From the Author

All else being equal, people prefer to work with, help, and follow people they like. Aside from all the other positives, that’s enough of a reason for you to try improving your likeability. Here are some relevant factors to work on: Avoid Mood Swings Among the most difficult people to like are those who blow […]

One of the underlying truths about productivity and success is this: they require a special effort. In most situations, it’s simply far easier to remain average rather than excel. In fact, functioning at a higher level of productivity and success not only requires you to do more than the average person, it usually requires you

We’ve built a “hurry up” culture in which a fast result is often thought to be the highest prize: “Same day delivery,” “Lose weight fast,” “Ready in five minutes,” Twitter, Tik Tok, and so forth. But favoring “hurry up” can be a mistake, because people rarely feel satisfied with a poor result just because they

No, really. I’ll show you why the conventional thinking about problems is not always correct, and how they can sometimes – although not always – be good. Granted, some problems are bad. For example, the sinking of the Titanic. But not every problem is like the fate of the Titanic.   It’s also true that

Whether you know it or not, you face two sets of constraints on your ability to be productive and successful: One comes from the external limits imposed on you by society, your job, your family and friends, your circumstances, your resources, unavailable opportunities, and all the rest. The other comes from the limits you place

If you look back on your mental processes at various times, you’ll recognize periods when you were busier than others. Think about those busier times, and you’ll probably remember that you naturally prioritized certain tasks, projects, and goals while letting others slide, at least a little. When you did this, you were managing your mental

If this were a perfect world, everything would go great all the time. But since it’s not, we all must regularly deal with breakage: things that go wrong with situations, events, material items, relationships, plans, opportunities, hopes, dreams, and more. They all unintentionally encounter and suffer from occasional adverse forces or developments. Since you can’t

It’s wonderful to have fresh, creative ideas. It’s even better when they come to you easily and plentifully. Some ideas arrive in a flash of inspiration, while others emerge only after long periods of thought, research, and experience. Either way, it’s disappointing when those ideas don’t fly. Assuming at least some of your ideas are

We generally don’t allow machines to have an “off” day. But we humans can’t avoid them. There will be days when you will feel ill, upset, sluggish, or in a funk. You may be injured or suffering from a difficult experience. You may simply have woken up “on the wrong side of the bed.” For

Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t help thinking that people who want to be more productive and successful need an extra helping of self-reliance. Why? Because the vast majority of people are not very productive or successful, and it takes better than average self-reliance to depart from that well-trodden path, strike out more-or-less on