Merce Cardus's Blog, page 33

7 Life Lessons From Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius was the most modest, introspective and long-sufferi[image error]ng of monarchs. Hewas a good man and an enlightened ruler who wished only the best for his people. He had been carefully chosen and groomed for his job. Sickly and serious-minded as a child, he had developed into a dedicated Stoic, a practitioner of a philosophy that preached simplicity, self-discipline, endurance and duty.

Here was the true philosopher-king thatPlato had talked about long ago. Here are 7 life lessons extract...

The Power Of Vulnerability

Brené Brownis an American scholar, author, and public speaker, who is currently a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.Over the last twelve years she has been involved in research on a range of topics, including vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame. She is the author of The Power of Vulnerability,The Gifts of Imperfectionand Daring Greatly.

So where I started was with connection. Because, by the time you’re a social worker for 10 years, wh...

How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

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 loyalty?

In studying the leaders who’v...

How To Make Hard Choices

When Ruth Chang graduated from college, she was presented with a choice: Should she pursue a career in philosophy, or a career in law? Soon after finishing Harvard Law School and dipping her toe in the legal world, she regretted her decision and switched paths. She went off to Oxford University to study philosophy and has been a philosopher studying choice, freedom, value and action ever since. She is the author ofMaking Comparisons Count

Understanding hard choices

Hard choices seem to be...

Why Should We Want To Control Our Futures?

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 animal that thinks about the fu...

LinkFest ~ Best Reads On Writing, Screenwriting & Self-Publishing: No Rules

WRITING
6 Key scenes to write a terrifying villain|THE WRITE PRACTICE

Without the White Witch, Aslan is just a recluse lion. Without Moriarty, Sherlock is just a know-it-all in a w[image error]eird hat. Without the Joker, Batman is just a rich dude with anger issues and too much time on his hands.

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Writing about villains

[image error][image error]How to write accents and dialects: 6 tips|NOW NOVEL

Learn how to write accents and dialects in your stories because it will help you write about crosscurrents betw...

How Gravitational Waves Created by Black Holes Prove Albert Einstein Right

Albert Einstein was the first to discuss the fabric of space, and according to his theorems, the curvature of it. We have been discussing gravitational waves ever since. Einstein e claimed that with a planet orbiting on the fabric of space, it would act like the surface of a trampoline, sending out waves and ripples in reaction to the planet’s pressure.

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The ripples spanning out through space are gravitational waves, and as these gravitational waves pass by, like birds on the ocean surface b...

Is Freedom A Psychological Problem?

The frightened individual seeks for somebody or something to tie his selfto; he cannot bear to be his own individual self any longer, and he tries frantically to get rid of it and to feel security again by the elimination of this burden: the self.

In The Fear of Freedom , Erich Fromm warns that the price of community is indeed high, and it is the individual who pays. Heleaves a vastly increased understanding of the human character in relation to society.

Is freedom a psychological problem?...

Dan Harris: Hack Your Brain’s Default Mode With Meditation

Dan Harris explains the neuroscience behind meditation, but rem [image error] inds us that the ancient practice isn’t magic and likely won’t send one floating into the cosmic ooze. He predicts that the exercise will soon become regularly scheduled maintenance, as commonplace as brushing your teeth or eating your veggies. Harris, an ABC News correspondent, was turned on to mediation after a live, on-air panic attack. His latest book is 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Lo...

What’s The Secret?

Do what you love. If you don’t know what brings you joy, ask ‘What is my joy?’ As you commit to your joy, you will attract an avalanche of joyful things because you are radiating joy.

Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secretcome together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it.

What’s the secret?

We al...