How to Destress Instantly With The Wave Method

I remember going to the beach as a kid in Florida. My favorite thing to do was challenge the waves.

It was a game. If I put my weak 10-year-old shoulder into the wave and didn’t fall down, I won. If I got knocked down, I lost. I also enjoyed trying to catch the football as a wave hit me (football simulator ’97).

What Makes Waves Powerful?

Waves are a powerful and sudden “delivery” of a large volume of water. Their power is found in the difference between taking a 10-minute shower vs. having all of that water thrown at you at once. A wave gathers up water (slowly or quickly, depending on the wave) and releases it in one move, crashing down on poor young Stephen.

The wave concept can be seen in many other areas.Read More

Making Work Fun: 15+ Productivity Experiments (Liveblog)

Welcome to the lab.

Today, we are going to undertake a revolutionary experiment, one that could change your plain grits work into a flavorful feast of productivity (or something like that). Let’s begin with phosphorus, er, I mean… the premise.

As people focus on getting motivated or using willpower to take action, there’s another approach to getting things done that trumps both.

Make it fun.

Have We All Overlooked a Great Opportunity?

Sebastian Smith was just an ordinary student… until he was hired for the best job in the world: a water slide tester. Smith was paid £20,000 to travel around the world for 6 months and test out various water slides for scientific factors such as “adrenaline” and “splash.” 1Read More

What to Do AFTER Mini Habits Change Your Life

My books teach people how to form habits, but they don’t say much about what to do after that happens. 

It’s a strange place to be. You’ve struggled for years to do certain things, and suddenly, these once-elusive behaviors are second nature. It feels great, but what do you do next?Read More

5 Ways to Handle Failure

People fail. All of us do. Failure itself isn’t a problem, but it can be devastating if you respond poorly to it. That is, it’s up to you what failure means to you.

As some are motivated by failure, others are slowed by it. Here are some ideas to help failure teach you and fuel you forward.

1. Devalue Individual Attempts

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One In The Hand Is Worth Five In The Bush

Today’s sure opportunities are more valuable than tomorrow’s possible opportunities.

In in the last few years, I’ve noticed something disturbing, yet enlightening: I tend to grossly overvalue future opportunities and grossly undervalue current opportunities. I know I’m not alone.

When it comes to potential opportunities, because they’re not solidified, we can easily embellish their likelihood of happening and their impact on our lives. Current opportunities aren’t like that. They’re real and they’re in front of your face, so while they might not look as good as what could be, they’re probably better than you think!

What Does the Future Hold?

We don’t know the future will bring. For that reason alone, the value of a potential future opportunity is MUCH lower than a definite current opportunity.Read More