Billy Gladwell 1/3/23 Billy Gladwell 1/3/23

10 Things to Stop

This time of year, many humans take the opportunity to reflect on the things they would like to change or improve in their lives. You can focus on the things you want to start doing, but maybe shake things up this year by focusing on things you should stop doing to live a happier and healthier life.

Billy Gladwell 12/6/22 Billy Gladwell 12/6/22

You Go First

When conversing with another human, you alter their emotional states. That's the nature of human-to-human communication. Therefore, it's crucial that you are cognitive of the emotional states you are eliciting — especially if you want others to like you.

Billy Gladwell 11/8/22 Billy Gladwell 11/8/22

How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything

"How you do anything is how you do everything."

Really?

If I had sex the same way I solved a Rubix's Cube, my partner would only be happy once in a blue moon.

Billy Gladwell 7/12/22 Billy Gladwell 7/12/22

Boundaries

A boundary is knowing your personal limits, communicating them to other humans, and standing firm when someone violates them.

Billy Gladwell 6/14/22 Billy Gladwell 6/14/22

Do You Have Texting Anxiety?

Humans have been conditioned to expect immediate replies to the messages they send. Many humans become anxious when they don't receive a response within a few minutes and begin to spiral down a texting hole by analyzing the exchange.

Billy Gladwell 5/3/22 Billy Gladwell 5/3/22

How to Capture a Human’s Imagination

Create extraordinary emotional states in others, and you'll get even more in return.

Billy Gladwell 4/19/22 Billy Gladwell 4/19/22

Let's Bake a Cake

Just like you use a recipe for baking a cake, you unconsciously use recipes for everything you do. These recipes are called strategies.

Billy Gladwell 2/22/22 Billy Gladwell 2/22/22

Don’t Throw Snakes

You must mind the words coming out of your mouth because what you say and how you say it affects other humans. So think about the probable outcome of what you're about to say before letting it out. It's not as difficult as it may sound.

Billy Gladwell 2/8/22 Billy Gladwell 2/8/22

Amygdala Hijacking

When your amygdala disables your prefrontal cortex, that's an amygdala hijacking. Your amygdala controls your brain and actions, taking away your ability to make sound decisions. Also known as losing it.

Billy Gladwell 1/11/22 Billy Gladwell 1/11/22

The Secret of “The Secret”

The authors of The Secret stopped after the first half of the equation. Unfortunately, this is a misleading marketing strategy designed to make the authors wealthy by keeping the consumers needing the second half — the essential half. In other words, it's designed to get you to buy subsequent books, films, and workshops.

Billy Gladwell 12/6/21 Billy Gladwell 12/6/21

The Dunning–Kruger Effect

The Dunning-Kruger effect is in operation when humans with minimal skill, limited knowledge, or inadequate competence grossly overestimate their ability.

Billy Gladwell 11/29/21 Billy Gladwell 11/29/21

Occam’s Razor

“When faced with two competing theories, the simpler explanation is usually correct.” In other words, the explanation that requires the fewest number of assumptions is typically correct.

Billy Gladwell 11/15/21 Billy Gladwell 11/15/21

Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is the tendency for humans to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.

Billy Gladwell 11/1/21 Billy Gladwell 11/1/21

The Barnum Effect

The Barnum Effect is in play when humans believe that personality descriptions apply specifically to them.

Billy Gladwell 10/25/21 Billy Gladwell 10/25/21

Confabulation

Confabulation is a memory error. It happens when there are gaps in a human's memory, and those gaps are filled with manufactured, misinterpreted, and distorted information.

Billy Gladwell 10/11/21 Billy Gladwell 10/11/21

The Magic of the Last 3 Words

I use this language hack in almost every one of my conversations. I call it The Last 3 Words — although the number of words can vary.

Billy Gladwell 9/27/21 Billy Gladwell 9/27/21

A Message to Garcia

I was introduced to this story while a senior in high school. It sat in a cardboard box for many years after. Then, in my 30s, I found it during a move and understood A Message to Garcia differently this time around.

Billy Gladwell 9/20/21 Billy Gladwell 9/20/21

How to Hack Your Mind’s Algorithm

What you focus on, you tend to get more of. But, unfortunately, most humans focus on what could go wrong, what they can't do, and how they're not good enough. Even I sometimes fall into this trap.