Ride-Sharing and a Money-Earning Opportunity

So you've likely heard of Uber. You know..the distributed taxi service that lets you order a car ride from a smartphone. Well, it's one way to earn some money on the side. It's a relatively new innovation in the industry. Traditionally taxis were the only similar form of transportation. They are now trying to maintain competition with this new breed of distributed car-sharing service.

It really makes a lot of sense too since the vast majority of cars are sitting unused for the majority of the time.

When you sign into the app as a rider, you can choose between a regular car or a larger SUV. In my experience, drivers have been at my location within 5-7 minutes. The entire process is a breeze. Pull out phone and order the ride in just a couple taps. Facebook has even enabled an Uber ride ordering feature in their mobile app.

So if you want to drive for Uber, how much can you make? Sources say that during busy hours, they can make between $20-25 per hour. That includes tips. If you show up in a clean car in a timely manner and are friendly, you are more likely to get tipped and receive a good review on the app. The Uber company does take a 20% cut out of every ride but after that you keep the rest.

If you sign-up as a driver using my custom invite code, you can help me earn extra badges and commission. Just remember to enter b872gbcbue when you sign up.

I've personally ridden with Uber three times now and I've only had good experiences. Let me know what your experiences have been in the comments below!

Workflowy: The Simple but highly effective Dynamic Outline System

Effective note-taking is a universally-applicable skill that we use all the time whether for college or business or simple to-do lists or grocery lists. That's why I was thrilled to learn about this amazing web app called Workflowy.

Workflowy is a dynamic outline so you can keep all of your lists in one place and access everything through the search function. You can have nested outlines as many layers deep as you want so you can add detail and structure to your information with a simple system that doesn't get in the way of your productivity or your information. Mind-mapping software may have more tools but its many functions can get in the way of the actual process of working with your notes.

Keep all your to-do lists, business notes, or college notes all in one app. Workflowy is a dynamic outline that makes managing all your information a breeze. It's a great productivity app that is powerful and yet very simple to use.

Here is an example of how it can be used:

As you can see, I use the outline primarily for my business as well as to-do lists, grocery shopping lists, etc. If you click the image, you can zoom in and see it better.

As I research and find new information and gain new insights about how we can strategically work with the body and mind in to achieve our specific goals, I'm able to add to the outline. I can simply search for the specific disease or organ system that is related to what I'm researching and edit the outline or add something new.

It works much better than if I were to simply use a word document with bullet points because I can drill down into a specific list and show just the information I need when I need it. And I don't have to scroll through ten pages of lists.

Another great feature of this app is that it automatically saves everything to the cloud and synchronizes your outline with the mobile apps. That allows me to simply type on my laptop which makes typing much easier but if I'm with a client with only my phone, it's ready for me to pull it up in the mobile app. That also makes creating shopping lists convenient.

I love the fact that this app has just enough features to make it great but not so many features that the features distract from the productivity of organizing your notes.

This app basically makes organizing notes for research a breeze. I would recommend it to literally any business person, college student, or anyone who is looking for a way to organize their life.

If you'd like to take advantage of the research I've done regarding optimal human performance, I do health coaching and have a selection of hi-tech anti-aging supplements on my website. I'd love to help you achieve your peak potential for biological fitness. I work down to the core of your metabolic pathways and can help you gain an intuitive first-hand knowledge of what you can do on a day-to-day basis to optimize your biological fitness! Visit UHealingArts.com for more info.

By the way, Workflowy starts out with a free version allowing you up to 500 new entries per month. That's enough to really start your journey towards organizing and simplifying your life and study materials. If you find yourself needing more, there's a pro version and also if you refer your friends to the app, they will give you more free entries per month. I've currently amassed 4,119 items in my personal workflowy.

Let me know what you think of the app in the comments section!

Focus on Today for Success Next Year

#1: Reduce Distractions

We always look for what we can add to our lives when we are trying to make improvements. How often do we think about what’s going to need to be cut out of our lives so we can achieve success?

“We become our habits.”

We all look forward to our future and want to create more value for ourselves and for our children. If one watches the news (I don’t) or pays attention to the culture around us (I do but I don’t let it define me), we can grow complacent with our dreams. It can become easy to believe that we will never have what it takes to become successful. Being well-connected, having ample finances to fund our business growth, or top-tier education may seem crucial for reaching success in business. However, anything that we are looking to achieve can be gained through smart development of our skills and going out of our comfort zone. We can become well-connected and meet new people. We can develop trust and reputation in our communities, both local and online.

You can design your future by taking action in the present. -Andrew Carpenter

If we fill our days with senseless acts of consumerism, we are simply going to be entertaining ourselves. That’s not to say that we can never watch television shows. It’s not even so much about the impact cognitively or financially, although those are factors to consider. It’s the time that really matters here. Rather than looking at how we can cram more into our days, why not look at how we can re-position our schedules, build new habits, and become as comfortable as possible with doing what we need to succeed?

A person that begins going to the gym or running is probably not going to enjoy it as much the first day as they will on the hundredth day if they stick with it. Once they start seeing their progress and getting into shape, you’re naturally going to want to continue the exercise. We need to start looking at our business pursuits more like a practice or an exercise than a set goal that we are trying to achieve. Big wins don’t come in one fell swoop. Large bears do not go down with one shot. And basketball games aren’t one with one shot either. These things take momentum and consistency.

It’s time that we start looking at what we can remove from our attitudes and from our days.

We can either use the things we need to develop as excuses for why we can’t grow our wealth and success or we can use them as guidelines for how we will develop ourselves until we reach our mission. Once you’re on the launchpad of success, you may see delays but you are still going to take off.

Productivity is never an accident. It is always a result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort. -Paul J. Meyer

Most of life is preparation. We are constantly positioning ourselves and conditioning ourselves. We are working with our inner potentials for creativity and possibility. A lot of what’s necessary for success is gained through practice and developing habits through self-discipline. We must learn to manage ourselves and our time.

I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn’t been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn’t have been lucky. -Oprah Winfrey

#2 Look and Move Forward with Full Responsibility for my Attention, Thoughts, and Actions.

There is a big difference between being busy and being productive. The balance between practicing our craft and just simply being busy without being productive is not always clear. I just know that you can feel when you are putting your heart into the process and you have clearly-defined goals about how you want your business to improve your and others’ lives.

It’s great to have goals and benchmark our progress towards our goals — long and short-term. I think it’s important to have several weekly and daily goals that we can be sure we accomplish so we can make sure we’re on track with our overall process.

Having these daily micro-goals and weekly short-term goals helps us develop daily rituals and processes that keep us on track. When you focus on the actual action and detail of your everyday work, you’ll be able to focus on the little micro-gears in the machine of your success. This is vital because you need to be able to tune and tweak this process based on short-term feedback loops. Whether you’re practicing writing everyday or designing webpages or drawing, as you hone your skills, you’ll find ways to increase the quality of your work.

The present moment is where focus happens.

Focus is probably the hardest thing to get right for creatives. It’s a unique combination of attention that you hold in place and a flow of action known as a flow-state. It’s the secret behind every great creative person or athlete. It’s about being in the moment and present with the work you’re doing. You can see the pieces coming together and yet you’re able to hold your focus so you don’t become distracted or overwhelmed by the large amounts of data coming through your conscious awareness.

Tell yourself:

Focus is like a muscle and each day, as I focus, I will become able to have laser-like focus.

One thing I’ve learned helps is to focus on doing the important things earlier in the day and revisit it everyday if it’s a daily practice. You can also revisit it each day later in the afternoon or evening but I think it’s important that make sure to channel your attention and focus early in the day so you start the day with a good habit/practice. Otherwise you’re just setting the day up for ‘whatever happens happens.’

Everything you do in the morning sets the context for the rest of the day.

Usually the important things are the things that make you feel uncomfortable.

Getting into a flow-state can feel good but since it requires us to make some internal mental and emotional investments in the present moment, that can feel a bit uncomfortable if we’re not used to it.

The Present Moment is where Focus happens.

Ask yourself: “If I could do only one thing, which task WOULD I choose?”

Make a conscious decision (and a daily habit) to block out at least 2 hours each calendar day to do the 1 Critical task. (no interruptions)

Effective Goal Setting:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Action-Oriented
• Realistic
• Time-Stamped

Your goals should not be the focus. Doing the goal should be the focus.

Be a synthesizer. ‘Synthesize’ is defined as: “ combine (a number of things) into a coherent whole.” Sometimes people expect a great sound to come from the machine right away without first developing the individual tunes and then working everyday to find a process of recombining them and perfecting the effects.

Success is about all the little layers and parts that get stacked and mixed on top of each other.

#3. Perception Creates your Reality

It may sound counter-intuitive to someone that wants to ‘change the world’ or ‘make it big in business’ but it’s actually important to foster a state of gratitude and contentment in some form and fashion in our current life. If we’re constantly looking outside of ourselves, even if it’s at our future, without building a successful mindset and emotional state in our present attitude, then it’s like we’re telling ourselves that we’re not yet good enough to make these achievements. Or if we are looking at these far-off goals without developing the daily practices and rituals that will build-up into bigger successes and wins, it’s like we’re trying to reinvent a wheel without spokes or create a clock without gears. We can’t forget about the small inner pieces hidden behind the scenes of success.

Success is a state of mind.

Video on how to change your mental state by Tony Robbins

How to Improve your state:

• Smile
• Water
• Exercise
• Gratitude
• Sunlight
• Journal
• Envision positive inward motivation
• Start with the most uncomfortable task

If you want to truly change the results you are getting, you have to break out of old mental routines and old habits that aren’t serving you and aren’t serving others. The beautiful thing about making micro-goals and daily practices an important part of your creative or professional lifestyle is that you are able to see the fruits of your effort each and everyday and that is its own reward. Even if you don’t immediately see monetary results or increased connections with people, you are gaining valuable insights into how you work, the art of your profession, and your gaining the valuable experience you’re going to need for your success.

Keep your eye on today. Keep your eye on the mirror. Keep your mind on the inward things. You do want to look for results outwardly but those are not always the most motivating for increasing the quality of your output. If you really want to be motivated, you need to develop daily practices. Motivation is based on habit and so you may have to tweak your “why.” Winning today leads to the championship competition later. You can think about the championship but focus on today’s game.

Random fact: The word “mind” connotes “to pay attention to.” You could be highly-educated, intelligent, and creative but if you cannot pay attention then your results and interactions are going to be analogous to looking at a computer’s output through a projector with a mis-adjusted focus.

If you can’t see all that beautiful data and creativity to its fruition, what benefit does it have for you or anybody else? External focus is often connected with inward focus as well…everything in our mind will potentially connect more accurately and completely if we are teaching ourselves to use Dopamine (the reward neurotransmitter) to be tied into the everyday activities that actually build the foundations for our success.

You see — everybody’s capable of greatness. We can adapt and improve ourselves and accomplish so much if we put our mind to the task. Typically those who fail did not reach their goals because they were trying to do too many things at once. Creating something original requires original focus.

Your vision for the future is nothing without a vision for today.

Cheers to Optimization!!

If you would like to see more of my work, you can visit my Optimal Human Performance site at UHealingArts.com

SuperConnectors, Glia Cells, and Creative Social Networks

The human mind is a fascinating piece of equipment. The wonders and marvels of the human mind have astonished and confounded philosophers and even scientists for as long as we have recorded history. The human brain is capable of absorbing and processing an enormous amount of information and thus able to learn a huge amount from the environment. We are even able to tap into virtual environments written about in books or through stories passed on to us through family or the community.

On the physical level, we could examine some of the elements of what makes the human brain so special compared to other primates. We could note the larger prefrontal cortex in comparison to the monkey or gorilla, for example. One of the lesser-known ways in which the human brain is distinguished from the brains of other mammals is the the abundance of a specific kind of brain cell called the glial cell. These cells are most prominent in the grey matter of the brain towards the surface of the cortex. These cells have especially-long axons and are some of the most well-connected cells of the brain. These are the “socialite” butterfly cells of the brain. Their well-connectedness suits them well for the role they play in helping to organize the signals from all over the brain into a coherent stream of consciousness. Just as communication amongst tribe members and family members is fundamentally important, good communication within the mind is also fundamentally important for the success of the organism. There has to be a common language for translating the signals from one area of the brain to the other areas.

What makes the human brain so wonderful is the ability for us to communicate ideas amongst ourselves and gain from the knowledge of those who have studied and invented things before our generation. We are able to gain some of the wisdom of the crowd. The human species is able to achieve so much because of this interaction between the subtle worlds of information--and the more stable world of matter viewed through a simpler lens. (viewed through more complex, advanced quantum lenses and theories, we know reality to be made of waves of probabilities and potentials. The waves are open to signal modification and then collapse in a cyclical pattern we might describe as a vortex or toroidal action. This is similar to quorum sensing within the mind and amongst people in a group.

Humans learn best when their curiosity and inner-motivation drives the learning process. Since humans are naturally very social beings, we usually make better decisions when we are associating with like-minded individuals. Strangely, our current culture seems to have chosen to focus on the individual and the nuclear family rather than larger formations. The American Dream, for instance, is largely based around the destiny of the individual and his or her family. I think that the problem starts at the level of the individual where people are unconvinced of their true value as a human being. The human being has a unique place within the world in terms of capability as well as responsibilities that go along with our strengths. Unfortunately, I feel that one of our greatest strengths (our social bonding) is also the biggest part of our “shadow self” both on the level of the individual, and collectively as a species.

For us to transcend beyond the current state of things and recognize our true value as human beings, we’re going to need to recognize who we are without all the layers of civilization artificially built-up on top of us layer by layer. Once we see ourselves for who we truly are, we’ll see the true power of the choices we make and the ways in which our choices affect our evolution as individuals as well as our collective evolution.

In order to reach greater levels of prosperity, we are going to need to recognize the ways in which failing to work together is hurting each of us even when it’s not obvious. This may be especially challenging for those who are in the top earning brackets since they are the most likely to underestimate the ways in which those who are ‘below’ them in the socioeconomic classes actually contribute to moving the entire society forward. But really there is no finger-pointing here..

We are all responsible for recognizing our true potential as a human being and transcending our current expectations and standards for ourselves.

“Whatever your mind can conceive and believe the mind can achieve regardless of how many times you may have failed in the past.” Napoleon Hill

I love this quote by Napoleon Hill which highlights the mind’s ability to achieve something when he commits his whole being to bringing forth his genuine and persistent desires. The Universe seems especially prone to helping those who truly have a selfless passion and desire for uplifting the state of many other people. For our species to thrive, we absolutely depend on others. We depend on others to be responsible on the roads we share with other drivers. We expect those in public offices and professional roles to maintain professionalism and quality work. Civilization is built upon the principle of trust. We wouldn’t be where we are at now if it weren’t for powerful force of capitalism and economic trade. But behind this obvious system of trade, there’s an entire backbone of behaviors and expectations that we can basically consider to be the “social contract” or the status quo of culture.

When we closely examine how well these arrangements are working however, I believe that most sane people will be able to imagine a great number of ways in which society can improve our interactions from the level of the individual all the way up to the level of the corporation.

In this time we are lucky to have access to the tremendous power of the Internet and all the information available to us. With all the information plus all the globalization, there are a lot of products on the market and a lot of information to sort through. This means that the amount of research one would need to do in order to stay well-informed or become well-informed about the subjects needed for him to really take matters into his own hands are quite grand in scope. It is doable of course to a large degree but definitely a challenge for the average individual.

This is why I believe we will increasingly find the relevance and sensibility in joining up with other like-minded individuals who share similar passions to us and are interested in optimizing similar things in their life. By linking up in these “intentional networks,” we’ll have the opportunities to share this knowledge amongst ourselves and keep one another on track. We will likely make better decisions and perform more optimally in the many aspects of modern, complex life.

I believe that there is massive potential in communicating with like-minded individuals on topics which are important and relevant for our evolutionary growth as individuals and communities. Changes at the community level are traditionally made through political bureaucracy and we all know how reliable and smooth these processes can be, right? I am mostly bullish about the potential for personal and family-level benefits but there are likely many benefits that could be seen at the community-level as well.

Take a second to notice the direction of this document thus far though. Notice how it has all been primarily focused on consumption. Even when discussing information, it has still centered around consumption of that information.

I believe that networks of individuals can be 10X as powerful when they are used as creative channels for channeling our individual dreams into collectively-generated dreams. There’s something about a team of intentional designers working on a project together that is capable of incredibly amazing accomplishments. In the world of children’s movies, just look at Pixar for an awesome example of the power of a creative team.

You see, this same type of creative force can be channeled for the optimization of the human being and the human family (nuclear and otherwise) First, we need new ways of honroing the human spirit. We need new ways of respecting the drives and motivations of the individual. Some people truly are on a mission to change the world and bring greater harmony and well-being to the community. Sometimes those who gain the most confidence and built the biggest dreams achieved these states because they went through so many hardships...or pushed themselves so hard...strayed so far outside the norms....perhaps in their own introverted worlds..that they were able to see the world for what it is and also for what it can become.

Those with the widest breadth of experience generally have learned the most through those experiences because there is so much contrast and complexity within their experiences that they can draw comparisons and analyses from. However, these people can get worn down through all these experiences so the community should take note of the values these people have learned along their journey and help support their dreams, or at least hear them out.

One thing I find a bit disturbing about our culture is that it seems that there are not many outlets these days for having deep conversation with people unless perhaps you are doing a business transaction with them or maybe if you are already good friends. The trouble with this is that it reduces the amount of exposure we get to new people with new ideas and new perspectives. If we want to increase our personal and social evolution by learning through others’ experiences, it is vital that we make the time for having these deep conversations with those who have nuggets of wisdom to share or knowledge in a specific field.

I wonder how much we would learn if we found ways of connecting with people on a deeper level and forming intentional relationships with people of a like mind. Would we raise the prosperity of nations? Would we find greater levels of peace? Would we recognize more of the interconnectedness of all things? See the overlaps between the multiple “separate” academic disciplines and begin to see the actual natural models behind all the theory and jargon?

It’s personal experiences and relationships that form real mastery of knowledge and wisdom. I propose that we all make a point to evaluate the nature of the human being and how far we can evolve. The greatest enemy only exists when we create it within ourself. The greatest ally is the one we create within ourself. And when we recognize that others are of very similar quality to us, we recognize that there are no clear distinctions between the “self” as in our body and our mind and with other human beings. We share the same DNA and blood. We all basically want and need the same basic desires, physical and spiritual.

We are only used to conceiving of the idea of a human being as we see it in civilization so it’s almost like if the only cheetah or black bear we saw was in the zoo. We would think that their behavior and habitats in the zoo were the norm. If we only imagine the behavior and habitats of human beings within the environments of cities, we will imagine a whole different breed of animal than the one we really are.

Let’s develop those tribes of individuals with like-minded purpose and direct our attention and will-power towards setting big things in motion. If we don’t, I believe our kids will ask us why we didn’t try harder to improve the state of the planet.

Cheers to Optimization!

Intention Networks

We live in interesting economic times. There is more potential for prosperity and riches than ever before in history. And the advances in information availability means that the potential for self-development is really only limited by our work ethic and how motivated we are to develop our wisdom and character.

There is a huge increase in people who are realizing how powerful we are as human beings, especially when we work together to achieve a common goal. Most people agree that Capitalism is one of the best systems for building wealth, at least on the massive global and national scales. The competition drives us to achieve more and deliver higher value to each customer. All boats rise.

There have been some changes to how we negotiate the economic and social landscape, like Uber for ridesharing and social media and personalized online ads for discovering new products and services on the market.

I think that these trends will continue but they will probably not be as low-friction and convenient in the roll-out on a mass-scale as the Uber App and platform. By connecting with friends who have similar intentions and interests, we can share in the advantages of economies of scale. An example of an economy of scale is when you open a printer and refill all the cartridges at once from the same ink cartridge package, it's faster than if all the cartridges are individually wrapped and you refill them all at separate times. That's just an example but in larger processes with more involvement, it's even more profound. And there are usually financial perks as well. This is actually the main reason why companies are formed. When you have a larger company that specializes in doing a few things really well, they become proficient at it and they also are doing the same basic processes all while everything is out and ready to go...

This is the same reason why there are financial advantages to living with a significant other, especially when the other person also works outside the home. The combined income is the obvious advantage but there are many savings of both time and money when the meals that would be cooked separately are cooked together in one larger meal, and groceries and products are bought for the shared home.

There is also what's known as SuperFamilies which are multiple families which network together and take advantage of one another's assets. Simple examples are tools, gardens, juicers, etc. Intention networks can reshape the way that groups of like-minded people make purchases and the way we live.

Plus there are simply the added benefits of sharing knowledge and having more social connections and more opportunities to enjoy life with each other. Life is meant to be lived in harmony with our authentic selves and with nature.

We do have so much prosperity on the planet and yet we also aren't necessarily fully conscious and intentional about the kinds of purchases we make and the activities we do. There are many reasons for this. Ads are one reason. But a bigger reason is that people feel crunched for time. There is something beautiful that changes in a person's entire spirit when we just vibe with the people around us.

I think one of the biggest benefits we can gain from linking up in these Intenional Networks is a sense of virtual experience by gaining from the collective knowledge and experience of the others in the group. In the present age with all the information available on the Internet, it's a blessing and a curse. It's amazing the kinds of opportunities available for us to learn about cutting edge technologies and such. But there is such a variety that to get the full benefit is difficult both economically and informationally unless you are working with intentional groups of people. This helps you understand better and also take advantage more fully.