Quote of the day
Happiness science has achieved the influence because it promises to provide the longed-for solution.
~WILLIAM DAVIES, author of The Happiness Industry: How the Government and Big Business Sold us Well-Being
SELF-IMPROVEMENT
The enduring hunt for personal value, NYT | Tweet
Why does Michael Phelps keep returning to a brutal training regimen in the pool, long after he’s achieved any imaginable accolade as a swimmer?
→Violence: Reflections on a National Epidemic
HAPPINESS
Is happiness worth measuring?, The Guardian | Tweet
Should the government be worried about the state of the nation’s wellbeing or should we concentrate on what makes people feel unhappy?
→The Happiness Industry: How the Government and Big Business Sold us Well-Being
CREATIVITY
For a more creative brain, travel, The Atlantic | Tweet
How international experiences can open the mind to new ways of thinking.
FITNESS
The women who are obsessed with Parkour, BBC | Tweet
Parkour is a sport which sends people scrambling, climbing, jumping and balancing over the obstacles of the urban landscape. Its roots are in military training and it takes its name fromparcours du combattant, but a leading London Parkour group is based around a different idea: that Parkour is best done in a group and by women. Because the biggest threat to Parkour – as even Parkour’s all-male founders would agree – is testosterone.
→The Ultimate Parkour & Freerunning Book: Discover Your Possibilities!
STARTUPS
This new startup wants to make you the laziest person ever, Business Insider | Tweet
Dufl, a startup that launched Thursday, aims to eliminate the pain of packing by removing the traveler from the equation almost entirely.
WRITING
Writing villains: 9 evil examples of the villain archetype, The Write Practice | Tweet
You’ve been told your story needs conflict. You’ve been told that each scene needs to have tension. You might have even been told you need to be writing villains, memorable antagonists that can supercharge your plot.
→Writing About Villains: How to Create Compelling Dark Characters for Your Fiction 
Talents and Skills entry: Enhanced hearing, Writers Helping Writers | Tweet
When choosing a talent or skill, think about the personality of your character, his range of experiences and who his role models might have been.
→The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Attributes 