5
POPSDownside of Tips I think in today's world, people are just too rushed to think by themselves. We are trained from young to focus on the results, through the formal education system, and because of that, "theory" isn't that well liked, because it has no immediate results. Even in school, where the main aim is supposed to be learning, you find students clamoring for tips in order to do well in their exams. In a society where the immediacy is so highly valued, ideas or articles that don't give immediate results aren't sought after. As Chris Honore said in his TED Talk, "Even things which are by their very nature slow, we try to speed them up too." Learning, the pursuit of knowledge, is a slow process. It comes with trying and failing. It comes with taking the time to question things. The world, and life as well, is complex, and it takes time to think through things. Speeding it up won't work.
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POPSRoutine: The enemy of intelligence Most of us go through life with routines. We wake up every day, go to school/work and do the same mundane things over and over that we're expected/told to do. It gives us a sense of certainty, it's less risky, it's what's expected of us. But I think it's something we have to break out of in order to improve ourselves. We need to break out of our comfort zone. And that's how you'll become smarter.
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POPSBe Original Great advice from Carmine Coyote. The problem is, the media and popular culture play up the value of being like someone else. I'll use soccer as an example since it's what I'm most familiar with. Every time a new talent shows up, he's immediately compared to a player from history. Messi is the new Maradona. Nasri the new Zidane. Kaka the new Ronaldinho. The list goes on, and its a prevailing trend that goes past just soccer. With the media being this way, is it any wonder that we try to be like others? My advice: forget about being "the next " and focus on being "the first and only ". That's the best thing you can do.
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POPSSeeing What You Know Peter Haslam's view on these accounts is that we should be more tolerant to other viewpoints before dismissing it. A good point, but I have something slightly different to say. I find it really striking that the people could not see what they did not know. Most of us struggle with something similar, in my opinion. We only see what we know. I'm not talking about the concrete here, but in terms of visions/dreams or ideas and opportunities. Could it be that we tend to fail to see the things we don't know? And that that is what limits us from trying something new? Maybe. How do you overcome that? Expose yourself to ideas. Hang out with visionaries. When the elders pointed out the ship to the rest of the tribe, they managed to see the ships. Surround yourself with people that can see opportunities and ideas. People who are visionary. You might learn to see new things as well.
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POPSPower of saying yes While I do agree that saying yes is good, in the sense that it trains you to take risks and not be afraid, I think saying yes too much can sometimes dilute your focus. I think, as always, it’s a matter of balance. Don’t just say yes for the sake of saying yes. It’s a good practice to train yourself for risk-taking, but for practical purposes it can sometimes distract, in my opinion. Sometimes the smartest thing to do is quit (or say no to) one task to focus on another.
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POPSBacn New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. All it takes for an idea to spread is just a couple of regular people. Why don't you be the one? What idea can you spread today?
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POPSOnly one Google That's something that I've experienced before, people saying "there can only be one Google" or "how many Steve Jobs can there be" and questions like that. If you think that way, there definitely won't be able to innovate like them.