The following 4 conversations are all excellent. In each case, the person being interviewed has an extremely accurate worldview which they are able to articulate well to others. Thus it’s no surprise that two of them are billionaires and a third works as the manager of another billionaire’s investment fund. The more accurate your model of the world, the more successfully you can operate within it.
Self Development
Don’t Fall Victim to a Victim Mentality
Markets are amazing tools for provide us with what we want in an efficient way and for a low cost. However, while markets are great at providing us with what we want, they are not always the best at determining what we should want. Continue reading
How to Never Face Rejection Again
If there was only one piece of advice that I could give to my past self about how to skyrocket my results with women, it would be this: Continue reading
Four Indirect Benefits from Learning Success with Women
While the obvious direct benefit from increasing one’s competence with women is the ability to choose from an abundance of potential romantic partners, many indirect benefits are also acquired in the process. Benefits that will prove vastly more valuable in the long term than just the simple ability to land more dates. Continue reading
How to Be a 3 Percent Man / Corey Wayne
The book’s title How to Be a 3 Percent Man comes from the author’s claim that only 3% of men truly understand women. While this is an impossible proportion to actually quantify, my own personal life experience tends to back this estimation.
The book in extremely anecdotal, with almost all examples and stories coming from the author Corey’s own life. While many readers will be able to directly identify with being in similar situations, some may wish that the book’s core points were more directly summarized. Continue reading
Never Split The Difference / Chris Voss
The book Never Split the Difference is written by former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss and describes different strategies that you can use during negotiations. Thus as one would expect, it is filled with many nail biting true stories which are used to illustrate its points. I personally standby the methods in the book, having been able to successfully apply them to the effect of saving thousands of dollars. Continue reading
The Reason Why People Flake on You
It’s not because you didn’t wait the recommend three days before calling.
Other than following the common courtesies of not calling during dinner or in the middle of the night, the question whether you have waited long enough before making the call should not even cross your mind. Continue reading
Are you a Fundamentalist Without Knowing It?
Fundamentalism: a movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles.
When we think of fundamentalists, our minds most often jump to pictures of zealous religious followers who are willing to denounce both logic and reason to protect their beliefs. However, fundamentalism can exist in many different forms. Even scientists can become fundamentalists within their own disciplines and refuse to accept evidence that may contradict with their beliefs. We even now have atheists who ironically promote atheism as fervently as many missionaries promote their own religions. Continue reading
Why We Fear Failure
Whenever we imagine pursuing a new endeavor, we all have that small voice inside of us which warns that we are not good enough. Not good enough to work a particular job. Not good enough to put our own needs before others. Not good enough that another person would want to have a relationship with us. We fear that if we try to achieve something and fail, that it will only serve as proof that the little voice inside our head is right.
So to prevent this, we come up with countless excuses and rationalize away reasons to even begin trying. We tell ourselves that we are either too stupid, poor, boring, ugly or low class. Instead of recognizing our common humanity in others, and realizing that what is possible for one person is also possible for another, we instead separate out ourselves into the “not good enough” category. While our immediate intention is to project ourselves from potential pain, with every deference to fear, we forfeit our personal integrity and slowly chip away at our own souls. Continue reading
Causation vs. Correlation: Where Classic “Pick-Up” Advice Went Wrong.
The publication of the book The Game by Neil Strauss, over a decade ago, marked the birth of the modern “pick-up” industry, whose intent is to teach men how to become more successful in meeting and attracting women. Many men started religiously following the advice that they got from such books, lectures and online forums, because when applied, it did indeed appear to lead to better results.
However, almost all these men, including the very authors of the advice, often misattributed the reasons behind why their techniques were successful. They believed that the specific actions that they were taking were directly causing their success, when in reality their success was primarily the result of separate factors which were only correlated with their actions.
Continue reading
The Dancing Wu Li Masters / Gary Zukav
“What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.” -Werner Heisenberg
At first glance, the book The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav may appear to be primarily written on the subject of physics. However, to classify it only as such would be doing it a disservice. It is through the medium of explaining the non-intuitive concepts of new physics (relativity and quantum mechanics), that Zukav brings awareness to our limited ability to perceive “reality” and accurately define it. The same mind shift that is necessary to allow for a better understanding of our universe in its entirety, is just as applicable when we apply it on the micro scale to our individual lives.
Prevalence of Group Think in Modern Society
We all benefit from the advantages of group think. No single person has the time to base every decision upon only the information which they have alone amassed. As the speed of everyday life and the volume of information we are exposed to rapidly grows, so does the pressure to make rapid decisions. Thus people are inclined now more than ever before to tap into a group consciousness for answers to their quandaries. Continue reading
The War of Art / Steven Pressfield
The War of Art cleanly and simply divulges the internal raging battle being fought inside every human being. This battle is against the formidable force known as resistance. Nothing is likely holding you back as much as yourself, and you probably do not even realize it. Steven Pressfield calls you out on your own shit and gives you the tough love pep-talk that you need. Pressfield reveals how resistance is getting the better of you, and how you can fight back. By better knowing your enemy in all its forms, you greatly increase your fighting chance.
Setting Sail
The cool morning air blew across my face as I stared down the rail line in the direction which I anticipated my train would arrive. Others waited in the train station reading their papers and sipping their coffees, as a man on a loudspeaker recited lines in a language I did not speak. Continue reading