Summer break is ending...

I apologize for the unexplained hiatus from blogging.

A few highlights from the summer

- Maine Lobsterfest Roadtrip

- Visit to San Francisco to see my family and catch a SF Giant's game

- Revisiting Governor's Island for biking

I am also happy to announce a career change! I will blog more about it when I start but my final day in my current position is on the 25th and I start my new job on the 30th. I had spent roughly more than a year exploring NYC's tech sector and figuring out what other skills I could use at the workplace that I wasn't able to currently utilize. I'm excited to find a position that lets me combine my finance background with the tech world.

20 TED talks for everyone!

Officially this is for recent grads but the themes of these talks are relevant for people at all stages in life. Especially when you are trying to take some time to reflect.

Let me know which ones you guys enjoy the most!

http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.com/blog/2011/the-20-essential-ted-talks-for-new-grads

1. Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work: If you thought it was hard to balance schoolwork with your personal life in college, things won’t get any easier when you’ve landed a fulltime job. Take a few lessons on how to find a balance between time for yourself, your friends and your work in this talk from Nigel Marsh.
2. Arianna Huffington: How to succeed? Get more sleep: As a student you probably endured many a sleepless night studying or working on big projects, but if you want to succeed in life after college, you’re going to need to get some rest. At least, that’s what Arianna Huffington thinks. Listen to this talk as she shares some of the benefits it can have for your body and your mind.
3. Caroline Casey: Looking past limits: Have you ever thought to yourself that you can’t or won’t ever be able to do something? Why put such boundaries on what you can achieve? In this talk, you’ll get inspired to move beyond the ways you may be limiting yourself and push yourself to really see what you can do.
4. Alain de Botton: A kinder, gentler philosophy of success: What does success mean to you? Failure? In this lecture, you’ll learn how our ideas of what counts as success and failure may be a bit too harsh and learn ways to give yourself credit for all the wonderful things you’ll accomplish in your years after college.
5. Tim Ferriss: Smash fear, learn anything: Even the bravest among us are sometimes afraid to aim high and push boundaries, terrified of failure, humiliation or letting others and ourselves down. But in this talk, Tim Ferriss asks us to consider, "What’s the worst that could happen?" When you stop to think about it, you may have nothing to fear after all.
6. Rebecca Saxe: How we read each other’s minds: No matter what field you’ve chosen to major in at school, in the working world you are going to be in close proximity with coworkers, bosses and perhaps even clients. Learning to better understand communication, whether spoken or not, and how it can be an immensely helpful tool. You’ll gain some valuable insights when you listen to this talk from expert Rebecca Saxe.
7. Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity: Whether it’s expectations you have for yourself or those in your life, sometimes we struggle to live up to our ideas about what’s genius and creative. In this talk from writer Elizabeth Gilbert, you’ll learn how to awaken the innovation that lives inside of you and perhaps spark ideas that will drive you towards greater career success.
8. Jeff Bezos: What matters more than your talents: Through this inspiring talk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos asks grads to measure their potential not on their abilities, but their actions. While talents can form a great foundation, it is good character, insightful decisions and what we do, not what we say, that makes us who we are.
9. Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation: If you really stop and think about it, what motivates you to do your best and work hard? The reality is that many of the ways we traditionally try to push ourselves aren’t really the best. Learn how to motivate yourself and anyone you might be managing in your new career through this talk from writer Dan Pink.
10. Ric Elias: 3 things I learned while my plane crashed: Small issues can seem large, arguments irreparable and paths set in stone — until we’re faced with a life and death situation. In this talk, Ric Elias shares what really runs through the mind in those moments and how you can use these lessons to change how you live every day.
11. Steve Jobs: How to live before you die: One of the wealthiest and most successful businesspeople in the world, Steve Jobs has plenty of lessons he can teach students about what it means to get to the top. In this talk given to Stanford students, he shares the importance of following your dreams and seeing the opportunities that exist even in failure.
12. John Wooden on true success: Whether you love basketball or not, this talk from renowned coach John Wooden is sure to inspire. He shares advice and wisdom on what success really means and how all of us can get there in our own ways.
13. JK Rowling: The fringe benefits of failure: New grads often fear failure, but as you’ll learn in this talk from acclaimed author J.K. Rowling, sometimes it’s the only way to find success. Get inspiration to follow your dreams, work hard and make the life you’ve always wanted for yourself.
14. Richard St. John’s 8 secrets of success: There may be no single recipe for success, but this talk from Richard St. John illuminates some of the essential ingredients that go into any viable project or career. Not only is it an inspirational talk, but one that can help you redefine how you see your path to the top.
15. Philip Zimbardo prescribes a healthy take on time: How you look at time can actually impact your present happiness and success, or so says psychologist Philip Zimbardo. In this talk, you’ll learn how changing your outlook on your past, present and future can make for a better life.
16. Joachim de Posada says, Don’t eat the marshmallow yet: So many of us are all about instant gratification, getting what we want, when we want it, but in this talk you’ll learn why delayed gratification can be so powerful.
17. Derek Sivers: Keep your goals to yourself: As a new grad, you’ll undoubtedly having people asking you what you plan to do with your life. You’ll have to tell them something, but you might not want to share everything – as you’ll learn in this talk. In fact, not talking about your goals may make you more likely to actually go out there and pursue them.
18. Gary Vaynerchuk: Do what you love (no excuses!): Do you love a career that doesn’t promise big paychecks or have a passion for something that’s incredibly hard to make into a career? That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Gary Vaynerchuk shares why it’s good to be a dreamer in this amazing talk.
19. Rick Warren on a life of purpose: Everyone feels at some point or another that their life is without purpose, but in this talk from Rick Warren you’ll learn why it’s so important to find a drive in your life, whatever it may be, and work your hardest at fulfilling it.
20. Carl Honore praises slowness: As a new grad, newly independent adult and possibly new employee, you’ve got a lot on your plate and may be so busy you’re rushing from place to place and task to task. Yet speed isn’t necessarily a virtue when it comes to a happy and successful life. Take a listen to this lecture and learn why slowing down and savoring every moment has its virtues as well.

Find the Future!

I'm at the NYPL main library! It is 4am! This is super cool but I am fading. Only a few hours to go!

It has been an amazing night though.

I feel like I'm in a gigantic large study hall with 500 passionate nerdy students!

The game works like this--

We are on different teams both working on the same goal.
1. We need to find items and scan them on our phone. This unlocks something online.

2. Now we answer the prompt that ends up being text for our book!

I unlocked Virginia Wolfe's diary. She committed suicide so is that why I was asked to imagine and write about the best day of my life?

Another fun one was a jazz related piece. Then we were asked to rewrite one sentence in 10 ways!

The game is downloadable on your smart phones.

The library is going to continue to have 100 amazing items (ranging from The Declaration of Independence to Malcolm X's briefcase)!

More info here

http://exhibitions.nypl.org/100/

I really feel my brain slowing down but other highlights are

1. The onsite book binder.

2. The tour of the library stacks which is usually closed to the public.

3. The personalized postcard from the future that was written in relation to our entry.

4. The variety of intense ppl (typing away to meet deadlines) and quirky ppl (attacking the cheese platter in the break room).

5. The fact that I get to pull an all-nighter in the library!!

6. Jane McGonigal is super cool and genius enough to imagine a game like this!

7. Getting to break normal library rules :)

Find out what we are up to by following the #findthefuture hashtag on Twitter

Photos to come!

Shout out to Regina!

Yes, that's me!

So my colleague sent me an email with the subject line

"Like to give a shout out to regina"

The email contained a link to an article about how social support at work led to a decrease in all causes of death. Interestingly, social support from supervisors had no impact on the risk factors for death.

I can say many things about my job but one thing I do enjoy is the social support I get at work. It makes sense that if you don't enjoy the people you spend time with for at least 8 hours, 5 days a week, your health will take a hit.

You hear many places talk about culture and it is mentioned again and again in presentations as you decide to apply for a job, during the interview, and then you. finally. get. to. the. workplace.

Now, culture means something. I finally understood what the big to do about culture once I realized it boiled down to fitting in.

You need to choose a workplace where the gap between who you are and who succeeds is very small.

How can a tree grow in the wrong soil? That's the analogy I think best describes a company's culture. The wrong soil can't help a great tree grow.

Here is the study about how social rejection is physically painful

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/fashion/is-rejection-painful-actually-it-is-studied.html?ref=fashion

and here is the article about good social support

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42995889/ns/health-health_care/t/chummy-co-workers-may-lengthen-your-life/

How to Stand More

because our bodies aren't built for sitting all day!

Trendy health article themes I've encountered lately include-

"How Sitting will Kill You"

"Fidgeting your way to Fitness"

etc etc etc

I think most of us like to sit when we are tired and we are used to sitting more than we are used to standing but I'm scared of my body's composition changing so much that metabolic syndrome kicks in. The articles about how even exercising an hour a day can't combat straight up sitting are scary too.

What's a person to do short of becoming a forest ranger ?

Most of us don't have standing desks or walking treadmills so it really is a conscious effort to move during the day.

Ideas for Standing more

1. If you commute, try to stand instead of sit. If you have to drive, I realize this isn't an option but if you take the train, avoid the temptation of grabbing a seat since you will be sitting the rest of the day.

2. Take every opportunity to grab water or stand up and grab something from the printer. I turned down a printer at my desk so that I would be forced to walk to the printer. Even if standing up feels like an interruption to your work flow, your health will thank you for it.

3. Allow yourself to fidget. I'm naturally restless and fidgety and if you have a cubicle like I do or you can fidget without distracting others around you, then by all means let yourself fidget!

4. Volunteer to help carry install ink on a printer, deliver files, and chat with people in person instead of on the phone.

5. Take a lunch time walk or 5 minutes in the morning and afternoon to walk around the block . It clears your head and prevents you from sitting.

6. This is a stranger idea, but you can always do squats, jumping jacks, or run in place in an empty conference room, bathroom, or empty spot in the office. You might find it more fun, knowing someone might spot you exercising in an unusual spot!

7. See if there is an ergonomic department or wellness department that will support employees that want to find alternatives to sitting all day. This could mean converting an office into a room with a few yoga mats and some free weights.

I already use ideas 1-5 but I will give 6 and 7 a try later this week!

Let me know what you try!

PS-

Here is a graphic about how sitting kills you!

http://lifehacker.com/5800720/the-sitting-is-killing-you-infographic-illustrates-the-stress-of-prolonged-sitting-importance-of-getting-up

Thinking rooms

Remember how I commented on the high ceilings in the main NYPL library reading room? I also like the high ceilings in my apartment and open spaces in general. I guess I intuitively realized that welcoming spaces do encourage different kinds of mental activity and affect your moods.

This article (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703778104576287121392285518.html)

in the WSJ supports the hypothesis that architecture affects mental activity.

Specifically, older, louder, dimmer buildings caused more stress for white collar workers than newer buildings which are usually more airy and open. Sigh, I work in an old building.

I realized a few months after I started working that blue collar workers often have more physically tiring jobs with aches and pains that show up in pretty obvious ways. White collar workers have work that is less physically taxing but the impact of sitting all day and more subtle stresses add up later on.

It would be great if more companies would realize that investing in a nice working environment will result in a workforce that is happier and more productive. For the most part, companies are inconsistent. I know that the same company can have a huge range of office spaces within the same city and definitely amongst different countries. I think this is just an issue that isn't a priority for most companies but as companies compete harder for talent, working space and quality of life will matter more. Let's hope (for all of us who already think that everything is out to poison us --subtly and not so subtly) that louder, dimly lit, lack of natural lighting spaces are going to be a relic of the past sooner rather than later!

NYPL visit

In anticipation of the Find the Future game, I took the library building tour with a bunch of other eager Find the Future players. It was actually my first time going into the Steven Schwarzman Library (the big iconic one in Bryant Park) and I realized I really should have gone sooner!

We had an awesome tour guide who couldn't speak very loudly so she had a very endearing come hither motion whenever she wanted us to come closer. I learned the entrance,the Astor Room, was made entirely of marble. Also learned that the library has the original Winnie the Pooh animals and a copy of the first Gutenberg Bible in the US. More iconic items will be on display in a few weeks because the library is celebrating 100 years!

More about the 100 years here

http://exhibitions.nypl.org/100/?hpfeature=3

The main reading room was also really impressive! I loved the sky murals and the high ceilings! I was so tired after the one hour tour that I managed to take a short nap on one of the reading room tables :) In San Francisco, they are very good at kicking you out if you fall asleep in the library so I guess NYC has a different policy or they are understaffed.

Epic Wins!

I learned about epic wins from this talk below!

http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

This is a great TED talk. Jane McGonigal is leading the NYPL Find the Future game.

Essentially, she believes the world can be a better place if we can harness the skills we gain from gaming into solving real world problems. She is definitely right about people wanting meaningful engaging hard work, which explains why active players of World of Warcraft spend around 22 hrs/week on the game.

She identifies 4 things that gamers gain from gaming

1. Urgent optimism - knowing you can get to an epic win

2. Blissful productivity- engaging hard work with a positive end result

3. Trust and cooperation- often working in teams to accomplish missions

3. Epic meaning- believing and working towards a greater goal

So if you can harness all 4 of these qualities into solving issues that plague the world, that would be pretty incredible.

And for those of us who haven't had a good engaging game to play, Jane McGonigal also shares a historical story the town of Lydia, in Greece, where 2500 years ago there was an 18 yr famine and to help people cope with famine, their king had a day where people could eat and a day where people would play games to take their minds off the lack of food.

Here's the story below,

"According to Herodotus, after 18 years the famine wasn't getting better, So, the king decided they would play one final dice game. They divided the entire kingdom in half. They played one dice game, and the winners of that game got to go on an epic adventure. They would leave Lydia, And they would go out in search of a new place to live,leaving behind just enough people to survive on the resources that were available, and hopefully to take the civilization somewhere else where they could thrive.

Now, this sounds crazy, right? But recently, DNA evidence has shown that the Etruscans, who lead to the Roman empire, actually share the same DNA as the ancient Lydians. And so, recently, scientists have suggested that Herodotus's crazy story is actually true. And geologists have found evidence of a global cooling that lasted for nearly 20 years that could have explained the famine. So, this crazy story might be true. They might have actually saved their culture by playing games,escaping to games for 18 years and then been so inspired, and knew so much about how to come together with games, that they actually saved the entire civilization that way."

I think it is very impressive to identify qualities and skills in one area of life and try to apply to a wider swatch of life. That stuff is really interesting to me so I'm going to continue with writing about what I learn about gaming this week.

I can't ignore gaming anymore

I've almost always ignored video games partly because of lack of access and partly cause of lack of interest and I will probably continue to limit the games I play online, on Facebook, and on consoles but I and can't ignore this phenomenon of bringing gaming mechanics into our real lives.

I was recently accepted as one of 500 players selected to play the NYPL Find the Future game! I actually applied because I read about it on someone's twitter feed and thought it would be so cool to spend the night at the museum and try to write a book together through a scavenger hunt!

Jane McGonigal who wrote, Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, is running the event and the title of this book is intriguing especially for someone who hasn't been an active gamer. Part of me does think of video games as escapist and a waste of time but I like Jane's answer and want to read her book!

NYPL: Some think gaming is escapist. Can games change the world?
JM: That’s the biggest misperception. Gaming is productive. It produces positive emotion, stronger social relationships, a sense of accomplishment, and for players who are part of a game community, a chance to build a sense of purpose. I’m interested in bringing this mindset to our real lives and efforts to tackle the world’s most urgent problems, from curing cancer to slowing climate change.

http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/04/01/jane-mcgonigal-and-nypl-present-find-future-game

I think it is really interesting to try to find a way to bring the best of gaming into real life. I look forward to reporting on how it goes for me and 499 others on May 20th!

If you are interested in learning more about gaming mechanics, give this link here a read. It is what convinced me that our world already has plenty of game dynamics in it-- we just don't describe it as such.

Forget Frugality?

The obvious flip side to simply saving money is actively pursuing making more money.

The Bucks Blog post from the NYTimes about focusing on generating more wealth instead of trying so hard to save it is here.

Ramit Sethi is definitely right about most personal finance education focusing on ways you can cut your spending instead of ways to earn more money. My main issue with earning more vs spending less is that it takes much more of your free time to sell a service you have in order to make more money. If you cut out the extra latte a week, you don't sacrifice free time necessarily.

That being said, anyone want me to give them a haircut for $100/hour?