http://www.mensa.org/workout

Morse made the first public demonstration of his telegraph by sending a message from the Supreme Court Chamber in the U.S.Capitol to the B&O Railroad “outer depot” (now the B & O Railroad Museum) in Baltimore. The famous message was: What hath God wrought (from the Biblical Book of Numbers 23:23: Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!).

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”—although the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time—the festival lasted for three days. While no record exists of the historic banquet’s exact menu, the Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow wrote in his journal that Governor Bradford sent four men on a “fowling” mission in preparation for the event, and that the Wampanguests arrived bearing five deer. Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower’s sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of contemporary celebrations.

There are smart dogs, and there are Einstein canines. Mia clearly belongs in the latter category. When a fire engulfed her family’s home in Greenville, S.C., the one-year-old Belgian Malinois opened four doors to make her way to the basement. There, she stood in a cool bathtub that quickly filled with water as firefighters doused the blaze. Mia’s owners, Chris and Codi Brumby, were enjoying dinner out with their two children when they learned of the house fire. After six hours of intense heat, smoke and flames, they assumed Mia had not survived. When she was carried out by firefighters, she was soaked and bewildered, but completely unharmed.

For Students:

• Ask questions when you don’t understand. Take responsibility when you need help by asking for it. Acting with confidence whatever your level will help to foster more self-confidence.

• Emphasize strengths. Give yourself credit for everything you try. By focusing on what you can do, you applaud yourself for efforts rather than emphasizing end products.

• Take risks – stretch a bit beyond your comfort zone. Approach new experiences as opportunities to learn rather than occasions to win or lose.

• Be your own cheerleader. Tell yourself how proud you are of everything you’ve done. Positive self-talk is a great way to quiet any critical thoughts you may have. For example, when you catch yourself expecting perfection, remind yourself that you can’t do everything perfectly, that it’s only possible to do your best. This allows you to accept yourself while still striving to improve.

• Set reasonable goals. Do your best and be happy with that.

• Self-Evaluate. Learn to evaluate yourself independently. Focusing internally on how you feel about your own behavior, work, etc. will give you a stronger sense of self.

• Learn what resources and help are available to you in your school and community and learn how to use those resources. For example: libraries, counsellors, teachers, study groups, tutors, the internet.

For Parents of Students:

• Remind your child of his/her accomplishments.

• Praise efforts.

• Find out what your child’s goals are; ask your child how she feels about her ability to reach those goals. Ask about your child’s fears in reaching those goals. Be careful not to judge or comment negatively about your belief in their ability.

• Set a positive example by behaving with self-confidence.

Volume 42, Issue 2, Fall 2005
Business Today
by Arun Alagappan

“Evidence abounds to support the perception that Americans are underperforming academically. The most recent International Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) indicates that, in a test of math skills among eighth-graders from 46 countries, the United States-despite its unparalleled resources-ranked 15th. Yet Americans think they do better, ranking themselves 4th overall when asked to assess their own performance. Conversely, students from the five highest-performing nations rank themselves 28th, 38th, 41st, 44th, and 45th, respectively. American students reflect our national paradox: we speak confidently, even righteously, about the value of education, but our actions fall short. This problem demands a new educational approach. I propose a model that can be leveraged on a national scale, calling upon private enterprise with relentlessly high standards and a social conscience to offer a substantive contribution. Tutoring by exceptional tutors is the solution.

Tutoring, with its ineluctably low student-teacher ratio, may not seem like the most intuitive approach to improving education for the masses. But good tutoring is efficient, and stunningly effective. One-on-one instruction goes straight to the heart of education: the exchange between teacher and student.”

The Myth of Passion and Motivation

“On this particular day in the gym, there was a coach visiting who had worked with thousands of athletes over his long career, including some nationally-ranked athletes and Olympians.

I had just finished my workout when I asked him, “What’s the difference between the best athletes and everyone else. What do the really successful people do that most people don’t?”

He briefly mentioned the things that you might expect. Genetics. Luck. Talent.

But then he said something I wasn’t expecting.

“At some point,” he said, “it comes down to who can handle the boredom of training every day and doing the same lifts over and over and over again.”

That piece of advice surprised me because it’s a different way of thinking about work ethic.

Most of the time people talk about getting motivated and “amped up” to work on their goals. Whether it’s business or sports or art, you will commonly hear people say things like, “it all comes down to having enough passion.”

As a result, I think many people get depressed when they lose focus or motivation because they think that successful people have some unstoppable passion and willpower that they seem to be missing. But that’s exactly the opposite of what this coach was saying.

Instead, he was saying that really successful people feel the same boredom and the same lack of motivation that everyone else feels. They don’t have some magic pill that makes them feel ready and inspired every day. But the difference is that the people who stick with their goals don’t let their emotions determine their actions. Top performers still find a way to show up, to work through the boredom, and to embrace the daily practice that is required to achieve their goals.

According to him, it’s this ability to do the work when it’s not easy that separates the top performers from everyone else. That’s the difference between professionals and amateurs.”  James Clear

Seinfeld writes jokes every day and has done this for many years. The consistent effort he puts in is what has sharpened his skills and made him a master comedian.  

Isaac caught Seinfeld backstage and asked if he had “any tips for a young comic.”Brad Isaac is a young comedian who found himself in a club where Jerry Seinfeld was performing.

Here’s how Isaac described his interaction with Seinfeld…

He said the way to be a better comic was to create better jokes and the way to create better jokes was to write every day.

He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.

He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day.

“After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is to not break the chain.”

So take Jerry’s advice to stay consistent.  “Don’t break the chain,” he said again for emphasis.

It works because it isn’t the one-shot pushes that get us where we want to go, it is the consistent daily action that builds extraordinary outcomes. You may have heard “inch by inch anything’s a cinch.” Inch by inch does work if you can move an inch every day.

 Daily action builds habits. It gives you practice and will make you an expert in a short time. If you don’t break the chain, you’ll start to spot opportunities you otherwise wouldn’t. Small improvements accumulate into large improvements rapidly because daily action provides “compounding interest.”

Skipping one day makes it easier to skip the next.

Answer:  Abraham Lincoln