10 Jul 2024
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Blue Zones: Longevity Miracle or Just Bad Data?

Blue Zones: Longevity Miracle or Just Bad Data?

A few months ago we shared lessons from bestselling author Dan Buettner’s series, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. There are several lessons I have applied to my plans for a long, happy life. Just this past week I heard an interview that questioned whether the Blue Zones are real, or instead a case of bad data. Here is what I found out through a bit of research. Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones Dan Buettner’s Netflix series Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones describes areas of the world with higher life expectancies and…
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12 Jun 2024
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Surprising Unconventional Tips for Better Sleep

Surprising Unconventional Tips for Better Sleep

Our previous post shared ways to improve sleep by optimizing the quantity, quality, regularity, and timing – the QQRT factors – of sleep. Sleep is critical to health and wellness, and research shows optimizing all four of these factors will keep you well-rested. We learned about these factors from research on the work of Dr. Matthew Walker, Professor and Founder of the Center for Human Sleep Science. This post will focus on additional factors that impact your sleep and includes several surprising unconventional tips for better sleep recommended by Dr. Walker. Before we mention the unconventional tips, here are some basics…
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15 May 2024
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Improve Sleep by Optimizing Quantity, Quality, Regularity, and Timing

Improve Sleep by Optimizing Quantity, Quality, Regularity, and Timing

Until very recently, science has been unable to explain why we spend over one-third of our lives sleeping. Dr. Matthew Walker tackles that topic in his 2017 bestseller, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. Walker is a Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Founder and Director of the Center for Human Sleep Science and has recently shared his updated research as a podcast guest. Sleep is a key factor in our health, wellness, and longevity – this post will focus on how to improve sleep by optimizing quantity, quality, regularity, and…
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21 Feb 2024
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Live the Secrets of the Blue Zones for a Long, Happy Life

Live the Secrets of the Blue Zones for a Long, Happy Life

Photo Credit: Blue Zones A few months ago we shared bestselling author Dan Buettner’s video introducing some of the biggest secrets to why people living in “blue zone” have much higher than normal life expectancies. It was a promotion for his new four-part Netflix series, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones that we just finished watching. This post shares a few of the secrets from Buettner’s Netflix series. Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones Dan Buettner is a National Geographic Fellow and bestselling author who has found five “blue zones” in the world where people live…
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27 Dec 2023
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Personal Kaizen: The Secret to Living a Longer, Healthier Life

Personal Kaizen: The Secret to Living a Longer, Healthier Life

The second rule of our 10 Rules for Life is to take care of your body and mind. Personal Kaizen has several upcoming posts focused on longevity – the secret to living a longer, healthier life. We will summarize the new book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity and share our research on behaviors and habits to adopt for a long, happy life. Today’s post shares highlights from bestselling author Dan Buettner’s research into why people living in “blue zone” have much higher than normal life expectancies. He has a new Netflix series we will be watching this winter.…
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29 Nov 2023
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5 Ways to Master Life’s Biggest Transitions

5 Ways to Master Life’s Biggest Transitions

We have all experienced a life-changing transition at some point in our lives, whether it be the loss of a loved one, an unexpected career switch, or something else. While change is often seen as scary and intimidating, writer, Bruce Feiler, believes that it is possible to master transition. This week the Personal Kaizen team shares a TedTalk by Feiler, where he shares five ways to master life's biggest and toughest transitions. https://www.ted.com/talks/bruce_feiler_the_secret_to_mastering_life_s_biggest_transitions?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare The Life Story Project Bruce traveled all over the United States and interviewed hundreds of people in all 50 states who were willing to share their life…
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01 Nov 2023
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Procrastinating in a Positive Way

Procrastinating in a Positive Way

Whether we're putting off a hard assignment, delaying the workout that we often dread, or leaving the chores for "just another day", we've all had some sort of personal experience with procrastination. According to Psychology Today, about 20 percent of the population are habitual procrastinators! When we think of procrastinating, the first thought is likely using our cell phones to scroll social media, text or call our friends, or surf the web instead of doing the task at hand. However, that's not always the case, as any time we aren't setting priorities, we tend to procrastinate. Here is a simple…
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04 Oct 2023
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Does Following Your Passions in Life Really Work?

Does Following Your Passions in Life Really Work?

There are many cliches about making sure you have a job that aligns with your passions. That way, you will, “never be bored” and, “never want to retire.” But does following your passions in life really work? Who is doing this right now? And is this even possible for most people? We also wonder if “following your passions” is better advice than “maximizing your natural strengths.” This is the first rule in our Ten Rules for Life, so we are going to explore this difference to share with our readers and potentially adjust our first rule. Following Your Passions in…
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06 Sep 2023
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Sam Altman’s Take on “How to be Successful”

Sam Altman’s Take on “How to be Successful”

Photo Credit: Vox Sam Altman is a computer programmer, entrepreneur, and the current CEO of OpenAI. He was previously the CEO of the incubator Y Combinator and founder (at the age of 19) of a social network mobile app, Loopt. I recently came across a blog post Altman shared in 2019 titled, “How to be Successful,” where Altman shares 13 thoughts on how to achieve outlier success. I am going to read and comment on the 13 thoughts in his post and share my take with the Personal Kaizen community. Will some of Altman’s 13 thoughts be worth adding to…
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02 Aug 2023
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Excellent Advice for Living

Excellent Advice for Living

I recently finished the 2023 book Excellent Advice for Living, Wisdom I Wish I’d Known Earlier by Kevin Kelly. Kelly is an author, the founding executive editor of Wired magazine, and a former editor/publisher of the Whole Earth Review. Kelly collected 68 bits of wisdom to share with his adult children on his 68th birthday. When they asked for more, he kept going until he had about 450 – enough to publish in a book. Each page of the book contains a few bits of advice – here are some of our favorites. Advice on Values Don’t define yourself by your opinions, because…
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