This presidential election may have the most lopsided batch of newspaper endorsements the US has ever seen.

While Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has garnered the support of a long list of editorial boards, her Republican rival Donald Trump hasreceivedthree. LibertariancandidateGaryJohnsonhassix.

Several editorial boards have even cautioned voters against putting Trump in office, and a number of conservative-leaning papers have said they too are "with her."

Clinton received over 80 newspaper endorsements during the Democratic primaries, and dozens of editorial boards have since reiterated their conviction that she should be the next president, not Trump, now that they know the two major-party options. Some of the papers, including The Desert Sun and The Houston Chronicle, rarely endorse Democrats — but 2016 is no regular election cycle.

A wave of endorsements came in after a lewd tape of Trump from 2005 leaked on October 7. There are now so many on the total list of editorial boards supporting Clinton — over 150 — that here we've only included daily newspapers with circulations over 20,000.

There could still be more endorsements as Election Day nears, but here's what she has so far:

SEE ALSO: In unprecedented move, USA Today says don't vote for Trump — but it doesn't endorse Hillary Clinton either

DON'T MISS: Conservative Arizona newspaper tears into Trump, endorses first Democrat for president in 126 years

The New York Times: "Our endorsement is rooted in respect for her intellect, experience, toughness and courage over a career of almost continuous public service, often as the first or only woman in the arena."

Source: The New York Times

Los Angeles Times: "Perhaps her greatest strength is her pragmatism — her ability to build consensus and solve problems. As president, she would be flexible enough and experienced enough to cut across party lines and work productively with her political opponents."

Source: Los Angeles Times

The Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton has the potential to be an excellent president of the United States, and we endorse her without hesitation."

Source: The Washington Post

Halloween is getting close, so it's time to search though Netflix for some scary movies.

There are so many to choose from, so to make the rest of your October movie-watching easier, here are the 23 best horror movies you can stream on Netflix right now.

Grab a friend and come on in.

Brett Arnold contributed to an earlier version of this story.

SEE ALSO: 100 movies on Netflix that everyone needs to watch in their lifetime

23. "The Taking of Deborah Logan"

An impressive "found footage" horror film that looks at a documentary crew filming a woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease and finding a lot more.

22. "Honeymoon"

Newly married and spending their honeymoon in a rustic cabin, Bea and Paul don't have a care in the world. Until they go mad.

21. "The Wicker Man" (2006)

Neil LaBute's remake of the 1973 horror classic is pretty forgettable, except for the performance by Nicolas Cage. Numerous vintage Cage crazy scenes show his character's evolution into madness.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture celebrates new structures around the world that successfully address the needs and aspirations of the societies they serve. 

The award originated in the Middle East origin and is given every three years. It focuses on communities where Muslims have "a significant presence." 

It's considered one of the most important awards in architecture and past cycles have recognised mosques in Austria, surgery centres in Sudan, and historic bazaars in Iran. 

This year, 348 nominations were whittled down to find just six winners which were announced at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi.

Issam Fares Institute, Lebanon — This top-heavy building by the late Zaha Hadid was made for the American University of Beirut's campus and looks somewhat utopian. It's made almost entirely from concrete and is surrounded by trees that are hundreds of years old.

The 3,000 square-metre structure was built to provide a "forum for debating public policies and decision-making in the Arab world." Much of the building has been lifted above ground to preserve the original landscaping beneath.

Superkilen, Denmark — This 750-metre-long stretch of public park covers 30,000 square metres and is intended to celebrate diversity in one of Copenhagen's most cosmopolitan neighbourhoods.

Businesses are nervous about the US presidential election.

Based on executive commentary during their firm's quarterly conference calls, a lot of CEOs and CFOs have a sharp eye on the contest between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

As we've noted before, companies typically find a seemingly non-economic event — Brexit, the weather, and so on — to help pin down just why they did not meet expectations or why they could have done better.

While this may or may not be a legitimate explanation for lackluster numbers, it is certainly a popular one. Consumer sentiment has remained resilient, though a number of business have noted some slowing in various industry surveys over the last few weeks.

We went through the earnings calls of firms reporting their financial results and found that many of them pegged consumer uncertainty or business uncertainty for their results.

We've got a partial list of some of the companies — from steel makers to investment banks to mattress makers — that have cited this excuse in just the last week.

We've included a description of the company and the commentary from their earnings call below. Check them out:

Dunkin' Brands

Ticker: DNKN

Company Description: Restaurant and food brands that owns Dunkin' Donuts stores.

Executive Commentary: "What is driving franchisees towards the lower end is several factors, and I've described it, put it together as uncertainty, as uncertainty over the general election, Senate, obviously, the House, and local elections.

And it was interesting earlier this year — and I have a feeling I've said this on an earlier earnings call — I was with some franchisees in one state that I won't name. And I've said to them, look, you're going to open one store this year, why don't you open two? And their response was uncertainty, regulation, we don't know where the minimum wage is going. There was just so much uncertainty," said CEO Nigel Travis

LaSalle Hotel Properties

Ticker: LHO

Company Description: A hotel operator with 46 properties across the US.

Executive Commentary:"We are looking to November and December on paper, I would think they would be better than October. We are worried about the election impact that it has not just in DC, but potentially elsewhere. When we look at our pace for the quarter, it has mixed messages," said CEO Mark Barnello.

PulteGroup

Ticker: PHM

Company Description: PulteGroup is the third largest homebuilder in the US

Executive Commentary: "My experience from spending a number of years in the field in our operations is anytime we're this close to the end of an election cycle. I think the general public is trying to calculate and figure out what the impact will be of a change in power moving from one side of the political power grid to the other. What that will do to their earning power potential? What that will do to job growth? What that will do to the stock market, et cetera?

My general sense is that folks maybe pause and wait and see. We actually -- as you saw from our sign-up growth in our absorption paces, we're quite happy -- very happy, in fact, with what we saw in the third quarter. So, I don't know that we saw any kind of noticeable impacts. I think I probably speak for the collective country and say I think it will be nice once this election cycle is over in a few short weeks," said CEO Ryan Marshall.

"Hi boss. I can't come into work today. I ate cat food instead of tuna and am deathly ill."

While that may sound like a completely ridiculous excuse, an employee actually used it this year, according to a new survey from CareerBuilder.

The survey, which was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,600 hiring managers and 3,100 employees, and found that 35% of workers have called in sick when they were feeling well over the last 12 months.

Some just "didn't feel like going in," while others "wanted the day to relax" or "needed to catch up on sleep." A few even played hooky because they needed to run an errand.

"In some companies, people don't feel comfortable telling their managers they need personal time off, so they will think of an elaborate excuse to get out of work," Rosemary Haefner, CareerBuilder's vice president of human resources, previously told Business Insider. "The more flexible the work environment, and the more open and honest the communication is across the company, and the less likely it is employees will feel the need to lie."

The excuses below aren't necessarily lies — but they're certainly odd and sound suspicious.

If you do need to take a day off, your best bet is to be honest, but not share too many details with your manager, Haefner said. "Many employers are more flexible in their definition of a sick day and will allow employees to use them to recharge and take care of personal needs."

If you choose to fib to get out of going to work, beware: While the majority (67%) of employers give their employees the benefit of the doubt, 33% said they have checked to see if an employee was telling the truth, and about 22% said they have fired an employee for giving a fake excuse.

The survey asked hiring managers and HR professionals to share the most suspicious excuses employees have given for needing to miss a day of work. "It never fails to surprise me what they say employees have revealed to them in order to get out of work," Haefner said. "The excuses have become increasingly creative over the years."

Here are 14 of the most ridiculous ones they shared:

SEE ALSO: 9 appearance mistakes that could be holding you back at work

An employee said he had to attend the funeral of his wife's cousin's pet because he was an uncle and pallbearer.

 An employee said the ozone in the air flattened his tires.

 An employee said her pressure cooker exploded and scared her sister, so she had to stay home.

What's the best way to burn the most calories?

There's a lot that goes into developing an exercise regimen — meeting your body's needs, finding something you enjoy, and figuring out what will have enough impact to make a difference to your health.

If you're crunched for time, one of the ways to measure that is to figure out how much energy a particular exercise expends in the time you actually do it. In other words, how many calories does it burn?

The big, important caveats here are that exercising on its own actually doesn't do much to make you lose weight. If you want to slim down, we suggest talking to a doctor about what a healthy weight is for you and working on cutting sugar and large portions out of your diet.

Still, calories burned per hour is a good measure of how intense a particular exercise is. The Mayo Clinic, drawing on research published by the National Institutes of Health, lists 36 popular forms of exercise by their caloric impacts, which we've ranked in another article. Here, we've listed the top ten, with approximate calories burned per hour for a 200-pound person listed for each activity. (An average adult American weighs just under 200 pounds.) Of course exact figures will vary across body types, gender, age, and other factors.

Keep in mind that the numbers here are approximate. Also, just because an exercise burns calories faster doesn't mean it's necessarily the best option. The most important exercise is the one you enjoy enough to get up and do regularly.

SEE ALSO: The 36 best ways to burn the most calories in an hour

DON'T MISS: 9 science-backed ways to be a happier person

The INSIDER Summary:

• Cosplaying — the art of creating costumes and role playing— has always been popular among fantasy communities.
• We rounded up the best "Game of Thrones" cosplayers from around the world.

From sewing elaborate dresses to assembling custom armor, "Game of Thrones" cosplayers often spend months getting their costumes just right. Bearing a physical resemblance to the character is also key. 

We've searched high and low to find cosplayers who have not only recreated the "Game of Thrones" costumes, but also look like they truly belong in the world of Westeros.

Let's take a look.

Norweigan cosplayer Santatory made an intricate gown to transform into Margaery Tyrell. It helps that she looks super similar to Natalie Dormer, the actress who plays the young queen.

Source: Facebook
Photographer: Starbit Cosplay

Here's Dormer on the show, wearing the Tyrell colors of blue and gold.

Ginny DiGuiseppi looks exactly like season four's Arya Stark. The leather jerkin, delicate sword, and short wig are almost identical to Arya's costume.

Source: Facebook
Photographer: WeNeals

Many Americans dream of starting a business and — despite recent economic downturns — they continue to pursue this dream more than ever.

In fact, the number of new business establishments in the U.S. has reached levels not seen since before the financial crisis. So, it seems now might be a great time to launch a company.

But, starting a business is a daunting pursuit, and doing it successfully means you need an idea of how well your state caters to new businesses and startups. In other words: You need to understand your state's business ecosystem.

"Ecosystem is a useful metaphor for evaluating areas of business," said Stewart Thornhill, executive director of the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan. "For instance, it's hard to say any one factor makes a rain forest a rain forest. But if you take away one critical factor, it can undo the whole thing — in much the same way business systems work."

To find out which states are the best and worst to start a business, GOBankingRates.com looked at these critical factors that shape business ecosystems and how they affect aspiring entrepreneurs' chances of success:

• Startup Activity (based on the rate of new entrepreneurs, opportunity share of new entrepreneurs and density of startups)
• Business Survival Rates (based on the ratio of business creations to deaths)
• Productivity (based on per capita GDP)
• Availability of Employees
• Education Level of Potential Employees
• Business Tax Climates
• Cost of Living

The findings might surprise you — and maybe even inspire you. Whether you're a recent college grad wanting to launch a startup or a retiree ready to make a big move and create a family business, click through to see the best and worst states to start a business, starting with the worst.

SEE ALSO: Here's the state with the happiest workers

50. Hawaii

A state's cost of living is a major factor when considering the location for opening a business, said Thornhill. And in Hawaii, the top challenge that entrepreneurs face is high costs, as this state has the highest cost of living in the U.S.

Also, many new businesses will have to work with a potential employee education level — the percentage of the state's population graduating from college — that ranks toward the bottom of the 50 states. These factors put Hawaii in first place for the worst states to start a business.

On the positive side, however, Hawaii ranks high in its opportunity share of new entrepreneurs, which measures the percent of new entrepreneurs who were not unemployed before starting their businesses. This measurement approximates the percentage of new entrepreneurs who started businesses because they saw market opportunities; in this case, nearly 89% of new entrepreneurs did this in Hawaii.

49. Maine

Where opportunity share of new entrepreneurs helped Hawaii, it hurts Maine. Whether there is a cause-effect relationship between that and Maine's low density of startups is debatable, but the state also puts up low productivity numbers: Its $37,958 GDP per capita is the seventh lowest in the country.

48. Vermont

Starting a small business in Vermont comes with high costs but not many employees available to hire. With roughly 11,000 Vermont adults unemployed and about 3,000 jobs open, only 1.29% of the working population is available to work at a new business. In comparison, the best state has more than double — or 2.73% — employees available for an entrepreneurial business.

More bad news: Vermont has the second-lowest density of startup businesses with only a little under 54 new businesses per 1,000 firm population.

After several agonizing months of waiting, Nintendo this week finally lifted the veil on the Switch, the company's new, somewhat dazzling game console.

The idea is that you can play big console games either on your beautiful TV or on an HD tablet screen for when you're on the go. That means the next big games in the "Mario" and "Zelda" franchises are, effectively, both home console and portable games at once.

However, the three-minute trailer left us with more questions than answers. That seems to be the natural progression with Nintendo these days.

Here are some of the biggest things we still don't know about Nintendo Switch yet:

SEE ALSO: Here is how Nintendo Switch works

How much does it cost?

This is obviously going to be make-or-break for plenty of people who are on the fence about Switch. Unfortunately, there is no concrete answer to this question right now, and we don't know when there will be one.

The price is partially dependent on just how powerful this console will be, and we don't know that yet. Based on Nintendo's history, it will probably be somewhere between the Wii U and Xbox One.

Until Nintendo tells us the price, all we can do is speculate. I'm guessing the most basic launch bundle (which wouldn't come with any games or extra bonuses) will be $300, with a more expensive option that comes with more bells and whistles. 

If they could get it down to $250, I certainly wouldn't complain!

What games will come out alongside Switch?

Again, we have no idea. There were six games showcased in the Switch trailer, but we can't be sure that any of them are coming at launch:

- "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," which has no confirmed release date, is indeed believed to be a launch title. 

- A new "Mario" game that doesn't even have a name yet. 

- Either a sequel to or an updated version of "Splatoon" with new maps and customization optioins.

- Either a sequel to or an updated version of "Mario Kart 8," with new characters and the ability to hold two items at once.

- "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim," which hasn't been officially confirmed for Switch.

- "NBA 2K17," which hasn't been officially confirmed for Switch.

I could genuinely see most, if not all, coming at or near Switch's launch. "Breath of the Wild" is going to be a system-seller, while "Splatoon" and "Mario Kart 8" were Wii U gems that deserve to get new life on a new platform.

"NBA 2K17" and "Skyrim" are both old games already.

That "Mario" game would be huge at launch, but we don't know what it's called or what it's about yet. Imagine a Nintendo console launching with brand new "Mario" and "Zelda" games!

Having said all that, it's possible (maybe even likely) none of those games launch with Switch. We'll have to wait and see.

How long will the battery last?

If Switch ends up being the home of the next big games in the "Pokémon" series (it will), it will be hugely sought after. Handheld, 3DS-centric franchises like "Pokémon" and "Monster Hunter" are enormous, especially in Nintendo's home country of Japan.

It's important, then, for Switch to get a decent amount of playtime out of a full charge. Nintendo might be positioning it as a home console first, but a segment of the audience will play it mostly as a portable gaming device.

But if this thing is going to be able to play big, console-quality games while on the go, it probably won't have the same kind of battery life as the significantly less powerful 3DS. That's what you sacrifice in order to pack more power into such a small package.

I'm no technical expert, but I'd guess that around four hours on a full charge is the best we can hope for right now. Obviously, when it's docked and displaying on the TV, you won't have to worry about battery.

Tesla announced a big update for its cars on Wednesday.

CEO Elon Musk announced the new hardware currently being built into new Model X and Model S cars that will boost Autopilot's current capabilities and set the foundation for a fully driverless Tesla later on.

We decided to take a look back at just how far Tesla cars have progressed, and within just the last year there's been a lot of change. Scroll down for a closer look.

SEE ALSO: Here's how Tesla's new self-driving system will work

Tesla garnered a lot of attention in 2008 when it released its very first electric car — the wildly sexy Tesla Roadster.

The Roadster Sport boasted a range of 245 miles and could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds. Its base price in 2008 was $98,000, according to Car and Driver.

Tesla sold more than 2,400 Roadsters across 30 countries, the company wrote on its webpage.

In 2012, Tesla released its Model S — the first luxury electric sedan on the market.

The car could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in five seconds and had a range of 265 miles per charge. It was named Motor Trend’s 2013 Car of the Year.

But the car was pricey at $106,900 before federal tax exemptions.

In late 2014, Tesla released two dual motor all-wheel drive configurations for the Model S, the world's first dual electric motor car.

It was also the first time Tesla made Autopilot standard on every car. The car came in three versions — the 60D, 85D and the top-of-the-line P85D. Above you see the P85D.

The P85D could reach a top speed of 155 mph and could accelerate to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, outperforming the McLaren F1 supercar, Tesla wrote on its blog at the time.

The P85D had a range of about 285 miles and cost $71,200 MSRP, according to Car and Driver. But that model was discontinued in February.

More than 6.7 million Americans work in the tech industry today and close to 200,000 tech jobs were added in 2015 alone, researchers say.

But in order to nab one of those jobs, especially one with a fat salary and loads of perks, you need the right skills.

If you're an expert in a rare tech skill, you will almost certainly be paid well. But the jobs requiring that skill could be harder to find.

Then again, some skills are needed everywhere, but there's also plenty of competition for them, keeping salaries lower.

The best tech skills strike a balance: high enough in demand but also specialized enough to command decent pay.

A startup called Paysa, which uses artificial intelligence to help people determine their market worth and to advise them on which skills to learn to boost their salaries, recently conducted research to find the most in-demand job skills in the tech industry.

It looked at the average salary and the number of jobs available for 248 skills, including 29 programming languages, and in 569 cities. From there, it up came with this list of skills that are most in demand.

SEE ALSO: Facebook's project to take on Cisco inspires such 'cultlike' devotion, it once caused a whole team to quit Apple

SEE ALSO: Google's nit-picky interview process is a huge turnoff for some experienced coders

No 9: PHP is worth $124,475

PHP appeared in 5% of the job listings Paysa scanned. It's a language popular for web development, though is used for other projects too. It has a reputation for being easy to learn.

Average salary for jobs requiring this skill is $124,475.

No. 8: SQL is worth $126,532

SQL appeared in 13% of the job listings Paysa scanned. SQL is the language used with databases like Oracle, noSQL and Microsoft SQL.

Such databases can be found in just about every major business all over the world, so this skill is hugely popular. It's also important enough to command a high salary.

Average salary for jobs requiring this skill is $126,532.

No. 7: PL/Sql is worth $126,177

PL/Sql appeared in 5% of the job listings Paysa scanned. 

Pl/Sql is Oracle's programming language extension for the Oracle database. Oracle's database is the most popular database of its kind, a SQL database, which stands for "structured query language." So it makes sense that this would be a skill that's highly in demand.

The average salary for jobs requiring this skill was $126,177.

Compared to other developed countries, America's voter turnout rate is pretty sad.

In Sweden, for example, 83% of registered voters participated in the 2014 national election. In Belgium, the rate was 87%.

In the US, meanwhile, only 53.6% of registered voters cast a vote in the 2012 election between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

It doesn't have to be this way. America could see equally high voter turnout if it abandoned its old-world customs in favor of strategies that have been proven effective elsewhere.

Here are seven strategies that could get more Americans to the polls.

SEE ALSO: 11 ways to get more people to vote, according to designers

In Estonia, people can vote over the internet with few security risks.

Online voting is a scary concept to some, but in Estonia it has proceeded mostly without incident since it was first introduced in 2005. In 2015, 31% of people voted online.

The system relies on the Estonian ID card, a smart identification card that encodes people's identity and protects online transactions. 

In an early voting period the week before election day, Estonians can enter an online vote and change it however many times they want. The final vote is the one that's logged once election day arrives.

In Switzerland, anyone can vote by mail a few weeks ahead of election day.

Many US towns and cities have their own systems for absentee and early voting, but many of those systems are designed for people in special circumstances, rather than the regular voter. 

In Switzerland, all voters receive a ballot by mail about three weeks ahead of election day. They can send in their vote at any point during the period leading up to election day, or vote as normal at their local polling location.

In Sweden, the government automatically registers people to vote.

In its last parliamentary election, Sweden's voter registration rate was an astounding 86%. The US wasn't far behind with 84%, but that varied wildly between cities and states. Sweden's turnout was more consistent.

The Nordic country has managed to do this by maintaining a national database of all Swedish citizens and non-citizen residents who are eligible to vote. Come election season, the Swedish Electoral Authority combs through that database and send proofs of registration to people in each district, giving them a heads up about where and when to vote.

US Route 101 is the highway that connects Silicon Valley with San Francisco.

The highway itself is no different from any other road, but there’s one major difference: weird billboards.

Sure, you'll find the standard fast food joint or car dealership signs along the way, but most of the billboards are served up by tech companies you've probably never heard of.

We recently took a drive up the 101 to see what companies advertise on Silicon Valley's busiest highway.

SEE ALSO: A former LinkedIn employee explains the worst mistakes you can make with your profile photo

Here's a map of US 101. It's one of the two highways that link Silicon Valley with San Francisco (I-280 is the other one). The highway runs all the way up to the state of Washington.

There's usually lots of traffic, so it's a good place to advertise.

You'll find some big company billboards, like Apple's.

The INSIDER Summary:

• Tyler Perry has influenced pop culture with his defining character, a loud-mouthed grandma named Madea.
• Here's how Perry went from humble beginnings to one of the most powerful entertainers in film and television

Tyler Perry has become synonymous with his most famous character, Mabel "Madea" Simmons. Even if you’ve never seen any of his Madea movies, you most likely recognize the character and know a little something about her.

Madea, always played by Perry, is tough, loud, funny without trying, chronically makes questionable choices, and occasionally spurts a wise truth. Long before she crashed into theaters or appeared on Jimmy Fallon's show, the Madea character, and Tyler Perry, had humble beginnings. 

Perry’s career isn’t just about Madea, though. He has constantly reinvented himself, always trying on a new hat in Hollywood. But it seems we can always count on him returning to the character that earned him a place in Hollywood in the most unorthodox of ways.

With his newest film,"Boo! A Madea Halloween," out this weekend, keep reading to see how Perry's career in film and television took off .

Tyler Perry was born Emmitt Perry Jr. in New Orleans, Louisiana. He had a tumultuous relationship with his father, after whom he was named.

Perry changed his name at the age of 16 to distance himself from his dad. His early years influenced much of his early work. In 2009, he revealed on his website that he was molested as a young child by the mother of a childhood friend and a man from his church.

Perry also grew up going to church with his mother. He explored themes of abuse and faith in his first play “I Know I’ve Been Changed,” which toured from 1998-2000.

Perry introduced the character Madea in his second play “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” which he later turned into a film starring Tiraji P. Henson of “Empire” fame.

For more than 2,000 years, wise men and women have relied on an ancient philosophy known as Stoicism to guide them through their days.

It's been a tool for the ordinary and the elite alike — from slaves to emperors — as they sought wisdom, strength, and the "good life." 

Today, Stoicism is popular with football coaches the Seattle Seahawks' Pete Carroll, investors like Tim Ferriss, and military generals like General James "Mad Dog" Mattis.

Authors Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman's "The Daily Stoic" is an all-new translation of Stoics like Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus, arranged in a helpful daily format of ancient wisdom. Below, they've arranged some of the best stoic passages and exercises with the idea of creating the perfect week — seven days of stoic thinking to help you live better, more resiliently, and more peacefully.

SEE ALSO: 9 timeless lessons from the great Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius

Monday: Rise and shine

"On those mornings you struggle with getting up, keep this thought in mind — I am awakening to the work of a human being. Why then am I annoyed that I am going to do what I'm made for, the very things for which I was put into this world? Or was I made for this, to snuggle under the covers and keep warm? It's so pleasurable. Were you then made for pleasure? In short, to be coddled or to exert yourself?"

— Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations," 5.1

Nobody likes Mondays. So it's comforting to think that even 2,000 years ago, the emperor of Rome (who was reportedly an insomniac) was giving himself a pep talk in order to summon the willpower to throw off the blankets and get out of bed.

From the time we're first sent off to school until the day we retire, we're faced with that same struggle. It always seems nicer to shut our eyes and hit the snooze button a few times.

But we can't — because we have a job to do. Not only do we have the calling we're dedicated to, but we have the larger cause that the Stoics speak about: the greater good. We cannot be of service to ourselves, to other people, or to the world unless we get up and get working — the earlier the better. So c'mon. Get in the shower, have your coffee, and get going.

Tuesday: Prepare yourself for negativity

"When you first rise in the morning tell yourself: I will encounter busybodies, ingrates, egomaniacs, liars, the jealous, and cranks. They are all stricken with these afflictions because they don't know the difference between good and evil. Because I have understood the beauty of good and the ugliness of evil, I know that these wrong-doers are still akin to me ... and that none can do me harm, or implicate me in ugliness — nor can I be angry at my relatives or hate them. For we are made for cooperation."

— Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations," 2.1

You can be certain as clockwork that at some point today you're going to interact with someone who seems like a jerk (as we all do). The question is: Are you going to be ready for it?

This exercise calls to mind a joke from the 18th-century writer and witticist Nicolas Chamfort, who remarked that if you "swallow a toad every morning," you'll be fortified against any other disgusting thing that might happen that day.

But there is a second part to this, just as there is a second half of Marcus' quote: "No one can implicate me in ugliness — nor can I be angry at my relative or hate him." The point of this preparation is not to write off everyone in advance. It's that, maybe, because you've prepared for it, you'll be able to act with patience, forgiveness, and understanding.

Wednesday: Clarify your intentions

"Let all your efforts be directed to something, let it keep that end in view. It's not activity that disturbs people, but false conceptions of things that drive them mad."

— Seneca, "On Tranquility of Mind," 12.5

Law 29 of "The 48 Laws of Power" is: Plan all the way to the end. Robert Greene writes, "By planning to the end, you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances, and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead."

The second habit in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" is: Begin with an end in mind.

Having an end in mind is no guarantee that you'll reach it — no Stoic would pretend otherwise — but not having an end in mind is a guarantee that you won't. To the Stoics, oiêsis (false conceptions) are responsible not just for disturbances in the soul, but for chaotic and dysfunctional lives and operations.

When your efforts are not directed at a cause or a purpose, how will you know what to do day in and day out? How will you know what to say no to and what to say yes to? How will you know when you've had enough, when you've reached your goal, or when you've gotten off track if you've never defined what those things are?

You cannot. And so you are driven into failure — or worse, into madness — by the oblivion of directionlessness.

A hacked email leaked by WikiLeaks on Tuesday showed the "first cut of people" Hillary Clinton's campaign had considered for her vice presidential running mate.

In March, campaign chairman John Podesta sent Clinton the short list of 39 potential candidates, which included a number of successful businesspeople.

Below are the nine big business names selected and their experiences with leadership that may have contributed to why they made the list:

SEE ALSO: How to handle a particularly sticky topic in the office without ruining your professional reputation

DON'T MISS: Bill Gates, Tim Cook, Bernie Sanders: Here's the list of 39 people the Clinton campaign was considering for VP

Mary Barra

In 2014, Barra took over as GM's chief executive in the midst of a crisis: fresh off a recession that saw bankruptcy and bailouts for the automaker, Barra led GM through a recall of 30 million cars with faulty ignitions to finishing out the year with record sales. 

Under her tenure, GM has continued to dominate.

The reason for GM's success: "We have total leadership alignment in the company," Vice President Mark Reuss — the No. 2 guy with CEO Mary Barra and the executive responsible for guiding GM's vehicle development — previously told Business Insider.

And Barra's sights aren't set simply on changing the auto industry — she speaks about changing the world.

"If you truly want to 'change the world,' you need more than talent. You also need to do the work, because hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work hard,"she said during Stanford Graduate School of Business's commencement ceremony.

Michael Bloomberg

As the founder, owner, and CEO of Bloomberg LP, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies, and former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg more than 30 years' cumulative leadership experience.

During his tenure as mayor between 2002 and 2013, he worked with Hillary Clinton, who served as a US senator for New York between 2001 and 2009. The two have also joined forces in the past to promote women's rights initiatives.

Though Bloomberg, who registered as an independent in 2007, had considered joining the presidential race on a third-party platform, he wrote in March that he could not run "in good conscience" because his candidacy could lead to the election of Donald Trump or Senator Ted Cruz.

During a speech given at the Democratic National Convention in July, Bloomberg said, "Trump is a risky, reckless, and radical choice, and we can't afford to make that choice."

While he acknowledged that he and Hillary Clinton disagreed on numerous issues, he went on to endorse Clinton as the "responsible choice in this election" and a "sane,""competent" candidate.

Ursula Burns

The CEO of Xerox has proven she isn't afraid of tackling challenges. Around 2000, when Xerox was on the brink of bankruptcy, she turned down the severance package offered to her and other executives in favor of helping to keep the company afloat.

As Business Insider previously reported, Burns considers the experience of those crisis years to be "the best experience ever" because she was required to make decisions rapidly and respond to tensions as quickly as possible. "I don't think I could have been trained better at business school,"she told the audience at a 92Y event in New York last year.

Ford has just completely redesigned its exceptionally popular Super Duty pickup for the first time in two decades. I wrote about how that was a big risk for the automaker, but then it occurred to me that although I was familiar with the legendary F-150 pickup, I had never spent any time with a Super Duty.

Ford was then kind enough to let me borrow a 2017 F-250 Super Duty 4x4 Crew Cab Platinum, with a mighty 6.7-liter diesel V8 engine. And a big ole bed just crying out to be filled. 

This was easily the largest vehicle we've ever tested at Business Insider, outdoing even the Rolls-Royce Phantom.

As it turned out, it was a real challenge to find anything to put in the bed. Most of what I had around my house just didn't seem to cut it. My lawnmower isn't very large. Neither is my weed-eater. I only have one shovel. I don't own any mountain bikes or dirt bikes. And I wasn't going to mess up Ford's truck by filling the bed with rocks or dirt.

Here's what I came up with:

SEE ALSO: Ford's new Super Duty pickup caps 2 years of relentless risk-taking by the automaker

It wasn't too tough to fill up the bed of the F-150 when I tried it out. I had to help with a move.

But the F-250 Super Duty is just ... so ... large. This was going to be tough. So I tried a few things.

Conveniently, Ford has installed the same retractable step on the Super Duty as on the F-150. Here's what I put in the back of this beast.

Cobra stew. Hallucinogenic root bark. KFC. These were favorite meals of some 20th-century dictators.

In "Dictators' Dinners: A Bad Taste Guide to Entertaining Tyrants," Victoria Clark and Melissa Scott offer astonishing insights into dictators' table manners, food vices, and fears of poisonings. They also include recipes for some of the meals.

We selected several ruthless leaders from the book and highlighted their favorite foods — and some of their horrifying dinnertime eccentricities.

Kim Jong Il loved shark-fin soup and dog-meat soup.

Foods of choice: Kim Jong Il's favorite foods were reportedly shark-fin soup, salo, and dog-meat soup, which he believed gave him immunity and virility. He was also said to be Hennessy's biggest customer.

Source: Dictators’ Dinners: A Bad Taste Guide to Entertaining Tyrants

He had a team of women make sure all the rice grains served to him were identical.

Kim Jong Il was the supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. Under his rule, North Korea's grossly mismanaged economy sagged and its people suffered a famine.

Dinner etiquette: He reportedly had a sizable team of women make sure every single grain of rice that was served to him was identical in size, shape, and color.

Source: Dictators’ Dinners: A Bad Taste Guide to Entertaining Tyrants,Britannica

Hitler was a vegetarian and by the end of his life ate only mashed potatoes and broth.

Foods of choice: Hitler's vegetarianism has been attributed to ideological reasons, but it also may have been motivated by his belief that a meatless diet would relieve his chronic flatulence and constipation. By the end of WWII, Hitler ate only mashed potatoes and clear broth.

Source: Dictators’ Dinners: A Bad Taste Guide to Entertaining Tyrants

There are nearly 70 new TV shows in fall 2016. And many critics will say that there's a high degree of quality in that batch.

But that doesn't mean real people have the time to watch everything, no matter how good.

The problem now is we have to become really selective, really nitpicky. Some of the stuff that made it to our TV screens a year or two ago just doesn't hold up any longer compared to the competition.

Cable, the streaming companies, and even broadcast are taking viewers to bold new places — from "Atlanta" to "One Mississippi,""The Good Place," and "Westworld."

But where should you start? 

Metacritic keeps track of a curated group of critics, assigns each review a number according to how positive or negative it was, and then creates a weighted average score for each show.

Here are the 20 most critically acclaimed TV shows of fall 2016 so far, according to Metacritic:

SEE ALSO: Every late-night show, ranked from worst to best

DON'T MISS: 7 TV shows you need to watch if you love 'Game of Thrones'

20. "The Get Down" (Netflix)

Metacritic Score: 69

From "Moulin Rouge" director Baz Luhrman, this musical series tells the story of the rise of hip-hop.

19. "No Tomorrow" (The CW)

Metacritic score: 69

A woman finds adventure after meeting a charismatic guy who believes the world is going to end soon.

18. "Designated Survivor" (ABC)

Metacritic score: 71

Kiefer Sutherland plays Tom Kirkland, the secretary of housing and urban development, who becomes president after a deadly terrorist attack kills everyone else in the line of succession to the president.

For some, the best jobs are the ones that make the world a better place, and choosing the right college major can help get you there.

PayScale recently filtered its salary data from this year's College Salary Report based on the percentage of respondents who said their careers have high meaning.

Here are 20 college majors that may not lead to the greatest salary growth but can still offer some of the most satisfying careers:

SEE ALSO: 18 college majors that that lead to the biggest pay raises

DON'T MISS: 20 college majors where the pay goes nowhere

20. Athletic training

Common jobs: Athletic Trainer, physical therapist, assistant athletic trainer

People who find their job meaningful: 76%

Starting median pay: $36,000

Mid-career median pay: $51,900

19. Human Services

Common jobs: Medical case manager, social worker, program coordinator, non-profit organization

People who find their job meaningful: 78%

Starting median pay: $34,000

Mid-career median pay: $44,600

18. Social work

Common jobs: Social worker, medical case manager, social services director

People who find their job meaningful: 78%

Starting median pay: $33,800

Mid-career median pay: $46,700