Author Archives: Edward Brownlee

Viktor Frankl and the Search for Meaning in Life

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“Striving to find meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man.”  ~ Viktor Frankl

As Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, devoted his life to studying, understanding and promoting “meaning.”  He developed the psychological approach known as logotherapy (from the Greek logos, meaning “reason” or “principle”).

While observing the brutality and degradation within the Nazi concentration camps during WWII, he theorized that those Jewish concentration camp prisoners who tended to survive the experience, were not those who were physically strong, but those who retained a sense of control over their environment, and had some meaning and purpose in their lives.

These prisoners with meaning and who retained a ’sense of control’ were more likely to survive the dehumanizing experience; he himself tried to recreate the manuscript of a book he had been writing before his capture.

“Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except for one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.” ~ Viktor Frankl

According to Frankl, meaning can be found through:

  • “Experiencing reality by interacting authentically with the environment and with others,
  • Giving something back to the world through creativity and self-expression, and
  • Changing our attitude when faced with a situation or circumstance that we cannot change.”

He observed:

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one’s own attitude in any given set of circumstances—to choose one’s own way.”

For Frankl, joy was an important byproduct of finding meaning in life. He points to studies where there is marked difference in life spans between “trained, tasked animals,” i.e., animals with a purpose, than “taskless, jobless animals.”

In his famous book, Man’s Search for Meaning, he tells the story of how he survived the Holocaust by finding personal meaning in the experience, which gave him the will to live through it. He concludes that “without meaning, people fill the void with hedonistic pleasures, power, materialism, hatred, boredom, or neurotic obsessions and compulsions.”

“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.” ~ Viktor Frankl

In “Man’s Search For Meaning”, he says for a person to be happy they need 3 things:

1. Someone to love (relationship).
2. Something to do (meaning and purpose).
3. Something to look forward to (vision and hope).

References:

  1. https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/viktor-frankl/
  2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201205/mans-search-meaning

Always Believe in Yourself

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“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”. ― Norman Vincent Peale.

When you believe in yourself, it can help you achieve your goals, manifest your dreams, and increase your well-being.

At the core of Dr. Peale’s message was a call to take charge of your life.

  • “Believe that problems do have answers. Believe that they can be overcome. Believe that they can be handled. And finally, believe that you can solve them.”
  • “Change your thoughts and you can change the world.”
  • “When obstacles or difficulties arise, the positive thinker takes them as creative opportunities. He welcomes the challenge of a tough problem and looks for ways to turn it to advantage.”
  • “Never talk defeat. Use words like hope, belief, faith, victory.”

Source: https://fee.org/articles/norman-vincent-peale-s-timeless-advice-take-charge-of-your-own-life-first/

ChatGPT to Explain AI

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Recently, I asked ChatGPT to explain artificial intelligence and ChatGPT to a novice. Below is the response:

”AI stands for artificial intelligence which is the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans¹.

ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot developed by OpenAI¹ which uses natural language processing capabilities to interact with humans³. It was built on a family of large language models (LLMs) collectively known as GPT-3⁴.

ChatGPT can be used for a variety of tasks such as answering questions, generating text, and even writing code⁵.”

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References:

(1) Demystifying ChatGPT for Government Leaders | LMI. https://www.lmi.org/blog/demystifying-chatgpt-government-leaders.
(2) ChatGPT: 30 incredible ways to use the AI-powered chatbot. https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/chatgpt-30-incredible-ways-to-use.
(3) ChatGPT explained: everything you need to know about the AI chatbot. https://www.techradar.com/news/chatgpt-explained.
(4) ChatGPT explained: Everything you need to know about the AI chatbot …. https://www.tomsguide.com/news/chatgpt.
(5) AI And You: How ChatGPT Can Take Your Career To The Next Level – Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2023/03/15/ai-and-you-how-chatgpt-can-take-your-career-to-the-next-level/.
(6) ChatGPT for dummies. I asked chatgpt to explain me chatgpt… | by …. https://medium.com/geekculture/chatgpt-for-dummies-6dd542c60cf9.

Quotes

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“Quality of life is having the freedom to make choices that are not fear based. Whether it’s the ability to choose the kinds of projects I want to take on and can learn from, or the ability to take a month off to travel. Freedom to choose is the ultimate luxury.”

~ Interior designer Danielle Colding on the ultimate luxury

Source: In the Company of Women​

Magnesium

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Magnesium helps your body function properly, especially as it pertains to your muscular system, bones, and nervous system.

Magnesium matters.

  • 7 out of 10 Americans are below the Dietary Reference Intake for Magnesium, according to a USDA Agricultural Research Report
  • Sufficient magnesium intake is important in helping to maintain the function of the heart, muscles, and nervous system, support learning and memory performance in aging adults,  absorb and utilize potassium and calcium properly
  • Magnesium is also critical for athletes’ endurance in order to help maintain electrolyte and energy levels.
  • Adults with certain health concerns or who are taking medication may need magnesium supplementation. Magnesium can be found in foods such as green and leafy vegetables, halibut, nuts, such as almonds, and sunflower seeds.

Magnesium is a mineral that’s essential for making proteins and promotes normal nerve cell communication, muscle contraction, and a normal heart rhythm.

It’s estimated that up to 70 percent to 90 percent of the population are magnesium deficient, according to some findings.

This means that the majority of people living in industrialized nations, even many who think they eat a mostly “balanced diet,” are missing out on the many benefits of magnesium. These include its ability to help manage pain, decrease digestive issues and support quality sleep.

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body and assists with more than 300 bodily reactions that occur constantly. About 50% of magnesium is found in bones, and the other half is divided among cells that make up your tissues and organs.*

A mere 1% of the magnesium in your body circulates in the bloodstream, but that small fraction doesn’t accurately convey magnesium’s importance there, as the body makes maintaining blood magnesium levels a high priority.*

Magnesium is important because it assists in the movement of calcium and potassium across cell membranes, magnesium plays a mighty role in promoting normal nerve cell communication, muscle contraction, and a normal heart rhythm. Magnesium also helps to maintain the strength of cell membranes and bones. Diets that provide recommended levels of magnesium are considered beneficial for bone health.*

Magnesium is an essential mineral that’s very important for many aspects of health, since it’s involved in hundreds of bodily functions, including:

  • Blood pressure regulation
  • Protein synthesis
  • Energy production
  • Blood sugar control
  • Digestive processes like moving stools through the intestine
  • Regulation of heartbeat rhythms
  • Neurotransmitter functions, including those involved in sleep and mood stabilization
  • Balance of nitric oxide in the body
  • Growth and development in babies and children
  • Functions of nerves, muscles and tissue
  • Production of stomach acid

Source: https://www.centrum.com/learn/vitamins-minerals/magnesium/

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Disney cancels an $1B office complex that would have relocated and created 2,000 jobs in the State of Florida, after Ron DeSantis’ feud caused them to keep the jobs in California.

This decision cancels the project known as the Lake Nona Town Center. It would have relocated 1,000 employees to Florida, while creating another 1,000 jobs.

General Colin Powell’s 13 Rules Leadership

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Four star-General Colin Powell, U.S. Army, was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the First Gulf war.  Powell was a leader who “knew how to build a strong and united team”.

Powell offered 13 rules for leadership in his 2012 memoir, It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership.

  1. It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning. This rule reflects an attitude and not a prediction. Why will things get better? Because you will make them better. Leaving the office at night with a winning attitude affects more than you alone; it also conveys that attitude to your followers.
  2. Get mad, then get over it. Everyone gets mad. It’s a natural and healthy emotion. My experience is that staying mad isn’t useful.
  3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it. Accept that your position was faulty, not your ego.
  4. It can be done. Have a positive and enthusiastic approach to every task. Don’t surround yourself with instant skeptics.
  5. Be careful what you choose: You may get it. You will have to live with your choices. Some bad choices can be corrected. Some you’ll be stuck with.
  6. Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision. Superior leadership is often a matter of superb instinct. When faced with a tough decision, use the time available to gather information that will inform your instinct.
  7. You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours. Make sure the choice is yours and you are not responding to the pressure and desire of others.
  8. Check small things. Leaders have to have a feel for small things — a feel for what is going on in the depths of an organization where small things reside.
  9. Share credit. People need recognition and a sense of worth as much as they need food and water. It’s amazing what can be accomplished if you don’t care who receives the credit.
  10. Remain calm. Be kind. Few people make sound or sustainable decisions in an atmosphere of chaos.
  11. Have a vision and purpose. Be demanding. Followers need to know where their leaders are taking them and for what purpose. Purpose is the destination of a vision. Leaders must embed their own sense of purpose into the heart and soul of everyone they lead. To achieve his purpose, a successful leader must set demanding standards and make sure they are met. Good leaders set vision, purpose, mission, and goals.
  12. Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers. Fear is a normal emotion. And, we can train to operate through and in spite of our fear. If we don’t control our fear, it will paralyze us, and we cannot lead. Same for naysayers. Their fear and cynicism move nothing forward. How many cynics built great empires, great cities, or powerful corporations? Those who do not risk are wasting their time and energy.
  13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. Believe in the likelihood of success. Believing in yourself, believing in your purpose, believing you will prevail, and demonstrating passion and confidence is a force multiplier. If you believe and have prepared your followers, your followers will believe.

References:

  1. https://share.america.gov/colin-powell-13-rules-how-to-lead/
  2. https://www.tribune.org/colin-powells-thirteen-rules/

2.  Get Mad Then Get Over It.

Everyone gets mad but staying mad is never useful. Instead of letting anger destroy you, use it to make constructive change.

3.  Avoid Having Your Ego So Close to your Position that When Your Position Falls, Your Ego Goes with It.

In other words, accept that your position was faulty, not your ego. Keep your ego in check, and know that you can lead from wherever you are.

4.  It Can be Done.

Again, this is more about attitude than reality. Always start out believing you can get it done until facts and analysis pile up against it. Leaders make things happen.

5.  Be Careful What You Choose. You May Get It.

Don’t rush into things. Usually, there is time to examine the choices and think through the consequences. You will have to live with your choices.

6.  Don’t Let Adverse Facts Stand in the Way of a Good Decision.

Superb leadership is often a matter of superb instinct. When faced with a tough decision, use the time available to gather information that will inform your instinct.

7.  You Can’t Make Someone Else’s Choices. You Shouldn’t Let Someone Else Make Yours.

As a leader, ultimate responsibility is yours. Make sure the choice is yours, and you are not responding to the pressures and desires of others. It does not mean that you make decisions on your own, you should still seek advice, but be aware there will always be plenty of people to “help” you make your decisions.

8.  Check Small Things.

Small actions can result in large consequences. Success ultimately rests on small things, lots of small things.

9.  Share Credit.

When something goes well, make sure to share the credit down and around the whole organization. Let all employees believe they were the ones who did it. People need recognition and a sense of worth as much as they need food and water.

10.  Remain calm.  Be kind.

Few people make sound or sustainable decisions in an atmosphere of chaos.  Establish a calm zone while maintaining a sense of urgency. Calmness protects order, ensures that we consider all the possibilities, restores order when it breaks down, and keeps people from shouting over each other.

Always Believing in Yourself is Important

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“Believe in yourself; have faith in your abilities.” ~ General Colin Powell, U.S. Army

Believing in yourself means having confidence in your own abilities.

Always believe in yourself and pursue your dreams – you’re capable of so much more than you realize. Moreover, you are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.

Believing in yourself means being able to trust yourself to do what you say you’ll do and knowing that those efforts will result in the desired outcomes, according to The Berkeley Well-Being Institute.

When you believe in yourself, it kicks into gear all sorts of psychological processes that help you achieve your goals, manifest your dreams, and increase your well-being, explained Tchiki Davis, Ph.D., Founder, The Berkeley Well-Being Institute.

https://twitter.com/ezhil2023/status/1658366560267042816?s=46&t=mF_tsrQnjgviyl62GYfJjw

But the flip side is also true. Lack of self-confidence or lack of belief in ourselves means we are less likely to act, to change, or to push to make things better. As a result, when we expect to fail, we are actually more likely to fail (Bénabou & Tirole, 2002).

That means that believing in yourself is “like the key that turns the ignition and starts the car. We can’t really go anywhere without it.”

Without the mindset of believing in yourself, you’re blocked because your thoughts, attitudes, and actions aren’t in alignment with your goals. So we either don’t do what you need to do or you sabotage yourself along the way, sometimes in obvious ways and sometimes in ways that are totally unconscious to you, says Dr. Davis.

  • Believing in yourself includes aspects like self-worth, self-confidence, self-trust, autonomy, and environmental mastery.
  • Self-worth is the sense that you have value as a human being.
  • Self-confidence is a positive attitude about your abilities, qualities, and judgment.
  • Self-trust is faith that you can rely on yourself.
  • Autonomy is feeling able to choose and direct your own behavior.
  • Environmental mastery is your belief that your efforts can result in the changes you desire.

These are just a few of the key components involved in believing in yourself, according to Dr. Davis.

To cultivate self-belief, it’s critical to talk back to your inner voice. If you feel like you have no value, tell yourself, “You are a valuable, amazing, person who deserves to live a good life.” Or, if you don’t feel confident, remind yourself of your good qualities and skills (more on this below).

Positive self-talk like this has been shown to improve your performance (Tod, Hardy, & Oliver, 2011). By saying positive things to yourself, you can start to rewrite your internal scripts. You can slowly but surely start to develop new scripts in your minds that are a bit more like cheerleaders and a bit less like jerks. And this helps you shift your beliefs.

Believe in yourself, trust yourself, love yourself, and invest in yourself. Your only limit is you and your limiting beliefs.

References:

  1. Tchiki Davis, “Believe in Yourself: Why It’s Important and How to Do It”, The Berkeley Well-Being Institute. https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/believe-in-yourself.html
  2. Bénabou, R., & Tirole, J. (2002). Self-confidence and personal motivation. The quarterly journal of economics, 117(3), 871-915.
  3. Tod, D., Hardy, J., & Oliver, E. (2011). Effects of self-talk: A systematic review. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 33(5), 666-687.​​

Dividends Matters

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A dividend is the distribution of some of a company’s earnings to its shareholders, in the form of cash, stock, or other property. Effectively, dividends are a return of cash to shareholders.

There are distinct benefits of dividends to investors. In aggregate, dividend-paying stocks provide higher returns with lower volatility than stocks that do not pay a dividend.

Further, dividends have provided nearly 40% of total return over long periods. Some investors also rely on dividends for income. So, dividends have benefits for investors.

Investors or common shareholders can get dividends if they own the stock before the ex-dividend date. Not all companies issue dividends, but the extra income from these scheduled payouts is one of the factors many investors may consider when buying a security.

  • Dividends are payments that companies issue to a class of its shareholders
  • Not all companies issue dividends, but the extra income from these scheduled payouts is one of the factors investors consider when buying a security
  • Dividends are paid out per share. The more shares you own, the more dividends you’ll receive

The ex-date is the cutoff date for being able to receive dividends from owning a stock. If you buy the stock after the ex-date, or your trade doesn’t settle on or after this date, then you won’t receive the next dividend payment.

The dividend rate is the payout amount you can expect to receive per share on the dividend pay date. Many factors go into determining the dividend amount, and this amount can change from one year to the next. The amount is typically paid out bi-annually, quarterly, or monthly.

References:

  1. https://www.dividendpower.org/2019/07/25/why-dividends-matter-investors/