Thursday, October 25, 2012
5 Web Development Personalities – Who Are You?
5 Web Development Personalities – Who Are You?: Most people have this view of those who work in web development as being young, nerdy and acne-speckled. Whilst this [...]
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Physical Exercise Is Best To Keep Your Brain Sharp In Old Age
Physical Exercise Is Best To Keep Your Brain Sharp In Old Age:
Regular physical exercise appears to protect the brain from shrinking, an otherwise natural process in old age that is associated with memory and thinking problems.
Conversely, mentally and socially stimulating activities, long believed to stimulate the brain, had no major effect on preventing brain shrinkage, according to a study published today (Oct. 22) in the journal Neurology.
In other words, if you want to maximize the mind-enriching benefits of playing chess, pick a match across town and run or walk vigorously to it.
This relatively large brain-imaging study, which included brain scans using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), involved more than 600 people in Scotland between the ages 70 and 73. The researchers found a strong and direct correlation revealing that as physical exercise increases, brain shrinkage decreases.
"People in their seventies who participated in more physical exercise, including walking several times a week, had less brain shrinkage and other signs of aging in the brain than those who were less physically active," said lead author Alan J. Gow of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. "On the other hand, our study showed no real benefit to participating in mentally and socially stimulating activities on brain size, as seen on MRI scans, over the three-year time frame."
The research tapped into a respected longitudinal aging study called the Lothian Birth Cohort Study 1936, which, in 1947, tested the intelligence of more than 1,000 children born in 1936 and then has followed up with periodic assessments. This latest analysis entailed a health survey conducted when 638 subjects were 70 and then an MRI scan when they were 73.
The subjects provided details of their daily activities — from moving to do only basic chores, to keeping fit with heavy exercise or competitive sports — as well as non-physical social and leisure endeavors. Those most devoted to exercise showed both better brain circuitry connections and less brain shrinkage compared with the least-active subjects. This was regardless of initial IQ or social class status.
There was, however, "no support for a beneficial effect of more intellectually challenging or socially orientated activities," the researchers wrote, at least in terms of warding off brain shrinkage.
Gow said his group hasn't established a biological reason for why exercise can give the brain such a physical workout. Nor could they rule out the possibility that a healthy brain enables those elderly subjects to exercise more, and not that exercise maintains the brain.
"To be definitive, we do of course need more large-scale trials examining the effects of physical activity interventions," to determine which factors determine what, Gow told LiveScience. "We are following up the same individuals [for] repeat lifestyle assessments and brain scans, which will allow us to examine the direction of the associations in more detail."
Nevertheless, both physical exercise and non-physical leisure and social pursuits have so many other benefits — for the former, preventing chronic diseases; for the latter, combating depression and fatigue — that there's no harm in pursuing both at any age.
Christopher Wanjek is the author of a new novel, "Hey, Einstein!", a comical nature-versus-nurture tale about raising clones of Albert Einstein in less-than-ideal settings. His column, Bad Medicine, appears regularly on LiveScience.
Please follow Science on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
Regular physical exercise appears to protect the brain from shrinking, an otherwise natural process in old age that is associated with memory and thinking problems.
Conversely, mentally and socially stimulating activities, long believed to stimulate the brain, had no major effect on preventing brain shrinkage, according to a study published today (Oct. 22) in the journal Neurology.
In other words, if you want to maximize the mind-enriching benefits of playing chess, pick a match across town and run or walk vigorously to it.
This relatively large brain-imaging study, which included brain scans using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), involved more than 600 people in Scotland between the ages 70 and 73. The researchers found a strong and direct correlation revealing that as physical exercise increases, brain shrinkage decreases.
"People in their seventies who participated in more physical exercise, including walking several times a week, had less brain shrinkage and other signs of aging in the brain than those who were less physically active," said lead author Alan J. Gow of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. "On the other hand, our study showed no real benefit to participating in mentally and socially stimulating activities on brain size, as seen on MRI scans, over the three-year time frame."
The research tapped into a respected longitudinal aging study called the Lothian Birth Cohort Study 1936, which, in 1947, tested the intelligence of more than 1,000 children born in 1936 and then has followed up with periodic assessments. This latest analysis entailed a health survey conducted when 638 subjects were 70 and then an MRI scan when they were 73.
The subjects provided details of their daily activities — from moving to do only basic chores, to keeping fit with heavy exercise or competitive sports — as well as non-physical social and leisure endeavors. Those most devoted to exercise showed both better brain circuitry connections and less brain shrinkage compared with the least-active subjects. This was regardless of initial IQ or social class status.
There was, however, "no support for a beneficial effect of more intellectually challenging or socially orientated activities," the researchers wrote, at least in terms of warding off brain shrinkage.
Gow said his group hasn't established a biological reason for why exercise can give the brain such a physical workout. Nor could they rule out the possibility that a healthy brain enables those elderly subjects to exercise more, and not that exercise maintains the brain.
"To be definitive, we do of course need more large-scale trials examining the effects of physical activity interventions," to determine which factors determine what, Gow told LiveScience. "We are following up the same individuals [for] repeat lifestyle assessments and brain scans, which will allow us to examine the direction of the associations in more detail."
Nevertheless, both physical exercise and non-physical leisure and social pursuits have so many other benefits — for the former, preventing chronic diseases; for the latter, combating depression and fatigue — that there's no harm in pursuing both at any age.
Christopher Wanjek is the author of a new novel, "Hey, Einstein!", a comical nature-versus-nurture tale about raising clones of Albert Einstein in less-than-ideal settings. His column, Bad Medicine, appears regularly on LiveScience.
- 10 Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp
- 7 Ways the Mind and Body Change With Age
- 6 Foods That Are Good For Your Brain
Please follow Science on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
Friday, October 19, 2012
11 Simple Ways to Create Genuine Connections with the People Who Make Failure Impossible
11 Simple Ways to Create Genuine Connections with the People Who Make Failure Impossible:
There’s probably one thing we can agree on: The people around you dictate your success.
They can also forecast our failure.
There is no faster, more effective way to fill the gap between where you are and where you aspire to be than having the right passionate and supportive people in your corner. There is no bigger life hack.
Environment is everything. And it’s 100 percent in our control.
But it can be intimidating to change our surroundings, and most of us aren’t doing a thing about it.
Over the past couple years in creating How to Connect with Anyone, I’ve surveyed, interacted with and interviewed over 10,800 people on this very topic.
The responses were terrifying…
We know how important it is to connect with the right people.
We know how many things could be possible if we changed our surroundings. We’ve heard stories of the changes people have made, the businesses they’ve built, the weight they’ve lost, the lovers they’ve met, and the things they’ve experienced – just as a result of connecting with the right people.
Yet so few of us know how to tackle it. We have all kinds of reasons why we don’t reach out and make the connections we could – we don’t live in a big city, we’re an introvert, we’re not worthy, we have nothing to offer, we don’t know where to start…
So we do nothing. And the gap between dreams and reality widens.
So over the past decade, and more specifically the past year, I’ve gone on a quest to figure out how we can create that supportive environment that changes our career, business and life.
Years of studying social dynamics, human interaction and personal rapport (and being obsessed with making new friends), lead me to make some discoveries that have allowed me to connect and befriend people in all walks of life, from rock stars like Warren Buffett and Tony Robbins, all the way down to the interesting girl at the bar or the stranger on the street.
Most importantly, it showed me how to create that support team of everyday people who will not only inspire us, but more importantly, will refuse to let us fail.
It was that group that caused my business, Live Your Legend, to go from growing by exactly 0% for the first four years, to growing by 10x within six months of surrounding myself with a new group of people (including our good friend Leo!). Twelve months later it grew by another 160x and turned into the movement it is today.
The reason this happened was simple …
Changing my surroundings took my thinking from “How could I possibly do this?” to “How could I possibly not?”
When that shift happens, it ripples across your whole world.
So today I want to share 11 simple things you can do starting today to begin creating that environment of support that makes failure impossible.
1. Know the impact you want to have. Connection starts long before the first interaction. Be the guy glowing with passion. Let the people around you feel your fire for the impact you want to have on the world. Prompt others to share what makes them come alive. Share in their excitement. There is no more empowering, genuine way to connect. If you don’t know the impact you dream of making, how will you know who you want in your corner to make it happen?
2. Fire toxic friends. This one’s painful, but an absolute requirement. Identify the people in your day-t0-day life who you notice constantly put your ideas down. The ones who don’t support you and leave you drained after an interaction. Make a list. You must start spending less time around them.
Leo is the poster-child of this and is actually one of the experts in our Connect with Anyone course just for that reason. He realized he had a job he hated, 70 pounds he wanted to lose, a sm0king habit he wanted to kick and a lifestyle that was killing him. He ended up moving his whole family halfway across the world to San Francisco – all in search of a more empowering environment. I’m not saying you need to be that extreme, but you must recognize how badly the wrong people can infect your potential.
3. Find new surroundings. Leo constantly stresses that you need to replace old habits with new, more empowering ones. Same with people. If you leave your toxic friends but have no one else to hang out with, you’ll likely go right back to them. This can start as simple as seeing one inspiring friend for an hour every week or so.
Take your passions and start to overlay them with the people in business and in life who see the world the same way. Take inspiration from everywhere: TED talks, movies, articles, local events, Google searches – anything goes.
4. Create a relationship road map. Write out the people you want in your corner. Be as specific as possible – ideally with actual names, but at least with industries and areas you want to spend more time with. Create a “Dream Connections” list of the industry leaders and game changers you’d love to meet and collaborate with. If you don’t know who you want to meet, it’s going to be pretty tough to meet them.
5. Discover who you already know. The odds are that you or the people close to you already know a handful of people who could change your world. Go through your existing networks including friends, colleagues, past employers, alumni groups, sports teams, friends of friends.
Who’s already connected to you in some way that you’d like to get closer to? Make a list of at least five, but keep going as long as you can list names. Then start setting up lunches and meetings to reconnect.
6. Enlist the help of others. This action alone will cause your community to explode with new interesting people. Ask your existing network who they know who fits the criteria of whom you’re hoping to meet. Ask every person you meet for a referral. Never leave a meeting without asking for one person they think would be good for you to meet and who would also benefit from meeting you. Always start with the other person’s interests in mind.
Only ask for one, though. Be specific, so it’s easy to think of someone. Sample Script: “Thanks Natalie, this has been a total blast. Also I’m curious, I’d love to chat with a few other people about long-distance trail running. Can you think of one person who comes to mind who would have some fun chatting through this stuff over a tea or a meal?”
7. Create unique value and learn to help anyone. All of us have things we can offer to others. Nothing feels better and nothing creates faster, more memorable genuine connections. What are your unique strengths, talents and passions? If you design logos, offer someone some free help with the branding for their new venture.
I once gave a copy of The 4-Hour Body to a new business friend who wanted to lose some weight. The next time I saw him, he’d lost 30 pounds. Is there any better gift to give? Before going to a meetup with a bestselling author and entrepreneur I admired, my wife and I created a list of our favorite vegan restaurants in San Francisco – because we knew he only ate plants and had just moved to town. We would have appreciated the same in his shoes. Your ability to help is only limited by your creativity.
8. Great genuine online connections. I see connecting online as maybe step one of twenty, but it is still an incredibly powerful, high-leverage step. Today there’s a community for every passion imaginable. You just have to do some looking. Join a private club or a forum. Even if it costs $20 or $100 a month, it’s worth checking out. You can always cancel later. I met my first group of online entrepreneur friends through Leo’s A-List Blogging Club, and his Sea Change Program has turned into an incredibly community for habit change. We’ve created our own members-only Connection Forum as part of the Connect with Anyone Course for this same reason.
9. Build your in-person community. As soon as you can, take the virtual connections into the real world. No matter how big or small your town is, you have to find people in the flesh and blood with whom you can spend consistent time. Check out meetup.com, Craigslist, Facebook & LinkedIn groups or the classifieds of your hometown paper. Or better yet, walk into the hot local restaurant or cafe and ask the owner what’s happening in your realm of passions. Start attending events and saying hello. Watch what happens.
10. Make people a part of your world. The more personal the better. Get out on double dates, have beers, go on workouts, travel together. Do anything you can to make these people a part of your life. But only if you genuinely care about having them in your life. People will see straight through anything less than honest intentions.
11. Show Up. Nothing happens if you don’t show up. If you never press send on that email, dial that number, or walk through the door of your local event, you will never find the surroundings you need. And often times that leads to 99% of the results … showing up. At the end of the day, that’s the only thing that has lead to the connections that have changed my world. And it’s the only thing that ever will.
If you aren’t willing to show up, nothing else matters.
The most recent studies show that over 80% of people are not happy with their work. This is a tragedy. It also means that most the people around us encourage complacency. They endorse these lives of quiet desperation that so much of the world is living. They put down our ideas on how to be different, and think we’re crazy (or even stupid) for thinking we can take the road less traveled.
They tell us it’s impossible to actually build a life and career around work we’re truly passionate about.
The more time we hang around them, the more we start to believe it and the less we actually try to make a meaningful impact in the world.
But we have a choice.
We can choose to continue to hang around the people who tell us we’re stupid for thinking things could be different. Or we could surround ourselves with the people who inspire possibility.
The choice is 100% on us.
Either way, one thing is for sure. The people around us will change our world.
The question is, will they kill our dreams or make them come true?
That’s on you to decide.
You have more control than you likely realize.
Do something with it.
After all, what could be possible with the right people in your corner?
Scott Dinsmore is the founder of Live Your Legend and the creator of How to Connect with Anyone – an interactive online course to surround yourself with the world-changing people necessary to build your ideal business or career. The course is open for enrollment to the first 100 students until this Friday at 11:59pm PST. ZenHabits readers even get a special deal. Learn more about the course here.
‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.’ ~Jim Rohn
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Scott Dinsmore of Live Your Legend.
There’s probably one thing we can agree on: The people around you dictate your success.
They can also forecast our failure.
There is no faster, more effective way to fill the gap between where you are and where you aspire to be than having the right passionate and supportive people in your corner. There is no bigger life hack.
Environment is everything. And it’s 100 percent in our control.
But it can be intimidating to change our surroundings, and most of us aren’t doing a thing about it.
Over the past couple years in creating How to Connect with Anyone, I’ve surveyed, interacted with and interviewed over 10,800 people on this very topic.
The responses were terrifying…
- 85% didn’t think they were living up to their potential
- 93% believed the people you surround yourself with are critical to success
- 99% said they could be doing a better job of surrounding themselves with passionate, supportive and successful people
We know how important it is to connect with the right people.
We know how many things could be possible if we changed our surroundings. We’ve heard stories of the changes people have made, the businesses they’ve built, the weight they’ve lost, the lovers they’ve met, and the things they’ve experienced – just as a result of connecting with the right people.
Yet so few of us know how to tackle it. We have all kinds of reasons why we don’t reach out and make the connections we could – we don’t live in a big city, we’re an introvert, we’re not worthy, we have nothing to offer, we don’t know where to start…
So we do nothing. And the gap between dreams and reality widens.
So over the past decade, and more specifically the past year, I’ve gone on a quest to figure out how we can create that supportive environment that changes our career, business and life.
Years of studying social dynamics, human interaction and personal rapport (and being obsessed with making new friends), lead me to make some discoveries that have allowed me to connect and befriend people in all walks of life, from rock stars like Warren Buffett and Tony Robbins, all the way down to the interesting girl at the bar or the stranger on the street.
Most importantly, it showed me how to create that support team of everyday people who will not only inspire us, but more importantly, will refuse to let us fail.
It was that group that caused my business, Live Your Legend, to go from growing by exactly 0% for the first four years, to growing by 10x within six months of surrounding myself with a new group of people (including our good friend Leo!). Twelve months later it grew by another 160x and turned into the movement it is today.
The reason this happened was simple …
Changing my surroundings took my thinking from “How could I possibly do this?” to “How could I possibly not?”
When that shift happens, it ripples across your whole world.
So today I want to share 11 simple things you can do starting today to begin creating that environment of support that makes failure impossible.
11 Simple Ways to Connect with the People Who Make Failure Impossible
1. Know the impact you want to have. Connection starts long before the first interaction. Be the guy glowing with passion. Let the people around you feel your fire for the impact you want to have on the world. Prompt others to share what makes them come alive. Share in their excitement. There is no more empowering, genuine way to connect. If you don’t know the impact you dream of making, how will you know who you want in your corner to make it happen?
2. Fire toxic friends. This one’s painful, but an absolute requirement. Identify the people in your day-t0-day life who you notice constantly put your ideas down. The ones who don’t support you and leave you drained after an interaction. Make a list. You must start spending less time around them.
Leo is the poster-child of this and is actually one of the experts in our Connect with Anyone course just for that reason. He realized he had a job he hated, 70 pounds he wanted to lose, a sm0king habit he wanted to kick and a lifestyle that was killing him. He ended up moving his whole family halfway across the world to San Francisco – all in search of a more empowering environment. I’m not saying you need to be that extreme, but you must recognize how badly the wrong people can infect your potential.
3. Find new surroundings. Leo constantly stresses that you need to replace old habits with new, more empowering ones. Same with people. If you leave your toxic friends but have no one else to hang out with, you’ll likely go right back to them. This can start as simple as seeing one inspiring friend for an hour every week or so.
Take your passions and start to overlay them with the people in business and in life who see the world the same way. Take inspiration from everywhere: TED talks, movies, articles, local events, Google searches – anything goes.
4. Create a relationship road map. Write out the people you want in your corner. Be as specific as possible – ideally with actual names, but at least with industries and areas you want to spend more time with. Create a “Dream Connections” list of the industry leaders and game changers you’d love to meet and collaborate with. If you don’t know who you want to meet, it’s going to be pretty tough to meet them.
5. Discover who you already know. The odds are that you or the people close to you already know a handful of people who could change your world. Go through your existing networks including friends, colleagues, past employers, alumni groups, sports teams, friends of friends.
Who’s already connected to you in some way that you’d like to get closer to? Make a list of at least five, but keep going as long as you can list names. Then start setting up lunches and meetings to reconnect.
6. Enlist the help of others. This action alone will cause your community to explode with new interesting people. Ask your existing network who they know who fits the criteria of whom you’re hoping to meet. Ask every person you meet for a referral. Never leave a meeting without asking for one person they think would be good for you to meet and who would also benefit from meeting you. Always start with the other person’s interests in mind.
Only ask for one, though. Be specific, so it’s easy to think of someone. Sample Script: “Thanks Natalie, this has been a total blast. Also I’m curious, I’d love to chat with a few other people about long-distance trail running. Can you think of one person who comes to mind who would have some fun chatting through this stuff over a tea or a meal?”
7. Create unique value and learn to help anyone. All of us have things we can offer to others. Nothing feels better and nothing creates faster, more memorable genuine connections. What are your unique strengths, talents and passions? If you design logos, offer someone some free help with the branding for their new venture.
I once gave a copy of The 4-Hour Body to a new business friend who wanted to lose some weight. The next time I saw him, he’d lost 30 pounds. Is there any better gift to give? Before going to a meetup with a bestselling author and entrepreneur I admired, my wife and I created a list of our favorite vegan restaurants in San Francisco – because we knew he only ate plants and had just moved to town. We would have appreciated the same in his shoes. Your ability to help is only limited by your creativity.
8. Great genuine online connections. I see connecting online as maybe step one of twenty, but it is still an incredibly powerful, high-leverage step. Today there’s a community for every passion imaginable. You just have to do some looking. Join a private club or a forum. Even if it costs $20 or $100 a month, it’s worth checking out. You can always cancel later. I met my first group of online entrepreneur friends through Leo’s A-List Blogging Club, and his Sea Change Program has turned into an incredibly community for habit change. We’ve created our own members-only Connection Forum as part of the Connect with Anyone Course for this same reason.
9. Build your in-person community. As soon as you can, take the virtual connections into the real world. No matter how big or small your town is, you have to find people in the flesh and blood with whom you can spend consistent time. Check out meetup.com, Craigslist, Facebook & LinkedIn groups or the classifieds of your hometown paper. Or better yet, walk into the hot local restaurant or cafe and ask the owner what’s happening in your realm of passions. Start attending events and saying hello. Watch what happens.
10. Make people a part of your world. The more personal the better. Get out on double dates, have beers, go on workouts, travel together. Do anything you can to make these people a part of your life. But only if you genuinely care about having them in your life. People will see straight through anything less than honest intentions.
11. Show Up. Nothing happens if you don’t show up. If you never press send on that email, dial that number, or walk through the door of your local event, you will never find the surroundings you need. And often times that leads to 99% of the results … showing up. At the end of the day, that’s the only thing that has lead to the connections that have changed my world. And it’s the only thing that ever will.
If you aren’t willing to show up, nothing else matters.
So, who’s in your corner?
The most recent studies show that over 80% of people are not happy with their work. This is a tragedy. It also means that most the people around us encourage complacency. They endorse these lives of quiet desperation that so much of the world is living. They put down our ideas on how to be different, and think we’re crazy (or even stupid) for thinking we can take the road less traveled.
They tell us it’s impossible to actually build a life and career around work we’re truly passionate about.
The more time we hang around them, the more we start to believe it and the less we actually try to make a meaningful impact in the world.
But we have a choice.
We can choose to continue to hang around the people who tell us we’re stupid for thinking things could be different. Or we could surround ourselves with the people who inspire possibility.
The choice is 100% on us.
Either way, one thing is for sure. The people around us will change our world.
The question is, will they kill our dreams or make them come true?
That’s on you to decide.
You have more control than you likely realize.
Do something with it.
After all, what could be possible with the right people in your corner?
Scott Dinsmore is the founder of Live Your Legend and the creator of How to Connect with Anyone – an interactive online course to surround yourself with the world-changing people necessary to build your ideal business or career. The course is open for enrollment to the first 100 students until this Friday at 11:59pm PST. ZenHabits readers even get a special deal. Learn more about the course here.
Science Confirms The Obvious: Rejection Can Make You More Creative
Science Confirms The Obvious: Rejection Can Make You More Creative:
It's Lonely At The Top U.S. Library of Congress
There's a reason genius and solitude seem to go hand in hand, a new study says. Social rejection leads to creative problem solving.
Don't let rejection get you down--it might be the ticket to creativity, science says. That's right: If regular rejection doesn't cause you to lose all self-confidence and withdraw from the world entirely, it just might boost your ability to think outside of the mainstream and draw upon a unique worldview, suggesting that the kind of people society considers "geniuses" might tend to have a go-it-alone, loner mentality.
Research conducted by Cornell and Johns Hopkins University researchers has shown that people who are able to handle rejection in the proper manner--by shrugging it off and blazing their own, independent trails--can experience heightened creativity and even commercial success through an ability to eschew mainstream thought and groupthink and instead pursue their own creative solutions to problems. They tested their hypothesis through a series of experiments in which they manipulated the experience of social rejection; subjects in the study were led to believe that everyone in a group exercise could choose whom to work with on a team project, only to be told later that no one had selected them for a team.
For people with an independent mindset, this rejection inspired them to go on and complete the exercise in a way that was deemed more creative (we're not exactly sure how "creativity" was measured). For people without an independent mindset--well, we're not really sure what kind of impact this exclusion had on them (hopefully someone later told them it was just an experiment, it was all in good fun, and really, everyone here thinks you're great).
The researchers acknowledge that for some, the consequences of rejection can be quite negative. Their research is only intended to show that for those of a certain mindset, social rejection can have a silver lining, driving home something that we more or less already knew: it's not easy being a genius.
[Cornell]
Don't let rejection get you down--it might be the ticket to creativity, science says. That's right: If regular rejection doesn't cause you to lose all self-confidence and withdraw from the world entirely, it just might boost your ability to think outside of the mainstream and draw upon a unique worldview, suggesting that the kind of people society considers "geniuses" might tend to have a go-it-alone, loner mentality.
Research conducted by Cornell and Johns Hopkins University researchers has shown that people who are able to handle rejection in the proper manner--by shrugging it off and blazing their own, independent trails--can experience heightened creativity and even commercial success through an ability to eschew mainstream thought and groupthink and instead pursue their own creative solutions to problems. They tested their hypothesis through a series of experiments in which they manipulated the experience of social rejection; subjects in the study were led to believe that everyone in a group exercise could choose whom to work with on a team project, only to be told later that no one had selected them for a team.
For people with an independent mindset, this rejection inspired them to go on and complete the exercise in a way that was deemed more creative (we're not exactly sure how "creativity" was measured). For people without an independent mindset--well, we're not really sure what kind of impact this exclusion had on them (hopefully someone later told them it was just an experiment, it was all in good fun, and really, everyone here thinks you're great).
The researchers acknowledge that for some, the consequences of rejection can be quite negative. Their research is only intended to show that for those of a certain mindset, social rejection can have a silver lining, driving home something that we more or less already knew: it's not easy being a genius.
[Cornell]
 |  |
Thursday, October 18, 2012
How to Find Your Passion in Life: 7 Questions with Life Coach Barrie Davenport
How to Find Your Passion in Life: 7 Questions with Life Coach Barrie Davenport:
Many of you are probably already familiar with Barrie Davenport, life passion coach, author and blogger over at the very popular Live Bold and Bloom. This week she is launching BarrieDavenport.com, a new site that is focused exclusively on uncovering and living your life passion.
Since I know – from all the emails and feedback I get – that finding your passion in life is one very common goal for many of you I decided to mix things up here and took the opportunity to ask Barrie a few questions.
What do you mean when you talk about passion and why do you help people to find it in life?
I like to talk about life passion in the context of what it feels like to be in love.
When you are in love, your entire world feels happier and brighter. You wake up feeling excited and thrilled to be alive. When you are with your beloved, everything else around you fades into the background, and the two of you are focused intently and joyfully on each other. Even life difficulties feel smaller and easier to manage with you are in love.
The feelings are similar when you have a life passion. You experience those same feelings of aliveness and joy. It creates the same aura of general happiness and positivity because it ignites an internal spark of deep interest, creativity, and fulfillment in your life. These feelings provide the energy to deal with all aspects of your life more easily. You gain clarity about everything in your life.
This is especially true when your life passion is attached to a deeper purpose for you. However, unlike the feelings of being in love, the feelings associated with life passion can remain with you for a very long time, maybe forever. Depending on what your passion is and how you make it part of your life, it can be a never-ending source of joy and contentment for you.
I help people find passion in their lives because that is my passion. In my personal search for a life passion, I discovered that my passion is helping others uncover what makes them come alive.
Through my work as a personal coach, my previous career in public relations, and my personal passion search, I learned some very specific strategies for uncovering life passion, dealing with potential internal and external roadblocks, and creating the actions to change your life so you can live your passion.
I know how having a passion has impacted my own life, and I want others to experience that for themselves.
What is the most common mistake people make when trying to find their passion?
That’s a great question, and I’ve actually written an entire free guide on this topic that I offer at BarrieDavenport.com called The Passion Myths: 6 Lies Keeping You from Uncovering Your Life Passion. Most of the mistakes people make related to finding their passion happen before they begin searching for it.
They make false assumptions or have beliefs about themselves and their lives that simply aren’t the truth — or the entire truth. Sometimes they take a few steps toward seeking their passions, only to allow these assumptions and beliefs to get in their way and stop them from doing anything.
Once people address these myths, they can clear the path for themselves and begin their search in earnest. But even during the search, one of the common mistakes is not remaining flexible and staying open to all possibilities.
Sometimes our passion search will take us down one path, but then an idea or situation will occur that potentially leads down another. People sometimes resist exploring this different path because they feel they must “stick to the plan.”
But a passion search can lead in all sorts of wonderful directions. I thought my passion search was leading me to just a coaching career. But it has also led me to being a blogger and creating an online personal development business. I never could have anticipated that when I began my search.
What are your top 3 tips for finding one’s passion?
Tip #1: Begin with a blank slate.
While you are searching, try to remain completely open to all possibilities, even if they seem impossible for your life right now. You are capable of doing and changing far more than you initially assume, so try not to assume anything.
Just enjoy the ride – have fun on the search. You can deal with the practicalities of how to make your passion work for your life once you find your passion. When you uncover it, you’ll feel so energized that you will find a way to make it happen.
Tip #2: Expect fear and doubt.
That is perfectly normal. Fear and doubt will creep in at the beginning of the search and will reappear throughout the search. It’s impossible to go through a process of self-discovery and make life changes without the “what ifs” and concerns about your future.
But fears and doubts are almost always smokescreens that your psyche is throwing up to prevent you from taking action. The more you take action in spite of fear, the more confident you will feel and the less fear will bother you.
Tip #3: Have patience.
There are some people fortunate enough to find their passions quickly. But in most cases, it takes time. It can take a year or more to find your passion and then make the life changes to bring your passion to life. I like to view the process of finding a passion as a passionate endeavor itself. When you accept that you are going to begin this journey, enter the process with enthusiasm and a learner’s mindset.
You will discover interesting and exciting things about yourself. You will get to explore and experiment with different pursuits and creative ideas. If you view your search in this way, it won’t be just a means to an end. It will be a thrilling adventure.
There is often a focus on finding and living your passion through your work. But what if you cannot just quit your job and start your own passion-filled business? What can you do then to still live a more passionate life?
This question is one of the main areas of focus for my work at my new website.
You see many bloggers and courses teaching people how to find work they love. Since work takes up such a huge chunk of our lives, it is wonderful when we are passionate about our careers.
But especially in this economy, many people aren’t able to quit their jobs to start over. It’s just too risky for them now.
But there are many other ways to incorporate your passion into your life – and your work. You can live your passion through an avocation or hobby. You can volunteer in the area of your hobby. You can begin a small side-business in addition to your day job. And you can even find ways to make your current job more in alignment with your passion if you think creatively.
Even living passionately in one small part of your life can dramatically improve your overall outlook and sense of happiness in life.
What are the two most common questions you get about finding and living your passion? And what are the answers for those two questions?
The first question relates back to the topic of work. “I can’t quit my job, so how can I live my passion?” Again, depending on the individual’s particular passion, there are many ways to incorporate your passion into your life other than through work. It takes some clarity, prioritizing, and life balance to make this work.
When you clear out a lot of the extraneous stuff that is stealing your time and energy, you can open loads of space for your passion.
The second question is always a “what if” question. What if I can do it? What if I’m too old? What if I’m wrong about my passion?
We can “what if” ourselves out of taking any actions. The constant “what ifs” stir the pot of fear and prevent us from moving forward.
I encourage my clients and readers to let go of any “what ifs” until they get to the specific details of taking actions to change their lives. Then they can logically and creatively think through potential issues and address them when they actually occur – rather than worrying about them in advance.
What is just one or a few small steps that Positivity Blog readers can take today to start discovering their passion?
I would invite them to read my free guide on the myths surrounding life passion. That’s a great place to start by eliminating some of the preconceived ideas around the topic.
I would encourage them to give themselves the gift of allotting a few hours a week to devote to discovering their passion. It doesn’t happen by randomly wishing for it or doing a quick internet search. It’s a process that involves self-discovery, exploration, testing, and planning. There are plenty of articles and action steps on my site that they can use as a guide.
By giving themselves this gift of time, they are taking the first step on the path and opening the door to a wonderful new life that awaits them at the end of the journey. It will definitely be well worth the time expended for the amazing results down the road.
What are your passions in life?
My primary passion is helping other people come alive with their own passions. I do this through coaching, writing, and teaching courses. I have written a book called The 52-Week Life Passion Project which comes out in November, and this was a very passionate project for me.
I wake up every day excited to get to my computer and begin writing or Skyping with a coaching client. It all feels like fun to me.
In addition to my work, I also have a passion for travel, biking, reading, and spending time with my three amazing children, my family, and my friends.
And that is it. I hope you found this interview with Barrie as helpful and inspiring as I did. If you want to learn more go check out her site at BarrieDavenport.com and get her new free guide, The Passion Myths: 6 Lies Keeping You from Uncovering Your Life Passion.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Most Popular Positivity Blog Premium Course:
The Self-Esteem Course (a 12 week step-by-step course)
- Did you ever have an opportunity that you didn't go for because you didn't feel like you could do it?
- Do you sometimes feel like you cannot ask for what you truly want or say no because you fear being rejected?
- And do you think you’d have more success in life if you were happier on the inside?
If so, click here to learn more
Copyright 2006-2012 Henrik Edberg.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many of you are probably already familiar with Barrie Davenport, life passion coach, author and blogger over at the very popular Live Bold and Bloom. This week she is launching BarrieDavenport.com, a new site that is focused exclusively on uncovering and living your life passion.Since I know – from all the emails and feedback I get – that finding your passion in life is one very common goal for many of you I decided to mix things up here and took the opportunity to ask Barrie a few questions.
What do you mean when you talk about passion and why do you help people to find it in life?
I like to talk about life passion in the context of what it feels like to be in love.
When you are in love, your entire world feels happier and brighter. You wake up feeling excited and thrilled to be alive. When you are with your beloved, everything else around you fades into the background, and the two of you are focused intently and joyfully on each other. Even life difficulties feel smaller and easier to manage with you are in love.
The feelings are similar when you have a life passion. You experience those same feelings of aliveness and joy. It creates the same aura of general happiness and positivity because it ignites an internal spark of deep interest, creativity, and fulfillment in your life. These feelings provide the energy to deal with all aspects of your life more easily. You gain clarity about everything in your life.
This is especially true when your life passion is attached to a deeper purpose for you. However, unlike the feelings of being in love, the feelings associated with life passion can remain with you for a very long time, maybe forever. Depending on what your passion is and how you make it part of your life, it can be a never-ending source of joy and contentment for you.
I help people find passion in their lives because that is my passion. In my personal search for a life passion, I discovered that my passion is helping others uncover what makes them come alive.
Through my work as a personal coach, my previous career in public relations, and my personal passion search, I learned some very specific strategies for uncovering life passion, dealing with potential internal and external roadblocks, and creating the actions to change your life so you can live your passion.
I know how having a passion has impacted my own life, and I want others to experience that for themselves.
What is the most common mistake people make when trying to find their passion?
That’s a great question, and I’ve actually written an entire free guide on this topic that I offer at BarrieDavenport.com called The Passion Myths: 6 Lies Keeping You from Uncovering Your Life Passion. Most of the mistakes people make related to finding their passion happen before they begin searching for it.
They make false assumptions or have beliefs about themselves and their lives that simply aren’t the truth — or the entire truth. Sometimes they take a few steps toward seeking their passions, only to allow these assumptions and beliefs to get in their way and stop them from doing anything.
Once people address these myths, they can clear the path for themselves and begin their search in earnest. But even during the search, one of the common mistakes is not remaining flexible and staying open to all possibilities.
Sometimes our passion search will take us down one path, but then an idea or situation will occur that potentially leads down another. People sometimes resist exploring this different path because they feel they must “stick to the plan.”
But a passion search can lead in all sorts of wonderful directions. I thought my passion search was leading me to just a coaching career. But it has also led me to being a blogger and creating an online personal development business. I never could have anticipated that when I began my search.
What are your top 3 tips for finding one’s passion?
Tip #1: Begin with a blank slate.
While you are searching, try to remain completely open to all possibilities, even if they seem impossible for your life right now. You are capable of doing and changing far more than you initially assume, so try not to assume anything.
Just enjoy the ride – have fun on the search. You can deal with the practicalities of how to make your passion work for your life once you find your passion. When you uncover it, you’ll feel so energized that you will find a way to make it happen.
Tip #2: Expect fear and doubt.
That is perfectly normal. Fear and doubt will creep in at the beginning of the search and will reappear throughout the search. It’s impossible to go through a process of self-discovery and make life changes without the “what ifs” and concerns about your future.
But fears and doubts are almost always smokescreens that your psyche is throwing up to prevent you from taking action. The more you take action in spite of fear, the more confident you will feel and the less fear will bother you.
Tip #3: Have patience.
There are some people fortunate enough to find their passions quickly. But in most cases, it takes time. It can take a year or more to find your passion and then make the life changes to bring your passion to life. I like to view the process of finding a passion as a passionate endeavor itself. When you accept that you are going to begin this journey, enter the process with enthusiasm and a learner’s mindset.
You will discover interesting and exciting things about yourself. You will get to explore and experiment with different pursuits and creative ideas. If you view your search in this way, it won’t be just a means to an end. It will be a thrilling adventure.
There is often a focus on finding and living your passion through your work. But what if you cannot just quit your job and start your own passion-filled business? What can you do then to still live a more passionate life?
This question is one of the main areas of focus for my work at my new website.
You see many bloggers and courses teaching people how to find work they love. Since work takes up such a huge chunk of our lives, it is wonderful when we are passionate about our careers.
But especially in this economy, many people aren’t able to quit their jobs to start over. It’s just too risky for them now.
But there are many other ways to incorporate your passion into your life – and your work. You can live your passion through an avocation or hobby. You can volunteer in the area of your hobby. You can begin a small side-business in addition to your day job. And you can even find ways to make your current job more in alignment with your passion if you think creatively.
Even living passionately in one small part of your life can dramatically improve your overall outlook and sense of happiness in life.
What are the two most common questions you get about finding and living your passion? And what are the answers for those two questions?
The first question relates back to the topic of work. “I can’t quit my job, so how can I live my passion?” Again, depending on the individual’s particular passion, there are many ways to incorporate your passion into your life other than through work. It takes some clarity, prioritizing, and life balance to make this work.
When you clear out a lot of the extraneous stuff that is stealing your time and energy, you can open loads of space for your passion.
The second question is always a “what if” question. What if I can do it? What if I’m too old? What if I’m wrong about my passion?
We can “what if” ourselves out of taking any actions. The constant “what ifs” stir the pot of fear and prevent us from moving forward.
I encourage my clients and readers to let go of any “what ifs” until they get to the specific details of taking actions to change their lives. Then they can logically and creatively think through potential issues and address them when they actually occur – rather than worrying about them in advance.
What is just one or a few small steps that Positivity Blog readers can take today to start discovering their passion?
I would invite them to read my free guide on the myths surrounding life passion. That’s a great place to start by eliminating some of the preconceived ideas around the topic.
I would encourage them to give themselves the gift of allotting a few hours a week to devote to discovering their passion. It doesn’t happen by randomly wishing for it or doing a quick internet search. It’s a process that involves self-discovery, exploration, testing, and planning. There are plenty of articles and action steps on my site that they can use as a guide.
By giving themselves this gift of time, they are taking the first step on the path and opening the door to a wonderful new life that awaits them at the end of the journey. It will definitely be well worth the time expended for the amazing results down the road.
What are your passions in life?
My primary passion is helping other people come alive with their own passions. I do this through coaching, writing, and teaching courses. I have written a book called The 52-Week Life Passion Project which comes out in November, and this was a very passionate project for me.
I wake up every day excited to get to my computer and begin writing or Skyping with a coaching client. It all feels like fun to me.
In addition to my work, I also have a passion for travel, biking, reading, and spending time with my three amazing children, my family, and my friends.
And that is it. I hope you found this interview with Barrie as helpful and inspiring as I did. If you want to learn more go check out her site at BarrieDavenport.com and get her new free guide, The Passion Myths: 6 Lies Keeping You from Uncovering Your Life Passion.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Most Popular Positivity Blog Premium Course:
The Self-Esteem Course (a 12 week step-by-step course)
- Did you ever have an opportunity that you didn't go for because you didn't feel like you could do it?
- Do you sometimes feel like you cannot ask for what you truly want or say no because you fear being rejected?
- And do you think you’d have more success in life if you were happier on the inside?
If so, click here to learn more
Copyright 2006-2012 Henrik Edberg.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Guy Hired Someone To Slap Him In The Face Every Time He Got On Facebook
This Guy Hired Someone To Slap Him In The Face Every Time He Got On Facebook:
It's easy to get off track when you work on the computer all day.
Maneesh Sethi wrote on his blog that he hired a "slapper" to smack him in the face whenever he logged onto Facebook and this increased his productivity by four times.
In his experiment, Sethi used an app called RescueTime, which measures how much time you spend on each web site and the results showed that he spent approximately 29 hours of his time on Reddit and Facebook chat during the week.
So he posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a slapper, who would be paid $8 an hour.
Sethi's average productivity instantly increased by 98 percent:
In his post, he wrote that it wasn't "the fear of the slap" that was the productivity driver, but rather the social element that someone was around who encouraged him to focus and was available whenever he needed a brainstorming companion.
"I found that speaking out loud and trying to explain your work to someone else actually helped me to understand what I was trying to say, what I was trying to do," Sethi said. "Even when [the slapper] didn’t know the best way, she would ask me questions—and that helped shape my path.
Please follow Careers on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
It's easy to get off track when you work on the computer all day.
Maneesh Sethi wrote on his blog that he hired a "slapper" to smack him in the face whenever he logged onto Facebook and this increased his productivity by four times.
In his experiment, Sethi used an app called RescueTime, which measures how much time you spend on each web site and the results showed that he spent approximately 29 hours of his time on Reddit and Facebook chat during the week.
So he posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a slapper, who would be paid $8 an hour.
Sethi's average productivity instantly increased by 98 percent:
In his post, he wrote that it wasn't "the fear of the slap" that was the productivity driver, but rather the social element that someone was around who encouraged him to focus and was available whenever he needed a brainstorming companion.
"I found that speaking out loud and trying to explain your work to someone else actually helped me to understand what I was trying to say, what I was trying to do," Sethi said. "Even when [the slapper] didn’t know the best way, she would ask me questions—and that helped shape my path.
Please follow Careers on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
Monday, October 15, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
14 Tips to Help You Build More Confidence
14 Tips to Help You Build More Confidence:
We’re all victims of occasional bouts of self-doubt, even the most successful, charismatic, confident among us have their moments of insecurity. Self-confidence can be a very delicate and complex thing. A few are born with it; others learn it early on and the rest of us have to learn to build it on our own.
Our confidence plays an important role in ability to achieve success and happiness. It affects our mental thought patterns, the way we speak, the way we act, and the decisions we make in all areas of our lives – career, money, relationships, and even our health. Confident people take more action, perform better, and are more likely to attain their goals. In addition, confident people also know how to take more enjoyment from their accomplishments are happier in general.
Lucky for us, confidence can be built and strengthened until it becomes natural, just as any other habit. It simply takes a little time, some effort, and a bit of attention.
Featured photo credit: Boy jumping over the mountains via Shutterstock and inline photo by Sarah Reid via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Royale Scuderi is a writer, life and business coach who empowers individuals and businesses to achieve higher productivity, growth, business success and work - life balance. She offers wisdom, insight and ideas to help you get the most out of your life at Productive Life Concepts.
Related posts:
We’re all victims of occasional bouts of self-doubt, even the most successful, charismatic, confident among us have their moments of insecurity. Self-confidence can be a very delicate and complex thing. A few are born with it; others learn it early on and the rest of us have to learn to build it on our own.
Our confidence plays an important role in ability to achieve success and happiness. It affects our mental thought patterns, the way we speak, the way we act, and the decisions we make in all areas of our lives – career, money, relationships, and even our health. Confident people take more action, perform better, and are more likely to attain their goals. In addition, confident people also know how to take more enjoyment from their accomplishments are happier in general.Lucky for us, confidence can be built and strengthened until it becomes natural, just as any other habit. It simply takes a little time, some effort, and a bit of attention.
Confidence Building Tactics
- Fail More Often. The more challenges you take on, the more failures you’ll have, but learning that you can recover, get up and push forward builds confidence.
- Track your accomplishments. Keep a list of successes, big and small. It’ll help you to see your abilities in a more positive (and realistic) light.
- Don’t compare. Stop measuring yourself against others. What you see isn’t always real. Making comparisons is a damaging and an inaccurate measure of success anyway.
- Dress for confidence. How we dress affects both how we feel about ourselves and the way others perceive us. Expensive clothes aren’t necessary. Put emphasis on good fit, good condition, and appropriateness. Don’t be afraid of some color; black is professional, but color gets noticed.
- Work on your posture. People with lower confidence often tend to have poor posture. Stand up, sit up, and keep your head up. It’s an instant confidence booster.
- Learn. The more knowledge you acquire, the more confident you will be. Knowledge is power, and the more powerful you feel, the higher your confidence will be.
- Fitness. Better physical condition and appearance gives you more body confidence, and as a bonus, the extra endorphins give you an added energy boost.
- Start a conversation. When you find yourself in a social situation, instead of gravitating to those people you’re comfortable with, start a conversation with someone you don’t know very well. Eventually getting to know new people will become easier.
- Have miniature goals. Bite sized goals are easier and quicker to achieve and the momentum can give you a boost when attacking bigger goals.
- Raise your hand. Volunteer to take on tasks or projects that are a stretch for you. You’ll learn you can do more than you thought you could and so will others.
- Be around confident people. Cultivate relationships with “can-do” people; attitude is contagious. On the other hand, avoid “can’t do” people. It works both ways.
- Be your own friend. When you hear that voice in your head, abusing, attacking and belittling you, remind yourself that a friend wouldn’t talk to you in that manner.
- Rely on your instincts. When you trust your intuition, and listen to those gut feelings, you’ll become more confident in the knowledge that you do know what’s right for you.
- Keep practicing. Practice the skills you need to succeed. The more you practice, the more confident you become. This is true of every type of skill.
Featured photo credit: Boy jumping over the mountains via Shutterstock and inline photo by Sarah Reid via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Royale Scuderi is a writer, life and business coach who empowers individuals and businesses to achieve higher productivity, growth, business success and work - life balance. She offers wisdom, insight and ideas to help you get the most out of your life at Productive Life Concepts.
Related posts:
- 5 Ways to Build Stronger Relationships
- 63 Ways to Build Self-Confidence
- Does the Y Chromosome Inspire Confidence?
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