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Harvard’s most popular course in the history is positive psychology.  Shahar’s curriculum about the psychological aspects of life fulfillment and flourishing has been standing room only for more than a decade.  One of the key tenants to his philosophy is the critical skill of choosing.  It’s the highest form of creation, the professor says, and choices can create momentum by launching a chain reaction whose impact is greater than…

Starting a good habit requires a whole lot of discipline, but stopping a bad one requires a whole new understanding.  It begs us to approach our behavior from a more holistic sense. To explore all of the feelings and thoughts behind our actions.  Kicking sugar, for example is an exceedingly difficult task. No matter how many diets and workouts and cleanses and new year’s resolutions we attempt, the world’s most…

Alan was a man in his early sixties who had finally reached a state of genuine peace, complete relaxation, profound calm and deep contentment in which he felt unburdened by his life’s troubles for the first time in recent memory.  Five seconds later, medical technicians wrenched the man back into consciousness with a pair of defibrillator pads, cutting short his soothing state of bliss.  It’s the punchline of the…

Creating a value inventory can be frustrating and uncomfortable exercise.  Especially if you’re too humble to turn off your modesty filter.  But if you’re willing to engage your imaginations, own your authentic power and honestly appraise that which your bring to the table, there’s no telling what you might accomplish.  I have a friend who loves to ask his clients: What can you do in five minutes that will…

Quicksand is a combination of sand, silt, clay and water.  But what’s interesting it, the material itself is harmless. Geologists figured out long ago that the density of quicksand is twice that of the human body. Sinking is scientifically impossible.  And so, the real danger is freaking out and fighting to get free. Because each time you try to put your leg up, the suction pulls you back in…

Few things were more infuriating than when your older sibling would play the stop hitting yourself game with you as a child.  He would use your own hand against you, playfully and annoyingly forcing you to hit yourself in the face while repeating the silly statement.  And all you could do was take it. Because the sole purpose of the game was to elicit a reaction from you. If you cried…

You don’t actually learn anything in college, it just shows you can complete something.  That’s far more significant and respected and attractive than the yawnable ability to solve equations and memorize dates and regurgitate an ocean of information about eighteenth century romantic poetry.  After all, we live in a world that rewards finishing. Following through. Fully and faithfully realizing the execution of a difficult, expensive, exhausting and long term…

Seventeen years ago, I started wearing a nametag twenty four seven, just to make people friendlier.  And it worked. Better than I could have possibly imagined. Thanks to my curiosity experiment, I’ve been able to connect with tens of thousands of people around the world whom I otherwise never would met, many of whom have become lifelong friends.  I even built a brand, a business and a career out…

I thrive on ritual and routine and structure and organization and decisiveness and commitment.  That’s how my personality orients itself to the external world. Through constants and practices that reinforce my sense of control over myself and my environment.  Even in the smallest degrees and most innocuous moments, I will find a way to intentionally design and manage the user interface of my daily existence, bringing a measure of…

Rand’s iconic protagonist asked the question: What greater wealth is there than to own your life and spend it growing?  It’s a deeply empowering philosophy because it reminds us that we don’t have to apologize for growing. Even if we feel survivor’s guilt about those we’ve left behind, the harsh reality is, we can’t bring everyone with us on the journey.  Each man is responsible for their own evolution, learning his…