From: James Clear <james@jamesclear.com>
Date: September 30, 2014 at 1:18:59 AM EDT
To: <fgd31@yahoo.com>
Subject: How to Uncover Your Creative Talent by Using the "Equal Odds Rule"

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\n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n James Clear \n \n \n\n\n \n \n\n \n How to Uncover Your Creative Talent by Using the "Equal Odds Rule" \nby James Clear | Read this article on JamesClear.com\n\n \nPaul Erdos was a strange man. He lived out of two suitcases, never learned how to cook his own meals, worked up to 19 hours per day, took amphetamines daily and washed them down with caffeine, and gave away nearly all of the money that he earned. [1] \n\n Erdos was also the most prolific mathematician of the 20th century. He wrote or co-authored over 1,500 mathematical articles during his career and partnered with over 500 different collaborators. As you would expect, his contributions to mathematics were significant. \n\n Erdos solved a variety of difficult problems. He worked out a proof for the prime number theorem. He led the development of Ramsey theory. He discovered the proof for a difficult mathematical riddle known as Bertrand's postulate. Long story short, Erdos was good. He worked his tail off and advanced the field of mathematics because of it. \n\n And yet, do you know what became of the vast majority of his 1,500 articles and papers? \n\n Nothing. They are long gone. Forgotten. Tucked away in the archives of an old research journal or filed into a box at the bottom of some math lover's closet. And that is why the story of Paul Erdos is perhaps the best example of what is known as The Equal Odds Rule. \n\n Let's talk about what this rule means and how it can help you uncover your creative talent. \n\n The Equal Odds Rule \n\n In 1977, a Harvard-trained psychologist named Keith Simonton, developed a theory that he called The Equal Odds Rule. \n\n "The Equal Odds Rule says that the average publication of any particular scientist does not have any statistically different chance of having more of an impact than any other scientist's average publication." [2] In other words, any given scientist is equally likely to create a game-changing piece of work as they are to create something average that is quickly forgotten. \n\n Translated to the world at-large: You can't predict your own success. Scientists, artists, inventors, writers, entrepreneurs, and workers of all types are equally likely to produce a useless project as they are to produce an important one. \n\n If you believe The Equal Odds Rule, then the natural conclusion is that you're playing a numbers game. Because you can't predict your success, the best strategy is to produce as much work as possible, which will provide more opportunities to hit the bullseye and create something meaningful. [3] \n\n I've seen The Equal Odds Rule at play in my own work each month. I write new articles every Monday and Thursday. I know that if I write a new article every Monday and Thursday, then that will be about 8 or 9 articles per month on average. And if I write 8 or 9 articles per month, then 2 or 3 of them will be decent. \n\n Which 2 or 3 will be winners? I have no idea. \n\n After sticking to this schedule for almost two years, it has become very clear to me that I am a rather terrible judge of my own work. All I can do is try my best each time, commit to doing a volume of work, and trust if I stick with the process then something useful will find it's way from my hands to the keyboard. \n\n The Willingness to Create Garbage \n\n Paul Erdos knew something that all great creators eventually discover: Creative genius only reveals itself after you've shown up enough times to get the average ideas out of the way. Time after time, problem after problem, Erdos kept working on his craft. 1,500 papers later, it turns out he had some pretty good ideas. \n\n If you want to extract your creative genius and make a difference, then embracing idea behind The Equal Odds Rule is a useful strategy. Sometimes you'll create something good. Sometimes you'll create something useless. But no matter what, you should always be creating. \n\n If you want to make a masterpiece, you have to be willing to create a little garbage along the way. Click here to leave a comment. Share on Facebook | Share on Twitter \n\n \nSources\n\n \n \nDaily Rituals by Mason Currey, pgs. 178-179. \n \nThis quote came from an Amazon review by John Keezell of Simonton's book, Creativity in Science. \n Recent research has revealed that The Equal Odds Rule doesn't quite tell the whole story. For example, research shows that deliberate practice matters and that you can improve your skills as time goes on. And as your skills improve, so do your odds of success. In other words, the odds of producing something good start to shift in your favor as your skills improve. Of course, you need to embrace the idea behind The Equal Odds Rule anyway: the only way to improve your skills through deliberate practice is to go through a volume of work. So at the end of the day, the theory is perfect, but the result is the same: practice more. \n \n Thanks to Sebastian Marshall for originally telling me about The Equal Odds Rule and to Srini Rao for originally writing about the willingness to create garbage. \n \n \n \n\n\n \n \n\n \nJames Clear (about) is an entrepreneur, weightlifter, and travel photographer in over 20 countries. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.\n Enjoy this newsletter? Share it with a friend. Click here to send them a quick email.\n \n \n\n\n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n \nYour Subscription: This email was sent to fgd31@yahoo.com because you subscribed to my free newsletter at JamesClear.com. As a subscriber, you will get one email every Monday and Thursday. If you want to unsubscribe at anytime, just click the link below. \n Unsubscribe \n \n\n \n\n

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From: "James Clear" <james@jamesclear.com>
Date: August 21, 2014 at 9:53:44 PM EDT
To: fgd31@yahoo.com
Subject: The Physics of Productivity:  Newton's Laws of Getting Stuff Done

 

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James Clear

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I'm an entrepreneur, weightlifter, and travel photographer. Read my latest post below or browse JamesClear.com.

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\nThe Physics of Productivity: Newton's Laws of Getting Stuff Done

Read this post on JamesClear.com

\n In 1687, Sir Isaac Newton published his groundbreaking book, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, which described his three laws of motion. In the process, Newton laid the foundation for classical mechanics and redefined the way the world looked at physics and science. \n What most people don't know, however, is that Newton's three laws of motion also provide some brilliant insights for increasing your productivity, simplifying your work, and improving your life. \n Allow me to present Newton's Laws of Productivity. \n \n Newton's First Law of Productivity \n \n First Law of Motion: An object either remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force. (i.e. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Objects at rest tend to stay at rest.) \n In many ways procrastination is a fundamental law of the universe. It's Newton's first law applied to productivity. Objects at rest tend to stay at rest. \n The good news? It works the other way too. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. When it comes to being productive, this means one thing: the most important thing is to find a way to get started. Once you get started, it is much easier to stay in motion. [1] \n \n So, what's the best way to get started when you are stuck procrastinating? \n In my experience, the best rule of thumb for getting started is the 2-Minute Rule. [2] \n Here's the 2-Minute Rule adjusted for productivity: To overcome procrastination, find a way to start your task in less than two minutes. \n Notice that you don't have to finish your task. In fact, you don't even have to work on the primary task. However, thanks to Newton's first law, you'll often find that once you start this little 2-minute task, it is much easier to keep moving. \n Here are some examples… \n \n Right now, you may not feel like going for a run. But if you put your running shoes on and fill up your water bottle that small start might be enough to get you out the door. \n Right now, you might be staring at a blank screen and struggling to write your report. But if you write random sentences for just two minutes, then you may find that useful sentences start to roll off your fingers. \n Right now, you might have a creative block and be struggling to draw something. But if you draw a random line on a sheet of paper and turn it into a dog, then you might get your creative juices flowing. \n Motivation often comes after starting. Find a way to start small. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. \n Newton's Second Law of Productivity \n \n Second Law of Motion: F=ma. The vector sum of the forces on an object is equal to the mass of that object multiplied by the acceleration vector of the object. (i.e. Force equals mass times acceleration.) \n Let's break down this equation, F=ma, and how it can apply to productivity. \n There is one important thing to note in this equation. The force, F, is a vector. Vectors involve both magnitude (how much work you are putting in) and direction (where that work is focused). In other words, if you want to get an object accelerating in a particular direction, then the size of the force you apply and the direction of that force will both make a difference. \n Guess what? It's the same story for getting things done in your life. \n If you want to be productive, it's not merely about how hard you work (magnitude), it's also about where that work is applied (direction). This is true of big life decisions and small daily decisions. \n For example, you could apply the same skill set in different directions and get very different results. \n \n Note: the idea for this image came from artwork created by my friend, Oliver Emberton, in his wonderful post titled, "Life is a game. This is your strategy guide." Thanks for the inspiration, Oliver! \n To put it simply, you only have a certain amount of force to provide to your work and where you place that force is just as important as how hard you work. \n Newton's Third Law of Productivity \n \n Third Law of Motion: When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body. (i.e. Equal and opposite forces.) \n We all have an average speed that we tend to perform at in life. Your typical levels of productivity and efficiency are often a balance of the productive and unproductive forces in your life - a lot like Newton's equal and opposite forces. \n There are productive forces in our lives like focus, positivity, and motivation. There are also unproductive forces like stress, lack of sleep, and trying to juggle too many tasks at once. \n \n If we want to become more effective and more productive, then we have two choices. \n The first option is to add more productive force. This is the "power through it" option. We gut it out, drink another cup of coffee, and work harder. This is why people take drugs that help them focus or watch a motivational video to pump themselves up. It's all an effort to increase your productive force and overpower the unproductive forces we face. \n \n Obviously, you can only do this for so long before you burn out, but for a brief moment the "power through it" strategy can work well. \n The second option is to eliminate the opposing forces. Simplify your life, learn how to say no, change your environment, reduce the number of responsibilities that you take on, and otherwise eliminate the forces that are holding you back. \n \n If you reduce the unproductive forces in your life, your productivity will glide forward naturally. It's like you magically remove the hand that has been holding you back. (As I like to say, if you eliminated all of the things distracting you from being productive, you wouldn't need tips on how to become more productive.) \n Most people try to power through and hammer their way past the barriers. The problem with this strategy is that you're still dealing with the other force. I find it to be much less stressful to cut out the opposing forces and let your productivity naturally flow forward. \n Newton's Laws of Productivity \n Newton's laws of motion reveal insights that tell you pretty much everything you need to know about how to be productive. \n \n Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Find a way to get started in less than 2 minutes. \n It's not just about working hard, it's also about working on the right things. You have a limited amount of force and where you apply it matters. \n Your productivity is a balance of opposing forces. If you want to be more productive, you can either power through the barriers or remove the opposing forces. The second option seems to be less stressful. \n Click here to leave a comment. \n Sources\n \n Psychology studies have also revealed that it is easier for us to stay in motion once we have started. Actually, what the studies show is that our human brains have a strong urge to finish tasks that we start. We don't like leaving things unfinished or partially done. This is a widely research phenomenon known as the Ziegarnik Effect, named after the Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik. \n The 2-Minute Rule originally comes from David Allen's best-selling book, Getting Things Done. \n Thanks to Travis Dommert for sharing the idea behind the "third law of productivity", which sparked this post. And to Sir Isaac Newton for being a man ahead of his time and for being a bold mofo who owned his rockstar hair.

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