In this day and age, we see technology becoming an ever-present necessity within our daily lives. Year by year, we see technology advancing with higher processors, faster speeds, and  innovations, changing our social structure and patterns. With technology growing so fast, it almost feels painful to see how life was before the invention of Facebook, YouTube, smartphones, etc. If we look back 20 years ago, television used to be displayed through tube TVs, and cellphones were the size of bricks. Fast-forward to the present, and TVs are now becoming thinner by the day (and are even in 3-D), while cellphones are becoming super portable computers with dual-core processors, fancy apps, and mobile internet browsing. Within two decades is a prevalent gap between what technology was then and what it is now and there is a certain trend in technology that is becoming apparent. As time goes on, technology advances at twice the rate as it did before. Because technology is growing so fast these days, it is creating a cultural stress within our society, and a period of stagnation has occurred in adapting to the new form of technology.

So why is this important? Mainly because this cultural stagnation gives us the consumers a great advantage. How so? Think about the phrase ‘old is gold’. Whenever a new innovation comes, there is a drastic depreciation on the outdated product. This is becoming evident as time passes and technology grows faster and faster. Since we live in a capitalist economy, marketing strategies focus on advertising the newest product, explaining how it’s the top-of-the-line and marketing it at a very high price. I use the term ‘outdated’ loosely, as it doesn’t imply that the product isn’t functional. To better illustrate this point, I will take two examples of technologies that are constantly growing and are essential to student life: computers and cellphones. (more…)

“Every human has four endowments: self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination.  These give us the ultimate human freedom.  The power to choose, to respond, to change.”  – Stephen R. Covey

I was once a mess, an intelligent mess, but a mess none-the-less. Careless with responsibility and neglectful of my future, I perfected the art of living for the moment and paid no attention to the sordid path I was unfolding for myself.

That is until that future started to become my reality.  Debt, depression, disillusion and despair became the four walls of entrapment I boxed myself into.  Year after year, I traded places with my true self and lived into the life of a false version of self.  I resisted growth, improvement, evolution.

Needless to say, this constant clash between my inherent values and the person I portrayed to the world, led to massive internal turmoil.  My true self was violently pushing its way outward and was fighting valiantly to overcome the negative circumstances, which I had become surrounded by and accustomed to.

This, unknown to me, was the sign that an evolution was on the brink of occurring in my life and it eventually did.

Today, I have come to learn that life is a series of stages. Our lives are the result of past choices and our futures are molded by the decisions we consciously make today.  The most relieving part is that no matter which stage you are on, there is another one waiting for you to step onto.  So, ask yourself, which stage are you living on now?  Are you happy and thriving at this current stage?  If not, do you know where your stage exit is and the path to the next stage?

Change is the pen-stroke of progression or regression.  It leads to evolution, which is the hammer-stroke of adaptation.  As humans, we naturally adapt to our lives and circumstances over time.  We can adapt to remain in our current circumstances or we can fight to evolve beyond them, thereby changing the stage of our life.

My internal self, with all of its inherent values and knowledge of my true self-worth fought and won.

I evolved.  I experienced the evolution of self.

Now, I stand proud as a man on a mission.  I am on the path to becoming a doctor, yet I work full-time, am co-owner of a growing business, and proudly about to sign my name to be part of the development team of a new-born, sport-wear distribution company.

Am I proud of this stage?  Yes, I am!

I have written all of this to convey to you one point; the life you live today does not have to be the life you live tomorrow. You too are capable of the evolution of self.

As Dr. Covey noted, through self-awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination, you have been given the right to experience the ultimate human freedom.

You possess the power to choose, to respond, to change.

Step onto your next stage, today!

The greatest investment in life is yourself.  Invest nothing; experience nothing.  Invest a lot; experience a lot.

Simple enough, isn’t it?

There’s a curiosity that exists in the investment world where numerous investment products circulate, touting themselves as the next huge success.  This curiosity focuses on one question – one very important question: ‘What is the R.O.I.?‘

Financial Definition: Return on Investment – A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment, or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments.

R.O.I. = (Gain from investment – Cost of investment)/Cost of investment

Layman’s Definition: R.O.I.- + positive R.O.I. - keep it and develop it

+ negative R.O.I. - ditch it, you can do better.

If something has a more positive R.O.I. relative to another thing, go for the more positive!

Now, this blog is not intended to teach financial knowledge. Rather,  my purpose is to give you insight into mastering your personal development.  Hence, let’s apply the R.O.I. concept to the greatest investment in your life; you.

In life, every situation and endeavor we find ourselves into has an R.O.I. While it’s impossible to physically ‘measure’ these situations on a numerical scale, we as humans possess a universal scale of measurement – the logical scale, or common-sense scale; truly one of man’s greatest possessions, even though it appears to be broken in many an individual.

A slight digress:

How to tell if your common-sense scale is broken:

1. Did you ever do something that turned out negatively for you?
2. Did you do the same exact thing again and experience the same results?

Then you need to take a look at your common-sense scale.  If it were working well, you wouldn’t be wasting your time attempting unsuccessful endeavours in exactly the same way you did before!

As I mentioned, in life there is a R.O.I. on everything; positive or negative.  Using your common-sense scale as your guide, invest more in positive experiences and you shall experience net positive gains.  Do the opposite and the trend reverses.

Nothing astounding about that, right?  Then why are so many people struggling in their lives?  Again, it’s that common-sense scale, I tell you; it needs re-calibrating in many of us.  I certainly gave mine a good tune-up in the past, so you’re definitely not alone if you believe yours to be ‘off’.

Now, once you’ve successfully differentiated between those aspects of your life that produce a positive R.O.I., focus intensely on them.  Tend to them as an expert farmer tends to his land; constantly monitor them, water them, prune them, and eventually fruit will bear… fruit will bear, in its respective season. Life is like that; we are similar to a growing fruit tree or a developing business.  Be diligent with tending, pruning, and watering and eventually, you will experience a harvest.

Focus not on the return, but on the amount of your investment relative to the importance of the endeavor.  You are the single most important investment, but you are also composed of countless other ‘sub-investments’. Using your re-aligned common-sense measure of R.O.I., focus your energies on investing and developing those sub-investments that reward you the most.  Discipline, attitude, personal-interaction, integrity, and consistency are but a few of those important sub investment areas.

And, heed this extremely important point: Reinvest to experience larger gains.  Just as the expert business man does not spend all of his profits, but instead reinvests a portion back into his business, refocus your personal gains back in your life, and use them to reinvest heavily in yourself.  It also goes without saying that, after experiencing success, you have a duty to reinvest in others and help them develop their own success, but reinvesting back in oneself is a key many fail to implement.

You are your life’s greatest investment:

1. Perfect your common-sense scale
2. Invest in positive life endeavors
   
3. Monitor your life investments like a diligent farmer
4. Focus not on the returns, but on the amount of your investment relative to the importance of the endeavor
   
5. Reinvest, Reinvest, Reinvest

We all pay attention in class, right? Sure, if these doodles tell you anything.

To help you stay awake pay attention in class, I’m going to share some of my favourite doodle games with you. Vi Hart is a recreational mathematician (yes, they do exist) who makes awesome math-related doodle videos. If math isn’t your thing, just watch her draw. If you consider yourself an honourary nerd (like me), these videos are just the thing to make you smile like Sheldon Cooper.

Just like that.

Disclaimer: We are no responsible for any illegible or defaced notes. Nor are we to blame if your lecture flies by and you haven’t listened to a word your prof is saying. But let’s be honest here: who’s to say that that won’t happen anyway?

1. Smile. Simply take 30 seconds to isolate your mind from everything else around you and smile.
2. Now focus on the singular thought present in your mind as you smile.
3. Focus on it and visualize it.
   

Chances are, your smile-provoking thought was constructed around a pleasant memory or an inspiring expectation.  Whichever it may be, that simple exercise proves one true point; happiness is an internal experience first.

The true smile begins in one’s mind and radiates outward.  How do we produce that inward true smile?  This topic has been the toil of many philosophers, from Plato to Aristotle.  Enveloped in their writings, arguments, and propositions, the ethics of happiness and the philosophies behind the modes of action creating happiness within the self are what I wish to give you a brief insight into.

Two main schools of thought have laid out a road-map of sorts directing many down the path of happiness.  To obtain that internal state of peace necessary to experience happiness, it has been said that we can either look out for ourselves, or live lives dedicated to the service of others; egoism vs. altruism.

Egoism dictates that what makes a person’s life go best and produces happiness is the satisfaction of one’s internal interests; one ought to, and in some philosophers’ views, can only do, what is good for oneself.  An egoist lives his life best by addressing all of his interests first, with the expectation that others will also look out for his interests.  The universal application of such a doctrine has been the argument of several philosophers because how can we all live addressing solely our own self-interests without conflict developing? And if we all are addressing our own self-interests, then how can others expect us to have their interests first?

I’m an egoist! AKA, me first!

As to how this philosophical stance on life can be successfully applied universally, I am yet to read.  However, from a selfish stance, the art of egoism is present in all of us in some form.  We all have experienced happiness from the satisfaction of our own self interests, but do we do so at the expense of others?  Say no, and I submit myself in worship to you… oh, most holy of humans.  Say yes, and embrace the truth; you are human, and at times your happiness stems from being selfish in seeing your interests through.

Altruism, a more pleasant ethical state to align oneself with, instructs that what makes a person’s life go best and produces happiness is the exercising of one’s moral obligations to serve the interests of others and, if necessary, at the detriment of one’s own self interests. A truly ‘Mother Teresa’ way of living, wouldn’t you say?  The first part of this doctrine does not conflict with the majority of people on this earth’s values; we mostly do obtain gratification and an internal happiness by seeing others flourish with help provided from our own actions.  However, to live a life of true altruism requires neglecting one’s own self-interests when needed… and there lies the problem.  Your egoistic side conflicts with your altruistic side.  How can you truly be happy neglecting your own interests while serving the interests of others?

A question I choose not to attempt to answer.

Instead, I will bare myself first.  I am an egoist actively practicing acts of altruism as the opportunity passes my way. I smile equally as I watch my own self-interest, hopes, and dreams come alive, and cannot live without that warm, fuzzy feeling I get from devoting myself to others in seeing their self interests, hopes, and dreams materialize.  Yes, an egoist actively practicing altruism is who I am.

Which ethical stance do you subscribe to?

Whichever it may be, own it and exercise your interpretation of it.  Do what you have to in order to produce that inward, true smile that will inevitably radiate outwards.

Live your happy life, and do so daily.

Did you know that altruism takes a whipping from another ethical stance which states that altruism has seeds of egoism planted within it?  That we, as humans, seek to act altruistically in order to satisfy our selfish desires to experience gratification in helping others?

To that I say… whatever!  Get out there and smile!  Have a fantastic day!

For me, the biggest issue s lectures is not ‘I’m sitting here with hundreds of other students and I’m expected to memorize everything that’s coming out of this one prof’s mouth’, nor is it ‘I’m really tired and the coffee isn’t doing its job so I’m just going to sleep through this class’. And, despite how often this happens to me, the ‘I’m bored and can’t concentrate… time to play tic-tac-toe with my neighbour!’ thing only serves to relieve stress.

As you can tell, I’m easily distracted.

But my self-diagnosed ADHD does not concern me. No, my biggest problem with lectures is the fact that I can never decide how to take notes. And I don’t mean not knowing how to organize my notes; I mean ‘what medium and material do I use to craft the subtle art of note taking?!’ This is mainly a problem when deciding whether or not I need to lug my laptop to lecture with me or not. The worst is when I have two different lectures in one day that require me to bring both my laptop AND a notebook.

So, to help others avoid the same problem I seem to keep having, I sat down today to compile a nice list of the different lecture styles I’ve experienced so far and how best to come prepared to those classes. Mostly I just needed to note which classes are laptop-friendly or not…

Let’s begin. (more…)

There is a certain art to the process of achieving results; positive or negative.  Both types are the result of action.

There is a certain art to the process of achieving success or failure.  Both are the result of consistency.

From birth, our individual worlds begin to take form, as we grow and develop habits that define our personalities and eventually shape our futures.  These habits become consistent as they are eventually engrained into our subconscious and lead to our individualities being formed.  As we progress from childhood to adolescence and then to adulthood, some of our consistent habits serve to progress us, while others do exactly the opposite: produce regression.  But whether progressive or regressive, the obvious holds true; consistency in actions guarantees results of some form.

As my aim is to provide you with insight into how you can achieve positive results in your lives, I will focus on the process of consistent actions which lead to such results.

Physics dictates that behind every action is a force.  The force driving one to producing consistent positive action is one that many people struggle with: discipline.

This morning before writing this entry, I exercised discipline in completing my daily tasks.  I was present at my 7 am spinning class and also in my 9 am Spanish class.  Right after I spent 1 hour on the phone discussing my prior week’s results with my Dream Coach and mentor.  After 3 hours of sleep last night, I could have very easily remained in bed where I would happily sleep, and very easily I could have found an excuse to not attend class or keep my commitment to being on my coaching call.  But I didn’t.  I have learnt over time that my results are a direct reflection of my choices and my consistent actions.  I also know that any process I repeat consistently becomes easier to complete.  Armed with the knowledge of these two facts, I attack my days in spite of my emotional and mental state and in doing so I know I am strengthening my mindset towards taking action in spite of circumstance.

Now, I’m not saying that there is something wrong with the action of something, say like sleeping in, but ask yourself, “What progressive result am I getting by consistently staying in bed past an appropriate time?” Is anything progressive happening by you taking that consistent action?  If your answer is no, then axe that action!  Get rid of it because it does not benefit you.  Analyze other consistencies in your daily routine and apply that reasoning to all of them.  The resulting changes will astound and inspire you.

Have you also realized that consistency aligns highly with belief in one’s actions, abilities and self? Well, if you didn’t know, now you do.  Think about it.  If you have confidence in your actions, abilities, and self, then your consistent actions will align to exploit your strengths to a maximum.  In contrast, a person occupied with doubt, whether externally or internally focused, exhibits actions of an inconsistent nature.  And just as consistent progressive actions lead to success, inconsistency or constant regressive actions lead to failure.

And as success is a habit, so is failure.

Now, take a moment and ask yourself….. “Which one suits me?”