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Author Archives: AJ Kessler
Duty and Service
Great post here from Sebastian Marshall about the costs and benefits of Japan’s duty-based society: In Japan, duty is taken reallyseriously. If someone has a duty to you, they’ll work their ass off – especially if they’ve fallen short of … Continue reading
Litmus Test
Does it make you happy? Does it make you money? If not, don’t bother. – Adam Carolla This is a great litmus test for things you’re thinking about doing and it’s especially handy when you’re angry. It’s short, easy to … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Food For Thought, Inspiration, Quotes, Self-Improvement
Tagged Adam Carolla, Advice, Happiness, Life, Money
2 Comments
Recipe for a Breakthrough
From the always succinct Seth Godin: The two best ways to break through a rut and to make an impact: Find things that others have accepted as the status quo and make them significantly, noticeably and remarkably better. Find things … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Art, Business, Creativity, Inspiration, Productivity, Quotes, Self-Improvement
Tagged Break through, Innovation, Self Improvement, Seth Godin, Unbetterable
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Television Wisdom
Television gets a bad rap, which is ironic because there’s never been better things on television than there is today. A lot of people take pride in not watching TV. I’ve heard many people say “I don’t own a television”, … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Food For Thought, Quotes
Tagged Chuck Klosterman, Entourage, Grantland, Philosophy, Plato, Television
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If You’re Gonna Cheat, Cheat
Some particularly limiting diets build in a “cheat day”. One day a week of utter gluttony where you can shove any and every substance you want into your face. What kind of diet would do that? Well, if you’re on … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Art, Business, Productivity, Self-Improvement
Tagged Cheat, Cheat Day, diet, Productivity, Tim Ferriss, Work
2 Comments
After You’ve “Made It”
A lot of people in their teens and 20s, and a fair amount of people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, have this idea that once they make it, once they’re successful, they’ll finally be able to tell people to … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Relationships, Self-Improvement
Tagged Blues, Buddy Guy, Civility, Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Personality, relationships
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The Best Investment Advice You’ll Never Get
We had a guest lecturer come speak to our Corporate Finance class one day. Frank Partnoy, my professor, introduced him as a hedge fund guy who knew his shit. So well, Partnoy added, that he once simply donated the 9 … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Art, Business, Food For Thought, Money, Quotes, Self-Improvement
Tagged Advice, Big Wins, Brokers, Index Funds, Investment, Manage, Robert K Jafek, Small Wins, Stock Market, Wall Street
1 Comment
Expense Account Instead of Allowance
A really touching story about a guy going to the hardware store with his young son, and realizing just how capable kids can be, followed by a fantastic comment by a Hacker News contributor: Article: http://gamesbyemail.com/WoodTape/Default.htm Comment about article: One … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Food For Thought, Money, Quotes, Self-Improvement
Tagged Advice, Children, Kids, Money, Parenting, Raising
4 Comments
Get 38x Better in One Year
Can you imagine being 38 times more productive? More outgoing? More competent? More anything? All it takes is getting 1% better each day, for a year. Just 1%. Top of the to-do list should read: “How can I improve 1% … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Art, Business, Food For Thought, Inspiration, Productivity, Self-Improvement
Tagged 1 Percent, 1%, Improvement, To-Do
2 Comments
Motivation
I’ve been studying for the bar for nearly two straight months now. It’s now less than two weeks away, I still have lots to learn, but motivation is low. Even things like time tracking are less effective these days. What … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Inspiration, Productivity, Quotes, Self-Improvement
Tagged Letters to a Stoic, Marcus Aurelius, Mediations, Motivation, Philosophy, Senaca
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How To Be Creative
Sebastian Marshall was kind enough to let me guest post about how to be creative over on his blog. It’s a technique I’ve used successfully for many years, and I imagine many other luminaries and creatives have used this, or … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Art, Business, Creativity, Food For Thought, Inspiration, Photography, Productivity, Quotes, Self-Improvement, Tips
Tagged Awareness, Creativity, Curiosity, Growth, How to be Creative, Ideas, Success
3 Comments
Kill Yourself, For Two Weeks
Killing yourself can be a useful thing to think about. But, instead of using it is a mid-to-long term form of regulation, what if you shortened it and made it immediately actionable? What if you had two weeks to live? … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Art, Business, Creativity, Food For Thought, Inspiration, Productivity, Self-Improvement
Tagged Art, Create, Creation, Kill Yourself, Legacy, Productivity
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Best TED Talk Ever
So many takeaways: Passion Hans Rosling is incredibly passionate about statistics. He’s passionate about the underlying work he’s doing and the analysis and insights his data is generating, but he’s also passionate about just accessing and sharing data in general. … Continue reading
Posted in Aesthetics, Art, Business, Creativity, Food For Thought, Inspiration, Persuasion, Quotes
Tagged Attitude, Data, Design, Presentation, Statistics
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