Justin Kownacki

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Armchair Sociology

Armchair Sociology

The Three Ways to Get Whatever You Want

Life is complicated. You have hopes, you have dreams, and you have desires… … but you also have all these doubts and fears and worries keeping you awake at night, insisting that you should be bigger and better and richer and more successful than you are now, be farther ahead Read more…

By Justin, 9 yearsNovember 28, 2016 ago
Armchair Sociology

If You Want to Change Your Life, You’ve Got to Start Somewhere

Here are some easy things you can start doing today that may change your life in a big way.

By Justin, 9 yearsNovember 21, 2016 ago
Armchair Sociology

3 Steps for Building Your 21st Century Career

How to adapt your career path to the realities of the new economy.

By Justin, 9 yearsOctober 2, 2016 ago
Armchair Sociology

Everyone Has the Same Tragic Flaw

Here’s why everyone else is doing better at life than you.

By Justin, 10 yearsAugust 19, 2015 ago
Armchair Sociology

The Meaning of Life According to Don Draper

Autonomy is a major theme on Mad Men. Who has more power to control your story and your life — is it you, or everyone else? For example, when the execs at ad agency Sterling Cooper learn their ad agency is about to be sold (again) at the end of Read more…

By Justin, 10 yearsMay 7, 2015 ago
Armchair Sociology

The Other Guy Didn’t Win; You Just Failed to Convince People

In politics, business, love and war, we’re tempted to reduce all conflicts to a winner and a loser. By doing this, we imply that one side’s argument (or army) defeated the other soundly. In reality, this rarely happens. That’s because the margin between victory and defeat is often just a Read more…

By Justin, 11 yearsMay 6, 2014 ago
Armchair Sociology

The Commencement Speech I Wish Someone Had Given at My Graduation

I don’t remember a word from my graduation. I don’t even remember who spoke at it, much less what they said. That’s partly because I was exhausted (our art school staged our portfolio review and our graduation on the same day), but also because people rarely say anything memorable during Read more…

By Justin, 12 yearsMay 19, 2013 ago
Armchair Sociology

Q&A Interview with Frank Rose, Author of “The Art of Immersion”

From the audience’s impact on the making of LOST to the eerie web promotions for The Dark Knight Returns, our media is becoming more immersive by the day. WIRED contributing editor Frank Rose noticed this trend and embarked on a years-long voyage to connect the digital dots.  His goal was Read more…

By Justin, 14 yearsSeptember 2, 2011 ago
Jon Hamm as Don Draper on AMC's TV series Mad Men
Armchair Sociology

What the Existence of Don Draper and Katy Perry Really Says About You

Why we need to stop living vicariously through our pop culture heroes and start living our own lives like we mean it.

By Justin, 14 yearsJune 16, 2011 ago
Armchair Sociology

How to Live Your Life in a No-Bullshit Zone

NOTE: I wrote this years ago, but I took it down when I last redesigned my blog. Then a reader told me that this post helped her a lot over the years, and she asked me if I would consider reposting it. So, after a few small updates, I did. Read more…

By Justin, 14 yearsMay 9, 2011 ago

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