As long as you are alive, you will either live to accomplish your own goals and dreams, or be used as a resource to accomplish someone else's.

Do you know the problem with being average? Any single instance of things going awry can push you even below being average. According to Grant Cardone, being average has always been sold to us as the safe bet. Save a bit of money, live in small houses, drive small cars, save wherever you can and live average. But the problem is that you can easily be doubling your revenue, salary, health, lifestyle and whatever interests you the most. The key is long-term thinking rather than just focusing and stopping on being average.

Embracing Long Term Thinking And Not Being Average

Grant Cardone knows how to stop being average and he is here to teach us all his methodlogy. He suggests using the "10X" rule to increase yourchances of being successful. For example, once you have set yourself a goal, don't just double the efforts to achieve it, instead, put 10X efforts in achieving the goal. When you shoot for the moon, chances are, you land among the stars. So always shoot for the moon. If you know your business can survive with 10 clients, reach out to 100 clients and you'll end up with significantly higher number. Same goes with everything you do in the 10X way.

Focus On Big Goals

Grant Cardone teaches us about three types of actions we undergo in our daily lives. 1- No action: You are not inolving yourself in any action. Anything that needs to be done just doesn't.2- Retreat: You are not acting on something because you have had a bad experience and now you don't want to put in any action.3- Normal: You do as you are told and you mostly go by your day following to-do's and checklists. According to Grant Cardone, the Normal action is the most dangerous type of action. It pushes you the farthest towards mediocrity and you end up being average.

Normal Action Is Average, Massive Action Is Extraordinary

According to Grant Cardone, Massive Action is the answer. If you have had any experience where you did a ton of work in a short period of time or when you're passionate about a project or even when you did it due to some deadline, you had put massive action into that work. Massive action should be your default mode and that is how you are going to achieve extraordinary results. When yoh start putting more work, you reap more benefits of course but you'll also start experiencing more confidence, success and wealth.

So What's The Solution?

And lastly, putting more efforts doesn't necessarilly mean you should burn yourself out. You don't need to be a billionaire to be happy. You just need to actively work towards your betterment and improve your financial, physical and mental health. Take care of yourself, work hard and live your life to the fullest.

10X rule breaks down the strategies on achieving remarkable success by aiming high and reinforcing our ideas with the right tools.

Achieve "Massive Action" results and accomplish your business dreams! While most people operate with only three degrees of action-no action, retreat, or normal action-if you're after big goals, you don't want to settle for the ordinary. To reach the next level, you must understand the coveted 4th degree of action. This 4th degree, also know as the 10 X Rule, is that level of action that guarantees companies and individuals realize their goals and dreams. The 10 X Rule unveils the principle of "Massive Action," allowing you to blast through business clichŽs and risk-aversion while taking concrete steps to reach your dreams. It also demonstrates why people get stuck in the first three actions and how to move into making the 10X Rule a discipline. Find out exactly where to start, what to do, and how to follow up each action you take with more action to achieve Massive Action results. <ul> <li>Learn the "Estimation of Effort" calculation to ensure you exceed your targets</li> <li>Make the Fourth Degree a way of life and defy mediocrity</li> <li>Discover the time management myth</li> <li>Get the exact reasons why people fail and others succeed</li> <li>Know the exact formula to solve problems</li> </ul> Extreme success is by definition outside the realm of normal action. Instead of behaving like everybody else and settling for average results, take Massive Action with The 10 X Rule, remove luck and chance from your business equation, and lock in massive success.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

startup

Startups

books

Books

Grant Cardone is a world-renowned entrepreneur, author, speaker, investor, and coach. He owns and operates seven privately held companies, and a private equity real estate firm, Cardone Capital, with a multifamily portfolio of assets worth over $4 Billion. He is featured on Season 2 of Discovery Channel's Undercover Billionaire, where he takes on the challenge of building a million-dollar business in 90 days. Grant is also a New York Times bestselling author of 11 business books, including The 10X Rule.Cardone uses his massive 15-million plus following to give back via The Grant Cardone Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring underprivileged and troubled youth in financial literacy and entrepreneurship - especially those without a father figure.

Grant Cardone

The 10X Rule

If you are looking to change the perception, mindset and actions of your salespeople, your mindset needs to be changed first.

You may have experienced some sales teams struggling with sales while other teams grow. This isn't because something is wrong with their training. However, their coaching may have been less effective. Keith Rosen is a highly successful sales coach who have developed frameworks that are being used by companies around the world. Now he has a lot to share with you too so let's begin the deep dive into his advice.

The Problem With Sales

Do you know that managers and coaches are not the same despite the contrary belief. While managers are focused on identifying and solving problems by guiding their teams, coaches are more focused towards nurturing their teams' mindsets and perception so they can solve the problems on their own.

You Need To Ask The Right Questions Rather Than Giving Answers

While the coaches need to be experts in their domains as well as skillfully coaching their teams, they should also have access to coaches of their own so they can always recieve feedback and help keeping themselves accountable.

A Coach For The Coach

If you're a manager, chances are that you may be spoon feeding your team whenever they'd come with a problem to you. However, rather than giving answer, a coach will ask the right questions so the team can find the solutions by critically thinking about the questions and the link to the problem. This helps the team nurture rather than feel submissive to the orders.

Managers Give Answers, Coaches Ask Questions

While managers are more focused on the outcomes, deadlines and efficiencies, coaches fully focus on the present. They work with their teams towards improving the current processes so they can achieve triumphs which leads to the desired outcomes.

Managers Live In The Future, Coaches Prefer The Present

Traditional management styles often relyed on consistently pushing their teams through unhealthy competition, irrelevant rewards, micromanaging, coercion and other unhealthy ways. However, an effective managers works alongside his team and supports them in the face of success or adversity. This helps you build trust with your team. Managers who are more open with their teams get better understanding of their teams and can help them accomplish feats more efficiently.

Want To Be An Effective Manager? Be Proactive

The only way to build trust is to let go of your need to be invulnerable or perfect, that is, to actually allow yourself to be vulnerable.

A proactive manager relies on asking questions rather than assuming what may be wrong with the team. By asking questions, focusing on the insividual answers and not assuming any implied meaning, you can earn that individual's trust and commitment.

Ask Questions Rather Than Assuming

While you may be doing your best to keep everyone trained, nurtured and progressive, there will be individuals who may not let you help them out of arrogance, toxicity, or even agression. Such individuals may not be coachable and you should end the prpfessional relationship with them if their negative traits are bringing the morale down and there is a lack of results.

Not Everyone Can Be Coached

Do you know the difference between postivie reinforcement and threats / fear tactics? While the former helps keep the morale high for a long time, the latter can actually destroy your reputation, morale of your team and eventually the sales goals.

Motivation Rather Than Consequences

Once an individual starts earning enough, monetary rewards may not be too useful to motivate them. Rather, they would want to be heard, to be listened to and to be appreciated as an individual rather than being some employee who can be coerced by offering more money.

Money Is Often Not The Only Motivator

In such cases, your role as the coach would be to understand the individual needs of your team. Maybe one wants a higher salary but the other member wants to achieve respect as the best salesman. Some salespeople would prefer training workshops rather than getting monetary bonuses. You should try to understand the gap and work with your team to help them achieve their desired outcomes so they can help you achieve yours.

Your Role As A Coach

And lastly, make sure you try to talk to your team as if you really mean it. It isn't bad to show some emotion. I remember reading somewhere that when Warren Buffet had to break some bad news to the shareholders, he started the meeting with "I'm going to talk to you what I told my family". This instantly built rapport due to the fact that someone would never lie to his own family and would truly care about their well-being.

Learn how to master your role as the best sales coach or manager and build a champion team that knows how to achieve results.

Sales training doesn’t develop sales champions. Managers do. The secret to developing a team of high performers isn’t more training but better coaching. When managers effectively coach their people around best practices, core competencies and the inner game of coaching that develops the champion attitude, it makes your training stick. With Keith Rosen’s coaching methodology and proven L.E.A.D.S. Coaching FrameworkTM used by the world’s top organizations, you’ll get your sales and management teams to perform better - fast. Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions is your playbook to creating a thriving coaching culture and building a team of top producers. This book is packed with case studies, a 30 Day Turnaround Strategy for underperformers, a library of coaching templates and scripts, as well as hundreds of powerful coaching questions you can use immediately to coach anyone in any situation. You will learn how to confidently facilitate powerful, engaging coaching conversations so that your team can resolve their own problems and take ownership of the solution. You’ll also discover how to leverage the true power of observation and deliver feedback that results in positive behavioral changes, so that you can successfully motivate and develop your team and each individual to reach business objectives faster. Winner of Five International Best Book Awards, Coaching Salespeople Into Sales Champions is your tactical, step-by-step playbook for any people manager looking to: <ul> <li>Boost sales, productivity and personal accountability, while reducing your workload</li> <li>Conduct customer/pipeline reviews that improve forecast accuracy, customer retention and uncover new selling opportunities</li> <li>Achieve a long term ROI from coaching by ensuring it’s woven into your daily rhythm of business</li> <li>Design, launch and sustain a successful internal coaching program</li> <li>Turn-around underperformers in 30 days or less</li> <li>Build deeper trust and handle difficult conversations by creating alignment around each person’s goals and your objectives</li> <li>Coach and retain your top performers</li> <li>Collaborate more powerfully and communicate like a world-class leader</li> </ul> Training develops salespeople. Coaching develops sales champions. Your new competitive edge.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

Keith Rosen

Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions

Many innovations fail because consumers irrationally overvalue the old, while the companies irrationally overvalue the new.

Some associate the success of a product with the level of usage it brings, some associate it to the R&D, some with marketing and others with price. However, Nir Eyal associates the success of a product to the measure of how hooked it get the users.

So What Is A Successful Product?

When we talk about the iPhone, Instagram, or Facebook being the most successful products in the world, the reason is not just because the products were the first of their kind, in fact, the main cause of their success is that they helped us form habits. Most of the consumers today believe they can’t live without their smartphones. Same goes for the social media sites which got us so hooked that we have started posting everything we are doing on these sites.

What Makes A Product Successful?

So what’s the benefits of these habit forming products? Well, as we cannot break these habits, we get so involved that we inevitably become life-long loyal fans of these products. You may have witnessed the queues outside the Apple Stores whenever there is a new iPhone being launched. Another great benefit of the habit forming products is that they get you so hooked that you’d be willing to pay a premium price to have them. Even if iPhones get (even more) expensive, the iPhone loyal (and royal) users are still going to buy them.

Habits Make Customers

How do these habit forming products reward you? Well, for one, they help you experience a feeling non habit-forming products can’t offer. For example, the infinite scroll on TikTok, Facebook or Instagram are designed so you are always excited (and interested) about something interesting to be discovered. But you won’t always find that something “interesting” and that may be by design.

Variable Rewards Are The Key Element

Why would you find a funny video in your newsfeed one day but may not find another one in the next few sessions? Well, that is because finding something worthy gives you a dopamine hit. The companies don’t want you to get fully resistant to that dopamine hit so they keep offering variable rewards which means you may sometimes discover a reward immediately but may not at other times. This keeps your interest in the product and the discovery of that reward consistent which in turn helps the company get better retention from you. You can also get different rewards to be hooked to the product.

Variable Rewards Means You May Sometimes Not Get A Reward

The unsurprising response of your fridge light turning on when you open the door doesn't drive you to keep opening it again and again.However, add some variability to the mix - say a different treat magically appears in your fridge every time you open it — and voila, intrigue is created.

You don’t have to not offer the rewards to your users. In fact, you can design a mix of different rewards so the experience can stay fresh. For example, if you have a fitness product, you can maybe offer a free blog on living longer, a free video from a beloved fitness guru, or badges to be shared on the social media once a user achieves a milestone. Maintaining a mix of rewards is going to help you keep your users engaged.

Keep Changing Your Rewards

Ethical and moral responsibility holds the most importance when it comes to habit-forming product. You do not want to turn your users into addicts as that can literally destroy their lives. For that, Nir Eyal suggests using two approaches:1- The product should improve the users’ lives significantly.1- The developers should imagine themselves or even their loved ones using the products to estimate the consequences of the habit forming. Change lives for the betterment of it not because it makes you money and you can have both wealth and satisfaction.

Hooked But Not Addicted

Ian Bogost, the famed game creator and professor, calls the wave of habit-forming technologies the 'cigarette of this century' and warns of their equally addictive and potentiallydestructive side - effects.

Lastly, books like Hooked, Influence, Contagious, Buyology and others of the likes gives you great understanding of the consumers’ minds but it also means that you need to be very responsible in leveraging this information. The wrong habit-forming product can literally destroy lives and you wouldn’t want that on your conscience. Make sure your product makes your users happy as well as help them achieve a better quality of life.

Hooked shows us how different products are designed to make us form habits and how you can achieve the same level of habit forming behaviour for your products.

Revised and Updated, Featuring a New Case Study How do successful companies create products people can’t put down? Why do some products capture widespread attention while others flop? What makes us engage with certain products out of sheer habit? Is there a pattern underlying how technologies hook us?Nir Eyal answers these questions (and many more) by explaining the Hook Model—a four-step process embedded into the products of many successful companies to subtly encourage customer behavior. Through consecutive “hook cycles,” these products reach their ultimate goal of bringing users back again and again without depending on costly advertising or aggressive messaging.Hooked is based on Eyal’s years of research, consulting, and practical experience. He wrote the book he wished had been available to him as a start-up founder—not abstract theory, but a how-to guide for building better products. Hooked is written for product managers, designers, marketers, start-up founders, and anyone who seeks to understand how products influence our behavior.Eyal provides readers with:• Practical insights to create user habits that stick. • Actionable steps for building products people love.• Fascinating examples from the iPhone to Twitter, Pinterest to the Bible App, and many other habit-forming products.

product

Product & Design

Nir Eyal is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Nir Eyal has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Nir Eyal's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Nir Eyal

Hooked

There no longer has to be a difference between who you are and what you do.

You may already know Gary Vaynerchuk. He is currently a very influential personality on X, Youtube and other platforms. He also runs a social media and digital marketing agency called Vaynermedia. He also likes to speak frequently at social media conferences.

Who Is Gary Vaynerchuk?

Before Gary Vaynerchuk became a digital marketing expert, he used to work on his family wine business. He used digital platforms such as Google Ads to grow his business massively. Gary started Vaynermedia in 2009, which is the same time when he wrote this book. The purpose behind this book is to help everyone turn their passion into profitable project using digital channels and platforms. Read on to learn what Gary has to share with you from his experiences in growing his own business.

The Purpose Of This Book?

If you don’t know what you are passionate about, you need to find it. Try to find what you love doing for a long time without losing the interest. Let’s day you love gardening, for some, it may be hard to figure out how to make it profitable. But that is exactly what Gary is here to teach you.

Become A Brand Before Growing A Brand

Now that you have found your passion and are ready to turn it profitable, you need to become a personal brand. Gary Vaynerchuk didn’t become a digital marketing influencer by talking about digital marketing directly. In fact, he started by taking about wine business on YouTube. It wasn’t an overnight success but eventually, people started knowing him as the loud guy passionate about wine. That’s when he knew he’d turned himself into a brand.

Once You Have Figured Out Your Passion, It’s Time To Earn Money

Developing your personal brand is the same thing as living and breathing your resume.

Would you ever buy something from a store if that store was found to be involved in corruption, stealing or charging over-prices? Of course not right? Well, same is the case when turning yourself into a brand. You need to protect your reputation and give people value that can really help them. Be authentic, don’t try to copy others as copycats aren’t always successful. Be yourself and give a genuinely good experience to your audience.

Become A People Brand And Protect Your Reputation

What a time to be alive right? You have the whole world at your disposal within just a few social media apps. However, you need to understand what medium suits your personality as well. For example, if you love summarising things, try joining and sharing on X (previously twitter). Or if you love sharing infographics, Pinterest may be the way to go. Or if you love writing long form content, you can start sharing on Medium. It might also depend on your personality being intro or extrovert. Extroverts may be more comfortable with video/audio format while introverts with writing.

Choose A Medium That Suits Your Personality

Faking it till you make it may be true in other areas of life, it may not work well when establishing yourself on social media channels. For example, Gary Vaynerchuk swears a lot and is loud. If he wanted to fake by toning down, he might just have been ignored by his audience who loves him for being who he is.

Channel Finalised? Now Be Authentic

Do the same. Many are trying to imitate others, if you become another, you may never be noticed. So be authentic and be yourself. You may not get a very large following by being yourself, but your audience will resonate with you and love you for who you. That’s where the value is. Do know that being authentic means that it might take you a bit longer to gather a large audience but if you keep working on yourself and your content, they will eventually take notice of you and start following you.

Be Genuine

And lastly, I believe with new platforms gaining traction everyday, you always have the opportunity to start from zero and make your place in a short time. Try to find the platform you love sharing the most, and just start sharing something you love and think your audience will love you for sharing with them.

Learn how Digital Marketing expert Gary Vaynerchuk can help you turn yourself into a brand by using social media and see your financial status improve.

Do you have a hobby you wish you could indulge in all day? An obsession that keeps you up at night? Now is the perfect time to take that passion and make a living doing what you love. In Crush It! Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion, Gary Vaynerchuk shows you how to use the power of the Internet to turn your real interests into real businesses. Gary spent years building his family business from a local wine shop into a national industry leader. Then one day he turned on a video camera, and by using the secrets revealed here, transformed his entire life and earning potential by building his personal brand. By the end of this book, readers will have learned how to harness the power of the Internet to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true. Step by step, Crush It! is the ultimate driver’s manual for modern business.

business

Business

Gary Vaynerchuk

Crush It!

Every one if us, in the cosmic perspective, is precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. You will not find another in a hundred billion galaxies.

Do you know that in 1990's, there came a movie where a woman uses radio telescopes to research messages coming from outerspace in order to communicate with the extraterrestrial life. Soon after, they do recieve some signals with instructions on teleporting and meeting with aliens. The movie's name was Contact and it was based on a book written by Carl Sagan.

A Movie Made

Have you ever looked at the stars in the night and wondered what they actually are? Well, if you have, you're not alone. Stars have always held an importance for our people. The nomadic people used the stars to set times for gatherings, pick fruits and even the migration times of the buffalos. Also, we are not the only ones to determine things based on rotationof celestial bodies. Even the planets in our solar system rotate in a certain pattern. Ptolemy used this to theorize that the Earth was the center and everything revolved around it.

Today, We Know More About The Universe Than Ever Before

Yes, that is absolutely right. However, the thinking about Earth being the center of attention persisted for centuries until Copernicus posited that the planets revolve around the sun actually. Later, the theory was refined by the likes of Kepler who suggested that the planets orbits in an elliptical motion and not circular.

But We Revolve Around The Sun, Right?

Well, all of us have been fascinated by the idea of Aliens coming to visit our planet someday. These ideas have only been intensified by the Hollywood's extravagant movies based on the idea. However, you should know that if the aliens want to reach out to us , they might do it via radio waves as the technology is quick and affordable. Also, we really don't know how these aliens would look like and lastly, Carl Sagan also believed that while communicating with Aliens may be theoratically possible, the political system on Earth makes it highly unlikely that we'd get in touch.

Aliens Might Visit Us

In 1997, a space mission "Voyager" launched two space crafts in the space on a mussion to trasnport the history of humanity through the universe. As of now, they have already crossed our solar system and are backed by millions of redundant systems enabling them to travel for a long time.

Spacecrafts Are Currently Transporting The History Of Humanity

Do you what's inside Voyager 1 and Voyager 2? Well, they are carrying information about our brains, greetings in multiple languages, popular songs from around the world, and even the sounds of our technologies and natural world. Above all, the information will definitely let the extraterrestrial beings understand our curiosity and interest at the marvels of the cosmos.

These Space Crafts Represent Humanity

Carl's quote about the uniqueness of the human beings really hit me hard. We tend to ignore each other when we should be complimenting each other's uniqueness. The cosmos may be hard to understand but the human feelings usn't. So be happy, stay happy and keep happy guys.

In this book, you can learn the basics of how the universe works including our own solar system.

RETURNING TO TELEVISION AS AN ALL-NEW MINISERIES ON FOX Cosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. In clear-eyed prose, Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity and to venture into the vast ocean of space. Featuring a new Introduction by Sagan’s collaborator, Ann Druyan, full color illustrations, and a new Foreword by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science. Praise for Cosmos   “Magnificent . . . With a lyrical literary style, and a range that touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, Cosmos often seems too good to be true.”—The Plain Dealer   “Sagan is an astronomer with one eye on the stars, another on history, and a third—his mind’s—on the human condition.”—Newsday   “Brilliant in its scope and provocative in its suggestions . . . shimmers with a sense of wonder.”—The Miami Herald   “Sagan dazzles the mind with the miracle of our survival, framed by the stately galaxies of space.”—Cosmopolitan   “Enticing . . . iridescent . . . imaginatively illustrated.”—The New York Times Book Review

sciencefiction

Science Fiction

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

space

Space

Carl Sagan

Cosmos

Since forever, humans have been questioning about their existence and the things we see around us here and in the cosmos. The most curious question perhaps always has been outside our planet, “what exists beyond our planet and even the universe?”.

Who Are We?

According to the European Space Agency’s Planck observatory—which measures temperature variations in the cosmic background—our universe is around 13.8 billion years old. However, the team working with Hubble telescope estimated our universe to be 12.5 billion years old based on the expansion rate of the universe.

The Universe Is Probably Around 13.8 Billion Years Old

Well, one of the earliest ways was to measure the distance of the stars from the Earth by observing the parallax effect. Parallax effect is the position of an object depending on the observer’s point of view.

How To Measure The Age Of Our Universe

Around 20th century, Henrietta Leavitt developed the standard “candle technique” to measure distance. Then in the 1920’s, Edwin Hubble used the technique to find the distance of stars in Andromeda Galaxy which is the nearest largest galaxy to our galaxy.

The Work Of Henrietta Leavitt

If we want to know how old the universe is, then we need to detect light that was emitted by the farthest object we can see. The age of the universe is estimated to be either 12.5 or 13.8 billion years old, though most scientists agree on 13.8.

Do you know what dark matter and dark energy is? You may have heard about it already. Unfortunately, the short answer to that question is that nobody really knows. However, we do know that the observable matter such as atoms, protons, electrons quarks just make 5% of the universe. Dark matter & Dark Energy are different and do not affect each other. Dark Matter makes 27% of the universe and it affects the rotation if galaxies as it has a gravitational force.

95% Of The Universe Is Dark Matter And Dark Energy

Well, Dark Energy makes up 68% of the universe and is known or seen as “antigravity” which speeds up the expansion of the universe. Due to its anti-gravity nature, it also pushes away galaxies from each other.

Dark Energy?

According to the authors, the more we understand about the universe, the more questions arise. The modern technology and progressive advancements may have enabled us to peek into distant areas in the universe but that has also given us more questions to answer and more areas to discover.

We May Not Ever Know “Everything There Is To Know

And lastly, I have always believed that the ultimate question about our existence will only be answered when we try to understand God as much as the universe. Science and religion can actually go hand-in-hand if we ponder thoughtfully and try to understand each within the context of the other.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson and James Trefil tries to answer the oldest questions about the universe we live in along with the origins of life and our future.

In this thought-provoking follow-up to his acclaimed StarTalk book, uber astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tackles the world's most important philosophical questions about the universe with wit, wisdom, and cutting-edge science. For science geeks, space and physics nerds, and all who want to understand their place in the universe, this enlightening new book from Neil deGrasse Tyson offers a unique take on the mysteries and curiosities of the cosmos, building on rich material from his beloved StarTalk podcast. In these illuminating pages, illustrated with dazzling photos and revealing graphics, Tyson and co-author James Trefil, a renowned physicist and science popularizer, take on the big questions that humanity has been posing for millennia--How did life begin? What is our place in the universe? Are we alone?--and provide answers based on the most current data, observations, and theories. Populated with paradigm-shifting discoveries that help explain the building blocks of astrophysics, this relatable and entertaining book will engage and inspire readers of all ages, bring sophisticated concepts within reach, and offer a window into the complexities of the cosmos. For all who loved National Geographic's StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos: Possible Worlds, and Space Atlas, this new book will take them on more journeys into the wonders of the universe and beyond.

James Trefil

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Cosmic Queries

The Moon, we admire it from afar; we are mesmerized by its beauty.We share drinks with it when lonely, finding it a companion in even the remotest of places. And we use it as a guide.

Unlike some of the stars, Moon erodes at rate of just .01 meters per 20 million years. That is why the moon we see today had also been experienced in the same shape by our early ancestors — the cavemen. Also, the first recorded mention about the Moon traces back to 2500 BC in Mesopotamia. Those civilisations referred to Moon as something holy and also used its position in calendars to determine time and date.

A Slight History Of The Moon

Even before we ever thought about walking on the moon, we have been pondering the questions about how Moon came to be. There have been three theories suggested around the idea of how Moon was formed. Let’s look at each theory and also its implocations.

How Was Moon Created?

Some thought the moon was a passing asteroid that was captured by the Earth’s gravitational force. However, the only problem with this theory is that Moon is too large to be able to influenced by Earth’s gravitational force.

Earth Captured The Moon When It Was Passing The Orbit

Some believed that not only Moon but Earth also was created as a result of accretion disc. A disc which comprised of gas, plasma, dust and particles. However, the theory was questioned due to the fact that in case of accretion disc, the core of both Moon and Earth should be the same which isn’t the case here.

Others Believed It Was Created Out Of Accretion Disc

The third theory suggests that Moon was created when a large piece of matter spun off the Earth’s fast-spinning orbit. However, if this was the case, the large piece of matter would have been spinning so fast it wouldn’t have been caught by the Earth’s gravitational pull.

Third Theory Says Moon Was Created When Matter Spun Off Earth

When astronauts brought back pieces from the Moon, another theory was formed. It suggests that a planet collided with Earth at some point which caused a ring of molten rock from Earth and became the Moon.

Another Theory After Astronauts Brought Back Pieces From Moon

It formed at just the right distance to be anindependent body; any closer and Earth's gravity would have pulled the material back to Earth.

You may already know that Moon is responsible for oceanic tides through its gravitational push & pull. The more significant part of it is that it may also have contributed in forming the conditions for RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) which along with DNA is responsible for life. The RNA formation may have been supported when the earth’s area was exposed to sun during low tide but fully covered during high tide. This process left chemicals that were concentrated and then churned thus forming RNA. The process was also replicated in labs successfully cresting RNA.

The Moon May Have Contributed To Life On Earth

When Charles Darwin wrote about the origins of life, he speculated that liffe had begun in a 'warm little pond. These intertidal zones were Darwin's warm ponds.

Space travel so far can be classified into three types, 1- Confrontation2- Collaboration3- Commercialisation Confrontation is the era where nations were trying to reach the moon to show global dominance. Collaboration is the era where space travel was achieved through international collaboration.Commercialisation will be the future of space travel where space travel may be undertaken to find natural resources and space tourism.

The Future Of Space Travel

Reading about the future of space travel gives you the hope that civilisation may advance to a point where we would be able to travel inside our solar system freely and look at other celestial bodies eith naked eyes.

We have always been fascinated by the moon especially since every nation wanted to step a foot on the surface. Learn more about the shiny, small object that has always been our companion during nights.

The BBC’s “face of space” explores all things lunar in this comprehensive guide to the folklore, facts, and possible futures of our only natural satellite. Have you ever wondered if there are seasons on the moon or if space tourism will ever become widely accessible? So has Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock, astronomer and host of the BBC’s docuseries, The Sky at Night. In this lucidly written guide, Aderin-Pocock takes readers on a fascinating lunar journey. Aderin-Pocock begins with a basic overview—unpacking everything from the moon’s topography and composition to its formation and orbit around the Earth. She examines beliefs held by ancient civilizations, the technology that allowed for the first moon landing, a brief history of moongazing, and how the moon has influenced culture throughout the years. Looking to the future, she delves into the pros and cons of continued space travel and exploration. Throughout the book are sidebars, graphs, and charts to enhance the facts as well as black-and-white illustrations of the moon and stars.

Maggie Aderin-Pocock

The Book of the Moon

Learning isn't a way of reaching one's potential but rather a way of developing it.

While some may believe that world-class performance comes when you have a natural talent to do it, the truth cannot be farther. With deliberate, distraction-free and regular practice, you can become a world-class performer in your field as well and the next ideas will inform you about the steps required to achieve that state. (Bonus: Do not forget to read the last quote. It’s from Talha Mumtaz and you may be able to related with the insight more than anybody else).

World-class Performance Is Not The Result Of Innate Talent Alone

K. Anders Eriksson js a true pioneer when it comes to exploring material around outstanding performances and deliberate practice. He is actually the person on whose work the 10,000 rule is based on. A few years ago, he arranged everything in his book “Peak” and this book is a non-sensical approach to learning deliberate practice and how to reach the peak performance in your life.

Who Is K. Anders Eriksson?

K. Anders Eriksson writes a 4-step approach to reach the optimum state especially when trying to push your limits. This 4-step approach has been undertaken by one of his associates to truly achieve remarkable performance when memorising long strings of numbers. Here are the 4 steps: 1- Have a clear goal (lose 10 KG weight in 60 days)2- Stay focused with no distractions (cycling, eating healthy, and exercising without missing your routine)3- Consistently push yourself (cycle 1 KM on day one. Then 2 KM on day 3 and so on)4- Get feedback (ask friends to join and regularly talk about progress)

4-step Approach To Mastery

Do you know the difference between good and great? It depends on how fast you can reach the next levels without hurting yourself. To achieve that, your practice needs to be well-guided and systematic. Eriksson gives you a two-step approach to this: 1- The more developed your area of expertise is, the better and faster you will be nurtured. If there is more information and experts available, you’d be able to get better faster.2- You need to work with an expert, trainer or a coach who knows his stuff. The more he can guide you, the more steps you can skip and get pro faster.

Practice Becomes Deliberate When It’s Guided

Mozart, Picasso, and Ronaldo all are not just natural talent but also the result of deliberate training and practice. Mozart received excellent training from his father and put a lot of years in practice before he was being recognised as the greatest talent. You can do the same by practising regularly and deliberately and believe me, there will be a time when you will reach your ultimate state and become the greatest talent in your field.

Even The Greatest Talent Is Result Of Deliberate Practice

And lastly, if you’re a fan of Dragon Ball Z, you may have seen Goku transitioning from Saiyan to Super Saiyan, Blue Saiyan and ultimately Ultra Instinct Goku. This isn’t a result of talent but due to massive training and Goku’s ability to practice deliberately. He also fights and trains with the best warriors in the universe so as to skip steps and become the best fighter in the universe. You can combine some learnings from Goku and K. Anders Eriksson’s book and reach your Peak state likewise.

Learn how to reach your A-game by reading the insights gathered from years of research on what separates the best performers from the average ones.

“This book is a breakthrough, a lyrical, powerful, science-based narrative that actually shows us how to get better (much better) at the things we care about.”—Seth Godin, author of Linchpin “Anyone who wants to get better at anything should read [Peak]. Rest assured that the book is not mere theory. Ericsson’s research focuses on the real world, and he explains in detail, with examples, how all of us can apply the principles of great performance in our work or in any other part of our lives.”—Fortune Anders Ericsson has made a career studying chess champions, violin virtuosos, star athletes, and memory mavens. Peak distills three decades of myth-shattering research into a powerful learning strategy that is fundamentally different from the way people traditionally think about acquiring new abilities. Whether you want to stand out at work, improve your athletic or musical performance, or help your child achieve academic goals, Ericsson’s revolutionary methods will show you how to improve at almost any skill that matters to you.   “The science of excellence can be divided into two eras: before Ericsson and after Ericsson. His groundbreaking work, captured in this brilliantly useful book, provides us with a blueprint for achieving the most important and life-changing work possible: to become a little bit better each day.”—Dan Coyle, author of The Talent Code   “Ericsson’s research has revolutionized how we think about human achievement. If everyone would take the lessons of this book to heart, it could truly change the world.”—Joshua Foer, author of Moonwalking with Einstein