Death Of The Internet

RIP - YOU'LL BE MISSED

We had it good for a while. The freedoms of the internet to connect, share, break down walls and be free from convention - it was great while we had them. The Pirate's Dilemma promised so much.

Regulation, copyright protection, government intervention, corporation control - these have all started the demise and ultimately brought about the death of the internet. Do a search in Google for anything controversial - like torrent sites, government cover-up theories, compromising stories of the rich and powerful or left-field reportage and blogs. Even with a VPN, which used to allow access to stuff that was controlled by IP filters and locked down through various internet service providers - where you could find other countries free from the EU, UK or USA's control, that would show this information, but now the stuff isn't there anymore. Either they have been shut down or the powers that be have restricted their offering. Look at all the videos removed on Youtube for a sign of how heavy handed the copyright laws have become.

With the advances in computer power and low-cost digital filing, we are being monitored and censored like never before. And anything not fitting in with the powers that be is shut down under the name of terrorism, copyright infringement, or merely just because it could upset someone in power. We're being increasingly told what's 'good for us' and what they don't want us to know about is being filtered out. Some of the information could be potentially harmful to minors and yes, some of the digital property needs to be paid for, but the responsibility needs to be in the hands of the individual to make the right choices. That's why the freedom of information act needs to be signed and supported by the population.

The greatest era for learning, connecting and empowerment is here. It's up to us all to ensure it's still here for the future generations to enjoy with the freedom to make the greatest advances in mankind's ongoing development.

Festival Magic

BLOWING OFF STEAM

It's essential to let our hair down occasionally so we want to throw off our worries and feel some freedom from a modern conformist way of life, but it can at times, take us close to insanity as we shut off our minds to fully experience a state of abandon. And that's the way of a good festival. 

Dancing around in a field with a good set of close friends and like-minded strangers, all getting a bit too twisted on the hooch, forgoing sleep and taking on very little food for a few days - can bring about a magical mindset that resets the mind and brings about this much needed sense of freedom that we can only get through carefree abandon.

We see this practice in many older cultures too, where trance-induced drum beating and mind altering potions are taken to bring about these altered states - for joining communities together, healing the sick or connecting to the greater forces in the universe. Nothing has really changed in that regard as is evident with the modern dance music scene that's influenced our hedonistic culture - a rite of passage that so many of us go through to lose ourselves at the many festivals across the world. 

Alignment To Success

MOVING IN CIRCLES

Being able to associate in and with successful circles lies at the core of personal success. Having positive and influential people in our lives can help us to realise our own potential. Being mis-aligned in and with groups that ultimately want to see failure from us - in order to keep aligned with their own failures and missed opportunities for success, will keep us from ever reaching our goals.

The connections we can make through social media - commenting/contributing to debate and also reaching out to the extended circles in the group plus attending seminars/talks from these visionaries, to further immerse ourselves, will ensure we are closer-aligned with other great, inspirational thinkers. This will help propel us into the limelight, where we become part of the zeitgeist where our life purpose has the potential to be recognised in ourselves and by others as it takes significant form.

The Difinitive Rules For Engagement

THE HANDSHAKE

As a guy, I find it easy to make friends, diffuse a tricky situation, form allegiances on business and secure a partnership or deal, all with an old established bond of trust. One given by extending the handshake.

This brief touch of the hands is said to originate as a gesture to show no weapons in the hand but also as a first contact, releases a bonding hormone called Oxytocin. I generally go for the firm but not too crushing type and look the other person squarely in the eyes and smile. Nothing too fancy (like these OTT ones from Buzzfeed), familiar or overbearing, but a human bonding and clear sign of trust. This same method applies to both men and women and this show of equality across the sexes has gotten me some good results. It's a greatly under-valued communicative tool for everything. Just make sure you're giving the right impression when shaking as there's many ways to get it wrong!

Recognising Equality
It's the other simple factor for getting the rules of engagement right. I've already covered this subject somewhat in a previous post but I'll go over it again here, as the importance of engaging with someone, recognising their space and presence...and being sympathetic to their requirements and needs, will instantly break down barriers. So important in new situations and practiced by business leaders and ambassadors the world over (clearly more work needed by UK Prime Minister, David Cameron in video FAIL above). We are all equals at the end of the day and remembering this little fact when we want to get somewhere, something or have a situation go in our favour, in order to come out the other side winning - is often all we need. And all can be obtained through applying very little effort.

Coupled with a handshake and a smile, doors will open and opportunities will present themselves. Think of it as a subtle form of 'charm'. You may not have the 'razzle-dazzle' of a charmer and you may come off as a little bit underwhelming at first, but provided you have the time and engagement skills to show a little more charm thereafter, you'll be perceived as a solid and reliable person that can be warmed to - rather than a promising early encounter with a hollow core...

Overstimulation

BRAIN BURNOUT

Do you sometimes feel you're brain is like a TV set with a stuck channel switching button? I do. I think the years of cramming as much in to my day all at the same time, have taken a toll - I'm getting brain burnout.

I posted earlier in the year about Inspiration Overload and the need for better time management to do all the things we want in our lifetimes. Since then, I've thought more about this modern-day phenomena of having so many information channels open to us and what it could mean trying to digest everything all at the same time. Learning is fun and work is rewarding too. I get a kick out of both and like the feeling of delivering under pressure and the rewards of completing a set of tasks for myself - often before most people have got out of bed these days. It's like a game and feels like you're creating time when you manage everything so efficiently - juggling responsibilities and learning new stuff in that limited window of time. It's been my key motivator for getting up so early every day. However, I'm starting to feel a little like a pinball machine and not sure it's doing me as much good as doing less and focussing more on one thing at a time.

My mornings start with a glance at the calendar & to do-list, then I'll have a series of windows open on my computer that will contain the inspiration and reference materials ready to ingest, learn and write about. As I only have a limited time-frame to work within, I'll often be 'multitasking' in order to get everything done and there's many reasons to suggest why juggling multiple tasks is best avoided.

Multitasking is a myth
Research confirms that what we are in fact doing, is flicking back and forwards between each task - as our brains can only manage one set of instructions at a time. In doing so, we are losing valuable time in the switch - which, over a period, shows a decrease in productivity and can actually do us harm. Each time we complete a little task like answering an email/text or completing a to-do, there's a release of dopamine in our brains that gives us that 'rewarding' feeling.

It's been shown in studies on rats that we can become addicted to these reward 'hits' in the same way a drug addict will be addicted to a cocaine buzz. Repeated and sustained periods of information bombardment can tax our brains in a way to cause exhaustion, anxiety and in some recently shown cases with gamers, even death.

Get organised
Having so much digital house-keeping to do can cause a lot of stress. This means over time, an increase in levels of cortisone. In the good old days before always-on technology, there were times spent away from computers and now smart phones, when you could focus on just the one task - and quietly use your brain. It is great having a mini-computer in our pockets but we have to keep on top of everything that this technology brings us. We need to get organised and this book by Daniel Levtin should help - The Organised Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload.

Creating folders for keeping your email in-box clutter-free is just one of the fixes you can make, but understanding how our brains have evolved and work will help us to understand our limitations more. My digital content/connectivity has gotten to the point where I'm now getting sick of my phone buzzing away with notifications and I fear burnout if I don't switch off more from having this level of connectivity.

I'd like to remove myself completely from the digital world at some point like this guy did, but for now it's all about managing the time I'm exposed to it. I've stripped back on subscribed newsletters, switched my email app to manual checking for new mail and removed most of the notifications from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and any of the other non-important apps on my iPhone. I've added a sign-off to my email which states the times I will be checking mail and my working hours. Arguably, the best thing to do, is ditch the mobile all together and switch back to a regular phone, but that's difficult to reverse unless everyone does it.

We can certainly take some time out to be mindful as we see from the teachings contained in this post - watch the video under the heading: An Ancient Practice, A Modern Need. But if we still wish to stay connected, it should only be in moderation. Maybe there's an app out there that restricts the phone's functionality, in essence, only allowing short periods of time throughout the day via a stop watch, with pre-determined minutes for using the phone for anything other than calls. If there isn't - someone make it please!