Benjamin McEvoy

Essays on writing, reading, and life

How To Use Your Enemies (Book Review)

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One of my greatest educational investments this year was purchasing the Penguin Little Black Classics Box Set. And from that set of 80 slim wisdom-filled volumes, my favourite so far is one by the Machiavellian title of How to Use Your Enemies.  How to Use Your Enemies is a book of maxims by a seventeenth-century Spanish […]

Samuel L. Jackson Teaches Acting MasterClass Review

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And the award for the coolest MasterClass of all time goes to… Samuel L. Jackson. But was that really a surprise? Man, you know you’re in for something good within the first 60 seconds of the Samuel L. Jackson Teaches Acting MasterClass when he stars dropping the M-F-bomb like the Jackson we all know and love. If I […]

Top 5-Star Service Lessons From Michael Heppell (Book Review)

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I’ve been obsessed with world-class customer service ever since I moved to Japan. Once you’ve experience the Japanese spirit of hospitality (“The customer is God”) you can’t fail to develop a keen eye for customer service wherever you go. I picked up Michael Heppell’s 5-Star Service: How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service because I wanted to […]

Judy Blume Teaches Writing MasterClass Review

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I took the Judy Blume Teaches Writing MasterClass as part of the new MasterClass All Access Pass. You used to have to pay $90 for each individual MasterClass. Want to learn writing from James Patterson? Ninety bucks. Want to learn screenwriting from Aaron Sorkin? That’s another ninety. With so many great courses and world class […]

Unconventional Reading Goals For 2018

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Most people like to set their goals for the new year in December. Typically on the last day of December, they’ll do some bullshit called “setting New Year’s resolutions”. I don’t believe in setting New Year’s resolutions. And I don’t believe in waiting to the last minute of the year to set my plans for […]

Wim Hof Method Fundamentals Review (Weeks 3 & 4)

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I really loved the last 2 weeks of the Wim Hof Method Fundamentals Course. I thought the first two weeks were great because they helped me deal with some heavy stress and get over a nasty cold but weeks 3 and 4 are where I’m really seeing some huge improvements in my physical and mental […]

Steve Martin Teaches Comedy MasterClass Review

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I was hesitant about signing up to the Steve Martin Teaches Comedy MasterClass. Don’t get me wrong. I love Steve Martin. His stand-up comedy and movies were a core part of my childhood. But I knew if I signed up to Steve Martin’s MasterClass, there would be no going back. One of my goals for this year was […]

4 Top Study Habits I Learned In My Final Year At Oxford University

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You pick up at thing or two studying at the best university in the world. A nasty Adderall addiction, genital warts, bipolar fluctuations between feelings of intense intellectual superiority and inferiority, and, of course, a couple of study tips to make learning easier and more fun.  Study Habit #1: Go to your lectures For the first 2 years of […]