performance

Professional Success is Proportional to Attempts, Not Age

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This isn’t the first research to show this, but perhaps the latest. Your chances at success in professional life, whether in start-ups or science, or otherwise, is proportional to the number of attempts you put in. That is, the rate is pretty much constant.

What’s not constant is your productivity. As you age, you attempt things less often, like starting new businesses, publishing papers from experiments, etc. If you try less often, given the same rate of success, it’s no wonder it seems you have more breakthroughs and big successes as you age. However, if you could only get yourself back to the same level of productivity you had once, your rates of success will be back to where it used to be!

Listen to the TEDTalk Daily podcast in the tweet below for more specifics. Also note that performance is something measurable. Success, on the other hand, is defined by us. Without us, or if we change what we deem to be success, everything associated with success can change.

Obama’s 2015 Barackets a Stinker as Duke Wins March Madness

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Congrats to the Duke Blue Devils on winning the 2015 NCAA March Madness Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Every year since President Obama has been in office, he has put in an NCAA March Madness Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket, lovingly known as the Barackets. He has met with mixed success, but this year, his Barackets was a total stinker! I’ve blogged the POTUS’ Barackets performance every year per weekend of the tournament, but I was away for it all this year until now, for which I can only file a final report.

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President Obama’s Barackets Done Before Final 4… And I’ve Beaten Him Again!

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There’s still one game left before the 2014 NCAA March Madness Final Four, and President Obama’s Barackets is already done! With Michigan State going out to the Cinderella-ish UConn Huskies, da Prez’s Barackets has no potential points left. He still has Florida in place, but he had Michigan State beating them in the national semi-finals so he has no points left.

It now only remains to be seen how many behind him still have some teams left who can get points. After the Michigan state game, the President is still ahead of 74.7% of entries on ESPN’s Tournament Challenge. That lead is the only thing the President still has going for him to salvage some sort of decent final placement, which he may still get depending on who wins from now on. Only 0.4% of brackets had UConn getting more points, 5.7% had Wisconsin, 2.1% had Kentucky, but 15.4% still has Michigan to get more points, and 41.1% still has Florida to get more points. So the President can still finish respectfully, to completely tank!

President Obama’s Barackets

My ESPN Brackets

I’m in not much better shape with only Florida remaining. However, I am ahead of the President… and I have Florida to win it all so if they do, I can really smoke the President, and many others. Unfortunately, UConn was the last team who beat Florida so that should be some rematch! UConn is playing better than they did then, and it only remains to be seen if Florida has improved as much. Mathematically, though, I have beaten the President and that is 5/6 years now. 🙂

I am currently ahead of 87.7% of brackets on ESPN. But by having Florida, if you look at the math above of teams remaining still able to get points, take out the Florida part and I’m going to finish at least at a respectable level. Yay!

President Obama’s Barackets Busted After Sweet 16

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After the Sweet 16 that saw a lot of people’s NCAA March Madness brackets busted a bit more with popular Louisville going down to Kentucky, President Obama’s Barackets’ can finally be declared busted. The President had picked Louisville to be in the national championship game so he has lost a lot of potential points to come. He is still ahead of 78.2% of entries, but it remains to be seen how many ahead of him picked Louisville to go so far. About 28% picked Louisville to reach the Final Four, which won’t happen for them, and 9.4% picked Louisville to be in national championship game. The thing we don’t know is how many are ahead or behind the Prez to determine how much he may or may not slide due to that bad pick.

I, too, had picked Louisville to get to the Final Four, but not to the national championship game. That’s a potential 160 points I can still pick up on the President if Arizona can get to the national championship game. My brackets are getting busted, too, but I’m still ahead of 93.3% of entrants at this point. The thing is, one game wrong now can wipe that lead away easily.

Onward to the Elite 8!

My ESPN Brackets

President Obama’s Barackets

 

Obama’s Barackets Had a Bad Day 4, But Still Doing “Well”

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Day 4 saw President Obama’s ESPN March Madness 2014 Barackets fall from a percentile in the 90s to 73.7 as ranked teams fell. That said, it’s only a matter of a game or two’s difference that made the fall seem a lot bigger than it actually was.

My ESPN Brackets

President Obama’s Barackets

My Brackets ended up in a tie with the POTUS after Day 4 by not having as bad a day as Obama’s Barackets. However, it’s all going to come down to who picked the eventual winner to decide this, given how much that is worth. I went with overall #1 ranked Florida, while Obama went with sentimental favourite Michigan State. I have an edge in the meanwhile with only 2 Elite 8 teams eliminated to Obama’s three, but that may only resolve things if neither Florida nor Michigan State wins.

Breather for now. Getting back to quotes and fashion posts for a few days. 🙂