advice
Advice that will put you on the path to success; tips, tricks and nuggets of wisdom from trusted experts and motivational mentors.
A Love Letter to Young People
Every morning I wake up and find I'm not that grumpy old dude yet? I feel really happy. Young people aren't ruined — they're amazing, brilliant, and strong. We gave them a world full of obstacles and broken promises. Then we told them to figure it out on our terms. So here's my tribute to them, and a reminder to my generation about who really planted those orange trees.
By David4 months ago in Motivation
Dodging Bullets
Do you ever look back at something that happened in your life, something you fought hard in the moment to keep or not lose, and today you’re grateful you lost it? I do. I had a miserable six years in my first marriage. When it was falling apart, I tried to hang on with all my might, and now I look back and don’t know why. Its demise was a blessing in disguise, and I dodged a bullet that would have propelled me onto a different trajectory, one to the pits of hell.
By Alexandra Grant4 months ago in Motivation
The Green Banana Illusion:
Start writing...Have you ever bought a banana that looked completely green on the outside, only to peel it and find it perfectly sweet and ripe on the inside? If you have ever lived near a farm or spent time understanding how plants actually grow, you already know the secret: color can be a misleading optical illusion. The real test is tactile. Behind that green peel, enzymes are already hard at work breaking down complex starches into simple, sweet sugars. If a green banana has a slight, yielding give when you gently press it, it is fully ripe and ready to eat. Working at a fruit stall, you become intimately familiar with these little biological quirks of nature. Unfortunately, you also become intimately familiar with the frustrating quirks of human behavior. The Art of the Undercut It was another busy day at the stall, and the margins were as tight as ever. A group of ladies approached our stand and began inspecting a bunch of bananas. These were exactly the kind I mentioned above—a vibrant green on the outside, but perfectly soft, sweet, and ready to eat on the inside. One of the women asked for the price. Knowing how competitive the market is, I didn't even bother starting high to leave room for haggling. I immediately gave her the lowest possible price we could offer without taking a loss on the inventory. She nodded. The price was undeniably good, the fruit was fresh, and she was visibly ready to make the purchase. She reached into her purse. And then, the invisible tug-of-war began. The Saboteur Next Door I’ve mentioned before the unique stress of operating our stall next to a local competitor who refuses to play fair. As my customer was getting ready to pay, I saw it happening again. The neighboring store owner was standing in full view, making direct eye contact with my customers, and aggressively gesturing for them to come over to his stall instead. It is a blatant, disrespectful tactic, but when you are a foreigner trying to run a business, you often have to bite your tongue and watch it happen. The customer paused. She looked up from her purse, caught the competitor waving at her, and looked over at his display. The shift in her demeanor was instantaneous. The Excuse Suddenly, the great deal I had just offered her wasn't enough. But instead of just admitting that she was going to check out the other stall, her brain immediately scrambled to find a convenient excuse to back out of our transaction. She looked back down at the fruit she had just been perfectly happy with. "Actually, these aren't ripe," she declared, pointing at the green peels. "Let's go see what they have over there." Without another word, the entire group of ladies turned on their heels and walked straight into the welcoming arms of the gesturing competitor. The Reality of the Retail Smokescreen I stood there, looking at the perfectly yielding, sugar-rich bananas. It is a fascinating, albeit exhausting, psychological phenomenon. When people want to change their minds—especially when swayed by local bias or a gesturing competitor—they rarely tell you the truth. They need a scapegoat. They need to make it the product's fault so they don't feel guilty about abandoning the transaction. If those bananas had been bright, sunshine yellow, she wouldn't have bought them either. She would have simply looked at them, feigned disappointment, and said, "These are going bad soon. Let's see what the other guy has." It was never about the ripeness of the fruit. Just like the customer who claimed my apples were "too hot" before carrying them onto a sweltering bus, the green banana was just a convenient smokescreen. Working at the stall teaches you a lot about fresh produce, but more than anything, it teaches you that people will always see exactly what they want to see to justify walking away.
By ShortVM4 months ago in Motivation
Free Time in Ukraine vs. Switzerland: What I Miss Most After Coming Back Home
In 2024, after spending 2.5 years living in Switzerland, I suddenly decided to return home to Ukraine. On one hand, it was a completely impulsive decision. On the other, it was something I had been thinking about for a long time.
By TETIANA SEREBRIAKOVA4 months ago in Motivation
Be Grateful For What You Have
As most people who read my articles know that I write a lot about how to become happier, finding ways to become happier, and trying to look on the plus side not the negative. Today I am writing about how to be grateful for what you have and explaining why.
By Cheryl A Nocera 4 months ago in Motivation
Motivation Is a Skill, Not a Feeling — Here's How to Build It
Let's be real for a second. You know that feeling, right? That surge of energy on a Monday morning when you've got your coffee, your to-do list is clean, and you're convinced this is the week you're finally going to crush it?
By Zidane4 months ago in Motivation
The Quiet Truth About Building a Life You're Proud Of
You've been grinding. You've been reading, learning, trying, failing, getting back up, reading more, watching videos, listening to podcasts, buying courses, joining communities. You've consumed more self-improvement content than most people will in a lifetime.
By Zidane4 months ago in Motivation
