Merce Cardus's Blog, page 75
September 8, 2015
The More the Think, the Easier the Ink
Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content
is a go-to guide to attracting and retaining customers through stellar online communication, because in our content-driven world, every one of us is, in fact, a writer.
The more you think about what you want to say, and plan for it, the easier it is to say
Figuring out what you want to say before you figure out how to say it seems an obvious first step. But many writers tend to shortchange that step–they instead charge...
The Meaning Of Life–In 60 Seconds
InMan’s Search for Meaning
, the neurologist and psychiatrist VictorFrankl wrote about his experience as a concentration camp inmate during the Second World War.
Frankl’s theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos (“meaning”)-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.
According to The School of Life, there are four things that make life meaningful:
1. Helping others.
What makes li...
HUMP DAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-Publishing & Better Living: Great Myths of the Brain
Quote of the day Brain myths are being used to justify gender stereotypes. Women h
ave to deal with enough gender stereotype BSas it is, without bad neuroscience adding to the misery. Unfortunately that’s exactly what happened last year whenresearchers got in a tangle over a wonky brain wiring study– they said it supported the idea that men are good at map-reading and women at multi-tasking. The study didn’t even look at these activities.
~CHRISTIAN JARRETT, author ofGreat Myths of the Brain...
September 7, 2015
Overcome the Three Main Obstacles To Meditation
Sit Like a Buddha: A Pocket Guide to Meditation
is the ultimate go-to guide for learning how to meditate. It contains all the instructions you’ll need to get started in a remarkably short space, but it also shows you how to make meditation practice a permanent part of your life, infusing it with wisdom and compassion as you go about your day.
Meditation is tough
It isn’t just tough for you; it’s tough for everyone. That is why I mention cultivating the quality of gentleness eary on in this p...
The Gap Between Who We are and Who We Want to Be
It is easiest to spot the people who are trying to change their habits, says Sam Gosling, author of Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You
What about people who are trying to change their habits?
Well, that’s very interesting- so you can spot that kind of thing in a space, often. So there really is a difference between somebody who’s messy and totally cool with it, and somebody who’s messy and wishes they weren’t. And one of the ways you can do that is looking for efforts- but, invariably,...
TUESDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-Publishing & Better Living: The Paradox Of Choice
Photo Credit: H.Magdy via Compfight cc
Quote of the day
When asked about what they regret most in the last six months, people tend to identify actions that didn’t meet expectations. But when asked about what they regret most when they look back on their lives as a whole, people tend to identify failures to act.
~BARRY SCHWARTZ, author ofThe Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
WRITING
3 Things I Learned About Writing: Analyzing Stephen King’s IT, Writer’s Digest| Tweet
This reoccurring...
September 6, 2015
Be Curious and Build a Character
Why are we here?
Pebbles of Perception
is is an exploration of the more important decisions in life. Inspired by the teachings of Charlie Munger, the book is an invitation to Be Curious, Build Character and to make Better Choices.
BE CURIOUS
Curiosity: Eagerness to know or find out. Inquisitiveness. Interest. A thirst for knowledge.
What’s your question?
Curiosity is the engine of civilisation. All discovery begins with a question.
A questioning mentality is far more effective than a knowi...
What Are You Responsible For?
Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life
takes shape as a series 
of letters Eric wrote to and received from this friend. Their correspondence shines a light on how academic knowledge based in philosophy can be merged with life experience to overcome strife and build up defenses against trauma. Greitens discusses the process of becoming broken and how even the ostensibly strong still need strategies for dealing with hardship.
Everybody has to deal with hardship. Everybody has to de...
MONDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-publishing & Better Living: How We Got To Now
Photo Credit: W!nG 7 via Compfight cc
Quote of the day
The march of technology expands the space of possibility around us, but how we explore that space is up to us.
~STEVEN JOHNSON, author ofHow We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World
WRITING
Your Plot and Theme: Are They a Team?, HWBA| Tweet
We all know writing a book is no easy task. The reason it’s ultimately so tricky is that a novel must bring together about a gazillion little working pieces, whichthe author the...
September 3, 2015
Stoicism and The Discipline Of Desire
Thisnew guide to finding a happier way of life draws on the ancient wisdom of 
the stoics to reveal lasting truths and proven strategies for enhanced well-being.Stoicism and the Art of Happiness 
gives us ancient tips for modern challenges.
What is the Discipline of Desire?
Why should we ‘accept’ whatever befalls us in life and what did the Stoics mean by this? What’s the difference between this and just ‘giving up’ and resigning ourselves passively to bad things?
According to Epictetus, the...
