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“Nothing great in the world was accomplished without passion.“
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Throughout this series, I explore various facets of who we are. Understanding our personality helps rationalize our behavior. It brings us closer to understanding our existence and why we're here. There are two prevailing approaches to understanding reality: One is faith-based where a divine being oversees our reality. An existence...
Preface Aesop's fable has been told and retold over the centuries. But many aspects of his story have been added and removed over the years, so few people know of its original draft. I managed to gain temporary possession of the Greek stone where this fable was originally etched, and...
Society classifies men into two types: Alphas and Betas. Putting aside the debate as to whether these personalities are relevant today, a third category has recently emerged: the Sigma. In this post, I'll explore the top ten behavioral traits of a Sigma male: Selective Social Interactions • Sigmas are considered...
Abstraction A group of people walk into a room and they're asked, "What's the color of the walls?" They all agree that the room is white. The lights are then turned off and the white group are asked to close their eyes. In the meantime the room is painted purple....
A few years ago I was with a malignant narcissist. Up to that point in my life, I hadn't been exposed to this personality disorder. I decided to create this post to help others who may be unaware their partner's a narcissist. These are the top ten behaviors I experienced...
Once upon a time, three businessmen from Siberia, Mozkov, Ruzsiav, and Sovietski, visited a powerful and respected mafioso named Gabislav. They arrived in very expensive suits and requested a formal meeting. Gabislav was very busy with his businesses and initially refused. But for three days the three Siberians insisted so...
Doers • Talkers There are two types of people in the world: Those who get shit done. Those who complain about shit. Takers appease the egos of doers to fulfil their goals. They see tasks as obstacles that need to be delegated to doers while sitting on their Game of...
I'm a firm believer that people can't change their personalities - only their behavior. Personality formulates from adolescence and solidify in puberty. After that only behavior can evolve. Relationships are challenging and the delineation between personality and behavior can be confusing. Friction begins when one partner tries to change the...
Relationship equality is rare. More often than not, one partner takes on a dominant role. This assertion is defined at the very beginning of the relationship. In my experience, women are much smarter than men. Their inherent ability to multi-task makes them better negotiators and clever debaters. There's a prevailing...
Each generation teaches the next to be better. Generation Alpha are now born with near-infinite resources to answer all their questions. YouTube, Google, and ChatGPT only scratch the surface to finding answers. But it's not so much about knowing where to find answers, and more about knowing how to ask...
When my children were born, I looked into their innocent eyes and realized, "There are people on this earth who love you before even meeting you. But some people already hate you". This reality check was how I saw our polarized world. A realization of systemic hatred because of nationality,...
Woman: Slaps Man. Man: "What the fuck? How dare you slap me! Why did you do that?" Woman: Points finger down to her genitals, "I slapped you because you're raping me, asshole!" Man: "But you slapped me! That's completely unacceptable! What the fuck's wrong with you?" Woman: "You're raping me,...
As much as I've tried to learn about a country, culture, religion, I've come to realize that I'll never completely understand another person's reality. In my younger years I took on a regional role responsible for Central & Eastern Europe (i.e., C&EE), and then a much wider region commonly referred...
I come from a core belief that deeply loving relationships are built on fairness. An equal stake in wealth and emotions. An openness to learn and grow together. Partners who each pull the other upward, so that they'll be better than yesterday. But many relationships play out as a line...
Success in modern society is measured by three core motivators: The acquisition of fame, fortune or power. Achieving one is considered a success. Two can reached by a few. But achieving all three is nearly impossible. Political, Economic, Social and Technological (i.e. PEST) constrain all motivators. Moving to post-communist Prague...
At an exhibition in Lisbon, Portugal a visitor asked me, "Are you an entrepreneur, manager or specialist? Pick one." I had never been asked such a question and I was immediately engaged. I thought about it for a moment. Entrepreneurs want to start new ventures. Take risks. They love the...
Single men are subjected to unfounded scrutiny regarding their sexuality. There's a convoluted belief that if a man is single for too long then they must have, "turned gay". I used to imagine conversations at the breakfast table: Question: "Does he have a girlfriend yet?" Response: "Not that I'm aware."...
Falling in love is like jumping into a river. As the water washes over our hearts, we feel exhilarated. Then we suddenly realize that we're being pulled downstream. As the current gets stronger we increasingly feel out of control. Suddenly we're approaching a waterfall. Swimming against the current is futile....
Our interactions in society play out in three main roles: Wife • Woman • Mother Husband • Man • Father Partner • Person • Parent The persona of Woman • Man • Person are interactions with friends, colleagues at work, and the rest of society. As a Wife • Husband...
Have you ever tried to concentrate on the precise moment when you fall asleep? The transition from the conscious to the subconscious? I've personally never succeeded, and I'm not sure if it's even possible. It's my ongoing experiment to understand the mystery of sleep. Every attempt perpetually keeps me awake. I...
Doctor-patient interactions are asymmetric relationships. It's when one side is under the impression they're in an open-hearted friendship but nothing is reciprocated. Questions like, "How's it goin'?" can prompt two diametrically opposing responses: The first is when the patient truthfully answers the question with all its baggage. The second is...
We're born, raised, and die in the economic layer where we feel we belong. We educate and find jobs in our layer. We socialize only in that layer. We raise our children in our layer. One way to define socioeconomic layers is by economically separating society by: people who live in...
When my kids were born, I was conscious that generation gap issues would eventually surface. When I was young I heard comments like, "Rock music is bad for you! Long hair makes you look uneducated! You look homeless with those ripped jeans! Don't expect to get an office job if...
It's said that if you want to be better then surround yourself with people better than you. If a runner races against competitors who are slower, they'll always win, but they'll never reach their full potential. If they only compete against faster competitors, they'll always end last, but their athletic...
Stories are told using two primary methods: The traditional approach is where a narrative gradually builds to its climax. We can visualize this as a spiral where the storyteller starts at the outer edge and finishes at the center. But this inward-spiral approach is not always desirable. It depends on...
The first twenty-four posts in my series called, "Life • Philosophy • Psychology" have now been published. I'm not a psychologist or claim to be an expert on human behavior. These posts are just my observations. It's how I see the world. I admit to having spent thousands of hours...
The story arc of the protagonist versus antagonist has been retold for centuries. One good. The other bad. And they stay that way through to the end of the story. In my twenties, I discovered alternative story telling in Japanese animation and Asian cinema. At first, I found Asian stories...
Throughout this blog, I explore the self. I want to understand Who I Am - Who We Are. This helps me understand the world. But people are not blue or red, good, or evil, introverted or extroverted. We're no binary creatures. We're much more complex. Psychology tests tend to peg...
Everyone is good at something. Some people are good at things they haven't discovered yet. Parents try to expose their children to many different activities so that they may discover their talents and hopefully have a chance to nurture them through adolescence. Parents have a key role in helping their...
We live and breathe in a reality that our brains allow us to perceive. Our interaction with the universe has evolved into five basic senses (i.e., sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch), although more have been identified in recent decades. Can we compartmentalize other realities or alternate existences? Dreaming could...
Life is not only about understanding who we are, but who we want to be. Part of this journey requires an understanding of our surroundings - having the ability to see ourselves in the third person. In my early teens I decided that I wanted to see myself as others...
Risk versus reward is often discussed economically: How much money do I invest to get my return on investment? I would like to rather focus on a creativist's perspective. Artists take risks every time they create a new piece and showcase it. Comedians take risks telling a new joke to...
As I age I'm more cognizant of my limitations. No matter how much I learn, it's only a fraction of any given topic. No matter how many places I've visited, it's just a fraction of the world's beauty. This observation doesn't come from discouragement but from humility. We're all limited...
I was lucky to grow up surrounded by the love of my family. When I was very young my mother told me, "Gabičko, do you know how lucky you are to have parents who love you?" At the time, this question seemed incomprehensible. How could I not be loved by...
Freedom of Movement - Freedom of Thought - The Right to Life. Three fundamental human rights established by the United Nations back in 1948. Ratified articles of all Human Rights can be found here, by country. You may be surprised to find regions of the world that adamantly claim human...
A theme that played out throughout my career was, "Work Smart, Not Hard". I often debated this approach - not because I didn't work smart, but how this statement was interpreted. How do clever best practices affect free time? Efficiency is rewarded in different ways. One may say, "I learned...
With the dawn of the Internet people didn't initially recognize its benefit. Content was at it's infancy, and applications didn't appeal to the masses. It took a decade for the chicken and egg dilemma to play out. Emerging technology often defines a new generation gap. The young latch on, and...
I can think what I want. I can be who I want. I am free.I create my successes. I own my failures. I am free.I never sold my soul. No one owns me. I am free. I face my insecurities. I strengthen my limitations. I am free.I try to be...
When my children were born I was faced with the grand challenge of how to raise them. My dilemma was in realizing that I was in a virtual box and that the default of most parents is to raise their children in the same box. I saw this as a weakness...
"Work Hard, Play Hard" was often the mantra growing up. As I got older I realized that it's not so binary. Work doesn't need to be burdensome. Play doesn't have to be anarchistic. The rabbit hole of entertainment tends to monopolize our time's real estate, so I try to learn...
Throughout elementary school, I walked every day to my parent's animal hospital after school and hung around until we closed. During those years I learned compassion through animal care. I witnessed birth and death - joy and sorrow. For many years clients would ask me if I wanted to be...
Life is a series of steps. Good decisions help us climb. Sometimes synchronized circumstances cause a significant leap upward. Likewise, unforeseen tragedies can send us downward. Throughout this journey, we try to try to create safety nets to protect us from falling. If you're climbing you're growing. If you're standing...
I'm a firm believer in a Mind • Body balance. I treat both as a muscle, knowing full well that they'll atrophy if we don't use them. Growing up I was taught the importance of staying in shape. As early as six years old my father would ask me to...
"Time is Relentless", is a theme that resonates throughout my creative journey. As I get older the value of time increases. In high school, I learned that time was a definable entity. It may be invisible, but once compartmentalized, it could be studied, analyzed, and maybe one day manipulated. As...
Fine Arts Photography comes with its fair share of teasing from family and friends. It's hard for some to understand that photographing the female body can be a serious form of artistic expression. I thoroughly enjoy the entire process - from the principle photography to editing to website development and...
In any given photoshoot there are an infinite number of decisions. Any combination of setting, lighting, or technology can make or ruin a great image. It's an ongoing pursuit for any fine arts photographer to make the best decisions so they can capture that elusive perfect image. Even if perfection...
Photographers follow a set of rules. The Golden Ratio, Rule of Thirds, Framing, etc. But sometimes rules are made to be broken. Opinions on angles, posing, and lighting, can be subject to personal preference, even in the presence of rules. It's a balance of art and science. Science is deterministic...
Crypto has attracted a massive cesspool of sociopathic scammers since its inception. These people completely lack empathy and don't give a fuck about ruining the lives of honest people. They see empathy as a weakness. When they steal their excuse is, "People are stupid. It's their fault for trusting me!"...
In every photoshoot my biggest challenge is to convince the model to open her soul to me. Asking to reveal her inner spirit for a brief photoshoot is a tall order. I want my model to trust me, to find her confidence, and to relax - all within the first...
Dusil.org is a celebration of feminine sensuality. My central goal is to capture each model's spirit - her essence. Dusil Photography's tagline, "Gateway to the Soul" is based on the common belief that eyes are the gateway to our soul and therefore the camera's lens is a, ‘Gateway to the...
