Avery Soh: self-improvement

April 23, 2017

Minding Your Mood

April 23, 2017

In a good mood? Today, I felt really inspired to start tracking my mood. I've observed trends like: Journals to record...

In a good mood?

Today, I felt really inspired to start tracking my mood.

I've observed trends like:

Journals to record your daily mood
Happiness/gratitude diaries
Mindfulness/wellness/meditation apps

But what I wanted was a simple way to just try to track my mood. A life experiment of sorts, to hopefully make myself feel happier.

I went on a Google-binge to track down the best mood-trackers on the App Store, and found a few that looked pretty good:

Mr Mood

Mr Mood is a really cheerful and colourful app. I was really psyched about downloading it, but then I logged onto the App Store and realised that it costs $1.48.

:(

Moodnotes

Another app, Moodnotes, is a thought journal/mood diary. It has a really minimalist design that I love, but I have to give this a miss too, because it's another paid app that costs $5.98! :O

Mood

I found another app that looked like it had potential - and it was free too! - but after I installed and opened it, it kept lagging and was very unresponsive. D:

Moods

I finally found Moods, which had a simple, minimalist design and useful features (like tags to elaborate on your emotion). The best thing about it is that it's free - and so far, it works! :)

April 06, 2017

The Unexpected Benefit of Celebrating Faiilure

April 06, 2017

The unexpected benefit of celebrating failure Astro Teller , the head of X (formerly Google X) shares about the unexpected and unconve...

The unexpected benefit of celebrating failure

Astro Teller, the head of X (formerly Google X) shares about the unexpected and unconventional approach they have at the moonshot factory:

Breaking things, instead of building things
Proving you're wrong, instead of proving you're right
Doing the hardest part of the problem first, instead of doing the easiest
Thinking about how to kill your project, instead of how to keep your project alive
Making failure safe, instead of dangerous
Rewarding failure, instead of successes
Crazy ideas, instead of sensible ideas

At X, people try their best to fail. They receive applause, hugs, high fives, promotions and bonuses whenever they kill a project.

It may seem counter-intuitive but perhaps we should ask ourselves - how do we succeed at failing?

April 01, 2017

"Addicted To Compassion"

April 01, 2017

Addicted to compassion I stumbled across Kian Gohar's profile on Medium today, and I was profoundly moved by a short line in h...

Addicted to compassion

I stumbled across Kian Gohar's profile on Medium today, and I was profoundly moved by a short line in his biography.

I really think we should all make this our mantra in life - "I'm addicted to compassion."

That's the best kind of addiction you can have.

March 25, 2017

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

March 25, 2017

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs From the book by Carmine Gallo What is the one big idea you want to leave with your audi...

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

From the book by Carmine Gallo

What is the one big idea you want to leave with your audience? It should be short, memorable, and in subject-verb-object sequence.
Identify why you're excited about this company/product/feature, etc.
Write out the three messages you want the audience to receive, and develop metaphors and analogies in support.
Include a demonstration if your product topic lends itself to such. (Eg. pull the product out of your pocket if it is 'pocket-sized.'
Invite partners and customers to participate.
Include video clips if helpful, but limit to three minutes or less.
Answer the "Why should I care?" that's in the audience's mind. Have a passion for creating a better future.
Having an enemy (eg. IBM, Microsoft) helps visualize 'the problem' you're solving.
Simplify your presentation.
Use meaningful numbers - eg. "Stores 1,000 songs," not "5 GB memory."
Don't use bullet-points; instead, use short phrases that accompany your talk, or pictures.
Practice, practice, practice - and ask for feedback.

March 25, 2017

Learning Presentation Skills from Steve Jobs

March 25, 2017

Learning Presentation Skills from Steve Jobs (Inspired by Steve Jobs Presentation Skills ) Theme : have a theme and stick tightly ...

Learning Presentation Skills from Steve Jobs

(Inspired by Steve Jobs Presentation Skills)

Theme: have a theme and stick tightly to it
Hook: start with a short, simple and memorable headline
Story: sell with stories
Visual: a picture tells a thousand words
Simple: keep your message simple (e.g. there are far more accurate ways to do it = more accurate)
Smile: smile and have fun (tell jokes, share relevant funny anecdotes, e.g. Steve Jobs prank called a Starbucks during his 2007 iPhone presentation and ordered 4000 cups of lattes)
Don't narrate: don't read from notes or the slides
Enthusiasm: infect your audience with your enthusiastic and passionate (e.g. Steve Jobs used words like "fantastic", "amazing", "incredible")
Surprise: have a magic
Sign-posting: before you share your points, tell your audience what you are going to share with them; after you share your points, recap and summarise them again (e.g. Before: "Now, I am going to tell you three things about the iPhone: 1...2...3..." and After: "The iPhone is 1...2...3...")
Inspire: end with something uplifting and inspiring (e.g. inspirational quote)