Empowerment Through Adversity: Christy Brown's Life Lessons for Navigating Disability

Empowerment Through Adversity: Christy Brown's Life Lessons for Navigating Disability

"Explore the remarkable life of Christy Brown, a man who transformed adversity into opportunity. Despite physical limitations due to severe cerebral palsy, Brown demonstrated the power of persistence, small wins, and a strong support network, becoming a renowned author and painter. His story is a testament to the indomitable spirit of human potential and a beacon of hope for individuals facing challenges."

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The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship Part Two

The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship Part Two

In The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship: Part One, I shared how I built a content business focused on the science of willpower—and the toll it began to take on me. This is the second part of my story about why I can no longer use my hands to navigate my phone, drive a car, or type the words you are reading now. At the spot we pick up in my story, I had successfully published my book. Yet, my blog and book audiences simply weren’t big enough and my debt continued to grow. My hands were also in serious need of treatment but I continued to defer it.

As you’ve likely gathered by this point, I’m not one to give up easily. So, I decided to think bigger and explore ways to make my business successful.

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An Introvert's Guide to Making New Friends and Deepening Relationships

An Introvert's Guide to Making New Friends and Deepening Relationships

I arrived in New York City like I’m sure many have before me.

A little optimistic, a little scared, and a lot overwhelmed.

But, although this was my biggest rodeo, it was not my first. This was the fourth new city that I have moved to in the last 15 years.

Despite being an introvert, I have become used to meeting new people, making new friends, and building a support network.

But this was New York City. Perhaps it would be harder to do so here?

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I Left Social Media 2 Years Ago. Here's What Happened.

I Left Social Media 2 Years Ago. Here's What Happened.

“I am a millennial, computer scientist, book author, standing on a TED stage, and yet I’ve never had a social media account.” - Cal Newport

I was shocked when I saw Cal Newport’s talk “Quit Social Media.“

Cal is an author that I deeply respected. His book, Deep Work, was very influential in helping me through the editing process of The Will of Heroes.

I wanted to achieve Cal’s level of success – and I thought social media was a necessary part of making that happen.

Yet, not only was social media not necessary for him now as an established author, but it was never necessary for him at all.

This opened my mind to new questions:

Maybe social media isn’t necessary – even for business owners...

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My 10 Key Metrics for Personal and Professional Success

My 10 Key Metrics for Personal and Professional Success

The clock was ticking and I was in agony…

I had just begun a new “time-restricted eating” habit where I could only eat between the hours of 10 AM and 6 PM.

I change up my diet plan about once per quarter so I'm continuously learning and experimenting to see what works best for me.

This time-restricted eating was the hardest yet.

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Guilt isn’t Noble. 3 Better Ways to Respond to Failure

Guilt isn’t Noble. 3 Better Ways to Respond to Failure

It was the beginning of 2018 and I believed that I was on the cusp of "the next big thing."

After nine months of hard work, I had built a platform called Educo with TED Talk speakers to help them turn their content into step-by-step applications that people could use to take action on the advice from their talks.

The idea of helping individuals take action on expert advice had been a dream of mine for years – and finally it was about to become a reality.

It was not long, however, before my dream turned into a nightmare.

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3 Crucial Practices Every Entrepreneur Should Follow

3 Crucial Practices Every Entrepreneur Should Follow

The date on my calendar was approaching and my fear was growing… 

Weeks earlier I had told my mentor and friend, Bill Eckstrom, about the project I was working on to help professionals flip anxiety from a negative emotion into a positive ally in helping them perform at their best.

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Do We Really Live in a 'Post-Truth Era?'

Do We Really Live in a 'Post-Truth Era?'


“You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.” – L Ron Hubbard.

In 1953, science-fiction writer L Ron Hubbard set out on a mission – create a new religion based on his book Dianetics.

Hubbard truly believed in the psychological benefits of the practices suggested in the book. So he released it to the psychological community – expecting to be hailed as a genius for discovering these new ways of understanding and improving the human mind.

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Why Automation is the Best Use of Your Time – And How to Get Started

Why Automation is the Best Use of Your Time – And How to Get Started

It can feel like you’re drowning.

No matter what you do, no matter how hard you work, no matter what productivity strategies you try; you just can't seem to find enough hours in the day.

I knew that feeling well. But I was able to escape the quicksand over the last year through one simple rule:

Work one fewer hour each day.

No, this isn't going to be one of those posts about how you need to rest more – I didn't escape 'the quicksand of not enough hours in the day' by taking that hour off.

I did it by devoting that one hour to automation.

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Bring Your Best Self to Every Moment

Bring Your Best Self to Every Moment

The clock was ticking…And I was up against it.

I had just begun calling experts to sell them on the Educo platform, and I hadn’t had much success yet.

I was nervous.

I was awkward.

I was failing.

And I needed some way to separate my ego from the results.

In life, certain things will always be out of your control. How others respond to you is one of them.

Of course, you can improve your communication skills, but if someone has a bad day, they are not going to respond as well to a proposal.

In moments like that, you need to let go of focusing on results, and focus on what you can control.

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What I Accomplished in My 90-Day 'Goal Bootcamp'

What I Accomplished in My 90-Day 'Goal Bootcamp'


If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

That's what former Marine, Erik Therwanger, told me about the approach to leadership that he learned in the Marines.

It's also the foundation of his 90 day run.

The concept is incredibly simple – the US military has a long history of teaching young men and women how to become the best version of themselves in just 90 days.

So why not apply that same methodology to the civilian world as well?

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How a SMARTS Goal Helped Me Conquer My Greatest Weakness

How a SMARTS Goal Helped Me Conquer My Greatest Weakness

Filmmaking isn’t about the little details, it’s about the big picture!” – Johnny Depp, portraying Ed Wood. A.K.A the worst filmmaker of all time.

All my life I've been a big picture thinker.

I've tried to achieve a grand vision... Create a disruptive innovation... And, of course, change the world.

This perspective has helped me immensely in handling setbacks, pushing through struggles, and remembering to see the forest instead of the trees.

However, the devil is in the details. And I've had a lot of devils come up and bite me because of my focus on the big picture.

But, at the beginning of 2018, I set a 'SMARTS' goal to focus on both the forest and the trees.

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What I Learned From Pushing My Comfort Zone With TED

What I Learned From Pushing My Comfort Zone With TED

You know the feeling. 

That feeling in your gut that makes you want to avoid pushing yourself.
        
Staying within your comfort zone feels good. Life outside of it is scary.

It's complicated, it's challenging, and it can result in hard, cold, embarrassing failure.

But it can also result in growth.

Thus, life asks you a tough question – comfort today? Or growth tomorrow?
 

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20 TED Talk Recommendations from TED Talk Experts

20 TED Talk Recommendations from TED Talk Experts

Our mission in starting Educo Community was simple – create a platform where expert ideas could be heard.

But in a noisy world how do you define who is an “expert”?

Knowing full well that we weren’t the experts on this topic (see what I did there?) we turned to an organization who is known around the world for selecting great experts – TED.

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Rule #8: To Reach Your Goal, Shape the Path.

Rule #8: To Reach Your Goal, Shape the Path.

Imagine that you and I went back 100 years to a time when cars were first made available to the average person. 

It's an exciting time.

This disruptive change in technology has given us the freedom to reach destinations beyond what we dreamed possible. 

**But there's a catch.**

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Rule #7: It's Better to Look Stupid Than Perfect

Rule #7: It's Better to Look Stupid Than Perfect

There is nothing special about me.

Throughout school, I was a B student...
I was never talented at sports...
And my English teachers would laugh if they knew I made a living from writing.

However, this lack of talent forced me to learn several crucial life skills:

  • I had to develop a strong work ethic.
  • I had to practice habitually.
  • And I had to learn how to learn.

But I never would have developed these skills without one crucial factor...
 

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Rule #6: Principles Before Practicality

Rule #6: Principles Before Practicality

There is no worse state of mind than desperation.

You forget your values.
You compromise your principles
You make big sacrifices with equally big consequences.

You become so focused on getting out of whatever jam you're in, that you lose sight of what the consequences of your actions will lead to down the road. 

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