What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0127

6301.  Perspective and choice are something every human can change;

6302.  Apparently, you can pay ½ as many (frequent flyer) miles for a flight 2 weeks before your departure;

6303.  As soon as your application is approved, the clock starts ticking for credit card sign-up bonuses (. . . not when you activate the card);

6304.  Converting hotel points to airline miles is (generally) not a good value;

6305.  $.02 for every (frequent flyer) mile/point is a good value;

6306.  Only 52% of all flights are shown on the internet;

6307.  To get the best hotel (room) prices, you should call the (actual) hotel and talk to the manager on duty;

6308.  Your travel and accommodations should be based on value and not (necessarily on) cost;

6309.  Resort fees can be waived by the hotel (manager);

6310.  You should write (and mail) a “thank you” letter to the (hotel) manager, who gave you a special deal and/or rate;

6311.  State department travel advisories are selective.  They never had any travel advisories when Ireland had frequent car bombings;

6312.  You should only worry about traveling to places where the government doesn’t have control;

6313.  Apparently, more Americans die in bathtub accidents in a week than they do traveling overseas in a(n entire) year;

6314.  Don’t book cruises on a ship’s inaugural season.  They’re usually booked solid so there won’t be any deals/discounts.  Book cruises with ships that are 3-5 years-old;

6315.  Cruise ships go to over 1,100 ports in the world;

6316.  Apparently, Amtrak has over 500 stops;

6317.  Apparently, a direct flight from Las Vegas to Hawaii or Phoenix to Hawaii can be a lot cheaper than a (direct) flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii;

6318.  Apparently, Lisbon(, Portugal,) is becoming known for its food. . . . Seven new Michelin starred restaurants have opened in the last year (i.e., 2017);

6319.  If you have a medium or long-haul flight (either roundtrip or one-way) or if your final destination is the Azores, Madeira or Algarve, you can stop off for 1-5 nights in Lisbon or Porto(, Portugal,) for free, if you fly TAP Air Portugal (PortugalStopover.flytap.com/USA/enus/stopover);

6320.  According to (the “Travel Detective,”) Peter Greenberg, the Faroe Islands is the best place to see the “Northern Lights” (i.e., Aurora Borealis);

6321.  Apparently, Baja California makes some great wines.  They export 75% of their production to France;

6322.  Rwanda is the only country where you can see mountain gorillas and the big five game/safari animals (i.e., lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, elephants and the African/Cape buffalo);

6323.  Apparently, Asunción (the capital and largest city) is a good place to visit if you’ve never been to Paraguay.  It’s a nice introduction to the country and (the) culture;

6324.  Never buy travel insurance from the travel provider;

6325.  A good place to compare and buy travel insurance is InsureMyTrip (InsureMyTrip.com);
6326.  Two good providers of repatriation/evacuation insurance are MedjetAssist (MedjetAssist.com) and AIG Travel Guard (TravelGuard.com);
6327.  Aer Lingus has an auction for business class (airline) tickets;
6328.  You can call airlines and ask if they have any business class tickets on sale;
6329.  Check the price you listed an item for before negotiating a price;
6330.  Almost everybody wants to haggle (for a lower price) when you sell something on Craigslist;
6331.  The ego insists on pursuing more: more stuff, accomplishments, status, triumphs and money.  More is the mantra of the ego, fueling endless striving with a false promise of eventually arriving.  However, every assured arrival point is seductively transformed to a desire to strive for even more, unless we choose to make a shift in the direction our life is taking;
6332.  The shift begins in the process of halting the momentum and self-importance of the ego, but then we must proceed with the work of derailing and rerouting it in the opposite direction.  This doesn’t mean we lose our drive; rather, it signifies that our drive is realigned with a life based on experiencing meaning and feeling purposeful;
6333.  Our ego self has always focused on external power.  As we move towards spirit, we replace ego’s need to influence external situations or other people with a preference for personal empowerment.  We stop fighting ego’s endless battles and instead shift to meaning.  We do this through conscious compassionate curiosity and caring first and foremost for our inner self.  Noninterference becomes a higher priority than being right or dominating others;
6334.  Ego feels separate and distinct from others, a being unto itself.  As we move back to spirit, we recognize our connectedness.  Seeing ourselves as a part of everyone eliminates the need to compete with anyone;
6335.  Ego is motivated by external achievement, performance and acquisitions.  As we move back to spirit, we shift our focus to internal pursuits.  Our preparation for living a life of purpose involves a major shift in attitude in the direction of feeling peaceful, being honest and assisting others;
6336.  Ego is adamant about the importance of seeking revenge.  Pursuing and achieving vengeance, retaliation and reprisal prevent us from feeling purposeful and living a life of meaning;
6337.  Forgiving yourself for everything you’ve felt shame about is highly important.  Whatever happened was necessary, so let go of regret and replace your negative feelings with gratitude for what you’ve learned.  If your objective is to be inspired, then you must eradicate your resistance to that state of being.  After you’ve forgiven yourself, extend the same courtesy to everyone who you feel mistreated you.  Practice forgiveness every day.  The most difficult or impossible situations are the most essential;
6338.  Keep a list of everything that interests and excites you, no matter how insignificant.  Remind yourself that these are indicators or clues that within and around you lie both the talent and the necessary spirit to bring them into your reality;
6339.  You’ll never find light by analyzing the darkness, you’ll never find your magnificence by analyzing what you believe to be undistinguished about yourself.  Look for opportunities to verify your greatness and expand your view of yourself as a splendid creation.  Whenever a thought of ordinariness pops into your mind, put the brakes on immediately and affirm something like: “I’m a divine being, a distinct portion of the essence of God.”  This silent reminder will do more for your inspiration than a thousand books and a hundred seminars;
6340.  10 questions to get a conversation going around the holidays: 1.  How do you define a great holiday experience?  What’s the best one you can remember?; 2.  What are you the most grateful for this past year?; 3.  What are you the most proud of this past year?; 4.  If you had one million dollars to give to charity, how would you spend it?; 5.  What are your top three strengths and how have they benefitted others recently?; 6.  What is your favorite trait in other people?; 7.  As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up and how does that relate to what you do now?; 8.  When you think about the coming year, what are you most excited to accomplish?; 9.  What new capability do you want to develop in the next year?; and 10.  What are the two biggest lessons you learned this last year?
6341.  A 2008 study published in Emotion found that success rates of “Big Sister Week,” designed to solidify relationships between sorority members, succeeded based on gratitude.  “Big sisters” spent the period giving surprise gifts to assigned new recruits.  At the end of the period of giving, matches were revealed.  “Little sister” gratitude ratings, which corresponded more closely to how thoughtful they considered the gifts than how much they liked them, predicted the strength of their connection to their “big sister” and their feelings of integration in the sorority a month later;
6342.  A 2009 study found that gratitude improves sleep duration and quality even when controlling for personality traits that might influence sleep;
6343.  A 2016 study found that gratitude was correlated with better sleep and decreased blood pressure;
6344.  Scientists have identified the parts of the cortex that are activated by thankfulness.  They are involved in emotional processing.  They also set off like firecrackers when activated by gratitude;
6345.  Elizabeth likes soy sauce (a lot) . . . and hot sauce;
6346.  Knee grinding/humping . . . check;
6347.  Elizabeth will laugh if you lick her nose;
6348.  Elizabeth likes (it) that I’m willing to try new things;
6349.  Elizabeth likes being blindfolded;
6350.  The days are long, but the years are short;

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6251.  There are far more activities and opportunities in the world than we have time and resources to invest in.  Although many of them may be good or even very good, the fact is that most are trivial and few are vital.  That’s the crucial difference between blessing and burden.  We can fill our time with very good things and end up saddled, straddled and stressed.  That’s because good things might still be trivial;

6252.  Essentialism is a lifestyle focused on discerning the difference between the “many trivial” and the “vital few.”  Essentialists are committed to the vital few in every circumstance they can manage.  The benefits include not only lower stress, but the satisfaction of developing real excellence and making a vital contribution through your callings;

6253.  When we forget we have the power of choice, we allow others to determine what fills our time instead of ourselves.  Essentialists remain empowered by choice to determine what they do and don’t do with their time;

6254.  For every ten things nonessentialists do, essentialists do one.  Instead of diffusing their energy, they focus it and gain momentum to make more impact than they otherwise could.  When we complain about being “spread too thin” at work, this is a sure sign we need to shed tasks and train our focus;

6255.  To do one thing is to miss out on others and maybe even essential things.  The more we commit to doing, the more strained our schedules are for the things that are truly important including family, rest and play.  Essentialists weigh every opportunity against the potential tradeoffs;

6256.  Essentialists don’t consider the minimum requirements for a “yes.”  They use extreme criteria: Is this exactly what I want?  Am I ideal for this opportunity?  If it isn’t a clear “yes” then it’s a clear “no;”

6257.  The role of a journalist is not to regurgitate facts, but to explain the meaning of those facts.  Essentialists act as journalists of their own experience.  Instead of allowing others to determine what matters and why, essentialists make that determination for themselves;

6258.  Essentialists pass on about 90% of opportunities.  If we are clear on what we do, we can filter out a thousand things we shouldn’t.  To gain this clarity requires asking hard questions, making difficult tradeoffs and exercising self-discipline.  Essentialists know it’s totally worth investing in the 10% of opportunities that make sense for them;

6259.  Saying “no” to the many trivial requests, essentialists are really saying “yes” to what matters most in their lives: their faith, their family, their health and their calling;

6260.  To be successful, satisfied, fulfilled people, we need to save our energy and creativity for just a few essential opportunities and pass on all the rest.  That will mean some hard choices, but we’re tricking ourselves to think burdening ourselves with superfluous “yeses” will make our life more comfortable.  We’ll just shortchange the important activities and people in our lives;

6261.  Apparently, I can have deep conversations;

6262.  Elizabeth thinks I’m smarter than she is;

6263.  (It’s good, but) Roti Modern Mediterranean (Roti.com) is really just Mediterranean Chipotle;

6264.  The Anthem (TheAnthemDC.com) in D.C. has Happy Hour (drink) prices upstairs before the music starts;

6265.  Elizabeth doesn’t like vinegar;

6266.  Women are self-conscious about their bodies (just) as much as men are (if not more);

6267.  Apparently, I don’t have an ounce of fat on me (. . . not really);

6268.  Apparently, the G(räfenberg)-spot is a small, spongy impression/indentation just inside the front of the vagina;

6269.  Apparently, Elizabeth is a 32 double “D;”

6270.  Christmas doesn’t come only once.  Christmas came at least 4 times.  After that, Christmas lost count/track;

6271.  I can say I’ve been to “Walk the Moon’s” first concert on their “Press Restart” tour (at “The Anthem” in D.C.);

6272.  Let’s remember that our goals are just tools we are using to serve us.  And if they’re not serving us, we get to change them;

6273.  When you follow your “why,” you feel like your life is meaningful.  When you make progress on fulfilling your “why,” it makes you feel like your precious time on this earth is worth trading for what you’re doing;

6274.  When you do work in line with your “why,” you tap into an energy and passion that makes achieving your goals feel effortless.  Even when you’re working hard, you just love it.  When you’re not really following your “why,” you don’t feel like that;

6275.  I don’t love every task, but I love my “why,” so if the task serves my “why,” I will have the motivation to do it.  Even if it’s hard.  If it doesn’t, then I probably won’t;

6276.  If you find that you set goals for yourself that you don’t fulfill or you constantly find it challenging to stick to the plan, maybe you’re just not working on stuff that serves your “why;”

6277.  No matter how much you want a goal, no matter how carefully you plan for it and no matter how diligently you execute on that plan, if you don’t really believe you can have it on a subconscious level or if you have a conflicting subconscious desire that will be violated if you do achieve your goal, then you will not achieve it.  Your subconscious will find a way to sabotage the outcome;

6278.  A lot of people fail in their goal setting because they set their expectations too high or they come from a place of feeling like they’re not good enough so they set goals that actually feel more like punishments.  They prioritize things that they think they “should” do, but, if they did some digging, they’d find those goals are not actually that important to them;

6279.  Clarity about your goals is super important;

6280.  Clarity means: 1.  Clearly defined outcomes of what and how much.  Specifics.  How do you define “success” on this goal?  2.  Clearly defined milestones.  For example, how will you know if you’re making progress on your goal?  How will you measure that?  And how will you know when you’ve been blown off course? and 3.  Clearly defined deadlines.  By when do you want to have milestones completed and by when do you want to have achieved your definition of “success” on this goal?

6281.  Desire + Knowledge + Belief = Success;

6282.  Desire + Knowledge – Belief = Frustration;

6283.  Without the vital ingredient of subconscious belief alignment, where you have a core belief in your ability to attain the goal, no amount of desire or knowledge (or even effort) is going to get you there.  It’s one thing to want a goal, it’s often another thing entirely to believe you can have it;

6284.  If your subconscious mind doesn’t believe you can have it, then you won’t get it.  You’ll fall prey to “subconscious sabotage” and you’ll find that you either spin your wheels, things fall apart at the last minute or you encounter so many obstacles that you just can’t seem to make any progress on your goal;

6285.  When your subconscious beliefs are in alignment with your goals, then your subconscious is working for you 24/7 to achieve your goals.  It never rests.  And when you have that happening, then you need to listen to the prompts and instructions coming back out from your subconscious mind;

6286.  The subconscious doesn’t communicate in words.  It communicates in feelings and pictures. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a feeling is worth even more.  So the subconscious mind processes a ton of information and then it gives you a feeling.  Or it draws your attention to a sign.  Something visual.  Or maybe it will latch onto something someone says.  Or it just gives you a sense of knowing, a clarity.  Call it gut feeling, intuition, instinct, a revelation or a moment of clarity.  Call it whatever you want.  Just learn how to listen to it and act upon it;

6287.  You manifest what you are, not what you want;

6288.  Neuroscience shows us that the pursuit of gratitude plus compassion creates more happiness in our lives than the pursuit of happiness itself;

6289.  If you manifest what you are, then the place to start is by cultivating the key character traits and attitudes of an abundant person;

6290.  5 key attitudes of an abundantly minded person: 1.  Gratitude; 2.  Compassion; 3.  Generosity; 4.  Accountability; and 5.  Forgiveness;

6291.  Gratitude is listed as #1 for a reason because it’s the most powerful place to start.  If you actively cultivate an attitude of gratitude in your life, you’ll very soon access an inner experience of abundance.  Recognizing and celebrating the value of what you’ve already got in your life, on a daily basis, is the fast-track technique to attracting more gratitude-inducing relationships, experiences and stuff into your life;

6292.  Compassion is when you have an awareness and a deep emotional connection with the plight of others (also called empathy) and that awareness is combined with a desire to do something to help.  When compassion is combined with gratitude, it’s even more powerful.  Neuroscience shows us that the pursuit of gratitude plus compassion creates more happiness in our lives than the pursuit of happiness itself.  It’s kind of counterintuitive that pursuing happiness directly is not actually the way to achieve it;

6293.  Once you have the desire to do something to help others (i.e., compassion), then you can put that into practice by cultivating an attitude and habit of generosity.  This is known in Buddhism as “maitri” or “loving kindness.”  Loving kindness can take many forms.  Praying for the well-being and peace of others is one form of loving kindness.  Performing random acts of kindness, where you anonymously do kind things for others is another example.  Why do anonymous acts of kindness?  It’s a way to avoid creating an expectation of reciprocity on the part of your ego (i.e., I was nice to you so you should be nice to me).  It’s also a way of avoiding a subtle inflation of your ego around identifying as a “kind person.”  I’m not saying you shouldn’t be kind when the other person knows it’s coming from you (i.e., like buying flowers for someone who’s sad or cooking a meal for a sick friend) definitely do those things because they’re nice and they build good connections in your relationships.  What I am saying is that if you only do kind acts when you get credit for them, then you might develop a kind of “spiritual ego” around this trait.  Giving generously and anonymously as well as giving when you get the credit can help you to cultivate this inner character trait in a way that the ego can’t latch onto and use it for its own self-aggrandizement;

6294.  Accountability is about how we approach the story of our lives.  We’re all born, a bunch of stuff happens during our time here and then we die.  However, how we interpret the stuff that happens and whether or not we learn from it, makes all the difference.  Do we have an attitude of personal accountability and responsibility?  Or do we have an attitude of victimhood and blame?  Are we willing to take the hand we’ve been dealt by our birth, upbringing, nature and nurture, which is different for every single one of us, and make the most of it in this life?  Are we willing to play the game of life full tilt and to the best of our abilities?  Or are we going to spend our life lamenting the hand we were dealt, being angry about it and blaming our family, fate or traumas on the way things are in our lives, giving up on making things better and resigning ourselves to the idea that this is how it will always be?  Everyone gets dealt a different hand.  Some are harder than others.  People who gloss over this fact usually do so because they don’t want to acknowledge their own privilege;

6295.  Forgiveness is the greatest healing attitude of all and, sometimes, the hardest thing to do.  The flip side of forgiveness, its antithesis, is judgment.  So long as we judge, we’ll find it impossible to forgive.  The best way to let go of judgment is to acknowledge that everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about, so until you’ve walked in their shoes, you probably shouldn’t judge.  And because each one of us has a unique set of gifts, challenges, opportunities and trials that we face, you can never truly walk in another’s shoes;

6296.  If you think it’s your job to judge and punish, that job is never done.  It’s an endless cycle of negativity.  It will suck the life force right out of you and it does not lead to an abundance of good things.  It leads to an abundance of things like disgust, hate, retribution and revenge;

6297.  Consider it your job to be kind to yourself and others, to be compassionate to yourself and others, to be grateful for all you have, to be accountable for your actions (and only your actions) and to forgive yourself and others;

6298.  It seems to help (a lot) if you put a map on your Craigslist posting;

6299.  Whiskey (and) cranberry . . . not so good;

6300.  Some people are truly clueless (i.e., “I don’t want to pay for parking.  Can you just bring the bed down?” . . . “Do you think it’ll (i.e., a bed frame and headboard for a full bed) fit in the backseat/trunk of my car?”);

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6201.  Every skill you acquire doubles your odds of success;

6202.  Most people would choose entertainment and distraction instead of learning and growing;

6203.  Repetition can be boring or tedious, which is why so few people ever master anything;

6204.  For every day you read a book, millions of others didn’t;

6205.  For every morning you woke up early to create and produce, millions of others slept in;

6206.  For every day you kept going, millions of others quit;

6207.  Ordinary people seek entertainment.  Extraordinary people seek education and learning;

6208.  Deep down, most people don’t think they have what it takes to be extraordinary.  It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If you don’t believe you can, you surely won’t;

6209.  If you want to live an exceptional and extraordinary life, you have to give up many of the things that are part of a normal one;

6210.  Forget about titles and impressing others.  Focus on becoming a person you are incredibly proud to be;

6211.  Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development because success is something you attract by the person you become;

6212.  Being jealous and resentful is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die;

6213.  Choose what you want not what anyone else wants;

6214.  Alexander Graham Bell made his primary residence in D.C. (because of his numerous court cases involving patent disputes);

6215.  Most people doubt their beliefs and believe their doubts.  Do the opposite;

6216.  Researchers are finding that the pursuit of happiness falls short and real contentment and well-being comes from living a life of meaning;

6217.  Goals live in your discomfort zone.  Projects live in your comfort zone.  If it’s not a bit risky, if it doesn’t demand your full engagement and breakthrough creativity then it’s not a goal.  It’s a project;

6218.  If you can find nothing intrinsically motivating about a certain project, you should probably strike it from your goals list and find a way to automate or delegate it;

6219.  It’s not a true goal unless it has a transformative effect on your life or business in some way.  Projects are about maintenance or at best incremental improvement.  By contrast, goals are about leapfrog innovation and dramatic improvements that require us to step outside our day-to-day tasks;

6220.  Projects are composed of daily tasks we do to stay afloat.  If the alternative to treading water is drowning, I’m all for treading water!  But goals are all about swimming to new and desirable destinations;

6221.  Just because something is important, doesn’t mean you should make it a goal.  If it leaves you feeling drained or demotivated just thinking about it, you should (definitely) not make it a goal.  Instead, you should look for a way to automate or delegate it;

6222.  You want to dedicate as much of your energy as you can to the tasks only you can do to move your work and life in a new and better direction;

6223.  Flexible boundaries don’t make us more productive.  They force us to negotiate our priorities in the moment, which then invites us to make compromises.  And those compromises kill our productivity;

6224.  Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about;

6225.  The energy of abundance flows in a circle.  When we refuse to receive, we block the flow of abundance into our lives.  When we refuse to give, we do the same;
6226.  If we can’t practice self-compassion then it’s going to be very hard for us to have compassion for others;
6227.  Be thankful you are employed.  This may sound trite, but gratitude is the antidote to frustration.  You might not like your job, but being unemployed would likely be worse.  Besides, research shows that gratitude reduces stress and makes us more resilient;
6228.  Put your work in context.  The concept of “job satisfaction” is relatively new.  The truth is that work is hard.  Even at its best, there are going to be difficult days.  Frustrations, setbacks and even failure are part of life.  Don’t be surprised; accept the bad with the good;
6229.  Determine the source of your dissatisfaction.  Is your problem the work itself?  Or do you feel overwhelmed because you just have too many tasks in your drudgery or disinterest zones?  Maybe you work for a difficult boss?  Or perhaps you don’t like your commute or the working environment?  It’s important to identify the source of your frustration, so you can work on a plan to change it;
6230.  Fix what you can fix.  Unless you simply enjoy being miserable, you need to put together an action plan to change things for the better.  You might not be able to change everything, but you can, no doubt, improve some things.  Maybe you can transfer to another department, reduce your workload, establish better boundaries or do something that will make a tangible difference;
6231.  Use your job to polish your character.  Traits like kindness, peace, joy and patience don’t just happen.  They are forged in the crucible of difficult circumstances.  Very little happens when everything is going your way.  The important stuff happens when it’s not;
6232.  Encourage a coworker.  Sometimes it helps to get the focus off of yourself.  It’s not all about you.  If you’re discouraged, chances are someone else is too.  Treat them as you want to be treated.  Engage in a random act of kindness.  Provide a listening ear.  Remind them of what is ultimately true about them.  You might just find yourself encouraged in the process;
6233.  Winners are not afraid of losing, but losers are.  Failure is part of the process of success.  People who avoid failure also avoid success;
6234.  I never see failure as failure, but only as a learning experience;
6235.  What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?
6236.  Elizabeth likes anal;
6237.  . . . check;
6238.  (According to Christina,) I’m very tactile;
6239.  When your environment is cluttered, the chaos restricts your ability to focus;
6240.  Clutter limits your brain’s ability to process information.  Clutter makes you distracted and unable to process information as well as you would in an uncluttered, organized and serene environment;
6241.  If you’re looking for a good, late night place (to eat) by Dupont Circle, try Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse on 17th Street;
6242.  About six hours after you wake up, your body’s circadian rhythm starts to dip and you’re likely to feel drowsy, especially if you’ve had a busy morning and lunch.  A twenty-minute power nap at this point (say at 1:00 PM) is enough to give you a mental recharge without leaving you groggy: if you keep it short, you’ll wake up fairly alert and can quickly get back to work.  If you stretch it out to an hour, the balance between your circadian rhythm and sleep pressure will produce a nap that balances R.E.M. and short-wave sleep;
6243.  If you take a nap five hours after waking, the balance will be different: more R.E.M. sleep, and less slow-wave sleep.  This kind of nap will deliver a little creative nudge: you’re likely to dream and more likely to enroll your subconscious in whatever you were recently working on;
6244.  If you take a nap seven hours after waking, your body needs more rest and an hour-long nap will be richer in slow-wave sleep and more physically restorative than creatively stimulating;
6245.  Compal, Quanta, Inventec, Asustek and Wistron (in Shenzhen, China) make 90% of all brand name laptops and notebook computers;
6246.  Teens, who spend 5+ hours a day on their phones, are 51% more likely to suffer from sleep deprivation;
6247.  Teens in 8th grade, who use social media excessively, are 27% more likely to be depressed;
6248.  Teens who go “iPhone free” for five days at camp perform better on empathy tests;
6249.  True productivity isn’t about getting more things done.  It’s about getting the right things done;
6250.  It’s easy to confuse abundance with blessing especially in our work life.  But sometimes abundance is just another word for burden.  And it’s crucial for our success and satisfaction that we learn to spot the difference;

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6151.  Generosity makes us happy.  Giving our time and money to others gives us an emotional boost.  According to researcher Christian Smith, it’s because feeling good is a product of doing good.  It’s built into our neurochemistry.  Giving triggers feel-good chemicals like endorphins, dopamine and oxytocin.  And, according to a Harvard Business School study, it’s true across cultural and economic lines;

6152.  Generosity lowers our stress.  It turns out being stingy can actually raise our stress levels.  After hooking people up to heart monitors, researchers found that when people felt they were giving too little in a transaction it actually drove up their stress.  Being generous, on the other hand, kept stress down;

6153.  Generosity improves our relationships.  In a study of generosity and its effect in marriage, researchers found that the recipient of generosity expressed high levels of marital satisfaction, but so did the giver;

6154.  It’s impossible to play in a bad mood and it turns out researchers find people are better at solving problems when they’re upbeat and positive.  The basic idea is that a positive mood loosens the grip of attention so that stimuli and ideas that used to get filtered out can now have a greater impact on mental processing.  And it’s self-perpetuating because research shows that creativity makes us happy;

6155.  A scientific study of brain circuits confirmed that creative activity is highest during and immediately after sleep, while the analytical parts of the brain (i.e., the editing and proofreading parts) become more active as the day goes on;

6156.  According to Northwestern University researchers, Brian Lucas and Loran Nordgren, people consistently underestimate the value of persisting on creative tasks.  Basically, we do our best work later in the creative process after many people have already dropped out;

6157.  Identifying with a stereotype can have a direct effect on your creativity.  When students saw themselves as uncreative, they actually were uncreative.  But students were measurably more creative when they imagined they were eccentric poets;

6158.  The mere presence of other people engaged in the same task as us can boost our motivation.  In 1920, social psychologist Floyd Allport showed that a group of people working individually at the same table performed better on a whole range of tasks even though they weren’t cooperating or competing.  Allport’s research illustrates how the energy of other people can act as a substitute team even if we’re working solo;

6159.  Team members with a big picture thinking style are great for brainstorming and creative problem solving, but when it comes to idea execution a study suggests it’s a good idea to have at least one focused, analytic thinker on your team, who can focus on the details of your project;

6160.  One key to leadership is being willing to take responsibility for your mistakes.  Good leaders do this even when they’re guilty of only 10 percent of the problem or accusation;

6161.  It takes an act of courage to own a bad situation.  It can be terribly frightening to admit a wrong, to be vulnerable and expose yourself to anger and even punishment;

6162.  If we want to turn things around, we have to add remorse to responsibility.  Our failings cause difficulty to others.  Our mistakes cost time, money and sometimes heartache.  We should express sorrow and regret for the hurt our behavior caused;

6163.  Once a major mistake comes to light, it can be easy to slink off and leave the problem in other’s hands, but you always have something you can do.  If you can’t fix the actual problem, you can still address your part in it, your failings, misjudgments, destructive habits, whatever contributed to the crisis;

6164.  Without the vital ingredient of subconscious belief alignment, where you have a core belief in your ability to attain the goal, no amount of desire or knowledge (or even effort) is going to get you there.  It’s one thing to want a goal, it’s often another thing entirely to believe you can have it.  If your subconscious mind doesn’t believe you can have it then you won’t get it.  You’ll fall prey to “subconscious sabotage” and you’ll find that you either spin your wheels, things fall apart at the last minute or you encounter so many obstacles that you just can’t seem to make any progress on your goal;

6165.  Frustration is a key indicator that shows you that you have a belief that is out of alignment with your goal.  If you do some digging, find the belief blockage and then do some reprogramming, you’ll pave the way to your success.  It usually happens very quickly once you remove the block;

6166.  The best goals are: 1.  Specific enough to focus and direct your energies; 2.  Measurable so you can keep track of your progress; 3.  Actionable with clear initiating verbs that prompt specific activity; 4.  Risky enough to leverage our natural tendency to rise to challenges; 5.  Time-keyed so you’re prompted exactly when to act; 6.  Exciting enough to inspire and harness the power of your intrinsic motivation; and 7.  Relevant within the overall context of your life;

6167.  When you hit a wall, it’s time to pivot.  Your goal might be sacred, but your strategy isn’t.  Don’t give up on your goal, just change your approach;

6168.  If you’re on a plane and your ears won’t pop, try pinching and (then) blowing your nose;

6169.  Some high schoolers are very mature (specifically female debate club members from Florida);

6170.  There are castles for sale . . . and there are people looking to buy them;

6171.  I can say I’ve met “Mr. M” and that I almost had dinner with him;

6172.  Uber’s first engineer is a pretty normal guy . . . and a ski bum;

6173.  I can say I’ve had dinner with Uber’s first engineer;

6174.  I can also say I’ve shared an Airbnb with Uber’s first engineer;

6175.  Tony Robbins’s 80^th “Date With Destiny” was (at the Palm Beach County Convention Center) in West Palm Beach, Florida from December 5^th-10^th, 2017;

6176.  I can say I was at “Date With Destiny” with Derek Hough, Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich;

6177.  I can also say I was at “Date With Destiny” with Tim Ferriss(, the author and host of the “Tim Ferriss Show”) and Marc Benioff( , the CEO of Salesforce.com);

6178.  Usher can’t resist dancing to his (own) songs at “Date With Destiny;”

6179.  Elizabeth likes to be spanked;

6180.  Shower . . . check . . . sink . . . (double) check;

6181.  Apparently, Dave Matthews was quite the ladies’ man (back in the day) in Charlottesville;

6182.  You can lose a condom in a vagina.  Who knew?

6183.  In order to change the nature of family relationships, you’ll have to change your mind about them and consider that you are the source of the anguish in your relationships rather than the individual whom you’ve pegged as the most outrageous, the most despicable or the most infuriating.  Over the years, all of these individuals have been treating you exactly as you’ve allowed them to with your reactions and behaviors.  This can miraculously change when you choose to be at peace with your relatives;

6184.  If the focus of your inner dialogue about your family members is on what they’re doing that’s wrong then that’s precisely how your relationship with them will be experienced.  If your inner speech centers on what’s annoying about them then that’s what you’ll notice.  But if you’re thinking, I am authentic and peaceful with this relative then that’s what you’ll experience even if that relative continues to be exactly the way s/he has always been;

6185.  Seth Hurwitz (the co-owner of the 9:30 Club) plays the drums;

6186.  I can say I’ve been back stage at “The Anthem;”

6187.  Stephen Kellogg is really tall;

6188.  Apparently, Richard On (the lead guitarist of “O.A.R.”) hates being called “Dick;”

6189.  Mikel Paris (the keyboardist for “O.A.R.”) seems like a nice guy;

6190.  Marc Roberge (the lead singer of “O.A.R.”) is about my height;

6191.  Apparently, there’s a $3.50 service charge added to all drinks at Saint Yves (SaintYvesDC.com) in D.C.;

6192.  I can say I’ve been to a (rock) band’s after party;

6193.  Apparently, Bradley Beal (of the Washington Wizards) likes to hang out at Saint Yves;

6194.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, just do it;

6195.  The moment you accept total responsibility for everything in your life is the day you claim the power to change anything in your life;

6196.  If you’re not willing to fail, you guarantee you’ll stay average-at-best;

6197.  If you want to grow into an extraordinary version of yourself, you must be willing to fail  . . .  a lot;

6198.  Failure brings humility.  It develops your character.  It helps you laugh at your mistakes and not take things so seriously.  Like a plant placed from the shade into sunlight, your growth rate will accelerate 10 times;

6199.  Don’t seek praise, seek criticism;

6200.  If you embrace the possibility of failure, you open yourself up to enormous success you’ve never seen before;

What I've learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0123

6101.  One Eight Distilling (OneEightDistilling.com) is named for Article One Section Eight of the Constitution, which provided for the establishment of a district to serve as the nation’s capital;
6102.  Gin is (just) vodka infused with botanicals (i.e., juniper berries);

6103.  Apparently, smoking and fire are bad in a distillery;

6104.  What does an eleven-year, veteran NFL center from (Fond du Lac) Wisconsin (specifically Cory Raymer of the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers) do in retirement?  The answer is: (Make and) sell chocolates;

6105.  Blackfinn Ameripub (BlackfinnAmeripub.com) in D.C. has bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys (for brunch) on Saturdays and Sundays until 3:00 PM for $13.00.  You’re not limited to one or the other.  You can switch back and forth. . . . If you’re looking for more bang for the buck, go with the Bloody Marys;

6106.  Lenders and investors (such as banks, private organizations or individuals) simply want to know that they are going to get a healthy return on their investment;

6107.  The key to raising money comes down to four factors that will help demonstrate the return on investment: 1.  Project: What is the project the lender is providing you capital for?  What makes this opportunity unique and attractive?  Don’t share just the positives also explain the negatives and how you plan to overcome them; 2.  Partners: Who are the key players in the project?  Who’s putting the deal together and what is their track record?  The experience and expertise each partner brings to the table is a big part of the equation; 3.  Financing: Show the investor, as accurately as you can, how the project (either a business or investment) will make money.  Be realistic and don’t avoid discussing the roadblocks ahead because every business and investment project has problems so pretending yours won’t makes you look like an amateur.  You’ll want to show how much money you’re raising in total, where the money is coming from (i.e., private parties, traditional lenders, etc.), the terms of the money being borrowed and how the money will be allocated.  Hint: If you even suggest that any of the money raised will be used to pay your salary, doors will close.  If you want a paycheck then go get a job.  Potential investors want to know how soon they will get their initial investment back and what their return will be so they will use all of these numbers to determine if your financing structure and terms are attractive; and 4.  Management: Investors want to know who’s running the day-to-day operations because this is crucial to the ongoing success of any venture.  Explain who they are, their background and how they react under pressure, etc.;

6108.  Elizabeth thinks I’m a “player;”

6109.  Elizabeth thinks I’m handsome;

6110.  Apparently, if you’re chatting with a woman on a dating app and you haven’t asked her for her number or a date within a week, she thinks you’re not interested;

6111.  Women really do get inundated on dating apps;

6112.  I can say I’ve gone diving;

6113.  Caucasian . . . check . . . ginger . . . (double) check;

6114.  When your heart is closed: 1.  You are distant and aloof; 2.  You don’t connect to people; 3.  Communication shuts down; 4.  You leave people to fend for themselves; 5.  You focus on what people are doing wrong; 6.  You are critical and demanding; and 7.  People feel oppressed.  The result is possibility dries up;

6115.  When your heart is open: 1.  You are fully present and accessible; 2.  You connect to people; 3.  Communication is wide open; 4.  You are a resource; 5.  You may focus on what is missing, but not on who is wrong; 6.  You are affirming and encouraging; and 6.  People feel free;

6116.  People today spend up to 25 percent less time enjoying nature than people did just 20 years ago;

6117.  Experiencing nature can improve our minds, rejuvenate our bodies and restore our spirits;

6118.  In one study, people performing memory and attention tests upped their scores by 20 percent after walking through an arboretum.  By comparison, walking down a busy street offered no such benefit;

6119.  Short “micro-breaks” with nature, even just looking at pictures, has discernible benefits for our minds;

6120.  Long, immersive stretches in nature offer big benefits for our creativity and problem-solving skills.  After spending four days in the wild, disconnected from any sort of digital technology, students performed 50 percent better on problem-solving tests;

6121.  Spending time in nature is a great way to find physical rejuvenation.  It turns out the reason is that nature is a stress killer;

6122.  Nature is the reset button for our minds, bodies and spirits.  If you’re spending all day indoors, you’re missing the restorative power of nature;

6123.  Apparently, Baileys Irish cream has a shelf-life of 2 years.  After that, the cream (within) can curdle;

6124.  Apparently, Abe Doumar invented the ice cream cone and the first (cone) machine to make them.  It’s still in use today at Doumar’s (Barbecue) (Doumars.com) in Norfolk, Virginia;

6125.  If you’re looking for a biergarten with nice views of (downtown) Norfolk, try Grain (GrainNorfolk.com) in the Hilton Norfolk;

6126.  People, who appear to be “gifted,” are, in fact, no more gifted than you or I.  They have just learned how to practice;

6127.  Three tips to accelerate your performance and reach your peak sooner: 1.  Master your mindset.  What you think about, you become.  And if you are still caught up believing that some people are “just born with it,” that’s going to create a limitation on what you think is possible.  Another view is “deliberate-practice mindset,” which argues that anyone can get better if they take the right approach.  This approach begins with thinking a personal breakthrough is possible; 2.  Practice with purpose.  Not all practice is necessarily equal.  Sometimes, trying harder doesn’t get you better results.  If you are not improving, it’s not because you lack innate talent; it’s because you’re not practicing the right way.  To reach peak performance, you must push yourself past what you think is possible.  If you’re not doing that then you aren’t really practicing.  You’re just spinning your wheels.  You have to put in the hours, but you also have to put in the effort; and 3.  Be around greatness.  It’s not just mindset or practice that affects our performance.  It’s also our environment.  This means that putting yourself around others who will challenge you and help you grow is essential to mastering any skill.  So, if you’re not achieving greatness then it may be time to surround yourself with others who will challenge you to grow;

6128.  We all love heroic tales of overnight success, but the truth is expertise is never an accident.  Without the right training, peak performance is practically impossible;

6129.  Anyone can achieve expert status if they understand the process and are willing to do the work.  It starts in the mind, works itself out in your daily practice and is cemented by the company you keep;

6130.  Don’t wait to have it all figured out.  A hunch is never enough, but it’s enough to get started.  You’ve got to begin someplace.  If you wait to map everything out, you’ll never get off the starting line;

6131.  Failure provides critical information.  It tells us when we still have work to do;

6132.  There are opportunities all around us, but if we’re not prepared and determined to take advantage of them, they’ll pass us by every time;

6133.  Hoping against change is hopeless.  We end up fighting against our own personal growth and professional development.  Just as bad, we make ourselves obsolete in an environment that depends on flexibility, creativity and momentum;

6134.  While the comfort zone might be comfortable for a while, it’s rarely fulfilling;

6135.  People, who cannot imagine learning and growing, are just wrapping an iron chain around their ankles.  To thrive in today’s environment, keep asking questions and poking around the next corner;

6136.  Whatever is your level of education, there’s always more to learn;

6137.  Our range of opportunities are often set by the reach of our professional network;

6138.  Change can be tough, but the only alternative is eventual obsolescence;

6139.  Getting connected with a good group can accelerate your learning, provide key insights, help you find important resources and teach you best practices;

6140.  Intentional relationships make us more productive, creative and useful than we could ever be on our own;

6141.  Your business will not grow unless you grow as a person.  If you want to lead others, you have to lead yourself first;

6142.  It is not the facts that make you miserable; it is your perception of the facts;

6143.  Constant innovation will kill you.  You don’t need more innovation, you need strategic innovation;

6144.  Most dreams die on the tyranny of “how.”  The “how” will show up when you get clear on what you want.  Focus first on what you want without regard to how you will make it happen.

6145.  It’s never about your resources; it’s about your resourcefulness.  If you are resourceful, you will acquire the resources;

6146.  The financial goal of business is not to get rich.  The goal is to get rich and stay that way.  You can get rich by being lucky, but you can’t stay rich by being lucky;

6147.  People always act on the basis of what they believe.  If you want to change their actions (or your own) you have to change their beliefs;

6148.  People lose their way when they lose their why;

6149.  If you lose the motivation to pursue your goals, you need to expand your why;

6150.  Generosity makes us healthy.  One study found generosity actually reduced blood pressure as much as medicine and exercise.  Generosity also lowers the risk of dementia, reduces anxiety and depression, and improves chronic pain management;