Anti-charities?

by w@dmind | Feb 3, 2017 | Uncategorized

char·i·ty
noun
An organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need.

Hang with me here. This is going to be a bit backwards because we are going to be talking about Anti-Charities.

Quick definition: An anti-charity is an organization who’s very existence makes you crazy. These are the LAST people you would support in any fashion. The thought of making a monetary donation to this group makes you want to throw up!

Perfect. Exactly what we need.

We talked a bit about New Year’s Resolutions a few weeks back and how hard it can be to push that rock up the mountain. According to Yougov.com, about 33% of people were already at least cheating on their resolutions…by Jan 6th. You can read the article here.

So, with that in mind, enter the anti-charity.

In a nutshell, you pick the organization(s) that you dislike so much that you would rather do anything than give them money. And, bonus pain, end up on their mailing and call list!

Give your spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend or trusted buddy some of your hard earned cash and make the deal: “If I don’t stick to my goal ( Whatever your goal is: Exercise 4x week. Lose 15 pounds, Walking the dog daily. Taking piano lessons etc….) you will send my money to ( Fill in the blank.)” There is a good article about this on Forbes.com. You can read it here.

This is the old carrot and the stick with HARD emphasis on the stick. In fact there is a website that will set this up for you called – wait for it – StickK. But you don’t need them. All you need is someone who will know if you don’t follow through and be DELIGHTED to send your money to the Republicans or Democrats. Or Greenpeace or the NRA. You get the picture.

Sometimes negative motivation can be a strong force. Just the thought of Senator xxxxxxxx tucking our check in his or her pocket and smiling might be enough to get us off the couch and out the door.

Thanks for reading so far. I really appreciate it. If you know someone who might like these notes. Just have them send me an email and I will be thrilled to add them to the list.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Trying to fail

by w@dmind | Jan 27, 2017 | Uncategorized

“Failing doesn’t have to mean not succeeding. It can be, ‘Hey we tried that. We can go forward, smarter.” Astro Teller

Astro Teller is a pretty smart guy. He is the Captain of Moonshots (CEO) for “X”. For those who don’t know – and I didn’t – X is the Moonshot factory for Google ( You may have heard of them.)

According to their website, this is what X is about: “This is our blueprint for X moonshots: we look for the intersection of a big problem, a radical solution, and breakthrough technology. We start with a large problem in the world that if solved could improve the lives of millions or even billions of people.”
That’s changing the lives of a lot of people. Maybe I take too many naps…

In addition to being a scientist, Teller is also a prolific writer and a serial entrepreneur. (again, the nap thing.) He’s been a pretty successful guy and I pay attention to successful people.

Here is a very interesting fact about Astro and Google and X. They try to fail.

Yep. they do everything they can to kill a project. Because the one’s that survive change the world. Self-driving cars anyone?

Teller gave a great TED talk on failure and what it means. Or probably more accurately, what it doesn’t mean.

Side Note: If you are unfamiliar with TED, you are in for a treat. TED stands for Technology Entertainment and Design. It is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization founded on the concept of spreading ideas.

Want to listen to a talk on space exploration? TED’s got it. How about philosophy, medicine, cybersecurity or magic? Whatever you are interested in, you’ll find it.

Check out TED. I promise you will spend way more time there than you thought! ( And learn a lot more too!)

Back to Astro and failure. I think we ( at least I ) spend far too much time thinking about the things that didn’t go right. How we “failed.”

But what we don’t think about it what that “failure” may have saved us. In time, in money, in aggravation. You have probably heard the saying: ” Be very careful what you want, you just might get it.” Sometime failing saves from ourselves.

Check out Teller’s short TED talk. ” The unexpected benefit of celebrating failure.” A few minutes might change your whole perspective. It changed mine.

Thanks for reading so far. I really appreciate it. Again, if you have someone who would like to receive these notes, just send me an email and I will happily add them to the list.

Have a great weekend!

Good advice

by w@dmind | Jan 19, 2017 | Uncategorized

“It’s actually very easy to give people good advice. It’s very hard to follow the advice you know is good….If someone came to me with a list of problems, I would be able to sort them out very easily.” Sam Harris

There it is: The clarity of distance. I, like everyone else, get so bogged down in my own brain that I can’t see the answers clearly right in front of me.
Even worse is knowing what to do and zigging when I should be zagging. Ah, those humans!

But read on for – if not a quick fix – at least a workaround to help us avoid all those “I knew I shouldn’t have said/done that.”

Tammy Swift Is a writer for the Fargo Forum. She penned a column a while back that touched on this very thing. This is the essence of the piece:

“My friend — let’s call him Jehoshaphat — had a mother who gave him arguably the best advice ever rendered by a parental figure. She told him that whenever he struggled to make a decision, he should ask himself what a smart person would do.” You can read the entire column here.

What would a smart person do? You probably already know. But this a great way to take ourselves out the moment and try to look at the issue with fresh eyes and without the emotional component that can escalate things to the point of no return or huge regret. A word said is a word said. Some things can’t be undone.

You can even take this a bit further, just slightly modify the question and apply it to virtually any situation:

“What would a kind person say?”
“What would a brave person do?”
“What would a calm person think?”
“How would a confident person react?”
“How would a good parent respond?”

I think we are all pretty smart people. This is just a little mind hack, if you will, to let us help ourselves. Because we like us.

Thanks for reading so far. I appreciate it and feedback is welcome! If you know someone who might like to receive these notes, just have them send me an email and I would be thrilled to add them to the list. You are supposed to be able to sign up on my site, but there are some technical difficulties – namely me – because I can’t figure it out!

Resolutions

by w@dmind | Jan 11, 2017 | Uncategorized

Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever.
Mark Twain

You know how this story ends: lying on the couch surrounded by empty Dorito bags and M&M crumbs. New running shoes still in the box,( price tag attached!) a mountain of laundry and a dog that hasn’t been outside so long he is desperately tunneling under the door… and it’s only January 2nd.

I’ve made the lists and the resolutions, too. I’ve taken stock of my stock and decided to make the massive changes that last…Oh, a week… or two.

So this year I am going to try to be a little easier of myself. Now, I’m still trying to be a better Dave in many many areas… and I am certain a few of you would have A LOT of advice for me, ( That goes both ways you know!)

But as James Altucher says; “Habits don’t change in a day. But 1% a day makes every habit work.

Improve a little each day. It compounds. When 1% compounds every day, it doubles every 72 days, not every 100 days. Compounding tiny excellence is what creates big excellence.” You can read the whole blog post here.

I like that math. Improving 1% a day in whatever I am trying to improve in my life sounds a lot easier than saying I am going to bench press 300 lbs, write 4 best sellers, and pay off my house by 12/31/17. And a lot more doable.

Happy New year all. And thanks for reading. Feedback welcome!
If you know anybody who would like to receive these emails I would love to add them to the list! just shoot me an email and on they go!

Old friends

by w@dmind | Dec 29, 2016 | Uncategorized

I didn’t want to go to work today. My old friend is moving away. We met with another old friend for our last lunch. Then we shook hands and I hurried back to the office.

I have known my friend since 1965. My family moved right next door when we were both three. That’s 51 years. I don’t remember not knowing him.

We both moved around a lot when we were younger. And, somehow, we each ended up in Fargo. A happy coincidence.

So you come to a comfortable place. We might not see each other for weeks, or even a month or so. But sooner or later we would get together and slip into the same old rhythm. The conversation comes easy when talking to someone you played with the sandbox.

You have friends like that too. And it is easy to take them for granted because they will always be there…except they won’t.

There is a lot of comfort in an old friend. And I think maybe I owe a friend of 51 years more than a handshake.

So thanks for being my friend forever, Dan. I’ll see you later.

Your buddy, Dave