Showing posts with label mind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mind. Show all posts

2013-11-11

"Reading Isn't Free. The Cost Is Opening Your Mind To New Perspectives"

Today, as I was riding my bike 3.5 miles to play volleyball, I thought up of a new tagline for my blog, "Anonsage. Think. Do. Learn."

The old tagline was, "Thinking about thinking about thinking. Don't be stuck in a paradigm, facts change." And, I really like that one. I might even use it again. Or at least feed it to one of my sub-blogs to use for awhile. But, now, I think I have a better line, only because my old lines has been in use for such a long time.

"Reading isn't free. The cost is opening your mind."

Here's some other variations of it that I was thinking of:

  • Reading isn't free. The cost is opening your mind to new perspectives.
    • Personally, this might be my favorite because it has "new perspective" in it. But, in order to be Simply Advanced™, I have to limit things if not too much is taken away. I hope "cost is opening your mind" makes enough sense. Perhaps, I'll try both in some A/B testing. I would like to see which version aligns with readers better.
  • The cost of reading is opening your mind [to new perspectives].
    • It's short and sweet, but I don't think it is as powerful as, "Reading isn't free".
  • The cost of listening is opening your mind to new perspectives.
    • This is a more general quote, which is more useful when in a non-reading context.

I could think of others right now, but my blog posts have recently been getting on the really long side. So, I'll leave it up as an exercise to the reader to think of more variations on "reading is not free".

In my first used version of this, it will have to be "Reading isn't free. The cost is opening your mind to new ideas and perspectives." even though it is a little longer. I hope readers will better understand what happens in this blog. But, I'm still really thinking about taking out the "ideas" part... hmmm...

~ Simply Advanced ~

ps - At the time of this writing, Google search returns no results for any of these quotes/taglines in quotations (",").



2013-09-18

Money In The Bank Is Freedom On My Back

"Money in the bank is freedom on my back."

I'd like to know what your first impressions are in the comments below this post.

(Now, the rest of the story)

This is the advice that I was thinking about giving my friend. Two more ways of putting it are "Money in the bank is freedom of choice" and "Money in the bank is peace of mind".

Basically, the point I want to get across is that you don't have to spend all of your money as soon you get it. Every time you buy something it is either consumed right away, or it is just something that you will have to worry about.

Then again, this could just be my personal biases coming out. I prefer to be more minimalistic, thus, I tend to think that it is more right to own less things. (Sidenote: I also like to keep enough tools on hand to be prepared for just about everything.)

If I had more money to spend, then I would want to put it into things that will last. Food and candy doesn't last. Electronic goods are one of my favorite and "required" purchases. But, probably even better purchases are experiences. Being able to do something that you haven't done before. Those are the things that are going to last a lifetime.

And, since I'm just free-writing now, probably the other best use of money is to spend it on things where the rewards/benefits are greater than the cost. I guess that just provides a good generalization for how money should be spent. Unfortunately, some people's idea of benefit can be greatly biased when thinking about themselves. So, to change up the generalization a little bit and reduce the bias just a little bit (this works for people who know they have bias), I have arrived at the following: Probably the other best use of money is to spend it on things where the benefits to others exceed the costs to oneself.

This was not to anybody in particular. Just conversing with myself... =]
~ Simply Advanced ~



2013-06-04

Being In A Startup Is Just A Means To An End

Here's a great article to read that I saw on Hacker News: http://al3x.net/2013/05/23/letter-to-a-young-programmer.html

Also, http://valleywag.gawker.com/investor-to-kids-a-startup-job-is-the-new-office-job-511011154 does a  great job in writing an article about it.

My main thought is that it is a great line to keep in mind when I am in my own personal startup. I have to remember that having my own startup wasn't the ultimate goal. There is something that I want to do with it.

"A Startup Is Just A Means To An End"

Thanks for the idea: Alex Payne

~ Simply Advanced ~



2013-02-26

Mind Blown: Of(t)en

The T in "often" is not pronounced!

I first learned this in a public speaking book. Then, I checked Google. Then, I checked The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (paperback style, 2004) which also says the word "often" is pronounced "o-fen".

And just now, I used TheFreeDictionary.com to hear the word pronounced in an American and British accent.

Mind Blown!

~ Simply Advanced ~



2013-01-24

Electronics-Free Zone

I just read an interesting article on Lifehacker about having an electronics-free zone in a home. Even though I am one for having technology and electronics everywhere, I really like the idea of having absolutely no electronic devices or outlets in at least one room at home.

http://lifehacker.com/5977939

And to expand on the idea, perhaps this mentality can added to restaurants, airplanes, workplaces, and Tuesdays 11-2pm. Just throwing ideas out there. That way people have clear their minds by not having to worry about a phone going off or having an email to answer. By clearing your mind, you could potentially achieve a higher level of thinking and creativity.


~ Simply Advanced ~



2012-12-31

Something New

Lifehacker is probably the best site to find productivity hacks, clever uses for items, and many other interesting topics that tend to make your life better. Today, I am going Lifehacker-diving again. A term that I just made up as I wrote the sentence down. It means that I am going to open up a whole bunch of different articles in different tabs, then just read through them all and possibly follow links to other websites.

Something I thought about doing before is just pasting every single article/link that I read. And, maybe, I'll precursor each of the titles/links with a plus or minus sign as my suggestion, and 0 for neutral (aka depends on reader preference). If the title isn't apparent in the URL, only then will I write it out.

Well, here it goes: (Starting with http://lifehacker.com)
[--] http://lifehacker.com/5941712/how-much-does-your-computer-stress-you-out
[++] http://lifehacker.com/5957553/stop-procrastinating-by-clearing-to-neutral [I do this already =]]
[+] http://www.asianefficiency.com/health/manipulating-bedroom-sleeping-temperature/ [I have performed many experiments with different sleeping arrangements. It is good to try out.]
[+] http://www.asianefficiency.com/habits/morning-rituals-revisited/ [Definitely]
[+] http://lifehacker.com/5971173/three-quick-and-easy-ways-to-quiet-your-mind
[0] http://lifehacker.com/5969720/how-can-i-deal-with-a-slow-internet-connection
[0] http://lifehacker.com/5971740/what-else-can-i-do-with-my-new-ereader-besides-read-and-buy-books
[0] http://lifehacker.com/5971340/how-can-i-get-my-unresponsive-friends-to-actually-return-my-messages
[+] http://blog.getresponse.com/best-time-to-send-email-infographic.html [Summary: Best times are 8-10am and 3-4pm]
[+] http://lifehacker.com/5964285/whats-all-the-fuss-about-evernote-why-do-people-use-it [I am on and off with Evernote. I'm leaning to go paperless receipts with this rather than others though]
[0] http://lifehacker.com/5666954/avoid-everything-buckets-aka-why-i-cant-get-into-apps-like-evernote
[0] http://lifehacker.com/5892905/the-secret-weapon-combines-gtd-and-evernote-into-one-synchronized-productivity-system
[+] http://www.thesecretweapon.org/ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE3amWDQ2io (related)
[+] http://lifehacker.com/5955229/why-does-everyone-hate-windows-8-should-i-upgrade [I like Windows 8 and think it's great]
[0] http://lifehacker.com/5967154/what-should-i-do-now-that-google-apps-accounts-are-no-longer-free
[+] http://lifehacker.com/5958893/why-its-worth-it-to-purchase-your-own-domain-name [I would like to purchase more domains. I have a list of excellent names to use.]
[+] http://lifehacker.com/5905702/dropbox-google-drive-skydrive-and-others-pricing-per-gb-and-more-compared-in-convenient-charts [I currently use Dropbox, Box, Drive, and SkyDrive. Eventually, I may dish out for just one of them. I just haven't needed to yet.]
[0] http://lifehacker.com/5959742/how-can-i-turn-my-mess-of-ideas-into-something-organized-and-useful [I've already been doing this, hoping to learn more, but this article can defintely benefit other idea guys]
[+] http://lifehacker.com/5957559/how-do-i-answer-when-im-stumped-by-an-important-question
[+] http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/herbivorousdinosaurs/p/parasaurolophus.htm [I don't typically care for about.com, but this was linked in the article and was a good read]
[+] http://lifehacker.com/5853250/how-to-sound-like-you-know-what-youre-talking-about-even-when-you-dont [Make sure you are confident when you do know what you are talking about.]
[+] http://tribalseduction.com/blog/5-ways-to-act-like-an-expert-in-online-communities/
[++] https://www.google.com/search?q=define+ad+nauseam
[0] http://lifehacker.com/5957605/does-it-matter-where-i-buy-my-music
[+] http://lifehacker.com/5971711/what-they-dont-tell-you-about-promotions
[++] http://lifehacker.com/5967464/treat-your-freelance-work-like-a-stock-portfolio-to-meet-your-income-goals
[+] http://99u.com/tips/7258/Why-You-Should-Treat-Your-Freelance-Portfolio-Like-a-Stock-Portfolio
[++] http://lifehacker.com/5968613/what-lying-actually-does-to-your-brain-and-body-every-day [The article is pretty macabre. Seems like there is a lot of stress involved. I double-plussed this just because I feel others should have the great opportunity of reading it]
[++] http://lifehacker.com/5971473/how-to-tackle-three-of-the-toughest-interview-questions [Bookmarked. I am definitely going to read this at least two more times]
[0] http://lifehacker.com/5971774/zombies-run-turns-your-exercise-routine-into-a-game-is-half-off-right-now [I do like zombies. ..in the way that as long as they don't bother me, then I won't bother them =b]
[+] http://lifehacker.com/5971452/how-i-learned-to-rely-on-my-own-memory-and-stop-depending-on-technology [I've worried about the use-it-or-lose-it regarding our brains. I like the poetry of the article. One thing I know I will forget if I don't write it down is thoughts right before going to sleep. I've told myself many times, "Oh, it's such a huge and awesome idea that I couldn't possibly forget it in the morning", but I do. =/ Then again, maybe I haven't worked hard enough to develop that memory skill yet.]
[-] http://lifehacker.com/5972105/should-i-wait-a-few-months-to-see-if-computer-component-prices-drop-or-buy-now
[+] http://lifehacker.com/5836879/what-stress-actually-does-to-you-and-what-you-can-do-about-it [I've also read a lot about Nirvana and Zen and have been able to reach it; I have experienced complete inner peace before and have been able to train myself to completely clear my mind. If somebody asks me about it, then I don't mind sharing. One of the side-effects for me was that after learning how to reach Nirvana, for a while it was too easy to get in the state of mind again. I could be in the middle of a conversation and suddenly, I'm just free from the world, just, there. I'm getting tingling feelings just thinking about it. I find just regular meditation to be more useful for me (someone with very low stress. (people with higher stress should be able to complete clear their mind)). It allows my brain to wander and wonder. I like having thoughts flowing through my head, and being able to think subconciously. Right now I'm thinking it's kinda like knowing your brain is doing an automatic defrag, it's a good thing. I should write another post on just this one topic..]
[+] http://lifehacker.com/5966433/how-to-get-an-energy-boost-without-caffeine
[+++] http://lifehacker.com/5965826/seven-productivity-myths-debunked-by-science-and-common-sense [This is the only three-plussed article. **hinthint** But, as always, remember to take everything with a grain of salt]
[+] http://lifehacker.com/282544/merlin-mann-presents-inbox-zero [Bookmarked to read later. Hopefully, I will learn something new. I already do my part to achieve Inbox Zero. I spread the word around when I can too.]
[+] http://lifehacker.com/5965334/how-to-motivate-people-to-do-things-they-dont-want-to-do [Good enough to want me to read two Wikipedia pages to read another day: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_disclosure and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-determination_theory only because I'm starting to get tired of all the reading now. Time for sleep soon.]
[Only eight more tabs to go, but it could easily turn into sixteen tabs]

Jk, just made a new folder for the rest of the tabs. I think I will try to do another post like this one. At least until I finish up all the ones I opened today.

=====================

Wow, I haven't done this much lifehackering in a very long time. Feels Good.

And now it's time for sleep. I lost two hours of sleep reading through all of these articles. Hopefully, a lot of REM so that these readings stay stored in my head.

~ Simply Advanced ~

ps - One conclusion that you can draw from this elongated list of links is that, if they all have one thing in common, then it would be that I'm interested in that topic. I'd like to hear other people's thoughts about the list.



2012-06-09

Expand Your Mind - Reminisce

Thanks to StumbleUpon, I just found another gem in the interwebs. Cross a touch of nostalgia and second helping of expanded thinking and you'll find Ten Bizarre Theories About Movies And Television!

I love bizarre, crazy, out-of-this-universe theories (which, the above may or may not be the case).



;]
~ Simply Advanced ~

ps - Perhaps, instead of saying I love conspiracy theories I should say that I like the ability to be able to entertain multiple theories/viewpoints at once. Or maybe I just like creativity.