Personal Development

Aim High and Do Everything In Your Control to Become Your Best Self

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aim high

The world is full of paradoxes. One of the biggest is the tradeoff between having high and low expectations. It’s a prerequisite to becoming your best self.

On the one hand, we need to expect to win at life, otherwise; what’s the point of even trying? But on the other hand, we can’t be discouraged when we lose.

The two different concepts are perfectly explained by the following two quotes.

  1. “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” — Zig Ziglar
  2. “Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”― Alexander Pope
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Leadership

How To Be A Leader That Inspires People To Change

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lead from the front

No matter how old you are or what type of role you have in life, there are times you’re a follower, and there are times you’re a leader.

I don’t care whether you’re in high school or leading a firm with 500 people, some situations require leadership.

  • When you get in trouble with your group of friends at school, there must be one person who takes ownership and apologizes.
  • When your company has to deal with a huge setback, there must be people who lead the way toward growth.
  • When your relationship with your partner is on the line, one of you must commit to improving it.

You see, when people talk and write about leadership, we often assume that you need a title to be a leader. “A CEO or president, that’s a leader,” is what most of us falsely assume.

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Books

The Best Books I’ve Read In 2018

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thebestbooksof2018

How many books does a person read in a lifetime? I did the arithmetic one night over beers with a friend.

First, we established that averages are useless. Some statistics say that people read 12 books per year on average. There are always a few people who read more than 100 books a year. So that number is inflated.

Based on our experiences, most people we know only read a book that’s popular. For example, this year’s book was 12 Rules For Life by Jordan Peterson. Most people read books because “everybody has read this book!”

And then they might pick up one or two other books in a year. They probably won’t even finish them. But let’s be optimistic about people and assume most folks read 5 books a year. Over a 50-year career, that’s only 250 books.

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Habits, Productivity, Self-Knowledge

15 Useful Activities That Are Worth Your Time

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we have enough time

Our time on this planet is limited. Most of us realize that sooner or later. And yet, we keep on squandering our time and running around in circles.

Why is it that we waste so much of our time? Most people think that we, humans, don’t understand the value of time.

I don’t think that’s the problem. You and I both know the value of time. It’s a depletable resource. By that definition, the value of time is high.

So if the problem is not our appreciation of time, what’s the cause of a waste of time and potential?

The answer is obvious: We simply don’t know what to do with our time. The stoic philosopher Seneca famously said in On The Shortness Of Life:

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