After World War II, New York City assumed a new global prominence in the international financial markets. It became home to the world’s largest and most prestigious stock market on Wall Street. Today, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, with over 8 million people.

New York is the global capital of investing

Ellis Island was the historical gateway through which many immigrants arrived in the country during the 19th and 20th centuries. New York remains a popular immigrant destination. Ambitious Americans traditionally go to New York to make a name for themselves in industries such as writing, theatre, commerce, fashion, mass media, investment banking, and more. The city is a popular tourist spot and home to the Statue of Liberty, the towering Empire State Building, the famous Broadway theatre district, and Times Square.

New York represents opportunity

<ul><li>The area was inhabited by the Lenape people and other Native American tribes. They used natural waterways for fishing, trade, and war with nearby tribes.</li><li>In 1524, Italian Giovanni da Verrazzano explored the region in service to the French and named it New Angoulême, after the French King Francis I.</li><li>Then in 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson arrived. He took note of the large local beaver population, whose pelts were a valuable commodity.</li><li>Inspired by Hudson's discovery, the Dutch found several fur trading outposts in the area, including a 1624 settlement in what is now Manhattan.</li></ul>

New York history

<ul><li>By 1626, the Dutch had constructed Fort Amsterdam, which served as the town's nucleus. The town was named New Amsterdam and served as the capital of the local Dutch colonies.</li><li>The Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665–1667) resulted in the British gaining control of the city as part of a treaty.</li><li>After the exchange, New Amsterdam was promptly renamed New York after the English King Charles' brother James, the Duke of York.</li></ul>

How New York got its name

By the late 1940s, New York had become the world's biggest manufacturing centre. It had 40,000 factories, a million factory workers and a port which handled 150 million tons of freight goods a year. The city inherited Paris's role as the centre of the art and fashion world. New York was a refuge for foreign artists fleeing war-battered Europe. New York was a great international city and took on the role of the world's financial capital and the site of the world's two largest stock exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.

Postwar New York

Stashed ideas

Centers of Progress, Pt. 28: New York (Finance) - HumanProgress

<ul><li>The modern meaning of gossip comes from the fact that men imagined women were telling stories and spreading rumors during childbirth</li><li>Gossip has its origins in the birthing room of the pre-modern Atlantic world</li><li>A mother-to-be often invited a small group of women, including close friends and female family members, to support her</li><li>These women were known as the "gossips"</li><li>When labour started, the midwives called out to summon the midwife and gossips, who waited out the baby's arrival</li><li>In some cases, they even stepped in to deliver the baby when a midwife couldn't be present.</li></ul>

History of "gossip"

Nowadays to ‘gossip’ means to make idle talk or spread rumours, but this hasn’t always been the case...

'Gossip' Meaning: What's It Got To Do With Childbirth?

A minimum viable product is the simplest thing you can give to the very first set of users you want to target so that you can see if you can deliver any value to them. It is helpful to talk to some users before you decide to build your MVP. It's more helpful if you are your own user so you can see if your product is working for you.

Minimum viable product (MVP)

Theoretically, if you decide to solve a problem you know someone has, you will speak to that person. If that person is you, it's even easier. But if you are building a product for a mysterious set of users, you may have to question that.

How to get your first users

Hold the problem you're solving tightly, hold the customer tightly, but hold the solutions you're building loosely.<ul><li>Launch quickly, even if it is imperfect. </li><li>Get some initial customers. Get anyone using your product and see if they can get value out of the product.. You don't have to think about how you get everyone using it. </li><li>Talk to your users after you've launched your MVP to get feedback.</li><li>Iterate. Continue to improve on your solution until it actually solves a problem in most cases.</li></ul>

The goal of a pre-launch startup

<ul><li>Build fast. Do it in a few weeks, not months. For a heavier MVP, such as building a rocket or biotech, your MVP can start with a simple website explaining what you do. This can help when you talk to people so that they have something to refer back to.</li><li>Limited functionality. You need to condense down what your user needs into a very simple set of things. Founders may want to address all of their users problems and for all their users. But it is better to focus on a small set of initial users and their biggest problems. The rest should be ignored until later.</li></ul>

Build a lean MVP

Many founders see how big companies launch and then assume they have to launch in the same way. However, a launch simply means to start getting customers. The only way you can know if your product solves their problem is to put the thing in front of your customers. If it doesn't solve the problem, you know right away.

Launching

<ul><li>Timebox your spec. Your spec is the list of things you need to build before you launch. If you want to launch in three weeks, then focus on the stuff you can build in three weeks.</li><li>Write your spec. If you don't write things down, you may change them and not even realise it. If you write it down, you can be honest with yourself that you're changing it.</li><li>Cut your spec. When you're a week into your three-week sprint, you may realise that you have too many things in your spec. Cut the things that are not that important.</li><li>Don't fall in love with your MVP. It will probably change as you adapt.</li></ul>

Hacks for building an MVP

YC CEO and Partner Michael Seibel shares his approach to building an MVP and getting your first users as a pre-launch startup. Startup School is YC's free online program for founders. Transcript and lecture slides here: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6f-how-to-plan-an-mvp This lecture is part of YC's Startup School, a free online program and global community of founders. Register and join the community at https://www.startupschool.org/ Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 0:41 First, talk to users 1:40 Goal: launch quickly 2:40 After launching, get feedback 4:30 Lean MVP 5:37 Real-world examples 8:21 Heavy MVPs 9:33 Launches aren't special 11:22 Hacks for building an MVP quickly 12:57 Don't fall in love with your MVP

Michael Seibel - How to Plan an MVP

The Maya believed they could use the stars, moon, and planets to know the will of the gods.
In the early 9th century CE, the Maya day keepers created astronomical tables that tracked the course of the celestial bodies. The tables are found on the walls of a unique structure at Xultun, Guatemala and in the Dresden Codex, a bark-paper book.

The ancient Maya were devoted astronomers

The Maya believed the Earth was fixed and central and that the sun, moon, stars and planets were gods that travelled between the Earth, the underworld and other celestial places. They believed the gods were closely involved with humans and therefore planned their movements to coincide with certain celestial moments. The Maya were experts in predicting eclipses, solstices, and equinoxes.

Maya and the Sky

The Mayan sun god was Kinich Ahau, one of the creator gods more powerful than the Mayan pantheon. During the day, Kinich Ahau would shine in the sky, and at night, transform himself into a jaguar and pass through the underworld. The moon was associated with a maiden, an old woman, and a rabbit. The powerful Maya moon goddess Ix Chel fought with the sun and made him go to the underworld every night. Ix Ch’up was another moon goddess, young and beautiful.

The Sun and Moon in Maya Mythology

<ul><li>The Maya knew about Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter and tracked their movements. They determined that a year of Venus relative to Earth was 584 days long. Modern science determined it at 583.92 days. </li><li>Venus was associated with war. The Maya arranged battles to coincide with the movements of Venus. </li><li>The stars were less significant to the Maya. They used the stars to predict when seasons would come and go.</li></ul>

Venus, Planets, and Stars

Mayan buildings were often laid out in accordance with astronomy. Temples and pyramids were designed so that the sun, moon, stars, and planets would be visible from the top or through specific windows at certain times of the year. The Mayan calendar was associated with astronomy. The Maya used two calendars: The Long Count calendar was divided into a solar year as a base, and the Calendar Round consisted of two calendars - a 365-day solar year and a 260-day Tzolkin cycle.

Astronomy, Architecture and the Calendar

The ancient Maya were gifted astronomers who were interested in every aspect of their skies and believed the sun and moon were gods.

How Does Ancient Mayan Astronomy Portray the Sun, Moon and Planets?

<ul>
<li>More than one-third of people who have taken a break from work experience a shake-up in their confidence levels when they return. </li>
<li>This feeling is more pronounced in women who are prone to long career breaks due to childcare responsibilities.</li>
<li>Due to the pandemic, which has displaced millions of global employees, there is even more insecurity and uncertainty for those who are looking to return to work.</li>
</ul>

Career Breaks Shake Our Confidence

Being away from work(for many months or years) takes its toll on the confidence levels as we are out of practice and feel out of touch with our ‘work’ self. There may be new rules, laws and ways of doing things that are not known to us yet.There can be insecurities related to younger employees who are now promoted, and as many of us have our entire identities connected with our job, these new developments can result in loss of self-esteem.

Out Of Practice And Out Of Sync

We can forget the workplace in a long break, and start to doubt ourselves, feeling incompetent and insecure. It is crucial to get our groove back, even if by reminding ourselves of our past accomplishments, quality of work, and other positive thoughts.Revisiting the past successes can help get back our confidence, as can reconnecting with people we knew in our previous ‘work’ life, who remember us as the professional we once were.

Unbelonging To Belonging: Getting Your Groove Back

The year of ‘no work’ may have been challenging and there may have been certain skills that we used to cope up with the new problems, like discipline, time management and daily planning. We must identify these skills and understand that we may have become better at many things and have increased our resilience.

Looking At The Gap

<ul><li>The recruiting department can find out any discrimination against employees who have had an irregular career path, and they need to be sensitized about the same.</li><li>Job descriptions have 50 different, unrealistic requirements and many prospective candidates, especially women, do not even apply as they consider themselves unworthy. Reducing the number of requirements can help.</li><li>The pandemic has also made it normal to have a career gap, which can be a silver lining.</li></ul>

The Role Of Employers

Time off from work – of any length – can shake your faith in your capability. Here's why you feel unsteady, and what you can do about it.

Self Improvement

Why career breaks hit your confidence so hard

There are three ways of interpreting when each "fashion week" started.
<ol>
<li>When fashion shows started to become assembled seasonally.</li>
<li>When the phrase "fashion week" began to be used.</li>
<li>When an organisation began organising these shows.</li>
</ol>

How "Fashion Week" Started

America's first fashion show was held in 1903 in a New York City speciality store, Ehrich Brothers. Over the next two decades, fashion shows became mainstream and were held at department stores and hotels.
In 1943, fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert clustered these shows into a time frame to boost American fashion during the occupation of France. In 1993, the New York's fashion show was combined in a single location under Fern Mallis, the then Executive Director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

Fashion Shows Became Consolidated

The New York Fashion Week was first called "7th on Sixth" and was sold to IMG in 2001.
In 2004, Olympus became the title sponsor, and New Yorks events became known as the "Olympus fashion week". In 2007, when Mercedes-Benz became the title sponsor, it became known as the "Mercedes-Benz fashion week New York." Today, shows are still grouped seasonally but organised by many producers.

New York Fashion Week

The London Fashion Week was the first English-speaking fashion event to use the term "Fashion Week." Events were organized by the British Fashion Council, which still organize the events to this day.
London was also the first fashion week to stream their events live in Spring 2010.

London Fashion Week (1984)

<ul>
<li>Milan's "fashion week": Since 1958, the National Chamber for Italian Fashion (Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana) organised fashion events, but some of the largest design houses, such as Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci, show independently.</li>
<li>Paris Fashion Week (1945). There are two "fashion weeks" in Paris - the high fashion shows and the ready to wear shows. Most shows appear under the banner of the French Fashion Federation, which controls accreditation for their shows, but there are some independent events during Paris Fashion Week as well.</li>
</ul>

Fashion Week In Milan And Paris

History of Fashion Week

Cosmetics can be found in most societies on earth. In ancient Egypt, men and women used cosmetic materials such as kohl and henna. Dark green, black or blue kohl was used to decorate the eyes to ward off the evil eye. Scientists now believe the lead in this makeup killed bacteria, keeping wearers healthier.
Egyptians also used castor oil as a protective balm and used creams consisting of beeswax, olive oil, rosewater and more.

Cosmetics Of Ancient Egypt

<ul>
<li>China. Painting fingernails started around 3000 BCE as a way to establish social class. Royals wore gold or silver, however, the lower classes were forbidden to wear bright nails. Plum blossom makeup was favoured throughout the Tang and Song dynasties.</li>
<li>Japan. Geishas used lipstick from crushed safflower petals for their eyebrows and lips and used rice powder to colour the face. Ohaguro - a black paint - was (and is) used to colour the teeth for official ceremonies.</li>
</ul>

Makeup In Ancient China and Japan

<ul>
<li>Alexander the Great wore makeup. Eye makeup protected the skin around the eyes and repelled flies. It also sheltered the eyes from the sun's glare.</li>
<li>Ancient Britons were known as 'Picts' - the painted ones. They had blue woad painted over their faces.</li>
</ul>

Alexander The Great And Makeup

<ul>
<li>During the beginning of the century, the pale complexion symbolised an aristocratic person who did not have to work for their income. Makeup sought to reproduce this pale appearance.</li>
<li>After the 1920s, designers followed Hollywood’s lead, and Coco Chanel popularised a now classic look: dark eyes, red lipstick and a suntan.</li>
<li>During WWII, makeup was in short supply. Beetroot became a popular supplement for lip stain and boot polish was used as mascara.</li>
<li>The rise of mainstream feminism in the 1960s and 70s saw many women partaking in an anti-cosmetics movement. They claimed that makeup was a tool in objectification.</li>
<li>The 1970s was a time of real boom for men wearing makeup. </li>
<li>1980s looks featured bright eye shadows teamed with bold lipsticks and big hair.</li>
<li>The 1990s brought normcore and grunge to the mainstream.</li>
</ul>

Makeup During The 20th Century

In the 21st century, makeup is for everyone. Men are quickly catching onto products such as concealer and eyeliner to enhance their own features.
As gender equality movements progress, the line between who ‘can and can’t’ wear makeup is becoming ever more blurred. Now more than ever, makeup is seen as a tool of self-expression, whoever that self may be.

Makeup Today Is Used By Everyone

As long as there have been people, there has been makeup and today, cosmetics can be found in almost every society on Earth. Here's the history of humans and face paint.

The evolution of: makeup

<ul>
<li>The Maya refer to modern people and to their ancestors who built an ancient civilisation in Central America. </li>
<li>The Maya civilisation reached its peak during the first millennium A.D. It consisted of many small states that were ruled by kings.</li>
<li>The Maya people live on today in Central America and throughout the world. They speak many languages including Mayan languages (Yucatec, Quiche, Kekchi and Mopan), Spanish and English.</li>
</ul>

The Maya civilisation

The Mayan calendar consisted of eighteen months of twenty days each plus a period of five days ("nameless days") at the end of the year.
This calendar system included a long-count that kept track of time by using different units that varies in length from a single day to millions of years.

The complicated Mayan calendar

In the Pre-classic period (1800 B.C. to A.D. 250), permanent village life grew and lead to the early Maya cities. The early Maya cities were carefully planned. Nixtun-Ch'ich, in Peten, Guatemala, had pyramids, temples and other structures that were built using a grid system.
Farming became more effective during this period, likely because of the discovery of the "nixtamal" process, where maize is soaked in lime or something similar and cooked to increase the nutritional value. Other crops included squash, bean, chilli pepper and manioc.

Maya origins

Between A.D. 350 and 900, ancient Maya reached a peak. The civilisations reached intellectual and artistic heights that few could match.
Cities found throughout the Maya world had their individual wonders.
<ul>
<li>Tikal is known for its twin pyramids constructed at the end of every K'atun (20-year period).</li>
<li>Copan is known for its "Temple of hieroglyphic Stairway" - a pyramid-like structure with glyphs on the 63 steps that seem to tell the history of the city's rulers.</li>
<li>The site of Palenque is known for its limestone sculpture and the burial of one of its kings inside a pyramid.</li>
</ul>

Maya civilisation at its peak

Many cities were indeed abandoned around 1,100 years ago, including Tikal, Copan and Palenque. A recent study suggests that drought may have played an important role.
But other Maya cities grew for a time, such as Chichén Itzá. Council houses - places where people in a community gathered - flourished after the ninth century. But, when the Spanish arrived, they brought diseases that decimated the Maya. Despite the devastation, the Maya people continue to increase.

The Maya civilisation did not vanish

According to stories recorded by the K'iche Maya, the forefather gods Tepew and Q'ukumatz created the Earth from a watery void and added animals and plants. Eventually, humans were made, including twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, who defeated the lords of the underworld. Later, the twins' father, the maize god, was resurrected.
The world consisted of Earth (the domain of the Maya people), sky (the realm of celestial deities), and the watery underworld (the realm of the underworld deities.)

The Maya universe

<ul>
<li>The Itzamnaaj was lord over the most fundamental opposing forces - life and death, day and night, sky and earth. Itzamnaaj could be depicted as a serpent or two-headed reptile.</li>
<li>Other deities included the sun-god K'inich Ajaw, the rain and storm god Chaak, and the lightning god K'awiil.</li>
<li>The Maya believed each person had a 'life force' in their blood, and draining the blood in a temple could give some of this life force to a god.</li>
</ul>

The Mayan deities

Record-keeping was essential for agriculture, astronomy and prophecy. By keeping records of the seasons, the Maya could determine the best times to plant and harvest their crops. 
Moreover, recording the movements of the sun, moon, planets and stars helped them to develop accurate calendars that they could use for prophecy.

The Maya: Record-keeping and astronomy

The Maya had a sophisticated economy that could support specialists and a system of merchants and trade routes. They used various objects as currency, including greenstone beads, cacao beans and copper bells.
Maya rulers managed the production and distribution of status goods and critical commodities like salt. Maya labourers were subject to a labour tax to build palaces, temples and public works.

The Maya: Economy and power

The Maya civilization stretched throughout Central America and reached its peak during the first millennium A.D.

The Maya: History, Culture & Religion

Is the process of thinking back on previous events and interpreting them through your experience. It’s about taking a step back and reflecting on your life, behavior and beliefs.

What Self-Reflection Is

<ul><li>It improve self-awareness.</li><li>It allows you to understand and see things from a different point of view. </li><li>It allows you to respond, not react.</li><li>It facilitates a deeper level of learning.</li><li>It improves confidence.</li><li>It makes you challenge your assumptions.</li></ul>

The Importance of Self-Reflection

<ul><li>STOP: Take a step back from life or a particular situation.</li><li>LOOK: Identify and get perspective on what you notice and see.</li><li>LISTEN: Listen to your inner guide, the innate wisdom that bubbles up when you give it time and space to emerge.</li><li>ACT: Identify the steps you need to take moving forward to adjust, change or improve.</li></ul>

The Process of Self-Reflection

<ul><li>Reflect on YOU. This includes who you are and what you want for your life. </li><li>Reflect on the areas of your life that are important to you. This might include your relationships, home and family, career, health and well-being, finances, goals, spirituality and person growth, and fun and recreation.</li></ul>

What to Reflect On

<ul><li>How do I feel overall about this area of my life? </li><li>What’s working? What’s not working?</li><li>What do I want more of – or less of?</li><li>What are my accomplishments? </li><li>What do I want? What are my hopes or goals?</li><li>What am I grateful for?</li><li>How would I improve this area of my life? What actions can I take?</li></ul>

Questions to Ask in Self-Reflection

<ul><li>New Years: reflect on the year that has passed and identify what you want (your intentions, goals, desires) in the year ahead.</li><li>Milestones: birthdays, anniversaries, the Spring equinox, a religious holiday or any date that has significance or importance to you.</li><li>Monthly or Weekly: like Sunday to reflect on the week before.</li><li>A daily practice of self-reflection is probably one of the best ways to create a habit. </li><li>After an ‘Event’: a  terrible work meeting or a bad interaction with someone.</li><li>Whenever you feel like you’re off track, unhappy, stressed or demotivated, it’s time to take a step back, reflect and regroup.</li></ul>

When to Self-Reflect

<ul><li>Grab a Journal: when you see something, you are able to process it in a different way. </li><li>Schedule uninterrupted time where you have space, feel quiet and can focus.</li><li>Join a group or find someone to do this with.</li><li>Take the stance of a neutral observer. When you step back from a situation and view things as if you were a fly on the wall, it’s incredibly insightful. </li><li>Meditate. Something powerful happens when you don’t ‘think’ about something. Things bubble up. </li></ul>

Self-Reflection Tips

Five years ago, my husband Jake was training for a triathlon. He had just purchased a new road bike and woke up one sunny Saturday morning to take it out for its first spin. As we were lying in bed, he looked at me and said, "I don't have a good feeling about this; I hope something doesn't happen."

How Self-Reflection Gives You a Happier and More Successful Life

The practical reason to keep a journal: To manage yourself. Most of us still see journaling as a hobby, something that we do for fun or to relax. Sure, those reasons might be true for some. But for mostm journaling is a tool for self-improvement. 📒

Journaling as self-improvement tool

You truly get to know the quality of your thoughts when you write them down: how good of a thinker you are, how to make decisions and if they make sense, your goals, priorities, etc.

The quality of your thoughts

<ul><li>Write about your activities.</li><li>Write about what scares you.</li><li>Write about your decisions.</li></ul>

Things to write about in your journal

“Don’t trust your memory. When you listen to something valuable, write it down. When you come across something important, write it down.” — Jim Rohn

“The act of writing is the act of discovering what you believe.” — David Hare

Just open any given site that publishes articles on personal growth, and you will find at least one article that says: Why Keeping A Journal Will Change Your Life. Please stop it for goodness sake. We know it by now! When I talk to friends, or when I coach people, I always ask: "Do you keep a journal?"

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Thomas Hendricks
@rhendricks

Centers of Progress, Pt. 28: New York (Finance) - HumanProgress

'Gossip' Meaning: What's It Got To Do With Childbirth?

Michael Seibel - How to Plan an MVP

How Does Ancient Mayan Astronomy Portray the Sun, Moon and Planets?

Why career breaks hit your confidence so hard

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Thomas Hendricks@rhendricks

Centers of Progress, Pt. 28: New York (Finance) - HumanProgress

'Gossip' Meaning: What's It Got To Do With Childbirth?

Michael Seibel - How to Plan an MVP

How Does Ancient Mayan Astronomy Portray the Sun, Moon and Planets?

Why career breaks hit your confidence so hard

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Thomas Hendricks
@rhendricks