Beyond the title, the newer article is nothing like this older article. The newer article is about a guy who built a Web site on the side. The older article is about picking mutual funds and investment strategies.
Another day in PMC :)
Both articles are geared towards the poor/middle classes who try to jump above their heads.I wonder if it is the sign of things to come....Give us your money and we will invest in stocks.Poof ! No money. But now give us your money or just try by yourself and build internet/clean-tech start-up. Every 5-7 years they change the strategy after people realize it's not working.
I'm tired of how people treated like sheep in Police-Mafiozo Country
If you are male, the best "drug" for social anxiety is weightlifting. (No, you don't need to be a huge-ass body-builder-douche, if you don't do 'roids you probably won't be one, you'll look normal and athletic.)
I think probably it's all about testosterone - weightlifting increases the levels of those and thus makes us feel more "manly" and that just blows away the insecurity.
I'm not a scientist, so that testosterone stuff is just a guess, but it was amazing how at the age if 17 it transformed me from a shy, withdrawn, never-look-people-in-the-eyes teenager to a "real man" - relaxed, confident, one who talks to people as a real equal. Much of social interaction has hidden traces of very primitive instincts behind it: the sexual instinct and the fight instinct, and weightlifting gives you confidence in both (even though you would still be beaten to a pulp by any 120 pound Thai Box fighter, but that doesn't matter, you probably don't actually need to fight: it's just the feeling) which transforms into a relaxed and confident social interaction.
Another way to put it is that as an Aspie, I always felt alien from both the world and from my body. My idea of "me" is something in my head who tries to drive my body with a remote control and it just doesn't work well. Weightlifting got me to connect with my body, it made by body a part of the "me", and through the body as a medium, it made me connect with the world and other people. (Probably it's something about strenghtening some under-used neural pathways that connect the "self" parts of the brain with other parts.)
Now at 30 I'm often too lazy to do it, but whenever I do it for a few months, my Aspiehood just goes away.
I always find it strange that when people suggest doing weight training, there's often a disclaimer that you won't become huge and muscular with regular workouts. It's like a disclaimer saying that you won't get all brainy and smart if you study physics or math. I would imagine that if you had the potential to be a world class bodybuilder, it's worth exploring, just as if you had the potential to be a world class physicist, it's worth exploring.
About weight lifting helping cure social anxiety, I think it's more than just testosterone. If you get serious about weights, you start watching your diet. Eating well is a large component of feeling well, and cutting down on junk and processed foods makes a noticeable difference in mood and energy.
Another factor that comes into play is having regular periods of intense focus. We all claim to be focusing when we're doing work, but there are still all those microdistractions that come with the territory. You'll learn very quickly how to maintain focus if you down want to drop a couple hundred pounds on your chest.
There was a period of time when I wasn't working out, but I'd go for a drive late at night when I was stressed. Not a normal drive, mind you; I would blast up and down the side of a nearby mountain. The physical aspect of driving, combined with the focus necessary to not go flying off a cliff, had a very similar effect. I don't recommend this, as it was extremely reckless, but if you happen to live anywhere near a track, or even a karting facility, I'd strongly suggest trying it out.
I would imagine that if you had the potential to be a world class bodybuilder, it's worth exploring ...
For some I'm sure, but not me. At the beginning of this year I began regular weight training sessions, three times a week. I have in fact repeatedly said to my friend that got me into it that I never want to look like those world class guys, the ones with the huge super tanned muscles and massive veins popping out all over the place. It's just not aesthetically how I would ever want to look. In a way I see it as being another expression of the "thin" culture that movies and TV tend to promote (mainly to women). These huge pro body builders have taken it to far in my opinion. The human body cannot reach that level of musculature without the aid of synthetic growth hormones. It's just as artificial (if not more) as a person who starves themselves to meet Hollywood's current ideal. Of course, it's their body and they can do what they want with it, but I'm just talking from my POV.
I think I would have the possibility to be a pretty successful pro body builder if I wanted to be as I have a naturally large frame. Even before I started going to the gym, people sometimes would think that I did. So even though I think there's a good chance that I would excel in this area, to me it's not worth exploring to the furthest extreme. My point being that I believe there must be many like me who do weight train but do not wish to ever look like Arnold in his hay day. Hence the common disclaimers that you mention.
In the 3 months that I have been training I have noticeably gained strength and muscle mass, but will never take steroids and will make sure that I never look unnaturally muscled.
I very much like the meditative nature of the training as it relates to concentrated focus on the specific task at hand, as mentioned by another commenter. And there are health benefits that I have already observed.
But as for the effect of weight training on confidence in social interactions, I can't say I've noticed any change whatsoever for me. My feeling is that those who do notice a positive change in confidence are possibly the guys who are a little on the small side and after training for a while and gaining some strength and mass, it makes a bigger psychological difference to them than it may have for me (as I mentioned, I have always been relatively big and tall). My second point being that - based on my own anecdotal experience - I would think any change in confidence would be more tied into the psychological than the physical.
That sounds like the equivalent reasoning for a study I've heard about, that many girls don't go into science and engineering because they don't want to be like those nerdy and brainy people, which is also an expression of the culture that movies and TV promote. Unfortunately, people's passions and talents don't always line up, and they have to make a choice of which path to follow.
I think at least for the initial startup period it would be a good idea to rely on Paypal or some similar service. The hassle of getting a merchant account might in some cases eat up too much of the founder(s)' precious time. Some successful retailers (like this indie game one: http://2dboy.com/games.php) continue rely on Paypal though they have a large user base. I think the best time to get a merchant account would be once the sales start rising above something like 10K/month or so. In that way, you'll (hopefully) have an account before your sales (again hopefully) hits 100K or so.
I actually happened to use a website Cooltext (http://cooltext.com/Buttons) recently, and it also created buttons for you. Comparatively, your website's interface is definitely much better (more dynamic - buttons reflect changes immediately), but in terms of features/options it would be a good idea to take a look at Cooltext and try to add in some of the features that they offer. (Like a wider set of fonts to choose from, button special effects, etc.)
Because M&M is a tasty chocolate that is especially popular with children, the creators of X# want to send the message that their language is delicious toy suited for tots.
