Merce Cardus's Blog, page 79

August 20, 2015

How To Be Insteresting In 10 Simple Steps

Jessica Hagy on How to Be Interesting

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...

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Published on August 20, 2015 22:27

How to Overcome the 3 Fears Every Creative Faces

Christoph Niemann on Fear

In this 99U talk, illustrator Christoph Niemann, author of Abstract City,shares his three biggest fears:the fear of not being good enough, the fear that our work will be irrelevant, and the fear of running out of ideas. Each of these cripple our process in different ways, but asNiemann explains (complete with hilarious illustrations), there are solutions we can apply to each.

Push yourself to learn new things, embrace the grumpiness, and realize that there’s nothing wrong with you when you f...

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Published on August 20, 2015 22:26

WEEKEND LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-Publishing, and Better Living: Creativity Inc.

creativity inc. Quote of the day

Craft is what we are expected to know; art is the unexpected use of our craft.

~ED CATMULL, author ofCreativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

WRITING

3 Writing Lessons from GO SET A WATCHMAN by Harper Lee, The Write Practice| Tweet

The beloved classic To Kill A Mockingbird has a sequel. Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee was released on July 14th. In its first week of publication, Go Set a Watchman sold 1.1 million copies, t...

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Published on August 20, 2015 22:25

August 19, 2015

How To Live Empty

James Oppenheim on Happiness

Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Dayis a tool for people who aren’t willingto put off their most important work for another day.The key is embracing the idea that time is finite, so you should focus on the unique contribution to the world that only you can make.

How you spend your focus, time, and energy

Many productivity systems recommend reviewing work and priorities on a weekly basis. The practice I’m recommending is not intended to replace those weekly reviews or assessments, but...

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Published on August 19, 2015 22:30

Why Science and Art Are Not Separate Disciplines

Brian Green on Art and Science

Artists and scientists alike strive “to figure out the deep truths of reality,” explains physicist Brian Greene, author of The Hidden Reality.The ways they pursue that goal are different, but there’s no reason why two segments of society seeking answers can’t work together. That’s why Greene advocates for the convergence of art and science. When the two camps share insights and ideas about the world, the results can be wonderfully potent.

We’re all just trying to figure out the deep truths o...

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Published on August 19, 2015 22:29

THURSDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-Publishing, and Better Living: Awe

Awe

Photo Credit: Mark C3kc via Compfight cc

Quote of the day

It’s not about spiritual awareness, interest, or knowledge. It’s not first about church, theology, or biblical literacy. It’s not even about wanting your little life to mean something. It’s something that not only believers do. It’s something that every person who has ever taken a breath does. It’s not bound by family, culture, history, geography, language, or ethnicity. It’s not a matter of age or gender. It’s not about any of these...

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Published on August 19, 2015 22:27

August 18, 2015

Why Wearing Fakes Makes Us Cheat More

Dan Ariely on Honesty-Dishonesty
InThe (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, Dan Arielyexamines the contradictory forces that drive us to cheat and keep us honest, in this groundbreaking look at the way we behave.

The relationships between what we wear and how we behave

When thinking about my experience with the Prada bag, I wondered whether there were other psychological forces related to fakes tha go beyond external signiling. There I was in Chinatown holding my real Prada bag, watching the woman emerge from the shop holding...

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Published on August 18, 2015 22:31

No One Understands You And What To Do About It

Heidi Halvorson on No one understands you

InNo One Understands You and What to Do About It,Heidi Halvorson talks about the two phases of perception: automatic and thoughtful. People rarely try to move past that first phase where people have a “gist” of who you are as a person — most of the time, that’s all they want.

Perception is tricky

One of the challenges I think that we need to face head on when we think about how we come across to other people is really understanding that perception is tricky and that for your perceiver, the...

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Published on August 18, 2015 22:30

HUMP DAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-Publishing, and Better Living: Grab Your Wave

grab your wave

Photo Credit: McSnowHammer via Compfight cc

Quote of the day

While the force of gravity keeps a surfer on a surfboard and pulls the board and the surfer down a wave, buoyancy is the force that pushes again gravity and helps make surfing possible.

If the gravity and buoyancy are in alignment, the two forces basically cancel each other out. If either of the forces shifts, such as when you step forward or backward on your board, one end of the board will sink.

A major part of your job as a sur...

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Published on August 18, 2015 22:29

August 17, 2015

Commitment, Perseverance, and Habit

DR. Bob Rotella on How Champions Think

In How Champions Think: In Sports and in Life, America’s preeminent sports psychologist delivers a groundbreaking guide to success in all aspects of life—not just sports—from business to relationships to personal challenges of every variety.

People make commitments at the beginning of a new year but commitments are easier to make than to keep

In my work with businesses, I often find a pattern in the results of both a company and the individuals who work there. The numbers are good in the fi...

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Published on August 17, 2015 22:29