The YKK stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha (say that five times fast). In 1934 Tadao Yoshida founded Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha (translated Yoshida Industries Limited). This company is now the worlds foremost zipper manufacturer … making about 90% of all zippers in over 206 facilities in 52 countries.

In fact, they not only make the zippers, they also make the machines that make the zippers! There is no word on if they make the machines that make the parts that make up the machines that make the zippers. Their largest factory in Georgia makes over 7 million zippers per day.

In any event, Mr. Yoshida’s company zipped to number one by practicing the “Cycle of Goodness”, as he called it.  Namely, “No one prospers unless he renders benefit to others.” Using this principle, he endeavored to create the best zippers out there that would hold up over long periods of time in the end product. This in turn would benefit both the manufacturers who used his zippers and the end customer and because of these things benefit his company with higher repeat and referral sales, thus completing the “Cycle of Goodness” zen moment.

So next time you’re zipping up, take a moment to remember Mr. Yoshida!

As I sit with my friend I am numb. She has just lost her Mother. An only child whose only parent is now gone. She is strong and beautiful despite the tears that fall behind her glasses. In her breath you can hear relief. For the last 2 days we watched her Mother die. Sleeping for more than 23 hours of the day the body was giving up its fight to keep living.  Unable to communicate, we knew not what to do, but stay by her side.

As I walked out of the room, I looked at her, lying peacefully on the bed. I saw the body that encompassed her soul. I knew it would be the last time I would see that shell, but the thoughts and memories of her warmth, kindness, laugh and spirit would live on.

As the family and friends came to say a final goodbye to the body I realized that in times of despair, it makes happiness seem easier to attain. And suddenly it didn’t seem so hard to be happy. Suddenly it seems that maybe the intense need to define what it means to be happy and live it out is not that important. And maybe being truly happy requires that we just be. And the peace will come.

As I sat in what little shade I could find, desperately trying to shield any part of my body from the piercing rays of the mid-day sun, I saw her walking down the street. All of about five years old – pig-tails and all – dressed in her navy blue school girl uniform being led down the street by her mother.

It was a hot and busy day, with most people zooming around in a frenetic attempt to complete their mid-day tasks and then run for cover from the sun once again. I SPY: this woman, with her cell phone in hand glued to her ear in full volume conversation, and multiple shopping bags full of ‘must-have’ goodies, was rushing down the street with her daughter, in the same attempt to get out of the sun’s rays. People raced all around them, and as her mother continued to engage in conversation on her phone, her bags slung haphazardly through her right forearm, she clung tightly to her daughter’s left forearm to prevent her from wandering off or disappearing into the thick crowd.

The little girl knew that this act of public detainment was for her own safety. Mom MUST hold on to her, so that she does not get lost. I am quite sure that much like the rest of us at that age, the fear of strangers and the dangers that they pose was constantly drilled into her ever-impressionable mind. However, mom was almost three times taller than her beloved little girl, who at this point resembled a rag-doll being dragged down the street by a 6 foot dog by her arm than a mother and daughter on a casual walk. But try and keep up this little girl did … she was a little trooper. Besides, mom knew what was best for her.

And then it happened. She got an itch. Her right elbow began to tickle, then twitch, and then escalated to feeling more like a swarm of mosquitos had declared war on her funny bone. And if you have ever had an itch you couldn’t scratch, you may know how this little girl was starting to feel.

Must … not … try … (itchy) to … let … go (oh so very itchy). Mom may get mad at what she would perceive as an attempt to escape the grip, and voicing her slowly building discomfot at the ant hill of an itch would most definitely be considered as an untimely interruption upon her important phone conversation.

And so shackled by her mother’s kung-fu grip on her left forearm, and a raging firestorm of an itch on her right elbow … she did the only thing she could do. She started to bite and gnaw at her itch. With her teeth. Using her tiny little teeth like a squirrel on speed desperately trying to open a stubborn nut, she scratched that elbow with her teeth for everything she was worth. Gnaw, bite, scratch.

I began to laugh out loud at this scene, watching what looked like a little girl attempting to gnaw her arm off from the elbow. I laughed freely, without a care for who may have been around. And as mother and child walked directly in front of me – still hiding in the shade of a sad little canopy – she stopped biting, looked at me and smiled a smile that could have only been the relief brought about by scratching an itch that could not have been easily scratched. As I watched them move on, slowly disappearing from view, I noticed she began to skip tiny little steps … happy that the ordeal was over with.

This may sound like something an over protective parent would tell their child) but in reality it’s the way most of us should start to think about our day to day decisions and their potential to lead to harmful habits and fatal consequences.

It is hard to believe that this is true, but recently, researchers have done some interesting analysis on this topic and the results support the idea that personal decisions, and often fairly mundane ones, are a leading cause of premature death in the United States (and I suspect that similar numbers are also the reality in the rest of the developed world). (full article here)

What this analysis means is that instead of relying on external factors to keep us alive and healthy for longer, we can (and must) learn to rely on our decision-making skills in order to reduce the number of dumb and costly mistakes that we make.

The question then becomes how to help people become better decision-makers. Or at least better at making decisions where their health is concerned. If nearly half of premature deaths in the US can be avoided by making better decisions, it is clear to me that it would be worthwhile to spend much more time and effort to disseminate the knowledge we have gained in social science about the main ways in which people fail to make good decisions.

It is of course over-optimistic to expect that just helping people to see what mistakes they are likely to make will fix the problem, but personally I would be happy even if it only slightly reduced the number of catastrophic decisions.  The next step we need to take is to expand upon the research that examines what kind of methods encourage healthier decision-making and conduct much more research in areas that could help us limit our mistakes. For example, based on research about how people make different decisions when they are sexually aroused we might concentrate on providing comprehensive sexual education that teaches teenagers how to make decisions while in the heat of the moment.

Similarly, by understanding how people think we might be able to teach people to enjoy eating fruit and vegetables; how to make exercise part of their ongoing lifestyle; and develop effective smoking cessation programs. And it would also help to remember, in light of this, that every decision counts.

[by Dan Ariely]

This having been an insane week at work, work-life balance issues have been at the back of my mind. Let’s admit that ‘balance’ is perhaps not a good way of looking at things, since it suggests a zero-sum trade off. Some thinkers, like Dan Pink, prefer the idea of ‘blending’ work and life. But let’s not go there, and instead see what we can do with ‘balance,’ since it is here to stay. Here is an illustration of the three main variants I’ve seen, for your entertainment (mainly more stylus drawing practice for me):

Juggling - This is the most common metaphor, and has the advantage of emphasizing motion and rapid switching. It also suggests the need for synchronization, harmonious rhythms and keeping a certain overall situation awareness alive. It has the disadvantage of suggesting that there is no true multi-tasking going on. It also suggests that everything that happens only happens because of you, and the world (a.k.a “gravity”) will cause things to collapse if you slack for even a second.

Spinning Plates - If you’ve never seen a stage artist perform this act, you may not get this, but I’ve heard more than one person suggest this as the right metaphor. You get one plate after another spinning and then keep them going by darting among your various sticks and adding sharp impulses to plates that are starting to slow down and wobble. What I like about this metaphor is that it gets at the fact that we react to squeaky wheels (excuse the mixed metaphor), and pay attention to one thing at a time, usually the most dangerously out-of-balance one. It also suggests the key role of momentum: the world isn’t an entirely unfriendly place. Gravity may work against you, but momentum exists. You can breathe occasionally. Finally it suggests that there is actual energy involved, not just control. You have to run around a bit.

Surfing - I don’t surf, but I like this one the most for one simple reason: it suggests that balance is a very dynamic situation, and that all variables are inter-related and trade off against each other. If you stood up straight all the time, you’d fall in the water. Sometimes you have to lean over extremely towards one side to make the whole thing balance out. What is ‘balanced’ right now might be dangerous unstable the next instant, and you lean over the other way. This metaphor also suggests the role of a basically uncertain environment (as opposed to a deterministic unfriendly or friendly environment). Waves are coming at you all the time. What would be extreme imbalance in calm waters is balance in a raging sea.

It also suggests that these chaotic destabilizing forces also provide the forces to drive your life. Calm waters leave you becalmed and not surfing at all, but expending your own energy to paddle. Finally this metaphor also suggests that grace, beauty and a sense of effortless engagement of the environment are key. Note that it is engagement, not control.

A Zen surfer (and I am guessing here) sometimes lets go and trusts the waves and his natural sense of one-ness with the sea to lead to forward motion. At other times, he tastefully injects a swerve here and there to position himself to best leverage the next movement of the water. The surfer is also reactive and opportunistic, listening to the waves and going where they suggest, rather than enforcing his own goals dogmatically.

[by Venkatesh Rao]

These are difficult things to imagine because we’ve been so scammed by the “career industry” that tells us we need college degrees in order to succeed in life, regardless of how much money we spend for those degrees or what we actually do with our lives during the four to eight years it takes us to get those degrees.

But in my view, the entire college degree industry is a scam, a self-perpetuating Ponzi scheme that needs to stop right now.

Here Are Seven Reasons to Say “No College” to Your Kids:

1. More than 60% of people entering college take more than four years to graduate. So whatever you think your kids are going to cost you to go to college, add 20% to 100%.
2. The cost of the average college tuition has gone up nine-fold since 1976 versus seven-fold for health care and three-fold for inflation.
3. The differential in lifetime income between a college graduate and a non-college graduate over a 45 year career is approximately $800,000 (read on).
4. If I put that $200,000 that I would’ve spent per child to cover tuition costs, living expenses, books, etc. into bonds yielding just 3% (any muni bonds) and let it compound for 49 years (adding back in the 4 years of college), I get $851,000. So my kids can avoid college and still end up with the same amount in the worst case.
5. If smart, motivated, ambitious kids (the type of kids who get the most out of college) avoided college I’m sure the differential would be a lot less than $800,000 and may even be negative (i.e. they would make more if they avoided college and started going into the business world earlier).
6. The average debt burden of a college graduate is $23,000. Up from $13,000 10 years ago. Students with professional degrees can see their debt burden go higher than $200,000. Total student borrowing has topped $75,000,000,000. It’s too much for young adults just starting their careers.
7. Alternatives to spending $200,000 per kid so they can waste four years of their lives:

• Give them $20,000 to start one to five businesses. Most businesses fail but that’s ok. The education from the process lasts a lifetime and the network you build when you start a business will lead to many future jobs and possibilities.
• Travel the world. That would be an education that pays many dividends and is much cheaper. Your kids can then go to college with a much more mature view of the world.
• Work. They won’t get the best jobs but they can make money, network, get a “hands-on” education, learn the value of money and go to college in their 20s when they can afford it — and make every dollar worth it. Plus your kids will have a more clear idea of what they want to do in the world.
• Volunteer. Let them see a side of life that is harder and where they can add value. An education like that is invaluable.
• Do nothing but read. Get the benefits of a college education without paying the $200,000. I’d be happy to support a child that wants to home school a college education.

[By James Altucher]

The imagery that this photographer ( a 17 year old photographic prodigy from San Diego) is incredibly moving, and technically sound. Like I said, I have to be interesting now and start to use some of my long-forgotten photo and art school skills … but if you get the chance, go see her photos …

[Jacqueline Rivera's Photostream on FLickr as shes_jack]

Starting with my deepest apologies, and with great respect to every wonderful canine out there, allow me explain my reasoning for this otherwise sacrilegious statement for dog owners. Bogart, from an early stage in his puppy life was trained not to bark. Don’t get me wrong – he can, and DOES bark when the occasion warrants: a bird flying by, a stranger at the door, playing with his lifetime companion Ozzie or his pull rope. He certainly knows HOW to bark. However, since Bogart and I have often lived in shared quarters or small apartments, barking was certainly frowned upon. Excessive barking was cause for hanging, and mostly for the dog owner.

So there you have it … from a young age, Bogart learned that barking was a no-no, and yappy noises – no matter how cute or happy – was definitely unforgivable. God love him. Here’s a little side story: I have always been an early riser, and I often enjoy the darkness and silence that accompanies the wee early hours of the morning. And since interior lighting is harsh to the sleepy eyes, I will at times use a candle to illuminate my sitting space. Soft lighting, often times eases you into the day and allows for a more comfortable transition to the morning twilight. Barking, right. I was in my usual early morning mode, slightly paying attention, mostly drinking warm tea.

Unbeknownst to me, the candle had expended itself fairly quickly and the remainder of the wax had been turned into a pool of oily residue at the bottom of the canister – which at this point had become a flaming ball of fire on the coffee table. I was blissfully unaware. Bogart saw the whole thing happening, and was rather concerned at the thought of this flaming ball of fire being so close to the container that held his food. So he did the only thing he could (and was allowed) to do.

He whined. He whined in that urgent way when you are trying to warn someone of some impending doom but can’t say a word.

A loud, humming version of “Look out!” or “Dude! There’s a flaming ball of wax endangering my food supply!” No barking. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to bark that early in the morning, but he knew he had to warn me. So he whined as loud and as urgently as he could. In a matter of seconds, and with every last early morning breath that I could muster, the ball of wax was put to rest.

All that was left was a billow of smoke and Bogart staring at me from the corner of the room – I tried to warn you he seemed to say. “Why didn’t you bark?” I asked him half relieved at the sight of an extinguished fire ball. “I’m not supposed to this early in the morning … ” he seemed to say.

He lived the spirit of his puppy training from long ago, if not the true letter of the law. No barking. I was in awe of my dog. Fair enough. Cookie treats for everyone! He sat there in the aftermath of what would have been an unfortunate house fire, eating his cookie with full satisfaction in knowing that he earned it.

Like I said, best dog, ever.

…