TodayZ Lesson

Trying to achieve success might bring happiness in the long run (but not always).  Doing the things that make us happier actuality has more chances to help us achieve success. From "Solve for Happy" book by Mo Gawdat. 

Maximize your wellbeing. Identify and put more effort on those activities that provide real wellbeing. Stop or change those ones that bring you back or help too little. Same for relationships. Beware of toxic people who drain your energy. Share more with those ones who make you feel more energetic. 

Have you tried again that thing that was important for you but that you thought you didn't a chance? Just try again. Redefine your own limits. 

Running the last two blocks to see if I can get the train in the 30 seconds left? Or waiting 8 more minutes in the cold weather for the next train? I calculated my chances of getting in the train as 30%, having a 70% against me and then losing the effort running. Inmediatamente, me empecé a decir a mi mismo en mi mente "No lo voy a alcanzar, no lo voy a alcanzar,..." a pesar de que mi cuerpo ya estaba en movimiento y listo para correr. I realized about it and inmediately changed my self talk for "I will take this train, I will take this train,...", that changed everything, I ran with more will, and guess what?  I got late to the train, but the guy in the train decided to wait a little bit for me and I got in. This is a simple situation, but it clearly shows me how important is our self talk. How important it is to align our mind with our body and purpose. If we believe, the world will conspire, nature, people, God, will help us get to the destiny we believe we shoul...

Buenas mi gente! Reflexiones de lo escuchado en podcasts de Founders by Platzi en Spotify: - Estamos en la misma zona horaria del país con la economía más poderosa del mundo (eso es una ventaja)  - Hay muy buenos emprendimientos nacionales pero la barrera principal para escalarlos sigue siendo el idioma Freddy indica en su artículo de Forbes cómo romper el ciclo de la pobreza en América Latina (toma de 5 a 10 generaciones salir de la pobreza) e indica las 5 iniciativas que nos pueden ayudar bastante a progresar como región:     1. Seguridad alimentaria     2.Pasión por leer     3.Computación accesible con Internet      4.Una alternativa a la escuela secundaria      5.Practicar inglés  Hay varias de esas en las cuales sí tenemos control. En la medida en que le saquemos más tiempito a LEER libros y PRACTICAR ingles, estamos mejorando nuestras skills y ayudando todos juntos a halar para el mismo lado.  Saludos 👋🏽 ...

New challenge! Learning French in 60 days (while working, studying and doing other activities we humans usually keep busy with). Why 60 days? I'll finally meet in person my parents in law who are French and don't speak in English. This is the perfect time for an experiment of this type which will clearly indicate whether I learn it at a conversational level or not. Let the race begin! 💪🏽 I will provide updates about the strategy used and partial results. Starting point: I have previously done two efforts for learning French.  The first one, two years ago, was listening to the book "The Paul Noble method to learn French", totally recommend it. I was very committed studying it for one week. I had good progress but then I stopped, and there is very little I still remember from it. The second effort, five months ago, was listening to the duolingo podcast for learning French (totally recommended as well), there I listened to many real stories in French which had some bac...

Transferring knowledge effectively is not that much in HOW a teacher teaches, it is more in HOW a teacher helps the student find the best way in which they learn. Encourage the student to PRODUCE, reflect, then monitor, give feedback. Fucusing not too much in the style for teaching, but in the student's PRODUCTION supported in inputs. 

I think we constantly tend to underestimate the power of Breaking Down objectives into small groups of tasks, then into smaller activities until getting close to something easy to do. There are some psychological implications and benefits from that view.  Example. I want to make my home country a better place. Big objective. How? Focusing on vulnerable communities. How? Proposing sustainable and environmental programs in which they generate an income to support their expenses and continue growing the initiative. Where? Research contemporary main issues for vulnerable communities in specific areas. What's their main issue? ....  ...  ..  .  After breaking it down so much until reaching something easier to digest and focus I might get something like this: - Spending 10 hours a week of effective studying of the water properties, sustainable business,..., in 3 months I should know enough to generate a report. - Then, continue those 10 hours weekly of studying to res...

This is called: Overjustification effect  Replacing ones internal motivation for doing something for an external motivation (reward, pressure) to do it. It causes people to lose interest in the activity they initially were enjoying.  Example,  Helping a friend to buy groceries.  Vs Getting paid for buying groceries for a friend. 

Well, sure they know something that most people don't about the influence of cellphones in kids. Or maybe people suspect it but decide not to take action, because there are not other well known better alternatives. 

For this example, I'll take the experience described by Will Smith in his autobiographical book. When Will was 8 and his brother 10, his father told them to build a wall which would help in the backside of their shop.  (Forgive me I forgot the details of the story, but the lesson remain with me)  Will and his brother would go everyday during over a year to work on that wall (for some reason it took a lot of work for a kid, and speacially time). Will's father would come every once in a while to monitor and then leave. Will and his brother finally finished that wall after what might look like an eternity for a kid. They finished it.  I know my description is not nearly as good as Will describes it in the book, but there is a really good lesson.  Kids who involve in a task which takes them very long, meaning, they need to work on it for a long period of time, will benefit for life. Creating an early powerful work ethic, discipline, motivation, patience, work vs reward, ...

Do better questions 

Reflexión. Una de las formas más efectivas de sintetizar aprendizaje es: Reflexionar.  Reflexionar al final de una lección/ clase/ lectura/ tarea/ ensayo: Qué me queda claro? Qué temas son interesantes para mí? De cuál me gustaría aprender más? En qué estoy de acuerdo? En qué no?  Qué no entendí? No sé me quedó nada en la mente? Por qué? Sé debe a mí?  La metodología de enseñanza se acopla a mi forma de aprendizaje?  De qué forma aprendo mejor yo? 

... Pero si quieres ir lejos, ve acompañado" Not sure, who the author is. 

I am very happy I studied Engineering, Not necessarily because I want to work as an engineer, but Because I highly appreciate Thinking Like and Engineer, The logical skills learnt, natural curiosity to understand how things work, discipline, resilience, overcoming frustration, So, even though I don't see myself working as a pure engineer, Thinking Like an Engineer provides me with a view of the world which I can bring to other areas of life, and therefore obtain a personal advantage having lateral thinking across disciplines. Conclusion: Even though I don't see myself working as a pure engineer, I wouldn't change my studies, because there I learnt the skills that I most value nowadays, which are the spine of my thinking, which I also believe gives me an edge when approaching opportunities and complementing it with other bodies of knowledge. 

What do I do well in the relationship? What could I do to make it even better? I terms of values, principles, what is it that comes first to your mind when thinking of me? What do you think might be my best strength?  Which skill do you think would cause a good impact on me if I improve at it? ASKING FOR FEEDBACK WITH AN OPEN MIND  Who knows us best? Our partner, friends and family. Often, they know things about our behavior that we don't know or acknowledge the impact. Asking for honest feedback with an open mind can be a great help to 1) Acknowledged that which we do well, and 2) Know what can be improved. All of that from an outside view, which through reflection with internal views can be adjusted.  Real example: Today I asked my partner if she thinks I would be a good leader. Then, later ask why I would be a good leader, and also what I could improve to get there. Outcome: I got two lessons out of this:  1) I can improve in the way I communicate when talking. Go...

It's often difficult, specially for shy people, but, how can others know there is something bothering you unless you say it? Find a good, respectful way to say it, written or verbal, whichever comes better for you. Chances are that the situation should either improve, or at least not get worst. Overtime, this practice will help shape your character. 

Are you doing what you are doing because you are seeking approval and recognition from others? To meet someone else's expectations?  Or because it genuinely makes you feel motivated, energetic, excited? Beware of those close authoritative people around you, they probably mean well, care about you and want you to be safe, BUT, it doesn't mean they understand your feelings, emotions and aspirations. A good question here is: do they really hear you and interest on listening attentively to what you have to say?  Get clear. Clear about the why you are doing what you are doing. 

Don't start one that you know you can't win, and don't do it if it's not worth the effort and the consecuences. On the other hand, do it if it's worth the effort, it aligns with your values and there are good chances to enjoy of future rewards.  But make sure it doesn't take too much mental capacity, Cost Opportunity. If not worth it, just use your mental energy and resources into better causes. 

Show them. If you believe you have a good idea and want to develop it, don't look for approval from others. Go ahead and show it is a good idea with a model, ptototipe or application. 

It is from them that we learn the most. Nelson Santiago

So when you do the normal things it will be just easy. 

You start a company with a client. 

If you can't walk away from a negotiation, then you aren't negotiating.  James Altucher Book: Choose Yourself. 

Escribir o dibujar en una hoja de papel el "mapa de sueños" eso quiere decir poner las metas y sueños que tenemos con las diferentes etapas, objetivos intermedios. Tenerlo en la billetera o algún lugar a la mano, con eso en un tiempo futuro se puede ver, analizar y ubicar/ajustar la dirección. 

Teaching it. And being able to discuss it with someone. 

And most humans crave attention. Children are happy when you give them attention.  Generally, a person feels well when he/she has someone else's attention.  Attention is so valuable and we can all provide this resource to people and couses we desire. Just a reminder to provide those beloved ones with attention. It often is more valuable than even expensive gifts. Children might grow up better having a good amount of attention from their parents. We can be better sons/daughters by roviding some of our attention to parents. And safe for a partner. Attention is one of our most valuable resources and it's limited. Let's use it wisely. 

The meaning of money is a collective mental model because paper itself doesn't have that much value. It's what it represents which has value, and that comes from a collective mental model. Overcoming obstacles and achieving objectives is supported by the quality of the mental models we use. And to have good quality mental models firstly, we need to know ourselves or the organization the best we can and then start making experiments and recording results until we get closer to where we want to be. Mental models.  Example: I want to run more often. Then, identify what's the motivation behind and put in place mental models to support that goal. Helping the unconscious mind might help by placing the running shoes in a visible place plus a picture or message which summarizes the motivation. Let's say, running a half marathon. Then writing a 21K in a visible place in your room. That system would help to get you started joining the motivation with the trigger (running shoes) a...

Consiste un hacer que una de las opciones haga ver más atractiva las otras. Example: If I'm selling a product, let's say candles for $35 each, then I can offer another one, let's say Extra luxurious candle for $95. My real intention is not to sell many of the expensive ones of $95, but by offering that one, it will make the other one of $35 look a lot more attractive and at a good price because I'm setting a higher anchor point. 

I'm not goog at personal finances vs  I could improve my skill in personal finances 

Often not recognized that quickly, and it is Flexibility. I saw that in a book, and that was a powerful idea for me, now I think about my choices not only in terms of time, money, but also flexibility. How the conditions adapt to your case especifically. 

I think this is a method from Jim's Kwick book. He proposes, the screen in our phones works in our subconscious mind. Do you put Facebook in your main screen and wander why you spend so much time in social media? The idea is to leave in the first main screen that which helps your goals and those things you want to reduce time spent put it in the third or fourth screen so you actually have to swipe and go there to find it. 

"Knowing when to quit is a skill" says Steven Bartlett in his book Happy Sexy Millionaire. There are two questions Steven asks himself before taking the decision: 1) Am I quitting because the job/activity is too challenging? 2) Is the reward worth the amount of effort? Then, if the job is hard but the reward is worth the effort, Steven doesn't quit.  Or, if the job is hard but the reward is not worth the effort, Steven quits and hopes to get involve in something worth the time and effort. Knowing when to quit and look for something better is a skill. 

Only when we are able to take ownership and responsibility we can really start working on it. 

It comes from the old Roman, from when the gladiators were on the arena fithing to death against lions or other gladiators.  The man in the arena means the act that many other will be happy to critize, laugh, or wrongly advice you under certain circumstances, exactly because they are not the ones in the arena fithing to death. Be truth to yourself and follow your own instinct under difficult circumstances (as long as they are honorable). 

Real happiness is making an effort for: Living below your means. Being grateful everyday. Practicing daily habits that impact your health positively. Having a middle long term reason / reasons to feel motivated or excited about. Listening to others as well as be able to be heard. Helping others as often as you can. Creating the mental strength to feel peaceful even under difficult circumstances. Practicing self awareness, it means, know yourself, know your values, principles, limits, strengths, weaknesses. Learning constantly. Being truth to yourself.  Those are my views on happiness after reading many books, experience and self-reflection.  Or in a more simple way as Mo Gawdat puts it in his book "Solve for Happy": Happines = Reality - Expectations 

Su propio nombre. Book. How to win friends and influence people. Dale Carnegie 

It gets even more reinforced when it comes from different sources. (I know I got this from a book but I forgot which one) 

A veces las cosas parecen más fáciles/posibles cuando alguien que conocemos las hace. Ahí nos damos cuenta que sí se puede lograr. 

By Henry David

On a piece of paper, write yourself a Certificate of Achievement in that objective that you want, date it to some specific time in the future and hang it on the wall or somewhere you can see it everyday. Ejemplo: Voy a escribir en una hoja de papel a modo de certificado:  "Certificado de cumplimiento entregado a Sergio por su generosa contribución de 52 videos con valioso, educativo y motivador, contenido en YouTube.  Fecha: 19 Ago 2023" In this example, I'm giving myself a Certificate of Achievement with the statement of what my objective is with a specific date and I'm going to stick that on my closeth so I can see it everyday. This method is highly recommended by Lewis Howes in his book "The School of Greatness" and his podcast with the same name. Lewis recommends to choose time frames of 3 or 6 months.  What would be your Certificate of Achievement? 

Aplica para cualquier propósito in life. No se retire, sigalo intentando tanto como sea necesario hasta que lo logre. Stay in the business long enough to figure it out. Tom Bylue, Impact Therory. 

Las bacterias se habrían creado hacia las 6am como primera forma de vida. Los dinosaurios habrían estado en la tierra hacia las 11pm. Los primeros rastros de homosapiens estarían apareciendo a las 11:58pm. Siendo los últimos miles de años de avance de la humanidad no más de un segundo dentro de esa historia de la humanidad resumida en un día.  From "History of almost Everything" 

Saber qué preguntar. 

Ask yourself several times: Is that true? Whenever you are giving explanations to yourself about your own behaviours. Some people use this method asking to themselves even 5 or 7 times: Is that true? To get to the roots. 

Hay gente que se va de este mundo sin nunca haberse dado cuenta cual fué y como ejercitarlo. 

Can you identify anyone? Go find it. Then you'll have a clear example to follow and make your process better to get there.

Once the easy ones come you'll be surprised at how much you can achieve. 

It implies you should be aware, do research, self reflection, and know what is that content that most encourages you to pursue those great things that inspire you.

What you put in is what you get out. Make sure you constantly feeding your brain with positive information.  The brain feels highly influenced by learning and improving skills.  Help your brain, help yourself. Improve the quality of your thoughts.  There around 60.000 thoughts per day in our minds.

"The price of anything is the amount of life you pay for it" Henry David 

When we eat, our brains are not aware of the moment we are full because our brain takes around 10 minutes to receive that information. El estómago se llena, nosotros un creemos que seguimos con hambre por lo que seguimos comiendo, 10 minutos después, nos sentimos con pesadez por comer más de la cuenta, por qué? Esa comunicación entre estómago y cerebro no es tan rápida como nosotros pensamos... Comer despacio siempre es una buena idea. En caso de indecisión, esperar unos cuantos minutos antes de seguir comiendo más de la cuenta les dará la conclusión. 

Nuestro cerebro puede procesar información en audio 3.5 veces más rápido de lo que podemos hablar. Y de qué sirve saber eso? Me pareció interesante, tenía la percepción de que nuestro cerebro necesitaba escuchar a la velocidad promedio que una persona habla para recibir la idea bien, pero no. El cerebro es mucho más rápido en entender y procesar que en producir esas palabras. Ya puedo ponerle   x1.5 speed en los videos de YouTube y algunos audiolibros 😁🧠

Be part of a greater cause / purpose. Help your family, help your friends, help your community, do volunteer work, help in a cause that you believe in. Helping not in a transactional way will give you the key to access a greater level of fulfillment. 

I became more religious far from home. Why? I believe it's 1) because it reminds me home and memories of my childhood, 2) I like the music, 3) most importantly, it's a very good idea to believe in a superior being so you can find a space for reflection and support. En momentos de tanta incertidumbre y dificultad, es mucho mejor pensar que todo es parte de un plan superior, con un propósito y para nuestro bienestar (así no lo parezca a veces). Creer que vamos a estar bien. 

Audible, Spotify and YouTube are my best options. Also you can change the speed at which you here the content so you can go quicker through it if you want. En Audible la mayoría de contenido es en inglés, aunque recientemente he visto más libros en español. La suscripción vale 15 dólares en el caso de Australia y permite escoger un libro mensual.  Spotify has a lot of different options and there are more and more podcasts released all the time. Try to identify the topics that you like and also the format, if you like it more like an interview of one or more people, or only one person talking.  You Tube has so much good information, however the disadvantage in my opinion, is that I can't use it without keeping the screen of the phone on. It quickly drains the battery of the phone. Meaning, Audible and Spotify are easier for me to listen to while doing other activities such as walking in the park, walking the dog, doing the cleaning at home, cooking, etc. 

Hola queridos amigos de Facebook! Me encuentro en un momento en que creo que puedo aportar/ayudar a otros, y ese es mi deseo. ¿De qué forma? No se a ustedes, pero a mi siempre me costó mucho trabajo aprender inglés. Lo evité en el colegio y lo aprendí de a poquitos durante la universidad, sin embargo, siempre me desanimó que otras personas parecían saber más que yo, por lo tanto, lo seguí evitando para evitar la pena mientras me prometía a mi mismo que lo iba a estudiar con esmero en la casa. Me inscribí a clases de inglés dos veces por semana, pagé Open English por un año, entre otras actividades, sin embargo siempre obtuve muy pocos resultados. Incluso me daba pena tratar de practicar hablar en inglés con mi hermano, quien en mi opinión hace parte de ese grupo de personas que pareciera que siempre supo inglés sin necesidad de pagar por extra cursos o poner mucho empeño. Siempre me dio un poquito de envidia (de la buena haha) tener esa habilidad natural para aprender inglés sin poner ...

Hola amigos!  Les dejo esta reflexión sobre una de las técnicas que más me ayudó a entender/ comunicarme en inglés.  Hace unos años recibí el consejo de un amigo, el me dijo que cuando empezó a leer libros en inglés, el nunca se detenía a traducir palabras o leer dos veces la misma oración. El simplemente continuaba hasta el final tratando de entender lo máximo que pudiera hasta terminar el libro así no entendiera mucho.  Yo llevaba como 10 años tratando de leer libros en inglés, pero lo máximo que logré fue leer unas 4 páginas por mucho. Motivado al ver mi amigo hablando muy bien en inglés, empecé a leer un libro. Seguí el consejo que me dió al pie de la letra y después de 4 semanas terminé el libro. Solo entendí cerca del 30%, no mucho, pero suficiente para tener una idea general de la historia. Entendiera o no entendiera, poder llegar al final del libro, fue uno de los logros más gratificantes que he tenido. Bastante emocionado por el logro, continué con otros libros s...

Feed your mind... 📚🧠 Improve your skills 💪🏽 Stay healthy and fit 🏃🏃‍♀️

Esta RECOMENDACION le puede ser muy positiva para el futuro económico de algunos,  ¿Quienes? Aquellos quienes hagan la tarea de investigar y entender qué es bitcoin, cómo funcionan las criptomonedas y cuáles son las tecnologías involucradas. Recomendación: Estudien bitcoin y las criptomonedas. (Si buscan "Juan Rodríguez, bitcoin y criptos" en YouTube ese puede ser un buen lugar para empezar) Éxitos 👋🏽

Son cerca de 100 cupos que se dan a nivel nacional en Colombia para personas que quieren estudiar en el exterior, El proceso consiste en aplicar (cuesta cerca de $60mil pesos), presentar los requerimientos que ellos piden y esperar resultados. Se aplica a más tardar en Febrero y esas becas se dan sólo una vez por año. Los resultados se dan en Marzo. Es un sistema de puntos, aquellas cosas que se tienen en cuenta son:  - Universidad a la que se está aplicando (entre mejor rango a nivel mundial tenga, más puntos da)  - Carta describiendo porque desea estudiar en esa universidad, en ese país, y cómo eso va a ayudar a que cuando vuelva a Colombia pueda implementar esos conocimientos en el país, - Posición dentro del grupo de graduados cuando se obtuvo el diploma de pregrado (eso no lo sabía, pero aparentemente en el día de graduación, los estudiantes que se están graduando son enumerados en posiciones que imagino son de acuerdo a su rendimiento académico en general), - Puntaje pon...

ANÉCDOTA 🙋🏽‍♂️ (y tip) 🙋🏽‍♂️ Cuando estaba haciendo mi año 11 en el colegio, recuerdo que el profe de economía me dijo "SI compra dolares, en el mediano o largo plazo, eso le generará ganancias", no le entendí muy bien a qué se refería (de hecho, me ha tardado cerca de 10 años entender realmente a lo que se refería), El caso es que tenía como 200mil pesos ahorrados y decidí hacerle caso, fui a una casa de cambio (ahí el dólar estadounidense estaba por los 1900 pesos en 2010), y así de fácil, entregué un fajo de billetes de 2mil, 5mil y 10mil pesos, y recibí  un solo billete a cambio, uno de 100 dólares 😲 que susto, ahí iban los ahorros de un par de meses, me aseguré de que a ese billete no le fuera a pasar nada y no se fuera a perder.  Pasó cerca de 6 meses, y eso fue lo máximo que me pude aguantar, ahí no resistí mas la tentación, fui y lo cambié por pesos, me dieron cerca de 170 mil, resulta que el dólar americano no se había recuperado y además pagué los costos de tra...

Excellent book about the new generation of Colombian heroes which is changing the history of the country and the history of the big competitions: The tour de France, The Giro d'Italia and La vuelta a España. I enjoyed this audio-book very much. This week I have been telling everybody about it. The author's reading is very pleasant. Great research about the Colombian political and social environment. Now we know where the talent in Colombian cyclist comes from. This is an example of resilience and determination. A great piece of writing by Matt Rendell  Heroes in this book: Rigoberto Urán, Nairo Quintana  Jarlinson Pantano , Sergio Luis Henao, Egan Bernal, el campeón, Winner Andrew Anacona Gomez, Fernando Gaviria, Superman López, among other new young talented Colombian cyclists.

COSAS DE INTERNET. Muy bueno para aprender de forma entretenida.  FOUNDERS BY PLATZI. Son conversaciones con emprendedores de latinoamerica donde comparten sus experiencias y aprendizajes.    🎧 Perfecto para escuchar de camino al trabajo, de vuelta a la casa, paseando al perro, haciendo aseo, caminando por el parque...  Saludos 👋🏽

Emprendimiento. Inspiracional. Bogotá 🤩 Entrevista a Freddy Vega, fundador de Platzi. Gente que inspira.  Que chévere ver emprendimientos locales que se convierten en globales, con buenos fundamentos en tecnología y miras hacia el futuro. De este tipo de emprendimientos, solo he visto Rappi y Platzi, pero seguro que hay más. Algún otro que recomienden para averiguar y aprender un poco más? 😃

Book 📗  What an amazing book!  A must read for anyone who wants to understand a bit more of how the world works, the dynamics among countries and what to expect for the upcoming years.  I finally found good explanations of how the economic systems work and have worked through history leading to the rise and failing of many empires and countries. Including a good picture of where we are at the moment.  A great book by Ray Dalio, one of the top investors of our time 👍🏽👍🏽

Historia y economía 📚💲 Principios para entender las causas del surgimiento y decaimiento de los imperios más poderosos durante los últimos 500 años:   - Año 1600 a 1750: El IMPERIO HOLANDÉS. Conquistó el mundo gracias a su innovación en barcos, mayor comercio, instauración de la primera bolsa de valores y sistemas bancarios. Ahí la moneda global fue el guilder. - Año 1750 a 1900: El Imperio del REINO UNIDO (Inglaterra y alrededores). Conquistó el mundo gracias a la revolución industrial (invención de la máquina a vapor, trenes y maquinaria para producción en masa) convirtiéndose en el centro económico del mundo. La moneda aceptada a nivel global pasó a ser la Libra esterlina.  - Año 1900 en adelante: El imperio de los ESTADOS UNIDOS. Mientras los demás países quedaron en crisis pagando las consecuencias de la 1ra y 2da guerra mundial (las cuales no se pelearon en territorio de Estados Unidos). EEUU se convirtió en el principal centro económico y de innovación con la res...

Let's do both!  I'm trying to find my own style, so I have decided: voy a escribir en los dos idiomas e iré cambiando de vez en cuando según como vaya fluyendo. There might be full articles just in English or just in Spanish. I will use some expressions from both languages and see how it all goes! Vamos a ver qué tal nos va! 😃 Así tengo mayor libertad, ya que no a veces me dan ganas de escribir solo en ingles y a veces solo en español. Creo que depende del contexto. Any way, let's begin! Because: "Done is better than perfect" ✅

"Done is better than perfect" I have spent quite a lot of time planning the future, and more often than not, I don't develop those projects I had in mind. Some 10 or 15% might get done, then I don't continue. WHY? Great question 🤔 An idea DOESN'T have to be PERFECT to be communicated. And I don't need to spend hours writing a short post making sure it's fantastic!  PURPOSE: I'm going to use this space in Blogger a lot more! I will try to communicate many of the ideas, memories and lessons, as they come to mind. Meaning: I'm going to write multiple times per day and post it in Blogger. Will someone like it? I don't know. Will someone benefit from it? Hopefully, with me it's already one person. There could be the potential forore so, let's keep the doors open! 

Buenas! Ya estamos en abril de 2022. Sí, el tiempo pasa... Al mirar posts anteriores en el blog me doy cuenta de los propósitos que me quería proponer, y cómo no los terminé. Ejemplo: Primer propósito al empezar el blog: escribir una lección diaria. Cuánto tiempo ha pasado? Púes unos 7 meses, cerca de 200 días. Y cuántos posts he hecho? 17 según acabé de contar 🤔 Otro propósito: 12 weeks couch commitment. What happened? Me ocupé en otra actividad y olvidé momentáneamente este propósito, es decir, el avance fue poco o mínimo.  Otro: 30 days stop snacking habit. En ese sí me fue muy bien creo yo. Cumplí los 30 días que me propuse, creé un nuevo hábito que aún conservo cerca de 5 meses después. Me puse ciertas reglas mentales de modo que en temas de comida ya no necesito pensar mucho para tomar la decisión. Ejemplo, si alguien me ofrece unas galletas una o dos horas antes del almuerzo ¿qué hago? Las recibo, doy gracias y NO me las como en ese momento. Espero a comer el almuerzo y ahí...

I wrote it in Spanish and made a post in Facebook as a way to encourage people to improve their reading /listening and communication skills in English.  Hola amigos!  Les dejo esta reflexión sobre una de las técnicas que más me ayudó a entender/ comunicarme en inglés.  Hace unos años recibí el consejo de un amigo, el me dijo que cuando empezó a leer libros en inglés, el nunca se detenía a traducir palabras o leer dos veces la misma oración. El simplemente continuaba hasta el final tratando de entender lo máximo que pudiera hasta terminar el libro así no entendiera mucho.  Yo llevaba como 10 años tratando de leer libros en inglés, pero lo máximo que logré fue leer unas 4 páginas por mucho. Motivado al ver mi amigo hablando muy bien en inglés, empecé a leer un libro. Seguí el consejo que me dió al pie de la letra y después de 4 semanas terminé el libro. Solo entendí cerca del 30%, no mucho, pero suficiente para tener una idea general de la historia. Entendiera o no ent...

It's been around four weeks since I started my 30 day food commitment. I believe there are several positive aspects of doing this such us: the value of doing something difficult (it was a difficult thing to do for me since I struggle with eating snacks and eating too much), gaining self-respect and confidence, plus other benefits that research shows come with intermittent fasting. This note is mostly about one positive side effect which I have only come to realize now. My time is now much more productive, my thoughts and mental energy related to food has gone from and 90% to a 30%, I only think of food just when I'm going to actually eat and it's already part of some different food I have previously selected, so there is not so much to think about and it's food I enjoy very much eating. My big realization is that: whenever I felt tired, faced with a challenge or even bored, my first reaction was always to look for something to eat. Apparently, it was just an automatic r...

I have been doing the experiment of writing thankful thoughts in a notebook every morning once I wake up and sometimes at the end of the day. I started since one month ago, I just did it a few days during the first two weeks, then in the third week I did it almost everyday, and now, in my fourth week, I haven't missed a day and some days I do it both in the morning and night before to sleep. I just wrote about this experience today because I was able to notice how much difference it makes to do this first thing in the morning once I wake up. I realized about the power of having thankfulness journal and it just came to my mind with total conviction that: Having a journal to be thankful can probably be the single most important tool for happiness. It's just incredible, I heard about it many times in different books, especially in "the resilience project: finding happiness through Gratitud, Empathy & Mindfulness" which is a really good book, among other good ones tha...

Do activities that give you energy. Stay with people that give you energy.  Have felt exhausted after meeting a person or working a long day? Have you felt energized after meeting another person and an activity that you enjoy? People and activities can be either energy takers or energy givers.  First, be aware of what activities and people take energy from you. You recognized because after meeting these people you feel drained, tyred, not in a positive mood. Same with the activities if you feel excess of stress, upset, bored. Secondly, avoid at all cost those people and activities that take energy from you. Recognize those other people and activities that, in contrast, after meeting that person you feel pumped, excited, with so much energy. Same for the activities, have you ever felt energized after a day of work? If it's an activity that gives you energy and keeps you motivated, then, that should be the rule. To feel even more energized and excited as a result of those activi...

Do activities that give you energy. Stay with people that give you energy.  Have felt exhausted after meeting a person or working a long day? Have you felt energized after meeting another person and an activity that you enjoy? People and activities can be either energy takers or energy givers.  First, be aware of what activities and people take energy from you. You recognized because after meeting these people you feel drained, tyred, not in a positive mood. Same with the activities if you feel excess of stress, upset, bored. Secondly, avoid at all cost those people and activities that take energy from you. Recognize those other people and activities that, in contrast, after meeting that person you feel pumped, excited, with so much energy. Same for the activities, have you ever felt energized after a day of work? If it's an activity that gives you energy and keeps you motivated, then, that should be the rule. To feel even more energized and excited as a result of those activi...

Make sure to walk, ride the bike, go to the park, maybe study although it's better an activity in which you move the body.  Do not lie down or sleep 🚫 The gravity helps the digestion and maintain the gastric acids inside the stomach. It's being already over 5 times that I have been lazy after eating and decided to lie down in bed or in the couch. That's a bad idea. I had the feeling of having the food in the throat for over 20 hours. Not recommended. Make it a rule, after each and everyone of the meals to get moving. 

To become the best life coach possible. How to do that? By reviewing all the material, selecting all the best tools. Enrolling into a coaching program, having a coach, getting some type of certificate, practicing with people, showing up, meaning: being consisten, being helpful. 

Hi there! Our 30 day food committmen is still going on 😃 This is day 12 and I would say I have sticked to it on about 83%, still pretty good in my opinion and I'm happy with the feeling. My stomach doesn't feel heavy all the time, normally after 6pm my body feels light. The sleep is good. I still battle in my mind to svood eating sometimes, particularly because I had the snacking habit as a reaction of different feelings, I guess I unconsciously associated eating with feeling good. The point is that now I struggle because if I don't snack, then I still need to find another activity.. Still figuring that out, but seeing the potential of introducing a good habit activity to cover that space, that would be like "passive energy income" 

I had a 3 days without audio books/ podcasts experiment. That time was enough to realize it is so hard to keep our minds out of distractions when we don't focus on something.  When your brain is unoccupied, the MONKEY mind takes the control. This is a concept (that I like very much) from the book "Innercise" from Jonh Assaraf. The monkey is just jumping everywhere, engaging in any distraction, driving the ship with no clear direction. That's the monkey mind, in other words, when we let our mind over think negative situations that only gets us in a bad mood, when we let worries be the center of attention, when we get distracted on the phone, TV or activities that don't add value to ourselves.  By doing this experiment I realized how difficult it's to don't let the monkey mind take control when our brains are not feeded. The best way to get out of that loop (the one in which you're thinking and thinking about a negative situation that gets you worried) i...

It makes me upset that I am snacking even when I have told myself I wouldn't.  It makes me feel regret and guilt.  The constant mental battle about eating or not eating is a difficult one. The brain sends signals to the stomach which starts preparing for eating, then, game over... It starts in the mind. The body just follows. Snacking is not even fun anymore. All my mind focuses while eating is about the next snack. Even before to finish the first one.  Thinking about food the whole day and having those mental battles is a great waste of energy.  I once did with a friend a 21 day fasting, it consisted on having only one meal a day for 21 days while praying with some particular purpose.  I did it, mostly, there were just a few days I ate twice a day.  I have to admit that, as crazy as this idea sounded in the beginning, I have never felt that freedom before. The freedom of removing food from my mind. I was able to use those 1 to 2 hours I normally spent eati...

The title is a quote from Lewis Howes on his book "The School of Greatness" What is the most difficult thing you have ever done? Mine was being able to graduate as a engineer from a very good university. It took me 6.5 years (which should have been 5, but it's not too bad considering that only the 3% of those who apply are actually able to graduate). I had emotional academic crisis every semester as the challenges of approving the subjects just seemed tremendously hard. I wasn't even sure I wanted to be an engineer, but the challenge of some day, being able to be part of that selected group of graduates was enough to keep me on board. That and being surrounded by very talented people.  After nearly failing 3 subjects in my very first semester, and not certainly looking easier for the next ones, those 6.5 years felt  like a very, very long time.  I will never forget the happiest moment in my life. Yes, it was the day I was told I would be able to graduate. That same da...

"If you can't do the small things right, you will never do the big things right " The School of Greatness, Lewis Howes' book.

Remember that our brain is a really smart machine. When facing a difficult situation (if it's not urgent, which is most of the time) slow down, you have time. Our final decision will be better just by keep doing our normal activities, and remembering about it in intervals, forget, remember, forget, remember,... Then at some point, within 24 hours (more or less) our understanding of the situation gets to around 80-90%.  It gets even more clear after a nap, or a night of sleep. Worrying and overthinking will only make the process slower and confusing. It causes some areas of the brain stop working as usual, limiting the brain capacity to just a portion of its normal state. Important considerations: * By answering / reacting / taking decisions too quickly, it can cause you regret, damage in relationships and obtaining a poor outcome.  * Solve it by yourself if you can. Otherwise, take advice only from people who fully understand the situation and have successfully solved similar ...

This is really incredible. Just imagine it. Having the advice from your idols. Years of experience. And not only common lives. For them, to be able to even write a book, publish it (many of them best selling books). It takes great effort from their side, often years, to be able to put the words together to convey a powerful concept, which comes from many years of their own experience. That's just incredible to me and I'm so grateful we have the opportunity to really use the advance in technology in positive ways. Ok, so, there are masters around the world, who want to share their life lessons/ powerful messages condensed in pieces of paper, or waves (sound), audio books in this case, that comes into my ears. It could make rich of more if you want, but most importantly, it could make me a better person. So why is it that, even though they are somewhere there available, we still don't read them, we don't have 8 hrs of time to hear what it took 10, 20, 30 years to learn fo...

3 years ago I read my first book in English. I only understood some 40% of the words written in it, enough to understand the story of the book.  What I didn't expect was the sensation I had once it was finished. Ohh my God, I read it! (I've been trying to do that for some 10 years) I felt unstoppable.  I realized, it was possible, that gave me souch joy that I wanted more of that feeling. I continued reading books until my understanding got to a 70% - 80%.  At some point, a friend of mine introduced me to audio books. That was my second relevation, I could go from spending one month reading a book to spending only 6 to 10 hours listening an audio book in only one week!  Suddenly, my main barriers disappeared, I was able to read a whole book in English and it didn't have to take too long. That very day, I decided that if very successful people can read one book a week, some 52 books a year, even with their busy lives, I might well try and have a go.  I committed ...