DAVID FOSTER WALLACE, IN HIS OWN WORDS IN MEMORIAM | September 19th 2008 The world of letters has lost a giant. We have felt nourished by the mournful graspings of sites dedicated to his memory ("He was my favourite" ~ Zadie Smith), and we grieve for the books we will never see. But perhaps the best tribute is one he wrote himself ... Special to MORE INTELLIGENT LIFE This is the commencement address he gave to the graduates of Kenyon College in 2005. (If anybody feels like perspiring [cough], I'd advise you to go ahead, because I'm sure going to. This is a standard requirement of US commencement speeches, the deployment of didactic little parable-ish stories. Of course the main requirement of speeches like this is that I'm supposed to talk about your liberal arts education's meaning, to try to explain why the degree you are about to receive has actual human value instead of just a material payoff. Here's another didactic little story. Everyone here has done this, of course. But it will be. You get the idea. "This is water."
Warum Sie noch nicht da sind, wo Sie gerne hinwollen » Start : Alle Artikel : Persönliches Wachstum : Warum Sie noch nicht da sind, wo Sie gerne hinwollen Manchmal hat man das Gefühl, festzustecken. Man will etwas im Leben erreichen. Aber es haut einfach irgendwie nicht hin. Solche Phasen sind ziemlich frustrierend, weil wir uns dann hilflos, ohnmächtig oder wie ein Versager fühlen. Wenn man an so einem Punkt angekommen ist, dann ist es am besten, die eigene Situation einmal ganz in Ruhe von oben zu betrachten. Denn was wir denken, hängt zu einem großen Teil von unserer Umgebung ab. Wollen Sie also andere und vielleicht bessere Gedanken denken, dann müssen Sie dazu manchmal erst Ihre gewohnte Umgebung verlassen. O. k. … nehmen wir an, Sie haben es geschafft, sich aus Ihrer gewohnten Umgebung zu lösen. Zu den Fragen: „Wollen Sie es vielleicht zu stark? Möglicherweise sind Sie noch nicht da, wo Sie hinwollen, weil Sie es übertreiben. Kennen Sie Menschen, die zu verbissen an eine Sache herangehen und durch ihren Übereifer alles kaputt machen?
Watch Out TED Talks: Here Comes A New Generation TED’s educational arm is launching TED-Ed Clubs, an effort to support students who research, write and present and record their own ideas in a TED talk format. “The goal is to stimulate and celebrate the best ideas of students around the world,” said TED-Ed Director Logan Smalley. TED-Ed piloted the project with 100 schools, focusing mostly on middle and high school aged students. Most of the pilot schools started with TED-Ed clubs held during lunch or after school, but some teachers incorporated materials into the classroom. TED-Ed also offers free guiding materials for 13 club meetings, taking students through the step-by-step process of creating a TED talk. “It’s about sparking the question of what makes a great presentation, both content and how you present,” Smalley said. “Each meeting has a specific deliverable in terms of acquiring and thinking about a certain presentation skill,” Smalley said. “We are going to be exposed to an incredible amount of uninhibited student creativity.”
Prokrastination – wie kriege ich sie in den Griff? - Lernen - Schule & Studium Ich schreibe eine E-Mail an Hans Werner Rückert, den Leiter der Studien- und psychologischen Beratung der Freien Universität Berlin. Einer seiner Arbeitsschwerpunkte ist Prokrastination. Er hat auch das Buch „Schluss mit dem ewigen Aufschieben: Wie Sie umsetzen, was Sie sich vornehmen.“ geschrieben. Fünf Minuten später klingelt mein Telefon. Ich bin ziemlich baff ob der schnellen Rückmeldung. Er möchte mit mir nicht darüber sprechen, wie ich meinen Schreibtisch für mehr Produktivität umräume oder meine To-Do Listen effizienter strukturiere: Solche Tipps gibt es genug im Internet und im Ratgeberegal. Das ist der Grund, warum sich unser Gehirn für eine Hausarbeit mindestens 20 Minuten „warmlaufen“ muss, Facebook aber aus dem Stegreif klappt und uns sofort in einen geradezu narkotischen Bahn zieht: Klick, schon hat sich etwas Neues geladen. Auch Hemingway hatte auf seiner To-Do Liste sicherlich nicht stehen: „Weltliteratur schreiben“. 400 Worte am Tag, mehr verlangte er von sich nicht.
This Super Stylish 9-Year-Old CEO Will Make You Feel Lazy By now, you've probably seen a fair share of kids who dress better than adults. But have you ever seen a kid with an absurdly keen fashion sense who is also the CEO of his own company at age 9? Meet Mr. Cory, founder and CEO of Mr. Cory's Cookies (yes, really.) The business- and sartorially- savvy pre-pre-teen became interested in fashion at the age of five, and runs a homemade cookie business with his mom based out of their New Jersey home. On what words he uses to describe his style: Fashionable, fancy, different, BOSS, nice, and high quality. On his favorite things to wear: Suits, linen pants/shirts, glasses, sport coats, and Oxfords. On where he shops: Zara, Ralph Lauren, Salvation Army, thrift shops, TOPSHOP and J. On how his style has helped his business grow: Presentation is the key to success. On why he started making cookies: I wanted to buy my mom a car when we moved to New Jersey from New York City. On the one thing every guy should own: A suit, pocket square, and a classic watch!
The Real Reason Your Job Isn't the Right Fit Have you ever been told how lucky you are to have your job—and felt a sense of utter confusion? Maybe you just can’t put your finger on what exactly you don’t like about your current role, and because of that you’re still there, especially since people keep telling you how happy you should be. If this is you, fret not. This could be a case of unidentified career values. What are Career Values? Career values go beyond the actual work you do—they’re more about what you get out of that work. As you were first job searching, you were probably more focused on matching your skills and interests to a possible career than you were about values—which is understandable, since most people don’t talk much about them. Clarify Your Career Values So, how do you go about figuring out what they are? Then, consider work-like environments where you were happy. Aside from thinking holistically about your past experience, assessments to help you determine your career values can also be helpful.
The Mentorship Journey | Talent Formula Where are you going and who’s taking you there? You might’ve noticed that I write a lot about mentorship. I have a post about it HERE and HERE TOO – have a read after this post! I have been fortunate to have had several amazing mentors, whether they were from a formal program or informally as well. In this 2 part series blog, I’ll take you through the top tips on how to make your mentorship journey more fulfilling! Part 1 – The Road Map Tip 1: It’s All About Perspective How far can you see? I recently attended a Women In Leadership event about mentorship. This evening we heard from Jill Earthy of Futurpreneurs and also Maninder Dhaliwal of Ballet BC who was also a past WIL mentor and Co-Chair. This is a great example of how one can maximize your learnings from your mentor’s potential! When asked about mentors, Jill Earthy said, “It’s important to reach back and grab a hand.” Tip 2: Use The 10-10-10 Formula It’s like drive thru but healthier! Tip 3: Drive That Bus! Share With Me
The Best Jobs, Industries, and Locations for College Grads How to Discover Your Career Sweet Spot Do you know your “sweet spot” when it comes to work? I often find that many people don’t have the first clue. Sometimes we discover our strengths over many years of trial and error. We throw ourselves into work situations that don’t fit our strengths well and then we become frustrated with our lack of progress. We see other people in our same field and wonder why it seems so easy for them and yet hard for us. You are not in your sweet spot if: You are constantly procrastinating on your workYou are missing deadlines even though they were agreed on ahead of timeYou need a lot of accountability in order to get your work doneYou lack energy or excitement about your work Most of the time we try to solve this by going about it the wrong way: Reading books on overcoming procrastinationAs a manager, we try to implement more accountability structures in the organizationWe think that all we need is a vacation only to come back to the same mess we don’t really want to deal with
How Minecraft and Duct Tape Wallets Prepare Our Kids for Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet EdSurge Newsletters Receive weekly emails on edtech products, companies, and events that matter. When I was 11 I loved designing web pages and playing Sim City. Adults in my life didn’t recognize these skills as valuable, so neither did I. So, now I’m building DIY, the online community I wish I had when I was young. My objective with this wide-ranging set of skills, and involving the community so closely in their development, is to give kids the chance to practice whatever makes them passionate now and feel encouraged –– even if they’re obsessed with making stuff exclusively with duct tape. It’s difficult to predict which skills will be valuable in the future, and even more challenging to see the connection between our children’s interests and these skills.
How helicopter parents can ruin kids' job prospects Hiring managers find that some parents are overly involved in their kids' first jobs"Helicopter parents" might call to inquire about benefits or job dutiesThese parents can diminish their children's credibility and independenceEmployers and behavior experts advise allowing a child to make mistakes and grow (CNN) -- Nicole Williams thought she had found the ideal job applicant -- until a phone call came from Mom. Only thing was it wasn't her mom; it was the potential employee's. "She wanted to know everything from where [the job candidate] would be sitting to a review of her responsibilities," said Williams, the career expert for LinkedIn, the professional networking site. "I withdrew the offer," she said. This wasn't the only time Williams had encountered the parental presence of a young employee. She previously had a call from a parent who didn't agree with her son's performance proposal and asked if she could come into her office to discuss. "You are not doing your kid any favors.
How Facebook’s newest teen engineer supported his family with apps until cashing in There’s nothing that highlights the fact that Silicon Valley is the new Wall Street, gold rush, colonial settlement — insert your American Dream rags-to-riches historical moniker here — quite like the story of 18-year-old Miami resident Michael Sayman. This week, Facebook hired Sayman as one of its youngest full-time engineers in history. He wouldn’t tell me his salary, but admitted his friends are already pressuring him to “buy a Tesla,” which he won’t do because he’d “rather save the money.” Before you go throw up at the idea of a teenager buying himself a Tesla off tech riches, there’s few people who deserve that luxury quite as much as this kid. I met Sayman four months ago, when the then 17-year-old developer caught Mark Zuckerberg’s eye. He had poured the last year of his life into building the game, which was a version of charades. “I’m beating Starbucks, Luminosity, Fitbit, Lyft… oh my gosh, it’s number 123 in the overall app store ratings!”
How a Stapler Changed My Life | HuffPost Employment-related social media you should be using Employers have invaded social media and it doesn’t look like they’re leaving anytime soon. Forty-three percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates and an additional 12 percent plan to start soon, according to a recent CareerBuilder survey. But that doesn’t mean that it’s time to deactivate your profiles — in fact, employer involvement in social media is great news for your job search. With an influx of recruiters, hiring managers, career coaches and human resources professionals saturating social media, it’s time to embrace their presence and glean the best advice and resources they have to offer. Even better, you get to browse social media all for the benefit of your job search. Blogs and TwitterTwitter has been hailed for its real-time communications and capturing the moment in 140-character Tweets. Personal profiles and FacebookIf you have a Facebook account, you’ve likely done your fair share of snooping.