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BJJ, technology, psychology & other cool stuff
Magic and the Brain: Teller Reveals the Neuroscience of Illusion
Aug 12th
Magic is all about exploiting the gaps in human perception.
“For Teller (that’s his full legal name), magic is more than entertainment. He wants his tricks to reveal the everyday fraud of perception so that people become aware of the tension between what is and what seems to be.”
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/17-05/ff_neuroscienceofmagic?currentPage=all
Finding the right mentor
Jun 6th
1  . What’s Your Objective?
Look at your short and long term plans. Where do you want to end up?
Lifestyle wise, financially, family? Your mentor must be in synergy
with your long term goals and ideally be already living the lifestyle
you’re aiming to acquire.2. Find A Business You Want To Be Like.
When I started my coaching programme I did an immense amount of
research before finding a model I liked. When I did, I surrounded
myself in information and knowledge from its creator. I’d rather be
a rich modeler then a broke original thinker any day. You can then
infuse your own personality and ideas into the foundation once it’s
up and running.
3. Be Aware of How You Work Best.
Do you need someone to check up on you every day to keep you on track?
Do you want to be surrounded by a group of like-minded individuals
to keep you focused?
For example, my coaching programme starts from $4,995 per year for
basic group coaching to $50,000 for one on one time with me depending
on your needs. You’d be surprised how many opt for the high end.
My point is, you need to be very clear on your learning style,
needs and ambitions are before jumping in.
4. Ask around.
Talk to trusted friends and collegues on who they’re using as mentors
and business coaches to give you some direction. Ask them to tell
you about their successes and failures. Also remember: mentors don’t
necessarily need to be in the flesh, some of the greatest copywriters
of all times have been my mentors long after they were buried 6 feet
under. There’s a world of knowledge out there in books and manuals
for you to get your hands on.
5. TAKE ACTION.
Once you’ve done your research, make a decision! There will always
be a better way, a better offer, a more tempting opportunity.
If you sit around and wait for the planets to align with your Chinese
monkey year… the horse will have bolted.
With consumers getting smarter and the economy becoming tougher,
it’s no wonder that 80% of the businesses that exist today will be
gone in 5 years time. We don’t have the luxury of making our own
mistakes anymore, we need to take fast, strategic action from
those who have tread the path before us and battled on our behalves.
-Â Â Information (of the right kind) is power.
-Â Â Model the successes of others.
-  Don’t be too proud to follow in someone else’s footsteps.
As I said before, I’d rather be a “wealthy copier” than a
“broke original thinker”.
Credit goes to Mal Emery (www.malemery.com)
Five Reasons to Stop Saying “Good Job!”
Dec 10th
NOTE: An abridged version of this article was published in Parents magazine in May 2000 with the title “Hooked on Praise.” For a more detailed look at the issues discussed here, please see the books
Punished by Rewards and Unconditional Parenting.
Hang out at a playground, visit a school, or show up at a child’s birthday party, and there’s one phrase you can count on hearing repeatedly: “Good job!” Even tiny infants are praised for smacking their hands together (”Good clapping!”). Many of us blurt out these judgments of our children to the point that it has become almost a verbal tic.
Plenty of books and articles advise us against relying on punishment, from spanking to forcible isolation (”time out”). Occasionally someone will even ask us to rethink the practice of bribing children with stickers or food. But you’ll have to look awfully hard to find a discouraging word about what is euphemistically called positive reinforcement.
Lest there be any misunderstanding, the point here is not to call into question the importance of supporting and encouraging children, the need to love them and hug them and help them feel good about themselves. Praise, however, is a different story entirely. Here’s why.
Caring for Your Introvert
Oct 2nd
Here’s a interesting article from atlantic.com by Jonathan Rauch.
Do you know someone who sounds like this first paragraph? Maybe intimately?? 
Take a moment then, and have a read.
Do you know someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and maladroit at small talk? Who has to be dragged to parties and then needs the rest of the day to recuperate? Who growls or scowls or grunts or winces when accosted with pleasantries by people who are just trying to be nice?
One of the “Entitlement Generation” Speaks Out
Oct 2nd
Being part of the supposed “Entitlement Generation” I thought this open letter which, was written in response to the AP Entitlement Generation article that came out last Sunday, was worth posting.
It sums up my thoughts on the whole matter accurately!
The entitlement generation? No. That assumes we think we’ve earned something from an educational system and media infrastructures provided by the last two generations. We’re more humble than that. We’re thankful. We are. As the most promising generation since the last, we’re ready to work harder than anyone expects…