http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmLE2bliXCI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OonDPGwAyfQ
Friday, June 11, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Conquer Stage Fright
You’re standing at the podium, facing an agitated crowd. Do you even remember what you were going to say? Your palms sweat and your knees feel like they are about to buckle. Your heart pounds and you breathe shallow breaths. Your throat feels constricted.
Your body is shaking with stage fright, and it is too late to turn back. You don’t have time to calm yourself down, and the clock is ticking. What can you do?
“Use your mind to trick your body,” says international mentalist, Nick Compise. Take a moment to convince yourself that you are not nervous, but excited. Because nervousness and excitement cause the same reactions in your body (increased heart rate, sweating, weakness in the knees, lightheadedness, etc.), changing your state of mind can turn crippling stage fright into charisma.
In order for this to work, you must take a leap of faith and allow yourself to truly believe you are excited, not afraid. Then you can use the physical symptoms of stage fright to your advantage.
If you’re terrified to face a crowd, challenge yourself to try using this mind trick in the next couple of days. Speak at Toastmasters, sing karaoke, or make a simple presentation at work. If you are successful, you will have the confidence to take on a greater challenge the next time you try.
If you can beat your stage fright, you will have the power to reach out to people on a larger scale than ever before. What do you want to share? A song? A lesson? Improv Comedy? The world is waiting to hear from you!
*Mentalism is the art of appearing to have supernatural powers. This is done through observation, the power of suggestion, and showmanship. Mentalists must rigorously study psychology and the mind in order to succeed as performers. Expert Nick Compise is from New York, and has performed in the United States and abroad.
Your body is shaking with stage fright, and it is too late to turn back. You don’t have time to calm yourself down, and the clock is ticking. What can you do?
“Use your mind to trick your body,” says international mentalist, Nick Compise. Take a moment to convince yourself that you are not nervous, but excited. Because nervousness and excitement cause the same reactions in your body (increased heart rate, sweating, weakness in the knees, lightheadedness, etc.), changing your state of mind can turn crippling stage fright into charisma.
In order for this to work, you must take a leap of faith and allow yourself to truly believe you are excited, not afraid. Then you can use the physical symptoms of stage fright to your advantage.
If you’re terrified to face a crowd, challenge yourself to try using this mind trick in the next couple of days. Speak at Toastmasters, sing karaoke, or make a simple presentation at work. If you are successful, you will have the confidence to take on a greater challenge the next time you try.
If you can beat your stage fright, you will have the power to reach out to people on a larger scale than ever before. What do you want to share? A song? A lesson? Improv Comedy? The world is waiting to hear from you!
*Mentalism is the art of appearing to have supernatural powers. This is done through observation, the power of suggestion, and showmanship. Mentalists must rigorously study psychology and the mind in order to succeed as performers. Expert Nick Compise is from New York, and has performed in the United States and abroad.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
When Fate Steps In
Discovering photography was Daguerre's primary goal in life. He pursued it relentlessly for years, but to no avail. He knew he was right on the edge of inventing photography, but he couldn't figure out the last step: how to develop an exposed plate to reveal the picture.
A thermometer that burst in his cupboard showed him the answer. The spilled mercury developed the plate, turning a blank piece of metal into a photograph. That fateful accident provided Daguerre with the missing ingredient he needed to become the world's first photographer.
If it wasn't for fate, Daguerre may never have found what he was looking for, and the history of photography would be forever changed.
I felt guided by the hands of fate today when I got lost and discovered an abandoned apartment complex. It was an urban explorer's paradise. There were at least twenty buildings on site, and almost all of them were accessible. There were no "no trespassing" signs, and it was possible to enter without breaking in. The legal risk was low, and the place was completely deserted.
I can always tell when there are people inside of a building. It is as though I can sense their hearts beating in the collapsing rooms or feel their thoughts reaching out into the space around them.
I got out of the car in my little green sundress and went through the first open door I came to. People had left furniture behind along with many of their personal things. The complex had been deserted in a hurry. It looked like it had been that way for a long time, but few (if any) looters had come through to ravage it.
I was treated to an hour of learning about the lives of the people who had been there, and contemplating who they were and why they left. Those thoughts spun into stories which I will now write and share with mankind.
Like Daguerre's mercury spill helped him contribute photography to society, my wrong turn helped me contribute to the next generation of American literature.
Accidentally finding that exploration site made me think about what fate really is. I realized that when we're fixated on something, we are more likely to see opportunities related to that subject. Our passions become the lens through which we see the world.
Opportunities relating to math or the stock market probably spring up around me all the time, but I'm blind to them because I'm not equipped to recognize their value. In a similar vein, a person who is not a born storyteller may see abandoned buildings as useless places filled with junk rather than anthropological relics filled with clues about the people who once lived there.
You know you and fate are working hand in hand when you see something that makes your heart pound, and instead of continuing on your way, you change course and accept your next challenge.
A thermometer that burst in his cupboard showed him the answer. The spilled mercury developed the plate, turning a blank piece of metal into a photograph. That fateful accident provided Daguerre with the missing ingredient he needed to become the world's first photographer.
If it wasn't for fate, Daguerre may never have found what he was looking for, and the history of photography would be forever changed.
I felt guided by the hands of fate today when I got lost and discovered an abandoned apartment complex. It was an urban explorer's paradise. There were at least twenty buildings on site, and almost all of them were accessible. There were no "no trespassing" signs, and it was possible to enter without breaking in. The legal risk was low, and the place was completely deserted.
I can always tell when there are people inside of a building. It is as though I can sense their hearts beating in the collapsing rooms or feel their thoughts reaching out into the space around them.
I got out of the car in my little green sundress and went through the first open door I came to. People had left furniture behind along with many of their personal things. The complex had been deserted in a hurry. It looked like it had been that way for a long time, but few (if any) looters had come through to ravage it.
I was treated to an hour of learning about the lives of the people who had been there, and contemplating who they were and why they left. Those thoughts spun into stories which I will now write and share with mankind.
Like Daguerre's mercury spill helped him contribute photography to society, my wrong turn helped me contribute to the next generation of American literature.
Accidentally finding that exploration site made me think about what fate really is. I realized that when we're fixated on something, we are more likely to see opportunities related to that subject. Our passions become the lens through which we see the world.
Opportunities relating to math or the stock market probably spring up around me all the time, but I'm blind to them because I'm not equipped to recognize their value. In a similar vein, a person who is not a born storyteller may see abandoned buildings as useless places filled with junk rather than anthropological relics filled with clues about the people who once lived there.
You know you and fate are working hand in hand when you see something that makes your heart pound, and instead of continuing on your way, you change course and accept your next challenge.
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