Sterling Terrell

recovering economist

13 Lessons From Brain Pickings

13 Lessons From Brain Pickings

Here are 13 Lessons From Brain Pickings (Maria Popova, actually) as it celebrates 13 years of posts.

These are all good, but I particularly like the way that this post adds upon itself each year.

Here, for example, is a poster made from year 7.

And I hope all the artists out there are constantly remembering #7…

  1. Let yourself change your mind.
  2. Status is overrated.
  3. Be generous to others.
  4. Give yourself space and adequate sleep.
  5. Don’t listen to people who misunderstand you.
  6. Be present, not just productive.
  7. Expect good things to take time.
  8. Follow things that edify you.
  9. Be a visionary.
  10. Be a positive force.
  11. Test your worldview by exploring it deeper.
  12. Life is beautiful.
  13. Always forgive.

Read the entire post here: 13 Life-Learnings from 13 Years of Brain Pickings.

I Just Turned 38: Here Are 20 Things I Learned In The Last Year

I Just Turned 38: Here Are 20 Things I Learned In The Last Year

[If you are interested, here is 37. And 36. And 35.]

1. These 31 persuasion tips. And here are 4 more great persuasion tools to get you started.

2. They put animals on trial during the 1400’s. And it was about tithing.

3. Steven King always writes in the morning.

4. We lose at least these 5 things by removing suffering and pain.

5. Hofstader’s Law says that everything will take longer than you think it will – even after accounting for Hofstadter’s Law.

6. How to translate ideas for children.

7. There are poisonous snakes in Maine.

8. Stomach ulcers are nothing but a bacterial infection.

9. Whoever combined clocks and alarms might be evil.

10. Both animals and humans will give up freedom for security.

11. Winston Churchill won a Nobel Prize in literature.

12. You can often spot liars by their response. The innocent deny everything in a state of perplexity. The guilty ask what evidence you have.

13. Wally Pipp played first base for the Yankees before Lou Gehrig. Nobody remembers him. And that’s the point.

14. Our word assassin comes from an ancient sect of Persian killers called Hashshashin.

15. WD-40 got its name after being rejected 40 times.

16. Everything big starts with small moves.

17. I missed so many opportunities to persuade my parents the right way.

18. Tony Eason was the only starting quarterback in NFL history to have no completions.

19. Zipf’s Law says the most popular thing (song, book, website, car, etc.) will be twice as popular as the second most popular thing.

20. We need to praise adults too.

Sterling Terrell