How Decision-Making Can Become Your Next Superpower
In 2004, I shelled out $12,500 for a business mentor, expecting him to guide me towards entrepreneurial stardom. Twelve months later, I teetered on the precipice of bankruptcy.
Read full story4 Life Lessons Best Learned By Avoiding Them In The First Place
As a young twenty-something, well-meaning family and mentors offered me the same cliché career advice that everyone gets in their youth. Don’t choose a career based on money potential. Do something you enjoy.
Read full storySo, You're Secretly In Love With A Friend Of The Opposite Sex. What Should You Do?
Image licensed from Shutterstock // Antonio Guillem. When a man and woman become close friends, they enter into an unspoken pact - no touching, kissing, or "dating" talk. Sarah and I were best friends until we broke that pact. For months, we had navigated the border of friend and lover, going on unofficial dates, touching each other like we were a honeymoon couple, and even sleeping in the same bed.
Read full storyHow Average People Achieve Extraordinary Goals
As a young twenty-something, I thought I’d take over the world, but by the time I hit 30, I had accepted a life of mediocrity. There was no major disappointment, just one tiny setback after another. Each one signaled my brain. You‘re not cut out for this. You’re not meant for an extraordinary life.
Read full story8 Mistakes That Keep People From Being Street-Smart
Image licensed from Shutterstock // Roman Samborskyi. Most people think they're street smart. They claim superiority at sniffing out BS, skilled at clawing their way out of challenging problems, and savvy thanks to a fine-tuned intuition.
Read full storyThe Art Of Staying Calm, Sane, and Productive During A Crisis
For years, I’ve advocated and even profited from preaching about the evils of distractions and enslaving yourself to the crisis news networks. Productive people don’t glue themselves to social media and cable news. They don’t stress over transitory bullshit. They put their heads down and get to work.
Read full storyHappily Ever After Is The Big Lie Of Relationships
Image licensed from Shutterstock // Kate Kultsevych. I thought we’d live happily ever after when she poked through the doors of the wedding chapel. The setting. The attention. The emotion. Lost in the moment, it gave me the absurd but resolute belief in our invincibility.
Read full storyIt Takes Luck To Succeed, Even When You're Naturally Talented
Luck. It’s that annoying success component the professional elite loathe talking about. Love them or despise them, most superstars and billionaires worked hard to reach their status. But if they’re honest, they’ll acknowledge the role random chance played in their rise to the top.
Read full storyThere's Only One Way To Fall In Love... Slowly
Emma kissed me unexpectedly at a wine bar while three of her friends watched. I had been hoping for this moment but froze up at her surprise move. Before it got awkward, one of her friends gave me the slightest of head nods towards Emma.
Read full storyTo Prevent Life Calamities, Follow The Captain Kirk Rule
You don't have to be a fan of Star Trek to apply this simple method of nipping small problems before they blow up into calamities. In the television show, when Captain Kirk barked the words, red alert, my sweat glands always pumped into overdrive. A battle was about to take place, or some other galactic conundrum would ensnare the starship, Enterprise.
Read full storyHow Men Become Gentlemen: A Guide
What’s the difference between a man and a gentleman?. The word has evolved since its beginnings in the middle ages. For several centuries, a man could not call himself a gentleman if he made his income through manual labor.
Read full storyTo Become Super-Likable, Give Up The Fake Niceties
Image licensed from Shutterstock // Alliance Images. If you sat down with me for a coffee, you’d describe me as cold and aloof. Yeah, I make terrible first impressions. I once thought of my personality as a curse, but in some ways, I think it’s a blessing.
Read full story9 Mindset Shifts That Separate The Average From The Exceptional
By my early thirties, I had grown disgusted with who I had become. I languished in a cubicle job, unmotivated, and with no transferable skills outside my employer. I had never done anything noteworthy, nor had I even tried.
Read full story"Greatness" Is Actually A Verb
Image licensed from Shutterstock // ESB Professional. As a young teen in the 1980s, I revered the cult classic rock n roll movie, Eddie and The Cruisers. The film centered around a band from New Jersey that produced a surprise hit debut album. Eddie, the band’s leader, wanted to do something revolutionary for their follow up, but the record company and his bandmates hated the new sound.
Read full storyHow I Overcame Decades Of Insomnia To Become A Consistently Sound Sleeper
Just over two years ago, I blew $491 on a sound frequency machine because the sales letter promised to cure me of insomnia. I didn’t believe the claim, but I was desperate so I bought it.
Read full storyThe 7 Most Annoying Things People Do In Conversation
You can learn a lot about someone after a few conversations. Are they inconsiderate, insecure, obnoxiously competitive, self-centered, overly sensitive, or just plain mean?. If they’re any of the above, they’ll drop subtle hints — annoying markers that trigger a "wanna get away" feeling. You may not recognize these markers consciously, but you do sense something off, even if you can't pinpoint what makes these experiences so annoying.
Read full storyEasy Fixes To 7 Universal Relationship Challenges
Image licensed from Shutterstock // Olena Yakobchuck. It's the cliche experience every couple knows. After a few years together, your romantic life devolves into a drab bedtime conversation — something you two discuss while brushing your teeth, mentally drained after a grueling two hours of drama on Netflix.
Read full storyHow To Get 10X The Value From Every Book You Read
A mentor once told me it’s better to read one great book ten times than read ten books once. He reasoned if you only read a book once, you can’t glean its powerful lessons. Simply, you don’t retain enough information from a single reading.
Read full story5 Powerful Persuasion Techniques That Aren't Manipulative
The most remarkable demonstration of persuasion I witnessed occurred in 1995. I was a stockbroker trainee on Wall Street at the time. On a typical Monday, my boss’s nail technician would come to the office for his weekly manicure/pedicure. I sat at a desk across from his, and thankfully I faced a wall.
Read full story7 Signs Your Relationship Partner Will Leave You Heartbroken
Image licensed from Shutterstock // Antonio Guillem. When I saw them dining together, I thought it was a business meal. After all, if you’re going to cheat on someone, wouldn’t you at least try to keep it a secret?
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