Top Five Regrets of the Dying

The Guardian ran a post back in February that I have gone back to several times.  It was by a nurse who has kept note of all the regrets expressed by people who are dying.  It is a bit of mournful thing to consider, but on the other hand it is worth thinking what we are going to regret when we get to that stage.

Command of the Ocean by N.A.M.Rodger

I have been reading a book that details the rise to power of Britain's Royal Navy.  The story of how a fairly small island came to have such a large impact on the history of the world is an interesting one.  That I can expect a large number of people around the globe to be able to read this blog post written in English is one of those effects.   The efficiency of the navy was obviously a big part of it, and it isn't surprising to find that the British have been very proud of and confident in their naval achievements and abilities.

This book looks in a lot of detail at just how the navy managed to do what it did.  And like most success stories there is a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes.

We are not as smart as we think we are

We are not as smart as we think we are

Most of us overestimate how intelligent we are.  And not just intelligence, we harbour the belief that we are more competent than we really are.  Or at least Americans do.  East Asians tend to underestimate theirs.  I have only read a survey of the research which doesn't mention Europeans.  My guess is that they are probably a little less confident than Americans, but they'd be closer to Americans than they are to Asians.  What does all this mean?

The Lean Start Up by Eric Ries

This is the ideal book to read if you are starting a software business with plenty of funding and want to get some ideas for how to organise your research and development.  Its claim to have more general applicability is not a strong one.  It is full of industry specific examples and acronyms.  You need to have a reasonable grasp of the computer industry's jargon as well.  Having said that I did persevere to the end.

My Biggest Problem at the Moment - Dithering

I have just made a last minute decision to skip a trade show I was booked up for and put in a day's work at my desk instead.  It made superb sense.  I might miss out on a few longer term things but I have a big meeting tomorrow where the short term stuff will be under some scrutiny.  I have had a couple of things outside my control that have derailed my work a little.  So here I am ready to get things back on track and with a load of extra hours I hadn't budgeted for earlier in the week.  So far, so good.

Zig Ziglar - Secrets of Closing the Sale

Zig Ziglar is good company and has a wealth of interesting and entertaining stories.  I listened to this book in audio format and once my British ears had got accustomed to Mr Ziglar's rather strong American accent I found myself entertained.  I am not so sure I learned that much.

10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job

The most popular and the most controversial post Steve Pavlina ever wrote was his 10 arguments why you should never get a job.  This is a truly brilliant piece of writing and repays rereading a few times.  It was, he claims, a throw away piece never intended to be taken seriously.  I can well believe it.  It has a playful and devil may care feel about it that suggests it was written in a jokey fashion.   But humour and truth have a very close relationship, so even if it was intended to be a joke and can be read as one there is a hint of something in there that strikes a chord with a lot of people.

How To Get Rich by Felix Dennis

How to get rich books are rarely written by people who have got rich.  When they are, it is usually because they have got rich by selling books about getting rich.  (A similar principle is at work in people who sell products related to personal development.)   This book is unusual in having been written by a man who has indeed become fabulously rich, and has done so by starting and building businesses.  People in Britain might well have heard of him and will have quite likely have bought products that one of his company's has made.  So the eye catching title  has something behind it.

Deception Can Be Costly

Robert Trivers is one of the world's leading experts on self delusion.  (Or at least, that is what he likes to tell himself.)  In his new book "Deceit and Self-Deception: Fooling Yourself the Better to Fool Others" he highlights that homosexuals who try to keep their sexuality secret pay a heavy price for it in terms of their health.

How To Use Scheduling To Increase Your Motivation to Blog

A Good Schedule Can Increase Your Motivation to Blog

One of the advantages of my attempts to improve my typing speed is that I have generated quite a lot of blog posts that I might not otherwise have written.  I have two blogs - one is quite a popular beauty one that generates a small amount of money but more importantly makes me much better known in my business.  There is absolutely no substitute for people knowing your name when it comes to getting things done.  The other one is very much a labour of love.  It is about history and it positively costs me money to keep it going.  I just enjoy doing it and although I will never turn it into a source of income it makes me feel good doing it.

Avarice of Time

In Edward Gibbon's amazing work The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gibbon describes the equally amazing emperor Julian the Apostate as exhibiting 'avarice of time'.  Julian only ruled for 19 months, but in that time he achieved a huge number of remarkable achievements.  He wrote a book , Against the Galileans, which was so influential it had to be banned by a later emperor.  That wasn't his only literary exercise.  He wrote quite a lot of other stuff too - I recommend his hymn to Cybele.  He attempted to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.  He overturned the empire's religion and prepared a huge invasion of Persia.   It was in the campaign against Persia that he was tragically killed.  The thing he really should have done was write a book revealing his secrets of time management.

Steve Pavlina - Domination and Submission workshop

Okay, it is obviously an April Fool's day joke.  And quite a funny one.  For people reading this long after the event and assuming it will get taken down relatively quickly Steve had a very convincing looking post where he advertised a workshop on domination and submission to teach people how to enjoy that particular form of sexual expression.  It was complete with venue, prices and the usual puff a personal development course advert would have.

Or at least I think it is.....

I think that the clever thing is that there is just enough doubt in your mind and it is played just straight enough for you to wonder whether it might, just might, actually be true.  I'll stick my neck out and say I am 95% sure it is a joke.  But 5% doubt is enough to make it really funny.  Well done Steve.  Nice work.

On the other hand, if it is true....