Podcast 527: Captivology: The Science of Capturing People’s Attention with Ben Parr

Have you tried to capture someone’s attention these days? Do feel like to have to set off a flair in front of their face just to get a few minutes of their focused attention? That is the way that I feel sometimes.

I am certain that in our world today many of us has a bad case of Attention Deficit Disorder, and it is not all the fault of the individuals.  Our world and the things in it that require our attention has increased exponentially.  As a matter of fact we use to speak about Moore’s Law and that the computing power would double every two years, now who know how frequently it is doubling today?

Google receives 4,000,000 searches every minute.  For more fun stats on the amount of data we deal with daily,  just click here to be directed to Data Never Sleeps 2.0 graphic and article. 

Ben Parr the author of Captivology: The Science of Capturing People’s Attention has been studying how to capture people’s attention.  He has come up with some very interesting facts, there are three types of attention-immediate, short and long term attention.  He also states that you can capture all three of these types of attention with what Ben refers to as the “seven captivation triggers.  In my interview with Ben we explore the captivation triggers and the research behind them.

I recommend that you listen to and get a copy of Ben’s book if you are in the business trying to capture the attention of your customers, or just your fellow workers.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with Ben Parr on his new book “Captivology“.   You can learn more by visiting his website by clicking here, or Facebook or Twitter.

Podcast 523: Triggers, Creating Behavior that Lasts–Becoming The Person You Want To Be with Marshall Goldsmith

What prevent us from becoming the person we would “really” like to become?  That is a question that we have all asked ourselves and in Marshall Goldsmith’s new book entitled “Triggers: he provides the readers with what he refers to as Triggers that thwart us from becoming that person.  So just what are the triggers according to Marshall?

First is “If I understand, I will do., Second, “I have the willpower and won’t give in to temptation.” Third, “Today is a special day” Fourth, “At least I’am better than…..”, Fifth, “I shouldn’t need help and structure.” Sixth, “I won’t get tired and my enthusiasm will not fade.” Seventh, ” I have all the time in the world.” Eight, “I won’t get distracted and nothing unexpected will occur.” Ninth, ” An epiphany will suddenly change my life.” Tenth, My change will be permanent and I will never have to worry again.”   Do any of these sound familiar?

In my interview with Marshall we explore the reasons, environment and behavior that prevents us from becoming the person we have always wanted to become.   We also discuss about something that Marshall refers to as the power of checklists? Marshall speaks with me about a book called “The Checklist Manifesto”  and explains the power of using checklists to keep us from doing “stupid” stuff.  Marshall has his assistant call and ask him “Daily Questions”, 29 questions that keep him focused and “becoming that person he wants to become”.

If you want to learn more from the master coach Marshall Goldsmith I highly recommend you listening to our interview together, then go out and get a copy of “Triggers“.  This book will provide you with insights and wisdom into your own self sabotage that is getting in the way of you being a better person.

If you want more information about Marshall please click here to be directed to his website, or click here to be directed to his Facebook page.

Thanks for listening. Enjoy learning from one of the real masters.

Podcast 509: Unretirement with Chris Farrell

I happen to listen to National Public Radio a lot, and I was listening to an interview with Chris Farrell about his new book entitled “Unretirement: How Baby Boomers Are Changing The Way We Think About Work, Community, and the Good Life.”  I was so intrigued that I reached out to Chris and he granted me an interview.

You will find that Chris does not buy into the gloom and doom that most economists believe, the sky is falling– Social Security is going to fail and there’s not enough money.  Chris is quite the contrarian and believes that if we the retirees shift our thinking about retirement, including our mindset or  better yet why retire at all if you are healthy and can still make a contribution to society.

You must understand that this is a controversial topic these days, and it is not because their is a conspiracy to convince the baby boomers to take their retirements at age 70 because the government can’t afford the early retirees and payouts, it is because so many baby boomers are living longer are healthier and want to make a contribution to the world.   We are living longer are more active and have much to contribute to society, communities, organizations–so why not continue to make a difference and work.

Chris makes interesting observation from Peter Drucker in “Unretirement”, that every once in a while society crosses a major divide, and that we are crossing the divide now.  We are making the difficult transition toward a different vision of the elder years.  This vision includes, people working longer, making more contributions to society, working in contract jobs, becoming entrepreneurs and volunteers.  Chris’s book is the roadmap for workers of all ages who want to adapt from the work-then-retire mindset.

I hope you enjoy my interview with Chris Farrell about “Unretirement” If you want to learn more you can go to Chris’s website by clicking here.