Alchemy For Life

Gamification, Iconization and Tangibility Those are some crazy words. They’re fun and I like saying them. But what do they mean? My history I have always enjoyed looking at things as a system . It was only relatively recently that I realized that was what I was doing. it was so natural and innate that I didn’t give it much thought. Previous to giving it that name, i thought I was just...

Are you creative? No matter what your job, career or calling is, no matter what hobbies you have or do not, you have creativity. What if we treat it as a separate skill? What happens then? You’ll be amazed. Join our free community at patreon to talk about it.

“I see systems” This is something I have said for a very long time. Once I learned that this was one of my core directives it all made sense. But what does that mean, and how can that help you? Let’s talk about the systems in your life. If you don’t see the system you could be suffering because of it What happened when you became aware of a system? Did it change your life?...

😎 NOTE : The members of the AFL Patreon Community heard this episode last week. They get them a week early. You can too. Join it for free ! What is ADHD actually? The term ADHD gets thrown around a lot. People use it for everything to describe an actual condition in which someone cannot concentrate, to being easily distracted, to having bouts of hyperfocus. Do you tell people you have ADHD? Do yo...

It’s time. After all these episodes, books, coaching, and articles, it’s time to approach this differently and give us a better way to connect with each other. We both deserve it.

I guarantee you will have a great day if you do this. And you might get a huge laugh out of it as well. Believe it or not this episode touches on and doubt, more experimental, psychology, and the holy Grail of positivity bias. All because your friend wants you to help him move a piano. Experimental Psychology This particular exercise involves elements of the placebo effect, and something called Co...

A New Genre You are now part of the birth of a new genre—engagement fiction. I know it’s new because I just made it up. If you’re a type a personality*, then you probably enjoy your brain being fully engaged for your work. But when it comes time for play, you may not really be feeding your brain the same kind of engagement without the stress. People like this are not really satisfied w...

You’re probably selfish for a good reason. If not, your definition of selfishness is what’s stopping you from taking care of yourself properly. This is not about self-care and self-love. It’s about something entirely different.

You might be giving too much power to something in your life, just because you gave it a LABEL . See labels for more on labels in: If you use them you’ll get smarter (or dumber)

How much real estate do you own? A fascinating way to look at one of The Big Three….

Phrases and mantras We all have phrases we can readily repeat. Some of us have important phrases that have made an impact on us. Some of us (like me) even have a mantra we live by. The most impactful Doing an inventory, I came up with three phrases that have had the most impact on me. There are others, but these seemed to be a good collection—and I thought it would be fun to put them all in one po...

Have you ever been stood up? The origin of the term has many folksy definitions. I encourage you to look it up as many are sort of saucy, But we recognize this meaning someone did not show up as planned for a meeting, and usually includes them not reaching out or responding to queries. We’ve all had this happen, right? Switching Gears and the Element No One Talks About. If someone stood you...

The right and the wrong way to approach a networking event Most of my episodes are about experimental psychology, how to deal with and manage time, energy and resources, or a unique concept I’d like you to consider. Sometimes the episode is a purely business-related show. This is one of them. The excruciatingly hilariously wrong way to handle a networking event. The wrong way to approach a n...

Advice Who doesn’t like giving advice? Who doesn’t like receiving it? Wait, put your hands down, that was rhetorical. In all seriousness sometimes we need to ask for advice (we can’t all be in a bubble) and we are lucky that someone values our wisdom enough to ask us for our advice. I certainly am honored when that happens and it makes me feel validated (see The Status Game II )....

The olden days of voice only In the olden days when people wanted to collaborate they would jump on a conference call vs. jumping on a video call. It was extremely common to have a number of calls during any given week, and the larger the business the more conference calls there were. How many is too many? There is an upper limit to how many meetings you can constructively have, and it’s not...

Sometimes you get the chance to see something from two perspectives. Sometimes both perspectives come from the same person. Sometimes that person is you. The fun part Here’s a quick 10-minute episode on how and why this happens, and how you can use it not only on yourself but to understand others (and maybe help them understand you!)

Remember the How Do You Have Time For This? episode? If not, check it out. I talked about how more than once I’ve been asked “How do you have time for that” when I chat about books, speaking, podcasts, projects, etc. And my answer to them is always “That’s the wrong question.” The question should be, “How do you have energy for that.” Energy over tim...

Parasympathetic Nervous System The network of nerves that creates the system that’s known for the ‘rest and digest’ feelings is the parasympathetic nervous system. This system is what aids in digestion, slows your heart rate and give you general feelings of well being . I want that. I want a lot of that. I bet you do too. Sympathetic Nervous System The opposite is the Sympathetic...

Stroke support Group Recently, I sat in on a stroke support group. The group was for both the individuals who experienced strokes as well as their caretakers/family members. I had the blessing of the admin staff to do so. Was it uncomfortable? Yes did I feel out of place? Sort of. Did I learn something very powerful? Absolutely. I always do. Comfort zone We all stay in our comfort zones because th...

Knowing your strengths Do you know your strengths some people do and some people don’t. If you do know your strengths, there is something about them. You may not realize and that’s the subject of this podcast. Stretching too far Sometimes when we approach a goal or a task, we look for a way to do it that makes sense. We learn new skills and get better at our approach. Just keep doing i...

What is an iteration? An iteration is an updated version of something built upon its previous version. But, and iteration can also be another separate version. Examples of iterations When someone bakes a cake, they can create a cake that has chocolate filling, vanilla frosting, and multicolor sprinkles on the outside. They can assess that cake and then realize that it would be better with raspberr...

Type A Personalities The phrase type a refers to a pattern of behavior and personality associated with high achievement, competitiveness, and impatience. Does this sound like you? Does this sound like most C-level employees? Does this sound like most entrepreneurs and creatives? If you’re listening to this podcast you most likely are. Productivity and meaning You probably derive a lot of mea...

White Space The first known use of ‘White Space’ was back in 1946, and it means the area of a page without writing or pictures. It’s the part between the words, the part that allows us to pause and consider. it allows us to compartmentalize one set of thoughts from another. Social Media and the looooooong post Have you ever noticed posts on social media sometimes people post a fe...

Coach So what is a coach? And what is a life coach? “Life Coach” never really generated positive professional images in my mind, even though I’m considered to be one. It appeared out of nowhere and came with baggage. At least to me. But now it seems that everyone is a coach, and each one has a different flavor. Even those that focus on a very specific task are coaches. Words You know I like me the...

Three words There are a number of words that can cause an emotional reaction. I won’t use the word ‘trigger’ because that’s overused. We’re not going to go over all of those words, but we’re going to do three of them: fault, responsibility, and ownership—and we’re going to explore the positives of those words. There’s a positive version of fault ?! A...