Tools for Change – May 2023

Give People a Reason to Find You Interesting…

Welcome to the latest edition the monthly newsletter, Tools for Change – A Convenient Digest and Curated Collection of Information, Tools and Resources to Help You in Your Life and Work

New This Month on The Living a Life in Full Podcast is The Ever Erudite Michael F. Schein on Secret Societies (and Why You Should Start One)

Freemasons, Skull and Bones, Rosicrucians, the Illuminati, 5 Hertford Street, the Bohemian Club, and more, are all so-called secret societies. Not so much because no one knows about them, but more so the question as to what do they do, who belongs to them, and how do you join? Is membership in the Soho House the modern day variant of such societies? What’s the psychology behind their creation and their intrigue?

Well, Michael F. Schein, author, and CEO of MicroFame Media, knows a lot about that, and in fact, he’s created his own secret society that we’ll be discussing in this episode.

Michael is the author of the popular The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets From the World’s Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult Leaders, Mischief Makers, and Boundary Breakers, published by McGraw Hill last year.

So, it seems a little paradoxical that we’re publicly discussing “secret” groups, right? But by definition Michael explains how a secret society gets hyped in spite of it then no longer being “secret.”

Michael helps us understand how to know something is not a scam or cult. As well as the crossroad of hype and NFTs, Web3, crypto, and journalists covering rises and flameouts and phenomena like the Bored Monkey Yacht Club. Michael is whip-smart and New York shrewd. He helps us all better know how to separate the wheat from the chaff in better understanding hype from value so we can better live our lives in full.

Be sure to tune in on your favorite platform, or if you’re not into podcasts, read all about it on my LinkedIn Top Voice post.

Well Said

“The struggle alone pleases us, not the victory.” - Blaise Pascal

“One of life’s cruelest mysteries is why we are impelled to pursue rewards that bring success, but not happiness.” - Arthur Brooks

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” - Maria Robinson

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a Ride!’" - Hunter S. Thomson

Tools for Productivity

Four proven ways to kick your procrastination habit - TED

The Power of Writing a To-Don’t List - Want to boost your productivity? Stop adding and start subtracting. Based on the philosophical concept of "via negativa," which emphasizes removing negative elements rather than adding positive ones, this article makes a compelling case that we can all achieve more by identifying the things we need to stop doing, by crafting a “To-Don’t” list. Pair with The case for unproductivity - Why you aren’t meant to be ‘on’ all the time. Step away from the to-do list.

10 ways to get the most out of your time on this planet.

Stress, not laziness, is behind procrastination. Here are 3 ways to “retrain your brain.”

Want to Be More Productive? - You Should Prioritize Having Fun

Tools for Living Your Life in Full

‘Is This It?’ When Success Isn’t Satisfying - Why do so many of us feel unsatisfied with our achievements? In many cases, it’s because we’ve succeeded at outcomes that do not align with our authentic selves. Most people find success more pleasurable when they achieve it on their own terms, without sacrificing their values and personalities along the way.

The Daily Stoic Podcast: Seneca on Being

The highest-performing CEOs, Olympic athletes, and entrepreneurs have one thing in common - a nonnegotiable morning routine.

What Makes You Happy - The richest you’ll probably ever feel is when you get your first paycheck, and your bank account goes from $5 to, perhaps, $500. The contrast that generates might be greater than going from $10 million to $20 million. Going from nothing to something is so much more powerful than going from a lot to super a lot. The contrast, not the amount, is what makes you happy.

4 Ways to Live Your Best Life - From Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, and Mark Cuban

Tools for Being Smarter

Mental Liquidity - It’s the ability to quickly abandon previous beliefs when the world changes or when you come across new information. It shouldn’t be controversial. But mental liquidity is so rare. Changing your mind is hard because it’s easier to fool yourself into believing a falsehood than admit a mistake.

Read Old Books - In order to gain an advantage or a establish a better understanding of the current situation, the natural tendency is to acquire the newest technology, obtain the most up-to-date data, and seek advice from “experts”. This is understandable. When you do this, it feels like you are looking ahead. Yet the key might be to resist this temptation and opt instead to look to the past by dusting off some old books. 

Tools for Wealth Management

Conflicting Skillsets  - Getting rich requires the willingness to take big risks. Staying rich requires the paranoia to avoid big risks. Trusting your gut means there are true things that you can’t articulate. Being skeptical of your biases means knowing that you confidently articulate things that aren’t true.

Apple’s New Savings Account Comes With 1 Very Important Catch and It’s a Stroke of Genius - The new high-yield savings account pays out a good interest rate, but it's still not for everyone

Tools for Your Career

How to Work Smarter - Need advice on how to navigate your changing workplace, or new strategies for boosting productivity? The Way We Work, TED's original series, will set you up for success. Get insights on how to adapt and thrive in your career from expert leaders and thinkers in short, actionable videos.

6 Tips to harness the power of flow state at work. - Learn how to get in the zone and boost your focus and creativity with six practices to help you find your flow.

What to do about a boss who's pinging you at all hours. 

6 times you should say no at work (and exactly how to do it) - Learning when to say no is one of the most important skills to learn in the workplace.

Tools for Investing

The Investor’s Podcast: TIP538: Richer, Wiser, Happier - William Green & Stig Brodersen

The World's Simplest Investing Edge - by Steve Clapham

Learning by Teaching and on Gaining the Behavioral Edge in Investing - by Jeff Henriksen

Want to Beat the Stock Market? Avoid the Cost of ‘Being Human’ - by Jason Zweig

Tools Just for Fun

The Gambler Who Beat Roulette - Roulette never stood a chance against this Croatian gambler's strategy. Read the thrilling tale of how he defied the odds and left casinos scratching their heads.

Pair with Jeff Ma on how analytics are being used in sports and gambling.

Tools for Leadership

Empower your employees to make better decisions. According to writer Pamela Reynolds, a good leader knows how to set the stage for others to make choices that benefit the entire team, so discover six strategies to promote innovation and satisfaction among your employees.

Unplugged - How to Effectively Manage Teams in the Field

The Hustle broke down the many ways that business leaders can maximize their productivity management and get ahead.

Tools for Founders

Hampton: Private network for tech founders - Sam Parr just launched Hampton, a membership community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs w/over $1M revenue or $3M VC or a prior exit over $5M. If you like business peer groups, check it out.

8 money mistakes solo entrepreneurs tend to make - Avoid these financial management missteps for a stronger, healthier freelance business.

Tools for Relationships

Breathe new life into your relationships with four strategies for renewal - Take a page from Dr. Robert Waldinger and Dr. Marc Schulz, authors of The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.

All Together Now - Controlling your behavior amid uncertainty can be hard enough. Controlling your reactions to other people’s behavior is way harder. Fear is more contagious than any virus, and can instantly push people to react in ways that would have seemed unthinkable a moment prior.

7 ways to build greater trust in all of your partnerships

One simple question and 7 surprising practices that will transform any relationship - These four simple words provide a powerful and effective way to take the pulse of what is working well and what isn’t.

Tools for AI

Sam Altman & Reid Hoffman: AI Field Notes - Keeping up with all the AI advancements, Sam & Reid reflect on the pros and cons of the rapid innovations in AI tools with an emphasis on technology safety. Pair with Brian Christian about the history of AGI and how to live with computers.

Is artificial intelligence advancing too quickly? What AI leaders at Google say

Elon Musk says 'TruthGPT' will be a 'maximum truth-seeking AI

Tools for Your Practice

Microsoft and Epic to bring generative AI capabilities in EHR

Tools for Technology & Healthcare Trends

How to Tell Biotech’s Likely Winners From Losers - The lack of a significant rally in the broader biotech sector so far this year despite a significant amount of deal making has left many investors and analysts scratching their heads.

Tools for Health and Wellness

How Listening to Your Favorite Song Makes Medicine More Effective - The brain plays a crucial role in the way we experience pain and anxiety. Because of this, remarkable new research suggests that listening to music can alleviate side effects and enhance the benefits of treatment, including those as intensive as chemotherapy.

Tools for Fitness and Performance

Here's a 6-exercise bodyweight circuit you can do using zero equipment.

How Busy People Stay Healthy. Get the daily email that simplifies nutrition, fitness, and wellness - Arnold's Pump Club

Tools for Inclusion

Color blind or color brave? From an old pal, Mellody Hobson

3 ways to be a better ally in the workplace

Tools for Public Health

Public Health Foundation

Tools for Global Work and Policy

Center for Strategic and International Studies

APA’s Global Insights Newsletter

Tools for Finding Conferences

Conal Conference Alerts

Neurology and Psychiatry

Tools for Healthcare Career Insights

Curated from Medpage Today

Tools for a New Gig

Here’s Behavioral Health Tech’s jobs board to see all of the current opportunities from the leading companies in behavioral health. If you are looking for a new job and want BHT’s community of hiring companies to seek you out, then join their talent collective as a candidate for free here.

Or, if you want access to the central place for job candidates of all levels and roles focused on mental health and substance use tech, then enroll as a hiring company here.

See who’s hiring in health and fitness here.

From 80,000 Hours - There are a variety of ways to contribute to global priorities research, including academic research, working as a grantmaker, and doing charity evaluation.

To browse or search hundreds of recent job postings, visit the job board in PND, it includes foundation, public charity, education, and nonprofit jobs.

Positions from BioSpace

• Academic 
• Biotechnology 
• Diagnostics 
• Government
• Healthcare 
• Medical Device 
• Non-Profit 
• Pharmaceutical 
• Research Institute 

DiversityMD is a Career Job Board and Information Resource for Physicians regardless of age, race, gender, religion, education, national origin, sexual orientation, disability or physical characteristics. They are a “niche” website for Physicians of all levels of practice from Medical Students, Residents, Fellows on up to Medical Directors and CMO’s.

Tools to Travel the World

Heavy Turbulence on Flights Is Likely to Get Worse - Meteorologists predict more bumpy flights as climate change makes hard-to-detect clear-air turbulence more common.

Google Search’s new features include a flight price guarantee badge on what Google thinks is the lowest price. If you book with Google and the price drops, you’ll be refunded the difference.

Grosvenor Teacher Fellowships From National Geographic

National Geographic professional development grants 

Earth Expedition 

Ford Foundation Global Travel & Learning Fund 

Institute of International Education 

Google conference and study scholarship 

Omprakash Ethical global engagement grants 

Tata Trust Travel grants

A Gym Membership for Your Brain

If you enjoy this newsletter, I suspect you’d enjoy our monthly podcast. Listen on your favorite platform https://www.alifeinfull.org/podcast.html and for a free subscription: https://tinyurl.com/ALifeInFullSubscription

Likewise, if you are not already following my LinkedIn Influencer/Top Voices posts in a group with almost a half-million followers, you may enjoy reading the posts there as well.  

Tools for Humanitarian Intervention

Please visit our website: https://www.centerforglobalinitiatives.org/. We’re proud to be a top ranked Great Nonprofit (since 2013!) and to have achieved Platinum Level from GuideStar.

Tools for Connecting

If you would like to see more frequent updates and engage with others, please join the open Facebook groups at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ALifeInFull and https://www.facebook.com/groups/CenterForGlobalInitiatives

Tools for Better Understanding Science

As I have opined in past articles like How to Protect Yourself from Fad Science and my three part series, The Reproducibility Problem—Can Science be Trusted? , —Shame on us?, and —What’s a Scientist to do? This is a near-and-dear topic and concern of mine.

And my four-parter: Strong Opinions Loosely Held: Science, Psychology, Misinformation, Vaccines, and Prosocial Ways to Respond.

Tools to Better Understand Current Events

Overwhelmed by Opinion Disguised as Fact and Relentless Clickbait? I subscribed to 1440 because it provides an impartial view of what’s happening in the world so I can form my own conclusions, and share in my posts with peace of mind. 1440 scours hundreds of sources each day so I don’t have to. I get it every morning in a short, briefing thoughtfully curated by experts. Join me and over 1 million daily readers today. Of course, it’s free.

In Closing

And even though I know our readers are very smart, I nevertheless have to say that this newsletter does not provide medical, psychological, legal, financial, healthcare, or any other form of advice. As I have said elsewhere, don’t be a knucklehead.

Big thank you to meta-sourcing sites and folks: BioSpace, Ron Friedman, PhD, Inc., Farnum Street’s Brain Food, McKinsey & Co., Medpage, MedScape, Joe Koster from Value Investing World, FirstRound, Get Rich Slowly, Ramit Sethi, Forbes InnovationRx, The Knowledge Project - organized by theme, 80,000 Hours, The Collaborative Fund, Colossus, Sonny Patel, Unmistakable Media, Top Tier, NeuroFlow, Five-Bullet Friday, O’Shaughnessy Asset Management, Health Data Management Group, Fitt, PodcastNotes, SparkType, Budgets Are Sexy, Behavioral Health Tech, Next Big Idea Club – Heleo, Section 4, Future of Health & Medicine Newsletter, Wired, Fast Co., AI and Health, The Hustle, Tim Ferriss, Sparktype, TED, Good Life Project, Wall Street Journal, and Morning Brew - be sure to check them out. And as always, I have no financial, marketing or affiliate relationship with any of the sources noted herein.

To subscribe to “Tools for Change” and get notifications of editions, click the blue button at the top right corner of this page. Please don’t be shy about sharing, leaving comments or dropping me a private note with your own reactions and requests for other tools.

Cheers, and keep in touch,

Chris

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