Jun 16 2012: 1. Active listening. Hearing what someone says isn't enough - you have to make them feel listened to.
2. Framing arguments. Just to use some modern political examples: "Death tax" vs "estate tax" frame the argument in different ways. Another great one is framing the entire gay equality issue in "gay marriage" rather than "you can be fired because you're gay." Another one is framing immigration policy by "amnesty," a word that a lot of latinos won't understand. Another one is "job creators." All of these terms are used to intentionally frame arguments in different ways.
3. A lot of success is just luck. We're trained to think that working hard is what causes success, but the reality is that a lot of it is just being in the right place at the right time.
4. Challenge convention. A lot of people will try to force you into conventional ways of thinking. Religion is a great tool for doing this, but it happens all over the world. My philosophy teacher once said that "Progress isn't answering questions, but asking new ones," and she's largely right. If you look at society now, our greatest "advancements" weren't the decisions, but asking the questions. For example, when the slaves were freed, but when people started asking "is slavery fair?" For centuries, no one had even bothered to ask the question. 75 years ago, no one even bothered to ask "should we allow gay marriage?" The fact that we're openly debating it now is a huge leap forward.
5. Don't waste time. You've got a very short life. Don't waste time doing stuff that doesn't matter. Find something you're passionate about, and maximize your odds of success by practice and learning. A lot of kids and people will waste hours on hours doing stuff that's a total waste - don't be one of them!
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2. Framing arguments. Just to use some modern political examples: "Death tax" vs "estate tax" frame the argument in different ways. Another great one is framing the entire gay equality issue in "gay marriage" rather than "you can be fired because you're gay." Another one is framing immigration policy by "amnesty," a word that a lot of latinos won't understand. Another one is "job creators." All of these terms are used to intentionally frame arguments in different ways.
3. A lot of success is just luck. We're trained to think that working hard is what causes success, but the reality is that a lot of it is just being in the right place at the right time.
4. Challenge convention. A lot of people will try to force you into conventional ways of thinking. Religion is a great tool for doing this, but it happens all over the world. My philosophy teacher once said that "Progress isn't answering questions, but asking new ones," and she's largely right. If you look at society now, our greatest "advancements" weren't the decisions, but asking the questions. For example, when the slaves were freed, but when people started asking "is slavery fair?" For centuries, no one had even bothered to ask the question. 75 years ago, no one even bothered to ask "should we allow gay marriage?" The fact that we're openly debating it now is a huge leap forward.
5. Don't waste time. You've got a very short life. Don't waste time doing stuff that doesn't matter. Find something you're passionate about, and maximize your odds of success by practice and learning. A lot of kids and people will waste hours on hours doing stuff that's a total waste - don't be one of them!