When I tell people that my husband and I honeymooned at a chimpanzee habitat—the home of Washoe, the first chimpanzee to learn American Sign Language (ASL)—the reactions fall into two camps: Seriously. What did you really do for a honeymoon? Or: When can I go? I’ve been thinking a lot about Washoe (who, sadly, died a few years ago) and…
It’s a theme that has played out in myriad books and movies and even a Pussycat Dolls song, and I learned it the hard way: In order to get what you want, you have to give up what you wanted. My tale began one crisp January morning in 2011 when I decided to write a book. Up to that point…
In 2010 Brother International funded a study to discover the monetary losses from disorganization. The staggering results revealed that the cost associated with just one problem—employees looking for misplaced items—topped $89 billion annually! The average employee spends 38 hours a year searching for things. If you experience moments of “I can’t find what I need!” in your life, you know…
My friend Mark is on a quest for personal greatness. “I know I can be a more empowered person—I just don’t know how to do it!” He sighs, then rushes off to the bookstore for the perfect book to transform him from who he is today to the awesome person he envisions for tomorrow. In the six years I’ve known…
I am in the middle of programming my jack-o’-lantern when I begin to really miss my dad. The jack-o’-lantern is made of the usual hollowed-out pumpkin, but this is just the beginning. I am hacking this pumpkin. I am taking a “Halloween hack-o’-lantern” class at a hackerspace at the Hoboken MakerBar. It’s a place where you can learn to make a…
Are your habits hijacking your brain’s functionality? While sleep deprivation and other exhausters have an impact on brain efficacy, eating habits have the largest effect on how you boost or deplete your brain activity. With a well-chosen plan to ingest, manage, and maintain the #1 brain fuel, you can enhance how well you remember, learn, concentrate, and behave. According to…
When I was a long jumper on my college track team, I always counted to five before starting my run to the takeoff board. Counting helped me block out distractions around the track and get focused on the jump. But it had to be five. Why? Because I started counting to five at the beginning of the season and had…
Michelle Jenneke, hurdler, performs an exuberant dance routine right before starting a race. Jason Terry, NBA basketball player, sleeps in the opposing team’s official uniform shorts the night before games. Wade Boggs, Hall of Fame baseball player, always drew “chai” (Hebrew word for life) in the dirt before coming up to bat. Bruce Gardiner, NHL hockey player, dipped his hockey…
