From the monthly archives:

September 2010

Our Conscious Illusions

by Stephen Mills September 29, 2010
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This article is rather long, but still will only take a few minutes to read. It is a small compilation of amazing phenomena that to me demonstrate how little we really know about what our conscious minds are actually doing. Some and maybe much of what we subjectively experience may be an illusion and what is actually happening “out there” may be a lot different. I find it all incredibly fascinating and I hope you do too. Some of this is really hard to accept because it strikes at what we call free will, but I would ask you to open your mind a bit and go where the evidence leads.

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Saying More With Less

by Stephen Mills September 25, 2010
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In today’s world of information overload, people move quickly from sound bite to sound bite. To be successful with your message and to avoid be washed away in the sea of noise, you must connect quickly and convey effectively. You must transmit something meaningful in the small window in which you have been granted the benefit of their attention. This is true in face-to-face as well as electronic communication. How many times, even when you are physically present with someone, are they distracted by some electronic device? Failure to connect with someone and convey meaning to them quickly will often lead to failure.

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12 More Questions You Should be Asking Yourself

by Stephen Mills September 22, 2010
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One of my more popular articles is 12 Questions You Should Be Asking Yourself. Please consider reading it. Here are 12 more for your consideration. The ultimate point is that you should stop and recognize when you are acting out of habit or social norms and simply ask yourself “Why?” for anything you do.

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Living a Tolerant Life

by Stephen Mills September 18, 2010
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For you own sake and for the peace of the world, this is a plea for tolerance. Think what you want and think it passionately. Do what you want and do it passionately. Choose your own beliefs and follow your own path. Try to see that others are doing exactly the same thing with their own lives and just let them be. Set yourself free.

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Keep Your Eyes Off the Clock

by Stephen Mills September 11, 2010
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We have lost the ability to think about things in terms of themselves, and have instead started measuring everything by clock time. Instead of using clocks for the good they can bring, we have allowed them to control us and are taking orders from a ticking mechanical monster.

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The Courage to Be Free – A Review

by Stephen Mills September 9, 2010

Guy Finley has a new book out called The Courage to Be Free: Discover Your Original Fearless Self. When I looked today it was on Amazon’s overall best seller list at #9. It’s a wonderful book full of insights, that I believe, if fully absorbed can do a great deal towards helping you live a much better life. It’s not a “success” book; it’s a book that teaches you understand you have the power within yourself to be free and happy.

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10 Useful Things To Know When Dealing With Other People

by Stephen Mills September 8, 2010

Criticizing others makes you seem more intelligent and competent. People who criticize others are perceived as more intelligent and competent than people who don’t criticize. The downside is that people will like you less. Clifford Nass says you can be “clever and contemptible” or “kind and clueless” depending upon whether you criticize or praise.

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In defense of Laziness

by Stephen Mills September 4, 2010
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I dream of being lazy, of having all day to just do whatever I feel like at any moment. I dream of being able to do only a few things that don’t take a lot of time, but that matter a great deal – or not. I don’t see anything wrong with wanting to do less. The world is full of energetic and ambitious people being busy but not doing a whole lot that matters. The world is full of active people trying to force their ideas on others. How I wish they would get lazy and shut up.

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Odds and Ends

by Stephen Mills September 1, 2010

Roy Baumeister is a well known and respected academic psychologist who has done a lot of researched and published a large number of journal articles. I am familiar with him from reading some of his work on willpower. He has published a brilliant new book called Is There Anything Good About Men?: How Cultures Flourish by Exploiting Men. I read a lot of the same old rehashed stuff, but every once in a while I come across something truly original; it is so refreshing to encounter something new. Dr. Baumeister has developed what he calls a radical theory on why men and women are different. Whether you agree with him or not, and I found his work persuasive, you have to love an original and in this case courageous thinker. Highly recommended.

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