Merce Cardus's Blog, page 109
February 11, 2015
The Psychology Of Creative Writing

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We laymen have always been curious to know…from what source that strange being, the creative writer, draws his material, and how he manages to make such impression on us with it
—Freud, 1908.
The Psychology of Creative Writing
is a highly recommended book for those who want to learn how the magic wand of storytellers work. A compilation of essays discussing the personalities of writers, the evolution of creative writing, the creative process, the developme...
70 Years Of Research Suggests That All You Need Is Love

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Happiness isn’t about conforming, keeping up with the Joneses. It is about playing and working, and loving. And loving is probably the most important. Happiness is love.
~GEORGE VAILLANT
Reporting on all aspects of male life, including relationships, politics and religion, coping strategies, and alcohol use (its abuse being by far the greatest disruptor of health and happiness for the study’s subjects), Triumphs of Experience: The Men of th...
HUMP DAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing & Better Living: Breaking Free From Perfectionism

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Quote of the day
No one can take their eye off their core business or responsabilities, but anyone can spend a portion of their time and energies using little bets to discover, test, and improve new ideas. In this era of ever-accelerating change, being able to create, navigate amid uncertainty, and adapt using an experimental approach will increasingly be a vital advantage. The way to begin is with little bets.
~PETER SIMS, author of Little Bets: Ho...
February 10, 2015
What Matters Now: Things To Think About (And Do) This Year

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What Matters Now
includes powerful ideas from bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O’Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, and other important people. It was meant for 2010, but it applies for 2015, and so on.
If you make a difference, you also make a connection. You interact with people who want to be interacted with and you make changes that people respect and yearn...
Give A Rose On Valentine’s Day As A Symbol Of Love and A Global Cooperation By The Invisible Hand

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Invisible Hand is a reference to a famous metaphor used by economist and philosopher Adam Smith in his classic 1776 book An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
,
Every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it … He intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other case...
TUESDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing & Better Living: Revenge Causes Psychological Harm To The Avenger

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Quote of the day
Since enemies engage our energies of anger and fear, our main weapons against them are wisdom, tolerance, compassion, and love. Wisdom helps us become fearless by understanding the natural safety of truly deep reality. Tolerance helps us to not lose our wisdom in anger and hatred. Compassion expands our wisdom, forestalling the urge to create enemies.
~ROBERT THURMAN and SHARON SALZBERG, authors of Love Your Enemies: How to Break the Ange...
February 9, 2015
If You Want To Buy Happiness You Are Much Better Off Buying An Experience Than A Thing

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Why should we want to control our futures?
It feels good to do so—Period.
Impact is rewarding. Mattering makes us happy.
Stumbling on Happinessis not a useful book on how to be happy but one that describes what science has to tell us about how and how well it can predict which of the futures it will most enjoy.
This book is divided into six parts: Prospection, Subjectivity, Realism, Presentism, Rationalization, and Corrigibility.
The human being is the only...
February 6, 2015
Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action

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Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. By WHY I mean your purpose, cause or belief – WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?
People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.
Start with Whyanswers the following questions:Why are some people and
organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater l...
Hannah Fry on The Mathematics Of Love

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Dr. Hannah Fry is a mathematician at the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. In her day job she uses mathematical models to study patterns in human behaviour, from riots and terrorism to trade and shopping. She is the author ofThe Mathematics of Love.
The Mathematics of Lovetakes its readers through proofs, patterns, algorithms and equations that can help them understand the aspects of love in a new way.
Why to match love and mat...
WEEKEND LINKS ~ Reads on Writing & Better Living: Testosterone Is The Drug Of The Future

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Quote of the day
How many millions of American males, not the men they used to be, would flock to the physicians and the druggist, a bit shame-faced and surreptitious, maybe, but hopeful, murmuring:
‘Doc, how about some of this new male hormone?’
~J. HOBERMAN, author ofTestosterone Dreams
FOOD
How to make the perfect cup of coffee? [Make Perfect Coffee], The Guardian| Tweet
Do you gulp down a mug of instant every morning, but dream of preparing the best baris...