91–100 of 113 posts
'Don't believe in yourself, Don't deceive with Belief. Knowledge comes with Death's release'
I think he was trying to say: Don't assume anything, just be!
I really enjoyed reading this submission, thanks!
It's quite possible for more than 50% of people to be above average drivers. If there are 100 people, and 80 of them cause no accidents, and the other 20 cause 10 accidents each, then there are 2 accidents per driver. 80% have less than average accident rate. By the same logic it's possible for most people to have a below average salary. Once extremes are possible, then averages start being less applicable. However f…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The approach I find myself taking is to keep moving the goal posts by putting myself in groups where I genuinely am below average, or at a minimum where there are prominent examples around me of people much better than me at the thing I'm trying to do. There's also something about approaching one's limits that helps distill genuine personal weaknesses and learn to either live with or work around them.
Excellent comment. I also try to put myself in groups where I genuinely am below average, and I think it accelerates my learning curve. But it's also good to be Top Dog from time to time; the teacher often can learn more than the student.
Even in those cases, I think there is an advantage to choosing people who have the potential to become better than you are. It's really gratifying to teach someone something, and then watch them grow to the point where they know more than you do on the subject.
The assuming that you're below average thing - it is just a reminder to be humble and to constantly work on your basics - having a beginner's mind.
It's a nice attitude to have in a perfect world but what about this one? In many contexts, especially where there is high noise to signal, people will tend to believe/bet on/buy/hire/have sex with the guy who seems so (possibly over-) confident and makes lots of (possibly empty) promises over the guy who is humble and annoyingly realistic. I can't remember which firm but the leader of a cosmetics firm once said "we d…
This is actually a very good point. Know when to be bold and confident, and know when to keep your mouth shut. I've actually found a good heuristic to know when to do which. If I'm uncomfortable and insecure, it's time to be bold. And if I'm sure I'm right and the other guy's wrong, it's probably time to shut up and listen. It basically comes down to doing the opposite of my emotional response. It's not easy, but whe…
It's a nice attitude to have in a perfect world but what about this one? In many contexts, especially where there is high noise to signal, people will tend to believe/bet on/buy/hire/have sex with the guy who seems so (possibly over-) confident and makes lots of (possibly empty) promises over the guy who is humble and annoyingly realistic. I can't remember which firm but the leader of a cosmetics firm once said "we d…
Charles Revson - "in our advertising we sell hope", http://quotationsbook.com/quote/5212/ .
"Revlon was founded in the midst of the Great Depression, 1932, by Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, who contributed the "L" in the REVLON name."
It's a nice attitude to have in a perfect world but what about this one? In many contexts, especially where there is high noise to signal, people will tend to believe/bet on/buy/hire/have sex with the guy who seems so (possibly over-) confident and makes lots of (possibly empty) promises over the guy who is humble and annoyingly realistic. I can't remember which firm but the leader of a cosmetics firm once said "we d…
edit: and yes, I see the irony there.