Kickstarter has been a successful crowdfunding option for potential entrepreneurs to garner cash. However it has not been without some issues. According to The Wall Street Journal article The Trouble With Kickstarter, “The only thing worse than having to watch your friend’s arty movie is having to pay for it too.” Aside from the problems associated with pestering friends to donate, there have been some successful ventures thanks to this site. The following list contains some of names of celebrities who have used the site:
The PayPal Mafia refers to a group of individuals who created multiple companies that created a frenzy of growth in the Silicon Valley. The entrepreneurs created PayPal before they set out to develop other multiple successful technology-based companies. These men are serial entrepreneurs or individuals who, “continuously come up with new ideas and starts new businesses. As opposed to a typical entrepreneur, who will often come up with an idea, start the company, and then see it through and play an important role in the day to day functioning of the new company, a serial entrepreneur will often come up with the idea and get things started, but then give responsibility to someone else and move on to a new idea and a new venture.”
To learn more about some of the individuals associated with the PayPal Mafia check out the following members and how their initial success led to other serial successes:
Muhammad Ali has been called the most recognizable man on earth. While he is still considered the champ from his boxing days, he has continued to inspire people around the world. His belief that others can achieve greatness led to his most recent venture the Generation Ali Global Citizenship Scholarship Program. This program, due to launch December 7, 2012, is aimed at the millennial generation. According to the Generation Ali site, the program is about “Fostering tomorrow’s leaders to achieve personal greatness, contribute positively to their communities, and change the world for the better.”
According to Alltech, Donald Lassere, president of the Muhammad Ali Center stated, “Muhammad Ali has proven that one person can be a spark that lights the flame of inspiration and change the world. Generation Ali will take up the torch and continue Muhammad’s legacy by inspiring a new generation of leaders to create better lives, better nations, and a better world.”
In order to apply for this program, applicants must
Be a high school senior or graduate or post-secondary undergraduate.
Plan to enroll or are currently enrolled in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited United States two- or four-year college, university or vocational technical school.
U.S. and international students encouraged to apply.
Ali’s Facebook site shows a graphic that mentions $10,000 scholarships. Ali stated, “This is it! The Greatest Scholarship of All Time is here! Start spreading the word. Online application starts December 7th! U.S. and international students encouraged to apply.”
The Big Bang Theories’ Sheldon Cooper is a classic example of why it is important to have a high emotional intelligence quotient (EQ). In the TV sitcom, Sheldon demonstrates what it is like to have a high IQ without a corresponding high EQ. Daniel Goleman wrote about why this may be problematic in his book Emotional Intelligence: Why it can Matter More than IQ.
Sheldon is a very intelligent human being. This is something that he constantly points out to nearly everyone he meets. However, his high IQ is not tempered with interpersonal skills. Having strong intrapersonal and interpersonal skills are an important part of having a well-developed EQ. Sheldon may be an over-exaggeration of someone that lacks these skills, but we have all met book-smart people who just do not seem to understand how to interact with others.
Some companies’ yearly performance reviews may consider how employees demonstrate “concern for impact”. In other words, the company want employees to be aware of how they came across to other people. Any employee that has to deal with other people on a daily basis must learn to see themselves as other see them. What may seem as perfectly acceptable behavior to an individual may come across as offensive to someone else. Companies are placing more importance on developing individuals’ EQ levels and hiring people that have already developed interpersonal skills.
Sheldon is almost robotic in his lack of people skills. He does things because he has been taught that “it is the social convention” to do so. For people who see any part of their personality in the Sheldon character, I recommend reading Goleman’s book. I also think that it is important to read books about how to improve EQ levels. There are some sites on the Internet that help people improve emotional intelligence. Check out the following links:
No one wants to hear the words “You’re Fired”! It might be surprising to see some of the people out there who have been fired, only to come back and make it big later on in their careers. The article 10 Famous People Who Flourished After Being Laid Off explained how some very famous people like Oprah, Walt Disney, J. K. Rowling and others were let go by some employers who probably wanted to kick themselves later for their decision.
Sometimes losing a job can actually lead to better things down the road. Check out 50 People Who Failed Before Becoming Successful. Some of these “failures” include Bill Gates and Albert Einstein.
Although it can be disheartening to lose a job, sometimes it works out for the best in the long run. The book How to Reinvent Your Career addresses whether anything really is a failure of if it is just a learning experience. Sometimes people are just in the wrong line of work based on their personality preferences. When they get fired, it may force them to re-evaluate what is important to them.
According to Wired.com, “There are no reliable figures on how many people have Asperger’s, but anecdotally a lot of them are drawn into the computer field, particularly the logic-heavy world of coding. BitTorrent creator Bram Cohen has diagnosed himself with the disorder, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates is frequently speculated to have it.” According to Businessweek, Bram Cohen’s disorder is, “a condition that keeps him rooted in the world of objects and patterns, puzzles and computers, but leaves him floating, disoriented, in the everyday swirl of human interactions.” In the movie The Social Network, some of the mannerisms that the Mark Zuckerberg character displayed may have implied he had Asperger’s as well.
Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen developed an AQ test that measures the Autism Spectrum Quotient. “In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher. The test is not a means for making a diagnosis, however, and many who score above 32 and even meet the diagnostic criteria for mild autism or Asperger’s report no difficulty functioning in their everyday lives.” To take the Asperger’s test, click here.
An honorary degree is offered when an institution waives the usual requirements to obtain the degree. Usually it is awarded because that person has achieved enough in life to prove that they deserve this honor. There are some very famous people who have received honorary degrees.
Last year, I was fortunate to have been nominated to receive an honorary doctorate from a local university. Because I already had received a traditional doctorate degree, I didn’t realize that it was possible to receive another honorary one. Someone else received the doctorate for which I was nominated, but it made me interested in researching honorary degrees.
In the article 9 Surprising People With Honorary Degrees, the author noted that there may be ulterior motives when giving out these degrees. “Honorary degrees are often handed out to people who have made important contributions to a field, but sometimes they end up in the hands of celebrities for vague reasons. More than likely, the university wants the publicity that comes with giving a doctorate to someone famous.”
The article lists the following 9 celebrities who have received honorary degrees and questions whether some of these are deserving of the honor:
Not all people accept honorary degrees. William Shatner had been offered other degrees before McGill’s offer, but turned them down. To find out more about these unique 9 celebrities and their honorary degrees, check out the article by clicking here.
Some other famous celebrities with honorary degrees include:
Manic depression or bipolar disorder is a mood disorder where people experience abnormal levels of high energy or depressive states. While generally thought of as a disorder, there are many examples of people who have this disorder and used it to their advantage.
In the article Manic Depression: The CEO’s Disease, the author points out that many leaders can be successful due to the mania involved. They also may not even realize they have the disorder. “On average, it takes 10 years from the onset of the illness for a manic depressive to receive a correct diagnosis. In the interim, some of them do very well in business. And as more and more such sufferers come forward, many psychiatrists are convinced that their good fortune is at least partly a result of their illness. Dr. Sagar Parikh, head of the Bipolar Clinic at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto, says 10% of those who have manic depression actually perform better in their jobs than a “healthy” individual. “[Manic depression] gives them that extra bit of panache to do the big deal,” says Parikh.”
In Joshua Walters’ Ted.com video, he points out the importance of being just crazy enough. He explains that as a performer, the crazier he is on stage, the more entertaining the audience finds his act. He decided to embrace his illness and now walks the line between what he calls mental illness and mental skillness. He points out that there is a movement to reframe the hypomanic part of the illness and to look at it is a positive. He refers to John Gartner’s book The Hypomanic Edge where Gartner writes about how this edge allows people to compete. Walters explains that being this way maybe doesn’t mean you are crazy, but that you are more sensitive to what others can’t see or feel.
In the New York Times article Just Manic Enough: Seeking Perfect Entrepreneurs, author David Segal explained how people could take advantage of being in the bipolar spectrum. Segal noted, “The attributes that make great entrepreneurs, the experts say, are common in certain manias, though in milder forms and harnessed in ways that are hugely productive. Instead of recklessness, the entrepreneur loves risk. Instead of delusions, the entrepreneur imagines a product that sounds so compelling that it inspires people to bet their careers, or a lot of money, on something that doesn’t exist and may never sell.”
Tom Wooten, author founder of the Bipolar Advantage, has made it his “mission to help people with mental conditions shift their thinking and behavior so that they can lead extraordinary lives.” He sees it as being bipolar without requiring the word disorder.
The following is a list of famous successful people who have been labeled as having manic depression:
There is a fun little site called That Can Be My Next Tweet. It pulls information from your Twitter account and calculates what your possible next Tweet could include based on what you have Tweeted in the past. Every time you push the “get your next Tweet” button, it comes up with a new jumble of words combined from your past postings. I put in drdianehamilton and the first three times I pushed the button, I got the following responses:
You are emotionally intelligent? 3 Answers: Consumer Trends to Target its 90 Million From Russian?
Develop Socially You About Your Current Job Google and Psychological Bloggers and Business Review: How?
Boomerang Generation: College Tuition Really Want This New Pew Is Your Current Job Google Using QR code!
It was fun for a few minutes. I’m not sure it has lasting appeal, but it can be good for a few laughs. I put in a few personalities that can tend to be characters to see what their next Tweet might be. Here is what it generated:
Charlie Sheen: Sloppy TunaGet you’re going to Colombia, it’s my page & ! KH & RH RT!! Anger Management ANGER & coke round.
Ashton Kutcher: I’m a joke. retweet to keep spending millions to people sounds funnier than astronauts.
Kanye West: Chilling with my stress and I just threw some bassoon on Yeezy’s and the right thing but I know Howie?
BrianWilson (the closing pitcher for the San Francisco Giants): Charlie Sheen is why. The Tux. Made of the Wharf. you enjoy choking on today’s run, upon reaching the 1st!
To check out: That Can Be My Next Tweet, click here.
The word Doppelganger can be roughly translated as “evil twin”. In German, doppel means double. Facebook previously instituted “doppelganger week” where everyone could post their celebrity look-alikes as their outgoing picture. How can you decide which celebrity you resemble the most? MyHeritage.com has a fun little program that can help. This site lets you upload a picture of yourself to see your celebrity look-alikes. Don’t be surprised if the results don’t necessarily come back as the same gender. It’s best to use a picture that shows your face looking straight ahead, without glasses and doesn’t contain anyone else in the shot.
This site has more facial recognition software applications that are a lot of fun. Have you ever wondered if you looked more like your mother or your father? MyHeritage.com can tell you that as well. The site allows you to enter pictures of you and your parents, and then it analyzes who you resemble most. Apparently I look 10% more like my mother.
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