Dodging Energy Vampires - Introductiopn

Dodging Energy Vampires - Introductiopn

I’ve spent a lifetime working in the field of health and healing—first as a conventionally trained ob/gyn physician and surgeon and then later as a global teacher who reminds women about everything that can go right with their bodies. And, even more important, how to make this their reality.

During my decades on the front lines of women’s health, I have seen countless women suffer from seemingly inexplicable health conditions. These women eat well. They exercise. They take care of themselves. They manage families, jobs, homes. On paper, everything looks great, but each time I dig deeper into their lives, I find that there is another person at the root of their problems—a person who seems to be literally sucking the life blood from them. I refer to these people as energy vampires.

Most of the women (and also men) afflicted by energy vampires are compassionate, loving, and deeply concerned about the well-being of the people around them. They interact with the energy of other people to a degree that puts them well past being merely compassionate. They don’t simply feel an observational sadness when they see someone suffer; they feel the same suffering, as if they are having a firsthand experience of the pain they are witnessing. These women fall into a category of people known as empaths. My guess is that if you’re reading this, you recognize yourself a bit in this description.

Until quite recently, energy vampires have been largely unrecognized and undiagnosed by society in general and the medical and legal systems in particular. That’s why so few people understand what a problem they are.

I didn’t actually realize the degree to which they affected the lives of my patients until I began researching them because of what was happening in my own life. As an empath, I mistakenly believed that everyone shared the same empathy and compassion that I have. I assumed that no matter how much harm someone was causing to their families or colleagues that deep down, in their heart of hearts, they were good people who meant well. They were simply acting out of their unexpressed pain and denial. It never occurred to me that there are people who are actually predators—who prey on the agreeableness, trust, goodwill, openheartedness, and resourcefulness of others. I couldn’t imagine that there were people who are nearly devoid of empathy, compassion, caring, and the willingness or even capacity to change. But this is exactly what energy vampires are. They are chameleons who can be master manipulators, getting what they want from others without giving anything in return.

Unsuspecting empaths often open their hearts, their bank accounts, and their bodies in order to help these vampires heal their so-called wounds, which actually don’t exist. This is not because the empath is a fool. It results, instead, from the perfect storm of the empath’s desire to be a healing force in the world, combined with the predatory skills of the vampire—and, very often, the unhealed wounds of the empath, who often doesn’t feel worthy of the best life has to offer.

The truth of this was brought into stark focus for me by a series of romantic relationships and with several close friends and some business colleagues. These relationships were sapping me. I felt like I was going crazy. Losing myself. I was always blaming myself and feeling like I needed to improve something. What was I doing wrong? As it turns out, the only thing I was doing wrong was over-giving to people I thought I could heal without including my own needs and well-being in the mix. I had no idea that many people in my life were energy vampires.

This is actually the case for so many people who form relationships with energy vampires. We don’t even know that we’re dealing with one of these masters of Darkness until we become physically ill, lose our friends, our jobs, our incomes, our fertile years, and eventually even our self-esteem and dignity.

The thing about energy vampires is that they target the people who are most likely to put up with their tactics—and those people are empaths, because we have extremely high levels of compassion and empathy. The energy vampires know just how to use this to their own benefit—and to the detriment of the empath.

But there is hope. The mental health profession in particular and society in general is finally getting up to speed on how these energy suckers work—and how predictable they are. They are identifying personality traits and manipulation tactics. They are figuring out how to recognize vampires and opening up new pathways to leave these relationships.

That’s why I’ve written this book. I wanted to bring together some of the best research that’s been done about this topic and combine it with the experiences from my own life and the lives of my global community members to provide clear advice for exiting and healing from unhealthy relationships. In Part I of the book, I lay the foundation for understanding the players in vampire-empath relationships and how and why they interact the way they do—and what effect that can have on your life. And then in Part II, I guide you through straightforward processes to turn the focus back onto yourself so you can heal and avoid energy vampires in the future. I do want to note, however, that healing from vampire abuse is a relatively individual endeavor. Obviously, there are some things that everyone must do, but your healing process will look different from everyone else’s. Think of this book not as a road map to healing but as a smorgasbord of techniques. Some of them will make sense in your life, others won’t. Choose the ones that work for you. I promise that if you follow the advice in this book, you’ll be able to ditch the Darkness and create radiant health, brilliant relationships, and a joyful life.

As an empath, you have special gifts that bring light to the world. Your compassion and empathy are healing salves for the people around you and the planet itself. You were not put on earth to be the energy source of a vampire. You are here to bring your light to the world.

The Scientific Guide To Your Future Life

Reading faster does not hurt your comprehension

Brain Training

That may seem counterintuitive, but it makes sense if you just think about it for a moment. Most of your sixth-grade lack of speed is due to the three habits we discussed in Chapter 4:

* Mind Wandering
* Regression
* Subvocalization

  Reducing these three is proven to improve speed, and a lot of that increase comes from the dramatic increase in focus required to counteract those habits. You cannot use eye discipline  or any hand or card technique  mindlessly;  you must be conscious.
  Doesn't  it stand  to reason  that  the same  increased  focus  that  boosted  your speed should also help your comprehension? This is borne out in our workshops, where it's very common for our students to see comprehension  and speed rise together, up to a point. True, sometimes comprehension dips a little at first. This is because the new technique is a little uncomfortable at first, so sometimes your brain gets a little thrown off.
  Notice, however,  that I said speed and comprehension  rise together up to a point. Wherever you are in your progress, there is that line between reading and just looking. Your job is to find where that line is for you, and keep pushing it up. What we know is true, however, is that the increase in speed always precedes the increase in comprehension. So in improving your overall effectiveness as a reader, you'll be well served to temporarily let go of comprehension.  Focus on speed first, let your comprehension catch up, and settle in at a higher level; then repeat that cycle.
  To set yourself up for success, here are three smart questions to ask yourself before you read anything.

1. Why am I reading this?
2. What do I need this information for?
3. How much time do I have?

Asking  these  three  questions  before  you  read  anything  is  powerful.  The answers are nothing to get hung up on—it's the questions themselves that will supercharge  your  overall  effectiveness.  By  asking  these  questions,  you  just engage  your  brain  in  a  way  that  it's  ready  to  go—it's  warmed  up!  These questions  also add focus  and context  to what  you're  reading.  When  you add focus  and  context   to  anything,   you  will  definitely   perform   better.   Most importantly, they will prime your reticular activating system (RAS). Remember that part of your brain that makes you see the car you decided to buy? Asking yourself these questions is actually asking your brain, “What am I looking for here?” As we know from the introduction to this book, you will see what you look for, even on a level as micro as reading material.
  If the only thing you did differently with reading was to ask these questions before diving into what you read, you would have a major impact on your reading effectiveness. The real beauty is that it takes about 10 seconds to ask the questions—10 seconds really well invested.

Why and How to “Smart Read”

  The single biggest thing that will quantum leap your reading speed and comprehension is background knowledge. If you have a lot of background knowledge of what you're reading, your brain will naturally predict what's going to be said next. This allows you to fill in the gaps accurately even when moving at a high rate of speed. Background knowledge also allows you to instinctively know when you can just skim over a section or when you should really dig in, maybe even take some notes. Background  knowledge is the nuclear bomb for boosting comprehension and speed together. Nothing is more powerful.
  So how do you gain background  knowledge  about  a new piece  of reading material if you don't already have it? Learn to Smart Read!
Smart Reading  (formerly  known as “cheat  reading”)  is a simple process  of deliberately overviewing a piece of reading material before reading it. You can Smart Read any piece of nonfiction—a book like this one, a newspaper, a magazine—anything that is not a story or a work of fiction. Here's why:
  Every work of nonfiction is started with a writer's outline. The writer's outline is essentially  the skeleton of the work. The writer creates the outline of main ideas first, then fleshes it out to make it interesting. The main ideas of any work of nonfiction  are  found  in the  outline.  If you  could  read  the  writer's  outline before you read the whole chapter/article/whatever, you'd develop a ton of background knowledge about that work. You'd literally find the road map, and you'd do it in very short order.
  The good news is that you can read the outline first—it's just a little hidden! To overview a chapter or article, try this three-step process:

Step 1. Read the first paragraph. This is where you'll learn the overarching theme or purpose of the piece.
Step 2. Read the last paragraph. This usually ties the piece together or moves you on to what's next.
Step 3. Read the first sentence or two of each paragraph in between. This is where the main idea of that paragraph will be found. If you really want to be sure, you can also read the last sentence of the paragraph as a tie-down.

  That's Smart Reading in a nutshell. You'll be blown away by how much you can prime your mind for what you read by doing a Smart Read first. Here are the three best ways to use Smart Reading:

1. As a weeding tool. Often the overview will teach you everything you want or need  to know.  Maybe  you  actually  know  more  than  the  author  does, maybe you just don't need the information right now; maybe you don't need it ever. In that case you can just skip the whole thing before you even get started. What a relief!
2. As an overview. Assuming that you do want to continue after your Smart Read overview, you now know all the main ideas you'll be learning. You've jacked up your background knowledge and gotten your brain ready to absorb at a very high level.
3. As a review. Even after you've read something, you may want to go back to it and review or refresh your memory. Maybe you're prepping for a test, maybe you want to fold the material into a presentation, and so on. A quick overview is just the ticket to bring it back to your mind.

  So when you add up what you've learned in this section, you've got a very powerful way of both priming your brain to see what you need it to see and then giving it the road map for what you're about to read. When you combine the three  Reading  Smart  questions  with  a Smart  Read  overview  of your reading material, you'll be amazed at just how quickly you can digest information, with the highest levels of comprehension.
  If you haven't  done so already,  I'd recommend  that before each subsequent chapter in Train Your Brain For Success you ask the questions and then Smart Read it before diving in. You'll absorb more and internalize more quickly.

First off, let's clear up a myth: reading faster does not hurt your comprehension. Many of our students struggle with the misconception  that if they read faster, they won't understand what they're reading. I understand how it feels this way, and there are times when you do want to be methodical in your approach. Remember  the concept  of gears? In specific  instances  where you are reading material that is very heavy, perhaps very technical, or about something that you have little background knowledge of, then a slower pace can be very helpful. But the blanket assumption that faster always means less gets in is false. In fact, the opposite is true: Comprehension increases with speed.

Read more > Reading faster does not hurt your comprehension

Excuse Me

Excuse Me

"Both novice and experienced workers will find a wealth of business etiquette in a book that, instead of excusing bad behavior, could help prevent it from happening in the first place." -Foreword Reviews, 5 Star Review In today's workplace, good manners matter more than ever. Blending different generations, genders, and cultures brings energy and fresh perspectives to the workplace. But the flip side is an environment ripe for confusion and social blunders. Mix in increasingly open-plan workplaces and constant connectivity, and the chance that we'll unintentionally annoy or offend others increases exponentially. Exactly what are the rules these days? Is it acceptable to text your boss at home? What is the polite way to ask a colleague to take a distracting conversation behind closed doors? What about the use of smartphones in meetings? Merging classic rules of behavior with new realities of modern business, Excuse Me spotlights dozens of puzzling situations, with suggestions for bridging divides. The book untangles the nuances of: Meeting etiquette * Interview expectations * Proper office attire * Electronic manners * Privacy in tight spaces * Eye contact and nonverbal cues * Small talk * Business dining * Social media use * Working remotely and flexibly * And more. While the youngest employees might seem unruly, the oldest can seem rigid. Good manners create an atmosphere of respect, and smooth the way for everyone to succeed.

Source: Amazon.com

Sample Pages

 Jane, an administrator at well-respected Bay Farm Hospital, had been looking forward to this year’s healthcare conference. Many of her colleagues will be there, and she’ll have a chance to network with peers from the world’s leading hospitals. The luncheon is an open-seating buffet, and Jane sees Phil, who she knows casually from her hospital, at a table with a free spot. She asks if she can join him and the four other men at the table. Phil nods, quickly introduces Jane, and then continues to regale the group with the very “blue” sexist joke he is telling.
  As Phil reaches the end of his joke, he inserts Jane’s name in the punch line. Phil, laughing loud and proud of how clever he is, at first does not realize no one is laughing with him. When he finally notices the embarrassed looks on the other men’s faces and the horror on Jane’s face, he tries in vain to salvage the situation. With a forced laugh, he announces to the table, “Way to ruin a punchline, Jane!”
  The foundation of civility is respect, which is the outward expression of esteem or deference. This is the foundational requirement and, without that, no other behaviors ring true. Respect extends to peoples’ privacy, physical space, property, viewpoints, philosophies, religion, gender, ethnicity, physical abilities, background, age, beliefs, and personality. Respect and disrespect can be shown by language, gestures, and actions.
  Respect is what employees say they want most from their employers and coworkers: respect for their experience, education, intelligence, skill, creativity, hard work, dedication, and the results they produce. Yet respect is what employees say they get least.
  Employees, management, and organizations at large are characterized by the behaviors they exhibit and allow. Disrespectful behavior runs the gamut from neglecting basic civilities and  outright rudeness to discrimination and bullying. Throughout managements’ ranks, disrespect manifests itself with favoritism, subtle pressure, condoning damaging behavior or speech, neglecting to follow up on complaints of harassment or bullying, and criticizing or firing employees who voice concerns. Organizations that engage in illegal or unethical activities, such as deceptive business practices, embezzlement, and predatory pricing, and the cultures such activities create, also contribute to this problem.
  It’s not enough to say an organization values respect and civility. The boss who preaches the importance of respectful listening without practicing it is better off saying nothing at all. Dr. Todd  Whitaker and Dr. Steve Gruenert, professors of educational leadership at Indiana State University and authors of the book School Culture Rewired, say, “The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.”2 It stands to reason that a culture would also be shaped by the best behavior a leader is willing to model.
  An incredible 80 percent of employees believe they get no respect at work, and a whopping 95 percent report they have experienced or witnessed disrespect in the workplace,3 according to Christine Pearson and Christine Porath, authors of the book The Cost of Bad Behavior. Mike Miles, head of social strategy for online retailer SmartSign, said in his article “Work- place Bullying Costs Companies Billions, Wrecks Victims’ Health” that the price tag to the U.S. economy for all of this bad behavior is an estimated “360 billion annually due to turnover and decreased work productivity.”
  Disrespect also comes in subtle forms through microaggres- sion. Dr. Derald  Wing Sue, Ph.D., professor of counseling psychology at Columbia University, defines microaggressions as “the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile,  derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.”5 Ref lecting unconscious bias, a microaggression can be a “compliment” to an African American colleag ue on how articulate he is or a remark to a female executive on how impressively she balances work and family responsibilities.
  Workplace disrespect affects employees’ morale, engagement, productivity, and health. It also negatively affects coworkers who witness it, causing  them  stress  and job insecurity. It becomes contagious, creating a greater likelihood of rudeness throughout the employee population. Disrespected employees are more  likely to leave jobs, increasing their companies’ severance and benefits pay, recruiting, hiring, and training costs, and potentially, legal fees. As Dr. Robert J. Cuomo, Ph.D., dean and professor of business at Dean College, said, “People don’t leave jobs. People leave people.” Disrespect ruins companies’ reputations, loses customers, and eats up managers’ valuable time.
  The benefits to companies that establish genuinely respectful cultures are enormous, including everything from  greater productivity and increased bottom lines to happy shareholders.
  The enhanced reputation of a respectful organization means it is able to hire and retain the best and brightest, resulting in a distinct competitive advantage. Teamwork, trust, and creative problem solving are also fostered, and employees realize greater job satisfaction, self-respect, and even enhanced earning potential.
  Employers must enforce a zero-tolerance policy in order to realize the benefits of a respectful culture. The law now protects victims of the most egregious forms of disrespectful behavior, but how much better it would be not to need to rely upon the law for enforcement. Management can educate employees on the company’s Code of Respect and invest in civility training to make sure all employees understand the policy.
  Employers need to look closely at their hiring practices. Carefully watching for behavioral clues during the interview process and not hiring candidates with red f lags is easier, faster, and less costly than dealing with them after they are hired. The candidate who casts blame on a former employer, exhibits disrespectful body language, or comes across as arrogant during the interview can be expected to display the same or worse behavior once hired. Employers can hire for “attitude over experience” as the Four Seasons does, or heed the call of Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, for civilit y and  values-based leadership. They can emulate the practices of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” and view corporate culture as their greatest tool.
  Employees, on the other hand, need to know bosses mean what they say. Management should encourage the reporting of disrespectful behavior without fear of consequences. This can be achieved through anonymous 360-degree reviews or by identifying an HR representative or independent workplace consultant to whom employees can make confidential reports. And if disrespect is reported, management must confront it specifically and immediately and take appropriate action.
Companies  can  reward good behavior with positive reinforcement. At Zappos, employees who show exemplary behavior can earn “Zollars” (Zappos dollars) and peer-to-peer “Wow” awards from their coworkers. Anything from holding a door open, to smiling, volunteering, or cleaning a common area might qualify someone for a $50 reward. Regularly scheduled employee recognition luncheons, holiday parties, and summer outings that bring together various employee populations can do wonders to build trust. Bosses can also publicly recognize and value employees for their ideas and accomplishments and reward initiative and creativity.
  Most important, bosses must consistently model the behavior they want to see in their employees. Smart bosses recognize that treating employees with respect is critical to attracting and retaining workers. They also realize that what happens at work does not stay at work. Sites like glassdoor.com, which has a database of more than 8 million company reviews, enable job seekers to evaluate rankings of companies’ cultures and values before deciding whether or not to join their ranks. At such sites, salary and benefits reports, CEO rankings, interview questions, and insights into what it’s really like to work at a company are all at a job seeker’s fingertips.
  Employees also need  to do their part,  beginning with becoming aware of any unconscious biases they may harbor. Recently,  I had a personal experience with the concept of unconscious bias. While walking home through the Boston Common from the gym early one morning, I heard a voice say, “Hey, lady, you don’t have to be afraid.” Lost in thought, it took me a second to realize the person was talking to me. I stopped and walked toward two African American men sitting on a bench. I said I was not afraid and asked them why I would be. One man said, “When you saw us, you walked to the other side of the sidewalk.” I assured him I did not; he assured me I did. What ensued was a remarkable 15-minute conversation about the concept of unconscious bias. We exchanged names and parted as new friends, promising to pick up our conversation if our paths crossed again. In continuing to think about what happened, I know for sure I was unaware of any bias. But did I cross to the other side of the walkway? I simply do not know. This question, and its lesson, have stayed with me.
  Employees can embrace everyone’s uniqueness and extend simple common courtesies such as listening attentively and valuing others’ opinions. While not always easy, they can also challenge disrespect when they experience or witness it. When you witness what you think is disrespectful or exclusionary behavior, it is important to assess the situation to make sure you are reading it correctly. Once you are certain, it’s time to take action. Depending on the seriousness of the situation, you could try to diffuse it with humor by saying something like, “Don’t hold back. Tell us how you really feel!” Such an approach might get an interaction back on a respectful track. If this does not work, you’ll need to be more direct. You could say, “Something seems to be bothering you. What is it?”
  To improve a relationship, you could say, “I want us to work well together. How can we do that?” If someone interrupts you, you could say, “Hold on . . . I’d like to make my point.” If someone displays aggressive body language, you could say, “You look upset. What’s wrong?” If someone uses inappropriate language, you could say, “Can we rein in this discussion? We’re at work.” If someone is spreading gossip, you could say, “I was surprised to hear you said (something) about me. Is that true?” And if someone is blatantly rude, you could say, “You may not realize how negative that sounds.” Sometimes none of these work, in which case it’s time to get management or HR involved.
  Once the personal and institutional groundwork for showing respect has been laid, we are ready to consider what respect means to the various populations of today’s workplace.

Respect for Experience

  Bill takes a deep breath and braces himself for today’s weekly staff meeting. Sixty-five years old, Bill is a workplace survivor. He has lasted 42 years with the same large bank and has had nine different bosses and seven different jobs in four different locations. He has assiduously played the political game, always keeping his head down. Bill has risen through the ranks to management and enjoys a comfortable salary.
  Bill knows the workplace has changed dramatically and has tried, as much as possible, to keep up. Despite his best efforts, he still cannot seem to connect with his much younger staff. At last week’s meeting, Bill rolled out a new marketing plan that Josh, the new hire, immediately questioned before offering a “much better idea.” Drew asked for feedback on a project but seemed put off by Bill’s constructive suggestions. Colin, three months on the job, asked Bill, again, when he would be promoted. Gina said she hadn’t prepared a report for the meeting because she doesn’t listen to voicemail or read email, and in the future, would Bill please text her.
  Bill has tried very hard to stay current. He’s taken Salesforce and database management training and mastered Excel. He’s up to speed on social media and active on LinkedIn. He knows he has a lot of experience to share, but somehow his staff treats him like a “has been,” as though he should just retire. But with a couple of kids still in college, that is not an option for Bill. So he squares his shoulders and enters the meeting room. He will continue to try and relate to his staff as well as he can—he has to.
  Millennials are the fastest growing, most sought-after demographic in the workplace. By 2020, there will be 86 million millennials in the workplace, representing 40 percent of the total working population.6  Should a new business etiquette playbook be designed exclusively with them in mind?
  The simple answer is no. Millennials, born roughly between 1981 and 2000, are still outnumbered by traditionalists, baby boomers, and Generation Xers combined. And these folks are still largely in charge. According to statisticbrain.com, the median age of an S&P 500 CEO is 55.7 Warren Buffet and J. Willard Marriott, Jr., are in their 80s and 90s, with countless lesser known CEOs in their 70s and 60s. The U.S. retirement age is also going up. A 2014 Gallup survey reports that the average age at which non-retired Americans expect to retire is 66,8 the highest age Gallup has found since first asking the question in 1991. What’s needed is a new playbook for respect that ack- nowledges the perspectives and values of all ages, not the least of whom are those still making the hiring decisions and signing the paychecks.
  The current four generations in the workplace come from distinctly different social, political, and business times  in history. Their perspectives evolved as they were exposed to people, places, and ideas, but were still largely informed by the prevailing social mores of their formative years. The great disruptor, digital technology, has only widened the gap. While opinions differ on their precise characteristics and birth years, the following represents generally held views of the generations.

Traditionalists

  Born before 1946, traditionalists joined a work world where women were primarily in support roles and social behavior was the template for business behavior. Men traditionally showed respect to women by doffing their hats, holding doors open, pulling out chairs, paying bills, and refraining from vulgar speech. The f lip side of the coin was a kind of Mad Men approach to women, job and wage discrimination, and bias along lines of race, religion, class, age, marital status, and sexual orientation. Traditionalists are respectful of seniority and rank and are loyal, disciplined, and self-sacrificing. Tech- nolog y for this cohort consisted of a radio, a rotary telephone, and a television.

Baby Boomers

  Born between 1946 and 1964, baby boomers came of age between the mid 60s and the early 80s. They witnessed or participated in the civil rights movement. The Equal Opportunity Act of 1972 was enacted when the first of the boomers were in their 20s. By
1986, when the last of the boomers had entered the workplace, more than half of college graduates were women taking their places beside men in traditionally male-dominated fields such as law, medicine, and business. Acceptable behavior on the job was changing dramatically. It was no longer considered appropriate to focus on gender rather than ability. Boomers, while less respectful of rank, still believe in corporate hierarchy and strive to climb the corporate ladder. Touch-tone telephones were one of the technological innovations of their time.

Generation X

Born between 1965 and 1980, Generation X entered the workplace in the mid 80s. The Civil Rights Act (1991) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) were both enacted while they were in their 20s. Astronauts Sally Ride, a woman, and Guion Bluford, an African American man, broke ground by going to space during this time. Members of Gen X were the first to have two parents work outside of the home in great numbers. They also saw many of those parents lose their jobs. As a result, this generation does not have the same respect for job titles or rank, nor do they believe in job security. Known for being distrustful, self-reliant, and tech-savvy, Gen Xers are protective of family time and value work-life balance. They were the first to experience mobile technology.

Generation Y/Millennials

  Born between 1981 and 2000, Gen Y/millennials do not remember a time before mobile devices. Entrepreneurial and tech-savvy, they have fostered relationships with people all over the world through social media. Laws enacted as this generation grew up and came of age included the Family and Medical Leave Act in
1993, same-sex marriage in Massachusetts in 2004, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009. Millennials value diversity and social responsibility and are known for being especially close to their parents. They’d like to make more money, but seem less concerned about that than about making a difference.

Respecting Age Difference

The need and desire for respect, appreciation, and acceptance cut across generational divides. By taking the time to learn about other generations, we can begin to embrace rather than judge or discount others’ experiences and points of view and realize the vast personal and professional benefits that accrue to us in doing so. Younger generations can also keep in mind that if they’re lucky, one day they will be part of the older generation and that karma—good or bad—may await them!

Respect for Diversity

  Ginny didn’t sleep well last night. New to her job as an event planner, she is due to meet with her boss today and needs to steel herself to discuss  the evaluations from last week’s annual clients’ conference in New York.
  Ginny knew from the initial tepid response that attendance would be low. But she had not anticipated so many complaints from those who did attend about everything—the food, the venue, the transportation, the speakers—virtually the entire conference had been panned. She realizes in hindsight that if she had  put  a little  more  thought and research into  the conference, she would have saved herself a lot of trouble.
  She had been pleased to find a great rate, within her budget, at a fabulous hotel for the last week in March, but she completely failed to anticipate that Passover and Easter, coinciding this year, would affect turnout. She thought she’d covered her bases with food by offering two menu selections: a vegetarian and beef option. It had not occurred to her to request that vegan and kosher meals also be available. She had made sure that the entrance to the venue was accessible but did not think to see if there were some low cocktail tables or if the coach she’d hired was  accessible for people with disabilities. She thought the speakers she had invited represented an interesting mix of experience, but it had not occurred to her that they were all middle-aged white men.
  Ginny prepared for the likelihood that the meeting with her boss would be as much of a disaster as the conference had been. Now she was wondering if this first meeting would be her last.

Read more > Excuse Me

Crowdfunding with Bitcoin

Bitcoin For Dummies

Rather than relying on one  investor, or one  major source of funding, a crowdfunding campaign allows you  to decentralize the funding process by  acquiring backers and  supporters to provide money up front. By  accepting bitcoin as  a payment method for your campaign, you can  decentralize things even  further and  reach a global audience.

Bitcoin provides businesses and  individuals with a powerful tool to raise funds for an upcoming or existing project. Considering the fact that  bitcoin is not  taxable in most countries, many people view it as  a safe  haven for “tax‐free” funding.

When  you  convert the  raised funds to fiat currency, you  may be taxed on them, depending on the  amount you  receive.

When  crowdfunding, never list  a fake project or claim to do some- thing  with the  money you  never intend to fulfill.  Even though bitcoin is a non‐reversible payment method, people will  hunt you down if you  try  to run  off with their money.

Luckily for bitcoin enthusiasts, most crowdfunding projects so  far have been  legitimate, and  most have delivered on their promises as well.  Depending on what type  of project you  list, it may take additional time  to reach your goals, especially if it involves block- chain technology development.

But  not  every project is using crowdfunding platforms for the  right reasons. Some  people view crowdfunding as  a way to get some funds quickly, without ever having to pay  it back. Even though most platforms implement security against misuse, there is always a minor chance of a project not  delivering on the  promises made. But  that  has nothing to do with bitcoin per  se  — it can  happen with any type  of crowdfunding campaign. Simply look  at how many people backed projects in Kickstarter and  never received the  item  for which they pledged a certain amount. Check out  www.kickstarter.com/help/stats for more.

Whenever you  help  crowdfund a bitcoin project, always determine whether you  are  entitled to some form  of reward. Crowdfunding is not  the  same as  buying a share of a company or product at a cheaper rate.  It simply means you’re willing to spend money in order to make  someone’s dream come true, which may or may not include a reward. However, you  should not  partake in a crowd- funding campaign just for the  reward. That’s not  why this system was invented in the  first place.

Source: Bitcoin For Dummies

A short history of bitcoin mining

Bitcoin For Dummies

Over the  years, bitcoin mining has seen a tremendous evolution in terms of the  required hardware to mine  bitcoins. Very little  hardware was required when bitcoin launched in 2009, as  there was little  to no interest in the  project. But  as  more and  more people caught wind of bitcoin and  joined the  network, the  computational power increased exponentially. The mining difficulty  parameter (which determines how much computation power is required to solve the  mathematical equations associated with generating bitcoins) adjusted accordingly, in order to make  sure new  blocks on the  bitcoin network were  still ten minutes apart. The reason for keeping bitcoin blocks ten minutes apart is to collect as  many broadcasted bitcoin transactions into  one  block and  validate these transactions at the  same time.

In 2009, the  first versions of the  bitcoin client had  a built‐in process that  would let anyone running the  software mine  bitcoin with their computer’s central processing unit  (CPU) — the  main proces- sor in a computer. Because every computer has a CPU,  and  only a handful of people were  mining bitcoins at that  time,  there was very little  competition. In fact,  most of the  coins in the  first few months were  mined by  Satoshi Nakamoto, who also gave  away some coins to other people in order to allow testing of the  bitcoin network.

It didn’t take  long  for one  of the  miners to figure  out  that  the mining feature could be adapted to use  a graphics processing unit  (GPU), rather than just a CPU.  Because a GPU — also called a video card — is specifically designed to solve complex mathematical  tasks, it is able  to mine  bitcoin more efficiently than a CPU. However, that  performance is offset  by  a large  increase in electric- ity  use, as  GPUs  draw a lot more power from  the  wall  compared to CPUs. This change was the  first chapter in a long  and  storied bitcoin mining arms race.                                          

Developers and  engineers started tinkering around with the  idea of creating a new  piece  of hardware that  mined much faster and more efficiently than GPUs  and  CPUs. Field  Programmable  Gate Arrays (FPGAs) saw the  light  of day  a few years ago, and  they out- performed CPU mining by  quite a margin. Furthermore, any FPGA could mine  nearly as  fast  as  a GPU available at that  time  — while using far less electricity to complete the  task of mining bitcoins.

When  reading up on bitcoin mining these days, one  term  people often  come across is ASIC, which stands for application‐specific integrated  circuit.  This is a microchip designed specifically to mine bitcoin. The first bitcoin ASICs started hitting the  street in early 2013, and  they outperformed GPU and  FPGA  mining by  such a margin that  miners scrambled to get their hands on one  of these shiny machines. But  ASICs have a major downside as  well:  They are  very power hungry, they make  a lot of noise, and  they generate a ton  of heat.  On the  flipside, a bitcoin ASIC  miner is vastly superior to any other type  of hardware in existence today and  remains quite costly in some cases.

As  these new  devices started popping up,  the  need  for electricity increased exponentially. As  a result, mining bitcoins is extremely unprofitable in most parts of the  world, unless you  have access to cheap or free electricity. In most cases, the  investment cost of bitcoin hardware, combined with the  electricity costs, make  it impossible to make  a profit by  mining at home. But  there is a solution  to that  problem: Bitcoin cloud  mining lets  you  mine  bitcoin by purchasing mining power from  a machine hosted in a different part of the  world.

Cloud mining has become somewhat popular in recent years. It allows you  to mine  without needing to buy and/or host the  hard- ware yourself. Most  bitcoin cloud mining providers charge a daily or monthly fee to cover electricity costs. Cloud mining allows a user to start earning money directly, rather than waiting on the delivery of some fancy machine. Chapter 11 talks more about cloud mining.

In the  future, as  with all computer advancements, microchips will be made  smaller without sacrificing computational power. And  with smaller chips, more of them can  be fitted  onto  a board, increasing the  machine’s overall mining power. Engineers are trying to reduce the  energy use  of these microchips too.  Making mining more energy efficient could lead  to more profitability in additional parts of the  world.

Source: Bitcoin For Dummies

How to Crowdfund

How to Crowdfund

Much as with grant writing, you will need to step out of your comfortable researcher mindset if you wish to pursue crowdfunding. You will need to learn another set of skills: marketing.

Crowdfunding is a lot more liberating than grant writing. There are no rules you need to play by, no formats you need to adhere to, and no abstracts or methodologies. While this freedom sounds agreeable, it is surprisingly not your ally. Without a structure to guide you, it is easy to lose yourself in the blank canvas of your inexperience.

It is a misconception that crowdfunding is easy. Asking a crowd for money is easy. It’s as simple as writing a short statement and putting it online. Getting money from that crowd, however, is a whole other matter. Have you done basic market research? What is your value proposition? What platforms are you including in your social media strategy? Have you scheduled posts? What does your public interaction timeline look like? Do you understand the italic words in the last five sentences? As with all new experiences, your first crowdfunding campaign will be a challenge. Are you feeling that the challenge is not worth the reward? You shouldn’t. Even if your first attempt fails, the concepts and skills you will pick up along this journey are the foundations of effective communication skills.

We won’t go into the full details of how to set up, write for, and maintain interest in your crowdfunded project - entire books and guides have been written on the subject. We will, however, give you a quick overview of the key steps you should take, some best practices, and an idea of what exactly is required of you. This will allow you to determine if crowdfunding is an avenue you wish to pur sue or not.

For ease of reading, we will break down the crowdfunding process into three major stages: the precampaign tasks you need to complete before launching your funding call, the activities to be completed during the campaign itself, and the post-campaign follow-up.

STAGE 1: Pre-Campaign

Step 1: Title

Compared to a scientific paper, a grant title should contain less scientific jargon. For the purposes of crowdfunding, this rule is taken to its extreme: no jargon is allowed whatsoever. An easy way to judge the appropriateness of a crowd- funding title is to imagine it within the pages of a magazine. Two titles seen on Experiment.com: “Sydney Harbouring unknown coral treasures” and “Mathematical model to reduce maternal and infant mortality in Southeast Asia” are appropriate titles. “Sublethal effects of radioactive surface contaminated objects (SCOs) on mammals and ecological interactions” is less so. As with grant titles, try to encapsulate your main research question as concisely as possible.

Step 2: Abstract

A good crowdfunding abstract is extremely short, to the order of 4–7 sentences. It should follow the following simple structure:

Establish the background/problem (1–2 sentences)

Research question (1 sentence)

Objective(s) (1–2 sentences)

Significance (1–2 sentences)

Remember, a crowdfunding campaign is generally geared at generating preliminary data on a minimal budget for a larger project. If you find that you have too many research questions or objectives to fit into one sentence, you are possibly over-promising, and should consider reducing the scope of your project.

Read more >  How to Crowdfund