“Why Today’s Best Business Leaders Look to Stoicism” in Entrepreneur Daily 

It’s true. Stoicism is all the rage among Internet business gurus. And for good reason, as explained in this essay by Aytekin Tank. LINK

Remembering Harold Bloom 

On October 14, one of my heroes died. Harold Bloom was probably the best-known literary critic of my generation. His books and essays were erudite but accessible, insightful and witty, forthright but charming. He was a serious critic – miles above the intellectual drivel put out by most academic critics today. And, as you will read in this engaging obituary, he became a bit of a persona non grata at Yale when identity politics and what he called the school of resentment took over literary criticism.

But Bloom never buckled to the tyranny. And I’m hopeful that one day, when this fog of animus and stupidity clears, he will be recognized as one of the few in academia that kept his vision clear.

“The Power of Imagining Ten Thousand Dollars”

A very funny send-up of the financial industry from The New Yorker LINK

Tips for Late Sleepers From an Unexpected Source: How to Wake Up Earlier and Accelerate Your Career 

There aren’t many decisions in one’s career that are game changing, but the decision to start working earlier was definitely one for me. It was so important, in fact, that I named my first blog Early to Rise.

Yes, there are “night people” –  individuals whose circadian rhythms favor waking late and working at night. I’m one of them. But I don’t make the mistake of pretending that I am better off submitting to my natural inclinations. It’s just not true. I’m way stronger, smarter, more productive, and happier when I start my working day before most people get out of bed.

I wasted a lot of time before I figured this out. Had I done it earlier, I’m sure I would have achieved my goals much sooner. Sadly, this is not something that most young people understand. (Which is one of the reasons I wrote Automatic Wealth for Grads.)

And that’s why I was so impressed by this essay on Medium.com by Bryan Ye… a college student: “How To Wake Up at 5 A.M. Every Day.” LINK

In this “unconventional and passionate guide to becoming an early bird,” Ye explains that though he knew about the benefits of waking up early, he thought he was “destined to be a night owl forever.” He’d tried to change his routine many times, and always failed. But then, struck by “a surge of motivation,” he tried again. And this time, it worked. He goes on to describe how he “taught” his body to do what he wanted it to do.

I don’t know who you are. I don’t know your biorhythms. I don’t know about all your responsibilities and personal challenges. If you are a late riser, I only know this: If you wake up earlier and put your early energy into doing something that is important (but not urgent), your life will improve immensely. And if, like Ye, you have tried and failed to become an early riser, there’s a lot in his essay to help you succeed.

“Waxing Your Balls for Social Justice” in Taki’s Magazine

“The Secret Life of Smell and What Dogs Can Teach Us About Accessing Hidden Layers of Reality” by Maria Popova in Brain Pickings

The latest issue of AWAI’s Barefoot Writer

In this issue:

* “Tranf0rm Your Writing Dream into a Custom-Fit, Joy-Provoking, Money-Generating Reality in 9 Simple Steps”

* “Where Limitations, Hurdles, and a Lack of Clients Doesn’t Matter”

* “On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas”

* “’Moonwalking’ Your Projects for Better, Smarter, Faster Results”

The latest issue of Independent Healing: “Don’t Fall for the Great American Heart Hoax…”

In the October issue, you’ll discover clear evidence that conventional medicine’s two main weapons against heart disease – stents and statins – don’t work.

First, you’ll learn:

* Why heart attack survival rates go up when top cardiologists leave town.

* That heart patients who get stents are more likely to suffer heart attacks than those who don’t.

* Big Pharma’s statistical scam that makes statins look like miracle drugs when they are actually ineffective and even harmful for the vast majority of people who take them.

* That cutting cholesterol does not prevent heart attacks. In fact, 75% of heart attack victims have normal levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol.

And then you’ll learn what does work: a simple, science-backed plan that prevents and treats American’s number one killer naturally, without drugs or procedures.

“The White-Collar Job Apocalypse That Didn’t Happen” in The New York Times

The article refutes the claim that the USA was in a long-term trend of losing jobs to overseas operations.

 More than a million low-skilled jobs like data entry did move offshore over the past 10 years. But these were mostly jobs located in high-salary cities on both coasts. Middle-skilled jobs, such as customer service and sales, did not diminish. In fact, they increased. White-collar jobs have also increased.

This would not be surprising if, before publishing their predictions, the academics had consulted with actual businesspeople involved in “exporting” jobs. My colleagues and I, for example, could have told them that you cannot maintain the same level of customer service by setting up operations in India and the Philippines. The article doesn’t say this. (It was in the NYT, after all.) But the main reason wasn’t the difference in time (as the article suggests) but the level of skill and the work ethic of these countries with cheap labor.

Toward the end of the article, the issue of automation and robotics is mentioned. This is certainly a serious threat to employment everywhere. My guess is that these technological advances will have the same effect as they’ve always had: making many jobs obsolete while creating many more.

Fight No More by Lydia Millet

This is a collection of interconnected short stories by a very good writer. The stories are told through the perspective of Nina, a high-end real estate broker. Each chapter is located in a different house and opens up a different micro-culture of America – or at least LA. It’s social satire, and it is smart and funny. My one objection: It has the Hollywood angle to it, where all the teenagers are precocious brats, all the men are monsters, and all the women are heroic.