The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call “life” which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.

We acquire something by time, not money. We acquire something by the time, out of our life, that it took us to make the money that this something costs.

productivity

Productivity

Discover the world of business and economics.

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Economics

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Money & Investments

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Habits

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Time Management

Henry David Thoreau: The Price Of Anything Is The Amount Of Life You Exchange For It

The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.

Sometimes resistance comes at too great a cost: sometimes it is better to break into pieces that can be picked up.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

philosophy

Philosophy

history

History

loveandrelationships

Love & Relationships

Ernest Hemingway: The World Breaks Everyone

Le mieux est le mortel ennemi du bien. (The best is the mortal enemy of the good.)

Striving to better, oft we mar what's well.

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Marketing & Sales

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Product & Design

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Leadership & Management

Perfect Is The Enemy Of Good

Think about self-control less as the quality of a person and more as the quality of a place.There are some places and situations that lean toward lower self-control and others that lean toward higher self-control. Self-control is about your context as much as your character.Put yourself in good positions.

To hold our tongues when everyone is gossiping,to smile without hostility at people and institutions,to compensate for the shortage of love in the world with more love in small, private matters;to be more faithful in our work,to show greater patience,to forgo the cheap revenge obtainable from mockery and criticism:all these are things we all can do.

Self-control is about our context as much as our character.

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Personal Development

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Motivation & Inspiration

3-2-1 Thursday: Self-Control As A Quality Of Place, And Good Positions

The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity.I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.

Francis Ford Coppola’s Tribute to Gene Hackman reads as a lesson on dealing with the loss of the people who we cherish.

38K likes, 504 comments - francisfordcoppola on February 27, 2025: "The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.". 

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Religion & Spirituality

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Mental Health

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Meditation

Francis Ford Coppola on Loss

The question of what motivates human behaviour has long intrigued psychologists. Various approaches are used to assess these underlying motives. The most well-known theory is Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, introduced in the mid-20th century.However, most approaches emphasise the social aspects of motivation while overlooking its evolutionary underpinnings.

Is Motivation Social Or Biological?

A group of researchers at HSE University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine proposed analysing human behaviour motives from an evolutionary perspective.In the proposed framework, all motives are viewed as evolutionary adaptations that enhanced early humans’ ability to survive in their environment and continue to influence behaviour today.The scientists proceed from the premise that if certain evolutionary mechanisms once triggered specific behaviours, the underlying motives can be identified using standard psychometric techniques.

Motives As Evolutionary Adaptations

Using network analysis, the researchers identified stable clusters of motives. The study found that human behaviour is driven by 15 key motives, which can be grouped into 5 broad categories: <ol><li>environmental (Hoard, Create)</li><li>physiological (Fear, Disgust, Hunger, Comfort)</li><li>reproductive (Lust, Attract, Love, Nurture),</li><li>psychological (Curiosity, Play), and </li><li>social (Affiliate, Status, Justice). </li></ol>

Motives Form Stable Clusters

The researchers also identified functional relationships between motives, contributing to a deeper understanding of motivational structures. For example, Justice has strong ties to Nurture and Curiosity, suggesting that it is a function of both concern for the welfare of others and a need to keep abreast of where anti-social behaviours might be occurring. Interestingly, the motives of Play and Status emerged as pivotal points of connectivity, interacting extensively with other nodes, suggesting they influence a broad range of related motives.

And Then Motives Form Relationships And Structures

Status appears to be important as it facilitates the attainment of other goals by providing access to resources that enhance the chances of success in life, including attracting a partner.Maintaining status involves hoarding resources, fearing the loss of these resources, and effectively using them in various situations. The motive of play, in turn, helps develop the skills needed to maintain status and adapt to changing circumstances.

From Play To Status To… Everywhere

Using network-based psychometric techniques, researchers were able to observe how motives interrelate. For instance, the motives of Love and Nurture are positioned close to each other in the network, which makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, as caring for offspring enhances their chances of survival.Conversely, the motives of Fear and Curiosity often have opposing effects. Fear keeps us away from danger, but when excessive, it can suppress curiosity, which fosters knowledge and innovation.

How Motives Interrelate

The study also revealed age- and gender-related variations in the significance of different motives. Women tend to show a greater interest in the motives of Nurture and Comfort, while men are more likely to focus on the motives of Status and Attraction. The researchers note that these differences are linked to the traditional roles men and women played in our evolutionary past.

The Evolutionary Past Is Not So Past

Age also contributes to shaping our priorities. Younger individuals tend to be more focused on Status and Play, while as people age, Fear and concern for Comfort become more prominent. These changes reflect different life stages: initially, we strive to secure our place in society, and later, we focus on safety and survival.

Physiological Beginning, Physiological Ending

Analysis shows that all 15 of the identified motives can be isolated, that they show expected relationships to one another (based on common functionality), and that differences in attentiveness to motives by gender reflect traditional gender-based role-play during human evolution, while differences by age are consistent with expectations from life history theory.Ultimately, understanding the evolutionary motives that drive our behaviour enables us to create solutions that make people’s lives more comfortable, safer, and more interesting.

Creating Solutions From The Adaptations That Created Us

Researchers analyzed human motivation from an evolutionary perspective, identifying 15 key motives that drive behavior. These motives, grouped into 5 categories—environmental, physiological, reproductive, psychological, and social—reflect adaptations that helped early humans survive.

Researchers analyzed human motivation from an evolutionary perspective, identifying 15 key motives that drive behavior.

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Human Resources

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Science & Nature

15 Key Motives Drive Human Behavior

This is the conclusion that Judith Mangelsdorf, Germany’s pioneering professor of positive psychology, reached while helping individuals across Europe lead better lives. Although we strive to seek it in ourselves, happiness, says Mangelsdorf, is often found in our connection with others. Echoing the words of her mentor Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology, Mangelsdorf asserts that the single most effective way to improve our mood when we feel down is to help someone else. Even the smallest step to foster connection can turn into a significant investment in our well-being.

Our Quest For Happiness Is Often Misguided

There is a common misconception that positive psychology overlooks human suffering and focuses solely on the favorable aspects of life. In reality, as Mangelsdorf explains, the scope of positive psychology research is far more balanced than is often presumed. “The word 'positive' in positive psychology refers to what is needed for fostering positive development in one’s circumstances, regardless of one’s starting point, whether as an individual, an organization or a country.”

What It Is To Overlook And What To Have An Outlook

Post-traumatic growth, as the term suggests, is predicated on experiencing trauma. However, is suffering always necessary for growth? Research shows that highly positive experiences can lead to as much growth as highly negative events, provided we find meaning in them. There is, indeed, a phenomenon of post-ecstatic growth. Yet, we often overlook positive events as opportunities for personal development, both individually and on a societal level.

Research Finding 1: Post-traumatic Growth

Reflect on the most positive experiences in your life. What lessons have you gained from them? How can you use these insights to improve your well-being and those of others? This message is empowering, as it highlights that life, in its entirety, has the potential to foster our growth. Both our challenges and triumphs can contribute to our development as human beings.

Implications

We often view resilience as a set of necessary and universal components (e.g., traits, skills, or circumstances) that individuals must possess or apply to recover from setbacks. While certain factors (e.g., good relationships) are undoubtedly beneficial, there are no definitive answers to what makes people resilient. A recent study by Bonano (2024) suggests that resilience is a highly individualistic concept. In fact, much of what constitutes resilience is not understood by researchers. Instead, resilience can be seen as a constellation of unique factors that may vary for each person.

Research Finding 2: Resilience (part 1)

Think of a time when you went through a challenging experience. Although things were difficult, you felt that you could handle the situation. You had a sense of self-efficacy and were able to maintain your psychological well-being. What helped you? Asking this question to 10 different people could reveal 10 different answers. It’s crucial for each of us to explore what helps us personally to build confidence in our ability to bounce back and recover from setbacks.

For resilience researcher Michael Ungar, resilience is not a DIY endeavor, but rather, a dynamic process that involves the outside world. As such, resilience is not entirely dependent on being “rugged,” but more on being “resourced.” This means that, in order to cope with difficult situations, resilient people are able to navigate towards the resources that they need. Consider the story of Cinderella. While we commonly attribute her triumph over her unfortunate circumstances to her personal characteristics, Ungar reminds us of another key factor of her resilience: the fairy Godmother.

Research Finding 3: Resilience (part 2)

Don’t underestimate the role of outside support in igniting your inner strengths. Whenever you feel that you’re not coping well with a challenging situation, don’t judge or blame yourself. Instead, it might be a question of missing resources. Or, perhaps, you have the resources (for example, friends that you can count on), but you are not using them (you don’t reach out). Instead, ask yourself: <ul><li>What do I need to handle the situation better? </li><li>If I have what I need, how can I integrate it into my circumstances? </li><li>If I don’t have what I need, who can I ask for help? </li></ul>

In his Compassion Focused Therapy (2014), psychologist Paul Gilbert identified 3 different emotion regulation systems:<ol><li>Threat-protection system (involved in detecting and responding to threats, common emotions of this system are anger, anxiety, disgust)</li><li>Positive affects of seeking, achieving and acquiring (positive emotions that are stimulating and activating, such as joy, vitality and excitement)</li><li>Positive affects of contentment, safeness, peacefulness, and affiliation (a state of calm and restful well-being where one is not under threat nor trying to achieve something). </li></ol>

4. Self-compassion

Depending on our biology and experiences, people tend to default to different states. Sometimes, we can feel stuck in one of these states.Whenever we experience psychological unease, it can be helpful to intentionally check in with our minds and bodies. We first need to understand where we are, before we can determine what we need to move to another state.

Here are three suggestions from Paul Gilbert for how to do that. <ol><li>Identify where you are. </li><li>Appreciate where you are, without judgment. </li><li>Navigate to another state. </li></ol>While we strive to leave the difficult emotional states as quickly as possible, simply attending to our suffering with tenderness can often help us move through it.

Check-In In Order To To Check-Out

Typically, we reach for psychological remedies for our unhappiness. But when someone asks me, “What should I do to become happy?” I tell them to consider their sleep, what they eat, and how much they exercise. Change your basic health habits first. If you still feel unhappy afterwards, we can then explore your psychology.

Research Finding 5: Take Care of Your Body

If you want to feel better, start by focusing on your body. We often over-psychologize problems that arise from spending countless hours in front of screens, instead of engaging in activities our brains and bodies were designed for. Research consistently demonstrates the link between our physical and mental well-being. In fact, one of the most intriguing findings in psychology is that exercise can be as effective against depression as antidepressants. Making small adjustments to our daily routine to support good sleep, nutrition , and exercise can make a significant difference for our minds.

A good life is one lived in such a way that, if I were to die tomorrow, I would be at peace with it. A good life is one that contributes to the well-being of others. A good life is balanced, allowing space for both joy and suffering. It involves acknowledging the bad while also appreciating the good, embracing the entirety of life without judgment.

What is A Good Life?

Consider Cinderella and the fairy Godmother.

Positive psychology research can help us lead better lives. Here are examples from studies on post-traumatic growth, resilience, and self-compassion.

teamwork

Teamwork

5 Positive Psychology Findings for a Happier Life

People frequently get what they deserve, but it doesn’t feel like it because the unspoken rule is that you only deserve it if you have(1) the courage to attempt it(2) the guts to ask for it, and(3) the willingness try again when it doesn’t work out the first time.

If you do not bend, you will break. The adaptable prevail. Determined, but flexible.

Whether a decision is good or bad can change based on how you act after the choice is made.You can’t learn all the lessons beforehand. You learn a lot about what you want in a marriage after getting married. You discover what type of career you enjoy after doing a lot of work. […] In many cases, what you wish you knew ahead of time can only be learned after the decision is made.So there is nothing left but to pay attention to what you like, continue to iterate, and commit to making the most of each opportunity. There is no perfect decision. Good decisions are made right after the fact.

If you make lists of lofty goals, it can be easy to leave them to accumulate, as happens sometimes, into a mountain of to-do’s and notes and half-forgotten plans. Dreaming alone is seductive, even a little sweet, since it lacks the pain of trying. So it feels proper to prize attempts more than dreams. You should have ideals, but you cannot only love an idealized future, you must cultivate a love of effort, too. If you really want something, then the soul must make demands of the body.

It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about?

Henry David Thoreau on being effective, not merely efficient:
“It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about?”

3-2-1 Thursday: On Getting What We Deserve, The Power of Flexibility, and How Good Decisions Are Made

Leadership is having a vision. What’s my goal. Part two is getting to know the people who are working with me, and what their goals are.And then the real definition of leadership is making those two merge.

“Create win-win situations for all”. - Charlie Munger

Mark Cuban joins 'The Draymond Green Show' to discuss dropping out of high school, selling his first business for billions, joining 'Shark Tank,’ why he sold the Dallas Mavericks, the upcoming NBA TV deal, having the largest bill in LIV nightclub history after winning the NBA Finals with Dirk Nowitzki, how Cuban pulled off drafting Luka Doncic, why Kyrie Irving is misunderstood, the “We Believe” Warriors, losing out on Steve Nash, a funny Shaq story, and more. 00:00 - Start08:00 - Shark Tank13:00 - Buying Mavericks24:00 - Selling Mavs41:00 - LIV nightclub42:00 - Acquiring Luka50:00 - Trading for Kyrie01:00:00 - We Believe Warriors Produced by: Jackson Safon #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

business

Business

podcasts

Podcasts

The world's best basketball podcast just got even better. NBA superstar and 4x champ Draymond Green has a new co-host: 2x All Star Baron Davis. Twice a week, they deliver their no-holds-barred takes on the biggest stories in basketball, break down the latest with the Golden State Warriors, and share never-before-heard stories from on and off the court. It's the most raw, entertaining, and hilarious conversation in the game.

The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis

Draymond Green Show - Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban: Leaders Make Goals Merge

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, “Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

Do each and every thing so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say how well you’re doing it.

Henry David Thoreau: The Price Of Anything Is The Amount Of Life You Exchange For It

Ernest Hemingway: The World Breaks Everyone

Perfect Is The Enemy Of Good

3-2-1 Thursday: Self-Control As A Quality Of Place, And Good Positions

Francis Ford Coppola on Loss

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