• What is your Default Mode?

    edited by Alexander Becker

    What is your default mode, how do you act when it's over, when you're done? Finally idle again? How does it feel?

    You're idle, in between projects or right after a show. You've just completed the big project. That is exactly where the potential to do something really stupid is the greatest.

    The best way to prevent a potentially negative aftermath to any accomplishment is to set up some idle-time protocol.

    Raw idleness tends to be -- especially between bouts of higher achievement -- relatively negative. You can't be high all the time. Also, to really feel the high, you need, by definition and for comparison, the corresponding low. What follows is, that the higher the high, the lower the low.

    Try to establish a baseline or maintenance program that will prepare you for the next project, restore your physical and mental energy and backup your intellectual resources. Start immediately upon exhaustion to appreciate and use the void, as long as it lasts.

    This void, this emptiness does indeed exist and it infects potentially anyone. Creating some routines prevents the "hole" that opens up after finishing any kind of creative work from becoming all too deep.

    My protocol, for example, consists of a strict diet, exercises and -- to contain and to enforce -- discipline. Whenever I become idle, which isn't all too often but especially at the crossroads between projects, before and after, I quite literally fall back into a set of default habits of eating cleanly, exercising hard and absolutely regular, and so on...

    Debriefing; analyzing the finished project is often hard since it's all over and done and you can't change the outcome anyway, but it is an important conclusion of anything you worked so hard for. Just recount what you will be proud of and note what and how to improve when trying next time.

    Research, study, and refining skills are part of my strategy. The more unrelated the better, seemingly unrelated that is, inspiration comes best when the field of research seems way too remote.

    Enjoy the low and appreciate it, for the greater the difference, the more pronounced the reward will be. Live both the low and the high as deeply as you can. Just make sure and try to establish a default mode somewhere in the middle between high and low, defaulting to either high or low makes the respective opposite state unbearable.

    See also: Getting Past Done: What to Do After You’ve Finished a Big Project --

    Revise your resume or CV. How does your new perspective affect the way you describe what was important about your previous experiences?

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  • WOWOW: The Inspiration Edition [Links of the Week]

    edited by Alexander Becker

    High speed links: Inspiration and creativity, assholes (ooooh sorry -- not really), pirates, and chutzpah, again.

    • Working In Close

      And, sorry, all those romantic notions you have of absinthe spoons, manic episodes and Kerouac-like rambling on a long roll of butcher paper really aren't operative. Creative work is mostly showing up every day and enduring a million tiny failures as you feel your way to something a bit new.

    • Are You A Certified Asshole?

      I'm sure that none of you need to take this test, but you might know someone who does.

    • The Pirate's Dilemma

      The Pirate's Dilemma tells the story of how youth culture drives innovation and is changing the way the world works. It offers understanding and insight for a time when piracy is just another business model, the remix is our most powerful marketing tool and anyone with a computer is capable of reaching more people than a multi-national corporation.

    • The Danger of Free

      Again: Nothing is for free.

    • The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should Know

      Chutzpah -- Or khutspe. Nerve, extreme arrogance, brazen presumption. In English, chutzpah often connotes courage or confidence, but among Yiddish speakers, it is not a compliment.

      Yiddish speakers, on the other hand, get the meaning immediately.

    Until next week, stay safe, work hard and don't forget the balancing play hard

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  • Reload Your (Abandoned) Resolutions

    edited by Alexander Becker

    One goal, three to-dos, and a trick, each day.

    Or...

    1000 tasks and a gun to your head.

    This post is not too late. Quite the opposite is true. By now, most resolutions have been abandoned and life goes on. Let's see if we can reanimate one of them. Actually, the calendar year is just another occasion. You can just as well start on any given day and work the plan.

    I read so many make-2008-the-best-year-ever articles (no links here) these days by everyone remotely concerned with hacking life... yet it is so easy.

    One Goal

    Did you achieve your primary 2007 goal?

    Did you set a primary 2007 goal in the first place?

    We all know the distinction between urgent and important -- have-to-do and should-be-doing.

    I want you to pick one goal for this year. One primary goal and only one that has absolute priority in 2008. Choose wisely because you will have to stick to it.

    Obviously, we're looking at the should-be-doing stuff. What is it that you know you should be doing but for whatever reason you never really started. Pick an important goal that will advance you and you life towards the fulfillment of your dreams -- or one of your dreams for now.

    Now, list your potential should-be-working-on goals and sort them and make one a priority. Make one of them your resolution. Everything else is and remains secondary for the current year.

    Three To-Dos

    Alright. So you've set your goal. What now? Of course, you already expect the answer: To-dos. Please note that you will have lots of unrelated to-dos of the have-to-do variety each and every day so we are going to add just three more to-dos -- the voluntary ones, you know, the sexy ones -- and we resolve to set them every night for the following day and we further resolve to execute, to really do them -- whatever it takes.

    Make small, small, small to-dos at first. The smaller the better. Set up three babysteps for each day and do what it takes. The trick is do make the tasks worthy, manageable and doable because we resolve and make a contract with ourselves that we are not going to break. Again, plan small tasks, three of them and do them.

    The Trick

    To make it even easier for you, set your list of three up for the next day and what you don't manage to do; cross it off the list anyway. It's gone. No second chances. No 2 items today and 4 tomorrow. If you don't do it today you're not allowed to try again tomorrow. Realize that you will lose your task when you don't do it today.

    Since all your tasks are important -- otherwise they wouldn't be scheduled for an important goal -- you definitely don't want to miss even one of them. Three tasks a day are hard enough to determine, don't spoil them without a reason -- and there is no reason.

    Imagine today as your last day and it'll become even easier to get up and just do it.

    That's why we start with small tasks. The point is to not break your contract. Don't be afraid to plan ridiculously easy tasks, remember, as long as you move, you will eventually arrive.

    That's it. Choose one priority goal. There can only be one priority. Test it and make sure you have what it takes to stick to it.

    Start and set three to-dos for each day. Start small but steady.

    Remember, it is not important to achieve something big every day. What is important though is persistence, that you do something -- three things -- every day. Think up three pathetically easy to achieve tasks and just do them and see your motivation ask for more...

    1000 Steps are Enough

    Don't overdo it. Sometimes it feels like three is not enough. Don't think about it. It is enough. In fact it is 3 × 365: A good thousand tasks. Instead of asking for more tasks, make them bigger.

    1000 steps should be sufficient. The beauty is that you don't even have to come up with a thousand tasks. Once the goal is clear, improvise and play it where it lies.

    Did I already mention to progress slowly? There is no going back. If you expect the next day to be packed with urgent have-to-dos, schedule three lightweight items that reward your mind instead of stressing you even more.

    A Variant

    Sometimes it is hard to find three tasks for that one goal on a given day. This is where your other, non-priority goals come into play. You still have to do three tasks each day but you advance your secondary goals as well. This requires you to at least determine and tackle one task for your primary goal; allocate the remainder for that day to other should-be doings. This leaves you with still three important steps each day and one excuse less in case you lag behind your scheduling skills.

    Summary

    Commit to your resolution in writing and post it where you can see it.

    1. Determine and remember your one goal. What should you be doing?
    2. Schedule three to-dos every night. Easy or hard but three.
    3. Yesterday's to-dos are not allowed to be finished today. If you didn't do it, it's gone, no matter how precious, important, or beautiful it was supposed to be. If it was that important, you'd better done it.

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  • WOWOW: The Motion Mountain Edition [Links of the Week]

    edited by Alexander Becker

    Renaissance, polymath questions of the week, music lessons, free content, and free links.

    How do objects and images move? How can animals move? What is motion? How does a rainbow form? Is levitation possible? Do time machines exist? What does 'quantum' mean? What is the maximum force value found in nature? Is 'empty space' really empty? Is the universe a set? Which problems in physics are still unsolved?

    A free physics textbook that tells the story of how it became possible, after 2500 years of exploration, to answer such questions. The book is written for the curious: it is entertaining, surprising and challenging on every page. With little mathematics, starting from observations of everyday life, the text explores the most fascinating parts of mechanics, thermodynamics, special and general relativity, electrodynamics, quantum theory and modern attempts at unification. The essence of these fields is summarized in the most simple terms. For example, the text presents modern physics as consequence of the notions of minimum entropy, maximum speed, maximum force, minimum change of charge and minimum action.

    Speaking of renaissance men --

    Ten Things I Learned from Einstein

    6. Where you are now doesn't predict where you will be in the future.

    plus ...

    10 Golden Lessons from Albert Einstein

    9. You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.

    Learn the rules of your game and start playing it best. Keep competing like your life depended on it. And after a while you will have no one else but you to compete against. At that point, better your best.

    ... gives us 20 Einstein nuggets to take note of.

    WOW is about being extraordinary, or in Seth's words, remarkable. I'm still not ignoring the music industry --

    Seth's Music Lessons

    People pay a premium for a story, every time.

    This isn't about having a great idea (it almost never is). The great ideas are out there, for free, on your neighborhood blog. Nope, this is about taking initiative and making things happen.

    While we're here, it is the permission model again --

    Free Without Exploitation

    While your business model might depend on and benefit from giving away free information and ideas, it should never be free at the expense of your business. Your advice has value but only to the level you allow it.

    Oh yeah... one more thing. The most stunning thing you can do these days is posting a link to some book on Amazon and omit your referer id. Yes. Linking to a book solely for the content.

    The 48 Laws of Power. Choose one --

    Law 3

    Conceal your Intentions

    Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.

    Law 17

    Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability

    Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people's actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: Be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.

    Press on. Happy weekend and do everything you can, whatever it takes.

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  • WOWOW: The Death and Underachievement Edition [Links of the Week]

    edited by Alexander Becker

    Underachieving and resolutions and social objects and modest change. Let's see where we end up.

    Discovering Personal Excellence

    There is a difference between corporate and personal achievement. Of course, excellence is about working as good as you can, always and without excuses but the point here is that personal endeavours have to be committed to with at least a comparable amount of excellence.

    There is no such thing as corporate passion. It is your personal thing. It is you who makes the dent in the universe, not your company. If it seems like it is the other way around, run. Make one yourself. A dent and a company, that is.

    Resolutions

    Death and Underachievement: A Guide to Happiness in Work by Ryan Norbauer pretty much sums it up --

    But we'll deal in a moment with what to do with our newfound perspective; for now it's enough just to note the facts. And all the facts point to a universe that is utterly indifferent to your body-mass index, your latest promotion, or how well-organized your reference filing system is.

    ... and...

    We do the best work we can, but we don't fret when we fail, nor do we jeopardize the quality of our work -- or the happiness of our days—by bowing to the pressure to take on more than we can handle.

    ... and...

    As The Underachiever's Manifesto has it: striving is suffering. It is only by accepting the illusory nature of achievement that we can hope to transcend it. Would it be mawkish of me to invoke Steve Jobs?: our time is limited, so don't waste time living someone else's life.

    ... and...

    There are also more sublunary and practical reasons why the pressure for extraordinary achievement is counterproductive. The diet that permits the occasional bucket of french fries is the one more likely to be adhered to, and the exercise regime that demands only a gentle stroll every day rather than a heart-pounding decathlon is the one more likely actually to be followed. Extreme expectations apply extreme stress and create extreme resistance and procrastination. In so doing, they undermine our ability to get anything we want. We forfeit perfectly serviceable rewards in the pursuit of enormous and unattainable ones.

    Yes and no. Sure, Ryan is perfectly right, but even better to do the decathlon if you actually follow it.

    ... and...

    The hard part of life is done: you are here and alive to read these words. As the Manifesto commands, stop worrying about being perfect. Dedicate yourself to the pleasures and benefits of mediocrity.

    Social Objects

    Hugh explains Social Objects for Beginners --

    The Social Object, in a nutshell, is the reason two people are talking to each other, as opposed to talking to somebody else. Human beings are social animals. We like to socialize. But if think about it, there needs to be a reason for it to happen in the first place. That reason, that "node" in the social network, is what we call the Social Object.

    ... where the social object is a "neutral third party", something that isn't part of neither mine nor your privacy. It is some safe haven. A clutch for you and me to hold onto until we think to know each other and start "connecting" for real.

    ... and he goes on with...

    Why The "Social Object" is the Future of Marketing --

    ... She'll only talk about it if it serves as a Social Object. A "hook" to move the conversation along. A hook she can use it as a way to relate to her fellow human beings.

    The trick to have people talk about you, then, is to become a social object. This makes it less interesting to talk to you, though.

    Presence of Mind

    Another one from 43f --

    Beginning the Year with Fresh Starts & Modest Changes

    Don't miss this little gem --

    Have you ever put up with a squeaky door for years and then one day, for whatever reason, suddenly found yourself grabbing the WD-40 and lubricating that particular nuisance out of your life? I have, and I'm here to tell you, it's awesome. You actually stand there wondering why you never had the presence of mind to affect such an improvement -- ridiculously trivial though its solution may be.

    Other than that, time does in fact matter, ask Steve Jobs.

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  • WOWOW: The Scissors Edition [Links of the Week]

    edited by Alexander Becker

    Please, quickly, we're almost there. Have a look at the last ones for this year. Just a glance and you're done.

    • The Secret to Winning at Rock, Paper, Scissors --

      Research shows that stone, also called rock, is the most popular of the three possible moves in the game. That means that your opponent is likely to choose paper, because they will expect to you to start the game with stone. By going with scissors, you achieve an early victory.

    • How to Set Up a Portable Personal Nerve Center --

      You can get the best of both worlds by setting up a web-based Personal Nerve Center (PNC) and making it ubiquitous and redundant so it's available from anywhere, even offline.

    • Charisma versus Innovation --

      I wonder if there is a trend in blog reading that we like nicely packaged, un-challenging, charming blogs, just like the tabloid celebrity culture we are all familiar with.

      Not for everybody.

    • Why Self Actualization Requires Exercise --

      Maslow's advice is more applicable today than it ever has been. Maintaining our physical health is absolutely necessary to keep our journey towards self-actualization on a firm foundation. Make the investment in your physical health, and you will continually receive dividends throughout the other facets of your life.

    • Intelligence Redefined: Are You A Gifted Person?

      In the process of lauding top scorers and scholarship winners we may be crowding out those who actually have advanced and complex patterns of development but just don't fit the system's definition of 'top students'.

      Just make sure to have the one to asses be someone who is either absolutely intelligent (doesn't exist) or one who has completely overcome ego (wouldn't assess other's intelligence)...

    • Hack Yourself --

      You can be happy. You can live the life you want to live. You can become the person you want to be. This is what I've figured out so far.

      Hacking yourself? The following comes up every year or so, but still --

    • Drugs to Build up That Mental Muscle --

      Despite the potential side effects, academics, classical musicians, corporate executives, students and even professional poker players have embraced the drugs to clarify their minds, improve their concentration or control their emotions.

    That's it. It's over. Time flies. See you soon.

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  • Tales of Virtuosity: Excellence at its Best

    edited by Alexander Becker

    What moves you the most? What makes you believe? Hope? What makes you shiver?

    Fundamentals, Virtuosity, and Mastery

    Virtuosity is defined in gymnastics as "performing the common uncommonly well." Unlike risk and originality, virtuosity is elusive, supremely elusive. It is, however, readily recognized by audience as well as coach and athlete. But more importantly, more to my point, virtuosity is more than the requirement for that last tenth of a point; it is always the mark of true mastery (and of genius and beauty).

    Grace

    Seemingly effortless is leaving the possibility that we can help a little bit here and there. Is grace about moderation? Can we polarize even grace?

    1. Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.
    2. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.

    Virtuosity

    Excellence. Absolute excellence in any given field. Virtuosity. I can't help but admire the signs of virtuosity. It's magic to me.

    The legendary Kolisch Quartet had the singular distinction of playing its entire repertoire from memory, including the impossibly complex modern works of Schoenberg, Webern, Bartok, and Berg. Eugene Lehner was the violinist for the quartet in the 1930s. Lehner's stories about their remarkable performances often included a hair-raising moment when one player or another had a memory slip. Although he relished the rapport that developed between them without the encumbrance of a music stand, he admits there was hardly a concert in which some mistake did not mar the performance. The alertness, presence. and attention required of the players in every performance is hard to fathom, but in one concert an event occured that surpassed their ordinary brinkmanship.

    In the middle of the slow movement of Beethoven's String Quartet op. 95,just before his big solo, Lehner suddenly had an inexplicable memory lapse, in a place where his memory had never failed him before. He literally blacked out. But the audience heard Opus 95 as it was meant to be played, the viola solo sounding in all its richness. Even the first violinist, Rudolph Kolisch, and cellist, Bennar Heifetz, both with their eyes closed and deeply absorbed in the music, were unaware that Lehner had dropped out. The second violinist, Felix Khuner, was playing Lehner's melody, coming in without missing a beat at the viola's designated entrance, teh notes perfectly in tune and voiced like a viola on an instrument tuned a fifth higher. Lehner was stunned, and offstage after the performance asked Khuner how he could have possibly known to play. Khuner answered with a shrug: I could see that your finger was poised over the wrong string, so I knew you must have forgotten what came next.

    From The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.

    Always look for tales of excellence, moments of excellence. Examples of virtuosity ignite and create sparks of inspiration like nothing else.

    Art is man's expression of his joy in labor. --Henry A. Kissinger

    Virtuosity is excellence at its best. Virtuosity doesn't need to be advertised nor marketed. It is obvious and only needs to be seen to be recognized as what it is. No need to brag, no need to bring out the stats, just show what you can and it will be evident.

    Humility

    While virtuosity is the highest form of excellence, what about chutzpah taken to the extreme? How's eccentricity as an elaborate form of high-end chutzpah? Again, at some point there is no need for audacity anymore. It is obvious then that what may look like audacity to some is just the way it works. That, in fact, is humility.

    To conclude, interestingly, both virtuosity and giga-chutzpah find their ultimate superlative in the unexpected -- humility. Humility is what ultimately remains and is a significant, characteristic marker of the truly best there is.

    Awe. Hair-raising.

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  • WOWOW: The Kids Edition [Links of the Week]

    edited by Alexander Becker

    Square watermelons this week, a bunch of nested lists, the what and the where, and something for the kids, from Steve Jobs and Bill Gates -- no, not the fisticuffs...

    Brainstorming

    • ... discovering blog topics, yes, but even more, following your excellence works this same exact way --

    • The Reverse-Process Technique of Discovering Blog Topics --

      Have a good think about the activities and events in your own routine, what can you find that gets results, sets you apart, or might be interesting then drill right down. Think from the point of view of a curious prospect and you might be surprised how many topic ideas you can think of!

    • Also, compare mindmaps here and there, where Hundreds of Post Ideas for Your Blog create the luxury of selecting the best and most appropriate ones --

      The key when you do it is to let your creativity run wild (because it can take you in some wonderful directions) but then to be ruthless in culling ideas that don't actually add anything to your blog. Remember - everything that you post on your blog either adds to or takes away from your blog's perceived value - so not everything that you come up with should make it through to the front page of your blog.

    • Ultimately, make sure to keep it in check: Master Your Muse and Multiply Your Blogging Effectiveness

    • Square Watermelon Problem Solving is one more instance of the common uncommon --

      Been there, done that: Believe it or not, your problem has most likely been encountered by others. This could be other companies, other departments within your company, even the guy sitting next you right now. Seek out those that have had similar issues and study their response. You shouldn't necessarily mimic what others have done, but clearly there is something to be said for taking an idea and customizing it so that it solves your problem.

    • ... with a mention of TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving), which 40 principles I happen to use, printed on small index cards --

      Two basic principles in TRIZ maintain that:

      1. Somebody, someplace, has already solved your problem or one similar to it. Creativity means finding that solution and adapting it to the current problem.
      2. Don't accept compromises. Eliminate them.

    Knowledge Units

    • Speaking of already solved problems: Google to Wikipedia: "Knol" thine enemy --

      The system is called "Knol" -- which refers to a "knowledge unit" -- and it will let anyone create, edit, and profit from creating a page packed with information on a specific topic.

    What to do and How

    • Triple Your Productivity Tomorrow on a --

      Project-Kill Day. This is a day where I am at my most productive state. I set aside large amounts of time to kill off the projects on my to-do list and get ahead. I've found, if you plan it properly, you can make tomorrow up to 3 times as productive as ordinary days.

    • From the Duh-department, but still --

      Provide Context for Better Ubiquitous Capture

      If it's worth capturing, it's worth capturing well, so take the extra couple seconds to remind yourself what the hell you were thinking about.

    Where to Get and How

    • Should You Write a Personal Mission Statement?

      Absolutely --

      Your personal mission statement should be a concise representation of what's most important to you, what you desire to focus on, what you want to achieve, and, ultimately, who you want to become. In its purest form, it's an approach to your life, one that allows you to identify a focus of energy, creativity, and vision in living a life in support of your inner-most beliefs and values.

      [...]

      A great personal mission statement is one that inspires you, motivates you, and offers you the opportunity for continued happiness and fulfillment.

      Making you look even better.

    • While we're here --

      Achieving Your Dream: How to Take the First Step

      Don't --

      • Wait until the situation is perfect.
      • Wait until other people agree with you.
      • Wait until your skill is good.

      Do --

      • Believe in your dream.
      • Visualize your dream.
      • Expect a hard way ahead.
      • Take one bite at a time.

      In other words: Baby steps are still all the rage -- la rage, that is........

    • Tony Soprano's Top 11 Tips for Success

      Three out of eleven --

      • The smartest route isn't always the easiest one -- in most cases there will be multiple paths to obtaining your goals. Instead of going with the easy route, you need to go with the smart route.
      • Think things over -- if you are angry or desperate you probably start acting based off your instincts in hopes of satisfying your feelings. Instead of acting on things right away, start thinking things over because then you will be able to act based on logic instead of on feelings.
      • Don't show off -- there is nothing wrong with buying nice things every once in a while but don't buy something just to show off. Although attention is good, if you are someone worth knowing sooner or later people will get to know you. People who just show off draw too much attention and in many cases are hated by others due to jealousy.

    • Why I Started Punching Jerks Again

      Is there a chance that we would have fewer AK-47-toting high schoolers if it were socially acceptable to take of a glove, slap it across an offender's face, and issue the good 'ol Sir, you have insulted my honor challenge? I think a little fisticuffs would do most men a world of good, giving options to the masses who put up with too much, consequences to loudmouthed idiots who would then think twice, and a release valve to a gender that otherwise comes up with far worse things to do to men, women, wives, and children.

      Don't miss the comments. Very insightful and they prove the point. Either point.

      Do what is right. You decide.

    Kids Corner

    • 5 Signs That You Have Settled --

      So all this begs the question: what do I do if I have settled? As Steve Jobs said in the same speech: if you haven't found it yet, keep looking... As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.

    • Bill Gates: The skills you need to succeed --

      • A solid working knowledge of productivity software and other IT tools has become a basic foundation for success in virtually any career.
      • Beyond that, however, I don't think you can overemphasize the importance of having a good background in maths and science.
      • Communication skills and the ability to work well with different types of people are very important too.

    Don't settle.

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  • Integrate Life, The Renaissance Way

    edited by Alexander Becker

    Integrate everything with everything else. Circles of peers and friends, knowledge, skills.

    Integrate all planes of life. Short-circuit your output and discover and follow universal principles.

    The Renaissance Spirit

    When someone is called a Renaissance Man today, it is meant that he does not just have broad interests or a superficial knowledge of several fields, but better that his knowledge is rather profound, and often that he also has proficiency or accomplishment in (at least some of) these fields, and in some cases even at a level comparable to the proficiency or the accomplishments of an expert.

    Historically (roughly 1450–1600) it represented a person who endeavored to develop his capacities as fully as possible (Britannica, "Renaissance Man") both mentally and physically. Being an accomplished athlete was considered integral and not separate from education and learning of the highest order.

    It seems to be important to make a distinction between the true reanaissance man and the so called "Jack of all trades" whose knowledge is merely superficial and doesn't stand the tests. Achieving proficiency is -- despite an often cited information overload -- still possible with the intelligent application of the principles of learning and triage, for example.

    Leonardo da Vinci

    A scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, poet and writer, Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the "Renaissance man" or universal genius, a man whose seemingly infinite curiosity was equalled only by his powers of invention. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.

    Infinite curiosity

    Strive for an olympic gold medal competing in decathlon and a nobel prize in science, for example. It's not about the actual medal or the nobel prize as rewards or recognition. It is the ability, the knowledge, and the excellence to get there. Be a scientist and an athlete.

    Integration

    The synthesis of knowledge is combining completely different fields, nourishing one another and generating ever escalating output. Creativity is a collateral of universal curiosity. You start to see connections all over the place, drawing conclusions will be inevitable and an endless set of stairs building on top of one another is your reward.

    Integrate it all, make it personal, even more so, mix personal and business, it's not a no-no if you really want it...

    I don't do it -- not often enough, not on all planes -- and I know that you don't integrate everything either. But just in case you wonder, that's the exact reason for things to fail or to not work out perfectly as intended.

    Integrate everything with everything else. Only then can you start to divide and rule.

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  • Opinionated? Hell Yeah!

    edited by Alexander Becker

    Chris Garrett asks whether your blog -- or mine, for that matter -- is opinionated.

    The answer is of course, hell yeah, is my blog opinionated!

    Let me give you an example: Chris Shugart at Testosterone Nation has that Phoenix Theory, where from its own ashes, the fiery bird is reborn. --

    The failure — the person who hasn't begun properly and hasn't set himself on fire — will find plenty of reasons to avoid the tough exercises and rationalize laziness.

    The phoenix — the angry person who has burned away all his previous excuses — will get mad at himself for slacking. He'll remind himself that he must earn his post-workout drink, and if he needs to, he'll slap himself across the face until he feels like getting into the squat rack.

    Think I'm kidding? This is how truly successful people push themselves. They're not hand-holders; they're ass-kickers... even if it's their own ass that needs kicking. They drive themselves, and usually not with positive affirmations.

    While the theory sounds familiar and I definitely subscribe to it, the opinionated part is yet to come. Here goes --

    Phoenix Theory goes against what most hand-holding motivational "gurus" preach. But I'm not a motivational guru; I'm an experimenter and an observer. I'm not interested in what works in corny "personal growth" books; I'm interested in what works in real life, in the field. And what works in the real world isn't always pretty. But the results are.

    That is pretty much the point where some ways have to part. Call it Elite, Machiavellian, Utilitarian, Biblical, even Cold-blooded, or Insane, I call it Excellence X Chutzpah, and it is always based on higher principles. I am always here to make you look good, whatever it takes.

    It is not for everybody. While everybody is invited to try, some are here to stay. That is my opinion.

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  • WOWOW: The Fighting Unpopularity Edition [Links of the Week]

    edited by Alexander Becker

    This week's links come somehow math-centric, with tips on subscribing, making money, latkes and the problem with becoming EX-WOW. Also, impressing your friends (hey!) and the art of taking notes.

    • Subscribing... I think I quote the whole thing except for the feed-URL which I replace with this blog's feed --

      If you're not currently reading your blogs through a reader, I highly recommend it. It's possible to go through a hundred blog posts in four or five minutes once you get good at it. When you click on the Subscribe link (in the left right column on this blog) you will see a list of available readers. Google Reader and Bloglines are quite popular.

    • 6 Steps to Making Money Because of Your Blog ... where the word because is the focus of attention --

      4. Give away the principles and Sell the Personalization -- I spoke with an author and business coach recently who does a fair few Media appearances to promote his work and he told me that his strategy is to give away as much general advice as possible when he's on TV or Radio in the hope that people will buy his books and come to him for coaching when they want to know how to apply it to their own lives. I think that this is a great strategy for bloggers also. A blog is a great place to spread the word of what you have to offer. Teach people the principles of what you know -- but make yourself available to those who want to take it further and apply it to their own situation.

    • Impressing your friends with mental Math tricks, how cool is that?

      Nine ideas that will hopefully get you to look at arithmetic as a game, one in which you can see patterns among numbers and pick then apply the right trick to quickly doing the calculation.

    • While on the subject: What is Lifehack x 2?

      One: How to Move Forward Once You Achieve a Big Goal ... or how to avoid becoming EX-WOW --

      What do you do once you achieve your big goal and make it to the top? This can become a big problem if it looks like the only way you can go is down. Professional athletes and aging celebrities all face this issue. The problem can be one of maintaining the position if this is what you want or figuring out where to go next while avoiding a big let down.

      Two: The Top 4 Misapplications of the 80/20 Rule --

      1. 80 + 20 = 100

      The 80/20 rule argues that 20% of the input creates 80% of the output. Inputs and outputs aren't the same thing, and therefore can't be made into the same pie chart. The 80/20 Rule could just as easily been called The 55/3 Rule, if 55% of the results were created by 3% of the inputs.

      Don't get caught up on the numbers. Both 80 and 20 are just examples of one type of uneven balances. The fact that they add up to 100 is a coincidence.

      See also The Pareto Principle vs. the Necessity of the Unnecessary and a review of The Dip by Seth Godin.

    • How do you counter the threat of unpopularity? The EX-WOW issue is an issue for you too: Want to become famous? Then stop trying! --

      Be yourself -- the most important part about creating your personal brand is that it represents you. If people don't like who you are or if they have a problem with you, then that is their problem and not yours.

    • How to Take Notes Like an Alpha-Geek or Ferriss-notes, if you want to. The key to taking notes is an indexing system you can rely on --

      Information is useful only to the extent that you can find it when you need it. Most of us have the experience of note proliferation—notes on the backs of envelopes, billing statements, hotel paper, etc. -- that somehow never gets consolidated. Consolidate and create an index.

      The culprit of taking notes is that you dump the information from memory to paper; you are able to memorize hundreds of telephone numbers but when it comes to remembering the ones you saved directly to your cellphone you're stuck: It's either/or; once it is on paper, it's off your mind, good or bad?

    • Also, what is the secret to making great potato latkes?

      We found that the starchier the potato, the crisper the latke.

    Happy holidays and enjoy your vices....

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  • The Dilettante Way

    edited by Alexander Becker

    The dilettante way starts with ignorance is bliss.

    Naivete, paired with unfounded optimism and complete ignorance, often helps here.

    Remember: sometimes not knowing what you're doing is an advantage.

    Do something that no one else, no one in the know would even consider, because it doesn't work. Well, since you don't know that it doesn't work, you can just do it and succeed because your initial ignorance makes room for a positive outcome. The impossible becomes possible when you don't realize, accept, or admit that it's impossible in the first place...

    The dilettante is one lacking the required professional skill and ease in a particular pursuit: an amateur, a dabbler, a nonprofessional, a smatterer, an uninitiate.

    There are many who'd better stop writing, playing, singing, creating, ... or so it seems. There are many who lack the required skill for their profession, yet, they get better, everyday, better and better, going all the way from dilettante to excellence.

    No matter how bad you start, you eventually get better -- as long as you don't stop and don't quit. The key is initial output.

    What about talent or the lack thereof --

    ... to be successful, you must play to your strength. Each of us has different talents/strengths due to differences in character, personalities or inclinations. If your talents don't complement your pursues, then you will have to work doubly hard to achieve the same results that others do; you're handicapped right from the start.

    Is talent sufficient then? Dilettante and talent are not mutually exclusive. You can have all the talent in the world and still fail in your particular field because -- you lack the skill. But guess what? That skill, however elusive, will eventually come to you. Through practice and failure. By way of doing vs. not doing. To just do it gives you a head start. Just do it and start to practice and gather invaluable experience instantly.

    You will get better. That's inevitable.

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  • Knowledge is King: How to Spot The Fake

    edited by Alexander Becker

    Not everybody knows more than you do.

    Some don't know, don't even try, yet they pretend to know, while others don't know, do try, eventually succeed -- or even fail -- and finally do know.

    Without knowledge, skill cannot be focused. Without skill, strength cannot be brought to bear, and without strength, knowledge may not be applied. -- Alexander the Great's Chief Physican

    Real knowledge is king. I know, I know, applied knowledge is king but right now, let's focus on real knowledge vs. semi- or pseudo- or pretending-to-be-knowledge. Fake knowledge makes fake kings.

    Exactly because knowledge is king, there are many who want you to believe they are king.

    Whenever someone appears or pretends to be in the know, think twice before giving him or her expert credit and credentials. Consider these ways to authenticate the authority of an expert --

    1. Define your own, specific questions and insist on specific answers. A true expert contemplates your question, while the fake often slightly alters your question to match his partial knowledge. The difference is inthe depth and specifity of the answer.
    2. Check for an honest I don't know in response to a question that isn't answerable. Your fraudulent expert wouldn't admit.
    3. Check for ego. If ego and knowledge of the expert in question seem inseparable, be careful, for he defends the limits of his knowledge with his very life.
    4. Challenge them to show instead of tell -- that's the easiest way.

    Try to question the expert under four eyes or, if you feel comfortable, do your testing in public or at least among others who will -- most often and surprisingly -- not recognize the fraud.

    Finally, it's always interesting to observe how little knowledge is necessary to survive and even thrive. Look around your professional competition. There are many who know much less than you do. Make the most of your true knowledge and claim your particular throne.

    One more thing -- you too: Show, don't tell, because this is what makes the difference between real knowledge and fake knowledge. Make sure to apply and thus effortlessly show your knowledge. Also make sure not to show off either.

    That kind of knowledge is king.

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  • Common Sense: Friend or Foe?

    edited by Alexander Becker

    If there is one enemy to what we're trying to do here it is common sense.

    Really? Attacking common sense? Isn't common sense an ideal to strive for, something you attain at some point in life? Isn't common sense even a sign of maturity?

    Let's see what we've got --

    Common sense is sound judgement not based on specialized knowledge; native good judgement. That which is believed to be knowledge held by people "in common".

    Common sense is a good starting point, nothing more and nothing less either.

    There really is nothing negative about common sense. It's just that there isn't anything special about it either. Common sense is the lowest common denominator. It is the average. And that's the issue.

    On the other hand --

    Common sense is judgement without reflection, shared by an entire class, an entire nation, or the entire human race. --Giambattista Vico

    Judgement without reflection is a shortcut with judgement ultimately substituting experience. Short-circuiting common sense itself creates actual experiences.

    WOW, that is so -- common sense... Ever hear that? No?

    Extraordinary and common sense are mutually exclusive. The antonym is insanity, if you get my drift... Don't worry, not that kind of insanity.

    So what are we going to do about it? Ignoring the enemy?

    Ignoring common sense in the absense of something better? Half-knowledge and intellectual weakness is the result of ignoring common sense. Don't let common sense replace education, instead replace common sense with original experience.

    Here is the problem --

    Common sense is part of the home-made ideology of those who have been deprived of fundamental learning, of those who have been kept ignorant. This ideology is compounded from different sources: items that have survived from religion, items of empirical knowledge, items of protective skepticism, items culled for comfort from the superficial learning that is supplied. But the point is that common sense can never teach itself, can never advance beyond its own limits, for as soon as the lack of fundamental learning has been made good, all items become questionable and the whole function of common sense is destroyed. Common sense can only exist as a category insofar as it can be distinguished from the spirit of inquiry, from philosophy. --John Berger

    You first have to master the rule -- master common sense -- in order to intelligently and successfully break it.

    This obviously, does not imply to ignore common sense, quite the opposite is indicated and the way to go. Study common sense, master it and be aware of it, all the time, for it is changing and evolving the same way -- though not necessarily in the same direction -- you are evolving.

    There is no substitute for common sense except for the lessons you draw from going against it. Common sense itself is a substitute for experience. Again, the key is to closely follow the common in common sense, only to do the exact opposite and replace common assumptions with real experiences.

    Do not abandon common sense but instead become highly aware of it and approach it from the other side, fight it from the inside, if you want to.

    Do not rebel unreflectedly and against everything. Look through the common and determine uncommon sense instead.

    The trick is to not --

    Resist and defy a generally accepted convention.

    ... but instead to turn the convention upside down, not for the sake of rebelling but for the sake of doing the uncommon in order to create original experiences.

    Make use of common sense as a temporary placeholder to be filled with your own experience, it is neither friend, nor foe.

    It is the individual against the common. You cannot really collaborate and fight together against common sense. Joining forces means, implies, and requires defining common ground, a mutual understanding, it means determining the lowest common denominator. See above.

    Set yourself apart from common and bring out your individual best -- without anything common.

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  • Why Don't You?

    edited by Alexander Becker

    The difference between excellence and mediocrity? Action.

    Initial output is important. What initial input triggers your action in the first place?

    Is there any moderate amount of anything that could get you started? No? I thought so.

    It's only after you've lost everything that you're free to do anything.

    While it helps to start from scratch, you don't necessarily have to lose everything in order to evolve -- it's the easiest way though.

    I could. Complacency. Inertia. Hesitation. Laziness. Insecurity. Being content enough. Mediocrity?

    Why does it always have to be a shock, something extreme, something radical, some drastic experience, to get us moving? Why do we look best when we're totally exhausted? Why do we have to run a whole marathon? Why do we literally have to burn the ships? Why can't we just start?

    Because maybe -- maybe, it would be too easy. If it would be so easy, everyone could and eventually would do it.

    Enough, sufficient, moderate -- that is what is holding back and keeping together the mediocre.

    Mediocrity is not the problem nor is it the enemy. Mediocrity is the result of not getting started. Get started and you will eventually evolve and excel. But if you don't -- you won't.

    I can. The world is not enough, nothing will ever suffice, and moderation is not a means to achieve anything remarkable.

    You know that you could. I know that you can.

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  • Hesitation: Do Anyway or Do Not?

    edited by Alexander Becker

    When in doubt, don't vs. Do exactly what you hesitate doing.

    There are two possible causes for hesitation. The one where you hesitate because you doubt the outcome and on the other hand the kind of hesitation where you are not sure about the way to tackle your job.

    The way is, once started, easily adjustable, but only when started. When the destination, the goal, is clear and you truly stand behind it, the actual way to achieve it is nothing to worry about.

    The outcome, in contrast, determines the way. If and when you hesitate, once you do hesitate, when the outcome is not desirable, when it feels like "it's not worth the effort," you can just as well leave it altogether. Don't even start.

    Grace is the absence of everything that indicates pain or difficulty, hesitation or incongruity. --William Hazlitt

    Similarly, if something doesn't work the exact way you expect it -- leave it alone.

    This is not blindly subscribing to fate, quite the opposite, the mere notion that something "shouldn't be" is enough to taint your commitment and it practically guarantees sub-optimal results. In which case, you can't do your best and -- just as well do nothing at all.

    One more reason to do instead of pondering doing or not --

    Live that moment as fast as you can and fill it with as much life as possible. Do not live it as if it was the last one, live it as if it was the only one.

    In other words, if it feels like a chore, if effortlessly isn't the best way to describe what you're up to, if procrastination is even an issue, please don't bother and step back, for others might just love doing what you so -- don't.

    When you're clear and positive about the outcome, do -- push through hesitation, whatever it takes and the way will pave itself for you. When you don't even know where to go, let alone like where you're going to be, when you ever so silently resist or reject the outcome, don't -- give in to hesitation, stay where you are and find another goal worth the effort.

    Determine which kind of hesitation you deal with, then decide about doing anyway or not doing at all.

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  • Play It Where It Lies

    edited by Alexander Becker

    Plan or play?

    Do you think he plans it all out or just makes it up as he goes along?

    Have an overall, yet general plan and comfortably own any situation.

    What may look like outrageous chutzpah is most of the time spontaneous action taken on the spot, at the exact right time. It's like Columbus' egg: Everybody could have done it -- but they didn't. That, by the way is the genesis of conspiracy theories. Was it planned all the way through to the end or is a sequence of events being taken advantage of by someone just doing it?

    Playing it where it lies does not necessarily imply to conceal your intentions. You can make it even more elegant, seize an opportunity, lightning-fast, the very moment it emerges. The right timing makes your action appear planned and thought through. Knowing what it is you want, you can act boldly yet spontaneously, as long as the opportunity in question is remotely compatible with your big picture view. Once you're sure about the big picture, you can play almost everything and immediately, seemingly without even thinking. Start playing while everyone else is busy pondering doubts and mistaking hesitation for an elaborate form of planning.

    Have a rough plan, if any; play it where it lies, with everything you've got; and have everybody admire your apparently delicate plan as you make up the details when the situations unfold.

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  • Opportunities in Strict vs. Loose Scheduling

    edited by Alexander Becker

    Laying out daily schedules in 15-minute increments enables you to run on autopilot; even so much that taking advantage of anything unscheduled is all but impossible.

    For those who are overwhelmed by a schedule, and would like to take a more open approach, I suggest minimalist time management.

    Me too.

    Whether you schedule strict times and tight frames determines your ability to encounter and embrace opportunities emerging along the way.

    How many interesting things, creative hooks, and potential successes piled up in order to be forgotten and later purged, ironically handled for a second time only to be discarded since their best before dates had long expired.

    [...]

    Instead, your missed opportunities are, from now on, conscious decisions to not participate.

    Obviously, an understanding of what's exactly important to you is somewhat of a requirement in either strict or loose scheduling of your time.

    Sometimes, more often than not, momentum builds up over short periods of time, momentum that, when directed properly, would lead to huge changes, dreams fulfilled, and goals met rather unexpectedly.

    Ignoring momentum, any momentum, makes you stumble and trip since the impact is there, whether you intend to make use of it or not.

    What do you do with unplanned input, circumstances, surprises, developments? You have to stay on track, right?

    The trick is -- of course -- to not only dealing with urgent matter but, spontaneous, ad-hoc, taking care of important ideas which show up now and then, according to your excellence and more or less disguised.

    Schedule the big and the really important stuff but make sure to leave room to juggle whatever comes to your mind in between the fixed appointments. Don't even make explicit appointments with yourself, just make enough loose time to enjoy yourself, cherishing the moments as they come.

    For example, do not schedule off-days but instead schedule the on-days and take, maybe, one day off for every three days on. It doesn't have to be 3-1 though, you can just as well decide to go 6-2, or 3-2-3, that's loose scheduling, getting your important stuff done plus having a great time.

    Think dynamic weekends. You cannot efficiently schedule the exact dates for when you need rest, be it from business or from training. You can however, determine the ratio of work to rest and decide to rest spontaneously, upon exhaustion, ideally, shortly before.

    Embrace your opportunities instead of your schedule. Avoid using your schedule as an excuse to yourself. Do not set fixed times and try to fill in the spots with actions. Determine what you want to do, then sort through it and find out when to do it. Keep your day open.

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  • Polarize Your Peers

    edited by Alexander Becker

    What if everyone liked your style?

    Personal branding, personal marketing, singing your song, is not about striving to seduce everyone. Try to seduce anyone and you're on your way.

    Tell them that and how you're the greatest musician, voice, actor, the greatest you that has ever been and some will love you and others will not love you.

    Offer them their own emotions.

    Some will get it and some won't. The important thing is it. Get it out.

    It is not enough that your closest friends think you're crazy. Make sure everybody knows. Those who understand do understand and those who don't wouldn't have understood ever.

    Do not show off your crazy mind on each and every inappropriate occasion, reserve your chutzpah and your strange ways of seeing the world and dealing with things for the goal you are really after.

    That's the WOW you're after. WOW is a direct result and a function of exposure. Don't think so? Try it without exposure.

    As long as everybody likes you and your idea, -- that's impossible, by definition -- you can tell that you're not there yet.

    You act merely as a catalysator for the people who look up to you.

    Please note that this is not about winning vs. losing friends. It's not about friends at all. This is about You. Your peers and their reflections are mere indicators for your progress.

    Now go and tell everyone and see what I mean.

    Ultimately, your success is indicated by the number and the ratio of people, not understanding and not loving your idea. It's not about polarizing your self but instead, the essence of your idea which polarizes any audience.

    Measure your success by the number of people, even friends, you alienate with your idea.

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  • Developing Your Style

    edited by Alexander Becker

    What does style have to do with insanity?

    Isn't style doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results? Of course, Einstein meant to define insanity, but doing the same thing over and over again, creating different results indeed leaves you and your biographers with some kind of a long line, a red thread, a bigger picture of you. Style.

    Also, what's insanity without style anyway?

    So what's the secret of style? Repetition. As long as you fear repeating yourself, you are experiencing one cycle. Maybe it is the first, the initial one. Embrace repetition once a cycle is over. Style, your style, is born when you revisit your cycles.

    You wrote a hundred songs? Painted a hundred walls?

    Do it again. And again. And again. Repetition changes. Your job is to sharpen your profile which enables others to eventually recognize style.

    Bounce everything off of everything else. Galvanize the results. Revisit, reconsider and contextualize until you find a common theme, that red thread, the residue of your idea.

    What's left over is your style.

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