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Black Belts are Simply White Belts Who Didn’t Quit
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

The harsh reality is most people give-up too early. As soon as the required level of effort intensifies, they throw in the towel and head back to their comfort zone. Figuratively speaking, these people will surely wear a white belt forever. It’s just that simple.

Those wearing the black belt never threw in the towel and continue to forge ahead without hesitation. They are constantly training, endlessly learning and always ready for new material. Their success has little to do with intrinsic aptitude and everything to do with psychological determination. They never quit.

If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat.
- Herschel Walker

Here are 9 black belt keys for success.

1.Set Personal Goals – Personal goals define personal success. Success cannot be achieved unless goals have been set ahead of time.

2.Visualize Success – Picture the outcome of your efforts. Use it as motivation to get you there.

3.Work Hard – Be ready to sweat. Success comes at a cost. That cost is hard work.

4.Learn From Your Mistakes – Mistakes are inevitable, and they are also the single greatest element of education.

5.Never Quit – Quitting is failing. Brush yourself off, reevaluate your approach and try again.

6.Keep Training – Self-study is vital. Never stop learning new material and never stop training with the material you already know.

7.Assist Others – You must always give back what you take. Be a student and a teacher. You will learn something new in both roles.

8.Maintain a Relaxed Mind – Relaxation is a critical part of keeping a clear perspective. Even under stressful conditions you must maintain mental equilibrium… breath.

9.Value Your Mentors – A good mentor understands where you’ve been, where you intend to go, and is also chock full of priceless firsthand advice. Respect your mentors and value their opinions.


May 28, 2008 | 3:07 AM Comments  0 comments

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"I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma."- Eartha Kitt
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

This is a guest post written by Penny. Inspired by a recent article her father wrote entitled “What I Know at 64 that I Didn’t Know at 24”, Penny decided to write a list of her own. Here are 25 things she has learned over the last 30 years.



1.Competition against individuals is really competition against the teams that support them.

2.People become brainwashed by the media in the most basic ways. For instance, think about gender roles.

3.Having good credit is crucial, because otherwise you will be bled to death by lenders when you need to borrow money.

4.Medical doctors can be ill-informed, incompetent morons. They are just people.

5.I get better scientific research done when I sleep more, calm down, and think less about social “motivators” and more about having fun.

6.Adults are just older children.

7.A great deal of history is eventually proven to be inaccurate.

8.Many self-proclaimed experts are not experts.

9.Any quick-fix scheme for relationship and social utopia is a scam. True happiness involves the long-term.

10.Trusting your emotions can be dangerous.

11.Life is not a video game, a play by Euripides, a short story, a TV episode or movie. It’s what YOU make of it.

12.Gilding the lily leads to insanity.

13.I may never be a great chess player, but I love it, so I should never stop playing.

14.Bad schooling is a root cause of adult social problems. Misguided minds alter social reality.

15.There are many times when popular science gets it wrong.

16.If a book on physics doesn’t have more equations than text, throw it out!

17.Common sense is baloney. What you really need is uncommon sense, often the product of uncommon experiences, ideas, or interacting with uncommon intellect.

18.Many inventions and discoveries are credited to the wrong people. For example, Telsa didn’t invent the “Tesla`Coil”.

19.Linux beats the sox off of Windows… and yes, Virginia–sometimes there really is a free lunch.

20.Even if you can read it at 2000 wpm, you shouldn’t. Your mind cannot effectively absorb information at that pace.

21.Discrimination is pervasive, insidious and real. Having an open mind and open heart is vital to the progression of humanity.

22.Beware of being seduced by overly “sensible” and “reasonable” sounding ideas or solutions.
All angles must be evaluated first.

23.Logic and arithmetic do not commute before breakfast.

24.Doomsday never comes. Nor does absolute Utopia.

25.I still haven’t a clue.

May 28, 2008 | 2:41 AM Comments  0 comments

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How To Avoid Confrontations Like a Ninja
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

The ninja is an elite master in the art of self-defense. He is specially trained in hand-to-hand combat, but never fights unless he must. The ninja employs stealth and avoidance tactics to dodge confrontation whenever and wherever possible.

These same principals can easily be applied to everyday life. Think like a ninja and avoid unnecessary confrontation. Doing so will decrease your emotional stress and simultaneously increase your productivity.

1.Be aware of your surroundings and always maintain a clear mind when you are in unfamiliar territory.

2.Don’t stick out like a soar thumb, but still carve out your own path.

3.Evaluate the level of risk in every situation before accepting it.

4.Take control of your actions. Don’t let others steer for you.

5.Keep a clear mind. Never abuse mind numbing drugs. Avoid those who do.

6.Even if someone else provokes you, swiftly escape. Most fights are not worth fighting.

7.Trust only those who have earned it. Be wary of those who have not.

8.Don’t meddle in other people’s affairs or attempt to solve their problems unless it’s within the scope of your mission.

9.Maintain a healthy body. Otherwise physical avoidance may not be an option.

10.Always stay true to your purpose. Practice intelligent avoidance, escape confrontation whenever possible and defend yourself only when you must.

May 28, 2008 | 1:49 AM Comments  1 comments

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A Sad, Familiar Tale of Procrastination
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

He has always dreamed of pursuing a career in computer hardware engineering. “I want to design my own chipset”, he used to tell his Computer Science teacher in high school. Now, as a junior enrolled at a reputable technical college, he finally has the chance to pursue his dream. Although he somewhat slacked his way through the two years of general education courses, he always knew he would have to be studious during his junior year when the core engineering classes started.

He wakes up every morning filled with excitement and positive intentions. Studying is actually the first thing that crosses his mind. “I’ve got to get that chapter read”, he tells himself. But first he needs to grab some Starbucks and a muffin. “Okay, now I’m ready.”

He sits down at his dorm room desk and cracks open the book “Modern Computer Hardware Design”. The phone rings. It’s Jane, a good friend he met in his sophomore English class. “Lunch, today? Yeah, I could do that. How’s noon sound? Perfect. See you then.” Before he sits back down to read he remembers that he skipped his workout yesterday. “A quick workout will only take 45 minutes and it will energize my mind and prepare me for a couple hours of diligent studying”, he thinks to himself. He puts on his sneakers, grabs his iPod and heads over to the campus gym.

When he returns from the gym, he takes a shower and is again ready to start reading. Page one: “Welcome to the exciting world of computer hardware design. This book is divided into…” “Ah, crap! I forgot to email my mother those photos I promised her. Heck, it will only take a second.” He quickly opens up his laptop and logs into Gmail. Before he has time to send the email he gets an IM from an old high school buddy, Greg, who he hasn’t spoken to in six months. After a forty-five minute chat session, he fires the email off to his mother and returns to the book.

He glances up at the wall clock and realizes he only has about thirty minutes before he has to leave to meet Jane for lunch. “Jeez, it will be pointless to get into the groove of a focused study session for just thirty measly minutes”, he thinks out loud. He convinces himself that it would be in his best interest to save the reading for after lunch. So logs into Facebook, replies to a few messages from his friends and then heads off to meet Jane.

Once he returns from lunch an hour and a half later, he feels exhausted. The post-meal grogginess is kicking in hard. “All I need is another round of Starbucks and I’ll be ready”, he thinks to himself. He heads out to grab it.

As he sits back down at his desk with his coffee he repeats the word “focus” over and over as a mantra to himself. He cracks the book back open. Page one: “Welcome to the exciting world of computer hardware design. This book is divided into…” But then… His neighbor knocks on his door. “Turn on the Local 6 news channel. The college apartment complex down the street is on fire”, his neighbor says. Again, he puts down the book and then clicks on the television. This should only take a second…

Yeah… right…

Procrastination is a deadly, cyclical virus.

Stop Procrastination 101

Plan, Prioritize and Dedicate Time – Make a bulleted list of the things you need to accomplish, denote the next action you need to take for each bullet point, prioritize based on due dates, and dedicate a window of time for getting each bullet point done. Once you have your plan setup, do NOT deviate from it unless a real emergency occurs.

Disconnect Yourself – Go to the library or another quite location where nobody can disrupt and distract you. Leave your cell phone and internet connection behind.

Start Early, Finish Early – The gym, along with everything else you’d rather be doing, must wait. Get the important tasks done first thing in the morning when your mind is fresh. Once the weight is lifted, the rest of the day is yours.