Eric Barker's Blog, page 8

These 5 Things Will Make You Smarter

John von Neumann could multiply two eight-digit numbers together in his head – when he was six-years old.

At 22 he was helping to develop what would become quantum mechanics. His off-the-charts mathematical ability made the Manhattan Project a success. He all but invented game theory. (Ever hear the term “zero-sum”? He coined the phrase.) And building on work by Alan Turing and Kurt Godel he laid the groundwork for the computer you’re using.

Students could barely keep up with his brilliant lec...

This Is How To Get Promoted: 5 Secrets From Research

You’re authentic, humble, kind, and smart. You put your head down and work hard. And it is officially driving you nowhere with a full tank of gas.

Meanwhile, the vile Decepticon in the next cubicle who has far more ambition and confidence than brains or work ethic is getting promoted. Apparently there has been an error in the records department at the universe’s Ministry of Fairness.

Don’t hold your breath while waiting for karmic retribution. When it comes to the workplace, no, life isn’t fai...

How to Be Happier Without Really Trying

Author Oliver Burkeman wrote: “Few things feel more basic to my experience of adulthood than this vague sense that I’m falling behind.”

It takes a lot to sustain this Rube Goldberg machine you call a life. All the errands and duties can feel like a case study in entropy prevention. And they never seem to end. The clowns keep coming out of the clown car and you’re like Beaker from the Muppets putting out fires in the lab.

You can get to the point where you’re setting a bold new standard for joy...

New Research Reveals 9 Secrets That Will Make You An Expert Negotiator

Negotiation is everywhere in our lives – we just don’t realize it. Dealing with bosses, spouses, kids — so often it’s a veiled negotiation. High prices and low salaries are often a tax on the inability to cut a deal well.

Problem is, some of us really don’t like negotiating. We equate the word with “zero-sum Thunderdome battle to the death.” And in our personal lives we’re afraid of being too pushy and alienating loved ones.

It doesn’t have to be that bad or involve the breaking of furniture. ...

This Is How To Have A Long Awesome Life

What happens when people eat right, maintain a healthy weight, exercise, and don’t smoke? They prevent 80% of heart attacks, 90% of type 2 diabetes, and significantly reduce the chance of cancer, dementia and pretty much every other bad thing you can think of.

But we’re, uh, not very good at eating right. When Harvard researchers analyzed the average American diet, it scored a 48 out of a possible 110 in terms of health. Yeesh.

Unfortunately, what we call “living life to the fullest” might als...

The Lazy Way To An Awesome Life: 4 Secrets Backed By Research

A lot of men were dying and nobody knew why.

In the late 70’s, the CDC realized that a shocking number of Hmong immigrants, ages 25-45, were dying in their sleep. They would gasp for breath but before help could arrive, they were gone. Autopsies revealed nothing. Perplexed, epidemiologists started calling it “Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome.” SUNDS was killing more Hmong men than the top five causes of death combined.

But someone had an idea. Oddly enough, she wasn’t a doctor; she w...

The *Secret* Way To An Awesome Life: 4 Insights Backed By Research

I’ve got a secret.

In fact, I’ve got 13 of them. So do you. That’s the average number of secrets people say they have when surveyed. Five of them are “complete secrets” – you’ve never told anybody. And eight more are “confided secrets” – you’ve told at least one other person but won’t be going public with it anytime soon.

A study of 2000 people in the US revealed the most common types of secrets. 92% of the time secrets fit into these categories:

Hurt another person (emotionally or physically...

This Is The #1 Ritual You Need To Do Every Day

Before the match, you have to take a freezing-cold shower. Every time. When you walk on the tennis court, never step on the lines. Oh, and always cross the lines with your right foot first.

Your tournament ID has to be face up. Always. Consume an energy gel during your warm-up and make sure to squeeze it four times. Not three times. Not five times. Four.

Hop up and down as the ref does the coin toss. Then run to the baseline and drag your foot across the length of it. Then hit your shoe with y...

This Is The Best Way To Handle Big Transitions In Life: 6 Secrets From Research

You can reach a point where your job makes you feel completely embalmed. Your favorite horror movie is everyday life. It would be an interesting dilemma if there wasn’t so much to be uninterested in. You need a career transition.

If it’s any consolation, a lot of people are dealing with this right now. There’s been a lot of discussion lately about “quiet quitting.” (Plenty of loud quitting too.) After the two most collectively stressful years in modern history, people are starting to reconside...

This Is How To Have Emotionally Intelligent Arguments: 4 Secrets

Mark didn’t mean to cut the guy off. The man in the pickup truck honked repeatedly. Mark nodded at him: Sorry. But a few minutes later Mark accidentally cut the guy off again. And that’s when things went sideways…

The man raced his truck forward and blocked Mark’s car. With both vehicles now stopped, the guy got out. All six-foot-five and three hundred pounds of him. (If I was Mark I would have considered calling ahead to reserve one of the nicer rooms in the ICU.)

The guy started banging his ...