Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

by Joshua Foer.

This book is on my read-again list. The book is part history, part technique and part travelogue, as the author digs into the techniques of memory improvident and tells his story on the road to winning the U.S. memory championship.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Reclaiming the Fire: How Successful People Overcome Burnout


This is the 2nd time I've read this book. Things I want to remember...

When you choose a goal, ask yourself when you achieve that goal what will you do for an encore? What will you do next? These questions are good ways to identify hollow goals that add no long term value to your life.

Find ways to be generative-- to grow the people around you, the generation after you, in ways that you care about.

Sooner or later we all run into the skiver problem; to grow as a skier, you can challenge yourself to ski on larger and more risky hills. Sooner or later though, the risks are so great and the new rewards so small that this stops being a worth while goal. Your just risking your life and not improving your skills. You can deal with this in two ways-- instead of skiing, switch to a new sport. Or, you can be generative and teach other people to be great skiers as well.

Learn whats makes you angry. Learn what makes you afraid. Find a way to constructively deal with your fears and anger, not bury it, suppress it, manage it or avoid it, but actually deal with it. Be angry to the right degree, at the right time, with the right person, for the right reason.