July 2019
86 articles published this month.
-
From My Work-in-Progress Basket
How to Give a Good Speech Even If You Hate Speaking
I hate giving speeches. Most people do. One study suggested that speaking in front of an audience was number two on the list of what people fear most – just behind death. I hate giving speeches so my usual…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
Aristotle On Why Character Matters In Persuasion
“Persuasion is achieved by the speaker’s personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible. We believe good men more fully and more readily than others: This is true generally…
Read full post -
A Word to the Wise
veritable (adjective)
Something that is veritable (VER-is-uh-buhl) is true, or at least feels that way. The word is used as an intensifier, usually to qualify a metaphor. Example by Hanya Yanagihara: “Between their rise in the…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Why Food Labels Lie About Your Calories
Calorie readings on food labels are wildly inaccurate, undercounting calories by up to 70%. And if you’re depending on those readings to help you lose weight, there’s something else you need to know: Your…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Funny lady!
Funny lady!
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
Naming An Art Show: Why Clever Is The Enemy
I’ve been working with my partners in the art business to put on a major annual art show in Central America starting next year. It’s going to be big and fun – a combination of Art Basel and the Academy Awards…
Read full post -
A Word to the Wise
equivocal (adjective)
Equivocal (ih-KWIV-uh-kuhl) means ambiguous, open to more than one interpretation. As used by Italo Calvino: “A tale is born from an image, and the image extends and creates a network of meanings that are…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Mel Blanc's Surprising Carrot Allergy
Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots.
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
Heraclitus on Time and Childhood Wonder
“Time is a game played beautifully by children.” – Heraclitus
Read full post -
Worth Watching
Who’s That Knocking at My Door?
Who’s That Knocking at My Door? (1967) On Friday, I talked about Martin Scorsese’s brilliant “debut” film (in 1973), Mean Streets. It was actually his second movie. The story is that his first one – Who’s That…
Read full post -
Readers Write
An email from BH
I wanted Mark Ford to know how much I appreciate his books. The ideas and thoughts from his books are so insightful, and so empowering to people who want to improve their lives. What many people forget, I…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
The Art of Aerial Acrobatics and Movement
An amazing display of beauty, strength, flexibility, and grace.
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
The Cost Of Choosing Constant Work
Most of the people I work with – either as colleagues, employees, or partners – know that I don’t believe in time off. My approach to working is not “balanced.” I am working 24/7, 365 days a year. I’m not…
Read full post -
Worth Watching
Mean Streets
I saw this movie when it came out, and again just recently, I was surprised to discover how little I remembered of it. Overall, it is a cruder production than I remembered. It feels like – and maybe it was – a…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
Michael Masterson On Behavior And Character
“You can’t act one way and be another. Your behavior is your character. It is who you are.” – Michael Masterson
Read full post -
A Word to the Wise
assuage (verb)
To assuage (uh-SWAYZH) is to make milder or less severe; to relieve, ease, mitigate. As used by Arthur Schopenhauer: “I’ve never known any trouble that an hour’s reading didn’t assuage.”
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Facts about Mean Streets
* Director/co-writer Martin Scorsese based Mean Streets on actual events that he witnessed almost regularly while growing up in New York City’s Little Italy. * The title is a reference to “The Simple Act of…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Cuban Singer's Unexpected Take On American Classic
This is both impressive and also sort of funny... hearing this quintessentially American song sung with a strong Cuban accent.
Read full post -
From My Work-in-Progress Basket
The End Of Privacy Is Here
You are googling your favorite celebrity online and ads keep popping up for Paris hotels. It just so happens that you are going to Paris for a business meeting next month. You did no searches for “Paris hotels…
Read full post -
A Word to the Wise
aberrant (adjective)
Something that’s aberrant (AB-er-unt) deviates substantially from the accepted standard. As I used it today: “If you are my age, you are worried. You are worrying about exposure. You know what I’m talking…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
Catherine Butler On Internet Privacy's Contradiction
“Privacy on the internet. That’s an oxymoron.” - Catherine Butler
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Myopia Linked To Higher Intelligence Levels
Myopia (short-sightedness) is associated with higher IQs.
Read full post -
Worth Reading
The Man Who Invented the Calendar
"BJ Novak was an actor in and one of the writers for the US version of “The Office.” He’s a smart, funny man. I read a book he wrote recently – can’t remember the name. Very good. This little piece, published…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
The Gunfighter
Just days after writing the above essay, a friend sent me the link to this hilarious short film. Besides poking fun at a cliché of cowboy movies, it actually advances the idea I was writing about – that the…
Read full post -
From My Work-in-Progress Basket
When Credit Theft Costs You Future Opportunities
George is stuck between a rock and a hard place. About a year ago, he came out of retirement to work as a consultant for a large hotel complex in my town. He was brought in to rescue the project after the city…
Read full post -
Worth Reading
The Cruise Ship Nightmare That Ended in a Mutiny” on History.com
An interesting story about a cruise liner that ended its lifetime career of luxury service by treating its customers like chattel.
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Vatican City: The World's Tiniest Nation Explained
Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. Its population is 1,000. Its area is 109 acres.
Read full post -
Readers Write
An email from SR
Although becoming wealthy in America is not an easy task, the steps outlined in Automatic Wealth give the reader a great place to start. All too often, a book is purchased with the hopes of a “magic formula”…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Refusing To Accept The Victim Label
An inspiring TED Talk from a person that refuses to consider himself a victim.
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
How Social Connections Shape Life After Sixty
When you get to my age (68), you arrive at crossroads that are different from the ones you encountered before. The choices may be similar. But the decisions you make have more importance because you don’t have…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
Close Relationships Buffer Against Aging's Hardships
“Good, close relationships appear to buffer us from the slings and arrows of getting old.” – Dr. Robert Waldinger
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Strong Relationships Protect Your Brain And Heart
* In a study of 700 participants with varied incomes, social statuses, and family size, Dr. Robert Waldinger found that brain function declined sooner in those who were less satisfied in their relationships. *…
Read full post -
A Word to the Wise
gregarious (adjective)
A person who is gregarious (gruh-GARE-ee-us) is fond of company; sociable. As I used it today: “I am rich in friendships. Not because I’m a gregarious person. I’m not. But I do have an irrepressible curiosity…
Read full post -
Worth Reading
Foreign Automakers Dominate American Car Manufacturing
So much of what we assume to be true is bullshit, and the percentage is higher when it comes to politicized issues. Here’s a good example: “Ford, GM don’t make the most ‘American-made’ car. Here’s who does” on…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Donald Miller's Unexpected Sales Wisdom
Another lesson in smart salesmanship from Donald Miller
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
Building Richie Havens A Green Room Overnight
I met Richie Havens in the basement of The Right Track Inn, a bar on Long Island that I was a part of in the early 1970s. It was a bucket of blood when Mike and Al bought it. Mike recruited Steve and me to…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
Friedrich Nietzsche on Music's Essential Worth
“Without music, life would be a mistake.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
Read full post -
A Word to the Wise
integrity (noun)
Integrity (in-TEH-grih-tee) is adherence to moral and ethical standards. As used by Dwight David Eisenhower: “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is…
Read full post -
Worth Reading
Cracking Skulls For A Good Cause
“Cracking Skulls for a Good Cause” in Taki’s Magazine
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
Ancient Horse Teeth Reveal Secrets Of Early Riding
Fossils of horse teeth worn down by bridles indicate that horses were used as transportation 5,000 years ago. But they were almost certainly ridden without bridles long before that.
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
AOC's Flawed Tax Math Goes Viral Online
“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Tax Expert” If this sort of thinking weren’t becoming more commonplace, it would be funny. https://youtu.be/5sMZNcxdoCA
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
Ten Surprising Facts About How People Build Wealth
I’m working on a little book that’s tentatively titled New Ideas About BuildingWealth. My thesis is original in the sense that it came from thinking about my own experience and the experience of friends and…
Read full post -
Worth Reading
Female Soccer Pioneers Banned For Threatening Men's Game
“The Women’s Soccer Outlaws Who Could Beat the Men” From History.com: In the 1920s, a group of female soccer pioneers in England drew huge crowds until they were banned for threatening the popularity of the…
Read full post -
A Word to the Wise
facultative (adjective)
Facultative (FAK-uhl-tay-tiv) means optional; left to one’s choice. As used by Frederic Austin Ogg in The Governments of Europe: “In some cantons the referendum is obligatory, in others it is ‘facultative,’ or…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
Jane Austen On The Incurable Nature Of Selfishness
“Selfishness must always be forgiven, you know, because there is no hope of a cure.” – Jane Austen
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
How Calorie Counting Started With Weight Gain
Calorie counting was originally devised as a way to gain, not lose, weight.
Read full post -
Readers Write
An email from LCP
I have read many books about business and goals, growing as a person, and I honestly believe your perspective is the most life changing approach I have ever read. In The Pledge, I love how you give such…
Read full post -
Fun and/or Interesting
What It Takes to Be a Millionaire
“What It Takes to Be a Millionaire” LINK
Read full post -
Notes From My Journal
Four Fundamental Ways To Build Wealth
On July 1, I wrote about an idea I’m developing that I hope to make into a small book called something like Building Wealth in 7 Lessons. I suggested that, at base, there are only three ways to make money: by…
Read full post -
Worth Quoting
Michael Masterson On Prioritizing Life's Goals
“When you put one of your life’s goals above all others, things change. Situations that used to seem complicated are suddenly easy to understand. Decisions that were once difficult are suddenly simple.” –…
Read full post