Archive Monthly Archives: August 2017

Eclipses and Dissertations

On August 21st, 2017 a total solar eclipse cut a path across the United States, stretching from Oregon to South Carolina, and sharing its spectacular celestial show with 14 states! It’d been a hundred years since a total solar eclipse has covered the continental US, but eclipses happen to doctoral students with far greater frequency… A solar […]

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POTUS 23 and Dissertations

August 20th marks the birthday of the 23rd President of the United States. Here’s some words of wisdom from Benjamin Harrison that you can apply to your dissertation… Great lives never go out; they go on. — Benjamin Harrison All doctoral students I talk with strive for lives of greatness. Some want to give back to […]

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POTUS 42 and Dissertations

August 19th marks the birthday of the 42th President of the United States. Here’s some words of wisdom from Bill Clinton that you can apply to your dissertation… In the new economy, information, education, and motivation are everything. — Bill Clinton In the years since Clinton was in office the world has gotten smaller, competition […]

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Habits and Dissertations – 4 of 4

On August 15, 1989, Dr. Stephen R. Covey published his revolutionary book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The 7 Habits have helped millions of people improve their performance in a range of applications. In Part 4 of this 4-part series, I’m going to show you how Habits 1 & 2 have been instrumental in […]

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Habits and Dissertations – 1 of 4

On August 15, 1989, Dr. Stephen R. Covey published his revolutionary book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The 7 Habits have helped millions of people improve their performance in a range of applications. Over the next four days, I’m going to show you how the 7 Habits have been instrumental in helping us cut […]

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Prison and Dissertations

On August 14, 1971 was the first day of the Stanford Prison Experiment. Read on to find out what six days in prison has to do with your dissertation… The Stanford Prison Experiment investigated the effect of personality traits on abusive behavior in prison. The principal investigator, Dr. Philip Zimbardo, randomly assigned roles of prisoner or […]

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Suspense and Dissertations

August 13th is Alfred Hitchcock’s Birthday. Here are a few lessons from the Master of Suspense for dissertation students… To make a great film you need three things – the script, the script, and the script. —Alfred Hitchcock I often hear from students like Dez. She enrolled in her Psychology Ph.D. program nearly seven years […]

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Homework and Dissertations

August 12th is National Middle Child Day. Let me tell you a story from my middle child about homework. Dissertation students will relate… I talk with doctoral students all of the time…like everyday. Occasionally, my kids are within earshot while I’m on the phone. One day my ten-year-old daughter was hanging out of the couch […]

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The Woz and Dissertations

August 11th is Steve Wozniak’s birthday. In addition to co-founding Apple, The Woz is a pretty smart guy and has a particularly useful bit of advice for dissertation students… Along with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne (look it up!), Steve Wozniak started Apple Computer in 1976. The Woz designed the Apple I and the Apple II, […]

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POTUS 31 and Dissertations

August 10th marks the birthday of the 31st President of the United States. Here’s some words of wisdom from Herbert Hoover that you can apply to your dissertation… While the crash only took place six months ago, I am convinced we have now passed the worst, and with continued unity of effort, we shall rapidly […]

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