Inform & Inspire

I have moved

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:52:18 -0500

This blog has moved to http://blog.digitalfoc.us as I begin to write my own content.

Are You a Rebel or a Leader?

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 06:45:47 -0500

Everyone was being so agreeable. The CEO nodded, the VPs agreed, the Directors were polished in their reviews. All the content was “good,” the timelines “reasonable,” the budgets “sufficient.”

We…

The Spiral of Successful Habits

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:38:58 -0500

The Spiral of Successful Habits:

Post written by Leo Babauta.

Many people have so many things they want to change about their lives they don’t know where to start.

It’s overwhelming: you might smoke and eat junk food and need…

Stop Saying ‘Let me know when works for you’

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:31:34 -0500

Stop Saying ‘Let me know when works for you’:

As a current or aspiring entrepreneur, you should be meeting with a ton of people (potential customers, investors, biz dev partners, employees, journalists).

You will often get introduced…

IKEAs Are Designed Like Pac-Man Mazes To Trick You Into Spending More

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:32:25 -0500

IKEAs Are Designed Like Pac-Man Mazes To Trick You Into Spending More:

If you’ve ever found yourself hopelessly lost in an Ikea store, you were probably not alone.

The home furnishing chain’s mazy layouts are a psychological weapon to part shoppers from their cash,…

Report: First two years of college show small gains

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 10:59:22 -0500

Report: First two years of college show small gains:

Nearly half of the nation’s undergraduates show almost no gains in learning in their first two years of college, in large part because colleges don’t make academics a…

Just Enough: Why Some of Us Are Satisfied With Less

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 09:22:16 -0500

Just Enough: Why Some of Us Are Satisfied With Less:

photo: giumaiolini

Dining out with me is an experience. Because when I go to a restaurant, I go with a game plan: to enjoy the most delicious meal it offers, hopefully at the lowest…

A Thought on Communication

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:44:09 -0500

A Thought on Communication:

A Thought on Communication

A thought; a bit of mushy futurism: that the next generation of connected humans, the progeny of digital natives, will probably not communicate with remote others in…

6 Ways to Give People a Front Row Seat to Their Own Brilliance

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:34:56 -0500

6 Ways to Give People a Front Row Seat to Their Own Brilliance:

Most people don’t realize how brilliant they are.

This stems from:

A lack of self-belief.
A lack of external affirmation.
A lack of human mirrors in their life.

Or, maybe they’re just too…

Use the One-A-Month Technique to Adopt Habits that Stick [Habits]

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 19:11:56 -0500

Use the One-A-Month Technique to Adopt Habits that Stick [Habits]:

We’re not even a week into the New Year and you’re probably already feeling the pressure of your resolutions. Get out your list and get ready to overhaul it with the One-A-Month technique for…

If You Don’t Get Published, Is Writing a Waste of Time?

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:59:45 -0500

If You Don’t Get Published, Is Writing a Waste of Time?:

Like many photos on this site, this is with huge thanks to London lifestyle photographer Antonina Mamzenko.

If you’ve been reading Aliventures for … ooh, a couple of weeks … you’ll know…

What It Takes to Form a Good Habit [Mind Hacks]

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 04:41:25 -0500

What It Takes to Form a Good Habit [Mind Hacks]:

It’s that time of year when we all start to make “New Year’s resolutions”, which is a fancy way of saying we’ll try forming better habits. Here are a few tips to make sure they stay habits…

When Smart People are Bad Employees

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:46:07 -0500

When Smart People are Bad Employees:

And I always find, yeah, I always find somethin’ wrong
You been puttin’ up with my sh#t just way too long
I’m so gifted at findin’ what I don’t like the most
So I think it’s time for us to have…

Confidence

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 10:56:03 -0500

Confidence:

Shared by Akhil
With some extrapolation, it can be applied to what we say - Hu brahm chhu, hu Akshar chhu…

Confidence is a good thing, right? Everyone wants confidence. It makes you more…

I love your blog, what are your future plans?

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 07:44:51 -0500

One day I’d love to start writing my own content on how to lead a simplified lifestyle. I know there are tons out there already but I feel writing is more for myself than for others. In the process of writing things out, I’m forming coherent thoughts myself and solidifying concepts in my own mind. I find it very cathartic.

What would you like to see happen here?

Caring for Your Introvert

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 00:46:07 -0500

Caring for Your Introvert:

Do you know someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and…

Did I send you a brief email message?

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:54:56 -0500

I value the finite time and attention that we all have available to us. I also find conversations to be rich and meaningful.

That said, I have a lot of email running through my Inbox. Maybe you do, too.

I’ve taught many people how to effectively deal with Inbox overload, and one of the key tenets is to keep messages concise and timely. For the majority of email conversations, a timely, concise response respects your conversant as much or more than a longer one because they can get the information they need quickly and more easily – they aren’t waiting on you and they aren’t having to wade through a bunch of information to figure out what’s going on.

My brief email message is just me walking the talk and ensuring that I don’t bottleneck the conversation. I’m happy to have deeper and extended conversations with you and you aren’t something I’m trying to get out of my Inbox. Please continue the conversation if it’s appropriate, and feel free to write in whatever length and style that feels comfortable for you. I don’t want my anti-bottlenecking practice to bottleneck you.

If you’d like to learn a little more about effective email management, I’d love to talk to you about it and provide additional resources.

Life is too short for unnecessarily long emails, and there’s also not enough time for the rich interactions we all enjoy. Let’s find the best way to use our time, energy, and attention wisely.

What Smart Brands Know About Capturing Heartshare

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 03:02:42 -0500

What Smart Brands Know About Capturing Heartshare:

First, you wanted to grow marketshare.
Then, you wanted to expand mindshare.
Now, you need to capture something bigger.

After all, humans are emotional creatures.

Not integers. Not…

5 Sure-Fire Ways To Enjoy Every Day Of Your Life

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 16:16:47 -0500

5 Sure-Fire Ways To Enjoy Every Day Of Your Life:

There was a time in my life where I wasn’t enjoying it very much. I was so stressed in the pursuit of success that I had in fact lost the joy of living. I spent so much time on the road…

Powerful Ideas

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 20:14:17 -0500

Powerful Ideas:

Ideas are a lot like viruses. Neither a virus nor an idea is alive, technically, but both reproduce though contact with other people. And both are hard to eradicate. For example, 20% of the American…