Honoring(ˈänər) Your Hidden Goals

By Steve Pavlina

When you look back on the past calendar(ˈkaləndər) quarter(ˈkwôrdər), consider what you actually got done, even if your actions and behaviors didn’t align(əˈlīn) well with your stated(ˈstādəd) goals. Your time went somewhere, so where did it actually go?

Use the lens of seeing everything you did as an accomplishment, even if your main achievement was watching Game of Thrones(THrōn). Instead of beating(ˈbēdiNG) yourself up for what you didn’t do, take a deeper look at what you did do.

So then your achievements might actually look like:

Watch Game of Thrones.
Spend two hours per day on Facebook.
Exercise sporadically(spəˈradək(ə)lē), averaging about 30 minutes per week, mostly Yoga with Adriene(ā) videos.
Gain(ɡān) 10 pounds of fat(fat).
And so on…

Now consider what goals you would have set at the start of the quarter if you wanted to match what you actually did during those three months. Take a step back from the actions, and see if you can connect them with a grander meaning. Why did you do these items? What did you gain from them? These are your hidden goals.

For example, your hidden goals based on the actions above might be:

Take a break from the world each day with a deep dive into fantasy(ˈfan(t)əsē) entertainment(ˌen(t)ərˈtānmənt).
Leverage(ˈlev(ə)rij) the benefits of online socializing each day, so I can feel connected to people while also keeping my distance(ˈdistəns), thereby allowing me to have plenty(ˈplen(t)ē) of flexible alone time.
Let my body go a bit, so I can use that as a reason for not going out as much instead of having to focus on the virus situation(ˌsiCHəˈwāSH(ə)n). Also give me a reason to continue staying home even when the virus situation clears up.

Try to put a semi(ˈsemī)-positive frame on each hidden goal. Consider that you may have done what you did because you overlooked important desires that weren’t represented in your stated goals.

…
https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/09/honoring-your-hidden-goals/

How to Be More Present(ˈprez(ə)nt) & Alive in the Moment(ˈmōmənt)

By Leo Babauta

One of the people in my Fearless Mastery(ˈmast(ə)rē) mastermind(ˈmastərˌmīnd) group is an amazing leader who is exceedingly(ikˈsēdiNGlē) good at getting things done and leading a team.

Her entire life is filled with doing, and she’s so good at it.

What she wants is to shift more into Being, and it’s a beautiful intention.

She wants to be more present, more joyful, more appreciative. She wants more fun! And to be truly happy to be with the person she’s speaking with.

I freaking(frēk) love this.

So how do we become more present and alive in each moment? I have some ideas, based on the work I’ve been doing over the last 15 years on this.

Practice fully pouring(pôr) yourself into every act. This is a Zen practice — being fully in every task you do, every act. If you’re sitting in meditation, be fully in your seat(sēt), not have your mind be somewhere else. If you’re brushing your teeth, just brush your teeth — and be completely immersed in that. This is a practice, of course, which means we’ll forget to do it most of the time, but it’s an incredibly rich practice. Fully express yourself in everything you do.
See the divinity(dəˈvinədē) in the person in front of you or in this moment. When I say “divinity,” it might mean God if you believe in God … but if you don’t, it’s seeing the incredible gift of the world, of each person. Seeing the profound(prəˈfound) beauty in everything. Seeing the sacredness(ˈsākrədnəs) of the ordinary(ˈôrdnˌerē). When you’re talking with someone, can you fully appreciate their divinity? Can you feel wonder at the world around you, no matter where you are? This is an incredible practice that will help you feel more alive, each time you do it.
Let yourself express your emotions physically. Working with my coach, I’ve discovered that I don’t let myself feel anger — the world trained me that it’s not OK to express or even feel anger. So every day, I practice not only feeling it, but physically expressing it in a safe way that doesn’t hurt people – for example, punching a pillow(ˈpilō) or yelling your head off in the woods or going crazy on a heavy punching bag. It’s not just anger, though – most of us barely(ˈberlē) let ourselves feel any emotions. We can express them physically — scream into a pillow, throw(THrō) a tantrum(ˈtantrəm) by kicking and banging your fists(fist) on the ground, express pain by writhing(ˈrīT͟HiNG) in anguish(ˈaNGɡwiSH) or letting your heart be broken. When we express our emotions fully and physically in our bodies, we unleash(ˌənˈlēSH) our vitality(vīˈtalədē).
Open your damn(dam) heart! Most of us move through our days with our hearts closed. We do our tasks, go through the motions, but we aren’t connected to our hearts. (Some people, of course, are able to live in their hearts much of the time — let them be our role models!) What would it be like to be open-hearted today, feel loving toward every person you see, loving and tender toward the world around you? Try it and see!

As you can see, these are not things that you’ll be able to get perfect, immediately or even ever. They are things to practice.

But I can tell you, in my experience, this kind of practice of being fully immersed in each activity, with your heart open, your emotions fully expressed, seeing the divinity in everything and everyone around you — this will help us be fully alive in each moment.

https://zenhabits.net/present-alive/

No rules in this game

By Derek Sivers

Everyone thinks you have to move to the big music cities. But Mihkel Raud in Estonia(eˈstōnēə) sold thousands of albums(ˈalbəm), 100% independent, without leaving Estonia. “Rondellus Sabbatum” was an album so unique that word-of-mouth sold thousands, with hardly any promotion.

Everyone says you need to make your music appeal(əˈpēl) to the masses. But Regina(rəˈjēnə) Spektor proved that emphasizing(ˈemfəˌsīz) your quirks(kwərk) gets you further. Listen to her early albums from 2001 and 2002. She was more mainstream piano vocal(ˈvōk(ə)l). But the weirder(wird) she got with “Soviet(ˈsōvēət) Kitsch(kiCH)”, the more remarkable and noteworthy(ˈnōtˌwərT͟Hē) she became, and that’s when her career really took off.

Everyone is worried about piracy(ˈpīrəsē), copyright, and trademark(ˈtrādˌmärk). But Jonathan(ˈjänəTHən) Coulton writes a song a day, gives most away, and is one of the most successful independent artists today. By making more and more music, and letting it flow, his music has gotten into unusual places like webcomics(ˈwebkämik), audiobooks, comedy(ˈkämədē) shows, and others’ YouTube videos. He disclosed that he makes about $500,000 a year by licensing(ˈlīsnsiNG), touring(to͝or), donations(dōˈnāSH(ə)n), and people choosing to buy his music from his site, even though they could get it for free.

Because the music business is mostly perception, and minds are irrational(i(r)ˈraSH(ə)nəl), you can really have some fun with the counter-intuitive(inˈt(y)o͞oədiv) pop-psychology(sīˈkäləjē) of it.

A great way to win fans is to target a sharp niche(niCH) — to proudly exclude 99% of the public. So the way to win fans is to exclude almost everyone.

A great way to get funding is to act as if you’ll never get funding — to make a plan that doesn’t need it. So the way to get funding is to ignore funding.

A great way to have a serious(ˈsirēəs) career in music is to take nothing seriously. Do the opposite(ˈäpəzət) of other musicians. Make up your own game.

Gurus(ˈɡo͝oro͞o) will say what you must do or can’t do. They mean well, but they’re wrong.

For every rule they tell you, there’s an exception. They are just telling you their specific past, not your specific future.

There are no rules in this game. You change them as you go.

https://sive.rs/360

language and thought are wedded(wed)

freedom withers(ˈwiT͟Hərz) into greed(ɡrēd)

By Henry H. Walker

Milton(miltn) had Satan(ˈsātn) realize the transformative(tran(t)sˈfôrmədiv) power of the mind:
Heaven can become Hell, Hell become Heaven,
depending on the mind’s take on it all,
I think of Milton as I consider
how the word and concept of “freedom” is used today:
the founders of our country wanted freedom
of religion(rəˈlijən), from religion,
of escape from tyranny(ˈtirənē)
where one’s life is subject
to the whim((h)wim) of monarch(ˈmänərk), of government,
of escape from the past becoming destiny(ˈdestinē):
life of son to reprise(rəˈprēz) life of father,
life of daughter at the whim of husband,
they sought freedom of thought,
of speech, of individuality(ˌindəˌvijo͞oˈalədē),
now many minds seem to confuse freedom with license,
freedom equals greed, self-indulgence(inˈdəljəns),
a fundamental reshuffling(rēˈSHəfəl) of the idea,
the lesser(ˈlesər) within people wants to not be shackled(ˈSHak(ə)l)
to community, to the other, to growing up:
I don’t want to wear a mask,
and I don’t care what that might do to another,
I don’t want to pay any taxes,
and I just want to spend on myself,
I don’t want to feel how my words can disturb(dəˈstərb) another
so I argue for the freedom to be rude
and disparage(dəˈsperij) politeness(pəˈlītnəs) and inclusivity(ˌinklo͞oˈsivədē) as “political correctness,”
such self-centeredness allows us
to let the forests(ˈfôrəst) be cut down, to burn,
to let fossil(ˈfäsəl) fuels(ˈfyo͞o(ə)l) be consumed with abandon:
my car, my boat, my plane,
my unfettered(ˌənˈfedər) tread(tred) upon the Earth,
more important than my grandchildren’s future:
supersize my gluttony(ˈɡlətnē) rather than diet,
live for the summer and not prepare for the winter:
we can be the grasshopper(ˈɡrasˌhäpər) and not the ant,

language and thought are wedded,
and I don’t like the cheating(CHēt)
that withers freedom into greed.

https://henryspoetry.blogspot.com

Tears in Heaven

By Eric Clapton

Would you know my name

If I saw you in heaven

Would it be the same

If I saw you in heaven

I must be strong

And carry on

‘Cause I know I don’t belong

Here in heaven

Would you hold my hand

If I saw you in heaven

Would you help me stand

If I saw you in heaven

I’ll find my way

Through night and day

‘Cause I know I just can’t stay

Here in heaven

Time can bring you down

Time can bend your knees

Time can break your heart

Have you begging please begging please

Beyond the door

There’s peace I’m sure

And I know there’ll be no more

Tears in heaven

Would you know my name

If I saw you in heaven

Would you be the same

If I saw you in heaven

I must be strong

And carry on

‘Cause I know I don’t belong

Here in heaven

https://y.qq.com/n/yqq/song/003zJneL2sc89G.html

Keep your online dictionary. I want the 20-volume(ˈvälyəm) Oxford(ˈäksfərd) set

By Thelma Fayle `

In 1974, a friend paid $90 for a dictionary. While the flies were going in and out of my cranked(kraNGkt) jaw(jô), he confided(kənˈfīd) more than the price. He said his two-volume set of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was the “condensed(kənˈdenst) version.” His treasure weighed 12 pounds with its magnifying(ˈmaɡnəˌfī) glass stashed in a little drawer(ˈdrôr) above the books shimmied(ˈSHimē) into their royal(ˈroi(ə)l) blue case. He told me there was also a 20-volume set, and it was “the best dictionary in the world.”

I was 16 then, and have wanted that book booty(ˈbo͞odē) ever since.

Almost 40 years later, as I was quietly(ˈkwīətlē) slipping out of my new lover’s arms at 4 a.m. to head to the local annual(ˈany(o͞o)əl) book sale – a fundraiser(ˈfəndˌrāzər) for literacy(ˈlidərəsē) projects – Daryl whispered, “Why on earth would you leave so early when they only open the doors at 9?”

“Hoping to find a very special dictionary,” I whispered.

I wiggled(ˈwiɡəl) into spooning(spo͞on) for a few more cozy(ˈkōzē) minutes to describe my decadent(ˈdekəd(ə)nt) dream of finding a second-hand, 20-volume set of the OED. If I found one, I planned to have a square coffee table built for it. The top would be a sheet of tempered glass and I would line up 10 books on either side with spines(spīn) facing up, so they could be read from above. I would place my dictionary-coffee table in the centre of my living room as a focal(ˈfōk(ə)l) point. It would be the biggest of dictionaries in the smallest of houses – and I would use it all the time. I whispered a description of my imaginary(iˈmajəˌnerē) find, as though it were appearing right in front of us; Daryl could see my old dream too.

I would have invited him along, but waiting hours in a pre-dawn(dôn) lineup for a book sale was too much to ask of a new beau(bō). I slipped(slipt) away and left him in his own dreams.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-keep-your-online-dictionary-i-want-the-20-volume-oxford-set/

Mooncakes

By 王渊源John

Some people love mooncakes. Some people hate them. Me? It mostly depends on the flavor(ˈflāvər). I’m not a big fan of the ones with the stringy(ˈstriNGē) pork, but I love the ones with lotus(ˈlōdəs) paste(pāst) in the middle. I don’t like the egg yolk(yōk) that is usually in those, so I eat it first and then enjoy the lotus paste.

In recent years, there have been a lot of very creative mooncakes. Häagen Dazs, for instance, sells “ice cream mooncakes”, but they’re really more like “mooncake-shaped(SHāpt) ice cream”. I eat and enjoy these, but they don’t really give me that holiday feeling.

Each year when Mid-Autumn Festival comes around, I’m excited to eat some mooncakes. Then, after eating them for days and days following the festival, often for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I never want to see them again. By the next fall, though, I’m always ready for some more.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Enjoy the mooncakes! Enjoy the moon!

Morning Pages

Recently, I’ve been doing “Morning Pages”. What are Morning Pages, you might ask? They are a practice recommended by the writer Julia Cameron(ˈkamərən) in her book The Artist’s Way. Here is a description of Morning pages from her website:

Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages – they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole(kəˈjōl), prioritize(prīˈôrəˌtīz) and synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page…and then do three more pages tomorrow.

I’ve found this practice to be an effective way to clear my mind as a start my day. I’m not writing a novel, but I still find it helpful to spend time writing down some of the myriad(ˈmirēəd) thoughts that are bouncing(ˈbounsiNG) around my head. I’m not sure if Morning Pages are something that I will continue for the rest of my life, but I have found them valuable over the past few months, and I plan to continue doing them.

We aren’t so bold as to claim that the above is the “right” investment philosophy, but it’s ours, and we would be remiss if we weren’t clear in the approach we have taken and will continue to take.

https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/

Jeff Bezos: It’s All About the Long Term

We believe that a fundamental measure of our success will be the shareholder(ˈSHerˌhōldər) value we create over the long term. This value will be a direct result of our ability to extend and solidify(səˈlidəˌfī) our current market leadership position. The stronger our market leadership, the more powerful our economic(ˌekəˈnämik) model. Market leadership can translate directly to higher revenue(ˈrevəˌn(y)o͞o), higher profitability(ˌpräfədəˈbilədē), greater capital(ˈkapədl) velocity(vəˈläsədē), and correspondingly(ˌkärəˈspändiNGlē) stronger returns on invested capital.

Our decisions have consistently reflected this focus. We first measure ourselves in terms of the metrics(ˈmetriks) most indicative of our market leadership: customer and revenue growth, the degree to which our customers continue to purchase from us on a repeat basis(ˈbāsəs), and the strength(streNG(k)TH) of our brand. We have invested and will continue to invest aggressively(əˈɡresivlē) to expand and leverage(ˈlev(ə)rij) our customer base, brand, and infrastructure(ˈinfrəˌstrək(t)SHər) as we move to establish an enduring(inˈd(y)o͝oriNG) franchise(ˈfranˌCHīz).

Because of our emphasis(ˈemfəsəs) on the long term, we may make decisions and weigh(wā) tradeoffs(trād) differently than some companies. Accordingly, we want to share with you our fundamental management and decision-making approach so that you, our shareholders, may confirm that it is consistent(kənˈsistənt) with your investment philosophy(fəˈläsəfē):

We will continue to focus relentlessly(rəˈlentləslē) on our customers.

We will continue to make investment decisions in light of long-term market leadership considerations rather than short-term profitability considerations or short-term Wall Street reactions.

We will continue to measure our programs and the effectiveness of our investments analytically(ˌanəˈlidik(ə)lē), to jettison(ˈjedəsən) those that do not provide acceptable returns, and to step up our investment in those that work best. We will continue to learn from both our successes and our failures.

We will make bold(bōld) rather than timid(ˈtimid) investment decisions where we see a sufficient(səˈfiSHənt) probability of gaining(ɡān) market leadership advantages. Some of these investments will pay off, others will not, and we will have learned another valuable lesson in either case.

…

We aren’t so bold as to claim that the above is the “right” investment philosophy, but it’s ours, and we would be remiss(rəˈmis) if we weren’t clear in the approach we have taken and will continue to take.

…
https://blog.aboutamazon.com/company-news/2019-letter-to-shareholders

A new AI language model generates poetry and prose(prōz)

GPT-3 can be eerily(ˈirilē) human-like—for better and for worse

The sec said, “Musk,/your tweets are a blight./They really could cost you your job,/if you don’t stop/all this tweetingat night.”/…Then Musk cried, “Why?/The tweets I wrote are not mean,/I don’t use all-caps/and I’m sure that my tweets are clean.”/“But your tweets can move markets/and that’s why we’re sore(sôr)./You may be a genius(ˈjēnyəs)/and a billionaire(ˌbilyəˈner),/but that doesn’t give you the right to be a bore(bôr)!”

The preceding(prəˈsēdiNG) lines—describing Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon(ē) Musk’s run-ins with the Securities and Exchange Commission(kəˈmiSHən), an American financial regulator(ˈreɡyəˌlādər)—are not the product of some aspiring(əˈspī(ə)riNG) 21st-century Dr Seuss. They come from a poem written by a computer running a piece(pēs) of software called Generative Pre-Trained Transformer 3. gpt-3, as it is more commonly known, was developed by Openai, an artificial(ˌärdəˈfiSHəl)-intelligence (ai) laboratory(ˈlabrəˌtôrē) based in San Francisco, and which Mr Musk helped found. It represents the latest advance in one of the most studied areas of ai: giving computers the ability to generate sophisticated(səˈfistəˌkādəd), human-like text.

The software is built on the idea of a “language model”. This aims to represent a language statistically(stəˈtistik(ə)lē), mapping the probability with which words follow other words—for instance, how often “red” is followed by “rose”. The same sort of analysis(əˈnaləsəs) can be performed on sentences, or even entire(ənˈtī(ə)r) paragraphs. Such a model can then be given a prompt(präm(p)t)—“a poem about red roses in the style of Sylvia Plath”, say—and it will dig through its set of statistical relationships to come up with some text that matches the description.

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https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/08/08/a-new-ai-language-model-generates-poetry-and-prose