From the category archives:

Must Read

The Investment Banker and The Mexican Fisherman

by Stephen Mills December 9, 2009

An investment banker stood at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

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A Values-Based Approach to Goals

by Stephen Mills December 2, 2009

I used to have a goal that said I wanted to have to be rich and to me than meant having X million dollars. When I asked myself why I wanted to be rich, the answer was because I wanted freedom and I wanted stuff. I thought then and I still do that money can buy you freedom that people with less money don’t have. I’m not sure I want the stuff anymore. Regardless of whether you agree or not, the key point here is that money is not really a value to me. Money is a goal and the value is freedom. That’s a core value to me and has been for as long as I can remember.

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The Brain Surgeon, the Janitor, and the Six-Inch Pizza

by Stephen Mills November 10, 2009

We have a hard time cutting out what is not essential because in our minds we create a story that makes everything essential. It’s not. Most of it is trivial and won’t matter in the end.

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Irrational Decisions – Relativity

by Stephen Mills October 18, 2009

We humans seem to make choices by comparison shopping. We have a hard time choosing between dissimilar alternatives, but throw in something to compare one of the choices with, and all of a sudden the decision becomes easy. Watch out for this one because it affects your purchasing decisions!

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Stop Learning to be Helpless

by Stephen Mills October 13, 2009

Research has shown that it is fairly easy for most of us to learn to become helpless. When we fail to achieve results we will often give up trying and what is worse we can generalize our failures to other similar types of situations. We basically learn to believe we are helpless victims of our circumstances. You are likely to not even be aware of this effect.

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Peak-End Experiences Matter Most

by Stephen Mills October 5, 2009

Here’s an interesting fact of human psychology. It seems it doesn’t matter how long an experience, good or bad, lasts. What matters is the intensity (not length) of the peak highs, lows, and ending. That’s how we remember experiences You can use this wonderful fact to your great advantage by manipulating the ending of your experiences.

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Finding Meaning and Happiness in Your Work

by Stephen Mills September 28, 2009

One of the best ways to find some personal meaning and happiness in your job is to use it as an opportunity to improve yourself. Personal growth is one of the best ways to do something rewarding and meaningful, for at least one person – you. You can make your work the education and practice ground for creating a better you. What a fantastic way to approach any job! Just make your own personal growth become your doing what you love.

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How to Create Happiness Enhancing Goals

by Stephen Mills September 23, 2009

Having the right kind of goals is a proven and powerful way to help you find the happiness that you seek. It’s the journey and not the destination. You need goals to provide you [More...] direction, not to provide you with the fruits of their achievement. What you are looking for are goals that enhance the experience of the present and not goals that give you some end-state that you think is going to make you happy when you arrive at the destination.

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You Cannot Choose the Wrong Path

by Stephen Mills September 14, 2009

In a broad range of adult choices under the right conditions, when you come to a point where you make a decision to take one path vs. another, I’m suggesting that there is no wrong choice. When you are deciding whether or not to change careers, whether to continue a relationship or start a new one, whether to start a business, retire, take up a new hobby, become a world-traveler, or a million other choices; whatever you choose is not wrong, even in hindsight.

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Are You Planting Seeds or Harvesting?

by Stephen Mills September 6, 2009

You can write something timeless or you can watch the latest celebrity gossip. You can invest in a quality relationship or you can play endless hours of video games. You can brighten someone’s day with a small act of kindness or you can bitch and complain your way into your grave. You can create or you can waste.

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