 | Understand the true nature of reality |
| Your life will never be perfect, but you can certainly make it better than it is now. The first step to achieving this is learning to understand the true nature of reality. It’s only by understanding the situation we find ourselves in, that we can do something about it. In fact, many of the great scientific and technical achievements of humanity prove this point. |
| How to gain more confidence |
| There are a lot of people in the world who feel that anxiety and lack of confidence significantly inhibit their pursuit of happiness. The question "how can I become more confident and less anxious?" is a very common one. |
| Finding your life's purpose |
| Many people find life a bit meaningless. They fall into a routine of living day-to-day, with little to look forward to. Each moment seems to slip by into the void, with little achieved and no feeling of moving forward. |
| The lazy person's guide to high achievement |
| Many people who know me well think that I'm a bit lazy. Yet I've achieved more in my life than almost anyone I personally know. How did I do it? |
| Throw yourself in the deep end |
| We're all afraid of things we haven't experienced before. We'd like to take a more responsible job, but we're not sure we can deal with it. We'd like to meet new people, but we're afraid that they won't like us. We'd like to try out a new activity, but we're worried about making a fool out of ourselves. |
| Turn your hopes and dreams into something concrete |
| What's the big difference between those who we consider successful and those we don't? There's plenty of smart, fun, talented people out there, so why aren't they all successful? The difference isn't really between those who have the best attitude and dreams, and those who don't. It's between those who produce something concrete from their dreams and those who don't. |
| Learn how to prioritize |
| Why do some people work hard yet achieve almost nothing, while others seem to get lots done with very little effort? The answer is to be found in prioritization skills. |
| The conditions are never going to be ideal to get started |
| What's interesting about the question "What can I do to improve my life?" is that most people already know the answer. They know what's missing and often exactly which steps they have to take to fix the problem. So why don't they just do it? |
| A good strategy for learning difficult subjects |
| Some things are just difficult to study. They contain complicated facts that are confusing to the uninitiated. Having to learn such things can be a very frustrating experience! What's the best strategy to cope? |
| Get control of your auto-pilot |
| The world is a complicated and chaotic place. There's much too much going on for any of us ever to be able to come to grips with it all. But humans have developed a way to cope with this overwhelming complexity. It's called routine. |
| For proof of your own potential genius, just look around you |
| What is the difference between you and a person struggling to scratch out a living from nature 50,000 years ago? Biologically, nothing. You are essentially identical. You just got lucky in the draw of history and were born into the modern world. But how this modern world was built must be the greatest story ever told. There we were a few thousand generations back, dropped naked in the dust. And he we are now, flying into space, building the internet and destroying deadly microbes. |
| Be creative, any idiot can destroy |
| We all feel miserable, lonely, or bored sometimes. You'll almost certainly go through stages in life when these feelings will seem almost unbearable. It's inevitable. And something powerful will likely drive you from within to act. Act now! Anything just to get out of feeling this way. |
| Tap into your subconscious |
| When I was at school, I used to get in trouble for “daydreaming”. It was seen as an unproductive activity, interrupting my sharper “conscious” learning. It was something I had little control over. My mind just seemed to want to drift off sometimes. |
| Shaping the behavior of others |
| We all have people in our lives who we wish would behave differently. It may be the person who cuts us off when we're driving, or the work-mate who's abusive, or the child who's too rebellious. What can we do to make these people act in the way we want them to? |
| Six steps for learning difficult subjects quickly |
| Here's a strategy I've found useful for learning dry and difficult material quickly. At various times, I've used it to build up my knowledge of subjects like economics, investing, writing and computer programming languages. Some people have been surprised at how fast I can learn these kinds of skills, but I think anyone can do it with the right plan. |
| The first step in solving problems |
| We all have various problems and challenges in our lives. We struggle with relationships, careers, money and responsibilities. How do we go about solving these troubles? Here’s a good first step. |
| Play with the big boys and girls |
| I grew up mostly in Canberra, which isn’t far from Australia’s main ski fields. Like many Canberra kids, I used to go skiing in winter. It was always just a recreational activity for me, and I never put in too much effort into getting lessons, joining squads or anything like that. Because of this, years could go by where I’d be skiing regularly, but not really improving much. |
| Accumulate lots of small victories |
| When I was at school, a teacher told me an interesting fact. Well, when I say fact, I'm not sure if it was really true. It's more of an interesting allegory. He said that the ancient Romans used to build all their roads in a zig-zag pattern rather than a straight line. |
| Get over your fear of failure |
| Nothing stings quite like failing. This is especially true when it happens in front of people we like and admire. Our ears go red, our face feels hot, and we swear "I'll never do that again". |
| Become expert at identifying your own weaknesses |
| We live in a society that promotes the cult of self-esteem. Anything goes as long as we feel great about ourselves, or so we're led to think. Believing we may have flaws is a big no-no and certain to have a negative impact on our success. |