Dr. CK Lin | Productivity. Innovation. Entrepreneur Profiles

Courtesy of J.T.D(http://www.flickr.com/photos/14850096@N03/)

Read this if you find people fascinating and you want to understand your partners better.

I am student of human behaviors.  I find people fascinating.  Fascinating but equally perplexed.

For example, men’s obsession with cars and women’s obsession with shoes.

I’d like to be able to predict the general behavior of someone.

So over the years I have studied Myers Brigg and other personality typing methodology and body language analysis.  And more recently dabbled in the art of handwriting analysis.   I learned that there aren’t any silver bullets that can determine someone’s behavior with absolute certainty.  Human beings are complex human beings after all.   Like Sigmund Freud said: “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

This morning I came across a Chinese passage that condenses what I have learned from all the years of watching people in a just few sentences.

to evaluate a man’s character, watch his eyes
to evaluate the worth of a man, watch who he picks as his opponent
to evaluate someone’s potential, watch how he spends time alone
to evaluate someone’s true self, watch people surrounding him
to evaluate someone’s personality, watch how he writes
to evaluate if someone is happy, don’t watch how he smiles, watch the first facial expression when he wakes up in the morning
to evaluate the size of someone’s tolerance, evaluate his reaction during failure and betrayal
to evaluate someone’s courage, watch how he faces death
to evaluate the true relationship between two people, watch how anxious one gets when the other is in danger

As well as I know myself, I tested these statements against myself.  Thinking back the moments when I had faced death a few times, the test is accurate. It also gave me an opportunity to evaluate how I have grown over the years.  How I acted when I was 5 versus 15 versus 20 and so on.

Take a moment to reflect back how you acted and reacted when you faced the circumstances stated in the quote.  Are they accurate?

Hope this helps you gain more clarity in who you are and what you stand for.

Ready this if you are interested in free wi-fi spaces in the Orange County area

With my new focus on internet marketing and publishing, I found myself in a lot of meetings that require everyone to have wi-fi.

Unfortunately, not all wi-fi is free and not all wi-fi locations are created equal.  It’s quite frustrating at times to find the perfect  meeting spot that works for not only me but everyone I work with.  Would you agree with me?

Since I live in the Orange County area, I decided to compile a list of locations suitable for business settings.

Here is my criteria:

1.  Free wi-fi.  You may be surprised by the lack of access in cities as a whole.  Restaurant and coffee shop owners, why wouldn’t you install them at your business place?  Free wifi=free traffic and more goods and services.

2.  Quietude.  Ahh..yes.  But not too quiet where business discussions can’t happen without other patrons give you the look.

3.  Comfortable seating/standing options.  If you haven’t tried working standing up, try it.  You’ll be amazed by the amount of focus and energy you will have.

4.  Whiteboard.  Visual learners and list builders, this is for you.  Like my living space, I need space for brainstorming and action items.

After scouring the internet, here is the compilation other people recommend:

• Boudin Sourdough Bakery 2803 Main St, Irvine
• UCI University Library 4512 Sandburg Way, Irvine, CA 92612, USA
• Champps Americana 51 Fortune Drive Suite 500 Irvine, CA 92618
• Corner Bakery Cafe 91 Fortune Dr, Irvine, CA 92618, USA
• Earth Cafe 5409 University Dr Irvine, CA 92612
• Java City 18100 Culver Blvd. Irvine, California 92603
• Cha for Tea Cafe 4187 Campus Drive Irvine, CA 92612
• Tully’s Coffee 4610 Barranca Pkwy Irvine, CA 92604-4735
• Diedrich Coffee
• Peet’s Coffee & Tea
• Panera Bread

I am going to evaluate these entries based on my criteria and let you know.

Where do you work?  Do you settle for uncomfortable, noisy places for your business meetings?

Go write down your criteria.

I’d like to know what criteria you use to find the perfect spot for your productivity.

I Procrastinate Too Much- How can I do it productively?

It’s Thursday! Which means it’s almost Friday, which means it’s almost the weekend, which means you are almost doing your work.

Here’s a video that explains how the phrase “productive procrastination” is not oxymoronic.

Let’s face it people love to procrastinate.

And contrary to popular belief… grad students are people too.

From ESPN to celebrity gossip, YOUTUBE and Comedy Central, we have a million and one ways to procrastinate.

So, the real question is: How can we procrastinate productively?

How can we move forward with our research, still pass the time, but not waste it?

There really is no better way to procrastinate productively, than to hear the musings of other scientists. Try the following Read the rest of this entry »

I have arrived at the grad school of my choice- NOW WHAT?

SO, you’ve gotten into the grad school of your choice…NOW what?

Starting grad school is a challenge (understatement).

Not only do you have to navigate a new place, meet your peers, find mentors, and engage in rigorous academic activity… you also have to finish on time!

The key to accomplishing this is to immediately assess where you want to be when you graduate, and take the path of least resistance to get there.

Here’s how. Read the rest of this entry »

Most Popular Grad Schools, Departments in Down Economy

Here’s an AP report that shows which graduate schools and departments have seen the biggest rise in applications, as students look to avoid the job market.