Marty Nemko's Blog, page 380

Making a Living as an Artist

There's a reason the word "starving" often precedes the word "artist."

The artistic personality is not synergistic with the businessperson's. Alas, many people would like to make their living from their art so being a businessperson may as as more important as talent. 

My PsychologyToday.com article today lays out what an artist needs to do to have a shot at making a living from their art.

Older Sad Man Syndrome

A good number of my older male clients complain of being mildly sad most of the time. They're not clinically depressed--they handle their day-to-day tasks well. They just have a generalized malaise, like a little cloud over their head much of the time. 

My PsychologyToday.com article today describes possible causes and at least partial solutions.

Older Male Malaise Syndrome

A good number of my older male clients complain of being mildly sad most of the time. They're not clinically depressed--they handle their day-to-day tasks well. They just have a generalized malaise, like a little cloud over their head much of the time. 

My PsychologyToday.com article today describes possible causes and at least partial solutions.

Stop With the Hyperbole!

We're in an era of rating exaggeration. Yes, grade inflation, but also in our speech: "She's amazing!" "He's an idiot!"   

My PsychologyToday.com article today explains why we pay a price for our hyperbole.

A Great Way to Learn to Play Piano or Guitar By Ear

Marty Nemko at the piano during a performance of the show, Retard!Most people who would like to learn to play the piano or guitar have a goal, if only unconscious, of getting to the point when they can sit down at the piano and, effortlessly, play tunes for their own entertainment or for others at a party, perhaps leading a sing-a-long.

Alas, standard methods of learning piano or guitar not only are extremely unlikely to make that happen but are stressful rather than recreational. After all, it's far from fun to play scales, let alone have to translate, with 100% accuracy, the squiggles on a piece of sheet music into what your fingers need to do, let alone musically, let alone by heart.

My PsychologyToday.com article today presents the method that I used to learn to play by ear. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, it really is easy, fun, and is your best shot at learning how to play by ear. The article offers both a six-minute video plus text that basically tells you everything you need to know. 

I welcome your feedback on whether it works for you.

A Great Way to Learn to Play PIano or Guitar By Ear

Marty Nemko at the piano during a performance of the show, Retard!Most people who would like to learn to play the piano or guitar have a goal, if only unconscious, of getting to the point when they can sit down at the piano and, effortlessly, play tunes for their own entertainment or for others at a party, perhaps leading a sing-a-long.

Alas, standard methods of learning piano or guitar not only are extremely unlikely to make that happen but are stressful rather than recreational. After all, it's far from fun to play scales, let alone have to translate, with 100% accuracy, the squiggles on a piece of sheet music into what your fingers need to do, let alone musically, let alone by heart.

My PsychologyToday.com article today presents the method that I used to learn to play by ear. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, it really is easy, fun, and is your best shot at learning how to play by ear. The article offers both a six-minute video plus text that basically tells you everything you need to know. 

I welcome your feedback on whether it works for you.

Is Being Closed-Minded Always Bad?

We're told to always keep an open mind. But should we, really? My PsychologyToday.com article today explores that question.

Should You Focus on the Neediest or on the High-Potential?

Medics on the battlefield are trained to allocate their precious resources not necessarily to the sickest but to those most likely to be helped.

Whether or not we're in a helping profession, we all make decisions on whether to focus our time and money on the neediest or those with the greatest potential. My PsychologyToday.com article today explains how and why I changed my view on this.

How Much Do Self-Help Articles Help?

We devour self-help articles but how often do we improve as a result? 

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I opine that such articles rarely change us much and so we may be wise to focus more on acceptance than on improvement--in ourselves and in others.

Shortcuts to Getting Competent: Time-effective ways of learning without a back-to-school stint

Many people have gone back to school trying to boost their career.

Alas, looking back, many people feel it wasn't a good use of their money and time. Sure that diploma or certificate, afforded some career boost but often not enough. And many have graduated with a worse case of the imposter syndrome than before they went back to school: "Now, I'm expected to know a lot but I still feel pretty clueless." 

That's not surprising because most university courses are taught by theoretically and research-oriented PhDs, not the best folks at providing practical career training.
Rarely does a solution exist that's faster, better, and cheaper. But in the case of career preparation, there often is: Replacing State U, let alone Private U, with what I call You U: a self-designed combination of articles, book-skimming, videos, webinars, bootcamps, online discussion groups, online and in-person short courses, and tutoring, perhaps guided by a mentor.

Of course, the first objection is, "But employers like seeing the piece of paper, or even require it." True, but a paragraph in your job application letter such as the following can often make clear that you're at least as worthy of consideration as someone with that degree:

You may be tempted to toss my application because I don't have the required degree. But so many people say their degree wasn't that practically useful, let alone worth the time and money, I decided to be a self-starter and craft a degree's worth of learning that would be far more likely to make me a better employee. Please see the attached listing of of articles, books., videos, webinars, bootcamps, online discussion groups, tutoring, online and in-person short courses that I have completed over the last year.

I have chosen to emphasize substance over form but now we get to the moment of truth: Will you interview me?

If you were an employer reading that, mightn't you interview that candidate, even if s/he didn't have that degree?

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers a tip or two on how to make the most of each of those learning methods that can be used to comprise a You U education.