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Have you ever noticed how common lists are?  Why does it seem that almost every blogger in the blogosphere churns out list after list after list?  How many times do we need to read “12 Ways to Have a Great Day”?  What if you didn’t read this list?  Would you still be able to have a great day?  What if you spent the two minutes it took to read this list and simply made a list of your own?

“Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.” ~   Albert Einstein

Lists, not just in the blogosphere but in almost every corner of mass media, are primarily used as a marketing ploy to “trick you” into interacting with media content because lists fit perfectly into your brain’s preference for structure and efficiency – mental shortcuts – or put bluntly, “laziness.”

In the interest of attention allocation, self-awareness and the prevention of mental laziness, I’ve put together some reasons to avoid lists:

1. Prevent ‘Attention Theft’

Media sources, including blogs, use lists to steal your attention.  Take a look at this list from a prominent blogger on “how to get traffic to your blog.”  Wait, don’t look!  I’ll save you the distraction and tell you what you need to know:  Can you guess the first item on the list?  “Use Lists!”  What do you think is at the absolute bottom of the list, coming it a lofty number 56?  “Write stuff the people want to read and share.”  The most altruistic item on the list is given the lowest priority.  Whether or not this was a conscious decision on the part of the blogger, it is quite telling.

2. Be the Hunter – Not the Hunted

Lists are the antithesis of self-awareness – they are nothing more than an old marketing tactic to get you to do something you did not consciously set out to do.  To be charitable, I must say that some media sources are often intended (and sought) as a source of entertainment, rather than education, for (and by) the end-user (you).  And that’s OK.  Aimless wandering is perfectly acceptable when aimless wandering is your purpose.  In summary, be mindful of what you are doing.

3. Lists are Listless

Lists do not provide energy – they sap it.  Certainly, one might feel a bit of elation from reading an inspirational article or blog post.  The problem, however, with this kind of short-term inspiration is that it might seem to help you in the present moment but it does not often carry over into the next moment – this inspiration is a state, not a trait, and eventually leaves an empty space that needs to be filled again by another inspiring article or blog post.

One may successfully argue that reading the right lists on a daily basis will eventually aid in the formation of positive thinking and healthy habits.  My observation, however, is that most lists are formed and published with the intent to steal the attention, which often results in a fragmented attention for the reader.  A fragmented attention is a fragmented person.

4.  Lists Are Generally Generalizations

Lists are typically “one-size-fits-all”-type generalizations.  Unless it’s a narrow subject, directed to a narrow audience, such as the “Top 10 Ways to Stay Safe in a Foreign Taxi“, then it is unlikely you will find many points useful to your needs, if any at all.

Creating a list by (and for) yourself is the perfect antidote to generalization.  At risk of entering a circular argument, perhaps a good list (other than your own) would be a list that explains how to make a list?

5. Avoid the ‘Poverty of Attention’

Information rich often translates into attention poor.

Avoid the poverty attention by allocating your attention in a similar way you would a portfolio of investments:  Each media source is allotted a certain amount of time and/or energy for consumption and serves a purpose in a larger collection of diverse media sources.

Allocating attention is quite a conscious, valuable and necessary personal development practice amidst the deafening media noise of today’s overabundance and hypervelocity of information:

“… in an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else:  a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes.  What information consumes is rather obvious:  it consumes the attention of its recipients.  Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.” ~ Herbert Simon

Is there ever a good reason to read a list?  This question is best answered by you; however, I will humbly submit to you that there is only one consistently prudent reason to read a list:

1. You created it.

What are your thoughts?

Kent Thune is a guest blogger for PickTheBrain and the author of The Financial Philosopher.

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The Secret To Fantastic Leadership

“You spent the first half of your life becoming somebody.  Now you can work on becoming nobody, which is really somebody.  For when you become nobody there is no tension, no pretense, no one trying to be anyone or anything.  The natural state of the mind shines through unobstructed – and the natural state of the mind is pure love.”  Ram Dass

I recently turned 40.

No, I’m not wearing “old man socks” yet but I certainly understand the trait of being that brings about this tragedy of fashion; which I believe can be summed up quite bluntly in two words:

“Who cares!?”

This carefree trait is one of contentment and it illustrates the process of (and value inherent in) becoming nobody – where “the natural state of the mind shines through unobstructed.”

“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” ~ Chinese Proverb

Have you ever worn old man socks?  These socks are soft, form-fitting and made to be worn comfortably for long periods of time.  The fact that dress socks don’t “look right” with tennis shoes and plaid shorts is barely an afterthought in relation to the priorities of comfort and practicality.

Most of you likely understand the value of comfort, such as the little pleasures found in wearing a t-shirt and an old pear of jeans or staying in your flannel pajamas and slippers all day.

Before I digress entirely away from my point (there actually is a point here), a certain attitude or life perspective that goes beyond material pleasure can be found underneath these old man socks.

“One’s own self is well-hidden from one’s own self; of all mines of treasure, one’s own is the last to be dug up.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Of course, age or gender certainly does not preclude one’s appreciation of old man socks and the wisdom of becoming nobody.

The realization that the hyper-intentional pursuit of trying to be somebody other than one self is a misguided (and entirely too common) pursuit influenced by the ever-presence and dominance of social conventions and media noise.

From childhood, social messages implicitly and explicitly tell us how to behave, what image to portray, what products will supposedly provide the perception of such an image, what to study in college, what career to pursue (usually based upon money and social status) and how to define “retirement” and how to obtain it in the quickest fashion.

Amidst this noise, and along the path to become somebody, the true self becomes covered or hidden.

“Health is the greatest possession.  Contentment is the greatest treasure.  Confidence is the greatest friend.  Non-being is the greatest joy.” ~ Lau Tzu

I expect many readers of PTB can add their depth of thought to this subject (and I hope many will do so in comments following this post), but here are my thoughts and observations attributable to the values found underneath old man socks – the wisdom of becoming nobody:

•    Contentment:  Being comfortable in your own skin (and socks) and being content with your present monetary, material and social wealth (or lack thereof) actually makes you “rich” – not the attainment of “more.”  As Epicurus said, “If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.”
•    Giving / Unintended Success:  The dedication to a cause greater than oneself, with little or no selfish motives, is the greatest enabler of success.  In other words, not caring about success will sooner provide a higher quality of success than a hyper-intentional desire to quickly create it.
•    Self-awareness:  The simple awareness of who you are, where you are going and why you are going there is essential in separating (and uncovering) your self from social conventions.  As Lau Tzu said, “If you don’t change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”
•    The Power of Nothingness:  Continuing upon the Taoist theme, there is power in “nothingness” and assuming the “low position:” The rivers flow to the ocean because it is in the lowest position; the high inclines toward the low; a ship floats because the hull is hollow; simplicity is stronger than complexity; less is more; creation follows destruction; something comes from nothing; and somebody comes from nobody.

“We get so much in the habit of wearing disguises before others that we finally appear disguised before ourselves.” ~ Francois de la Rochefoucauld

Returning to the primary theme, woven into the lighthearted fabric of old man socks, one can see the value of becoming nobody.

Which of these is more of a tragedy – wearing a “disguise” in the pursuit of becoming somebody or something other than one self or wearing old man socks and being content with becoming nobody?

The former is an empty victory – a tragedy of self.  The latter is a tragedy of fashion; however, it is a victory of self – it embodies the wisdom of becoming nobody.

What are your thoughts?  Have you discovered the wisdom of becoming nobody?

Kent Thune is a Guest Blogger for PickTheBrain. He is the author of the Financial Philosopher.

Can the self be improved? What is the self, anyway? Does the currently popular “self-help movement” really help us or is it a paradoxical diversion from our true self?

I hope that you will help me in addressing these questions that have been increasingly pervading my thoughts as the term, self-improvement, is now so widely used, and quite often misused, that its meaning seems diluted, almost to the point of becoming abstract.

In fact, the more I think of it, the more I doubt that “self-improvement” is possible…

“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.” ~ Francis Bacon

The first logical step in a path from doubt to certainty is to remove all pre-conceived notions of self-improvement as put forth by social convention, media noise and language. We may then enable the formation (or confirmation) of our own idea of self-improvement.

The next logical step in our path is to define self; but perhaps, to be successful in our attempt, it would make more sense to define what the self is not:

The self is not a physical representation, such as your body: If you changed your hair color, gained 10 pounds or even lost an arm or leg, has your self changed? In these events, it seems to me that only the physical representation of the self, the self-image, or perhaps the image projected to others, have changed; but the self, itself, has not.

The self is not what you do: For example, you may “improve” your actions to achieve an objective, such as a job promotion or a faster time in the 7k run; but have you improved the self? Or could it be that the self is the source – not the beneficiary – of the “improvement?” It only makes logical sense to me that actions are a production of the self – and, therefore, that the self is not a production of actions.

The self is not willfully formed: Can the self create the self? Today’s idea of self-improvement suggests that the self can “improve” the self. If this were true, then the self would naturally continue to improve itself until it had achieved perfection, which, arguably, is not possible.

“The first observation I make at this point is that there is a great difference between the mind and the body, inasmuch as the body is by its very nature always divisible, while the mind is utterly indivisible.” ~ Rene Descartes

If it is not your body and if it is not what you do and if it cannot be willfully formed, then logic would follow that the self already exists and is already ideal in its form. The same logic would assume that the self must be something that is spiritual or intellectual – that the mind is a separate entity from the body…

“One’s only rival is one’s own potentialities. One’s only failure is failing to live up to one’s own possibilities.” ~ Abraham Maslow

So what, may we deduce, is the self?

Perhaps, if we were challenged to use another word that is a useful descriptor for the self, we could use the word potential. But can our potential be improved? I don’t think so – not if we are defining it correctly: potential represents that which is within the realm of possibility, which would imply that “a potential” is reachable but impossible to extend beyond…

Perhaps, for the sake of our logical exercise, we can agree that our potential is not infinite but that it is much greater than our understanding; therefore, the self is not something that can be improved but something that we should seek to understand or know…

“Nearly all mankind is more or less unhappy because nearly all do not know the true Self. Real happiness abides in self-knowledge alone. All else is fleeting. To know One’s Self is to be blissful always.” ~ Ramana Maharishi

Our logical path would not be complete without addressing a question that has challenged humankind, especially philosophers, for more than two millennia:

How do we know our self?

We can not simply ask our self, “Who am I?” and expect the answer. I will suggest, however, that self-knowledge may be pursued by virtue of self-awareness or, put another way, by the process of self-discovery. This process is no easy task because the self, from childhood to today, has increasingly become covered by physical world influences.

Since our potential or ideal self already exists, then our task is to discover it or, as I like to say, uncover it…

• To know our self, our self must be revealed;
• To reveal our self, our self must be uncovered;
• To uncover our self, we must remove what is covering it;
• What is covering our self is that which inhibits our potential;
• The most apparent inhibitors of our potential are social conventions, media noise and language;
• To remove these inhibitors, we must take care to select and follow our own path – not the path of others (social conventions); we must allocate our attention away from media sources (media noise) that would attempt to steal it; and we must define words (language) for our self, such as wealth, success and happiness… oh yes, and to define concepts such self-improvement…

“I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, ‘Where’s the self-help section?’ She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.” ~ George Carlin

Now that we have come to a place where my thoughts should end and yours should begin, I offer my conclusion to our logical path:

I submit to you that there is no such thing as self-improvement – only varying degrees of self-discovery: This process of discovering who you are consists primarily of eliminating who you are not and, thereby, uncovering your true self…

What do you think?

Can the self be improved? Why or why not? What is it, really, that is being “improved” – our self or our actions? Could it be that the concept of self-improvement, and the broader “self-help movement,” is an oxymoron or a paradoxical pursuit that does more to distract us than to “help” us?

Should not the matters of the self originate from the self? Is this all just semantic nonsense or should we at least think differently now when we see the term self-improvement?

Written by Kent N. Thune, author of The Financial Philosopher.

Image by Sir Mervs

Would you pay money for something without knowing the price? Not likely. Would you pay attention to something without knowing the price? Most of us do every day…

In the information age, we have finger-tip access to a staggering amount of information, collectively described as “media noise,” vying for our attention: We have the old print media, such as magazines, newspapers, and books; and we have the electronic media, such as radio, satellite radio, cable television, satellite television, video games, internet search engines, websites, personal pages and blogs.

As we, knowingly or unknowingly, consume staggering amounts of information every day, do we ever stop to think about the price of that consumption?

Information Rich, Attention Poor

“… in an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.”

Herbert Simon (1916 – 2001)

I wonder if Mr. Simon had any idea how prescient his words would be today when he wrote them more than 35 years ago. Just since passing in 2001, over 70 million blogs have entered the realm of mass media. It would be easy to assume, even for the most informed individual, that the information age and the more recent proliferation of information sources and advancement of electronic media, that the average person sitting at home with their laptop could capture the kind of efficiencies that would maximize the potential of mankind itself.

The great irony and paradox of these seemingly limitless boundaries of information is that, rather than increasing our efficiencies and knowledge, they actually limit our attention; thereby distracting us away from the potential that the information sources could actually bring.

What can be done about this “poverty of attention?” Today more than ever, the “need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information” is as crucial as ever.

The Foundation of Asset Allocation

“Moderation, which consists in indifference about little things, and in a prudent and well-proportioned zeal about things of importance, can proceed from nothing but true knowledge, which has its foundation in self-acquaintance.”

Plato (428 – 348 BC)

Most people associate the term “asset allocation” with the investment of assets (stocks, bonds, and cash) and how they are arranged in an investor’s “portfolio.” Essentially, Plato’s moderation and self-acquaintance are the foundation of asset allocation, which, if done properly, will provide a balanced mix of investment assets that reflect the individual’s risk tolerance and investment objectives, or investment personality (self-acquaintance).

Allocating attention, in principle, is no different and can be applied in a similar manner to construct a “portfolio” of information sources:

• Have a Plan: If you have no plan, you may as well be planning to fail. Have an “end” in mind when beginning your portfolio.
• Have a Strategy: What are you trying to accomplish? Are you trying to expand your knowledge, blow off steam with mindless entertainment, or some combination thereof? Your allocation should reflect your objective and suit your personality.
• Keep it Simple and Balanced: Put simply, life is full of complex challenges – most of them are not necessary. Simplicity and moderation are wise.
• Build Around a Core Holding: In my investment advisory practice, I recommend a “passive” (large-cap index) fund for a core investment holding that represents the largest portion (perhaps 40% or so) of the investment portfolio and then a few non-correlated “satellite” funds to compliment the core holding and comprise the remainder of the portfolio. As for information sources, I prefer a similar approach: My “core” is non-fiction / inspirational, and/or educational books; I subscribe to one newspaper and one magazine that reflect my interests; I follow about five Blogs (some educational, some “mindless”); and I watch some (but very little) television.
• Diversify, Diversify, Diversify: Each information source will have its own purpose (low correlation to other sources) within the portfolio and will have “weights” that correspond to your objective. For example, ICanHasCheesburger and PickTheBrain obviously have low correlation to each other, yet each can find a place in your portfolio; however, your objective will define which will receive the heavier weight…
• Beware of Bias: Interests should not have competition. Just as an investor should be wary of advisors paid by commission, consumers of information should attach doubt to information coming from biased sources, such as the federal government or any entity that sells advertising… Unless your interests are strictly for entertainment, look for altruism, honesty, and transparency whenever it can be found.
• The Bottom Line: Quality over quantity is prudent.

“You can not see a mountain near.” Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

I would add to Emerson’s metaphor by saying that “there is a value in studying each pebble on the mountain’s path, but you may lose your way if you do not know what the mountain looks like.” Maintaining a “big picture” view has the effect of enhancing our awareness and broadening our perspective. The old adage of “missing the forest for the trees” comes to mind.

With regard to attention, information we receive is either occupying our mind or cultivating our mind. Neither is inherently wrong but having the wisdom to know the difference, the self-acquaintance to know which sources (or combination thereof) will best serve our objectives (and why), and the discipline to apply moderation is prudent allocation.

As consumers of information, we must be cognizant of what information consumes — our attention. Ironically, more information does not equal more knowledge: It equals more distraction. We must be careful in our quest for knowledge not to lose sight of our ultimate objective – the pursuit of a meaningful life.

Kent Thune is the author of the investment blog, The Financial Philosopher, and the President and Founder of Registered Investment Advisory Firm, Atlantic Capital Investments, LLC. Image by cindiann.