Lately, I’ve been reading biographies by the pound. I’m particularly interested in biographies of people who were involved in creating the modern world: Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, and the like.

I have this endless fascination for the first half of the twentieth century and the people who lived in that time.

How to Remember a Person’s Name (and What to Do When You Can’t) This is a valuable set of tactics to have when you’re active in a community. There can be a lot of names you need to remember. (@ art of manliness)

The Biggest Myth — It’s Selfish To Try to Be Happier. “One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.” I find that if I don’t feel happy, if I consistently act happy, my mood eventually elevates. The people around me seem happier, too, so there’s a self-reinforcing thing going on. (@ happiness project)

Breaking Free from Consumerist Chains It’s so easy to fall into a routine of buying things that you don’t really need. Breaking free of that routine is hard, but it’s quite doable. (@ zen habits)

How to Sell Yourself on Lifestyle Change Changing your life is very hard. You have to create a situation where the balance is weighted on the side of change, and our normal routine is a very heavy weight against change. Part of that process is simply selling yourself on change. (@ stepcase lifehack)

Becoming a Millionaire – A Real-Life Example All you have to do is invest a small amount regularly and be patient. Riches will come. The thing many people don’t have is patience. (@ free money finance)