How to learn 21st century way of living

We live in an exciting time. Never before in the history are there so many resources available for individuals. Never before in the history are there so many opportunities for us. Here, in the 21st century, lack of resources or opportunities is no longer a problem. The problem is how to take advantage of them.

Let’s see some of the things you have today:

1. Knowledge at your fingertips
   With just a few keystrokes or mouse clicks, you can get to know almost anything. You don’t need to go to the library for that. You don’t need to call an expert. In most cases, you just need to go to Wikipedia. If Wikipedia doesn’t have it, Google is there for you. This is not to mention the many other resources available.
2. Easy communication
   Communicating with people from halfway around the world is just about as easy as communicating with someone next door. Not only that, you can choose the mode of communication you like. Between Twitter, Skype and Facebook, there are many flavors of communication you can choose from.
3. A voice
   For many years, individuals can only be passive recipients. In the age of radio, newspaper, and television, you were just a consumer. You couldn’t have a voice. But now you can. Everyone can start their own blog or YouTube channel and have a worldwide audience. You can become the producer and not just a consumer.

Of course, in this kind of world, we need a new way to learn. The strategy that worked well in the 20th century may no longer work today. We need to know how to learn the 21st-century way.

For that, there is one thing to keep in mind: the world is moving fast. What was popular two years ago might no longer be popular today. What is popular today might no longer be popular two years from now. So, to be an effective learner, you must be quick to adapt. You must become aversatilist. Don’t stick with things that no longer work. Change the way you do things as situation demands.

With that in mind, here is what I believe is an effective learning strategy for the 21st century:

1. Stay up to date

Before anything else, you need to know what’s going on in the world today, not just in your field but also in other fields. This is how you see new threats or opportunities coming.

I do that by subscribing to blogs and publications through an RSS reader (I use Google Reader). Some people prefer to use Twitter and that’s fine too. Just use whatever tool that works for you.

The important thing here is to keep the signal-to-noise ratio high. Get rid of the sources that don’t give you enough value for your time.

2. Make assessments of the subjects you come across

When you find something interesting from step 1, look for more information about it. For example, if you find a new term that you are not familiar with, look for the definition and some background information. If you see that a certain field is getting popular, find out more about it and why it’s getting popular.

Your goal here is not to be an expert. Your goal is to know enough about it to understand the impact it might have on your life and the world. Your resources are limited, so you need to assess how good something is before committing more resources to it.

Wikipedia is your friend here. It gives you good background information about practically any topic you want.

3. Immerse yourself in the promising subjects

When you decide that something is promising, allocate more resources (time and money) to it. Buy books, watch online lectures or tutorials, subscribe to related blogs. This is the time to utilize the abundance of resources you have on the Internet.

Here are some good sources of online lectures and videos:

• iTunes U
  With iTunes U, you can find video and audio courses on many subjects. This is useful if you want to get a deep understanding of a subject. I, for instance, followed a course on iTunes U when I learned about application development for the iPhone.
• YouTubeYouTube has a lot of tutorials on practically any topic you want. Just enter your keywords into the search box and browse the results. If you find something you like, you might want to subscribe to the channel.
• Khan Academy
  Khan Academy a good place to learn about basic science like math or physics. It also has videos on topics like economy and finance. Sal Khan (who makes the videos) is a great teacher who can explain things in a clear and fun way.

In addition, there are Q&A sites out there that you can use to find answers to your questions. Two of them are Stack Exchange and Ask MetaFilter.

The key here is to immerse yourself in the subject. Don’t just use one of the ways above; use as many of them as possible. Even better, don’t just watch or read the lessons. Do the exercises as well.

4. Create real-world projects

Real-world experiences are still your best teacher. Nothing can replace it, not even the abundance of resources mentioned above. Those resources simply help you get into the real world sooner.

One big advantage of living in this age is you can, in most cases, get into the real world much quicker and cheaper than ever before. For example, if you love to write, you can create a free blog in just  a few minutes. If you love to sing, you can record your performance and put it on YouTube in a matter of hours.

So take advantage of it. When you want to truly learn something, create something and put it in the real world. Learn from the feedback and adjust accordingly. Keep doing it and you will learn a lot in the process.

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That, in my opinion, is how to learn the 21st-century way.

Remember, the world is changing fast. So keep this line from Steve Jobs in mind:

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

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                     Best Happiness Quotes

I love reading quotes and learning from them. In my opinion, reading quotes is a great way to learn life lessons. Quotes are short but contain a lot wisdom. They can give you useful lessons in a concise manner. It doesn’t take much time to read them, but what you read can change your life.

Here I’d like to share with you the best quotes that I’ve found. I group the quotes based on topic so you can easily find the best quotes for a given topic.

Best Quotes on Success

The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want.
Ben Stein

The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.
Moliere

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Lao Tzu

Behind every brilliant performance there were countless hours of practice and preparation.
Eric Buttterworth

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
Seneca

Both fortune and love befriend the bold.
Ovid

In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity. 
Albert Einstein

Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.
Patti Wilson

The most important single ingredient in the formula for success is knowing how to get along with people.
Theodore Roosevelt

I will pay more for the ability to deal with people before any other ability under the sun.
John D. Rockefeller

A good plan vigorously executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week.
George S. Patton

They can conquer who believe they can.
Virgil

Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.
Theodore Roosevelt

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.
Thomas Jefferson

If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius.Joseph Addison

Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure.
Thomas J. Watson

Best Quotes on Failure

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.
Winston Churchill

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
Albert Einstein

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
George Bernard Shaw

Best Quotes on Dreams

The mightiest works have been accomplished by men who have somehow kept their ability to dream great dreams.
Walter Russell Bowie

Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.
Leon J. Suenens

Dreams don’t work unless you do.
John C. Maxwell

So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.
Christopher Reeve

If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse.
Walt Disney

Best Quotes on Happiness

It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation which give happiness.
Thomas Jefferson

Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another.
Marquis De Condorcet

Think to Thank. In these three words are the finest capsule course for a happy marriage, formula for enduring friendship, and a pattern for personal happiness.Thomas S. Monson

One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.Rita Mae Brown

The secret of Happiness is Freedom, and the secret of Freedom, Courage.Thucydides

Life’s truest happiness is found in friendships we make along the way.Unknown

Character is the basis of happiness and happiness the sanction of character.George Santayana

Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have.Unknown

Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.Ralph Waldo Emerson

Best Quotes on Attitude

Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.
Carol Burnett

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who overcomes his enemies.
Aristotle

Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared; but only men of character are trusted.
Unknown

Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom.
Thomas Jefferson

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.
Anais Nin

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. 
Johann von Goethe

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. 
Winston Churchill

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. 
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let not a man guard his dignity, but let his dignity guard him.Ralph Waldo Emerson

I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end . . . I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me.Abraham Lincoln

How To Break Bad Habits And Develop Good Ones

There is no question that habits are important parts of our lives. We do many things in our lives not from conscious decisions, but from habits. So understanding how habits work is essential.

For that reason, I was excited when I learned that there was a new book on this topic titled The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I bought the book through Kobo and read it. As it turns out, the book covers not just personal habits, but also organizational and social habits. Here, however, I will focus only on personal habits.

There are several things I learn from the book about how to break bad habits and develop good ones. Here they are:

1. Every habit consists of three elements

The three elements are cue, routine, and reward. Together they form a habit loop. Cue is the thing that triggers you to do the habit, routine is the activity part of the habit (the thing that you want to change if it’s a bad habit), and reward is what you want to get by doing the habit. Habit loop works like this: when the cue is there, you do the routine in order to get the reward.

2. To break a bad habit, you need to identify its elements and insert a new routine

You can’t really eliminate a bad habit. Instead, you replace it with something else. To do that, you need to keep the old cue and the old reward, but insert a new routine.

Let’s say you want to stop a smoking habit. First you need to understand the elements of the habit. The routine part is easy (it’s the activity that you want to change, which is smoking in this example), so your job is to identify the cue and the reward. What is it that triggers the habit? Is it a certain time of the day, a certain emotional state, or something else? And what is it that you want to get by doing the routine? Relaxation perhaps? Identifying the cue and the reward isn’t easy, so take the time to identify them. There is a detailed example in the book of how to do this.

Once you identify the cue and the reward, you need to find a new routine that can give you a similar reward. You might need to experiment with several routines before you can find the right one for you. Then you need to make a specific plan about what you will do when the cue is there. It might seem simple, but studies show that making a plan does make a difference.

3. To develop a good habit, make a craving out of specific cue and reward

Let’s say you want to develop an exercise habit. What you need to do is choosing a specific cue (like a certain time of the day or putting your running shoes nearby) and a specific reward (like the sense of accomplishment from tracking your running miles).

But that’s not enough. You also need to make a craving out of them because craving is what drives the habit loop. You do that by choosing a reward that appeals to you and allowing yourself to anticipate it. Think about that reward and how good it will be when you get it. Over time it will become a craving and the new habit will become automatic.

4. Willpower is the most important habit for individual success

There are some good habits that can start a chain reaction; once you master one such habits, it will affect other areas of your life as well. These habits are called keystone habits. Among them, studies show that willpower is the most important one. The ability to delay gratification for something better in the future will definitely have a positive impact on many areas of your life.

You can train your willpower by forcing yourself to do something that is good for you but you don’t feel like doing. For example, if you don’t have the habit of exercising than forcing yourself to exercise three times a week will train your willpower muscles. Over time, your willpower muscles will get stronger until willpower becomes a habit.

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These are some important ideas I learn from the book, but there are still many ideas there that I haven’t covered here. There are also stories in the book to illustrate the points it makes. All in all, I enjoyed reading the book.

But of course, the most important thing is to apply the ideas. Understanding them is one thing but actually applying them is a different thing. Building a willpower habit seems like a good start. What do you think?

         Being Happy : 17 Timeless Secrets Of Happy Life

There are many ways for people to be unhappy, but happy people have common characteristics. That’s why a good way to be happy is to learn the common characteristics of happy people and apply them.

So I studied what the great minds in history say about being happy. I went through hundreds of quotes on being happy and extracted the best lessons out of them. Not only are these lessons useful, they are also timeless in nature.

Here I’d like to share what I learned with you. Without further ado, here are 17 timeless secrets of happy people:

1. Forget the past

One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.Rita Mae Brown

You won’t be happy if you carry the burden of the past. Did you make mistakes? Did you have terrible experiences? Whatever they are, you should let them go. There’s nothing you can do about the past, so you’d better let them go and focus your energy on the present.

2. Take responsibility for your life

The secret of Happiness is Freedom, and the secret of Freedom, Courage.Thucydides

To be happy you should have freedom and the most essential freedom is the freedom to choose. No matter how bad a situation is, you can always choose how you respond to it. People can annoy you, but it’s up to you whether or not you will resent.

But, as the quote above says, freedom takes courage. Freedom to choose requires the courage to take responsibility for your life. You shouldn’t blame someone else when something goes wrong. Take the responsibility and you have the power to choose.

3. Build relationships

Life’s truest happiness is found in friendships we make along the way.Unknown

Relationships is where we can get true happiness in life. The reason is simple: only through relationships can we love and be loved. Make relationships your top priority and you are on your way to true happiness.

4. Develop multiple passions

The more passions and desires one has, the more ways one has of being happy.Charlotte-Catherine

Passions lead you to happiness. So not only should you discover your multiple passions, you should also expand yourself to new passions. This way you will create new ways to happiness.

The key to expanding to new passions is curiosity. If you are curious, you will have an endless stream of exciting things waiting for you.

5. Build your character

Character is the basis of happiness and happiness the sanction of character.George Santayana

Building your character is essential for happiness. When you are true to yourself and others, you will be in peace.

The way to start building character is by making promises and keeping them. For example, you make promise to yourself that you won’t smoke. When you keep it, you are building your character. Or you make promise to others to be punctual. When you keep it, you build your character.

6. Be who you are

The summit of happiness is reached when a person is ready to be what he is.Desiderius Erasmus

You can only be happy if you become who you are. Don’t live other people’s life by trying to meet their expectations. People may expect you to have certain job or certain way of living but don’t be intimidated by them. Find who you are and be yourself.

7. Live your life purpose

The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose.William Cowper

To have a fulfilling life, you should find your life purpose and follow it faithfully. Find what matters to you and build the courage to follow it. Having a one-liner will help you internalize and communicate your mission.

8. Count your blessings

Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have.Unknown

Being happy is easy if we are grateful. Unfortunately, seeing what we don’t have is often easier than seeing what we have. Sometimes we need to experience loss before appreciating what we have. So don’t take things for granted. Look at what you have and soon you will have plenty of reasons to be happy. You may start with these simple things.

9. Have positive mind

It is not the place, nor the condition, but the mind alone that can make anyone happy or miserable.Roger L’Estrange

Happy people know how to control their mind. They don’t let negative thoughts come in. While a situation may seem bad to others, happy people look at them in a positive way. They always believe that no matter how bad a situation seems, there is always something positive to take from it. Your mind can make or break you, so guard it well.

10. Work creatively

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.Franklin D. Roosevelt

When you work creatively on something you will find happiness. There is a well-known phenomenon regarding this called flow. When you are in the state of flow, you are fully focused on the task at hand that you no longer realize the passage of time. This state of flow allows you to achieve high productivity and being happy at the same time. Here are some tips to achieve it.

11. Start with what you have

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.James Oppenheim

Happy people don’t need something they don’t have to be happy. They don’t need certain job or certain level of income. Instead, they learn to be happy with what they already have. They have learned the art of contentment. Be content with what you have and you will be happy.

12. Change

They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.Confucius

Being happy requires you to constantly grow. In fact, the process of learning itself is essential for happiness. Have you ever felt the excitement of being enlightened about something? Have you ever felt the excitement of achieving a new level in life? Top 10 Things You Should Change in Your Lifegives you some practical tips on changing your life.

13. Use your talents

True happiness involves the full use of one’s power and talents.Douglas Pagels

There are two lessons to take from this quote. First, you should find your talents and second, you should use them to the fullest. Working in your talents is a sure way to enjoy your work because it’s something you are “hardwired” to do. Using your talents fully will make you even happier because of the satisfaction of doing your best.

14. Beware of small things

The happiness of most people we know is not ruined by great catastrophes or fatal errors, but by the repetition of slowly destructive little things.Ernest Dimnet

This is very true. Often it’s not big things that ruin your happiness. It’s the small things that do. Perhaps you don’t like someone or break some “small” promises. But even small leaks can sink your ship of happiness, so beware of them.

15. Distill your ambitions

Where ambition ends happiness begins.Author Unknown

While wanting to achieve more in your life is good, being obsessed by it is not. Do your best to improve yourself but don’t be obsessed by it.

16. Make others happy

Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is my favorite secret of happiness. The way to being happy is to make others happy first. The more you help other people and make them happy, the more you will be happy. Happiness doesn’t come through selfishness but through selflessness. You reap what you sow.

17. Practice compassion

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.The Dalai Lama

Compassion is perhaps the highest level of selflessness we could have. As this quote aptly says, practicing compassion can make both others and you happy.

But of course, it requires practice. Start with thinking about the people around you. Look at their needs and find ways to meet them. Even if you don’t do it out of compassion in the beginning, your compassion will grow over time.

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All in all, this quote by Aristotle can summarize the lessons above:

Happiness depends upon ourselves.

It’s you who decide whether or not you are happy in life.

I choose to be happy. What about you?