Becoming Aware of the Stories We Tell Ourselves
There’s a hidden mechanism that creates unhappiness, difficulty changing habits, relationship problems, frustration, anger and disappointment. Barely anyone is aware of this hidden mechanism, even though it’s happening all the time, in all of us. It’s the stories we tell ourselves. We do it all day long: we tell ourselves…
There is No Virtue in Hiding
For two years I sat in the back of the class listening, taking notes, but never engaging. I regret those two years. It wasn’t until my third year in University, when I shed this attitude and started sitting at the front of my lectures, raising my hand, engaging my profs…
STOP Doing it All: Identify What Really Matters
The quest to identify what really matters in your life doesn’t have to be difficult. Earlier this year in Lithuania, at the BlackSmith Liberty and Entrepreneurship Camp, I gave a speech about the importance of creating a vision for your life. “With a clear and concise vision,” I said, “You…
Balancing Advice with Intuition
When I was growing up — until my early 20s even — I didn’t really think for myself. I lacked the ability to weigh external advice, guidance and information against an internal barometer. To my detriment, I went with whatever I was told. Too scared to contradict and feeling as if my…
Transformation: Small Changes Make a Big Difference
Whether you’re determined to improve your fitness, clean up your nutrition, work on a healthier mindset, or all three (yay, you!) the best approach is to make reasonable, sustainable changes to your daily life. Transformation, be it physical, mental, emotional, or habitual is about creating a new normal. That new…
How to Build Billionaire Habits
Picture yourself having coffee with a billionaire. Just imagine what you’d learn. One of my friends recently had this opportunity. In fact, he had the chance to have dinner with several billionaires at the same time. One thing he noticed was every one acted the same: They gave their complete…
You’ll Never Forget This Management Tip
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou I hate hearing people use this quote ONLY to describe positive people. The high-school math teacher who lets her class take their desks outside: When the…
How Emotionally Intelligent People Handle Toxic People
Toxic people defy logic. Some are blissfully unaware of the negative impact that they have on those around them, and others seem to derive satisfaction from creating chaos and pushing other people’s buttons. Either way, they create unnecessary complexity, strife, and worst of all stress. Studies have long shown that…
How to Shift From Critical to Confident
Can you imagine where you would be at this point in life if there weren’t a self-criticizing bone in your body? You would probably be one of those egomaniacs you love to hate. Self-criticism is healthy. It guides you to personal improvement and keeps your ego within healthy limits. However,…
I Have No Confidence… So This Is What I Do
I am nervous all the time. Going to a party, I always try to back out at last minute. Even a party I threw last year, I tried to not go and three people had to call me and convince me to come. Business deal – I am scared right…
How to Determine What Motivates You
I was talking to a 19-year-old recently and he has been struggling with motivation. His problem goes like this: he gets excited about starting a project or plan, and is very motivated at the start … but after a few days, that feeling dies down, and he starts procrastinating. He…
Copywriting Tips Backed by Science
Cool copywriting tips backed by science that will help you write more persuasive copy, courtesy Nick Kolenda’s copywriting blog.