Matt MacPherson

Class.

Peter Diamandis talks about the future and why we have so much to look forward to.

I believe the future is something we should all be very optimistic about. The changes that are occurring right now, and in the decades to come will be so profound, none of us can even begin to imagine the possibilities.

Our future may not be as bad as the TV says it’s going to be. Stay positive.

Can mushrooms change the world as we know it?

This is actually one of the most interesting TED talks I’ve heard in a long time (and believe me, I watch a LOT of TED talks). I think the potential implications of taking this mans insight into mycelium (mushrooms) seriously can dramatically disrupt not only the pesticide industry, but potentially many others as well.

I particularly found Stamets comparison of fungal “networks” to the Internet, our own neural net and how dark matter is constructed jaw-dropping. It’s absolutely fascinating how they’re all so similar on a truly universal level!

Advertising adds value to a product by changing our perception, rather than the product itself. Rory Sutherland makes the daring assertion that a change in perceived value can be just as satisfying as what we consider real value — and his conclusion has interesting consequences for how we look at life.

“You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You’re a plague and we are the cure.”

-Mr. Smith

Reprogramming Your Brain For Happiness (It’s surprisingly easy!)

3 Gratitudes

Every day, write down three new things you are grateful for. After doing this for 21 days your brain is “re-wired” to start scanning the world not for the negative but for the positive first.

Journaling

Journaling about one positive experience I have had over the last 24 hours allows your brain to re-live it. Go back and read these again some time.

Exercise

Teaches your brain that your behavior matters.

Meditation

Allows you to get over the cultural ADHD we have created by trying to do multiple tasks at once.

Random Acts of Kindness

Communicate to one person in your social network (perhaps every week) praising or thanking them. This can be done in person, over the phone, through email or even Facebook.

The secret structure of great presentations.

We are the amoeba transitioning into a multi-cellular organism.

I know this is old but if you haven’t already seen it then you’re missing out. Make love to the music.

Visions of The Future

I’ve studied brilliant people since I was a teenager. Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Julius Ceasar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Socrates, Thomas Jefferson (to name a few).

I had this crazy notion that maybe the only thing separating these wonderful people from me was their “thinking pattern”. The unique way they saw the world around them. Their perspective on reality. Sure, these are clearly all intelligent men, but I know lots of intelligent men who I consider complete failures.

It’s not intelligence as we typically understand it that defines brilliance. It’s something else. Something less tangible.

I think Einstein summed the difference up quite well:

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” – Albert Einstein

Einstein was referring to the imaginative part of our mind. Something I believe we all come into this world with but learn to block as we age.

As I studied the mindset of these great men, one thing became clear: They had vivid imaginations. A vision for the future, a dream they couldn’t let go of.

Don’t stop dreaming.