Top 10 Traits Of Highly Successful People

 1. Repeatedly successful people respond instantly! When an investment isn’t working out, they sell. When they see an opportunity, they make the call. If an important relationship is cooling down, they take time to renew it. When technology or a new competitor or a change in the economic situation requires an adjustment, they are the first and quickest to respond.

2. They work hard! Yes, they play hard, too! They get up early, they rarely complain, they expect performance from others, but they expect extraordinary performance from themselves. Repeated, high-level success starts with a recognition that hard work pays off.

3. They are incredibly curious and eager to learn. They study, ask questions and read—constantly! An interesting point, however: While most of them did well in school, the difference is that they apply or take advantage of what they learn. Repeated success is not about memorizing facts, it’s about being able to take information and create, build, or apply it in new and important ways. Successful people want to learn everything about everything!

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Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

 "You pull it apart in sheets.  And you eat it… all.  Eat it all.  Make this.  Make it and eat it all."
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BRIC wall

THE economic crisis may have been debilitating for the rich world but for emerging markets it has been closer to a triumph. In 2010 China overtook a limping Japan as the world’s second-largest economy. It looks sets to catch America within a decade or two. India and Brazil are growing rapidly. The past few years have reinforced the suspicion of many that the story of the century will be the inexorable rise of emerging economies. If projections of future growth look rosy for emerging markets, however, history counsels caution. The post-war period is rich in examples of blistering catch-up growth. But at some point growth starts to disappoint. Gaining ground on the leaders is far easier than overtaking them.
Rapid growth is initially easy because the leader has already trodden a clear path. Developing countries can borrow existing technologies from countries that have already become rich. Advanced economies may be stuck with obsolete infrastructure; laggards can skip right to the shiniest and best. Labor productivity soars as poor economies shift workers from agriculture to a growing manufacturing sector. And rapid income growth among young workers boosts savings and fuels investment.
But the more an emerging economy resembles the leaders, the harder it is to sustain the pace. As the stock of borrowable ideas runs low, the developing economy must begin innovating for itself. The supply of cheap agricultural labor dries up and a rising number of workers take jobs in the service sector, where productivity improvements are more difficult to achieve. The moment of convergence with the leaders, which once seemed within easy reach, retreats into the future. Growth rates may slow, as they did in the case of western Europe and the Asian tigers, or they may falter, as in Latin America in the 1990s.

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The latest bubble?

by Schumpeter

ON September 2nd 2010 I wrote a mischievous column ("Declining by degree") likening America's universities to its car companies in about 1950: on top of the world and about to take an almighty fall. Since then I have heard the argument dismissed and denounced by the presidents of Harvard, Princeton and New York University. John Sexton, NYU's affable president, even likened me to a member of the tea party, for which there is no more damning condemnation in academic circles.

So I am particularly delighted to read Peter Thiel's latest thoughts on the higher-education bubble. Mr Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and a legendary investor, has a long history of identifying bubbles. He insisted on striking a deal, against everybody's advice, when the market valued PayPal at "only" $500m, on the ground that the dotcom bubble was about to burst (this was March 2000). He refused to buy property until recently, figuring that the dotcom bubble had simply shifted to housing.

Mr Thiel believes that higher education fills all the criteria for a bubble: tuition costs are too high, debt loads are too onerous, and there is mounting evidence that the rewards are over-rated. Add to this the fact that politicians are doing everything they can to expand the supply of higher education (reasoning that the "jobs of the future" require college degrees), much as they did everything that they could to expand the supply of "affordable" housing, and it is hard to see how we can escape disaster.

Here is Sarah Lacy's summary of Mr Thiel's argument about the safety-blanket role of higher education:

"Like the housing bubble, the education bubble is about security and insurance against the future. Both whisper a seductive promise into the ears of worried Americans: Do this and you will be safe. The excesses of both were always excused by a core national belief that no matter what happens in the world, these were the best investments you could make. Housing prices would always go up, and you will always make more money if you are college educated."

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The Death of Safe Sex

Now that STD-awareness campaigns and AIDS paranoia have faded, young men are throwing caution—and condoms—to the wind. Trouble is, the dangers are as clear and present as ever.

By Ian Daly,

The roof lounge at the Hotel Gansevoort enjoys the somewhat dubious honor of being the center of New York City’s vast white-collar meat market. This late-summer Saturday, a trio of clean-cut married guys on the balcony are clutching highballs and trading anecdotes about great moments in poor sexual judgment during their recently ended bachelor days. The one thing they agree on is this: There’s not much to fear out there.Click the title to read the rest......

How the Word “Organic” Tricks You

The “certified organic” label means more than pesticide-free produce: It may make you underestimate the calories in that food, a new Cornell University study finds.
In the study, subjects were asked to guess the calories in two sets of cookies, yogurt, and chips—one labeled organic, the other as regular. Although all the products were actually organic, participants estimated that the “organic” cookie contained an average of 161 calories versus 216 calories in the “non-organic” cookie. They also rated the organic cookie as more nutritious.
“There seems to be a widespread perception that the term organic is closely associated with the term healthy—despite the fact that the term organic refers to a method of production rather than the actual nutritional content of the food,” says Jenny Wan-chen Lee, a Cornell University graduate student who completed the study as part of her master’s thesis research. (Related from MensHealth.com: The State of the Organic Union.)
The finding shows that organic foods fall under a “health halo”—a phenomenon  where the “presence of a supposedly healthy food within a meal leads people to misjudge their entire meal as being healthier,” Lee says. Clouded by this health halo, you’ll be more likely to underestimate calories consumed, overeat, and derail the 6-pack abs you’ve been working on.
For example, if you order a Subway sandwich—which is thought of as healthier than a McDonald’s Big Mac—you may be more inclined to order chips or a cookie. Ultimately, you’ll eat more calories than you would have done had you merely ordered the Big Mac without any sides, Lee explains.
In a previous series of four studies on the health halo effect, people estimated sandwiches and burgers contained up to 35 percent fewer calories when they came from restaurants claiming to be healthy compared to when they came from restaurants not making this claim, found Pierre Chandon, Ph.D., a professor at INSEAD business school, and Brian Wansink Ph.D., author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. In fact, one of the studies found that when shown sandwiches with the same number of calories from McDonald’s and Subway, people guessed the McDonald’s sandwich had an extra 151 calories.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go organic. (Here’s how eating organic can boost your metabolism). Rather, it’s a caution not to overindulge—“organic” doesn’t mean low-calorie. “The first step to avoiding the health halo is just knowing it exists. Realize that you might underestimate the calories in healthy foods, so always check the nutrition label for the real facts,” Lee says.
If you’re looking to lose weight, cutting calories is only part of the equation. Read these other 9 Weight-Loss Rules that Work.
—Bari Lieberman

Magnificent Mac and Cheese

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil
• 1 lb fusilli, cavatappi, or elbow macaroni
• 1 qt milk
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 12 oz Gruyére, grated
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3/4 lb fresh tomatoes, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs (made from 5 slices white bread, pulsed in a food processor)

Step 1

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drizzle the oil into the boiling water, add the pasta, and cook according to package instructions. Drain well.

Step 2

1. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but do not allow it to boil. Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour all at once. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. Whisk in the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the cheeses, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked pasta and stir well. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

Step 3

1. Arrange the tomato slices on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter; toss with the fresh breadcrumbs to coat evenly, and sprinkle all over the top of the casserole. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the pasta is browned on top. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

The Freshest Margarita

Recipe:
2 oz Milagro Silver Tequila
6 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 or 1 oz of raw organic agave (depending on desired sweetness)

Instructions:
Shake. Strain over ice. Should be sharp, crisp and tart.

Recipe courtesy of Los Feliz, 109 Ludlow St., New York City.

Building A Better Kitchen: Drawer

The (second) best thing about cooking is the gear. Here’s more of what you need -- handily stowed out of sight -- to improve your skills. Click the title for more.....

Building A Better Kitchen: Countertop

The (second) best thing about cooking is the gear. And with new technology, it’s easy to make Michelin-worthy meals at home. Here’s what you need in sight to up your skills. Click on the title for more.....