Category Archives: Business

What You Want

Posted on March 18, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Alain de Botton with a good reminder: One of the interesting things about success is that we think we know what it means. A lot of the time our ideas about what it would mean to live successfully are not … Continue reading →

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Solve The Right Problem

Posted on March 17, 2012 by AJ Kessler

In 1959, long before the X-prize, Henry Kremer offered 50,000 pounds to anyone who could finally build a flying machine powered only by the pilot’s body power.  All an entrant had to do was fly in a figure eight around … Continue reading →

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One Easy Step To Flatter People, Show You Care, and Demonstrate Your Dedication

Posted on March 14, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Don’t be ashamed to need help.  Like a soldier storming a wall, you have a mission to accomplish.  And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to pull you up?  So what? – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Book 7 … Continue reading →

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Busyness

Posted on March 13, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Cal Newport over at Study Hacks makes an interesting observation about which MIT professors are more likely to disappear from campus during breaks: Interestingly, the biggest predictor of a professor leaving was status: the more important a person’s work, the … Continue reading →

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Unimaginable Sameness

Posted on March 12, 2012 by AJ Kessler

What’s the worst part about prison? One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich is all you need to know about Ivan Denisovich, because the idea that anyone could live for a minute in such circumstances seems impossible; one day … Continue reading →

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All You Can Do?

Posted on March 11, 2012 by AJ Kessler

John Mayer was supposed to release a new album six months ago.  A granuloma near his vocal chords required surgery and prevented him from finishing the record.  Once the surgery was completed and his throat given a month or so … Continue reading →

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Failure Gives Perspective

Posted on March 8, 2012 by AJ Kessler

That was the lowest moment I had yet encountered in my life. The phones in my office were even quiet, which had never happened before. In fact, I suddenly had a lot of quiet time to think, and I reviewed … Continue reading →

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I Could Never Make $xx,xxx,xxx…

Posted on March 7, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Only 1/10th of 1% of the people in the United States have a net worth of more than five million dollars ($5,000,000). Only 1/10th of 1%?  That’s 357,000 people!  That’s more than the population of New Orleans, or Honolulu, or Cincinnati. If you … Continue reading →

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The Only Motivation Tip You’ll Ever Need

Posted on March 5, 2012 by AJ Kessler

San Franciscans and New Yorkers spent years fighting to get nutrition information like calorie counts listed on menus.  After all, if people only knew what kind of crap they were shoveling into their maws they’d surely change their behavior, right? … Continue reading →

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Productivity Tips, From 1932

Posted on February 27, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Despite, or in fact because of, the 80 years of technological advancement, these tips are even more relevant today.  Courtesy of Henry Miller: COMMANDMENTS Work on one thing at a time until finished. Start no more new books, add no … Continue reading →

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Make The Secret A Lot More Trouble Than The Trick Seems Worth

Posted on February 25, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Good advice for magic, and life: Make the secret a lot more trouble than the trick seems worth. You will be fooled by a trick if it involves more time, money and practice than you (or any other sane onlooker) would … Continue reading →

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Creativity in Isolation

Posted on February 23, 2012 by AJ Kessler

There’s been a lot of talk in the last few years about the benefit human interaction lends the creative process.  The thinking goes that experts in one field, when interacting with experts in some other field, will find new ways … Continue reading →

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Level of Difficulty Matters

Posted on February 22, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Doing the same easy thing over and over again doesn’t usually lead to success.  Of course, neither does taking on impossible tasks that never get off the ground. The better way is to constantly take on those things that seem … Continue reading →

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The Passion Myth

Posted on February 20, 2012 by AJ Kessler

Find something you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. Right? Bullshit. Nobody on Earth wakes up every single day restlessly waiting to take on the world.  Such passion doesn’t exist.  If you’re really, really lucky, and … Continue reading →

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The Element of Surprise

Posted on February 15, 2012 by AJ Kessler

A really insightful email from Teller, of Penn & Teller fame, where he responds to a struggling magician’s request for advice on how to develop his stage presence and style.  A couple things to note: first, Teller is a celebrity, … Continue reading →

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