Contradictions are the fastest way to expose charlatans, and a Churchill revisionist just became an easy example of how to spot them: The other day, Tucker Carlson hosted who he called ‘one of America’… (keep reading)
I was browsing X today, looking for people to troll (one of my favorite pastimes, you know), and I stumbled upon a post about some neighbors in Puglia, Italy sharing a meal on one of their tiny streets on a summer evening. It's one of those streets that's barely three meters wide, with cobblestones and had a long, long table of perhaps 20 meters long full of people smiling and waving at the camera. Most of them looked in their 40s or 50s, some of them more. The lighting was perfect: a couple of warm street bulbs on the houses that ... [keep reading...]
Hello! maybe you want to get rid of a behavior that won't go away. Like smoking. Or emotional eating. Or some vice you're just too ashamed to tell anybody. In this email I will share with you the three-step process, including harmless self-hypnosis, that I used to get rid of video games for good - And the same three-step process can be applied to ANY behavior that you want to get rid of, in total privacy. So let's begin! but first, a bit about my video game addiction story. One of the most vivid experiences that are still imprinted in my ... [keep reading...]
Few fears can be more paralyzing than the mere thought of standing in front a group of people and giving a public speech. I know such a feat can be daunting but I'm here to give you my step-by-step system that has a ONE HUNDRED PERCENT effectiveness in getting rid of that fear. I have applied this system with more than 1000 people with different degrees of dread about speaking in public and in every single one of them, it has worked. The caveat? my system requires actual work, and you will feel levels of cringe about yourself that will rival ... [keep reading...]
I got this question today: "Jesus, I need to talk to my teen about keeping her word and her responsibilities. I want to talk to her in a way that brings change instead of her blowing me off as a bossy mom. We have a good relationship, but she gets very defensive when I try to correct her. What should I do?" (You can send me your own questions to jrosas@knesix.com) I get the question of 'persuading teens' every now and then, even if most people still don't like the term 'persuasion'. It's important to remember that there is a critical ... [keep reading...]
People's expectations can negate the best intentions, and that reminds me how a Johnny Depp anecdote is outlandishly related to my rather private professional background - and a lesson in persuasion: While visiting Disneyland after the first Pirates Of The Caribbean movie hit the theaters, Johnny Depp was eager to pull a prank in the attraction of the same name. The idea was to dress up as Jack Sparrow, stay among the other animatronics, wait until people came over in the boats and then jump and scream. Simple! When the moment arrived, Depp couldn't contain his excitement. He remained frozen while ... [keep reading...]
I got this interesting question yesterday (remember that you can ask me anything just writing to jrosas@knesix.com!): “What happens when the person being analyzed shows no emotions, no gestures, no micro expressions or anything? when she remains impassive without showing absolutely anything on her face? what does that mean?” It has happened to me a couple times. I call this kind of people ‘blanks’. They’re pretty much emotionless. Yes, they can smile, laugh, grimace and show frustration but their emotional reactions are so subtle that it’s hard to see any relevant markers to determine what’s going on under the hood. Luckily, ... [keep reading...]
Hugh Laurie had to work with a literal lion once, and his first question was obvious: what to do if it attacks me? the answer is both funny and insightful: So, Laurie was filming this documentary that featured these fluffy-maned killing machines, and at some point he had to literally be filmed pretty close to one of them. The little detail that rang his internal alarms is that the filming crew was conveniently wrapped inside an iron cage, while the Dr. House star was going to be out in the open, next to the animal. He asked the specialist on set, ... [keep reading...]
Most people would get uneasy about being spied, but this anecdote about an US diplomat proves you can live in a Peter Sellers movie every now and then: William Harriman was a US diplomat well known for his phenomenal hard work and wits. While being ambassador in Moscow in 1945, he was followed everywhere by the Soviet secret police. He was aware of this, and found their persistence amusing. One weekend, he was invited to visit a British colleague at a country retreat. The area was only accessible only by means of all-terrain vehicles, so thinking about the guys constantly following ... [keep reading...]
You don't need to be born 'magnetic' to mesmerize and attract people; you just have to apply the simple trick I learned from my periodontist, that is easier than you think (and free!) It was fall 1992. I remember that I went to my periodontist for a regular check. I always remember her as rather charismatic lady, cracking jokes and making the procedure of checking my gums from bearable to almost entertaining. At some point I mentioned that I was going to compete at a local Nintendo tournament the upcoming weekend, and if all went well, I would be classified for ... [keep reading...]