock is stagnant, it's not worth very much to an investor and it doesn't work well as collateral. On top of that, if a companies stock price is low, it makes them susceptible to hostile buyouts and even lawsuits buy investors that say they aren't maximizing their shareholders value (which by law a public company must do).
The ultra wealthy don't get rich by having a job and saving; they get rich by using (controlling) the markets. This is their preferred vehicle because it's potential is virtually limitless. They also aren't investing like you and I and hoping for 10% gains each year, they are swooping in and swiping trillions worth of value at one time before setting up the pieces again. Every time a market crashes and the whole country is complaining about losing their money and CNBC is telling us that trillions of dollars evaporated, you have to realize that this money can't evaporate. You put it in, it came out somewhere and that somewhere is usually the the private banking cartels (that then claim to need tax payer bailouts in the trillions as well and get it while you lose your job and then they even get people to start screaming that we're a welfare society while the poor and middle class get services cut and the rich are handed trillions) I'm off course here.
The point is that for no extra work, the huge multinationals can appear to have massively increased their bottom line and they didn't have to hire more people or sell more product to do so. On a wide scale this increases the value of the stock markets which encourages everyone to put their money in it again. On top of this, money being worth less means that stocks have to sell for more so the market moves up even higher. The final piece is that the dollar is dropping in value so holding it is no longer a safe haven and that encourages even more investment in the market. Once again, we get a bubble and the market manipulators on top pull out the rug while the people lose all their value and pull out with less dollars that are worth even less and the rich get richer.
The argument of the cheap dollar being good for exports is a flawed argument. The reason China can have such cheap prices isn't currency manipulation but the lifestyle the Chinese lead and the efficiency of their operations. In America, if we don't have 3 flat screen TV's, 2 cars that are 4 years or newer, a kid with a smart phone, a guest room, 1500 channels, 2 different $400 video game systems, an iPad to match your MacBook for when your not around to use your desktop, designer clothes, and whatever else you might deem necessary, your life is hard. The live without all that stuff (not because they don't want that stuff) because they aren't paid enough to buy it so it doesn't permeate their society.
In other words, they can and do live on much less than we do so they can do everything cheaper than us. It's not their currency, it's their society. Lowering the currency value just makes it harder for the citizens of that country as pay never rises as fast as inflation, while making it easier for people in other countries to come over and buy our land, companies, and assets. It makes us less competitive in a global market, not more so. The only people it helps are those that control the markets and the huge multinational corporations that support them.
Please do your homework and please realize that this isn't a right vs left argument. I personally believe strongly that the government should be out of our lives and that includes much of the welfare their provide but I also believe that this can't be done until we expose the larger leak in our society at work and that is the Federal reserve, their member banks, and the huge multinationals with all the lobbying power. Our social programs aren't designed to help the people, they are designed to help the elite and while one day we will have to drop them, turning on each other on these topics right now is completely counter productive.
Monday, March 14, 2011
The social platform for social change
Today I launched a social change experiment. I've created a Facebook fan page urging the popular group purchasing site, Groupon to make a change that I believe would positively affect the current state of America.
While starting a Facebook page to promote a cause is not exactly a new idea, the idea here is to see how much leverage it takes to provide real change. The experiment is not the Facebook page but the entire platform known as Groupon.
Let me explain the idea and then I'll get into what I'm talking about. The idea is what I'm calling Groupon: Made in America. Basically, it's requesting that Groupon do one weekly, nationwide Groupon for a socially responsible product that was made 100% (or close) in the US. Preferably this product would be one that was not only created in an environmentally friendly way but that is also just a socially responsible product in itself. One idea that comes to mind is a company out of the north west that makes aluminum water bottles which promote better health and less waste than plastic bottles. They're made from recycled materials, the emply local artists, the give part of their proceeds to charities, and they've gone to great lengths to ensure their factory is as green as it can be while also ensuring the quality of their product is second to none. (if you're wondering the company is called Liberty Bottleworks and I have no affiliation with them)
Now that you know the idea, let me explain the experiment. Groupon is a very fast growing new company. They are changing the way business is done and they are growing at a very intoxicating rate. Their influence grows daily and even more than that, they seem to get a new copycat each day as well. The old dinosaur elite companies of the past are taking notice of the new crop of companies like Groupon and they are either changing with the times or losing ground quickly. The new crop is the new guard and they move quickly. They are fresh and new and most importantly, they are social and still finding their identities.
This at a time when the world needs major change, and while everyone has the ability to have a voice, most important messages are being drowned out by all the voices that are saying nothing. Just as Groupon works though, we can use the collective voices of just a few thousand to turn the tides. The thing about the new guard is that they can be utilized in ways that allow the little guy to use them as our platform. It takes an acto of congress to change McDonlad's and getting them to speak for you is a lost cause. McDonald's is a dinosaur. Groupon though can be moved. Not only can they be swayed into doing things, they can be utilized as a megaphone that trumpets the message to the rest of the world.
In my idea, I have Groupon making a few extra dollars and getting a ton of free publicity from a move that is both socially responsible and bold. The magic part for them is that it costs them almost nothing to do and it follows along with their business model now so they aren't selling themselves out. When Groupon does this, they trumpet to all of their customers an underlying message which is to buy American. They display companies that care about their employees and practices. They get the media to jump on top of the buy American story. They inspire copycats in their field and others and finally they get the dinosaurs of old to take notice and maybe bring a few of those manufacturing jobs back home.
I couldn't do any of that stuff on my own. I also couldn't do any of that stuff with a Facebook page about buying American. I don't own or control Groupon in any official capacity. Yet I know that if I can drum up even a small amount of support, I can use Groupon to spread the message far and wide.
The new guards are the platform and Facebook pages are the 2 ounce keys that start the 3000lb automobile. Now lets just see how it works.
While starting a Facebook page to promote a cause is not exactly a new idea, the idea here is to see how much leverage it takes to provide real change. The experiment is not the Facebook page but the entire platform known as Groupon.
Let me explain the idea and then I'll get into what I'm talking about. The idea is what I'm calling Groupon: Made in America. Basically, it's requesting that Groupon do one weekly, nationwide Groupon for a socially responsible product that was made 100% (or close) in the US. Preferably this product would be one that was not only created in an environmentally friendly way but that is also just a socially responsible product in itself. One idea that comes to mind is a company out of the north west that makes aluminum water bottles which promote better health and less waste than plastic bottles. They're made from recycled materials, the emply local artists, the give part of their proceeds to charities, and they've gone to great lengths to ensure their factory is as green as it can be while also ensuring the quality of their product is second to none. (if you're wondering the company is called Liberty Bottleworks and I have no affiliation with them)
Now that you know the idea, let me explain the experiment. Groupon is a very fast growing new company. They are changing the way business is done and they are growing at a very intoxicating rate. Their influence grows daily and even more than that, they seem to get a new copycat each day as well. The old dinosaur elite companies of the past are taking notice of the new crop of companies like Groupon and they are either changing with the times or losing ground quickly. The new crop is the new guard and they move quickly. They are fresh and new and most importantly, they are social and still finding their identities.
This at a time when the world needs major change, and while everyone has the ability to have a voice, most important messages are being drowned out by all the voices that are saying nothing. Just as Groupon works though, we can use the collective voices of just a few thousand to turn the tides. The thing about the new guard is that they can be utilized in ways that allow the little guy to use them as our platform. It takes an acto of congress to change McDonlad's and getting them to speak for you is a lost cause. McDonald's is a dinosaur. Groupon though can be moved. Not only can they be swayed into doing things, they can be utilized as a megaphone that trumpets the message to the rest of the world.
In my idea, I have Groupon making a few extra dollars and getting a ton of free publicity from a move that is both socially responsible and bold. The magic part for them is that it costs them almost nothing to do and it follows along with their business model now so they aren't selling themselves out. When Groupon does this, they trumpet to all of their customers an underlying message which is to buy American. They display companies that care about their employees and practices. They get the media to jump on top of the buy American story. They inspire copycats in their field and others and finally they get the dinosaurs of old to take notice and maybe bring a few of those manufacturing jobs back home.
I couldn't do any of that stuff on my own. I also couldn't do any of that stuff with a Facebook page about buying American. I don't own or control Groupon in any official capacity. Yet I know that if I can drum up even a small amount of support, I can use Groupon to spread the message far and wide.
The new guards are the platform and Facebook pages are the 2 ounce keys that start the 3000lb automobile. Now lets just see how it works.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Is soy healthy?
Maybe you haven't noticed but the new gold standard in healthy seems to be considered soy. Ever wonder why soy? There are so many foods out there that have so many health benefits so why are companies falling all over themselves to trump up the soy they have in their products? First because soy is cheap and available. Its so cheap that if they can convince you that its also healthy, there is a boatload of money to be made. But is that money the sole reason for how much its trumped up? The fact is, soy has been considered unfit for human consumption throughout the ages. Did we learn something new now that changed that? What exactly is the truth about soy? Read this article below for the down and dirty facts on this "miracle food".
Is soy healthy?
Is soy healthy?
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Relax Like A Pro: 5 Steps to Hacking Your Sleep
Relax Like A Pro: 5 Steps to Hacking Your Sleep
If you haven't read Timothy Ferriss' Four Hour Work Week, I highly recommend it. Even if its not to use the techniques, it's one of those books that shows you what life can be and inpires you to wake up and do something. Up til a few minutes ago I didn't realize he had this blog up but I can tell its going to be a favorite. Check out this post on getting better sleep. I know sleep has always been a huge problem for me and I've tried quite a few things. I can tell you from experience that most of this is dead on. Some stuff I'm not sure I'd try though. An ice bath??
If you haven't read Timothy Ferriss' Four Hour Work Week, I highly recommend it. Even if its not to use the techniques, it's one of those books that shows you what life can be and inpires you to wake up and do something. Up til a few minutes ago I didn't realize he had this blog up but I can tell its going to be a favorite. Check out this post on getting better sleep. I know sleep has always been a huge problem for me and I've tried quite a few things. I can tell you from experience that most of this is dead on. Some stuff I'm not sure I'd try though. An ice bath??
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Is it time to pack away a few goals? - FitnessQuests
Is it time to pack away a few goals? - FitnessQuests
We constantly hear that we should make more goals. In order to be successful we must have lots of goals and practice it all day by day. What is rarely discussed are the negative aspects of this however. What about the fact that not only are we now jumping one foot to the next trying to accomplish multiple things, but then when we fail at all of them, we now have to deal with the fact that we now feel like complete losers. The reason why having goals works is because it sets a personal obligation. I think having obligations is a healthy thing personally but what about when you spread yourself thin with too many obligations?
For most of us, not only do we not accomplish any of them, the little we do accomplish is subpar. People that love us recieve less of our attention. We become closed off, stressed out, and generally no fun to be around. This article explores whether dropping a few of your goals might be just the thing to make your life a little better and more productive.
Find out here
We constantly hear that we should make more goals. In order to be successful we must have lots of goals and practice it all day by day. What is rarely discussed are the negative aspects of this however. What about the fact that not only are we now jumping one foot to the next trying to accomplish multiple things, but then when we fail at all of them, we now have to deal with the fact that we now feel like complete losers. The reason why having goals works is because it sets a personal obligation. I think having obligations is a healthy thing personally but what about when you spread yourself thin with too many obligations?
For most of us, not only do we not accomplish any of them, the little we do accomplish is subpar. People that love us recieve less of our attention. We become closed off, stressed out, and generally no fun to be around. This article explores whether dropping a few of your goals might be just the thing to make your life a little better and more productive.
Find out here
Nice Skinsuit, Buddy! Tips on Training for an Ironman | The Art of Manliness
Nice Skinsuit, Buddy! Tips on Training for an Ironman | The Art of Manliness
The Ironman course is one of the toughest and most physically demanding events humans can aspire to endure. Anyone that has ever completed one has my full respect and I truly believe that anyone with the will to get through that could do anything. The following article was posted on one of my favorite blogs by a guy that went from a 300lb pack a day smoker to ironman in just over a year. I highly recommend you check out the article. Oh and guys, take a look around the site. There are some hugely valuable articles on the site about the actual art of manliness. You know, the type of man that the world actually needs more of...The gentleman, the role model, the loving father, the strong supporter, the protector. Just saying...
The Ironman course is one of the toughest and most physically demanding events humans can aspire to endure. Anyone that has ever completed one has my full respect and I truly believe that anyone with the will to get through that could do anything. The following article was posted on one of my favorite blogs by a guy that went from a 300lb pack a day smoker to ironman in just over a year. I highly recommend you check out the article. Oh and guys, take a look around the site. There are some hugely valuable articles on the site about the actual art of manliness. You know, the type of man that the world actually needs more of...The gentleman, the role model, the loving father, the strong supporter, the protector. Just saying...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Balance your attention span
With the advent of websites such as Twitter that allow us to quickly move from one thought to the next, we lose something vital. Yes its true that in today's fast paces world we have to be able to multitask and be quick to be competitive but there is a trade off for this fast paced craziness; our attention spans are decreasing at a rapid rate.
Humans are hardwired for instant results. We want it now and this is why products geared toward fast results are in great demand. We want it all and we want it now. This is no accident either. This is an evolutionary concept that has lead to the survival of our race. In the days of the caveman, if you didn't value instant results, you died.
In today's world however, we don't have the same issues we did then. You don't have to be on your game 24/7 in order to survive. You don't have to constantly be at work in order to put food on the table. So you have a couple of choices with what to do with this excess time; you can flounder around accomplishing nothing great with your life, or you can devote yourself to being great and increasing the quality of your life. I would like to submit the idea that chasing instant results is another way of floundering around.
Almost any truly great accomplishment comes with years of planing, preparation, and hard work. If you decide to bypass this by instead chasing instant results you won't ever accomplish anything great. Even if you do get some results, they will never be as good as what you could have had. Another way of looking at this is to say that if every week you have an extra $100 after you pay for your bills and expenses, you could go right out and spend that money on something that for the moment would increase the value of your life. Something like a video game or some new clothes. However, if every time you have that money you go spend it, you will never have enough built up to do something really great and rewarding with it.
Its the paradigm of spending vs investing. Spend and get low grade immediate satisfaction, or invest it, grow it, and down the road you will be able to use what you have for something incredibly rewarding that could change the absolute true quality of your life.
So what do attention spans have to do with this? Simply put, if you train your brain to always be jumping from one thing to the next, your training it for the quick fix and therefore lowering your attention span. Great things take a lot of time and attention and if you get jittery at the idea of spending even two hours sitting down working on something, how will you ever be able to spend 5 to 10 years doing something great?
This is why I say balance your attention span. Do things that require you to be deeply involved. Read novels, take up chess, take up distance running, get a hobby, learn to draw or paint, restore a classic car, learn to program software. Just find something that you enjoy that requires deep involvement and time, and do it. Not only will it help your attention span, it will improve the quality of your life.
Humans are hardwired for instant results. We want it now and this is why products geared toward fast results are in great demand. We want it all and we want it now. This is no accident either. This is an evolutionary concept that has lead to the survival of our race. In the days of the caveman, if you didn't value instant results, you died.
In today's world however, we don't have the same issues we did then. You don't have to be on your game 24/7 in order to survive. You don't have to constantly be at work in order to put food on the table. So you have a couple of choices with what to do with this excess time; you can flounder around accomplishing nothing great with your life, or you can devote yourself to being great and increasing the quality of your life. I would like to submit the idea that chasing instant results is another way of floundering around.
Almost any truly great accomplishment comes with years of planing, preparation, and hard work. If you decide to bypass this by instead chasing instant results you won't ever accomplish anything great. Even if you do get some results, they will never be as good as what you could have had. Another way of looking at this is to say that if every week you have an extra $100 after you pay for your bills and expenses, you could go right out and spend that money on something that for the moment would increase the value of your life. Something like a video game or some new clothes. However, if every time you have that money you go spend it, you will never have enough built up to do something really great and rewarding with it.
Its the paradigm of spending vs investing. Spend and get low grade immediate satisfaction, or invest it, grow it, and down the road you will be able to use what you have for something incredibly rewarding that could change the absolute true quality of your life.
So what do attention spans have to do with this? Simply put, if you train your brain to always be jumping from one thing to the next, your training it for the quick fix and therefore lowering your attention span. Great things take a lot of time and attention and if you get jittery at the idea of spending even two hours sitting down working on something, how will you ever be able to spend 5 to 10 years doing something great?
This is why I say balance your attention span. Do things that require you to be deeply involved. Read novels, take up chess, take up distance running, get a hobby, learn to draw or paint, restore a classic car, learn to program software. Just find something that you enjoy that requires deep involvement and time, and do it. Not only will it help your attention span, it will improve the quality of your life.
A Quote I Found Interesting. No Source :(
“I traded my dreams for this mess of memories and they just stopped working for me…and no one ever really likes getting older…all I want to do is believe.”
Three simple excerises to get you closer to finding your lifes purpose
A lot of people are talking about the importance of finding your life's purpose. It seems like it should be a very simple thing to do, people like Steve Pavlina says in his post "How to discover your life's purpose in about 20 minutes" that when you discover it, you will literally begin to cry an abundant amount of tears. I'm not much of a cryer myself so it seems to me that if this is that powerful, we should be closer to it than we are. It doesn't seem right that if its this powerful, so many of us would be roaming half aimlessly trying to find it. However no matter how much sense it may make, that's what most of us seem to be dong.
So what is it all about? Why is it so important for you to find your life's purpose? First, it makes you a stronger and more attractive person to all of those around you. When you know your life's purpose and are constantly working to achieve it, we tend to forget about the more remedial things in our life. The petty seems to go away. We can see with greater focus and clarity. A man or woman that is on their path is a force to be reckoned with.
Your path is the seed for all other things and its importance can scarcely be measured with words. More importantly, it can't be measured by the distractions. What I mean is that no amount of distracting world news, plastic trinkets, or status can take you off of it. It makes you real. People are always talking about just being themselves but its pretty hard to do when you have so many social pressures to be something else. I don't know about crying when you find it, but I do know that when you find it, you will be motivated beyond all else to fulfill it.
Magic things tend to happen with that much motivation. First you attract others to your cause without trying. You become a leader whether its your cause to be a leader or not. Those without a path will see your enthusiasm and will back you. Those people in your life will feel more comfortable around you. You will become transparent in your dealings and a new honesty will encompass your life. You will gain room in your life for goodwill toward others. Then benefits to both you and to the world around you when you are on your path are almost impossible to count.
So how do we discover our path? Well there are many ways to do it but you have to find the one that is right for you. I will make the suggestion however that simply sitting down to write a million lines of text on what your path could be will be futile if you have to overcome hundreds of layers of social programming. Unfortunately, this will be the case for all but the most transparent of us.
Here are some tips I've found that have helped me in coming closer to my goal of finding my ultimate purpose. Please try them and tell me your results.
1. Write out what you know to be true about yourself.
Sit in a quiet place alone, clear your mind, take a few deep breaths and be ready to be honest with yourself. As humans, we tend to be very hypocritical. We are very judgemental characters and we hate to label ourselves as the things we dislike. Problem is, normally the reason we can identify those things in others that we so dislike is because we can identify with them so well. They are a part of you. So be honest with yourself. List your family and friends and other healthy things but also list your guilty pleasures. Be honest about them and they will be honest with you. You don't have to show this to anyone so open up.
2. Make a list of the things you would do if you suddenly came up with $1 billion dollars.
There's a catch in this one. I want you to think about what you would do with it if nothing you did would effect other peoples opinion of you in ANY way at all. So for instance, some of us may say we'd buy a new designer wardrobe. Before you write that, remember that this is solely for you, in this exercise, no one cares about how you dress. It won't get you status, it won't get you dates, it won't even have the opposite sex checking you out. Similarly, if you said you'd give to charity, think of it as giving 100% anonymously. No one could EVER know that you gave the money, even the IRS. If you said travel, make sure there is no part of that is showing off the places you've been or even making yourself more worldly so you can fit in better. This is strictly about you. Now of course there are some fuzzy lines in this exercise because after all we are social creatures and our social nature will probably play a part in all of our overall purposes but try to only step over that line where absolutely necessary.
3. Write out where you would like to be in 5 years. Then ask yourself honestly, "Why do I want to be there?"
I wanted to save this one till after the two above because I wanted you to get in the habit of determining the difference in what you want, and what it is that you want because of other people. If you had a five year plan already, hopefully this made you question a few things that are on it.
I hope these exercises are as helpful to you as they have been for me. As of now I haven't been able to pinpoint my exact purpose but I must say that doing these exercises has gone a long way in stripping out the social pressure of my life and making me feel more in tune with who I am.
Until Next time,
Kris
So what is it all about? Why is it so important for you to find your life's purpose? First, it makes you a stronger and more attractive person to all of those around you. When you know your life's purpose and are constantly working to achieve it, we tend to forget about the more remedial things in our life. The petty seems to go away. We can see with greater focus and clarity. A man or woman that is on their path is a force to be reckoned with.
Your path is the seed for all other things and its importance can scarcely be measured with words. More importantly, it can't be measured by the distractions. What I mean is that no amount of distracting world news, plastic trinkets, or status can take you off of it. It makes you real. People are always talking about just being themselves but its pretty hard to do when you have so many social pressures to be something else. I don't know about crying when you find it, but I do know that when you find it, you will be motivated beyond all else to fulfill it.
Magic things tend to happen with that much motivation. First you attract others to your cause without trying. You become a leader whether its your cause to be a leader or not. Those without a path will see your enthusiasm and will back you. Those people in your life will feel more comfortable around you. You will become transparent in your dealings and a new honesty will encompass your life. You will gain room in your life for goodwill toward others. Then benefits to both you and to the world around you when you are on your path are almost impossible to count.
So how do we discover our path? Well there are many ways to do it but you have to find the one that is right for you. I will make the suggestion however that simply sitting down to write a million lines of text on what your path could be will be futile if you have to overcome hundreds of layers of social programming. Unfortunately, this will be the case for all but the most transparent of us.
Here are some tips I've found that have helped me in coming closer to my goal of finding my ultimate purpose. Please try them and tell me your results.
1. Write out what you know to be true about yourself.
Sit in a quiet place alone, clear your mind, take a few deep breaths and be ready to be honest with yourself. As humans, we tend to be very hypocritical. We are very judgemental characters and we hate to label ourselves as the things we dislike. Problem is, normally the reason we can identify those things in others that we so dislike is because we can identify with them so well. They are a part of you. So be honest with yourself. List your family and friends and other healthy things but also list your guilty pleasures. Be honest about them and they will be honest with you. You don't have to show this to anyone so open up.
2. Make a list of the things you would do if you suddenly came up with $1 billion dollars.
There's a catch in this one. I want you to think about what you would do with it if nothing you did would effect other peoples opinion of you in ANY way at all. So for instance, some of us may say we'd buy a new designer wardrobe. Before you write that, remember that this is solely for you, in this exercise, no one cares about how you dress. It won't get you status, it won't get you dates, it won't even have the opposite sex checking you out. Similarly, if you said you'd give to charity, think of it as giving 100% anonymously. No one could EVER know that you gave the money, even the IRS. If you said travel, make sure there is no part of that is showing off the places you've been or even making yourself more worldly so you can fit in better. This is strictly about you. Now of course there are some fuzzy lines in this exercise because after all we are social creatures and our social nature will probably play a part in all of our overall purposes but try to only step over that line where absolutely necessary.
3. Write out where you would like to be in 5 years. Then ask yourself honestly, "Why do I want to be there?"
I wanted to save this one till after the two above because I wanted you to get in the habit of determining the difference in what you want, and what it is that you want because of other people. If you had a five year plan already, hopefully this made you question a few things that are on it.
I hope these exercises are as helpful to you as they have been for me. As of now I haven't been able to pinpoint my exact purpose but I must say that doing these exercises has gone a long way in stripping out the social pressure of my life and making me feel more in tune with who I am.
Until Next time,
Kris
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
How to Reclaim Your Attention | Zen Habits
One of my biggest problems lately seems to be that there are so many distractions. There are so many thing biding for MY time and attention. It seems I'm in sensory overload so much now that its becoming uncomfortable for me to not have five things in front of me. With the advent of smart phones now, the problem just seems to be getting worse. For those of you that are through and through multi-taskers maybe this is a good thing. For me and many others I talk to though, it seems to have become a problem of monumental proportions.
The following link is a great post from Zen Habits that dives deeper into this modern problem and gives some tips to help you solve it.
How to Reclaim Your Attention | Zen Habits
The following link is a great post from Zen Habits that dives deeper into this modern problem and gives some tips to help you solve it.
How to Reclaim Your Attention | Zen Habits
Monday, March 08, 2010
Building character in the gym
I'm a huge fitness junkie. It seems though that whenever I speak about this to people outside of my fitness circle I tend to get a lot of similar responses from people. This is especially true when I try to get others involved. The response is always regarding the vanity aspect of fitness. While in principle this is fine, one thing I always try to get across to people is that gym going is not just for vanity and really, to me, its more than just health. To me its about building character. Its that final push when your body is screaming at you to quit. Its about finding that last little ounce of enerfy in your body that you would otherwise swear to its nonexistance. Its about finding out what you have resting in your soul.
The following is an article from FitnessQuests.com that talks about just that. It's a little long I warn you but completely worth the read.
Building character in the gym
Posted using ShareThis
The following is an article from FitnessQuests.com that talks about just that. It's a little long I warn you but completely worth the read.
Building character in the gym
Posted using ShareThis
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
