If you’re reading this, then the first thing I want to say is thank you. Your support means more than you know and I hope that you will reach out one day and leave a comment or say hi. I created this index to help you find my latest work easier. I also sorted the rest of my work by most popular and by category so you can read more of what you like and ignore more of what you don’t. Enjoy!

My friend Alex is quite possibly the reincarnation of Casanova. I have never seen anyone who could get so many women to salivate over him just by walking into a room. It didn’t matter if they were shy or outgoing, young or old — they would immediately turn to mush the minute he looked their way.

It made me curious. How does someone who could have anyone he wanted choose who he would date? More importantly, who does he fall in love with? So, a few years ago, I asked him.

He told me something that I’ll always remember.

“There are two kinds of women in this world. The kind you date, and the kind you…

I’m going to make you a promise that you’re not going to believe. I’m going to promise you that by the end of this article, you will be able to memorize the 24 numbers below. With no effort. Easily.

I’m even willing to promise you that you will still be able to recall these numbers 10 years from now — just as easily.

Are you ready to try this with me? Here are the numbers:

200109111776070419411207

Before we start our fun challenge, I want to share some basic principles about your brain that will help you understand why these tips will work. …

“I’m not sure how to say this. I guess what I want you to do more of is…this.”

My friend Mark takes a step towards me and gingerly places his hand between my shoulder blades. A light touch followed by the slightest movement. A small rub. He immediately steps back.

“I mean, it doesn’t have to be a lot. Maybe just a little palm on the shoulder or touching my arm. That kind of thing.”

I was surprised. I wasn’t surprised because Mark had asked but because Mark was the fourth friend that week — male and female — who had answered my question of “How can I be a better friend?” by expressing their need to be touched. I was also surprised because Mark knew that I was a huge proponent of touch between friends and because our conversations in the past had included things that were far more risque than a gentle brush of the shoulders. …

Amardeep Parmar is the co-editor of Entrepreneur’s Handbook which is currently 6th fastest-growing publication on Medium with 187k subscribers. Entrepreneur’s Handbook is a publication dedicated to helping entrepreneurs succeed. It features founder stories, design articles, and startup deep dives, hard life experiences, advice, and creative thinking.

My first impression of Amardeep Parmar is that he does life right. He knows exactly what his priorities are and he lives them.

Allow me to illustrate.

After Amardeep had agreed to provide some answers to my questions over email, he had to push his response time back by a week. This was his message to me, “Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t get this back to you. My sister had a baby! …

“Please, please, please, I’ve been really, really good — I promise,” you plead to Santa for the first time in over two decades.

This time, you would actually be telling the truth. The pandemic has eliminated the dating scene and you’ve been doing nothing but hanging out with your new best friend — loneliness. With the holidays coming and family gatherings canceled, loneliness has threatened not just to hang out with you all the time but to move in with you permanently.

Santa takes pity on your increasingly desperate pleas and decides to grant you your wish, “Alright, tell me what you want and I’ll make it happen.” …

“I mean, I watched The Notebook thirty times by myself!”

A lightbulb went off in my head when my friend Lana said this, and it finally shed some light on our topic of conversation.

She continued, “You know that scene where Noah asks Allie out by hanging from one arm on the Ferris wheel? I want that and it’s just…you know, never THAT.”

“You mean that scene where the guy rudely interrupts a couple he’s never met on their date, repeatedly ignores the word “No” from the woman, and publicly embarrasses her into shouting that she wanted to go on a date with him?” …

The Chinese word for “crisis” (危机) is composed of two characters, one representing danger (危) and the other translating to something akin to “change point” (机).

It’s such a great reminder that a crisis represents both — a disruption to the familiar but also the opportunity for change. A crisis forces growth upon us even when we wouldn’t choose it for ourselves. The bigger the disruption, the bigger the opportunity for growth.

This is certainly true for me with the pandemic. I didn’t have much reason to change my life prior to Covid. I didn’t prioritize play but I wasn’t unhappy. Despite everything that’s happened this year, I am grateful that learning to play again has been an outcome of this crisis. I used to be the master of self-care, but nothing creates joy quite like play. …