In our Western democracies, what are the largest obstacles we face in our political system? Obstacles countries like China e.g. don’t face. The largest issue we see in our Western political systems is a result of short election periods.

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Everyday we encounter things, small things. And I propose we generously underestimate the importance of those small things. We encounter those small things in our daily life: while commuting, at work, or at a dinner date at night. And here comes the big surprise: usually the small things are what actually make the moment great, the experience unique, and your life great.

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There are times in your life when you must act on your self-set principles, or you will perish in your self-made meaninglessness. In the next paragraphs, you will learn why I think that taking some time for yourself (something I call me-time) and regular positive affirmations of your goals and your principles are essential guideposts in our lives.

Read more “Goals, Principles, and why you must walk away sometimes”

“Quit or be exceptional. Average is for losers.”

This quote is taken from Seth Godin’s book “The Dip” gave me the chills when I read it. The question Seth Godin answers in his book is: what makes some few organizations, teams, and individuals so successful while others vanish in mediocrity?

Read more “Quit or be Exceptional – Average is for Losers”

It is a hypothetical question: what impacts would it have if businesses were not allowed to merge with or buy other businesses – including competitors? Do you think this would rather have a positive effect on the worldwide economy and wellbeing or do you think this would have adverse effects – if so which?

Read more “What would happen if all mergers and acquisitions were illegal?”

In a digital era, it seems to be a matter of course that news is free. Thousands of free email newsletters, the newsfeeds of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accustomed us to free and instantly available news sources. Over many years people were able to access the web articles of nearly every major news publication for free, and it became a habit for people.

Read more “The Problem with Free News and Paywalls”

Books are the number one source of knowledge. There are millions of self-help books and other non-fiction books. How to judge which book can really help you in your path forward? There are certainly a few classics which are simply a must-read; from Siddartha to Think and Grow Rich.

Read more “Biographies: Learning from Legends”

There are three options on the table for every person who wakes up and wants to enjoy a healthy and productive day. An important decision you should make is when and how you work out.

Read more “Work and Work-Out in the Early Morning”

Hier eine kurze Beschreibung, wie ihr eure EasyBox als Access Point nutzen könnt. Falls du ein LAN Anschluss mit Internet hast und nun von diesem LAN Anschluss gerne ein WLAN erstellen möchtest, ist ein Access Point und somit diese Anleitung genau das richtige für dich.

Read more “Vodafone EasyBox als Access Point nutzen”

The perfect sunrise in a dreamlike national park. No people around and complete silence, despite the sounds of the river and wild animals. At least, this is what you might anticipate when looking at one of many photos like this on Instagram.

Read more “Traveling: Despite or Because of Instagram?”

Amazon, Zappos, Zalando, and many other B2C online shops set standards for convenience and customer service. You can order any item 24 hours a day seven days a week and 365 days a year with a single click.

Read more “The Ease of Amazon for B2B-Purchasing”

Apropos digitalization: today I tried to visit a website of a Mittelstand business in Germany. You know what the homepage told me: “Is a homepage crucial?” with the contact details below. No information about their products, no information on their philosophy, nothing. I was shocked.

Read more “Is a Homepage Crucial? – Digitalization in the German Mittelstand”

It’s photos like this – images of the venus’ surface – which make me realize that we live in a super pessimistic time.

Read more “Did Humanity Give Up On Greatness?”

Facebook: A Stalking Time-Machine

Only a few days ago, a friend of mine sent me an old photo which showed us partying (really hard) at the age of ±17 years. Where did he get it from? Correct, Facebook reminded him of it. I personally don’t really have a problem to share these kinds of photos with people – as long I know them quite good. However, I don’t like the fact that my entire past is recorded on a Facebook timeline, for anyone to access, review, download, and stalk. Let’s not even talk about the big data Facebook is gathering and the personal profile Facebook is constructing out of my activity.

Deleting Your Activity? Not That Easy

Today I sat down and thought: “Well, let me simply delete all of my past Facebook posts, likes, photos, and videos.” However, as it turned out this was easier said than done. It seems that Facebook doesn’t want you to delete all your past activities on the platform. In fact, it is impossible to delete all your activity with a single click. This “Delete Everything Button” does not exist. So, Facebook wants you to click manually on every single activity of you to review and then delete it. Considering that most of us are active users on Facebook for several years, this process apparently will take days. However, there is a fast-track to delete your Facebook history.

Using A Script to Eradicate Vacate Your Timeline

Nobody wants to sit hours and days in front of a PC clicking the same buttons all over again. Fortunately, there is a way how you can automate this process. This works by using a manual script in your browser. I just found a straightforward Chrome extension which will run a script on your Facebook activity log. The script will run for several hours depending on how active you were on Facebook in the past. Several hours are still faster than deleting all activities manually. If you too want to get rid of your Facebook past, follow the following steps.

How To Delete All Your Facebook Activity: Step By Step

1) Turn on your PC or Mac

The steps described below do only work on a PC or Mac. There is no shortcut which you can use on your mobile device or your Facebook app.

2) Use the Google Chrome Browser to Access Facebook

I tried several scripts to delete my Facebook activity. The easiest and most reliable procedure works with Google Chrome. So if you don’t use Google Chrome click here to get it.

3) Log-In to your Facebook Account Using Chrome

The next step – apparently – is to log in to your Facebook account.

4) Download the “Social Book Post Manager” Extension for Chrome

Next, download the necessary extension for Google Chrome. The extension is called “Social Book Post Manager.” Click here to install it in Chrome or open the same link in the Chrome browser you want to use to delete your Facebook activity.

5) Navigate to Your “Activity Log”

Now go to your own Facebook profile and click on the “View Activity Log” button.

6) Click on the Icon of the newly Installed Extension

First, select on the right-hand side of the Facebook activity log which activity you want to delete or hide. For example posts you have posted, posts you were tagged in, photos, videos, etc. You can delete your own posts but you can only hide posts or photos you were tagged in.

Now you select which time frame you would like to delete everything from your activity log. You can choose specific years and or months. If you want to remove everything, select “Select All.”
Check or uncheck the “Prescan on Page” selection however you desire. If you run the script in the background, you probably won’t need a prescan.

To start the script and to DELETE EVERYTHING from your Facebook activity log click on “Delete” or “Hide”.

For better results read the update below.

Facebook Does Not Want Us To Do This

The question which remains is the following: why does Facebook not merely offers a button to delete all of our Facebook activity? Why do they – on purpose – design this process like a pain in the ass?

I leave the question with you. Be aware what you post on Facebook and don’t allow Facebook to become too mighty in your life. Try to implement alternative services into your life. I switched nearly all of my communication to Telegram

I hope this post was helpful for you. If it was, feel free to leave a comment or share it with your loved ones.

Update for better results:

• Don’t open any other Facebook window in another browser tab and don’t open any Facebook app on your phone or tablet while running the script.
• Deactivate or delete any other Facebook-related Chrome plugins you might have already installed. Other plugins might interfere with “Social Book Post Manager”. To see all your installed plugins visit: chrome://extensions/
• If the plugin does not delete everything, please reduce the speed in which the plugin runs. The standard speed is 4x. If the plugin skips too much of your activity, set it to 2x or 1x or even slower. In this case, think about running your PC for one night in the background.
• If you have been a heavy Facebook user (myself included) the script might not be 100% accurate. For better results simply run the plugin multiple times.
• After my entire activity log and timeline was eradicated (it was empty, not a single post on it), there were still appearing old posts on my Facebook timeline out of nothing (every now and then). I simply deleted these posts by hand.

“It is shocking, how many people start applying for new jobs only after six, seven, or nine months. It is also terrifying that many have barely survived more than one or two years in other jobs. Are they all misjudged geniuses?”

Read more “Dear HR-Historians, It Is Not The Employees Fault”

Today, I experienced for the first time in my life how my goals act like magnets. How and why?

Read more “My Affirmations Saved me from Taking a Job I Never Wanted To Do”

3-2-1 and the 5-Minute Rule

A few days ago I listened to a talk of Hal Elrod. He talked about a concept he called the 5-minute rule. I found that the 5-minute rule is a perfect supplement to my own 3-2-1 rule. Both are straightforward but still very powerful rules you can quickly implement into your life, so I decided to share them with you here.

The 5-Minute Rule

In one of his talks, Hal Elrod introduced the five-minute rule. Hal was involved in a severe car accident where he died for a few minutes. When he found himself in intensive care with the worst possible injuries, he remembered the five-minute rule which he learned during his sales career.

Here is what the 5-minute rule says:

It is okay to be upset, angry, sad, or whatever negative emotion you are feeling. But it is only allowed to feel that way for maximum five minutes. So feel free to scream aloud but make sure to stop after 300 seconds.
After five minutes, you accept the reality as it is. You start giving all you can to improve the current situation. Hal had severe injuries. Instead of whining how bad his situation is, he decided to be the happiest guy in the hospital as he wasn’t going to change the current situation anyway.

The same can be applied to your life. If you feel stuck in a lousy situation, feel free to let out your negative emotions for five minutes. After five minutes are over, accept the situation and give all you can to reduce the harm of the circumstances.

3-2-1 Rule

I found that the 5-minute rule blends perfectly with my 3-2-1 rule. I started using the 3-2-1 rule after I read a similar concept in a book some years ago. If there is anything that upsets you, don’t immediately get angry. Instead, start counting down from 3 to 0. Loud or in your head: three, two, one, zero. While you are counting back, ask yourself if it is worth to feel upset, angry, mean or whatever you are about to feel. Usually, the answer is no, and you can resolve the situation calmly.

Here is a simple example; you are on the road, and another driver is challenging you into a race on the road. Instead of giving in, count from 3-0 and ask yourself if it is worth it. While you are counting – three, two, one, zero – ask yourself:

• Is it worth to accept this race even though I could die?
• Is it worth to accept this race even though the police may fine us?
• Is it worth to accept this race even though I may kill somebody?

You will quickly realize that it is not worth racing with a random guy on the street. Simply smile and keep the speed limit.

Implementing the 3-2-1 rule already avoided me a lot of headaches and countless arguments. Just ask yourself: Is it worth it?

Even though these are only two tiny exercises, I think if you implement them into your daily life, they can have a tremendous positive impact on you. Don’t let negativity win! Always think positive and remember that negativity is not worth it.

Photo by Luca Iaconelli on Unsplash

It Takes Money to Change the World

Without money, you cannot save the rain forests in Brasil. You may protest and try to prevent illegal foresting, or start a blog and write about how severe the unlawful deforestation is. Now imagine what you could achieve with 100 million dollars in your bank account. Your chances to save the Brasilian rainforests are higher, much higher.

Read more “Good Intentions are Not Enough!”

A Trustworthiness Index

Fake news was most likely one of the most heard and used terms in 2017. The term is used to describe untrustworthy or false reporting in the mainstream media. It is also used to explain the phenomena where Facebook users randomly share false Facebook headlines which were published, i.e. by an ultra-left or ultra-right Facebook page. Both channels are the reason why as many people as never before have been in contact with the actual fake news.

Read more “Fighting Fake News”