“Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”
– Oscar Wilde
Which do you prefer – making casual small talk, or engaging in deep, meaningful conversations? Personally I prefer deeper conversations with people whose company I enjoy, and in this article I’m going to reveal a simple, effective strategy I use when meeting new people. This step by step strategy enables me to to break the ice, quickly transition through small talk – and get on to forging real connections with people.
It’s not just me that thinks deep conversations are good policy however – recent research suggests a correlation between happiness and more meaningful conversations. In a study published in Psychological Science, researchers found:
“[H]igher well-being was associated with having less small talk, and having more substantive conversations… [C]ompared with the unhappiest participants, the happiest participants had roughly one third as much small talk (10.2% vs. 28.3%) and twice as many substantive conversations (45.9% vs. 21.8%).“
Does that mean that having deeper conversations will make you happier? I can’t guarantee that. I can guarantee that if you follow my strategy and enjoy deep conversations, you’ll enjoy your social interactions more – and likely make more meaningful connections in the process.
So, what is this strategy? I call it conversation hacking.
Read the full article: Conversation Hacking – How To Make Small Talk Work For You
Let’s dive right into some of the most common procrastinati0n excuses I hear – and well, also excuses that I make!
Read the full article: 7 Common Procrastination Excuses
“Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can’t afford to lose.”
-Thomas Edison
Do you sometimes stress trying to make time to finish everything by the end of the day? Or find yourself wishing there were just a few more hours? And most importantly – when you look back at how that time was spent, do you sometimes spend it other than how you intended?
Would you spend 10 minutes planning, if it could guarantee it would free up hours for you to spend on what you really wanted? For me anything that helps me make more time is valuable. Once I started tracking where I spent my time, I then moved to actively budgeting it – and this is the strategy I use week after week, and at this point it literally takes me a few minutes a week, and pays dividends in terms of hours.
Today join me in this discussion about how to create a time budget, and then a bonus tip at the end that I use to instantly make time for anything new that I let into my life.
Read the full article: A Powerful Time Management Strategy – The Time Budget
I love the peace of hiking up into the Koolau Range. Far away from the road, it’s silent except for the crunching of pine needles under my feet and the occasional pebble I kick rolling off the cliff to my right. I’m wearing my favorite tank top, blue hiking boots and a bright orange backpack with the water hose from my CamelBak snaking over my left shoulder. The sun streams in from between the trees and for a moment I am completely enveloped by the pine forest.
I exhale as I hoist myself over some rocks. I wipe my face, survey the terrain and continue my trek up the mountain.
Here we go.
Read the full article: Get Your Hands Dirty – How To Commit To Your Goals
“A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means”
– William Hazlitt
Imagine the last time you had to work on some dreary task – something you truly dreaded. Go on, close your eyes and do it. I bet just now, merely thinking about it changed the way you felt – your emotions. You may even have furrowed your brow, grimaced, tensed up your muscles or pursed your lips. Just thinking about it likely changed your body language.
Now close your eyes and think about a time you were doing something you loved. Perhaps a hobby, sport, or working towards a dream of yours. How does that make you feel? I bet your body language and feelings changed again.
That difference in attitude is the difference between how we approach doing something because it’s work (something that you have to do) and doing something because it’s your passion (something that you want to do) – and we’ll explore that a little in today’s post.
Note that in this case, when I say work I don’t necessarily mean your career. There are plenty of people in jobs and careers they love. I’m taking my definition of work from the general productivity sense of “stuff I don’t want to do – but have to.”
Read the full article: Work Versus Passion
Ever have one of those days where you wake up, and the whole day you just can’t get your mind off an event that night? This is a story about one of those days.
All day I waited – waited and watched the time tick by; waited for 8 p.m.
***
The usher scans my ticket and I walk in – up the stairs, to the balcony, row L, seat 15.
My heart is pounding, and everyone in the arena is sitting on the edge of their seat, their eyes focused with anticipation at the piano on stage. It’s almost showtime.
Suddenly the lights go down – and the whole place erupts in cheers.
Read the full article: Today Is Your Golden Ticket
