The Lifelong Learner :: Do what you can, with what you have, where you are -Roosevelt ::

I totally agree with this post, The Importance of Having Friends Who Disagree. I think it is great to have friends who disagree with you, and still be friends. That’s a luxury that I’d love to have. A friend like that will not let you get complacent, keep you motivated (because you want to find out more about the subject). It’s just great. Unfortunately, I think it’s a human nature not to disagree, and a lot of people have ego problems and don’t want to feel or look dumb. I am not one of them. If I disagree on something, I openly say it. If somebody cannot accept that, then maybe he should not be my friend. As simple as that. Open communication is a key to a lasting relationship. I want to have friends who will disagree with me, and who want me to disagree with them.

This is an excellent post.

ReferenceThe Importance of Having Friends Who Disagree, One Man Hacking blog by Ravi Mohan

I want to improve myself all the time. I want to learn all the time. Do you? I think so (otherwise you wouldn’t be reading my blog). If we all follow these tips, below, the world will be a better place. That’s for sure. A nice wish, I think. I’m going to keep an eye on these as I go through life. I think these are excellent (some thought provoking) tips.

1. If you want your dreams to come true, don’t oversleep.
2. The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention.
3. Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.
4. The best vitamin for making friends….B1.
5. The 10 commandments are not multiple choices.
6. The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
7. Minds are like parachutes…they function only when open.
8. Ideas won’t work unless YOU do.
9. One thing you can’t recycle is wasted time.
10. One who lacks the courage to start has already finished.
11. The heaviest thing to carry is a grudge.
12. Don’t learn safety rules by accident.
13. We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.
14. Jumping to conclusions can be bad exercise.
15. A turtle makes progress when it sticks its head out.
16. One thing you can give and still keep …is your word.
17. A friend walks in when everyone else walks out.
18. The pursuit of happiness is: the chase of a lifetime!

ReferenceI received these from WisdomTips.com daily email service (good stuff).

Am I creative? I don’t think so. I’m full of ideas, and I constantly want to improve something, but I’m not sure that’s creativity. In any case, I’d like to be a creative person. I’d like to more creative. In this article by gapingvoid, How To Be Creative, the author shows 26 tips on how to be more creative. It’s long — 34 pages — but it reads quickly, plus, a shorter version is available. It’s a great article, I recommend it.

Tip 11 (from the article):

ReferenceHow To Be Creative, long version

RelatedHow To Be Creative, short versionHow To Be Creative, book PDF version

Just do it. And do it often.

Sounds easier than it is, I know. But I think it’s important to take the plunge and learn something new. Continously. We get to grow by doing that. We grow and see improvement only when we stretch ourselves. If you keep repeating the same things over and over, you’re going to get the same results. One of the quotes I remember and really like says the following:

“If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.”

This year, I’ve got a lot of new things on my mind. I’d like to become a better software engineer, a better communicator, and a better person overall (better husband? ). But how? I’m going to learn new technologies (web services, ajax) and new programming languages (Python) to become a better engineer. I’m going to try new techniques when I’m speaking/communicating at Toastmasters (I’m already getting a lot of ideas from the Toastmasters magazine); and try to improve my writing by trying new techniques to become a better communicator (I’m reading a good book on the subject now). And I’m also going to spend more quality time with my wife (this one is easy). I get a lot of ideas for improvement by reading books, and I read (and listen to books) a lot.

What are you going to do to improve? Think about it for a while.

Just remember: learn something that you don’t know yet. Try something else.

When you learn something new, you initially take a plunge. In essence, you become worse. You suck for a while. This period always happens. It’s hard. It’s tempting to go back to the old ways. Don’t do it. Get used to the new way. After some time adjusting, you will move to a new level. A level that would not have been possible had you been doing the same thing over and over (go ahead and re-read that quote ).

Don’t be scared to suck for a while. It’s normal.

ReferenceBranching Out – Steve Pavlina (He elaborates more on this topic. Excellent read.)

Did you know that happy people make more money? Did you know that happy people live longer? I have not read about it until now (see below), but I believe it’s true. So be happy, enjoy your life! Concentrate on the positives: we know there are negatives in everything, but see the positive instead.

Some excerpts from the article.

“Happiness, rather than working hard, is the key to success, according to research published today. Cheerful people are more likely to try new things and challenge themselves, which reinforces positive emotion and leads to success in work, good relationships and strong health, say psychologists.”

“The recipe for success: get happy and you will get ahead in life.”

Read this article, link below, and find out more!

)))))

ReferenceThe recipe for success: get happy and you will get ahead in life — The Guardian