I’m always eager know how influence works. What are the things that make us say “yes”? How do we comply with a request? There are two reasons why this topic is interesting to me:
- I want to be able to increase my influence.
- I want to avoid being exploited by ill-intentioned people.
As it turned out, the book Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini was what I needed. It talks in details about the factors that make us say “yes” to a request. There is actually a similar book from the same author entitled Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Here is the difference between them:

That’s why it’s important to follow your heart. In fact, I believe it’s one of the most important lessons for an effective life. The obvious next question is how.
I call such time “black time” and it is an enemy of productivity. You may try to save time by doing only a few things and do them efficiently, but once you are caught by black time you will lose your entire time surplus and may even fall into time deficit. That’s why it’s important to eliminate black time if you want to be productive.
What is the secret? The secret is brain workout. They exercise their brain continuously and that makes their minds sharp.
Unfortunately, our culture is full of comparisons. People like to compare themselves with others.