Mr.Robot final episode

Is any of it real? I mean, look at this. Look at it! A world built on fantasy. Synthetic emotions in the form of pills. Psychological warfare in the form of advertising. Mind-altering chemicals in the form of... food! Brainwashing seminars in the form of media. Controlled isolated bubbles in the form of social networks. Real? You want to talk about reality? We haven't lived in anything remotely close to it since the turn of the century. We turned it off, took out the batteries, snacked on a bag of GMOs while we tossed the remnants in the ever-expanding Dumpster of the human condition. We live in branded houses trademarked by corporations built on bipolar numbers jumping up and down on digital displays, hypnotizing us into the biggest slumber mankind has ever seen. You have to dig pretty deep, kiddo, before you can find anything real. We live in a kingdom of bullshit. A kingdom you've lived in for far too long. So don't tell me about not being real. I'm no less real than the fucking beef patty in your Big Mac.

Interesting conversation with a girl part 3

   Part 3: The Date

After preening for the umpteenth time, I kicked myself out of the house. I had to look my absolute best today. My brain had prepared a checklist:

**
·  Brushed twice? Check.
·  Rinsed with Hydrogen Peroxide? Check.
·  Shaved like crazy? Check
·  Hair Serum? Check
·  Face cream? Check
·  Violet Half-Sleeve Shirt? Check.
·  Black Jeans? Check.
·  Woodland Shoes? Check.
·  Perfume? Check
·  Chewing gums? Check
·  Got a rose for her? Check
·  Got a book for her? Check
·   Looking Handsome? No comments. (But yeah, better than that geek who went to the library.)             
                                    **

(I reached our reserved table ten minutes ahead of schedule. I was wondering what she would wear and how she would react, upon seeing me.

There she came.7 pm, on the dot. Wow! She just seemed sexier. She walked with a panache which could only come from a smart, beautiful and a confident woman. She wore a black sleeveless gown down to her knees. Sexy but not vulgar. Exactly as I had expected. She was wearing a pearl necklace and black studded earrings. She had tied her silky black hair up in a bun with a couple of stray strands kissing her cheek, which formed a part of her triangular jaw. I felt jealous of them. She had a beauty spot to the left of her lower lip and a nose as sharp as her wit. Her strawberry-colored lips were glossy, but their shine was overpowered by her lightning smile as she made an eye contact with me; while putting the hair strands behind an ear. She was a doe-eyed beauty.)

**She is an Angel! Dude, you are dating an Angel!** 

She:"Hi Handsome!!"

**Okay. CHECK**

(That was it. I was overwhelmed beyond limits. I simply froze. I was looking at her like a child looking at a rainbow for the very first time. Without breaking eye contact, I gave her the red rose. My hand was moving like that of a robot whose battery was critically low. I think that was also because of the fact that I had worked out extra hard at the gym.)

She(Blushing): "Thank you."

(I simply smiled.)

She:"Say something."

(I messaged her.)

[ Me-That is all I can say when I am speechless.
She- Sweet. You do know that we need to talk on a date? Right? 

Me-Yes.
She-Speak up!

Me- No. 

She-Okay. Here's the deal. You shall receive a kiss from me tonight if you start speaking.
Me- Kiss? Where? The cheek or the lips?

She- That depends on how fast you start speaking. The faster, the better.]

Me:" Hi! How are you? I missed you so much! The wait was..... (I spoke at a speed which sounded like  watching a Japanese movie at 3x speed.)
She:" Wow! That is one good way to tame a guy. And by fast I meant the time to start, not words per minute."

Me:"Okay. So what am I getting?"
She:"Is that all you guys can think about? Anyway, let us not ruin the suspense ."

Me:" Suspense huh? Well played!" (I fantasized.)
She:" Are you imagining it right now?"

Me:"I am most certainly not!" (My eyes shifted for a couple of seconds.)
She:"You liar!"

Me:" Okay. I am good with imagination. I can't help it. You brought up the topic anyway!"
She:"Point taken. So, what do you do? "

Me:"I cup your face in my palms."
She:"Moron! I am asking about your profession."

Me:"Oh! That? I am a Mechanical Engineer currently employed at KC Corp."
She:" Your awesome flirting skills totally second that."

Me:"Haha! Yeah it is really bad. You know in our class of 130 we had only one girl."
She:"My God! So your ex was from which branch?"

Me:" I don't have an ex."
She:" What do you mean? You have never been in a relationship before?"

Me:" Fact of my life."
She:" Unbelievable. Don't you want to know about my ex?"

Me:" Tell me when you're comfortable. A first date is not a good time to discuss that variable. You always end up getting extraneous solutions."
She:" Haha. How do you know these details?"

Me:" Remember where we met? I read."
She:" My eyes?"

Me:" Have you memorized our conversation? No wait, there was a recording device, wasn't there?"
She:" Every moment that we have spent together so far has been recorded in my mental hard disk."

Me:" I hope that it has a lot of capacity then. At least, infinite."

(We looked into each other's eyes for a long time. For the first time ever, we were at a loss of words. We had dinner with a few discussions here and there about our families and relevant past. I found out she had completed her MBA and was pursuing her PhD in Economics. I remembered that I needed to do a masters soon. We went to have ice cream after dinner.)

Me:" Here's your cone and a book for you."
She:"Thank you. 'Journey... to.. the.... East' ?' "

Me:"Yeah. Come back lady!" 

(Her loud laughter sounded like that of a ghost in-charge of a haunted mansion. The clouds rumbled ominously, making the metaphor seem so real.)

She(suspiciously): "You bought a book just to make this joke?"
Me: "Hey! I bought it last year. It is a mystery fiction story of a secret society and a journey that transcends through space and time. Although, it can definitely be used to make jokes."

(There was thunder again.)

She:"I think it is going to rain and I left my coat in the car."
Me: "Good. I am sure the car will keep it dry."

She:"Hey YOU said the ice-cream shop was close by."
Me:"I have my jacket , don't worry."

She:"Oh! So like they show in movies, you will give me your jacket."
Me: "Mad or what? I don't want to get drenched. I was merely offering to share."

She:"Boy you are moving really fast, aren't you?"
Me(innocently):"No. This is the slowest I have ever walked."

(The clouds rumbled for the fourth time and it started raining heavily.)

Me:"Code Red. I repeat. Code Red. Ma'am, you are requested to enter this protective jacket."

(We barely managed to share the jacket, since I was particularly muscular. I knew it was a stupid idea, but I did not want to lose out on the opportunity. She knew it too.)

She:"Okay. This is not working. We both are getting drenched. Let us wait somewhere for the rain to subside. Maybe, under that Banyan tree." 

(She pointed towards some tree like object in the dark. I strained my eyes.)

Me:"How do you know that's a Banyan tree? I can barely see it."

She:"Is that your concern right now?"

(She had a point. After dinner we had walked away from our vehicles for close to a kilometer; engrossed in our conversation. We waited under the tree whose identity was still equivocal. I removed my stupid jacket which was wet from the inside now; making it pointless to wear. I noticed her stare at my biceps which were emphasized due to sticking of the soaked shirt. I smiled. She removed her hair pin, opened her hair and adjusted it with both hands. It was my turn to stare.)

Me:"Why the hell does it need to rain every day?"
She:"Maybe that's why people call it the "Rainy Season"?"

Me:"I am not very fond of the "Rainy Season". I have some bad memories associated with it."
She:"Why? What happened?"

Me:"Well, for starters, my school always reopened after vacations during monsoons. Then there were the bullies who threw me into every puddle they found; punishing me for topping the class."
She:"Oh dear! My coochie pie! Did they also snatch away your chocolates?"

Me:"Yes. Actually!" (I faked a cry.)
She:"You are so cute."

(She hugged me. The feeling was beyond words. She was the softest thing that I'd ever touched.Well, apart from my teddy bear Fufu, which I stopped hugging upon getting thrashed by my mother. Simply the feeling of having her in my arms made me feel on top of the world. I was leaning against the tree; her head on my chest. I could feel her warm breaths. I was thankful to the Rain Gods for making this happen. I stopped hating the Monsoon Season that moment onward. It was time for new memories now. Memories with my Rose. We were in that position for around ten minutes. I wondered if she had fallen asleep.)

Me:"Rosey?" (I whispered in her right ear)
She:"Hmm?"

Me:"Are you going to sleep like this?"
She:"I would love to."

Me:"Not that I mind, but this stem has a sharp edge which has been poking my butt for the last ten minutes. I noticed it just now and it HURTS! Ouch!!"

(She laughed hard. I shifted from my position. She whispered back into my ear.)

She:"Adi? I am surprised that you didn't ask for your reward."

(I whispered back. I think we had started playing Chinese Whispers, unintentionally.)

Me:"I have never stopped thinking about that. I did not ask you because I did not want you to feel compelled. Our nascent relationship is way beyond this."

(She looked up into my eyes. I could see intense admiration in them. I could see the passion which I was feeling all along. She brought her lips close to my face and stayed there; maintaining eye contact. **Oh God this is the moment! Please choose lips. Please God! Let it be lips. What is she doing? Acquiring her target? Oh come on lady, do it!** She did it. Her lips brushed against mine for a couple of seconds. Then she pressed them. I was on cloud eleven. For a moment, I couldn't believe what had just happened. The feeling was pure ecstasy. It was like kissing a jelly. After close to fifteen seconds we broke contact but she was still very close. So close that, the warm breaths that I had earlier felt on my chest were obliging my lips now.)

She:"That's your reward." (She said looking towards the ground, probably hiding her tears. I think it was something to do with her past.)

(I had a lump in my throat.)

Me:"The secret to your name has been revealed sweetheart! It is your lips; just like The Rose."

(She looked into my eyes again. Maybe she no longer cared if I found out about her tears. Her moist eyes sparkled like diamonds. They were looking even more beautiful than the other night.)

(I cupped her face with my palms. I wiped the tears formed over her cheeks using my thumbs.)

Me: "As gorgeous as your eyes are looking right now, this is the last time I want to see you cry. You are with ME now!"

 (We kissed again. This time deep. The passion was like a raging inferno. I don't remember for how long we kissed.

The only thing I remember is waking up below that tree. I still wasn't convinced it was a Banyan tree. There was a hint of dawn. The rain had stopped. I was sitting on the wet, muddy ground with my back against the bark. My lips felt really sore. I could barely move my mouth. She was still asleep. Her head once again resting on my chest.  My nose felt moist. I had probably caught cold.)

"Aa...aaan..aanchoo...."

(She woke up with a start; glaring at me.)

She:"Is this the way to wake someone up?"

(She looked even more pretty when angry.)

Me:"Ask that to the cold virusss...Aaan.....aanchooo."

(She smiled and stood up.)

She:"Well, this is the craziest and also the most romantic thing I have ever done in my life."
Me:"Yeah me too. My numb rear seconds that. Also, considering my history of relationships, any romantic thing I do with you will end up being the most romantic thing I have ever done."

(She smiled while helping me up and gave me a tight slap on my right butt-cheek.)

She:"Get it some massage and it will be alright."
Me: "Care to oblige?"

She:"Control those horses............ horny creature!"

(I smiled)

Me: "Alright! Let's get some coffee and head home."

She:"You know, for a guy who has never been in a relationship before, you are a really good kisser."
Me:"I have to thank the library for so many reasons. Then there is YouTube too."

(She giggled again, the way I always wanted to see her. I could do anything to see her smile.)

We walked towards the horizon hand in hand, our fingers entangled; gazing at the early morning sun without a care in the world. I felt her glance from the side. I looked back. I think we both knew what that meant. It was happening. Happening fast, but yes, it was indeed happening.

After all, you never know when love strikes you.

Insteresting conversation with a girl part 2

                                    Part 2: The Phone Call

I felt there was so much information in those two lines. My brain initiated the self talk:

**What do three smileys mean? Did I make her laugh only thrice?No, it was more than that, I hope. But, there is something about the number three?Three is the number of words in 'I Love You'. Wait. Three is also the number of words in 'I Hate You'. No. Why would she hate me? If she hated me, she would not have given her number.Wait. Is the number genuine or did she just pull a fast one on me? Only a phone call can answer all these questions.**

I started  musing; thinking about what I would  say to her and how she would react. I was rolling over the bed from side to side; thinking. Thinking. Thinking. BAM! I fell off my bed.

**Ouch! That hurt! Hey nutcase! Stop this nonsense. 'Falling for someone' is just a figure of speech. These plans are no good. Just be the guy you were in the evening. Just be that spontaneous smartass.**

So, I made a plan that I wouldn't plan.
(The following evening, I dialed the number given to me. I was curious as to who would answer the call or if the number did exist. I hoped for the best and prepared for the worst.

I heard a dial tone. **Okay, it is a real number. Stage 1 clear.** My heart started beating rapidly. I was breathing as if I had just attempted to break the world record of holding the breath for the longest time. Five rings down the line, someone answered.)

 "Hello?"

(It was her. **Stage 2 clear.** The feeling was better than winning that world record.) 

** Dude, this is real! Stop being so pessimistic. Step on the pedal and bring up your A game!**

"Hello??"

Me: "Am I talking to Ms. Rose?"
She: "Yeah?"

Me: "Ma'am this is to inform you that, a table for two has been booked at L9 Cafe for tomorrow at 7 pm."

She: "Okay but who am I talking to?"
Me: "The guy you are having dinner with."

She: "My Goodness!! How did you change your voice?"
Me: "Let's say it is one of my lesser known skills."

She: "What's with the fake British accent?"
Me: "Hey! I practiced those lines 15 times! Acknowledge the effort!"

She: "The British are excellent with phone manners. You need to introduce yourself before asking for the person on the other end or conveying a message."
Me: "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask you. When are the classes starting?"

(She giggled.)
 
She: "I knew you wouldn't be following the 3 Day Rule."
Me: "How so?"

She: "Because  you don't rely on techniques and cliches. You are spontaneous and I feel you speak from your heart."
Me: "Yeah beware! That thing  is coming after you....really fast!"

(She gave that amazing laugh. A sound which was melody to me.)

She: "What if I said I was busy tomorrow?"
Me: "Okay there is no reservation. I was just confirming your presence. My next call would be to L9 Cafe,  however."

She: " You are really an idiot!"
Me: "Yeah! I fell for you. Head first!"

She: "I think I know that feeling."
Me: "I am kind of banking on that."

She: "I can't wait to see you tomorrow."
Me: "Well  a great Chinese proverb goes like this: It is the space between the bars, that holds the cage. The waits between our dates are what will make them special."    

She: "How can you be so sure of having more than a first date?"
Me: "Well yesterday I wasn't even sure of having a first date; when you left the room unannounced. Then I found my bookmark. Seems, I am good at picking up on hints."

She: "I am sorry if you were hurt when I left like that. I was praying that you'd notice it and call me as soon as possible. "
Me: "No don't be. Of 'course, it felt brutal for a few seconds. But hey, I liked your style. That's what made me admire you even more. Even you are unconventional.That was one hell of a way to give someone your number! I got that bookmark laminated, by the way. "

She: "I don't want this call to end. "
Me: "Well a......."

She: "No! Don't give me that crappy Chinesething of yours!"
Me: "Alright! But take it easy lady! We are going to a Chinese place tomorrow!"

She: "How did you know I liked Chinese?"
Me: "Yesterday you were reading 'Journey to the West'  by Wu Cheng’ en; I took a blind shot, which reached its target just about now."

She: "Ridiculous logic!"
Me: "I am an idiot. Remember?"

She: "You are also cute."
Me: "Are you flirting with me?"

She: " No! I was talking to my candle, right here."
Me: "You are good. Too good! Okay. See you tomorrow. I need to  make a call to the restaurant before they are sleepy."

She:"Bye."

A glimpse of Part-3

                                                 Part 3: The Date

After preening for the umpteenth time, I kicked myself out of the house. I had to look my absolute best today. My brain had prepared a checklist:

**
Brushed twice? Check.Rinsed with Hydrogen Peroxide? Check.Shaved like crazy? CheckHair Serum? CheckFace cream? CheckViolet Half-Sleeve Shirt? Check.Black Jeans? Check.Woodland Shoes? Check.Perfume? CheckChewing gums? CheckGot a rose for her? CheckGot a book for her? CheckLooking Handsome? No comments. (But yeah, better than that geek who went to the library.) **
(I reached our reserved table ten minutes ahead of schedule. I was wondering what she would wear and how she would react, upon seeing me.

There she came.7 pm, on the dot. Wow! She just seemed sexier. She walked with a panache which could only come from a smart, beautiful and a confident woman. She wore a black sleeveless gown down to her knees. Sexy but not vulgar. Exactly as I had expected. She was wearing a pearl necklace and black studded earrings. She had tied her silky black hair up in a bun with a couple of stray strands kissing her cheek, which formed a part of her triangular jaw. I felt jealous of them. She had a beauty spot to the left of her lower lip and a nose as sharp as her wit. Her strawberry-colored lips were glossy, but their shine was overpowered by her lightning smile as she made an eye contact with me; while putting the hair strands behind an ear. She was a doe-eyed beauty.)

**She is an Angel! Dude, you are dating an Angel!** 

Interesting Conversation with a girl

I'd only gone to the library to read a book recommended by a friend, but never in my wildest dreams had I thought that there'd be a blackout with a torrential downpour outside, and I'd be stranded with the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. She broke my reverie by sighing loudly. I walked up to her.

She (Sighing): "Oh no!"

(The state of alertness which darkness engenders, brought out the spontaneous guy in me.)

Me (Curious): "Are you afraid of ghosts?"
She: "What? No......I mean..... I don't believe in such stuff!"

Me: "Me too. But, I don't know why, whenever I am in an old, large, spooky, dark place like this and it's raining outside, the probability of existence of ghosts seems very high."

She: "Spooky, large, old, dark." (She emphasized on each word.)
Me (Clueless): "Huh? Yeah, that's what I just said."

She: "No! Your order of adjectives was wrong."
Me (Digesting slowly): "Order... of.... adjectives. Hmm. Is that what this place does to you?"

(She chuckled.) 

She: "Hi! I am Rose."
Me:  "Rose. The noun or the verb?"

(She chortled again.)

She: "Look, my parents were not that grammar conscious!"
Me:  "And look how you turned out!"

(We both laughed.)

Me: "I am Aditya."

(The librarian brought a candle. By the look on his face, he seemed as freaked out as me; watching two people talk in complete darkness. As opposed to ghosts, crazy people were very much real!)

Me: "Well, I have heard about candlelight dinners, but candlelight reading sessions are new to me."

She: "Don't get any ideas, mister."
Me:  "But I thought people came to libraries for ideas, for enlightenment!"

She: "Funny of you to say 'enlightenment'  during a blackout."
Me:  "Hey! Let's not undermine the efforts of the candle. These babies have been very useful to people, you know; to help them bond, have romantic conversations."

She(mischievously): "Are you flirting with me?"
Me: "Yeah. Rule No.1 of Professional Flirting:When you want to flirt with a girl, praise a candle instead!"

(She giggled.)

She: "What are you reading?"
Me:  "Your eyes! The most beautiful pair I have ever seen. Now, I can see the flickering of the flame in them. Those glittering pearls have the power to make time stand still!"

She(overwhelmed): "Wow! That is the most wonderful thing anyone has ever said to me. Now you are definitely flirting with me!"
Me: "Well. I took the last line from the Sci-Fi book I am reading."

(She laughed really hard.)

She: "You plagiarist!"
Me:  "Hey! I just gave credit to the source!"

She: "But you used it to try to impress me before mentioning that!"
Me:  "So you are impressed by me now?"

She: "Didn't you hear the word 'try' ?"
Me:  "Okay, let's see, I am in this candle lit room alone, with a beautiful, intelligent girl who has a good sense of humor and it is raining outside.You can't blame me for trying. I am not a wuss!"

She: "So what are you?"
Me:  "I am not a self-pompous person either. People are free to judge."

She: "Good. I like modest people. Especially, if they are smart and funny."
Me:  "Were those compliments in disguise?"

She: "Why do you need to convert my generalizations to attributions ?"
Me:  "Don't know. Why do you need to play games?"

(She giggled again and made a deep eye contact.)

She : "I don't remember the last time I laughed so much."
Me:   "Well, I hope you shall remember this time."

(The power was back. The rain had also significantly receded.)

She:"Okay. Time to go."

(We prepared to leave. I went to the shelf to collect my bag.)

She: "Hey! You dropped your bookmark here."
 
I went back to the table and picked up the bookmark. I looked around. She was gone. I couldn't understand. Why had she gone away so abruptly? There was no mention of whether we could meet again. Not even a proper goodbye. I became morose. 

I looked at the bookmark again.
There was something scribbled on it in a cute handwriting:

                                          Rose:99224188*#
              Looking forward to that candle light dinner with you!
                                               :) :) :)

Non fiction to read

Most non-fiction books are bad. And sometimes that's a great thing. 

It's because the writer spent his life getting GOOD at what he was writing about. He didn't spend his life being good at writing. 

He didn't spend his life typing. He ran a country. Or built a robot. Or discovered DNA or walked between the twin towers. 

He or She DID something. Something that changed lives. Something that went from his or her head out into the real world. 

I like reading billion-person books. Books, that if read widely, would change a billion lives. 

I like reading books where I feel my brain have an IQ orgasm. Like, I literally feel my IQ go up while reading the book. 

Before I give my list, I want to mention there are three kinds of non-fiction books: 

- BUSINESS CARD BOOKS: These are books like "How to be a leader". They establish the author as an expert. The author then uses this book to get speaking gigs or coaching or consulting gigs. 

These books usually suck. Don't read one. But nothing wrong with writing one. 

- BOOKS THAT SHOULD BE CHAPTERS: 

A publisher will see an article somewhere like, "12 ways to become smarter" and say, "that should be a book". 

Then the write mistakenly says, "ok" and he has to undergo the agony of changing something that was a perfectly good 2000 word article into a 60,000 word book. 

Those books suck. Don't read one. And DEFINITELY don't write one. Unless you want to waste a year of your life. I wasted 2004-2009 doing that. 

- BRAINGASM BOOKS

Here's my top 10 list of braingasm books. Books that will raise your IQ between the time you start and the time you end. 

By the way, there are more than 10 of these books. This is just my TOP 10. Although not really in that order. It's hard for a small mind like mine to order these. 

"Mastery" by Robert Greene

This book is like a curated version of 1000 biographies all under the guise, "how to become a master at what you love". 

"Bold" by Peter Diamondis and Steven Kotler
 
Basically if you want to know the future, read this. Supplement it with "Abundance" by the same two and "Tomorrowland" by Steven Kotler" and even "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley. I feel "Abundance" is like a sequel to "The Rational Optimist". So I'm giving you four books with one recommendation. 

"Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell is not the first person to come up with the 10,000 hour rule. Nor is he the first person to document what it takes to become the best in the world at something. 

But his stories are so great as he explains these deep concepts. 

How did the Beatles become the best? Why are professional hockey players born in January, February and March? 

And so on. 

"Where Good Ideas Come From" by Steven Johnson

Also add to this: "How We Got to Now" by Steven Johnson. 

Basically: don't believe the myth of the lonely genius. 

Ideas come from a confluence of history, "the adjacent possible" specific geographic locations, etc. 

The connections Johnson makes are brilliant. For instance, The Gutenberg Press (which, in itself, was invented because of improvements in sewing looms), made everyone realize they had bad vision. 

So the science of lenses was created. So microscopes were eventually created. So germs were eventually discovered. So modern medical science was discovered. 

And so on. Johnson is a thinker and a linker and tells a good story. 

"Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl

I'm at a loss for words here. Just read it. Don't read it for the holocaust. Or psychological theory. Read it because when you're about halfway through you will realize your life is no longer the same. 

"Born Standing Up" by Steve Martin

And while you are at it, throw in "Bounce" by Mathew Syed, who was the UK Ping Pong champion when he was younger. 

I love any book where someone took their passion, documented it, and shared it with us. That's when you can see the subleties, the hard work, the luck, the talent, the skill, all come together to form a champion. 

Heck, throw in, "An Astronaut's Guide to Earth" by Commander Chris Hadfield.

"Zero to One" by Peter Thiel

There's a lot of business books out there. 99% of them are BS. Read this one. 

So many concepts really changed my attitude about not only business but capitalism. Thiel, the founder of PayPal, and first investor in Facebook, is brilliant in how he simply shares his theories on building a billion dollar business. 

"Quiet" by Susan Cain

Probably half the world is introverts. Maybe more. It's not an easy life to live. You feel as if you can't move, you can't talk, you can't go into a room and spread a vision you might have. 

Quiet shows the reader how to unlock the secret powers that probably half the world needs to unlock. 

"Antifragile" by Nassim Taleb

And throw in "The Black Swan" and "Fooled by Randomness". 

"Fragile" means if you hit something might break. 

"Resilient" means if you hit something, it will stay the same. 

But Nassim discusses "Antifragility" - building a system, even one that works for you on a personal level, where you if you harm it in some way it becomes stronger. 

He discusses Antifragility throughout history, up to our current economic situation, and even in our personal situations. 

"Mindset" by Carol Dweck

Again, I am fascinated by the field of mastery. Not self-improvement (eat well, sleep well, etc) but on how can you continue a path of improvement so that you can really enjoy the subtleties at a very deep level of whatever it is you love. 

Carol Dweck, through massive research and storytelling, shows the reader how to continue on the path of improvement and why so many people fall off that path. 

These are not books I'm picking so I can look smart. These are books that I feel have made me smarter.

If I die now and I've only read these books I'm fine with that.

What-psychological-tricks-do-retailers-use-to-get-people-to-spend-more-money

Retailers use all kind of tricks, to get people to spend more money. At the grocery store, we get smaller and smaller packaging- all for the same price. And the stuff we came to the store for (the milk) is all the way at the back of the store, and the stuff we don't need (the latest tabloid) is right at the front. 

How much money people spend is often influenced by psychology, and the alternatives under consideration.

A few of my favorites:

The Anchor Decoy
A highly priced product that is not intended to sell. Rather, the retailer uses it to make the other products look attractive by comparison. The anchor decoy gets people to spend more money, by NOT buying it. For instance, when Williams-Sonoma introduced a breadmaker for $279, it wasn't selling. They thought that customers may have wanted a bigger and fancier model. In anticipation of selling larger bread makers, they began selling a $429 model.

And guess what happened? The costly model flopped. But sales of the cheaper one doubled. This is the anchor decoy. When Williams-Sonoma only sold the $279 bread maker it looked expensive. However, when a $429 model came out, with just slightly fewer features, all of a sudden the $279 looked like a bargain, and sales picked up. Two options of the bread maker also make the market look bigger, and help to justify the purchase.
(Source: Priceless by William Poundstone)

Exclusivity and the Veblen Good
Some people will always gravitate towards the highest priced items, so the anchor decoy also takes advantage of another psychological trick. The exclusivity principle dictates that certain customers will buy the $429 model. These status-conscious customers, will pay the price, no matter how high. This product is often referred to as a Veblen. Retailers often exploit this psychology, and increase prices on luxury items to increase that high status and perception of exclusivity, and therefore sales.

Retailing wisdom holds that Rolex began selling more watches when they increased the price, and the status of their product.

The Middling Effect
Most customers shy away from the lowest priced items. They don't want to be cheap, and often associate the lowest price item with poor quality. Yet, unless they are that Veblen customer, they also don't want to pay too much and buy the most expensive item. So, for retailers the best way to use psychology to increase sales, is to make the product the middle priced item. 

For example, check out the following beer study. When consumers were offered 2 kinds of beer: $2.50 for a premium beer and $1.80 for the cheaper beer, around 80% chose the more expensive beer. When a third option was introduced, for $1.60, 80% bought the $1.80 beer and 20% the $2.50 beer. Nobody bought the cheapest option.

Third time around, the $1.60 beer was replaced with a $3.40 super premium. Again, the majority of consumers picked the middle option, the $2.50 beer, a small number the $1.80 beer and around 10% opted for the most expensive $3.40 Veblen.
(Source: The 11 Ways That Consumers Are Hopeless at Math)

That Magic Number 9
In eight studies published from 1987 through 2004, prices ending in the magic number 9 ($1.99, 49 and so on) boosted sales by 24% (as per Priceless).

In an experiment done by University of Chicago & MIT, a catalog was printed in 3 versions to test the psychological power of the magic number 9.
Each catalog was sent to an identically sized sample. The control price was set at $39. And in experimental versions, the identical item was tested at $34 and $44.

And guess what happened? There were more sales at $39 than at either of the other prices-- including the cheaper $34!

Everyone Loves a Deal
Sale and discount prices appear to be the most magical trick of all. Everyone loves a deal, and will often buy products just because they are on sale. As Jack Menendez writes, he worked for a store that sold out jackets, "putting a marked down sticker to $150 on each jacket with another red mark down tag to $99."

Researchers can take advantage of a couple of these tricks with the following price tag:

What-are-some-easy-ways-to-train-my-brain-and-become-smarter-every-day 1

When I was a kid I used to skip school, hide behind my house until my parents left, and then go off to play chess with John Nash.

Not THE John Nash, the Nobel Prize winner who also had schizophrenia.
But his son, who was a very strong player.

We would go over to his house (where his father and mother also lived) and play all day and then I would go home before my parents got home from work.

The son also had schizophrenia and I sort of could tell but we focused our days on playing chess all day. At the time, I didn't know who his father was.
This was a family of brilliant people. His son was a strong chess master. The father was a Nobel Prize winner. Maybe that makes them mentally strong.

Maybe not.

John, the son, disappeared and we lost touch. I last saw him I think in 1988.
Since then I've met a lot of incredibly brilliant people. Because of my podcast and businesses I've been involved in I've met some of the smartest people, some of the most successful people, some of the most brilliant people in the world.

Maybe they are mentally strong. Maybe not.

Often many of us are very good at constructing masks and it is never really known what is deep inside of us. What we keep hidden for fear of death if others were to find out.

But I can tell you what is most in common with some of the people I have encountered and maybe then you can tell me if you think these are qualities of mentally strong people. I would like to know.

All of these things...anyone can do. Anyone can learn to be mentally strong and change the world as a result.

Wealth, health, success, strong relationships, and freedom seem to be byproducts of the traits listed below.

Here's my trick:

I list, for each item, 1-10 on where I rank and then I add them up. So somewhere between 0 and 100.

Then every day I try to improve by 1.

A) RELATIONSHIPS

The mentally strong people I know, the ones who have achieved the most in life, have ALL had incredibly strong relationships.

Friends, spouses, partners, and so on. I've interviewed billionaires, well known movie directors, athletes, scientists, artists. All have believed in the saying "you are the average of the five people you spend your time with".

If you build up strong relationships, it means they are supporting your ideas, adding to them, helping you execute them, and not constantly fighting you or dragging you down.

B) HONESTY

This is not religious but math. The brain takes up 2% of the body's mass and burns up 25% of the body's calories each day. One in four calories you eat goes to fuel your brain.

When you lie, one side of your brain has to deal with one set of lies. And the other side of the brain has to deal with the other set of lies. So to be at optimal mental strength you now need twice as many calories. This is impossible.

So the best way to be mentally strong is to be honest so all of the fuel in your body can be used efficiently at propelling your brain from strength to strength instead of fighting off the attacks on your weaknesses.

C) IT'S NOT ABOUT ME, IT'S ABOUT YOU

Whenever a girl broke up with me, it never seemed to be about me. That's ok. That was a line to make me feel better.

I guess I should be grateful for the many people who tried to make me feel better by blaming themselves.

But true mentally strong people constantly are focused on others. They are solving problems for other people.

They don't think, "How can I make money" since money is just pieces of paper fueled by a mythological story.

They think, "What are problems in the world that I can solve?"

They think, for instance, healthcare is a mess. And since we all know "prevention is the cure", how can I develop a product that helps with prevention and diagnostics.

And, if you were a genius like Elizabeth Holmes, you would drop out of Stanford, make a company called Theranos, and do exactly that.

That is just one example.

Mentally strong people are always solving other people's problems. The problems of the individual get solved as a byproduct of solving the problems of the many.

D) READING

I've interviewed over 150 people now for my podcast. Here is one question nobody ever hesitates on: What are the last books you've read?

Do you know why mentally strong people read? I have my guess.

We all have one life to live. But when you read, you get to absorb the curated life of another person in just a few days.

So if you read a lot, your one brain can hold onto the critical points of potentially thousands of other incredible people. You can bathe in their lives and come out a stronger you.

I asked Freeway Rick Ross, the largest drug dealer ever, what books he read in prison that turned around his life.

He couldn't read or write before prison. But then he taught himself. He told me instantly: "As A Man Thinketh", "The Richest Man in Babylon", and "Think and Grow Rich".

I asked Tim Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Work Week. He said, "Radical Acceptance", "Essentialism", and "The Effective Executive".

All 150 people I have interviewed gave answers instantly. I have no doubt if I ask them again next week they will all have different answers. I have never met a mentally strong person who wasn't a voracious reader.

E) HEALTH

Because the brain burns so many calories, you have to have health in other areas of your life.

It's hard to be mentally strong, to be creative, to execute, to change the world, if you are sick in bed.

This is not being judgmental towards those sick in bed. Sometimes we just get sick. We can't help it.

But almost everyone I've ever dealt with in business or in life who has gone on to greater and great successes all acknowledged the importance of constant healthy transformation of their bodies.

This doesn't mean lift 500 pounds. It means sleep eight hours a day. It means eat well (which simply means: less on processed foods, more on vegetables, and exchange your 15 inch plates for 10 inch plates), and move.

Movement doesn't mean running a marathon. It might just mean walking a lot.

Our paleo ancestors got their exercise from walking and climbing on their daily hunt for food. This kept them healthy enough to be our ancestors so I thank them every day for that by following their model.

F) CURIOSITY

If you are talking to someone and they say something interesting but you don't understand, do you interrupt them and ask them what they mean?
I often don't. And then what happens? Then, for the rest of my life, I will never understand what they mean.

Sometimes I'm afraid to ask questions because I don't want to seem stupid or I don't want someone to be annoyed at me or I'm feeling shy.

The only way to learn new things is to ask questions and be curious. Find the people who inspire your curiosity because those are the ones you will most learn from.

Then ask them questions.

The more stupid you feel asking a question, the more you HAVE to ask the question. If you feel shy asking one question, then ask TWO questions.

Every mentally strong person has this one thing in common: the things they most remember that has changed their lives have been the answers to questions they asked.

If they never asked those questions, their lives would not have changed.

G) LEARN, SAY, REPEAT

We think we learn in school. We take a class and a brilliant professor gives a lecture and we supposedly leave the class smarter.

But here is the science. Within 45 minutes of leaving a class, college students have already forgotten 80% of what was said in the class. By the next day, they have forgotten just about 100%.

Here's how to remember: First you hear something. If it interests you, write it down as a note (carry a notebook. I carry a waiter's pad because they are cheap).

Then use it in a conversation within an hour. Then use it in a conversation the next day and then the next.

NOW there is a decent chance you have learned it. Because you build various connections in your brain that have now been programmed with that nugget of information. That's how learning takes place. Mentally strong people learn how to learn.

H) THE IDEA MUSCLE

People say "ideas are a dime a dozen". This is simply not true. Ideas are "a dime for three".

Go ahead and try. Come up with 10 ideas for surprises for your spouse's next anniversary. The first three are easy. But, for me, then it gets harder and by #7 I'm counting the list over and over again to see if I reached 10.
Ideas are a muscle that need to be exercised.

If you get hit by a bike and are stuck in bed for two weeks recovering, then when you leave the bed your leg muscles are so atrophied you need therapy to walk again.

The same with the idea muscle. It needs to be exercised every day or it will atrophy.

How do you exercise it? Pick a theme, any theme will do, and write down ten ideas a day. Every day.

I can tell you that when I was broke and suicidal and scared I started doing this. My life has changed 100% every six months since then. It's been incredible. Like magic.

I wrote this and shared this with others. Now I get emails from people every six months telling me how their lives have changed.

When I was interviewing the rapper Coolio he told me he wrote lyrics down every day for 17 years before he had his first hit. A year after his first hit he had the best selling song on the entire planet.

When he described that song to me he described which elements from which musicians who came before him that he meshed together to create his hit.

This is called "idea sex". When you are an expert in one category and an expert in another then you are the greatest in the world at the intersection.
Exercising the idea muscle, plus learning, plus idea sex, will make you be the best in the world at whatever you aim.

What about execution? Execution ideas are just a subset of regular ideas. If you have an idea you want to execute on, then your idea list the next day should be, "What are the ten next steps I need to take?"

Should you then take them? I don't know. Mentally strong people probably make those lists 100 times a year and only need to execute on one of them to change the world.

Give yourself permission to have bad ideas. It's only through diligent mining of the universe inside of you that you find the gems that will light up the world.

I) PERMISSION

Mentally strong people give themselves permission.

Why did the Google guys come up with the 8th search engine and think theirs was special? Why did Elizabeth Holmes think it was ok to drop out of the best school in the country to pursue a business dream?

Why did Henry Ford, after failing twice at car companies, think it was a good idea to start a third car company. Why did the Wright Brothers think it was ok to make a plane with spare parts from their bicycle shop when the government was spending tens of millions?

They all gave themselves permission to do something that has never been done before.

They all gave themselves permission to have many bad ideas.

They all gave themselves permission to risk their reputation and the forked tongues of the people who would fight them.

They gave themselves permission to slip and fall and get up and dust themselves off and try again. And again. And again. And again.

They gave themselves permission to love something so strong that every neuron on their brain would light up and conspire to make their dreams come true.

If you don't give yourself permission to create a new world, chances are nobody else will.

J) PRESENCE

I regret so many things from my past. Maybe that one time I lost all of my money, I could've used it to help my father live a little bit longer than he did.
Maybe I could've held onto my house. Maybe I could've been smarter about business.

And all of the time I am anxious. Will I give a good speech. Will this business I invest in work out? I hope it does. I don't want to go broke again.
But whenever you regret the past, or are anxious about the future, you are time traveling.

Time traveling seems exciting but it isn't. You can time travel all your life and then suddenly you are dead without ever having lived in the present moment, the only moment that exists.

Whenever mentally strong people find themselves time traveling they take a step back. They said, "What can I do right now to help others" instead of wasting time regretting the past or worrying about the future.

Worry and regret never solves tomorrow's problems and only drains away energy from today.

Presence will always solve this moment's problems.

Mentally strong people solve problems, love people, are curious, stay healthy, have idea sex, are honest with you, and make the world a better place.

I hope each day I can improve a little on each level. And if I run into you on the street, maybe we can wink at each other. We're on the same team.