Overcome inertia and move ahead on your goals with these proven tools for visual thinking Published inBetter Humans · 18 min read· Aug 8, 2018 -- Illustration by Sílvia Bastos. “By far the most significant learning experience in adulthood involves critical self-reflection — reassessing the way we…

On Tuesday, June 26, 2018, Asia Society Policy Institute President Kevin Rudd delivered an address to the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore for The Significance of China's 2018 Central Foreign Policy Work Conference. Below is the transcript of the speech.…

Because most of “the signs” they tell you are garbage If you try to Google “how to know you’re in love,” you’re gonna have a bad time Because it’s mostly shit advice. Here’s a small sampling: “They’re always on your mind” This is infatuation. If someone’s “always” on your mind, you’re not focused on…

The decisions we spend the most time on are rarely the most important ones. Not all decisions need the same process. Sometimes, trying to impose the same process on all decisions leads to difficulty identifying which ones are most important, bogging us down and stressing us out. I remember once…

This Is How To Make Your Life Awesome: 6 Secrets From Research *** Before we commence with the festivities, I wanted to thank everyone for helping my first book become a Wall Street Journal bestseller. To check it out, click here . *** There’s a lot of good advice on how to be happier or more…

Holy backfire , Batman! This could be you if you don’t read this article. No pressure. So you’ve maneuvered through the initial offer conversation. You’ve lined up counteroffers from other companies. Now it’s time to enter the actual negotiation. Naturally, this is the part where everything goes…

It’s safe to say we all have goals we’d like to hit, but haven’t made much progress on. But why is it so easy to want to better ourselves, and so hard to actually do it? Goal setting is difficult for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that our brains hate change. Our brains were…

Source Maybe it’s not “laziness” after all Bertrand Russell is a strange name to bring up when we consider the merits of working less. Though he was a philosopher and mathematician by trade, his prodigious output suggests he was just as much a historian, a social critic, and a political activist.…

[Excerpted from chapter 3 of Studies in Economic Nationalism .] We now move to a period that, from the point of view of the present inquiry, is of particularly great importance. It extends over roughly 300 years — the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries — and involves the birth and consolidation of the…

51 Ways to Build Identity Capital Dr. Meg Jay, author of “ The Defining Decade ,” coined the term identity capital, describing it as “the currency we use to metaphorically purchase jobs and relationships.” In other words, it is what we do to invest in ourselves . It’s about owning up to your choices…

Morning Run “Each day is a day of decision, and our decisions determine our destiny.” — Russell Nelson You live your life in 24 hour periods. How you use those 24 hour periods determines who you become and how successful you’ll be. If you learn to master your day, you’ll learn how to master your…

Map: Norman Kirby; Photograph: Tatsuro Nishimura Try, for a moment, to envisage a world without countries. Imagine a map not divided into neat, coloured patches, each with clear borders, governments, laws. Try to describe anything our society does – trade, travel, science, sport, maintaining peace…

Essays- Spring 2006 Be yourself, speak freely, and think small William Zinsser, a longtime Scholar contributor and dear friend of the magazine, died earlier today. He was 92. Zinsser was an extraordinary writer and teacher, whose popular blog on our website, “Zinsser on Friday,” won a National…

Fortnite Battle Royale In Fortnite Battle Royale, the world’s most popular video game, released last September and today being played by millions of people at a time, you’re dropped into the sky above a richly rendered island, 99 other players all parachuting down alongside you. You angle toward…

First-principles thinking is one of the best ways to reverse-engineer complicated problems and unleash creative possibility. Sometimes called “reasoning from first principles,” the idea is to break down complicated problems into basic elements and then reassemble them from the ground up. It’s one of…

In December, the Defense Department declassified two videos documenting encounters between U.S. Navy F-18 fighters and unidentified aircraft. The first video captures multiple pilots observing and discussing a strange, hovering, egg-shaped craft, apparently one of a “fleet” of such objects,…

In conducting personal (read: not at all scientifically rigorous or thorough) research for this article, I asked anyone willing to talk to me if they journal and, if so, what exactly they journal about. (Yes, this did make for several very awkward conversations.) Of the thirty-two people I asked,…

So is meditation just another fad that pops up from time to time like bell-bottom jeans? Nope. Research shows it really helps you be healthier, happier and even improves your relationships. From The Mindful Brain : The MBSR program brought the ancient practice of mindfulness to individuals with a…

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — I never thought I’d live long enough to write this sentence: The most significant reform process underway anywhere in the Middle East today is in Saudi Arabia. Yes, you read that right. Though I came here at the start of Saudi winter, I found the country going through its own…

Manners Matter. “During the 17th century, in France, manners became a political issue. King Louis XIV and his predecessors, in collecting together the nobility of France to live with the sovereign at Versailles, instituted a sort of school of manners. At the palace, the courtiers lived under the…

https://unsplash.com/?photo=VfUN94cUy4o Before writing the first chapter of Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling planned for seven years at Hogwarts. Harry Potter is one of the most read books of all-time. Before creating the first Stars Wars movie in the 1970’s, George Lucas planned for at least six films…

You might be asking, "What the heck does debating have to do with pitching prospects?" A lot, actually. Winning new business for your agency comes down to developing a logical, watertight pitch that combines data and emotion, resists opposition, and impresses your prospects. Winning a debate hinges…

WASHINGTON — When historians write about this bizarre, ugly and dispiriting campaign — and oh, my, will they ever! — the epic dark saga will unfold this way: A man, filled with fear and insecurity, created a hatemongering character and followed it out the window. And a woman, filled with fear and…

Logical fallacies -- those logical gaps that invalidate arguments -- aren't always easy to spot. While some come in the form of loud, glaring inconsistencies, others can easily fly under the radar, sneaking into everyday meetings and conversations undetected. Having an understanding of these basic…

“You can achieve whatever you want, as long as you are willing to pay the price.”~Elvin Semrad If you could do or be anything in the world, what would it be? For some people, it would be to be a famous singer, musician, film or television star, writer, or a high profile professional athlete. Others…

Almost everyone is struggling to find the right strategies to increase productivity. Because of this, several methods and approaches have been crafted to help people out. Unfortunately, however, not all of these productivity tricks work for everyone, especially since people’s priorities and needs…

Sometimes people use their job as their blanket excuse for not being in control of their schedule. “Oh… I can’t because I have a job,” is the main reason people give for not being able to do 30-day trials , experience extended travel , and do immersive deep dives . However, during periods without a…

There's no doubt that the big fish gets respect, more attention and more than its fair share of business as a result. The hard part of being a big fish in a little pond isn't about being the right fish. It's about finding the right pond. Too often, we're attracted to a marketplace (a pond) that's…