The Persuasive Power of Uncertainty
"When we started this research, we had the same hypothesis that a lot of people would have, that being more certain would be generally better when you're trying to persuade somebody or convince somebody to do something. And so, we were originally thinking expressing confidence or certainty might be a solution for people who lack credibility to gain influence. And so, we did some studies to look in... posted on Apr 09 2013, 6,852 reads

The Difference Between Listening & Hearing
"There is a difference, strong but not always noted, between listening and hearing. You hear the pneumatic drill, though you would rather not listen. You listen for your children's voices in the playground, but you can't always hear them. In urban environments, there's usually a surplus of sound -- so much, in fact, that it often becomes difficult to hear anything at all. But if we become too good... posted on Apr 08 2013, 26,857 reads

The Stubborn Gladness of Elizabeth Gilbert
The bestselling memoir "Eat, Pray, Love," about losing and finding herself, was the book that shot Elizabeth Gilbert to fame. It is now both a movie and travel tour. Yet there is much more to Gilbert than this runaway success. "Her collection of short stories, 'Pilgrims,' was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award, and her debut novel, 'Stern Men,' was a New York Times Notable Book. Her 2009 TED T... posted on Apr 07 2013, 32,424 reads

Maya Angelou: Still I Rise
From the moment it was published in 1978, "Still I Rise" has been one of Maya Angelou's best-loved and most influential poems. It has inspired figures as diverse as Bill Clinton and Tupac Shakur and has become a staple in the canon of American poetry. Dr. Angelou's directness and candor affirms the power of individual strength over collective history, as well as to the power of individual lives to... posted on Apr 06 2013, 9,331 reads

Roger Ebert Goes Gently Into That Good Night
Celebrated film critic Roger Ebert passed away yesterday from cancer. In 2009, he'd shared a beautiful reflection on his own mortality, called 'Go Gently Into That Good Night:' "I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born... posted on Apr 05 2013, 40,258 reads

Why Mind-Wandering Robs You of Happiness
""The main thing is to get what little happiness there is out of life in this war-torn world," Clare Boothe Luce advised her young daughter, "because 'these are the good old days' now." And yet most of us are conditioned to escape into the past, into the future, into our to-do lists -- to wander off away from the present, even as we chronicle the moment in real-time on various lifestreaming platfo... posted on Apr 04 2013, 27,842 reads

Why Sleeping May Be More Important Than Studying
"Getting enough sleep is an under-valued but crucial part of learning. Contrary to students' belief that staying up all night to cram for an exam will lead to higher scores, truth is, the need for a good night's rest is even more important than finishing homework or studying for a test. A recent study in the journal Child Development showed that sacrificing sleep in order to study will actually ba... posted on Apr 03 2013, 10,268 reads

Six Ways to Become A Wise Leader
There are two kinds of leaders, according to Prasad Kaipa and Navi Radjou, the authors of a new book called "From Smart to Wise." Smart leaders "tend to look at the world through colored lenses that skew or limit their perspective, which affects their decisions and actions, while wise leaders "are able to continually reframe and reinterpret events through integration and find new meanings within a... posted on Apr 02 2013, 40,258 reads

Aikido: The Art of Turning Conflict on its Head
"Growing up in a tough neighborhood of Kansas City, Andrew LeBar learned from an early age to hold his own. When someone pushed him, he pushed back."I had hard eyes," recalls LeBar, who still carries the stance of a bulldog and has the square jaw to match...Heading back to school at the University of Kansas in his 30s, LeBar decided to try aikido, a Japanese martial art, thinking he might pick up ... posted on Apr 01 2013, 16,406 reads

My Friend, My Companion: Lessons From Mia
In June 2010, Snigdha Manickavel and her husband Bapoorau brought home a little black puppy from an animal shelter in South India. Mia had been brought in with her mother and three of her siblings, and was the only one of the pups to survive. The young couple who took her home had no idea how deeply this bright-eyed newcomer would touch their hearts and transform their lives. In this short piece S... posted on Mar 31 2013, 14,935 reads