Two Lessons Learned When Children Learn To Tie Their Shoes

Parents take advantage of teaching their children how to tie their shoes. The advantage is two lessons for the price of one. The first lesson is obvious. Take the laces of the shoes. Tie the laces. The children tie their shoes.

There is a rhyme for tying shoes:

Make an "X", here we go. Pull one side under, now I know!
Pull the ends tight, and make a loop. Wrap around the bottom, I've got the scoop!
Push through the hole, pull it through once more. Tighten both ends, and give a whoop!

There is the bunny ears story:

Bunny ears, bunny ears, playing by a tree.
Criss-crossed the tree, trying to catch me.
Bunny ears, bunny ears, jumped into the hole,
popped out the other side beautiful and bold.

There are YouTube videos. Here is a selection:

Tie Your Shoes Song | CoComelon Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs
Tying Shoe Laces Song | Original Songs | By LBB Junior
Learn How to Tie a Shoe Step by Step | Tying Shoes Children's Song I Can Tie My Shoes by Miss Patty. Not animated.
Sesame Street - Tying Your Shoelace. Classic Sesame Street. David and Harry sing tying your shoelaces.
Sesame Street - Savion and Elmo "Tying Your Shoelace". Classic Sesame Street. Savion sings to Elmo how to tie shoelaces.
HOW TO TIE YOUR SHOES - Easy for Kids!. A child teaches how to tie shoelaces.

The second lesson is multiples. The children learn from their mistakes. The children learn practice. The children learn patience. The children learn memorization. These second lessons apply at school, at work, with friends, with family, and learning life lessons.

Update On A Past Blog

Curses Are Meant To Be Broken. I wrote the blog on Nov 5, 2010. Major League Baseball was my example of breaking curses. The San Francisco Giants broke the 56 year curse not winning the World Series in 2010. The Chicago Cubs broke their 108 year curse not winning the World Series in 2016 six years later.

However, there are exceptions. The Atuk Curse is a curse which killed actors interested in the leading role. The actors were John Belushi, Sam Kinison, John Candy, and Chris Farley. Also, Michael O'Donoghue and Phil Hartman were killed by being interested in casting.

The Atuk movie was a planned comedy about an Inuk hunter moving to the city. The film adaption from the book The Incomparable Atuk by Mordecai Richler was never produced.

My Best Motivational Quote On Winning From Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan on winning from The Last Dance documentary aired on ESPN in 2020. A camera crew was given unrestricted access to the Chicago Bulls 1997-1998 season. The ten-part documentary is Michael Jordan's NBA career and the Chicago Bulls' six NBA championships in the 1990s. Here is the entire quote:

"Well, I mean. I don't know, I mean. Winning has a price. And leadership has a price. So I pulled people along when they didn't want to be pulled. I challenged people when they didn't want to be challenged. And I earned that right because my teammates who came after me didn't endure all the things that I endured. Once you joined the team, you lived at a certain standard that I played the game. And I wasn't going to take any less. Now if that means I had to go in there and get in your ass a little bit, then I did that. You ask all my teammates. The one thing about Michael Jordan was he never asked me to do something that he didn't fucking do. When people see this, they are going say, 'Well he wasn't really a nice guy. He may have been a tyrant.' Well, that's you. Because you never won anything. I wanted to win, but I wanted them to win to be a part of that as well. Look, I don't have to do this. I am only doing it because it is who I am. That's how I played the game. That was my mentality. If you don't want to play that way, don't play that way. . . . Break." *Jordan requests a break*

The motivational pics are 4K 3840x2160 resolution. There are two full versions excluding the last sentence when he cried and wanted a break. There is a half version and there is a quarter version for those who want a condensed quote. The full, half, and quarter versions include a clean version without the swearing.

Perspiration Is The Real Work

A common success wisdom is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Success = 10% inspiration + 90% perspiration. Anyone can talk inspiration. Success can walk perspiration. My personal bible Inspiration Cheer Up is the 10% of the total success. The file is as-is with edits, additions, and deletions.

The content includes my personal daily rules such as don't criticize, condemn, and complain; don't daydream when driving; and be discrete. There are Steve Jobs quotes. There are Stephen Hawking wisdoms. Honestly speaking, the 10% explains why I stopped reading my personal bible weekly years ago. I replace the reading time with the 90% working on my daily life priorities. My personal bible doesn't earn income, pay bills, lose weight, become a master in mechanics, increase the number of hours each day, and improve sleep. My personal bible is an inspiration reminder. My personal bible enlightens me up when I feel depressed. Depression is rare because I always work.

Knowledge For Strength

A more accurate title for today's blog is, "I take knowledge for $2,000, Ken." Any knowledge can open doors. The doors can be new job opportunities, new hobbies, meet new people, earn money, and save money. The knowledge for strength isn't necessarily physical strength; although, more knowledge on gym workouts can increase physical workouts. A common wisdom is, "A little knowledge is better than a lot of ignorance."

White collar people can learn blue collar knowledge. Learn cooking. Sew a button. Change the motor oil for an automobile. Diagnose a leaky toilet. Paint a room.

Blue collar people can learn white collar knowledge. Learn basic Excel spreadsheets. Keep up with financial headlines. Understand income taxes. Upgrade from basic computer skills to intermediate computer skills such as memorizing hotkeys and shortcuts for an operating system.

It takes motivation to gain knowledge; on the other hand, it doesn't take knowledge to gain motivation. The examples I mentioned above I completed them. I performed the words with action. I'm one step closer to become a self-trained genius.

Maxed Out On Career Learning

I finished my WordPress self job training last week. Full disclosure. The WordPress was a satisfactory failure. The training resulted in finding a new web hosting provider for my webpage Innovate Infinitely and ending the training project due to costs. The last WordPress tutorial was an offline training I found from the YouTube algorithm. Regardless, I added the skill to my resume.

The remaining self job training skills are Excel, Python, and HTML as of the blog post. Years 2022 and 2023 were peak with the following skills: Excel with Power Pivot and Power Query, Git, Linux, Power BI, Python, R and R-Studio, SQL, and Sublime Text. There is no new job training related to my profession thereafter. Reviewing existing job skills are too repetitious with no additional benefits--borderline boredom and tiredness. It's like no more promotions. There's nothing more going up. My salary is maxed. My rank is at the top ceiling. Anything new adds no additional value; although, I receive information to learn PyTorch for machine learning.

I never thought about running out of new job training skills. I never realized the self job training spanned a decade. Students graduate high school. Students graduate college. The common wisdom is never stop learning; however, all training must come to an end. The student takes the pebble from the master's hand.

Keep Going In Life

I look at my Facebook friend's list. I identify all my friends who attended my high school. Most of them were smart. They enrolled in honor classes. They enrolled in Advanced Placement classes. They were active after school such as sports, arts, and volunteering.

Fast forward decades later. Most of the smart high school Facebook friends are no longer smart. I'm the better person today. I'm smarter. I'm stronger. Why? They stop learning. They settle down. I have been catching up what I missed. I surpass some of them. I continue to catch up. I continue to exceed any expectations. I surpass more of them in time.

Don't quit. Never stop learning. Never stop innovating. Innovate infinitely.

Update On A Past Blog

aloof: not friendly or forthcoming; distant; disinterested.

I wrote a blog on Mar 9, 2010 titled I'm No Longer Nice. I stopped being nice. Nice guys do finish last. Niceness has limits. Niceness is more finite. I started being good. Good guys do finish first. Goodness has fewer limits. Goodness is less finite.

Moreover, being extra nice doesn't result in extra rewards. It's not aloofness does pay. It's niceness doesn't pay. Being extra nice is unlikely to change people's minds. Almost all of the time people's minds are decided.

Star Wars Episodes IV-VI On Wait And Patience

Here are selected dialogue quotes from Star Wars IV, V, and VI with "wait" or "patience" from iMDB Internet Movie Database. A common life wisdom is patience. Star Wars can teach waiting.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Darth Vader: [as Obi-Wan finds him and ignites lightsaber] I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner. Now I am the master.
Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi: Only a master of evil, Darth.
[fights Vader]
Darth Vader: Your powers are weak, old man.
Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi: You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
[fights more]
Darth Vader: You should not have come back.
[fights more]
Luke: [Obi-Wan spots him and allows himself to be killed] NO!
[stormtroopers shoot at him]

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

[Luke has just encountered Yoda. Yoda is pretending to be senile to test Luke's patience; R2-D2 watches as Yoda plays with a little flashlight-like lamp. Already impatient, Luke tries to take the lamp away from Yoda]
Yoda: Mine! Or I'll help you not.
Luke: I don't want your help. I want my lamp back. I need it to get out of this slimy mudhole.
Yoda: [insulted; as he speaks, R2-D2 opens a side door and extends a pair of pinchers and grabs hold of the lamp and tries to pull the lamp away from Yoda] Mudhole? Slimy? MY home, is this!
Yoda: [startled] Wha?
Luke: [Yoda and R2-D2 start a tug-of-war with the lamp; R2 beeping and humming protestingly] R2, let him have it. [Yoda grabs his cane and starts whacking R2-D2 repeatedly with it]
Yoda: [as he is whacking R2] Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!
Luke: [firmly] *R2!* [R2 relents, sinking his pinchers into his metallic body. Yoda uses his cane to close the side door for R2-D2's pinchers]

Luke: How far away is Yoda? Will it take us long to get there?
Yoda: Not far. Yoda not far. Patience. Soon you will be with him.

Yoda: Why wish you become Jedi?
Luke: Well, mostly because of my father, I guess.
Yoda: Ahh . . . father. Powerful Jedi was he. Powerful Jedi.
Luke: [suspicious] Oh, come on! How can you know my father? You don't even know who I am. Oh, I don't even know what I'm doing here! We're wasting our time!
Yoda: [Looking away from Luke] I cannot teach him. The boy has no patience.
Obi-Wan: [voice-over] He will learn patience.
Yoda: Much anger in him . . . like his father.
Obi-Wan: [voice] Was I any different when you taught me?

Yoda: Stopped they must be; on this all depends. Only a fully trained Jedi Knight, with the Force as his ally, will conquer Vader and his Emperor. If you end your training now - if you choose the quick and easy path as Vader did - you will become an agent of evil.
Obi-Wan: Patience.
Luke: And sacrifice Han and Leia?
Yoda: If you honor what they fight for? Yes.
Obi-Wan: If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone. I cannot interfere.
Luke: I understand. R2? Fire up the converters.
Obi-Wan: Luke! Don't give in to hate. That leads to the Dark Side.
Yoda: Strong is Vader. Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.
Luke: I will. And I'll return, I promise.

Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi

[Aboard the Death Star, The Emperor's shuttle is greeted by hundreds of Imperial troops and officers. As the last of six red-robed Royal Guards exit the shuttle, both Darth Vader and Moff Jerjerrod kneel in reverence at the foot of the boarding ramp as the Emperor himself emerges]
The Emperor: Rise, my friend.
Darth Vader: The Death Star will be completed on schedule.
The Emperor: You've done well, Lord Vader. And now I sense you wish to continue your search for young Skywalker.
Darth Vader: Yes, my Master.
The Emperor: Patience, my friend. In time, he will seek you out, and when he does, you must bring him before me. He has grown strong. Only together can we turn him to the Dark Side of the Force.
Darth Vader: As you wish.
The Emperor: Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.

Top Ten Plus Three Equals Top Thirteen Reasons Life Has Always Been Me

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." --Steve Jobs

I've been the correct choice. It was always me. Life has been all me. Everything was me. The self-training paid off. I connect the dots backwards. I made good choices. I did it correctly. I continue making mistakes learning anything new. I continue committing mistakes when I aim high and miss. I achieved mature adulthood at the age of 45. I get it. I understand five years before age 50. I realized all since Sep 2019.

Nobody told me my path to success is correct. Nobody taught me a system. I self-discovered my system. The system is common knowledge and common wisdom: eat healthy, exercise, read books, sleep well, never stop learning, learn from mistakes, always meet new people, minimize watching TV, and ignore anything toxic. I hope timing, luck, chance, and opportunity favors me. Here are the top ten plus three equals top thirteen reasons life has always been me.

13. Be Patient And Go For The Long Run. I thought of the "be patient and go for the long run" when I was a student at San Jose State University. The wisdom was correct. The attitude was correct. The adaption was incorrect. The execution was incorrect. I did it wrong. College life was too much fun and too little learning.

I lived a false sense of getting everything done quickly. It worked in my 20s and early 30s. Somehow my quick life was successful quickly. I didn't have to be patient. I started on something. I completed it quickly.

The patience is back today. I'm doing the "be patient and go for the long run" correctly decades later. Work. Give everything time. Take everything one day at a time. Build a little every day. Add the little accomplishments for the big goals.

12. Talk. Communicate. We have a mouth under the nose and above the chin. If quiet people or introverted people speak up 20% more, then they're going to be happier 20% or more.

People said I talked too much in the past. They didn't explain why. They didn't correct me. My self-discovery was poor self-esteem, seeking attention, nobody teaching me proper social conversations, and being ignorant. All problems fixed today.

11. Steve Jobs. I follow the wisdom of Steve Jobs. I understand the "Stay hungry, stay foolish" wisdom. Trust intuition. Never settle. Be brave making mistakes. We do judge a book by its cover.

"Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you, and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Um, once you learn that, you'll never be the same again."

10. Adulthood Preview In Ninth Grade. I studied hard. I spent more hours learning. I spent more hours practicing. Grit. I spent more hours exercising. I spent less hours watching television. The hard work paid off with good grades. I felt smart. I felt strong.

My adulthood was established. Hard work. Motivation. Focus. Strength. Intelligence. What about fun? The fun happened afterwards. I accepted the process. I accepted the challenge.

9. R.O.T.C. In High School. I took the U.S. Marines Reserve Officers Training Corps or R.O.T.C. in high school for three years. I learned leadership attributes and leadership skills. I also learned human relations rules.

8. Physical Fitness. I jog two days a week. I strength train two days a week. I'm the most healthiest I've ever been in my life. Exercising is not an excuse to eat unhealthy in moderation; in other words, exercising and eating unhealthy don't cancel. Exercise and eating healthy must be combined.

7. Read More Fiction Books Than Nonfiction Books. I learned more about life reading fiction books. It started in Oct 2008.

6. Clean And Organize. I self-taught myself how to vacuum, mop floors, clean toilets, and organize. Less stress where there is less clutter. More time saved where there is more organization. Routine maintenance is required to keep neatness. Work is required.

5. Take The Initiative. I admit I'm gun-shy when nothing happens. I know my position at the certain place and the certain time. I know my role in a social situation. I stay within my boundaries. Time is up. Action is required. I take the initiative. I'm successful sometimes. I'm not successful sometimes.

4. Self-job Training. The blog Self Job Training Graduation Analytics Research Technology written on Apr 19, 2024 explains everything. I passed the classes for data analysis or data science. YouTube videos, online education, books, articles, and online posts are my learning sources.

3. Be A Good Person. I'm getting stronger, smarter, kinder, and wiser. I'm not a nice guy. I'm a good guy. I continue catching up what I missed in the past. I'm experiencing new experiences. I'm seeking new adventures.

2. Desire Is More Important Than Knowledge. Practice, practice, learn from my mistakes, improve, progress, practice, practice, practice, . . . . "I will" is more important than "I know." The knowledge follows motivation doing something, anything. The rewards follow motivation when responsibilities are completed.

1. Growing Up. Sat Oct 4, 2008 changed my life forever. It was time to grow up. No more immaturity. No more taking life for granted. I'm responsible for my life.

Update On A Past Blog

I reference the blogs for today's blog on Update On A Past Blog.

*I Made Good Choices After All written on Jan 17, 2025. People said I did it wrong. I made mistakes. The logic was illogical. People didn't follow me. They wanted it their way. My thought process was nonsense. My actions were insincere. Ignore Raymond Mar. Connect the dots backwards. Hindsight is 20/20. I did it correctly.

*Unlearn To Be Better And Unlearn The Incorrect written on Jan 7, 2024. Forgive the past. Unlearn the past. Correct the incorrect. Retrain. Relearn.

*I Correct Be Patient And Go For The Long Run written on Dec 16, 2023. Take my time. I was irresponsible then. I'm responsible now.

*I've Been Doing Everything Correct Mostly written on Apr 12, 2022. The Shawshank Redemption was released on Oct 14, 1994. The movie is currently number 1 on IMDb's Top Rated Movie. If you didn't watch the movie, then watch the movie alone.

*Top Ten I Get It Now written on Nov 21, 2020. I listed ten life concepts, wisdoms, and lessons I understand.

*My High School Freshmen Year Was My First Taste Of Responsible Adulthood written on Jun 6, 2020. See number 10.

*I Choose Raymond Mar Today written on Apr 9, 2020. I realized yesterday's Raymond Mar was not the real Raymond Mar when he made mistakes. The people who believed the yesterday's Raymond Mar was the fake Raymond Mar. The present Raymond Mar is the true Raymond Mar.

*Going Up Or Getting Better Am I? written on Sep 8, 2019. Is my life getting better or getting worse? Is my life going up or going down? Honestly speaking, I'm one step closer to become a genius.

*When Is An Adult An Adult? written on Sep 17, 2017. It's a judgment call. Time will tell everything I'm doing today to live independently tomorrow is successful.

*Top Ten I Was Correct When I Was Young written on Jun 9, 2016. I was told wrong because nobody reinforced my good moments, nobody encouraged me to continue my good successes, and/or people were jealous of my accomplishments. Or it could have been me. I quit reinforcing my good moments to do better. I took my good successes for granted. I was a people pleaser stopping when I was told to stop to make other people happy.

*I Did It Right written on Nov 14, 2013. We experience bad days, bad moments, and bad luck. We can't control everything 24 hours a day. The end of the day we continue moving forward hoping for the best.

The Same Four Seasons In A Calendar Year

"Seasons change" is a common expression. The winter season becomes the spring season around Mar 20. The summer season becomes the fall season around Sep 20. Winter, spring, summer, and fall. We expect the four seasons to change four times a year. Winter is Dec, Jan, and Feb. Spring is Mar, Apr, and May. Summer is Jun, Jul, and Aug. Fall is Sep, Oct, and Nov. If the seasons don't change in a calendar year, then there is no change. They're the same four seasons during their same three months.

Update On A Past Blog

I finished reading From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. The reader learns a different perspective on a life wisdom. Mrs. Frankweiler said, ". . . I think you should learn, of course, and some days you must learn a great deal. But you should also have days when you allow what is already in you to swell up inside of you until it touches everything. And you can feel it inside you. If you never take time out to let that happen, then you just accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle around inside of you. You can make noise with them, but never really feel anything with them. It's hollow."

There is no need to learn daily. Don't learn something every day. Spend those days practicing what you learned. The two blogs A Dream On Practice written on Jul 20, 2019 and Beethoven Practiced Eight Hours A Day written on Aug 13, 2009 included the word practice in their titles.

Also, I should have added the sentence "Never stop learning means learning and practicing" to the blog Correcting Never Stop Learning written on Jul 21, 2021. Number six in the Top Ten I Get It Now written on Nov 21, 2020 is about practicing, drilling, and reviewing.

Screwed Or Not Screwed

I ask questions about myself. I answer "screwed" or "not screwed" followed by an explanation. I choose no NSFW answer "fucked" or "not fucked." There is no 50/50 middle ground. If it's 51% screwed, then I'm screwed. If it's 51% not screwed, then I'm not screwed. Here are the self-analysis questions:

*Find a job: screwed. The unemployed readers know the truth. There are fewer job openings. There are too many unemployed seeking employment from the fewer job openings.

*Health: not screwed. I include physical fitness. I workout four days a week. I minimize eating processed foods. I sleep eight hours a night. I drink water when I'm thirsty.

*Money: screwed. All prices are going up. All costs are going up. All payments are going up.

*Job training: screwed. On the one hand, I finished my self job training on Apr 19, 2024 Self Job Training Graduation Analytics Research Technology. On the other hand, the continued job training remains too slow. There is too much to learn. There are good free learning resources. I'm skeptical on paid online training.

*Learning outside the job training: not screwed. Finding new life skills is slow and sure. An advantage being unemployed is plenty of time to learn. These skills can be useful tomorrow.

*Socialize with friends and family: not screwed. I started meeting my friends post pandemic. I started meeting new people post pandemic. I'm patient.

*COVID-19: not screwed. I wear masks. I'm updated on the latest vaccines. I never tested positive.

*Timing, luck, destiny, karma: screwed. The world has not been flowing in my favor for years.

*Time remaining to live life: screwed. My life is either paused or moving forward too slowly. I follow through everything I learned. Too many delays. Too many stalls.

*Happiness in the short term: not screwed. I wrote being a happy loser My Problems Are Nothing on Dec 27, 2024 compared to many people with bigger unhappy problems.

*Happiness in the long term: screwed. Money is not a factor to become happy. However, money helps a person become happy. I don't know the future regarding money.

*Mental: not screwed. I separate physical health and mental health. I read books. I job training. I learn life skills. Never stop learning.

Don't Settle

I'm changing. There is something to learn daily. There is something to change daily. There is a different life flow daily. Sometimes today's life flow is good. Sometimes today's life flow is bad. A discovery can occur when life flow is good or bad.

There are infinite types of good change and bad change. I hope for more good changes than bad changes. I increase my chances for good changes as long as I don't settle. Never settle. Keep learning. Seek new adventures. Experience new experiences. The negative changes settling down are noticeable especially being a second party or third party observer. Intelligence decreases. Lower strength. Motivation weakens. Slower physical abilities. Muddle thinking. Increase desperate actions. Too much hustle. Too many bad choices. A settled person is lucky if he or she notices the negative changes, and he or she acts to unsettle.

Don't settle. Discover daily. Innovate infinitely.

Update On A Past Blog

Today's blog is another example of change says yes to Raymond Mar. I wrote Change Says No To Raymond Mar on Oct 18, 2017. I'm not settling. I continue working to become a self-trained genius. Geniuses don't settle.

Learn By Example

I remember the first time I learn by example. It was in fourth grade English. I didn't know I learn by example at the time. Every homework exercise the teacher assigned the first question which included the answer at the bottom of the page. I understood the English concepts clearer following the first question and answer than the teacher lecturing on the chalkboard. My best example was learning subject-verb agreement. The singular and plural are opposites, unmatched, or not equal. A singular noun is followed by a plural verb. A plural noun is followed by a singular verb. One noun is followed by more than one verb. More than one noun is followed by one verb. For example, Tom runs to the store for which Tom is a singular noun and runs is a plural verb ending in s. Another example, Tom and Jane run to the store for which Tom and Jane are plural nouns and run is a singular verb without ending in s. It may not be grammatically logical. The logical fits my thinking process.

The learn by example continued in my high school math classes. I completed the homework assignments. I checked the answers at the back of the book. If I got the answer wrong, then I corrected the mistake by figuring out my incorrect calculations. I thought the answers at the back of the book was for students to cheat. I admit I was naive. The answers helped students check their work for students to confirm they solved the problems correctly.

Moreover, most of my high school math teachers believed in learn the concepts instead of practicing and drilling. These math teachers assigned fewer problems covering the section for which they believed if the students understand how to solve the fewer problem, then they understood the concepts. Any problems could be solved. I was in the minority. My learning process was practicing and drilling. The more I practiced. The more I drilled. The more I find patterns. The more I thought instinctively. The more I understood the concepts myself.

Practicing and drilling with examples are my best way to learn being an adult. My intuition becomes stronger. My reflexes become stronger. I think quicker.

Update On A Past Blog

I remind Beelzebub continues to collect the bills from the blog Times Are Changing written on Sep 17, 2020. People who made deals with Satan better pay up. Never overestimate or overspend. Know the limits. Nobody imagines the consequences.

Settle Down And Intelligence Quotient Goes Down

How does a person know he or she is losing intelligence? Self-evaluating I.Q. can be difficult. It can be hard to be honest with oneself. Maybe a trusted family member calling out the person getting dumber? Maybe a trusted friend calling out the person getting dumber? Maybe a third-party person calling out the person getting dumber? Maybe an event acts as a wake-up call the person is getting dumber? "What the heck is going on with me?" is an example of a question the person asks himself or herself something wrong.

I witness people who settled down for years they're losing intelligence. I notice their I.Q.s are dropping. Never settle. Minimize the television shows, video games, and social medias. Slow down to minimize stress. Take a breath. Continue learning. Use the brain or lose the brain. Read books. Continue physical fitness. Use the knees and elbows or lose the knees and elbows. Always seek new adventures. Experience new experiences indefinitely. Maintain sharp senses eyes to see, ears to hear, hands to touch, nose to smell, and tongue to taste; for example, try new foods. Never stop innovating--innovate infinitely.

The late Steve Jobs on don't settle: Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

Maintain Daily Order In The Daily Disorder

entropy: 1 physics: a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system; a thermodynamic quantity representing the amount of energy in a system that is no longer available for doing mechanical work. 2 lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder. Everything in the universe eventually moves from order to disorder, and entropy is the measurement of that change. The degree of disorder or uncertainty in a system.

There is daily disorder in life. Disorder existed yesterday, disorder exists today, and disorder exists tomorrow. Disorder is clear and present no matter the laws, controls, safeguards, discipline, machinery, rules, and human knowledge. Energy is required to create order. Effort is needed to stop disorder. Education and training are necessary to learn order. Disorder is easy. Order can be hard. Disorder is inevitable. Order is a choice. The ordered person practices order and repeats by repetition order. The disordered person is the person with no life motivation. A messed up person lives a life of disorder.

Crossing The Line To Become An Adult

It's like crossing the finish line in a race. The race is over. The race is finished. The race is successful. A person becomes a true adult crossing the adult line. All puzzle pieces fit together. The dots connecting backwards are connected. The patterns are established. The adult makes the connections. No stupidity. Full understanding. Circles are fully drawn.

Adult Continues Work After The Race

There are more races to cross the finish line. Professionalism is practiced daily. Responsibilities never ends. Never take maturity for granted. Always seek new adventures. Continue experiencing new experiences. Always sharpen the saw. Never stop innovating. Innovate infinitely.

Update On A Past Blog

The blog I Have An Answer To When Is An Adult An Adult written on Jan 6, 2021 answer is 50 years old. I'm lucky I became an adult at age 45. I crossed the line five years earlier. I incorrectly wrote, "I'm four years ahead." The correct sentence is, "I'm five years ahead." The correction applies to Grading My Past Years On A Curve written on July 17, 2022. I incorrectly wrote, "I achieved an adult is an adult four years ahead." The correct sentence is "I achieved an adult is an adult five years ahead."

Self Job Training Graduation Analytics Research Technology

The college diploma is fake. The degree is fake. The award is earned. The training is real. I passed the classes for data analysis or data science. YouTube videos, online education, books, articles, and online posts are my learning sources. The part time self-training took nine years and two months. The self-training could have been completed in five years if I trained full time. The reasons for the part time included household responsibilities, family obligations, other personal commitments, and mistakes from Aug 2014 to Dec 2019. Nov 2014-Mar 2015 were excluded because of a contract job.

I summarize my self job training completion from start to finish.

Aug-Oct 2014: The Preview, The Foreshadow, The Seed

I failed an interview for a contract Data Analyst position because I failed the Excel tests in Jun 2014; in particular, I failed the VLOOKUP test. I never used VLOOKUPs in past jobs. I couldn't explain how I used Excel successfully without VLOOKUP. Bible truth.

I reviewed and learned Excel which included reviewing pivot tables and learning VLOOKUPs watching YouTube videos in Jul 2014. My contract job with a retail startup wasn't renewed in Sep 2014. My friend Appu introduced me to Python for the first time and Ubuntu for the second time. He introduced me to Ubuntu for the first time in 2008. My first Python learning came from a book written for kids. The self job training ended in Nov 2014 when I found another contract job in a networking company.

May 2015-Dec 2019: I Didn't Know What I Was Doing

I actually started in Apr 2015 during my last month at my contract job. The first topic was relearning Oracle SQL. I continued Excel which included dashboards, statistics, and data analysis in May 2015 when I became unemployed. I taught myself Salesforce watching YouTube videos and reading a tutorial book. I created a free Tableau account to learn Tableau from a .pdf book. I quit both Salesforce and Tableau because there was no progress.

VBA was added on Feb 2016. I continued Oracle SQL and Excel. Python began in Apr 2016 learning online from CodeUpStart promotion on Kickstarter. The lessons were terrible. The CodeUpStart convinced me to be skeptical when paying for online training courses. Linux and the text editor Sublime Text began in May 2016. I reviewed HTML, learned CSS, and learned JavaScript. I uploaded my redesigned webpage Innovate Infinitely on Jun 29, 2016.

A major change happened on Apr 2017. I was diagnosed with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis. I was admitted as an in-patient in a local hospital requiring an Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography which removed gallstones and a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy which removed my gallbladder. There was no job training for the entire month. The self job training became a consistent five-day responsibility thereafter. Git was added in May 2017. Appu introduced me to Project Euler to practice Python in May 2017. Drill training began in Jun 2017. Excel was the first drill training topic; for example, formulas, tables, and pivot tables. VBA drill training began in Sep 2017.

The self job training became six days a week in Feb 2018. My friend Spiritsnare told me about free Salesforce official online courses which I learned on Sundays. I stopped the Salesforce in Mar 2018. The six days a week stopped in May 2018 because I got sick in Apr 2018. Power Pivot and Power Query were added in Jun 2018. Power Business Intelligence (Power BI) was added in Oct 2018.

The year 2019 became inconsistent for the topics I learned for the week. Some weeks its Power Pivot and Power Query one day, Python another day, and Power BI another day. Other weeks its Python and SQL one day, Excel another day, and VBA another day. Each week and each day were random topic or topics. I continued six days a week job training between Jul 2019-Nov 2019. No new topics were added.

Jan 2020-Mar 2024: The Light Bulb Turned On Bright

I built my second desktop PC in Jan 2020. Upgraded hardware. Windows 10 operating system. Office 365 subscription. Upgraded Ubuntu from 18.04 to 20.04. I also re-evaluated the topics. Power BI, Power Pivot, Power Query, Python, and SQL were the five topics each week. JSON were added on Apr 2020. A two group and two-week rotation started in Jun 2020 which continued to Mar 2024. The initial first group was Excel, Git, Linux, Power Pivot, Python, and SQL for six days. The initial second group was JSON, Power BI, Power Query, Python, and Sublime Text for six days. The COVID-19 global pandemic made the six day weekly rotation easier. Data analysis was combined with Power Pivot and dashboards was combined with Power BI starting on Aug 2020. I completed JSON in Sep 2020.

The year 2021 started with a winter break from Dec 20, 2020 to Jan 16, 2021. I changed my two group and two-week rotation. Excel and data analysis, finance, Power Query, Python, and SQL were the first group for six days a week. Git, Linux, Sublime Text; Power BI and dashboards; Power Pivot; and Python were the second group for five days a week. PowerPoint replaced finance in Jun 2021. R and R-Studio were added in Jul 2021 for Saturdays. Also, Access was added in Jul 2021 for which I finished in Nov 2021. Data analysis ended in Aug 2021. I took a Summer Sabbatical October 2021 from Oct 13, 2021-Thur Nov 4, 2021 because I was tired.

The groups changed in 2022. Excel, Power BI, Power Pivot, PowerPoint and dashboards, Python, and R and R-Studio were the first group for six days a week. Sun was the day off. Linux, Sublime Text, and Git; Power Query; Python; R and R-Studio; and SQL were the second group for five days a week. Thur and Sun were the days off. I combined Excel with PowerPoint and dashboards in the first group in Jul 2022. Thur and Sun were the days off for the first group and the second group in Jul 2022. R and R-Studio was replaced with another Python in the first group in Sep 2022.

I added Windows 10 drill training on Jan 2, 2023. Windows 10 became part of the first group. The Thur and Sun days off changed to Sat and Sun days off in Mar 2023. Jun 27, 2023 was the turning point. It was my senior year. It was time to wrap up the topics. It was time to final review everything. Here came graduation. The endgame began. Power BI, Power Pivot, Python, R and R-Studio, and SQL were the endgame topics. Git and PowerPoint and dashboards were excluded in the endgame topics. Excel, Linux, Power Query, and Sublime Text topics continued as drill training. Excel, Linux, Power Query, Python, SQL, and Sublime Text were the endgame first group. Power BI, Power Pivot, Power Query, Python, and R and R-Studio were the endgame second group. Oracle SQL was the first endgame final completed on Jul 10, 2023. Windows 10 stopped in Aug 2023.

The rest of the endgame topics were completed in 2024. I finished Power BI on Jan 16, 2024. I finished Power Pivot on Jan 17, 2024. I finished SQL on Feb 14, 2024. I finished R and R-Studio on Mar 7, 2024. Topics completed were replaced with incomplete topics; for instance, one week two days of R and R-Studio and two days of Python because Power BI and Power Pivot were finished. I finished Python on Mar 25, 2024. I congratulated myself graduating. I never paid for any online training courses.

Apr 2024-?: Never Stop Learning

I began researching new skills to self-train on Mar 26, 2024. The new skills are the graduate self job training. The topics are either Excel and Power Pivot or Excel and Power Query, HTML and CSS, JavaScript, Python, and WordPress. Power Pivot and Power Query rotates every two weeks with Excel. One group. Sat and Sun are days off. Never stop innovating. Innovate infinitely.

There are multiple family priorities since Apr 1, 2024. There is no graduate self job training as of today.

Suggested Learning Sources

Here are suggested YouTube video channels, online education, and books in alphabetical order.

YouTube
Corey Schafer. Multiple topics for beginners to experts.
EJ Media. HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and JQuery.
Excel Campus - Jon. Excel career training.
ExcelIsFun. Excel, Power BI, Power Pivot, and Power Query. Best for Excel newbies.
Kevin Stratvert. All purpose educational content creator.
Manish Sharma. Oracle SQL expert.
MarinStatsLectures-R Programming & Statistics. R-Studio.
MyOnlineTrainingHub. Excel and Power BI career training.
ProgrammingKnowledge. Linux, Ubuntu, and VirtualBox.
sentdex. Professional programmer.
Socratica. Educational courses.
thenewboston. Bucky is a genius in multiple programs and multiple technologies.
WiseOwlTutorials. Excel and Excel VBA.

Online Education
Codecademy. Free and paid courses in technology. Examples are AI, programming languages, web design, data analysis, and game development.
Codewars. Learn programming by solving problems. Free to join.
Kaggle. Download data sets to practice data analysis.
Project Euler. Solve mathematical problems by writing code. Create an account to track progress and access solutions which must be solved by the user first.
Socratica. Free and paid courses in math and science.
SQLZoo. Learn SQL following their tutorials.
w3resource. Free online tutorial to learn and to practice.

Books
M Is For (Data) Monkey by Ken Puls And Miguel Escobar. Beginner Power Query.
Master Your Data With Excel And Power BI by Ken Puls And Miguel Escobar. Intermediate to advanced Power Query.
Python For Kids by by Jason Briggs. If you can't understand Python written for children, then change your career choice.
Supercharge Excel by Matt Allington. Power Pivot or DAX.
Supercharge Power BI by Matt Allington. Power BI and Power Pivot or DAX.
The Visual Display Of Quantitative Information Second Edition by Edward Tufte. Create professional charts. No chart junk.

I Correct Be Patient And Go For The Long Run

I thought of the "be patient and go for the long run" when I was a student at San Jose State University. The wisdom was correct. The attitude was correct. The adaption was incorrect. The execution was incorrect. I did it wrong. College life was too much fun and too little learning. Obviously, any student read the book, attended the lectures, and passed the exams to graduate. I took life for granted. Outside the classroom was unproductive growth.

I'm doing the "be patient and go for the long run" correctly decades later. Work. Give everything time. Take everything one day at a time. Build a little every day. Add the little accomplishments for the big goals. My job training approaches the endgame. I learn investing following WallstreetBets since Jan 2021. I'm training for a 10k marathon since 2021. I'm close to the 6.2 miles. My longest distance is 6 miles. It took me six months to read Harry Potter from Sep 2019 to Mar 2020. I researched two hours every Sun from Jul 2019 to Nov 2019 to build a new desktop. Furthermore, medical scientists continue to research the COVID-19 virus since 2020.

I was irresponsible then. I'm responsible now. It's okay for immediate fun and leisure. Work for most of the week. Take a break for a few. I did none of these as a college student. Perhaps, my biggest regret was being a naive person in my 20s. The regret is forgiven. My life catching up continues.

Too Much Fun Is Too Dumb

Minimal brain thinking is needed for most fun activities. The purpose of fun is resting the brain. The purpose of leisure is relaxing the brain. A brain is not needed to watch TV, watch YouTube, play video games, and browse social media. There is a limit on fun. A fun life 24 hours a day is not fun. A fun life 24 hours a day is counterproductive. A fun life 24 hours a day the brain becomes dumb. Intelligence decreases by eating too much processed foods, having too much sex, and accumulating fun junk. Although, there was a Seinfeld episode titled The Abstinence where George became smarter when he couldn't have sex with his girlfriend due to mononucleosis; on the other hand, Elaine became dumber because she didn't have sex with his boyfriend to help him successfully pass his medical licensing exam.

How does a person live an intelligent life and live a fun life? My answer is fun and intelligence are the outcomes after work is completed. Work is done. Daily goals are successful. Intelligence is either maintained or increased. However, don't work to maintain intelligence indefinitely. Find new work to increase intelligence. Fun is rewarded. Furthermore, physical fitness is required, plenty of sleep is required, and financial discipline is personally enforced.

Ignorance is bliss. On the other hand, use your brain or lose your brain.

Boredom Is Better Than The Alternatives

Good health, decent shelter, books to read, a bed to sleep eight hours, good intelligence, and no debt. These are boring. These boring are better than alternatives. The alternatives include bad health such as chronic sickness, shelter too cold during the winter, illiteracy, less than six hours of sleep, poor mental comprehension, and rolling debt into debt.

The assignment is complete. The project is final. *fill in the blank* is successful. The task is finished. Take everything one at a time. The process is not boring looking back. The process is not boring connecting the dots backwards.

Boredom is better than doing nothing. Motivation is not boredom. Motivation is better than doing nothing.

Update On A Past Blog

I posted my Inspiration Cheer Up on my webpage. Click Inspiration Cheer Up File to download the .pdf format. The file is as-is with explicit edits. I mentioned the Inspiration Cheer Up at Why Do I Pray? on Aug 3, 2014. I mentioned reading the Inspiration Cheer Up is part of my spirituality at My Spirituality Discovery on Jan 11, 2015. The Inspiration Cheer Up is my personal bible.

Excel Tips I Tweeted

Here are my Excel tips from my Twitter @ININ61.

*Aug 11, 2023: Use EDATE() to return a date a number of months away. =EDATE("6/11/2023",1) returns 7/11/2023 +30 days. =EDATE("8/11/2023",-1) returns 7/11/2023 -31 days. =EDATE("2/29/2024",12) returns 2/28/2025 +365 days. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1690037846034563072)

*Jul 25, 2023: Left click the plus sign New Sheet on the worksheet tabs along the bottom inserts a new worksheet. Double left click New Sheet inserts a new worksheet and user renames the worksheet. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1683930698934280192)

*Jun 8, 2023: Press Alt, O, D to open the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager window. Press Alt, D, S to open the Sort window. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1666924039124963329)

*May 29, 2023: Press Ctrl+Shift+F to open Format Cells window Font tab active. It can be faster than Ctrl+1, F which also opens Format Cells window select Font tab. One less key stroke. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1663339001967939585)

*Apr 25, 2023: Excel table opened. Column filters on. Press Alt+Shift+Down on a column cell or press Alt+Down on a column header to open the filter drop down menu. Immediately press E to begin typing the search filter. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1650989145823793152)

*Mar 14, 2023: Display a decimal number as a whole number and fraction. Cell A1 is 333.33. Cell B1 is =TEXT(A1,"# ?/?") returns 333 1/3; =TEXT(A1,"# ??/??") returns 333 32/97. Cell A1 351.67. Cell B1 =TEXT(A1,"# ?/?") returns 351 2/3. 314.25 returns 314 1/4. 4.34 returns 4 1/3. #exceltip RM: Initial draft is Display a decimal number as a whole number and a fraction using the TEXT function. Cell A1 is 333.33. Cell B1 is =TEXT(A1,"# ?/?") returns 333 1/3; =TEXT(A1,"# ??/??") returns 333 32/97. Cell A1 is 351.67. Cell B1 is =TEXT(A1,"# ?/?") returns 351 2/3. Cell A1 314.25. Cell B1 i=TEXT(A1,"# ?/?") returns 314 1/4. 4.34 returns 4 1/3. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1635779231727886336)

*Dec 19, 2022: Press Ctrl+F to open Find and Replace window. Press Find Next search downwards. Hold Shift when pressing Find Next search upwards. (Tweet ID-1604903555747311617)

*Nov 23, 2022: Double click an option in a dialog box or pop-up window instead of pressing OK to execute. For example, press Ctrl+Shift+= *equal sign* to insert a row. Double click Entire row instead of selecting Entire row and pressing OK. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1595497363715420161)

*Sep 28, 2022: Extract unique values or extract duplicate values. Cells A1:A7 is a fruit table. Cell A1 is the column header. Cell C1 is =UNIQUE(A2:A7,0,0) returns unique values. Cell E1 is =UNIQUE(A2:A7,0,1) returns duplicate values only [--Apple and Orange are duplicates, formula returns Apple and Orange.] #exceltip (Tweet ID-1575184416179003392)

*Sep 16, 2022: Excel worksheet with multiple blank rows unconnected to be deleted. Select the entire cells. Press Ctrl+G. Press Special. Select Blanks. Press OK. Right mouse click a selected cell. Select Entire row. Press OK. Multiple blank rows deleted. #exceltip RM: Okay to select the leftmost column of data instead of the entire cells. (Tweet ID-1570830416139157505)

*Aug 29, 2022: Select all cells in an Excel table except the column headers. Press Ctrl+Spacebar, Shift+Spacebar. Or point cursor to the upper left of the Excel table. Cursor turns into an arrow pointing down and right or southeast. Single mouse click. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1564344389182185472)

*Jun 14, 2022: Left mouse click a calculation on the status bar to copy to clipboard. Paste anywhere. Highlight cells A1:A10. Left mouse click Sum: 55. Paste the sum 55 on cell B1. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1536811675348652032)

*Jun 7, 2022: Copy a cell or a text in Excel or another program. Press Alt+Ctrl+V to open the Paste Special window. There must be something to be pasted for Alt+Ctrl+V to work. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1534256145094782978)

*Apr 15, 2022: Press Alt+*number* to use the tools in the Quick Access Toolbar. My three tools are Format Painter, Speak Cells, and Select Objects from left to right in Excel. Alt+1 activates Format Painter. Alt+2 activates Speak Cells. Alt+3 activates Select Objects. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1515084816261152769)

*Jan 7, 2022: Scroll left and right on a worksheet without using the horizontal scroll bar. Hold Ctrl+Shift, scroll up and scroll down on your mouse wheel scroll the worksheet left and right. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1479586187027222529)

*Dec 29, 2021: Use TEXTJOIN to combine text from multiple cells. Cells A1 is Apple, A2 is Orange, A3 is Banana. Cell A5 is =TEXTJOIN(", ",TRUE,A1:A3) returns Apple, Orange, Banana for which TRUE ignores blank cells. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1476318390008442887)

*Dec 17, 2021: Press Shift+F2 to insert a New Note in a cell. Press Esc, Esc to save note and exit. Edit an existing note press Shift+F2. Save edit and exit press Esc, Esc. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1471999977983340547)

*Nov 1, 2021: Excel press Alt+Ctrl++ (plus sign) to zoom in. Excel press Alt+Ctrl+- (minus sign) to zoom out. Excel press Alt, W, G to zoom in at selected cell. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1455324557909192709)

*Sep 3, 2021: Use Excel to print the file names in a folder. Click Data-->Get Data--From File-->From Folder. Click the folder in Browse window. Click Open. Click Load. A pivot table is created with the file name, dates, extensions, and path. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1433949522053328896)

*Aug 20, 2021: Cell A1 is 1. Cell A2 is 2. Cell A3 is 3. Cell A4 is 4. Cell A5 is 5. Cell A10 is =SUM(A1:A5). Press Ctrl+' on cell A10 highlights cells A1:A5 used in formula. Press ESC to exit. Also, press Ctrl+[ selects cells A1:A5 used in formula. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1428835342447112193)

*Jun 24, 2021: A faster way to switch Excel windows is View-->Switch Windows-->select Excel window or Alt, W, W, number for which the number references an open Excel file. It may be faster than Ctrl+F6. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1408182043725352962)

*Jun 10, 2021: Use LEN and SUBSTITUTE to count specific characters in an Excel cell. Cell A1 is mississippi. Count the i's =LEN(A1)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A1,"i","")) returns 4. LEN of mississippi is 11. LEN and SUBSTITUTE replaces the letter i with nothing returns 7. 11-7=4. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1403165898676998144)

*May 25, 2021: A quicker way to copy and paste one time use. Copy the cell or cells to copy Ctrl+C. Go to the cell to paste and press Enter which is a little quicker than Ctrl+V. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1397294669780766723)

*May 25, 2021: Use F4 to paste multiple times. Cell A1 is Today is Tuesday. Press Ctrl+C to copy. Go to cell C5. Press Alt, E, S, Enter to paste using Paste Special. Go to cell G5. Press F4 to paste. Go to cell G8. Paste F4 to paste. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1397293933739143168)

*May 12, 2021: Use Excel TRUNC function to return a number without its decimal number. =TRUNC(7999.51,0) returns 7999. =TRUNC(7999.49,0) returns 7999. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1392612685137678343)

*May 12, 2021: Use Excel INT function to round down nearest integer. =INT(7.9) returns 7. =INT(7.1) returns 7. =INT(-7.9) returns -8. =INT(-7.1) returns -8. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1392611926908096512)

*Mar 25, 2021: Press Alt+Enter in an Excel cell to insert a new line or insert a line break. Alt+Enter also enables Wrap Text. To wrap text without line break, Alt+Enter, Ctrl+Enter, F2, Backspace, Enter. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1375245314588696577)

*Jan 16, 2021: Excel table shortcut keys. Ctrl+Spacebar selects a column, Shift+Spacebar selects a row. Access the filter drop down menu press Alt+Down Arrow if cursor on the column header; otherwise Alt+Shift+Down Arrow. Access drop down menu Alt+Down Arrow. #exceltips (Tweet ID-1350646794649104385)

*Sep 21, 2020: The CONVERT function takes a measurement and converts to another measurement. Cell A1 is 50. Cell B1 is =CONVERT(A1,"sec","hr") converts 50 seconds to 0.013889 hours. Cell C1 is =CONVERT(A1,"in","ft") converts 50 inches to 4.166667 feet. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1308290224846327808)

*Sep 18, 2020: Display the number zero as n/a or as a blank cell in Excel using Format Cells. Numbers are between 0 and 99,999. \n Cell A1 is 0. Cell B1 displays n/a custom format cell #,###;;"n/a". Cell C1 displays blank cell custom format cell #,###;; #exceltip (Tweet ID-1307048633209171973)

*Aug 14, 2020: Excel Microsoft 365 view the same worksheet in multiple windows View-->New Window or Alt,W,N. Likewise for Excel 2016 View-->New Window. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1294340056790966272)

*Jun 18, 2020: Excel format cells tip. Cell A1 is My number is *number*. Press Ctrl+A1-->Number-->Category-->Custom-->Type. Under Type, type "My number is "#. Press OK. User types a number in Cell A1 instead of typing My number is *number*. Cell A1 displays My number is *number*. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1273699206100746240)

*Jun 2, 2020: Shortcut keys to insert an Excel new worksheet and name the new worksheet. Shift+F11, Alt, H, O, R, type worksheet name. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1267943510088380417)

*May 19, 2020: Excel users press F1 opening the Help pane instead of ESC. \n The shortcut keys to close are Ctrl, Space, C when the Help pane is focused. It can work with other task panes. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1262812478276161536)

*Apr 23, 2020: AutoFit column size hover the mouse between column identification letters and double-click. The double-click resizes to greatest length. If you want to AutoFit column size at shorter length, select the cell with shorter length text on column, press Alt, H, O, I. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1253405685947088896)

*Jan 3, 2020: Press Ctrl+G to open the Go To window. Cursor is at cell G100. User wants to go to cell J5. Press Ctrl+G, type J5 at Reference, press OK. Cursor is at cell J5. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1213233121530826752)

*Jan 3, 2020: Press Ctrl+' to copy the exact Excel formula above a cell. Press Ctrl+Shift+' to copy the value from the Excel formula above a cell. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1213232369559228416)

*Nov 9, 2019: Audit Excel formulas for consistency. Highlight a column of formulas. Press Ctrl+Shift+\\ (Backspace). Highlighted cells afterwards are the inconsistent formulas. Press Ctrl+\\ (Backspace) for a row of formulas. #exceltip https://t.co/PvZNH0vxvv (Tweet ID-1193279270426050560)

*Oct 26, 2019: Hold the Ctrl key when clicking cells in a formula. The comma separators are automatically inserted. e.g. SUM function hold Ctrl clicking cells A1, B5, C9, D10. Result is =SUM(A1,B5,C9,D10) with commas automatically inserted. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1188157535238230016)

*Sep 13, 2019: #exceltip Cells A1:A20 contain integers. Need to add 100 to each integer. Type 100 at cell C1. Copy cell C1. Highlight cells A1:A20. Home-->Paste-->Paste Special or Alt, H, V, S. (Tweet ID-1172579024549240832)

*Aug 10, 2019: View two worksheets in two windows in the same Excel file. View-->New Window or Alt+W+N, click on another worksheet on new Excel window. See the two worksheets. Can arrange the Excel windows View-->Arrange All such as Tiled or Horizontal. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1160280578081427456)

*Jul 13, 2019: An efficient way to format cells consistently is save the cell formatting. Home-->Styles-->Cell Styles-->New Cell Style. Complete the attributes including the style name and formatting. Keyboard shortcut Alt+H+J opens Cell Styles. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1150135338360119296)

*Jul 13, 2019: Ctrl + F1 to collapse the ribbon or pin the ribbon. Another method to collapse the ribbon or pin the ribbon is double click a menu object such as Home, Insert, or Data. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1150134239985192960)

*Jul 3, 2019: Highlight an Excel table without the headers. Hover cursor to the top left of the table to see a diagonal arrow pointing down and right or southeast. Single click. Table is highlighted except the headers. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1146612561208467456)

*May 21, 2019: Slicers and a total row are available for a table itself. Right mouse click anywhere on the table-->Table-->Totals Row to insert a total row. Table Tools-->Design-->Tools-->Insert Slicer to insert a slicer. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1131022721372917760)

*Apr 25, 2019: The Excel AVERAGE() functions include cells containing zeros calculating the average and excludes blank cells. If you must include zeros for display and not in average calculation, then type ">0" in the criteria; e.g. =AVERAGEIF(A1:A30,">0"). #exceltip (Tweet ID-1121525498733944832)

*Apr 1, 2019: Excel short cut key to insert today's date in a cell is Ctrl+;. Excel short cut key to insert current time in a cell is Ctrl+Shift+;. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1112790426795171840)

*Mar 19, 2019: Type CHAR(13) in an Excel formula for a carriage return. A good use for CHAR(13) is a formula label for a chart. e.g. ="B4label = "&B4&CHAR(13)&"B5label = "&B5&CHAR(10)&"b6label = "&B6 #exceltip (Tweet ID-1108126732781932544)

*Feb 19, 2019: One way to print selected cells in an Excel worksheet is File-->Print--> under Settings first drop down box select Print Selection. A quicker way is Ctrl+P, under Settings first drop down box select Print Selection. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1098063153655513089)

*Feb 18, 2019: Use DOLLAR(number,decimal places) to add the dollar sign in an Excel cell. =DOLLAR(5,0) is $5. ="I won "&DOLLAR(5,0) is I won $5. ="I won "&DOLLAR(5,2) is I won $5.00. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1097715959853240320)

*Jan 18, 2019: Select an entire column. Select column B type B:B. =COUNTIF(B:B,A1). Select multiple contiguous columns. Select columns E to G type E:G. =VLOOKUP(A1,E:G,3,0). #exceltip (Tweet ID-1086449171849142272)

*Jan 18, 2019: Split a column or separate a column with a common character Data-->Text To Columns. Can save time instead of writing formulas. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1086448132123049985)

*Jan 18, 2019: A quick way to open the Excel Page Setup window is Page Layout-->under Page Setup group click bottom right arrow. Short cut keys Atl+P+S+P is another way. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1086447268968853505)

*Jan 18, 2019: A quick way to add text to a header or footer is Insert-->Text-->Header/Footer. View-->Page Layout double click Add header works, too. #exceltip (Tweet ID-1086445724911337472)

*Jan 18, 2019: A quick way to rotate an Excel file orientation from portrait to landscape and vice versa is Page Layout-->Orientation-->Portrait or Landscape #exceltip (Tweet ID-1086444720065105923)

*Jul 30, 2018: #exceltip A table with named columns. Create a helper column to filter the table. OR criteria =OR([column1]="Hat",[column2]="Fred",[column3]>25). AND criteria =AND([column1]="Cat",[column2]="Ratbag",[column3]>=63). (Tweet ID-1024066197233397760)

*May 21, 2018: Excel tip. Logical formula equal sign = is case insensitive. Cell A1 is rad. Cell A2 is Rad. =A1=A2 returns TRUE. ="rad"="Rad" returns TRUE. #exceltip (Tweet ID-998668958629687296)

*May 9, 2018: Excel tip. Cells A1:E10 have numbers. Highlight cells A1:F11. Press Alt + =. Excel adds =SUM() to F1:F11 and A11:F11 adding the rows and columns. #exceltip (Tweet ID-994300830109990912)

*Apr 11, 2018: In Excel, Alt, I, R inserts new row above. e.g. Cursor on cell A5. Press Alt, I, R. New row inserted at row 5. #exceltip (Tweet ID-984157390948843520)

*Feb 2, 2018: Excel tip. Highlight or select multiple cells. Pressing tab moves active cell only to highlighted or selected cells. e.g. highlight A1:E5. Press tab active cell cycles highlighted A1:E5 cells only. (Tweet ID-959575640021151744)

*Dec 20, 2017: Excel tip. Alt, E, A, F clears cell formatting. Alt, E, A, A deletes entire cell. (Tweet ID-943688412753666049)

*Nov 27, 2017: Excel tip. Ctrl+Left click the left arrow at the worksheet bar scrolls to the first sheet. Ctrl+Right click the right arrow at the worksheet bar scrolls to the last sheet. (Tweet ID-935247792712249344)

*Nov 7, 2017: Excel tip. Ctrl + Shift + L inserts the Filter on a row of column headers. (Tweet ID-928092804617707520)

*Nov 7, 2017: Excel tip. Ctrl+X to cut a formula in a cell. Paste the formula in another worksheet same file. The pasted formula in the new worksheet contains the cell references referencing the originating formula. (Tweet ID-928092562694402048)

*Oct 3, 2017: Excel tip. Right mouse click sheet scroll arrows a list of all the sheets in the Excel file appears. Select the sheet to view. (Tweet ID-915325707617673216)

*Sep 18, 2017: Excel tip. Deactivate GETPIVOTDATA cell referencing in pivot table. File->Options->Formulas->uncheck Use GetPivotData functions for Pivot... (Tweet ID-909952106169171968)

*Sep 7, 2017: Excel tip. Use integer INT() function to remove decimals. =INT(16.98748754) returns 16. Likewise for INT(16.11245478) and INT(16.45487897). (Tweet ID-905873049810984960)

*Aug 15, 2017: Excel tip. Ctrl + Shift + ~ converts a cell to General format. General format useful to see what's really in the cell. No format deception. (Tweet ID-897542826581426176)

*May 3, 2016: EOMONTH(A1,1) returns 6/30/14. EOMONTH(A1,-1) returns 4/30/14. EOMONTH(A1,-1)+1 returns 5/1/14. #exceltip (Tweet ID-727711932099264512)

*May 3, 2016: Use EOMONTH() to find the last day of a month. Cell A1 is 5/3/14. EOMONTH(A1,0) returns 5/31/14. EOMONTH(A1,0)+1 returns 6/1/14 #exceltip (Tweet ID-727711362898612226)

*Mar 2, 2016: Under Data tab, there's a Get External Data Excel wizard importing data from various database. No need open database. #exceltip (Tweet ID-705175893849714689)

*Jan 7, 2016: TRIM function removes excess spaces before and after a text string including excess spaces between words #exceltip (Tweet ID-685233340509626368)

*Nov 18, 2015: The AVERAGE function ignores cells with text when calculating the average. #exceltip (Tweet ID-667071715919327232)

*Nov 17, 2015: 3-D cell reference steps: 1 Click on first sheet. 2 Highlight range. 3 Hold Shift key. 4 Click on last sheet. Source ExcelIsFun #exceltips (Tweet ID-666759708796059648)

*Nov 15, 2015: Use Alt, E, A, A shortcut key combination to clear cells content in Excel #exceltip (Tweet ID-665840573140496384)

*Jun 10, 2015: Excel tip: Press Ctrl+Enter after typing a formula in a cell to keep the cell with formula active. (Tweet ID-608731198718758913)

*May 13, 2015: #exceltip =RANDBETWEEN(x,y) generates a random number between x and y. x and y are numbers. (Tweet ID-598642900793044000)

*May 11, 2015: #exceltip Sometimes an Excel formula converts number into text. To convert text back to number, add zero, multiply by one, double negative, (Tweet ID-597696951363112000)

*May 11, 2015: #exceltip Press Ctrl + Shift + ` or ~ button to convert a cell to General format. (Tweet ID-597688670691328000)

*May 6, 2015: #exceltip Column A has numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Sum is 15. On Cell A6, press Alt + = (Alt and Equal). Excel adds formula =SUM(A1:A5) (Tweet ID-596149904935784000)

*Jul 26, 2012: Excel tip. The Format Painter copies a cell's format settings including font, color, and format. (Tweet ID-228568175074213000)