As you read this, I don't want you to just get hooked on insight. You have to make an effort to get better. It’s more than self-help. You have to go and do. Make instinctual change. It’s not being an info junky. Read and then act.  Knowledge is nothing without action.  Without action it’s just another form of entertainment. No one will share their money, but how many share their time?  You can get money back. But when you lose time, you will never get it back. This is seen...

The issue of complexity is something we all deal with whether you are Mark Zuckerberg, a teacher in NJ, a single working mother, or a freshman in high school. The issue of stress varies from person to person. Our job, relationships, and technology at times weigh us down and we find coping mechanisms to deal with these stresses of complexity. How do we cope with complexity? By being simple. Having simple rules allows us to have “short-cut” strategies that save time and effort by focusing our attention and simplifying how...

In the past, this was a common humorous expression to retort a ridiculous question or comment. It was based on historical records that reported swans had white feathers. A black swan was impossible. It was only when the English discovered Australia that they discovered black swans. As a result, people no longer use this expression. What the author of The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Talen, is warning us about is events that we cannot possibly predict. Events that we can’t possibly know. Events that are going to happen, the ones...

Right now there is no better skill to posses than the ability to come up with good ideas. What’s the reward for good ideas? A good idea can put you and your team on an entirely different trajectory. The problem? Most assume their idea is good and go after concepts that won't work or don't fill a pain point customers might have. Ideas are easy to discount. They are also easy to create. The value of a good idea might not be a billion, but it could still be substantial...

Why do we as a society focus so much on the average of something? You see it on TV in the news and hear about it from friends, it's all about studying the average. Our scientific reports are also all about the average. The average person sleeps this many hours. The average person reads this many books. The average salary in my field is... Forget average. You study average you end up with average. Focus on what exceptional people do differently- outliers. In this fascinating book, Malcolm Gladwell takes his...

In the modern world, it's very easy to get distracted. With a few clicks of a button, we can go from one shallow thought to another shallow thought. This leaves us not fully realizing the impact of a decision or action on many aspects of our life.  Part of the reason this is because of our in ability to focus.  We get easily distracted… What you want to do in life is to cultivate focus through a technique called productive meditation. Productive meditation isn’t some weird or mystical thing. In...

"A person can make himself happy, or miserable, regardless of what is actually happening 'outside,' just by changing the contents of consciousness." — Mihaly Csikszentmihalvi   The quote above often hits home for most of us. At some point in our lives, we often question and ask what is this all about? What's the meaning of life?   This leads us to this mistaken notion that more means happiness.    Have you ever found yourself asking: "If I was just a millionaire all my problems would be gone and I...

Have you ever felt depressed? Depression is something that is familiar to pretty much everyone. When depression hits us, we tend to all react in a different way. Depression can be extremely deadly if you don't know how to deal and manage with it. So it's important to understand how this Lethargy Cycle works. The Lethargy Cycle First, have you every said to yourself "there's no point" or "it's too difficult?" Well, those are really self-defeating thoughts. Which is how this Lethargy Cycle begins.  This is followed by self-defeating emotions—when...

Your ability to have powerful social skills is crucial, whether it's networking, finding people to believe and invest in your vision, or to have someone take you under their wing to show you the ropes. It all comes down to a few principles. Don't be intimidated. Intimidation brings forth fear. Contrary to popular opinion, all fear isn't bad. You should fear having a bad life. This will inevitably motivate you to do some work if it's in the right balance. When I'm talking about intimidation, I mean the insecurities that...

Whether we like to admit it or not, we all thrive on being social creatures. Even our introverted friends need a certain level of interaction. Fundamentally, our brains are wired to help us function in social settings. It's one of the major keys that helps our world go around. We interact with friends, co-workers, family, whether we like it or not. Yet, with something so fundamentally important, I am always left wondering why the information in this book is not taught in schools. I see far more value in knowing...