Risk Candy: Essay by Nassim Nicholas Taleb September 22, 2008
Posted by hardly Strategic Concerns
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Ooh, I just dumbed into an essay by the author of The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
While I've written about this author before, and I highly recommend his two books, trying to describe them in a compelling way via elevator pitch is tough. Discussing risk and randomness in an off-hand manner is not to be taken lightly!
So, when I found this article, I just had to share it. Give yourself some time, close the door, put on your thinking cap, and then read through this article. Very, very timely, and useful to boot.
Looking for a good ab movement? September 22, 2008
Posted by hardly Bar, Box Jumps, Dumbbell, Kettlebell, Max reps, Other, Row, Sit-ups
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Because we use free weights, and we swing the kettlebell a lot, we work our core muscles in a big way. Too, we do movements that are targeted at using ab muscles, like sit-ups. Today we held our knees up above our waists as we hung from a bar, maintaining this position for as long as we could. Suggest you add it to your ab repertoire - you’ll feel it.
Warmup:
- 40 Ab mat sit-ups
- 40 Box Jumps
- 20 Dumbbell Power Cleans @ 2 30 lbs
- 20 Dumbbell Squat Cleans @ 2 30 lbs
Workout:
- Interval Row: 3x of 500 M w 1 min rest in between, for time: 7:21
- Max Deadlift w/Kettlebells:
- 2 32 kg ‘bells
- 2 32 kg + 2 16 kg ‘bells
- 2 32 kg + 1 20 kg + 1 24 kg ‘bells
- 2x:
- 1 lap of walking lunges
- Hang from bar, holding your knees up above your waist for as long as you can
- 100 Kettlebell Hanging Cleans @ 1 20 kg (focus on form)
- 20 Back Extensions
- 20 Bodyweight Squats (focus on form)
Workout:
- Type: Other
- Date: 09/22/2008
- Time: 07:00:00
- Total Time: 1:00:00.00
Respecting your art - Respecting yourself September 22, 2008
Posted by hardly Strategic Concerns
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My wife is a storyteller. She's been an actor, a play-write, and she's soon to be an author.
Recently, she has re-connected with a number of her thespian classmates (Facebook is amazing!), and they've been sharing the stories of their lives. There have also been some interesting revelations.
One is that discipline & diligence pays off. More important than raw talent.
Another is that those who continue no matter what achieve the dream of using their talents. Having thick skin, and the ability to properly assess and utilize highly critical, negative feedback is important.
A third is that your comrades are excited and supportive about your achievements.
Fourth, expand your horizon. We tend to think about the future in much shorter chunks of time than a lifetime. Even in the short period of time these people have been out of college, relatively to a lifetime, they have done a broad number of things. And, they've become better artists as a result.
These are key lessons for anyone, and they are easily adopted by both leaders, those who need people to help them achieve their objectives, and those who are looking to join those teams.
For leaders, have a clear vision, and be disciplined in your work. Provide your team members the expectation that discipline is expected from them as well. Accept feedback from your customers, and utilize it all in a methodical way. You may decide to ignore it, but make the decision consciously. Be gracious.
For job hunters, you are in charge of your career, so keep checking your position v. your long-term goal. Each role you take should help you get there, even if it's just a day job. Once you've accomplished that which you want in a given role, time to start thinking about the next move. Don't stop learning, don't stop sharpening your edge, and most of all, don't take to heart the comments from those who don't have a clear view of the path you're on.
For everyone, it's vitally important to have a great, supportive network. Pay attention to the people you were with during those formative experiences - there's nothing that seems to bond people together better than having covered the same difficult, challenging ground at the same time.
