In his TED talk “What the people of the Amazon know that you don’t“, ethno-botanist Mark Plotkin recounts some ancient wisdom from Suriname – “the rainforest holds answers to questions that we are yet to ask.”
Category Archives: Wisdom
Brendel on Getting More Done
Some heresy from David Brendel from the Harvard Business Review who reports that compelling new research reveals that “less is more” for human brains—and that mental downtime should be among our highest priorities.
If you aren’t making progress on that to-do list or performing up to the level you need to, here are five tips for getting downtime so that you can perform better than ever:
- Daydream as often as you want
- Stop preparing for meetings and presentations
- Spend less time on key decisions
- Be more “mindful” than focused
- Shorten your workday.
CFS on Retirement
Some good avice on planning for your retirement from Colonial First State
- Get mentally prepared
- Make a plan
- Set a budget and stick to it
- Get your mortgage under control
- Sort out your savings and investments
- Review your insurance policies
- Make sure you have an up-to-date Will
- Take care of your health
Marx on Books & Reading
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”
“I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book.”
Lincoln on the Internet
Great advice from one of the greatest of the US presidents – “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet”. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. Apparently, according to Seth Grahame-Smith, he was also a renouned vampire hunter.
Terkel on Work
Work is about a search for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying. [Louis “Studs” Terkel, American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster]
Noah’s Ark & Life
Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah’s Ark. Don’t miss the boat. Remember that we are all in the same boat. Plan ahead, it wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark. Stay fit – when you’re 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. Don’t listen to critics – just get on with the job that needs to be done. Build your future on high ground. For safety’s sake, travel in pairs. Speed isn’t always an advantage – the snails were on board with the cheetahs. When you’re stressed, float a while. Remember that the Ark was built by amateurs – the Titanic by professionals! [Anonymous]
Humphrey on Problems
Brown on Girls
As countries implementing the UN’s Millennium Development Goals to end poverty are discovering, when the education of girls improves, maternal and infant mortality rates fall, the devastation from diseases from AIDS to tuberculosis is reduced and the employment prospects of young people improve. [Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minister]
Biden on Values
“Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value” [Joe Biden, US Vice President, 2008- ]