Learning Expert Voices Today

Setting Intentions and Keeping Intentions

I'm reading about and thinking about setting intentions and keeping intentions. It turns out that people who have more self-control have an area in their brains that is more highly developed than those who do not keep their promises to themselves. And because our brains are so 'plastic' it is possible for each of us to increase this area of our own brains by practicing more self-control. Ok, 3 choc-covered almonds, not five! Why would we want to do this? Self-control sounds like a dirty word sometimes but if you finesse it to harness its power then you have a tool in your basket that can help you discern and stick to the kinds of things that will make you happier about your life and yourself. More…

Why customer service is good

Judging by the reaction I received to yesterday's blog, a lot of you have had your own Verizon customer service horror stories. Here's a quick example of how not every company is clueless when it comes to taking care of their customers. While on my just completed vacation, I took a two of kids over to Manatee County (Fl) Golf Course to hit a couple of buckets of balls. The kids were using my clubs and as fate would have it, Sam, the 21-year-old, somehow snapped off the head of my 3 wood. The clubs were a Christmas present, and while it is more than possible the 3 wood was defective, my first thought (which I didn't share with Sam) is that he had probably hit the club against the ground and snapped it off. (Sam has only recently started playing golf.) More…

The Hybrid Car Theory of Investing

I am a late adapter. For example, I only just started using my cell phone for just about all my calls, so it is probably not surprising that I haven't ever driven a hybrid car until now. But, I rented one this week--I didn't seek it out; it is all that the people at Hertz had--and I love it. Yes, sure, I like the fact that I am helping to save the environment, but the appeal to an old cheapskate me is the gas mileage. I am getting about 50 miles to the gallon. What has this to do with investing? A lot. More…

Aren’t We Suppose to be Striving for Exceptional?

While I vote, and keep up on the issues, I am pretty much apolitical. And Lord knows, no one is turning to this space to hear me talk about either the Republican or Democrat platforms. But I was struck by something I heard about both vice presidential candidates during the conventions. Senator Joe Biden was described “as a regular Joe.” Yes, it was a play on his name, but it was an attempt to show he was everyman. Similarly, Governor Sara Palin’s appeal, we are told, is “she just like us.” In investing, we are always looking for the exceptional. Shouldn’t it be the same standard in politics? More…

10 Things You Don't Know About Me

  One way to kick start writing down the stories of your life is to write down the Things You Don't Know About Me.  There are no rules except they have to be true.  Soon, all those things begin to add up and accumulate. Even if you do nothing more, they will be highly entertaining and enlightening even if that's all you ever do. Here with no further ado, are ten things you don't know about me.  More…

Brave Man Didn't Survive

I kept hoping that he would be found alive. But James Kim’s body was found in a ravine, less than a mile from his snowbound Saab, four days after he set out in a desperate attempt to find help, two days after his wife and two small children whom he left behind were rescued. More…

Surviving the Wilderness

OK, maybe you're not hiking through the Northern woods in the winter, but would you know what to do if you were in a small plane crash or your car went off the road in Death Valley or on your way to Quebec for some Christmas shopping? From Popular Mechanics, comes Outdoors Survival Strategies along with case studies of what worked and what didn't  from some of the 50,000 wilderness search and rescue missions each year in the United States.   Now, I'm not a regular reader of the magazine, so a tip of the hat to Instapundit who shares my interest in disaster preparedness, but not my interest in Hints from Heloise. More…

The Apocalypse Thing

If there is one thing that people don’t like to hear about  - because they know they should do something and they won’t -  is preparedness for natural or man-made disasters.  Yet, more and more people enjoy talking about the end of the world.     It’s the apocalypse thing. Kurt Anderson writing in New York magazine asks what do Christian millenarians, jihadists, Ivy League professors and baby-boomers have in common?  They’re all hot for the apocalypse. The End of the World As They Know It. There’s a little frisson of pleasure in evoking apocalyptic visions, knowing that your going and everyone else is going with you. It’s a pleasure devoid of responsibility. More…

Fighting Political Correctness

Just back from vacation, I wasn’t prepared for the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.   I immersed myself in blogs, video clips and the ABC presentation of The Path to 9/11.     I was at MIT for a breakfast seminar when I first heard.  Who would have imagined that there were people filled with such hatred that they wanted to kill thousands of innocent civilians.   It was a difficult time getting out of Cambridge that morning as the police had blocked off so many streets.    No one felt safe.  History had come calling.  Nothing would ever be the same.  We were at war, not of our choosing. More…

Remembering 9/12

My wife Kath and I were in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001 to attend Nelson Heller's conference on education technology.  Prior to that, we spent five days in New York City on a brief vacation.  I have a picture of Kath on the top of the World Trade Center on September 9th.  It was a beautifully sunny day.  No one could have anticipated how dark the next few days would be.  More…