“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
The world is trying to change you. You, reader of PRL, may be trying to change the world.
Good luck.
I don’t mean this in a dismissive or negative way. I sincerely wish you luck in motivating the world around you. Think big and act fast. Create. Add value.
Change the world and change your circumstances. Just don’t expect other people to change much. (more…)
With Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods, it only makes sense that they expand their Prime service and deals to the grocery chain as well.
If you have a Whole Foods in your area you may have received this flier:
Notice the use of a very hot marketing term: You. (more…)
During my last trip to New York City, we visited the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, also known as the Oculus.
The stunning architecture of this sweeping building cannot fail to impress. The inside feels huge and open like a European cathedral. The outside looks like a pair of wings, flapping in multiple photographic exposures across the Manhattan skyline.
One thing that will forever stand out about the Oculus, however, was the doors.
“Ain’t no way that I can be happy when I’m happy” —Atmosphere, Give Me
How many times have you seen someone self-sabotage their own life?
I known people who have dropped out of school, directionless. I known people who have arrived to work drunk. I known people who have ruined a relationship over a few hours of fun. I’ve known people that sacrifice sleep and performance for video games.
All of these choices in the present have impacts that can last decades into the future.
Do you know why these people do what they do?
We can’t know people’s private thoughts. We can’t read their minds now, and we can’t deduce their feelings and opinions from the past.
The 2018 World Cup is in full swing. If you haven’t caught any yet, you can stream the last few games here on Telemundo.
The world’s best players are out: Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar – unable to mesh with their national team, unable to pull those teams ahead on their own.
England’s national team, once a soccer powerhouse and the inventors of ‘football,’ has had abysmal international performance since 1996.
Apparently a missed shootout in 1996 has cursed the national team ever since.
Complicating the matter, that failed kicker from 1996 is now the head coach of England’s 2018 World Cup team.
Gareth Southgate isn’t letting his past failures define him. Instead he is using this as a stepping stone to teach his team about mindset and stretching past their comfort zone.
Persuasion is all about changing minds for better outcomes.
A friend recently asked how she could improve her own soccer performance. She felt that her skills were deteriorating and in need of a boost.
Here were my seven suggestions, based on self-persuasion.
In his 2008 book “Predictably Irrational,” Dan Ariely opens our eyes to our decision making process and how it can be used against us.
Everything is Relative.
Our choices are made in comparison to other options, and what we might lose or gain with these decisions. Unfortunately, all too often we don’t know the value of those options at all! For example, do you really know the price and quality of one television set over another?
If given a set of options, Ariely lays out the predictable choices in each:
It’s been said that a Weatherman is the only job where you can often be wrong and still keep your job. How often is your local forecast far from what transpires? (or perspires)
Two people meet in the road.
“What a beautiful day!” exclaims the first, looking up.
“Oh, but I think it might rain,” laments the second, looking down at his phone.
And they go on their ways.
This short exchange highlights two vastly different mindsets of the characters. (more…)
A few jobs ago in a different company, I split my time between IT Support and IT Sales. It was my first job in IT. I felt lucky to be there.
In the Sales role, my sales manager was constantly looking over my shoulder.
I would compose an email to a client and he would revise it.
I would write up a specific piece of hardware and he would suggest something different.
In mathematics and statistics, Mean is one method to represent a data set with a single number. When we talk about “Average” we often refer to the “Mean.” The Mean is calculated by diving the sum of data points by that number of data points:
Add Data Points: 4 + 8 + 15 + 16 + 23 + 42 = 108 Sum of 108, Divided by 6 data points = 108/6 = Mean of 18
Mean is easiest to calculate with numbers and quantifiable data, such as your average (mean) nightly hours of sleep, or your mean cost of lunch. For example, the “Average Human” is either calculated from measurements, or it’s a general term people use without accuracy. (more…)
Mind reading, the art of knowing exactly what the other person is thinking.
It’s a dangerous sport, and one that we’re not very good at. It’s the source of many disagreements and misunderstandings. No matter, we all continue to try.
I’ve certainly tried to finish someone’s sentences and been completely wrong. Haven’t you cut in because you knew exactly what the other person was going to say? How did that work out for you? Not always very well, I would bet.
“I opened the door to see…”
“…She was in the house!?” (more…)