Merce Cardus's Blog, page 78
August 25, 2015
Stepping Into A Universe Of Possibility
In The Art of Possibility,the authors’ harmoniously interwoven perspectives provide a deep sense of the powerful role that the notion of possibility can play in every aspect of life.
Life in the Measurement World
On our path to achieving a goal we inevitably encounter obstacles. Some of the more familiar ones, aside from other people, are scarcities of time, money, power, love, resources, and inner strength.
All the manifestationss of the world of measurement–the winning and losing, the gai...
How Amazon Algorithm Gets You To Spend Money
After billions of dollars and fifty years of effort, researchers are finally cracking the code on artificial intelligence. As society stands on the cusp of unprecedented change, Jerry Kaplan, author of Humans Need Not Apply
unpacks the latest advances in robotics, machine learning, and perception powering systems that rival or exceed human capabilities
Companies like Amazon take advantage of the fact they know a whole lot more about buying patterns than you do. As author and entrepreneur J...
HUMP DAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-Publishing & Better Living: The Introvert Advantage

Many introverts don’t feel as if they know enough about a subject until they know almost everything.
~MARTI OLSEN LANEY, author of
The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World
WRITING
The process monkey asks: What is your writing process?, Terrible Minds| Tweet
Let me say this up front: if you’re a writer of any age or experience level, you need to be looking at your writing process. Always. Yesterday, today, tomorrow.
August 24, 2015
Quitting As An Art
In Mastering the Art of Quitting,bestselling author Peg Streep and psychot
herapist Alan Bernstein demonstrate that persistence alone isn’t always the answer. We also need to be able to quit to get the most out of life.
While the culture says that quitting is the easy way out, genuine disengagement isn’t
Goal disengagement takes place on what might be thought of as four levels simultaneously: cognitive, affective, motivational, and behavioral. In plain language, those are the levels of thoug...
The Benefits Of A Bilingual Brain
It’s obvious that knowing more than one language can make certain things easier — like traveling or watching movies without subtitles. But are there other advantages to having a bilingual (or multilingual) brain?
In The Bilingual Edge, professors and parents King and Mackey wade through the hype and provide clear insights into what actually works
Mia Nacamulli details the three types of bilingual brains and shows how knowing more than one language keeps your brain healthy, complex and active...
TUESDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-Publishing & Better Living: Do The Work

Photo Credit: silviapenny via Compfight cc
Quote of the dayNo matter how great a writer, artist, or entrepreneur, he is a mortal, he is fallible. He is not proof against Resistance. He will drop the ball; he will crash. That’s why they call it rewriting.
~STEVEN PRESSFIELD, author of
Do the Work: Overcome Resistance and Get Out of Your Own Way
WRITING
Beyond Happily Ever After: What Story Offers, Writers in the Storm| TweetOn the first page of her book Wired for Story, Lisa Cron says:“...
August 23, 2015
Thank You, Errors
InAntifragile,Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the bestselling author of The Blac
k Swan
and one of the foremost thinkers of our time, reveals how to thrive in an uncertain world.
The random element in trial and error is not quite random, if it is carried out rationally, using error as a source of information
If every trial provides you with information about what does not work, you start zooming in on a solution–so every attempt becomes more valuable, more like an expense than an error. And of course...
Why Exercising Makes Us More Creative
Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki is hard at work in her lab experimenting with a new hypothesis: Can you stimulate creativity through exercise? She thinks so, and she’s got a wide array of research backing her up. She is the author ofHealthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program to Activate Your Brain and Do Everything Better
The most creative people are using both sides of the brain together
One of the most fascinating things about creativity is that the most recent studies are showing that...
MONDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-Publishing & Better Living: Reboot Your Life

Photo Credit: Jeff_Terrell via Compfight cc
Quote of the day
Why would we take time off unless we expected it to change us in some positive way, so that we could truly keep living the lifelong sabbatical, or at least reap the benefits from it?
~CATHERINE ALLEN, author ofReboot Your Life: Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break
WRITING
What cliché is, Writer Unboxed| TweetCheating.No really, the cheating factor is why so many people get irritated when they spot cliché. Leftovers...
August 20, 2015
How To Be Interesting In 10 Simple Steps
You want to leave a mark, not a blemish. Be a hero, not a spectator. You want to beinteresting. (Who doesn’t?) But sometimes it takes a nudge, a wake-up call, an intervention!―and a little help.
This is where Jessica Hagy comes in. A writer and illustrator of great economy, charm, and insight, she’s created How to Be Interesting: (In 10 Simple Steps), a uniquely inspirational how-to that combines fresh and pithy lessons with deceptively simple diagrams and charts.
Step # 1: Go Exploring
Ex...