Alchemy For Life

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CuKSdSJmsmw We all know what it is. We have all done it. We’ve all had it done to us. Let’s talk about when it’s appropriate when it’s not, and why it can be so frustrating. Transcript: The Anatomy of Ghosting We all know what ghosting is, and we’re aware that it’s now a verb. But let’s define it so we’re on the same pa...

Time is money You’ve heard that phrase and it is often accompanied by someone clapping, tapping their foot, or some other show of impatience. Chop chop, time is money . In our world of Time, Energy and Resources as separate entities, they are saying time is resources, aren’t they? But it’s actually more accurate to same time is energy . Let’s discuss, and see if you agree....

Fair & Square Here are the rules of the square and triangle universe. Squares sell things to and help that are both squares and triangles. Most triangles gear their products and services for only triangles. Most squares buy from squares and triangles. Most triangles will buy from both squares and triangles but will choose a triangle over a square, especially if the triangle says their product...

A while back we talked about the importance of a catalog and your awareness of that. By revisiting that we are demonstrating (in a rather meta way) the importance of revisiting it. And let’s add how that affects your facets too. Catalog A catalog covers anything and everything you do. This then gets distilled down into your nice brochure and your website. That gets distilled down further int...

I like to apply analogical reasoning, You can call it conceptual metaphors. And if both of those are confusing, how about applying the concept of one domain to another. Still confused? For example, we talked about liminal spaces which don’t look or sound right. But you can then take that into the emotional domain and talk about things like a bride on the night before her wedding, or how it f...

You are living in an era that is coming to an end. There was a time when all pictures were in black-and-white because that was the technology we had. Most people were fit, and men typically wore suits even at baseball games. Then pictures, had color, but it was of a not true to life color with a look that was overly warm with lots of reds and browns. Then we had more color accurate images and what...

I have a new book coming out. it’s my 10th, and it’s based on my take on the pleasure principle and what I believe is a layer just above it. It’s what allows us to accomplish things that others do not. It’s what prevents us from doing things that we think we should be able to. It’s that nagging, (usually invisible thing) that we keep running into. It’s what allo...

(and how it might help you tell your own story) Telling a story in an unfamiliar medium with constraints you’re not accustomed to is a common theme in business. You may be the best story teller in your circle/medium/genre but if you need to tell your story outside of that it can be a challenge, a learning experience, overwhelming or all three. Here’s my experience in writing the screen...

Q&A and the answer (That’s so meta) Have you ever helped a friend who has a question or a conundrum, and the answer was so obvious to you that you easily spelled it out for them? You felt pretty smart. You noticed at some point that when you’ve had issues you turn to others for answers and you realize thatr you also could have come up with the solution? You have a “Well duh,...

A tale of disconnected happiness or Benign Violation Theory. Allow me to tell you a tale of disconnected happiness. Perhaps you can relate? Helpful related (or referenced) episodes: The holy Grail of positivity bias Throwing away the container Benign Violation Theory Have something to say? Come talk about it on Patreon .

Modes What mode are you in right now? You may intuitively know exactly what I’m talking about. Ever interrupt a conversation and the person changes their conversation style/demeanor? That’s an example of someone switching modes. Are modes just putting a mask on, or being disingenuous? No, like so many things in experimental psychology, I look at it like a program, or a template being o...

Meet Manuel Rendon , certified polymer science inventor and CEO of Timeplast, Inc . My first interview episode of 2025. Manuel joins the ranks of Scott Adams , the late John McAfee and others. 4d matter In the world of plastics, everything pretty much repels water. But what if you could create a plastic that truly dissolves in water quickly, leaves no forever chemicals, and is programmable? Oh, an...

Welcome to 2025. As with last year, we are selecting the most helpful and useful episodes of the previous year. Of course I feel that all of the episodes are useful and helpful. Each one has a use, a point, and a tangible takeaway. Each one is a unique perspective on something you’re familiar with or a bringing to your attention of something you may not even be aware of. As they say, “...

Resolutions—what works and what doesn’t and why. It’s really important that you don’t repeat the same things that didn’t work last time. You want to make this time to be different. Levels As we mentioned in the Labels episode, we like to label things because it’s a shortcut. And that can make you dumber or smarter. It can also give too much power to the thing . And it...

This is a separate article that goes with this podcast episode. it is not a transcript but rather an alternate summary of what the episode is about. NOTE : Depression, and worse (the meaning of “throwing away the container”) is a delicate subject. The truth is that all mental health is a delicate subject, as is the psyche that we all possess and protect—voluntarily or otherwise. This i...

Guess who has this one? 🙂 NOTE: As I’ve said before, these thirteen ‘states of being’ are not being looked at as an ‘ailment’ or a ‘disease’ or a disadvantage. Just as there are upsides to what some would consider a disability, there are downsides to what some would consider a superpower. What is Systems Thinking? Systems thinking is taking a step back an...

Social Media and You If you’re on social media, whether it’s the Boomers Gone Wild of Facebook, the Graphic (in many ways) Instagram , the Millennial-Controlled Tiktok or the ‘business-oriented’ Linkedin, you will see the kind of posts I’m about to talk about. Drawing a line in the sand… in your face Some people post things full of words—typically a graphic tell...

Exotic Cars When people purchase exotic cars, they are sometimes hit with something called deferred maintenance . As with many car buyers, they see the value of purchasing a car used . The positive of that is that they get a car they want at a dramatically reduced price. The downside is sometimes that they hadn’t considered there might be deferred maintenance. Oops! There’s Deferred Ma...

A new formula Here’s an interesting concept for you, just when you thought you understood that life is made of three things: Time, Energy and Resources. But after ll, this is alchemy. Time, Energy and Resources Alchemy for Life™ has always been about life being three things. And we spend those three things on five facets. it’s the basis for the podcast, the coaching system, and a way t...

What is Positivity? You may think that ‘positivity’ doesn’t belong with such states of being as OCD , Anxiety , ADHD and the others featured in this 13-part series, but I think it does because it is markedly different than the average person. Positivity isn’t just being nice. Positivity isn’t being positive blindly . It is a state of being in which your base level is...

Forced Emergency Responders and “Love Bombing.” Emergency Responders and the 2:00am call for a wooden spoon When we think of emergency responders, we think of paramedics and ambulances and firefighters and police. If you make widgets, no one is going to call you at three in the morning to tell you they desperately need a new stapler or a wooden spoon or any number of things that aren&#...

What is OCD? Do I have OCD? OCD stands for obsessive-compulsive disorder. It shares a symptom with ADHD in which you can be caught in a repetitive loop because of anxiety and stimulus.  But it is different than ADHD. The reality of OCD  The reality of OCD often involves constant, intrusive thoughts and the need to perform specific rituals to reduce anxiety . Day-to-day life can feel consumed...

Toddlers with chainsaws Are chainsaws bad? No. Should toddlers use them? No. We use chainsaws to perform a task, we don’t give them to toddlers because it is dangerous to do so and the toddlers don’t understand the balance of danger and functionality. Airbags, insurance and fire extinguishers, oh my! Does your car have airbags? Do you own fire extinguishers? Do you have insurance? All...

ADHD – Also known as Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. What is ADHD? Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. People with ADHD typically struggle with finding it difficult to focus . They are easily distracted in pursuit of stimulus. Sometimes the stimulus leads them to hyper-focus.  The reality of ADHD  The reality for many people is that ADHD is a constant challenge for them to fo...

Anxiety – The feeling of stress, the activation of a fight-or-flight mode. Anxiety for some can be a fairly dull but constant sensation of having to attend to a problem—a nagging feeling that you need to take care of something. This can be from the demands of your job, your responsibilities as a parent, a spouse, a parent or a combination of all of the above. For some, however, it can be an...