Below is a blog post I did on Posterous on August 11, 2011.

Twitter deleted all Posterouses so it's now hosted on WordPress, but I'm reblogging it here for me.

Some of the links are broken because they link to the Posterous that Twitter deleted.

This quote made the rounds on Twitter and Instagram today:

https://twitter.com/asipocz/status/589497188700524544

Once upon a time, I said, Be here now.

And then I rested, interconnected.

And I said, Be excellent.

And then I read,

You is kind, you is smart, you is important.

Somewhere in there, rakeshlobster tweeted…

Great career advice from @troutgirl to @joshelman:

Be who you are, as hard as you can.

So I tweeted…

I believe “Be who you are, as hard as you can” originated from @naval.

And Rocky thanked Naval and so did Josh…

That was the most meaningful advice I’ve had in a long time.

So I tweeted…

“Be who you are, as hard as you can” is so easy to say and so hard to do. It takes courage.

And Naval reminded me...

Easiest when you are cast out and have no choice.

He also said to listen to people whose opinion you value.

The key word in everything I’ve said till now: COURAGE.

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.

~e.e. cummings

See, there’s always a tension between being and becoming.

We’re wetware on all fours, searching profoundly for four11‘s.

To be who you are, you gotta get yourself some rituals:

Once you are who you are, as hard as you can, you can focus on learning more and continually improve yourself.

How can you continually improve yourself?

Bakadesuyo highlights his most interesting research:

• 10 things you need to know to be happier
• 10 things you need to know about sex
• 10 things you need to know about persuasion
• 10 things you need to know about relationships 
• 10 proven ways to be more creative 
• 10 ways to be more intelligent
• 10 things you need to know about productivity

Be here now. Be excellent. Be happy. Repeat.

Breathe. Be silent. Walk on the ocean…

Walk on the ocean:

A bit like a quote from this interview I did for Gretchen Rubin:

“Decide What You Want or Need to Do, and Then Do It With All Your Power.”http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2010/08/decide-what-you-want-or-need-to-do-and-then-do-it-with-all-your-power/

"

That is a great interview! Fun:

Gretchen: What’s a simple activity that consistently makes you happier? 

Chris: There are so many simple things that make me happy that it’s hard for me to choose! Exercising, going shopping with my wife, having the kids ask me for hugs…all of those things apply for me. So let me pick one random thing that your readers might also enjoy. I love TVTropes.org. It’s a giant wiki of all the recurring motifs you’ll find in movies, TV, literature, and so on. Things like Dramatic Gun Cock or Crowning Moment of Awesome. For someone like me who loves to read, it’s like narrative crack in its purest form. I could spend hours reading about all the tropes that turn up in Star Trek for example. [I LOVE TVTropes! I’ve linked to it before. Dangerously fun.]

What’s something you know now about happiness that you didn’t know when you were 18 years old?

Happiness is much less about accomplishments and much more about relationships. I was one of those child prodigies who was hell-bent on achieving more than anyone else. When I was in high school, the local paper interviewed me, and I actually said the following: “When someone does better than me in a class, I take it as a personal insult, which drives me even harder to be the best.” Scary, I know. But now I realize that I’m happiest when I’m with someone I enjoy spending time with, and I structure my life to maximize those kinds of interactions.

I also enjoyed your blog post about The Meaning of Life.

Still thinking.

Still thinking.

Still thinking...