Tal’s the guy who teaches that great Positive Psychology Course at Harvard.
As Fat Albert showed us all when we were kids, if you have fun, you might learn something too. Great interview with Tal and Jon Stewart.
I’ve been noticing that an increasing number of my customers are out of balance. Too much work, too much time at the office, not keeping things in balance. I got a copy of True North from the library, and found the book so important that I ordered a dozed copies for these customers.
This book is destined to be a classic on the level of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. As the compass on the cover shows, this book is about finding direction, and working with a leadership style that matches your soul’s purpose.
There are lots of resources available on the site. http://www.truenorthleaders.com/index.htm
In my haste to get this site up for it’s April 15th official release, I’ve been putting in very sparse descriptions for the sites I’ve recommended. Permit me to be a little more descriptive here.
I would say that it’s just about indisputable that this will be the most important course you’ve ever watched online. Why? Because, if you want to have true succcess in life, you should have scientifically valid models of what works and what doesn’t work.
Here’s the link for the class http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k14790 and here are some other links that talk about the class.
http://www.berkeleybubble.org/2007/02/18/harvards-professor-of-happiness-psychology-1504-2/
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5295168
This class is more than self-help BS- it’s the scientific study of peak psychological behaviors. If you want to be your best, this class is a great start.
I’m in the process of developing an online course using the lectures and course materials from 1504. I expect that I’ll launch the course, free of charge, to US residents in June. (overseas is welcome, but for the first run of the class, I’ll be using a concall number with a US Area Code). I’m planning on using Skype conferencing for the second class.
Advice from Tal Ben-Shahar.
1. Give yourself permission to be human. When we accept emotions — such as fear, sadness, or anxiety — as natural, we are more likely to overcome them. Rejecting our emotions, positive or negative, leads to frustration and unhappiness.
2. Happiness lies at the intersection between pleasure and meaning. Whether at work or at home, the goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and enjoyable. When this is not feasible, make sure you have happiness boosters, moments throughout the week that provide you with both pleasure and meaning.
3. Keep in mind that happiness is mostly dependent on our state of mind, not on our status or the state of our bank account. Barring extreme circumstances, our level of well being is determined by what we choose to focus on (the full or the empty part of the glass) and by our interpretation of external events. For example, do we view failure as catastrophic, or do we see it as a learning opportunity?
4. Simplify! We are, generally, too busy, trying to squeeze in more and more activities into less and less time. Quantity influences quality, and we compromise on our happiness by trying to do too much.
5. Remember the mind-body connection. What we do — or don’t do — with our bodies influences our mind. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating habits lead to both physical and mental health.
6. Express gratitude, whenever possible. We too often take our lives for granted. Learn to appreciate and savor the wonderful things in life, from people to food, from nature to a smile.
To me, TED.com is the pick of the litter. Go to this site, and you’ll have access to video lectures from innovative thinkers all over the map. I watch a lecture with my son every night.
Stanford School of Business offers a number of lectures on leadership, management, and entrepreneurship. A lot of big hitters are lecturing.
This is a wonderful site! SAS has gone out of their way to provide business people with a great site to get current informaition on a number of business related topics. http://www.bettermanagement.com/default.aspx
A great overview on public speaking from http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58703/winston1.html gives a overview on public speaking. Here’s the summary from the site.
In this skillful lecture, Professor Patrick Winston of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers tips on how to give an effective talk, cleverly illustrating his suggestions by using them himself. He emphasizes how to start a lecture, cycling in on the material, using verbal punctuation to indicate transitions, describing “near misses” that strengthen the intended concept, and asking questions. He also talks about using the blackboard, overhead projections, props, and “how to stop.”
Running time: 45 minutes.
Psychology of Leadership, PSY1508 from Harvard, is one of the University’s most popular classes. The great thing is that the lectures are online at http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k14803.
From the site:
How can leaders-in the business sector, politics, or education-create an environment that facilitates growth? Topics include transformational leadership, personal identity, change, ethics, peak experience and peak performance, motivation, and systems thinking.