Aug 5, 2007
Lifehacks are valuable when they not only save you time but improve the quality of your life. This one sure will.
Do this: stop using vocal speech pauses. omit “uh, um, ah, like, so, well, etc.” from your speech.
This is the old argument: people who don’t say “um” all the time sound more professional and more intelligent. Of course quantum physicists say “um”. Of course people on the radio say “um” (but we don’t hear it any more because they’ve got computer programs that automatically edit it out–perhaps the first time in history a computer program is invented to actually make the people seem smarter.) My friend John says we’re always smarter on paper. I sure am. I recently listened to myself on the radio, and I sound like a babbling brook called “Uhhhhhh River.” That’s why I write the jokes before I go on stage.
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Aug 3, 2007
At a friend’s urging, I bought and started reading the book Radical Honesty. Now, before you jump to conclusions and think it’s like someone talking up the merits of soap every time you come around or offhandedly offering you a breath mint, I have to disclaim that this friend had just read the book and found it a profoundly upsetting and worthwhile endeavor. So last night I’m reading it in the bathtub and thinking how great it is. “I’m ready! Bring it on! Wow, the truth IS the only way out of the maze of permanent adolescence (nevermind I seem to be stuck at age two)!”
But so this honesty thing has been going really well all day. I woke up smiling. (honest dreams?) I told my roommate’s cat that its farts smell like a trucker at his first diner stop in 13 hours. The cat meowed. I felt great. I told my car that its headlights are misaligned and I feel angry that it’s running down and polluting the environment, and I would like a Prius a lot better. Later in the evening, I was driving my not-Prius down to San Mateo and telling myself (in an act of radical honesty) how great a driver I am, that I can talk on speaker phone, drive with my knee, and eat granola all at the same time. Again, I felt great. Tomorrow, I’m going to try being honest with… people!
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Jul 14, 2007
Of course there are a lot of great personality tests out there.. Myers-Briggs, the Enneagram, EQ, etc.
The test I offer here, the GSD-Q is great because you only have to look at three simple diagrams and you can “type” yourself within a few seconds. The other great thing about the test is that whichever type you are, you can make an instant shift in every area just by adding a dose of the other two types.
Take a moment to clear your mind, breathe deeply, and sit comfortably. When you are ready, look at the next three images for about three seconds each.
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Feb 21, 2006
chapter 11: parlor trick or prudent talent?
did you know that scientists have recently been able to observe the same particle in two locations at once? the fabric of space and time is mysterious. physicists theorize that there are an infinite number of dimensions and hence infinite possibilities. only at the moment of choice do our possibilities shrink from infinite to singular. so why choose?! setting concrete goals locks us into a concept of what it is to get shit done. it sets us up to see a dualistic reality: black/white, start/finish, succeed/fail, cat/dog. and we often choose to feel good or bad depending on whether we succeed or fail.
take a moment to write down several concrete goals you’ve been dreading, e. g. fix head gasket, load cd library onto ipod, earn PhD. in a second column, write the steps and the time it will take to get that shit done. then imagine how you would feel completing your goals versus how you would feel never completing them and write about it in a third column.
now, formulate an abstract goal, e. g. appreciate old friend, feel love for pet, enjoy new hair style. how would you feel accomplishing these goals? now take five minutes and do them. i just got all that shit done.
imagine how much shit we could get done if we decided to do different shit!
Feb 17, 2006
chapter 8: Organize in your Sleep.
Sleeping and dreaming are powerful tools. The unconscious brain uses this time to re-organize thoughts, process events, and sort ideas. To harness your unconscious brainpower, save your last waking five minutes to set out your most complex problems. Review and put on paper in front of you what’s most irking, frustrating, or blocking you. For example, “How can I make the rent this month?” Allow it to look really messy. Let yourself get really worked up. The more you signal your brain that this is something you want to process, the better the process will work. When you reach the upper limit of emotional tolerance, tell yourself three times, “Show me a way to resolve this problem.” Then quickly turn out the light and fall asleep. (If you can’t sleep, you probably haven’t worked the process hard enough–it may take several weeks of practice.)
Immediately upon waking, pen some notes on your dreams directly next to the previous night’s problems. Your dreams about tapdancing sideways with a video camera and discussing the movie Ghost with an older female friend will undoubtedly shed light on your financial woes, but the next and final step is crucial. Renowned dream expert Jeremy Taylor says we all have a ‘blindness’ to the most valuable insights of our dreams. He suggests a method of collective projective dreamwork whereby one allows a group of people to use their collective imagination to help interpret the dream’s meanings. Your brain knows exactly what to tell you and exactly when, so use what you’ve learned during the night to solve what’s been bugging you. I’ve found the best groups to help interpret dreams are not necessarily friends. Your co-workers, unbiased and disinterested, will be the most beneficial group in helping elucidate insights. Pick a time of the day when you’re all together, like an early business meeting, or a company luncheon to share the tapdancing images and let the insights begin!
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