Brainjour

Think Better

You’re Never Too Old to Make It Happen

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never too old

At age 23, Tina Fey was working at a YMCA.

At age 23, Oprah was fired from her first reporting job.

At age 24, Stephen King was working as a janitor and living in a trailer.

At age 27, Vincent Van Gogh failed as a missionary and decided to go to art school.

At age 28, J.K. Rowling was a suicidal single parent living on welfare.

At age 30, Harrison Ford was a carpenter.

At age 37, Ang Lee was a stay-at-home-dad working odd jobs.

Julia Child released her first cookbook at age 39 and got her own cooking show at age 51.

Vera Wang failed to make the Olympic figure skating team, didn’t get the Editor-in-Chief position at Vogue, and designed her first dress at age 40.

Stan Lee didn’t release his first big comic book until he was 40.

Alan Rickman gave up his graphic design career and landed his first movie role at age 42.

Samuel L. Jackson didn’t get his first major movie role until he was 46.

Morgan Freeman landed his first major movie role at age 52.

Whatever your dream is, it is not too late to achieve it.

Never tell yourself you’re too old to make it.

Never tell yourself you missed your chance.

Never tell yourself that you aren’t good enough.

You can do it.

Whatever it is.

I saw the above excerpt on a LinkedIn post but it appears to originally be from Sammy James.

A Little Stoicism Every Morning

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This year I’m reading a book by Ryan Holiday, called The Daily Stoic. The way it works is every morning, you read one page and really digest its message. I liked the idea so I’ve been giving it a go this year. 

It’s the second book I’ve read by Holiday. The Obstacle is the Way was another good read, and I figured I could use more stoicism in my life. If you’ve never heard of stoicism, here’s the scoop. 

There are three disciplines. Perceptions, actions, and will. There’s more to it than this, but to sum it up:

1. Control your perceptions

2. Direct your actions properly

3. Willingly accept what’s outside your control

Point #3 is particularly important, and really driven home by the Stoics. 

Most people recommend starting with Seneca or Marcus Aurealius, if you’re thinking about investigating. I think it’s been a good investment of my time. 

How to Improve Your Working Memory

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improve your memory

I recently watched an awesome TED Talk on working memory, and how it helps us make sense of the world.

Peter Doolittle talks for 10 minutes about his experience with working memory in this talk below. Here are the coles notes:

1. Process your life immediately and in the moment – do you agree with what’s happening, how can you use it later?
I think this means we need to pay attention and live in the present moment. Meditation helps me do this. When you’re in a conversation, be all there – don’t be texting or listening in on the conversation next to you.
2. We need to repeat stuff – you need to practice, pull out notes, and think about what you’ve learned.
I use Evernote to take notes when I’m reading, watching, or learning about anything. I love going back into my notes and reading the most important parts. Repetition is key to learning for me.
3. Think elaborative and illustriously – wrap your existence around your new knowledge so it becomes meaningful.
How does what you’re learning about relate to your own life? Ask yourself these questions as you learn and fit your new knowledge into your own story. This is something I need to work on, as it’s the first I’ve heard of this strategy.
4. Use imagery – pull images out of things you learn – if you read about a character, picture him.
I’m taking a “Super Learners” course on Udemy that really stresses this point. If you want to remember something, you need to attach detailed imagery to it. I was shocked at how well this strategy worked when I first started implementing it.
5. We need meaningful support – ask questions, support what you learn.
I think this speaks to diving into your subject matter. If you want to learn about anything, you need to immerse yourself in the subject. Reading one article isn’t enough, keep asking questions.

Take home message:

What we process we learn. if we’re not processing life, we’re not living it.

Here’s the TED Talk:

Self Help vs. Self Made

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self help vs self made

I’ve read a lot of self-help books, but I’m starting to grow tired of the genre. Over and over again, many of these books have a message that could be summed up in a paragraph but is stretched out into 300 pages.

It’s good marketing. A catchy title, a fancy cover, and the continuing promise that the next chapter has all the secrets. The first book I read this year, The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck, is a perfect example. I found it to be one of the most predictable reads I’ve come across. It’s like the author decided that swearing and sounding ridiculous at times was enough of an original idea to wrap boring content around and keep me interested.

Don’t get me wrong – some books in this category are truly helpful and have been great reads. How to Win Friends and Influence People is a classic example of a self-help book that holds up, but it seems to me that every week a new self-help book that falls into the garbage category intrigues me. So, I’m making a switch.

I’m going to focus on reading more books by authors who have major accomplishments. Self-made people. Some of my favorite books over the past few years have been memoirs and biographies. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nelson Mandela, Michael Jordan, and Steve Martin all were the subjects of some of my favorite reads.

Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog has been on my to-read list for a while. I think that will be my next purchase. I’m also going to be reading a lot of Psychology books this year, as the field is becoming more and more interesting to me.

What are you reading this year? Tweet me.