Learn with Humor

10 Life Tips from Improv Class

January 31, 2010

“Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life” – Oscar Wilde Though the art/life debate is similar to that of the chicken/egg, I am a firm believer that much can be gained from taking a look at art to reflect on our life (take the “What I Learned From” series for example). With that [...]

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5 Reasons You Should Always Carry a Pen

January 21, 2010

One of the things that has always stuck with me from the stand-up comedy world was always having something to write with. You never know when inspiration will strike, and when your job relies heavily on creativity, you want to capture every idea you can. Even though I now do most of writing and note-taking [...]

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Want to Be More Creative? Be More Obvious

January 8, 2010

What’s the first thing people say when it’s time to be creative? “Let’s think outside the box.” But for those of you who have sat through countless brainstorming sessions, you know that doesn’t always work. In fact, in many cases, it leads you further away from solving the problem. What should you do instead? Follow [...]

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Why New Year’s Resolutions Suck (But Why You Should Make Them Anyway)

December 28, 2009

Every year, over 100 million Americans make a New Year’s Resolution; only 18% of those people will actually keep it. If less than 1/5th of the people that make a resolution actually keep them, why even bother coming up with a new goal to start working on the first of year? We’ll get to that, [...]

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Gifts Coworkers Will Actually Like

December 8, 2009

The Holiday season is upon us here in the United States and that means holiday work events are on the calendar. Whether you’re involved in some sort of gift exchange like a “Secret Santa” or just want to show a coworker some appreciation, picking the right gift can be a pain. To ease the process [...]

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Productivity Questions to Improve Personal Effectiveness

December 1, 2009

Want to be more productive? Answer these productivity questions and learn what makes you productive. To get started, here are some questions Peter F. Drucker hints at in The Effective Executive (page 96), plus a few that have helped me: Do you work better in the morning or at night? Do you need to make [...]

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The Applied Improvisation Network

November 20, 2009

Last week I attended the Applied Improvisation Network (AIN) Conference, a gathering of some of the forem0st thought leaders on the use of improvisation to improve organizations. From the AIN Website, the AIN “is a community of practitioners and clients who value the use of improvisation skills in organizations to: improve relationships increase authenticity promote [...]

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The Value of Writing Well

November 18, 2009

Despite being in 3-4 meetings per day at work, my company is driven by the written word–it drives accountability, clarity and decisions. One VP at my company lists writing as one of the most important skills new employees must master in order to be successful. But why is writing well so important? It makes you [...]

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12 Inspirational Lyrics from Hip-Hop

November 4, 2009

When it comes to music, hip-hop gets a bad rap (pun intended). The stereotype is that all rap songs are about money, drugs, and/or women. And while that’s true for a lot of the songs that make it to the radio and the clubs, there are a number songs that can be inspiring and motivating. [...]

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