Beliefs. You've acquired them through your interactions with society, whether it was through your childhood experiences, education, relationships, entertainment or work. They're engraved in your mind. And often difficult to change.

But are they holding you back from success? Chances are, the answer to that question is a resounding yes.

But what beliefs are holding you back and how does the world actually work?

I've been fortunate enough to speak to some professionals who have made significant progress in their careers. They provided me with some mind-expanding advice. And after reviewing their insights, I can understand exactly why each of them are in their current positions.

Avoid these 10 beliefs and do what these experts say instead:

SEE ALSO: After 5 years studying rich people, I isolated an impactful reading habit any of us can adopt

1. If someone looks successful, they are successful.

I live in San Francisco. I've been here for a very long time. And in my town, it's often very hard to distinguish who is and isn't successful. Joseph Bradley, Vice President of IoT & Digital Services at Cisco, grew up close to where I live down in Mountain View. His first job, outside of his entrepreneurial ventures, was at Wells Fargo, where he worked as a bank teller.

He would see people come into the bank driving his dream car, and would think that they had money, but when he would pull up their information, he was able to see that the only had $100 in their account. Then when someone else came in with a t-shirt and jeans, the screen would flash VIP.

Bradley quickly began to realize that the people who looked successful weren't, because they spent all their money trying to impress others.

"Once I learned this lesson, I always give five minutes to people who reach out to me, no matter who they are, what they look like or what car they drive," Bradley says. "It doesn't matter where they reach out to me, whether it is in person or online, I will find five minutes for them."

Instead of judging others based on what they have or don't have, give them your time and learn how you can create a mutually beneficial relationship.

2. Fail fast.

I've been just as guilty as anyone in perpetuating this misbelief. And it's true, many an entrepreneur will tell you they learned tremendously from startups they founded that just never found success.

In Silicon Valley, failing has turned into a badge of honor. The more you fail, the more you are praised. It's kind of like an unusual victory where no one actually wins.

This mentality isn't contained to one region though. It has spread throughout the entire tech industry.

Bradley says, "Failing fast is a joke. Anybody who says they want to fail fast or fail slow doesn't understand it. You don't want to fail fast. You don't want to fail slow. You don't want to fail."

I've had my fair share of failures in the past, and I'm sure you have as well. If you have truly experienced failure, you would know that the last thing anyone would ever want to do is fail. So what's the alternative?

"To get ahead, you want to accelerate and improve your rate of learning on everything that you do," Bradley says.

By focusing on learning at an accelerated rate, you are able to process data quicker and navigate yourself out of sticky situations, before they turn into graveyards of broken dreams.

3. You have to know everything.

Have you ever met that person in the office who wanted to acquire all the data they could? Or the startup founder who read book after book after book?

Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with learning. But these people aren't going out there to learn. What they are doing is trying to learn every single thing possible about their industry, their competitors, their potential clients and so forth.

Data is powerful, but you don't need to know everything.

"It's not what you don't know that causes you to fail. It's what you believe to be true that will cause you to fail," Bradley pointed out.

It's what you believe to be true that will cause you to fail. How powerful is that? Every person has their own set of beliefs. And these beliefs are what shape our thoughts, actions and decisions. So how do you change your beliefs?

"You have to challenge your beliefs each and every day," Bradley explains. "The unknown isn't the issue. None of us know what is going to happen tomorrow. If you are able to challenge what you believe to be true, that ultimately will allow you to be successful as a leader."

Daybreaker, a company whose early-morning dance parties draws startup workers in London, Paris, New York, and Tokyo, is bringing the sunrise soirée to college campuses across the US.

Founded in 2013, Daybreaker throws three-hour raves complete with electronic dance music, free juice and snacks, and yoga — all before most people have their morning cup of coffee. Creators of the event series bill it as a "movement," with over 350,000 members in 21 cities.

The pre-work dance parties are expanding to college campuses this fall, in the hopes of offering stressed-out students a reprieve from trashy basement parties. Unlike most raves, Daybreaker events are free of booze and drugs. They aim to energize, connect, and delight party-goers.

So far, Daybreaker has hosted six raves at colleges including University of South Carolina, Duke, Boston University, and New York University. Most often the school administration foots the bill. Fifty more colleges have contacted Daybreaker since launch, according to the company.

"We're not saying, 'Don't party.' We're saying, 'You do you,'" Radha Agrawal, the 38-year-old cofounder of Daybreaker, told Business Insider. "If you want to party without alcohol, if you want to do yoga before dancing— without the need for social lubrication — this is for you."

I attended two Daybreaker parties while living in New York City. Here's what they're like.

SEE ALSO: San Francisco's Museum of Ice Cream has a sprinkle pool and a Pop Rocks cave — here's what it's like

Daybreaker parties typically start at 6 a.m. I'm a morning person. Still, waking up at 5 a.m., dressing up, and "rave-ifying" with the requisite gemstones and glitter was a struggle.

Daybreaker was hosting a Halloween-themed extravaganza on a boat. Our taxi dropped us at a pier, and we knew we were in the right place when we spotted some crazy costumes.

A Daybreaker rave usually costs $25 for a "land party," but since this one took place on a yacht, it was $35. We got stamped with the company logo and boarded the boat.

Tech companies and NFL quarterbacks have a surprising amount in common.

While tech stocks carry outsize influence, often dictating the direction of the whole market, professional football teams are also at the whim of their signal-callers. The market would crash if tech stocks started failing — the dot-com bubble anyone? — just in the way an injury to an NFL team's starting quarterback usually spells certain disaster.

Now, as the NFL season kicks off, many casual football fans are trying to get up to speed on which players and teams to watch. And there's no better place to start than with the guys who are throwing the passes.

Below is a breakdown to help make sense of it all, with a special focus on the tech companies that best embody some of the league's most notable quarterbacks.

Aaron Rodgers is Amazon

Remember when Amazon was just an online bookstore? Well, before Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was an MVP and Super Bowl champion, he was just NFL legend Brett Favre's backup.

It took Amazon and Rodgers years of quietly toiling away at their respective trades, plotting world domination, for them to break out and realize their immense potential. Amazon is now disrupting every industry in sight, while Rodgers is continuing his reign of terror over opposing defenses and once is again expected to carry his team to a fantastic season. And, like Amazon, Rodgers is showing no signs of slowing.

Also notable is how both Amazon and Rodgers faced their share of doubters during their respective ascents. Short-sighted pessimists first questioned Amazon's initial foray into online bookselling and then scratched their heads when the retail juggernaut broadened its scope. Rodgers suffered the indignity of slipping to the 24th pick in the NFL draft, despite being projected as a top selection, and then was stuck as Favre's understudy for three full seasons.

Tom Brady is Apple

The two undisputed kings of their respective fields. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is a five-time Super Bowl champion and a two-time NFL MVP, and he is widely considered to be one of the best to ever play the game. Apple is the biggest company in the world, is still growing rapidly, and holds more cash than many small nations.

Both Brady and Apple got where they are today because of legendary leadership. Brady has benefited greatly from the tutelage of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, one of the greatest and winningest coaches in NFL history. Apple prospered under the visionary guidance of CEO Steve Jobs, who designed such landscape-altering products as the iPhone during his tenure.

That's not to say the two have always had it easy. Brady tore an ACL in his team's first game in 2008 and missed the rest of the season. Similarly, Jobs was fired in 1985, a move that almost destroyed the company. Needless to say, both entities bounced back, and today they are viewed as unstoppable forces.

Cam Newton is Facebook

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton experienced almost immediate success upon entering the NFL in 2011, winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and eventually carrying his team to the Super Bowl. Facebook initially had a little tougher time gathering steam, but it still managed to grow its market cap by roughly 50% over its first two years after going public in 2012. It has since become one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Further, Newton is already one of the elite few to have been named an NFL MVP (in 2015), while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is one of the richest people in the world, with a net worth of roughly $70 billion.

That's not to say their respective ascents were without hiccups — both were accused of stealing early in their careers. Newton was suspended from the University of Florida football team in 2008 after he was arrested on suspicion of stealing a laptop from another student, while Zuckerberg was sued over claims that he stole the idea for Facebook from the Winklevoss twins.

They both recovered swiftly. Newton transferred to Auburn, where he won a national championship and the Heisman Trophy as the country's top player, while Zuckerberg was able to move past the lawsuit to become the highly respected billionaire CEO he is today.

The Green Bay Packers are quite different from your standard NFL team in a number of ways. The team is publicly owned, with thousands of fans having a symbolic slice of the pie.

The Packers are also unique in the NFL as the only team located in a small town, with Lambeau Field rising out from a neighborhood rather than a city center or former industrial area.

Just across the street from the Packers' iconic Lambeau Field are residential homes and regular folks who live their lives without cheese on their heads six days a week. One of these homes is now on the market for $1 million, and it is quite a tribute to the degree that Packer fans support their team.

Take a look around the home below.

1261 Shadow Lane is likely as close as you can possibly get to literally living at Lambeau Field. Just a walk across Lombardi Avenue away from the stadium, it sports the quickest route possible between your home tailgate and getting to the game.

Exterior shots make it clear just how close the stadium is to the home. For Packers fans, it's a beautiful view.

Inside the home, no Packer-related expense was spared, with signage, carpeting, and memorabilia all paying homage to the Green and Gold.

After a wild season that featured breakout stars, unbelievable streaks, and a whole bunch of home runs, the MLB postseason field is now set.

The playoffs will kick off with a pair of sudden death Wild Card games set for October 3 and 4. After that, the remaining teams will have to navigate two full rounds of action before reaching baseball's ultimate destination: the World Series. 

While the playoffs are often referred to as a crapshoot, it's not as if all 10 postseason teams have an equal shot at winning the Fall Classic. Below, we ranked the chances of every squad remaining in the hunt for the Commissioner's Trophy. All stats are through September 28.

10. Minnesota Twins

Seed: No. 5 in AL, will play at the Yankees in AL Wild Card game.

Record: 83-76

Run differential: +21

Best position player: Byron Buxton — .255/.317/.418, 16 HR, 28 SB, many highlight reel catches

Best pitcher: Ervin Santana — 16-8, 3.28 ERA, 7.1 K/9, 1.126 WHIP

One thing to know: After going 59-103 in 2016, the Twins are the first team in history to lose more than 100 games and qualify for the postseason the following year. They surely wish they still had closer Brandon Kintzler, who was traded to the Nationals in July before a late playoff push.

9. Colorado Rockies

Seed: No. 5 in NL, will play at the Diamondbacks in NL Wild Card game.

Record: 86-73

Run differential: +64

Best position player: Charlie Blackmon — .328/.397/.598, 36 HR, 100 RBI, 14 SB

Best pitcher: Jon Gray — 10-4, 3.67 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 1.296

One thing to know: The Rockies survived a series of late challenges to take the National League's second Wild Card, a spot they've occupied since the first half of the season. Blackmon now owns the league record for most RBI by a leadoff hitter.

8. New York Yankees

Seed: No. 4 in AL, will play at home versus the Twins in AL Wild Card game.

Record: 89-70

Run differential: +194

Best position player: Aaron Judge — .284/.421/.625, 51 HR, 112 RBI, 125 BB

Best pitcher: Luis Severino — 14-6, 2.98 ERA, 10.7 K/9, 1.040 WHIP

One thing to know: A generation ago, the Yankees were known for spending endless sums to bring in premium free agents, but this year's roster looks a lot different than those teams. Between Judge, Gary Sanchez, Starlin Castro, Didi Gregorius, and Aaron Hicks — all 27 or younger — the Bronx Bombers have a consistently dangerous lineup.

This year at the movies has been a roller-coaster ride when it comes to the box office.

It was on a high at the beginning of the year, with surprise performers like “Get Out” and “Logan” holding court until Disney’s live-action remake “Beauty and the Beast” flexed its muscles.

Then the summer came and was pretty disappointing (especially in August), though there were some standouts like “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” and “Wonder Woman.”

Now it's riding another high with the surprise September success of “It.”

It’s looking more and more like when 2017 comes to a close, the box office will match up to last year’s total gross and tickets sold (maybe even surpass it if “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” does beyond the monster business it's supposed to do).

Here are the 10 best box office earners so far this year.

Note: This selection is limited to only those titles released by the six major studios that have played in more than 2,000 screens for at least two weekends. Grosses below are all US earnings from Box Office Mojo.

SEE ALSO: The 10 biggest box office bombs of 2017 so far, after the dismal summer

10. “The Lego Batman Movie” — $175.7 million

Reported budget: $80 million

(Note: Production budgets are estimates and do not include expenses for marketing and release.)

9. “Dunkirk” — $186.3 million*

Reported budget: $100 million

*Movie is still playing in theaters.

8. “The Fate of the Furious” — $225.7 million

Reported budget: $250 million

Every year, Interbrand puts together its list of the world's most valuable brands. 

To calculate a brand's value, the agency combines a company's financial forecast with its proprietary "role of brand" and "brand strength" calculations from its analysts across the globe.

Together, these calculations give each brand a value number, which can be used to compare it to all of the others on the list.

In some cases, a brand's value is similar to its market cap (if the company is publicly traded). For others, the brand value might be wildly different than its market value. Tesla, for instance, has a brand value of $4.01 billion, according to Interbrand, but a market cap of $61 billion. 

Jim Hoostal, head of Interbrand's auto practice, says this is due to the firm's "holistic" approach. He also said that many car brands are being forced to completely rethink their organizations as self-driving cars begin to take shape. 

"The industry is looking at so much disruption from ride sharing and autonomous driving," he told Business Insider. "Technology companies are now potential competitors, and these established car companies are really concerned about what the future holds."

Making the list isn't easy. To qualify, brands must make sales on at least three continents, including emerging markets, and a third of their revenue must come from outside its home country. 

Together, these 15 automotive brands make up over $260 billion in brand value, according to Interbrand. Here are the 15 most highly valued car brands in 2017:

15. Tesla

Brand value: $4.01 billion

Change from previous year: No change

Best selling model: Model S

14. Ferrari

Brand value: $4.79 billion

Change from previous year: New to the list this year

Top selling model: Ferrari 360

13. Mini

Brand value: $5.11 billion

Change from previous year: +3%

Top selling model: 4-door

The 2016-17 PGA Tour season is in the books, and many of the world's top golfers will have healthy deposits to make as they head home for the brief offseason.

Justin Thomas, for example, just earned $10 million for winning the season-long FedEx Cup, the single biggest payday in golf. At the U.S. Open, the purse has swelled to a whopping $12 million, and the Masters, at $11 million, isn't far behind. With so much money in the game, it's no surprise that the top players pile up staggering sums by the end of each season.

Below, check out our breakdown of the top 20 highest-paid golfers on the PGA Tour. The rankings were based on prize money from official events and FedEx Cup earnings.

20. Adam Hadwin

Age: 29

Earnings: $3,650,012

Adjusted scoring average rank: 53rd

Top finishes in 2016-17: Valspar Championship - Win / CareerBuilder Challenge - 2nd / WGC-Bridgestone Invitational - T5

One thing to know: The best club in Hadwin's bag is his putter, and it came alive in a big way this year. The Saskatchewan native shot a 59 at the CareerBuilder Challenge, just the eighth such round in the history of the PGA Tour.

19. Russell Henley

Age: 28

Earnings: $3,693,876

Adjusted scoring average rank: 21st

Top finishes in 2016-17: Shell Houston Open - Win / Tour Championship - T3 / Greenbrier Classic - T5

One thing to know: It didn't take long for Henley to find success at the game's top level. He won the 2013 Sony Open in his first start as a PGA Tour member, shooting three sterling rounds of 63 to beat Tim Clark by three strokes.

18. Sergio Garcia

Age: 37

Earnings: $3,742,476

Adjusted scoring average rank: 9th

Top finishes in 2016-17: Masters - Win / WGC-HSBC Champions - T9 / Tour Championship - T10

One thing to know: Garcia contended for just one stateside tournament in 2017, but it was a big one: the Masters. His back nine duel with longtime Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose was an instant classic and a fitting end to one of the most agonizing major-less odysseys in golf.

In 1990, after recording a record high 2,262 homicides, some called New York City the "murder capital" of the country. But since then, the homicide rate has steadily declined.

The Big Apple is on pace this year to record fewer homicides than the record low of 333 set in 2014, the New York Daily news reported in early September.

Some have even dubbed today's NYC "the safest big city" in the US.

To get a better sense of what New York City's streets are like these days, we spent three nights with NY Daily News crime reporter Kerry Burke, considered by many to be the best in the city.

Burke, 55, reported from Ground Zero on 9/11, helped break the Eric Garner story, and was even on a few episodes of Bravo's "Tabloid Wars" in 2006. He said he's been to roughly four shootings a week since he started the job 16 years ago.

The first night we spent with Kerry passed with few incidents — perhaps a sign of the safer times. But the last two nights told a different story.

Here's what we saw.

SEE ALSO: I spent the weekend with a homeless community in New York to see what it's really like to live on the streets

DON'T MISS: I covered murders during Chicago's deadliest year in decades — here's what I saw

Night 1: I first met Burke in the Bronx while he was trying to find a man who had just been acquitted on murder charges.

"How are ya, Mr. Brown?" he said in a Boston accent.

Burke, who grew up in Boston's Columbia Point and Dorchester housing projects, was rather formal at first, but switched right away to "bro" or "brotha," like he called almost every other guy I met with him.

He filled me in on the details about the man he was looking for before we walked to the guy's last known address.

Residents in the building told him the man no longer lived there, so Burke asked people in other buildings and nearby stores if they knew him.

"Bodegas are the best," he said. "They know everything that goes on in the neighborhood and they know everybody."

He walked into one unlocked neighboring apartment building and knocked on doors.

Burke was adept at talking to and gaining the trust of all different sorts of people, and he stressed the importance of being polite.

"Maybe it's because I'm a troubled Catholic that I always say thank you," Burke said, adding that he "might have to come back" to get more information, too.

After about an hour or so, Burke was able to get the man's phone number, but unable to reach him.

He later heard that a murder suspect was being questioned at the 32nd precinct, and decided to go wait outside in the hopes of getting a statement when the suspect walked out.

Around 11 p.m., the suspect's cousin walked out of the precinct. Burke asked him a few questions, but didn't get much.

Throughout the eight hours I spent with Burke that first night, there were no homicides, and only one shooting — a man hit in the buttocks.

The victim's condition was immediately stabilized, and since the incident was not serious, and it happened more than an hour away from us, we didn't go.

I took the lack of homicides or serious shootings during Burke's shift, especially given that it was a Friday night, as a good sign. But it was only the first night.

In 2000, a bizarre and controversial film called "Battle Royale" was released. In the film, dozens of Japanese high-school students are placed on an island, given weapons, and forced to kill one another until one person remains.

That person is crowned the winner.

If that sounds a lot like the plot of "The Hunger Games," it's because it's not far off. Though the plots are similar, "Battle Royale" is a far more brutal film. There is no prevailing heroine, no odds overcome. "Battle Royale" is a bleak, suspenseful, violent movie.

A breakout game with a bizarre name, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" aims to re-create the tension and brutality of "Battle Royale." And unbelievably, it succeeds.

"PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" is available only on PC. It has only one game mode. It's not even fully complete — the game is available in "early access," which means it isn't finished, but you can buy it early and start playing now.

After just six months of availability, it has sold over 13 million copies. It's the third-most-watched game on Twitch, the world's largest game-streaming platform.

So what gives? Why is this game blowing up? Here's the deal.

SEE ALSO: The biggest game of 2017 has already made $400 million, and it hasn't even launched yet

Though it looks like a typical shooter, "Battlegrounds" is anything but.

Before we go any further, allow me to explain the ridiculous name:

• The game's creative director is known for creating "Battle Royale"-style games — massive online games where players fight to the death with limited weapons.

• His name is Brendan Greene, but his online handle is "PlayerUnknown."

• Thus the game is just called "Battlegrounds." The full name technically is "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," but that's kind of like calling "Jurassic Park""Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park."

Every game starts the same: You're on a plane with about 100 other humans. It's the most depressing plane ride I've ever seen.

The plane is a visual representation of an online lobby, essentially, but it serves another purpose — you choose when to exit the plane, and that choice is important because the next step is parachuting down to a massive, deserted island. 

As you parachute down, you'll see other players doing the same. This is where the game starts — floating down to your almost certain death, eyeballing other players. Since every player starts with just the clothes on their back, the first 10 minutes of every match is a scramble for weapons, armor, vehicles, and security.

Any given part of the massive map looks like this. There are roads and abandoned buildings, and the vacated island is rife with weaponry.

As you land on the island, your first move is almost certainly to go indoors. You could bumrush other players who land near you in an attempt to punch them to death, but you probably shouldn't.

Instead, you likely will look for supplies — and those are indoors. This concept of looting for resources is a panic-inducing moment right off the bat.

Let's say another player lands near you in a town. Here's how that might play out:

• You both land around the same time, see each other, and head toward separate buildings.

• Maybe your building has a good weapon, or maybe it has a police vest for protection. Maybe it has nothing.

• But what about that other player? You've lost them, and they could have a killer weapon. Do you head out to another nearby building, hoping they aren't in the same one? Do you wait near a window, keeping an eye on the building they're in, waiting for them to leave? Do you take off running toward another nearby town, hoping for better supplies?

This is the central tension of "Battlegrounds," and it starts immediately.

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

The Insider Pick:

• The ability to make fire is the oldest and most important technological innovation ever conceived by humankind. The modern human gets an edge over our ancient forebears with great fire starters. The Überleben Zünden Bushcraft Ferro Rod Fire Starter is the best one you can buy because it is designed to provide more than 12,000 spark-making strikes for reliable fire making every time.

With a warm, crackling fire, you can cook up a meal, boil and purify water, ward off the cold of winter, and light up the darkness, bringing comfort to the nighttime forest. Fire allowed the earliest humans to extract more nutrition from their foods through cooking and it helped them frighten off predatory animals against which an unarmed homo sapien was no match. Fire cleared land for agriculture and lit up the darkest recesses of caves where ancient artists created the world's first painted masterpieces.

Today, you probably don't do much cave painting, and you're probably not going to be eaten by a saber-toothed tiger. But if you're out there in the wilderness on a camping trip or if you ever find yourself in a survival situation, the ability to make fire can be every bit as important for a 21st Century human as it was for people living tens of thousands of years ago.

The best fire starter is a lighter, followed closely by a match. These tools make the process of igniting a fire almost effortless, provided you have selected the proper tinder and fuel setup. If you're headed out for a camping trip or assembling a disaster preparedness kit, always put a lighter and some emergency matches in there with the rest of the gear. But as lighters eventually run out of fuel or break, and as you can only carry a finite number of matches, it's a good idea to also bring along a fire starter.

In a perfect world, your lighter or matches will always be at hand and you will never have to use your fire starter. In the real world, however, assume Murphy's Law will apply during your next multi-day hiking trip or when you find yourself stranded in the forest following some sort of dramatic, cinematic situation where the stakes are high, the dangers real, and there's nothing you can count on except your own wits.

In other words, if you want to stay safe out there in the wilderness, just be sure to bring a fire starter. Read on to see which of our picks is the one for you.

Although the Überleben Zünden Bushcraft Ferro Rod Fire Starter is our top pick, for the reasons laid out in the slides below, you should also consider the Zippo Emergency Fire Kit, the SE FS374 All-Weather Emergency Fire Starter & Magnesium Fuel Bar, the UST Blastmatch Fire Starter, and the Cz Garden Supply Fresnel Lens Fire Starter.

SEE ALSO: The best pocket knives you can buy

The best fire starter overall

Why you'll love it: The Überleben Zünden Bushcraft Ferro Rod Fire Starter couldn't be much simpler to use, and it provides more than 12,000 strikes.

Ferrocerium is a metal alloy comprised primarily of iron and cerium. When struck in the right manner, it produces copious showers of sparks that can exceed 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit in temperature. In case you were wondering, that's more than enough heat to ignite a fire.

The Überleben Zünden Bushcraft Ferro Rod Fire Starter is nothing more than a thick rod of ferrocerium with a thick wooden grip attached to one end that comes accompanied by a striking tool. It's nothing more than that, because there's nothing more needed, provided you have gathered suitable tinder and laid a decent fire.

I've used many different ferro rods over the years, and frankly, there's little to distinguish most of them. The Überleben Zünden Bushcraft rod is notable for two reasons, though. First, the wooden handle provides a good, solid grip and it looks better than the plastic grips on most options. Second, the included striking tool doubles as a miniature multitool. The tool has two different scraping surfaces for sending sparks showering off the ferroceroum rod as well as a bottle opener, a built-in hex wrench, and a little ruler.

Using a ferro rod like this couldn't be much easier: You rake the striking tool along the side of the rod and create showers of sparks. The trick with these sorts of fire starters is to master creating a proper tinder bundle to receive the sparks and having carefully selected wood (or other fuel, like pinecones or peat) at the ready.

Once you have scraped away the protective coating that comes on a new Überleben Zünden Bushcraft Ferro Rod, you'll be making sparks like a pro in no time. Spend lots of time practicing tinder and fire preparation, though.

People love the Überleben Zünden Bushcraft Ferro Rod Fire Starter, with this can-do tool enjoying a 4.8-star rating on Amazon. One owner shared my sentiments, saying the "wood handle provides an excellent grip," while another satisfied fire maker named Kimberly said it was "small enough to carry ... with no problems and durable enough to be confident that it will be protected in my pocket."

Professional outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen are also fans across the board. A writer with Geek Prepper praised it as a "premium fire starter" and lauded its plentiful sparks. In a video review from CT Bushcraft, the reviewer used the tool on camera and called it "an absolutely amazing product." 

Pros: Lasts for thousands of uses, durable construction, easy to use

Cons: Requires decent knowledge of tinder preparation

Buy the Überleben Zünden Bushcraft Ferro Rod Fire Starter on Amazon for $16.00 - $22.00

The best fire starter for ease of use

Why you'll love it: If you can use a classic Zippo lighter, you can use this Zippo EFK Emergency Fire Kit — It's that easy.

There is a lot to love about the Zippo EFK Emergency Fire Kit. First off, it creates a shower of hot sparks using the exact same flint wheel ignition system as Zippo's generations-old lighters. With a quick flick of the thumb, you will rain sparks down onto your selected tinder.

The next thing you'll appreciate about this kit is that it comes with a pretty ideal choice of tinder in the form of five paraffin wax-coated cotton rolls, each of which will burn for about five minutes once ignited, offering plentiful time to catch larger pieces of fuel, AKA wood.

The spark wheel and the paraffin discs tuck away into a plastic tube that is not only watertight, but that floats, so if you drop the Zippo fire starter in a stream or over the side of a canoe, no harm done. There is a spot for attaching a lanyard that will help prevent you from dropping the kit.

The main drawback with this fire starter is that the flint peg used to create the sparks will wear down and stop being effective much more quickly than you would experience with a ferro rod. Using the Zippo Fire Starter is easier than using a rod, but just make sure to bring along spare flints.

The Zippo Emergency Fire Kit has a solid four out of five stars on Amazon, with most buyers agreeing with the words of an owner named Jon who called it "simple and waterproof and self-contained," though many people did point out the frustrating need to replace the flint often with heavy use.

In a review with trusted outlet Gear Junkie, a tester praised the Zippo Fire Starter's ease of use and reliability, both of which are hallmarks not just of this product but of every product the company makes.

Pros: Easy to operate, comes with reliable tinder, waterproof case

Cons: Flint wears out quickly, on the bulkier side

Buy the Zippo EFK Emergency Fire Kit on Amazon for $12.71

The best fire starter on a budget

Why you'll love it: The SE FS374 All-Weather Emergency Fire Starter & Magnesium Fuel Bar costs less than six bucks, but it can help you make fire even in the worst of conditions.

One of the biggest challenges you run into when you are trying to make a fire out in the wilderness is finding a tinder combustible enough to take a spark and create flames. But guess what readily ignites when it meets sparks and then burns super hot? Magnesium, that's what. And that big rectangular bar attached to the little ferrocerium rod you see there? Yep, that's magnesium.

Using the SE FS374 fire starter is simple stuff: You just use the included striker tool or the blade of a knife to produce sparks using the ferro rod. When those sparks fall down onto a bed of shavings you created using the magnesium block, a hot little fire is basically guaranteed, even in damp conditions.

One obvious drawback to this unit is the fact that eventually the magnesium will be worn down so much as to no longer offer a block you can grip. Of course, the rather small ferro rod will probably wear out first. But there's a great solution here: Just buy another one, these things cost six bucks.

Thousands and thousands of people have bought an SE FS374 All-Weather Emergency Fire Starter & Magnesium Fuel Bar, myself included. The fire starter has a four-star rating on Amazon right now, though the words from one five-star review speak for most owners. A reviewer named Deb called the SE FD374 an "excellent addition to any camping/survival" gear.

A writer with OutsidePursuits.com praised the SE FS374's ability to "light a fire in any weather," while a video review from LiveLongGear demonstrated the remarkable ease of use, carving and then igniting magnesium shavings on camera.

Pros: Very low cost, comes with ideal fuel source, compact

Cons: Small ferro rod, inferior included striker

Buy the SE FS374 All-Weather Emergency Fire Starter & Magnesium Fuel Bar on Amazon for $5.45

Roku announced five new media streaming devices on Monday, which all include some performance and video upgrades, while some will directly compete with the new Apple TV 4K for a place next to your TV.

Two of the new Roku devices unveiled Monday can stream video in 4K HDR — the same resolution as the new Apple TV 4K — and they both cost significantly less than Apple's offering. The new Apple TV 4K will be a tough sell for those that aren't entrenched in the Apple and iTunes ecosystem. 

Take a look at all the new devices from Roku:

SEE ALSO: Reviewers say the new Apple TV 4K is great, but needs to do more to justify the high price

Roku Express and Express+

The most basic of Roku's new devices, the $30 Roku Express and $40 Express+, are five times more powerful than their predecessors, according to Roku. That performance upgrade should make for a faster and smoother experience while browsing for content and loading apps.

The Express comes with an HDMI port, and the Express+ comes with HDMI and composite A/V ports, which makes it compatible with older TVs that don't have HDMI ports.

The Express only supports up to the N standard of WiFi, which is an older standard since the faster AC WiFi became available. Still, N WiFi should be perfectly sufficient for 1080p resolution video streaming. The Express+ supports the faster AC WiFi standard.

Roku Streaming Stick and Streaming Stick+

The new mid-range $50 Roku Streaming Stick and $70 Streaming Stick+ connect directly to your TV's HDMI ports. The new versions now come with remotes with built-in microphones so you can search for content using your voice. The new remotes also come with volume and power buttons, which the older remotes did not feature.

The Streaming Stick lineup also got an overall speed performance boost. The Streaming Stick supports up to 1080p resolution video streaming, while the new Streaming Stick+ can stream content in 4K HDR resolution up to 60 frames per second (fps). The new Streaming Stick+ also comes with up to four times the WiFi range than last year's Streaming Stick.

One note on HDR: The Roku Streaming Stick+ only supports HDR10, not Dolby Vision, so if you have a 4K TV with HDR, make sure it supports that format. Most TVs support HDR10, but the Apple TV 4K supports both HDR10 and Dolby Vision, which is a better but less-supported standard.

Roku Ultra

The $99.99 Roku Ultra, a standalone device that connects to your TV with an HDMI cable, also looks competitive compared to the $179 Apple TV 4K. The Roku Ultra can also stream content in 4K HDR content (again, HDR10 only, no Dolby Vision) up to 60 fps, and includes an ethernet port for more reliable streaming performance. It also comes with a microSD card slot that will allow for faster app load times, Roku says. 

Like the Apple TV 4K, the Roku Ultra's remote will come with voice recognition for searching content using your voice, as well as a headphone port for more private listening and a remote finder feature that will locate the remote should you lose it.

The INSIDER Summary:

• A group of urban explorers called "Rudex" climbs buildings in Moscow, Russia.
• They do it for the adrenaline rush and to take stunning photos.
• None of them have ever been injured, but it's super dangerous.

Don't try this at home.

Climbing abandoned and decaying buildings for the thrill (and the Instagrammable photos) is dangerous and often illegal, but that doesn't stop groups like Rudex from taking the leap.

Founded in 2008, the group of five daring urban explorers risks their lives and arrest records to brave astonishing heights.

Keep scrolling to step inside the hidden world of Moscow's urban explorers.

Urban exploration, or "urbex," is gaining popularity around the world.

So-called "urban explorers" scale abandoned and dilapidated buildings, as well as regular skyscrapers, and photograph the stunning views from the top.

Hidden within Moscow's skyline is one such group of urban explorers who scale buildings for the thrill of it.

October, anything is possible! Keep an open mind and heart, and get ready to embrace new and exciting developments.

Take care at the beginning of the month, with a Mars and Pluto interaction and shortly after with the Aries full Moon, as both can cause you to be rash and impulsive. At the same time, love goddess Venus and passionate Mars connect, which makes this a month when love and intimacy are heightened, but it’s up to you to invite love in.  Jupiter, the planet of abundance and expansion, will move to Scorpio, and encourage you to get in touch with your real soul-purpose and follow it. Later in the month, with the new Moon in Libra and a lucky and beneficial connection between Jupiter and the Sun, anything is possible! Keep an open mind and heart, and get ready to embrace new and exciting developments.

ARIES: Be prepared to step out of your comfort zone.

If you want to attract love into your life, then be prepared to step out of your comfort zone. With the energy of the new Moon in your love zone, you are promoted to put yourself out there and do whatever it takes to make it happen. At work, opportunities head your way. Make sure you are organized so you are free to investigate your options.  Other people can step forward now to help you achieve your dreams; don’t be too proud to accept their help.

TAURUS: Watch for opportunities.

You can be lucky in love now and with relationships in general. Watch for opportunities. It is possible to move ahead with both work and love, and in a positive and productive way. But not everyone will be worthy of being your friend. Pay attention to your intuition. Don’t waste time on people and situations that are not for your greatest good. Time and money spent on your personal presentation will be worth it - create your wow-factor!

GEMINI: Be careful not to leave anything to chance.

It is possible to gain closure or make headway with a monetary situation that relates to home and family in some way. But be careful not to leave anything to chance. It’s important to tie up loose ends. And when it’s about love, be prepared to take control. It’s your life to live, you don’t want to risk others stepping in and taking over. The more productive you are the more you will achieve. But don’t burn the candle at both ends at the expense of your wellbeing.

There are few cars in Porsche's illustrious five-decade-long history that have been more polarizing than the Panamera since it burst onto the scene in 2009. Its raised fastback rear end design and odd proportions have long been points of controversy. Automotive journalists certainly haven't been kind.

The Panamera's odd looks can be attributed to the need for all Porsches to look, well, like a Porsche. In plain terms, all cars bearing the company's brand need to be instantly recognizable. That means they've all got to look like a 911. It's both a blessing and a curse.

Instant brand recognition is worth its weight in gold for a car company. However, for Porsche, that need for conformity has resulted in some truly odd looking cars. Another example would be the original Cayenne SUV, which the former hosts of "Top Gear" described as a Porsche that backed into a shed and got stuck.

In spite of the controversy, the Panamera became a sales success. Looks aside, the first generation Panamera was generally regarded as one of the finest performance sedans money can buy. The last first-gen Panamera GTS Business Insider tested blew us away with its luxurious cabin, pin-point-precise handling, and gutsy V8 engine.

In June 2016, Porsche unveiled the second generation Panamera. Unlike Porsche's first effort at a production sedan, this time, the automotive critics were enthralled. With a new rear end design, Porsche's ugly ducking is suddenly the belle of the ball.

With the controversial styling cue fixed, the automotive world went berserk over the Panamera.

In November 2016, Business Insider became the first journalists to drive the second generation Panamera in North America, after getting behind the wheel of a Panamera Turbo in New York.

Recently, Porsche dropped of another Panamera Turbo for us to take an extended look at its new high-performance luxury sedan. Here's what it's like to drive. 

The new Porsche Panamera Turbo starts at $150,000 while our option-laden test car came out to about $180,000. The base Panamera starts at a more affordable $85,000. 

SEE ALSO: Driving the new Porsche 911 is like hanging out with an old friend

FOLLOW US: on Facebook for more car and transportation content!

Here it is! The new Porsche Panamera! Even though it's built on VW Group's new Porsche-developed MSB platform, you won't mistake for anything other than a Panamera.

See the resemblance!

And have they changed that controversial rear end?

Before tech giants like Apple and Google started talking about augmented reality as the future of technology, Vuforia was one of the few companies that was actually making AR software.

Vuforia, a former Qualcomm subsidiary now owned by PTC, isn't a household name because it didn't make its own apps. Instead, it provided technology for other companies who wanted to make apps that integrated computer graphics and the real world. 

On Monday, Vuforia launched its first app called Chalk. It's a videoconferencing app, but unlike existing services like FaceTime or Skype, it allows users to circle and point out interesting features in real-time.

One way to use Chalk, Jay Wright, president of Vuforia at PTC explains, is tech help for your family. While you're videoconferencing through Chalk, you can, say, circle the right remote, or point out the "little thingy at the bottom" that's causing the problem.

Vuforia uses its augmented-reality technology to allow digital graphics to stay stuck to where they were drawn in real life. It's a simple app — just videoconferencing, plus drawing on the real world. 

"Not only is this the best use of augmented-reality technology we've been working on, but it's something that everyone can use, " Vuforia President Jay Wright told Business Insider. 

Chalk is free to consumers, but Vuforia hopes to sell the underlying technology to other businesses for tech support and other uses. 

For now, Vuforia Chalk uses Apple's ARKit, and it's only available for Apple phones and tablets that support ARKit and are running the latest version of iOS. But in the future, Vuforia plans to support additional devices and platforms, including Google's Android as well as its ARCore software.

Part of Vuforia's strategy going forward is that on devices where ARKit and ARCore are supported, it will use Apple or Google's framework. But Vuforia will also work to bring similar AR experiences to phones that aren't currently supported by ARKit or ARCore; if an app doesn't support ARKit, it can use Vuforia's AR frameworks. 

"We've created this module with the intelligence to use the best underlying technology and deliver the right experience," Wright said, talking about Vuforia's developer technologies. "If you're a developer, I don't have to worry about ARKit, I don't have to worry about ARCore, you can get a very comparable capability to ARKit and ARCore on even more devices." 

Here's what using Chalk is like: 

SEE ALSO: Apple is putting the finishing touches on its $5 billion campus — and it looks stunning

Chalk is a videoconference app. You call someone else with the app to get started using it.

But instead of the app putting you face-to-face, one side is supposed to use their phone or tablet's camera to look at a specific problem.

Its key feature is it allows one side to draw over what the other participant's camera sees. In this case, the person on the left is telling the other side how to make espresso.

Harvey Spevak, former CEO and current executive chairman and managing partner at the boutique fitness chain Equinox, has been trying to sell his condo in New York's Park Imperial tower condo since 2011.

First listed unsuccessfully for $11.995 million that year, the home later went off the market for some time. Then, in Feburary of this year, it returned for $9.5 million before being lowered further to $7.5 million in September, Curbed reported.

The duplex — two properties that Spevak and his wife, Rhonda, purchased separately for $2.5 million and $2.95 million — were combined to make a single, 2,954-square-foot duplex.

See the space, which is on the market with Corcoran, below. 

SEE ALSO: A top-ranking Netflix exec just bought this gorgeous $20 million home in Malibu — look inside

The Park Imperial is in Midtown Manhattan, on West 56th Street and 8th Avenue. The building's more famous residents have included Daniel Craig and, in 2010, the fugitive tech CEO Jacob "Kobi" Alexander.

Source: Curbed

The condo was once two separate units, the first of which the Spevaks purchased in 2005. They purchased the second in 2008. The couple combined the two spaces into one, 2,954-square-foot duplex with the help of architect Ismael Leyva.

There are four bedrooms ...

When it comes to SUVs, the Audi Q5 is among the most luxurious out there.

But what sets the Q5 apart from other bespoke options is Audi's attention to detail. Everything about Audi's interior design is purposeful; it's smart, intuitive, and sophisticated without feeling over-the-top.

I took the Q5 on a day jaunt around upstate New York and back to New York City. It was not enough time to fully appreciate everything this car has to offer, but it gave me a nice look at the vehicle's highlights. 

Here are my favorite features:

SEE ALSO: Here's our closest look yet at how Tesla's Model 3 touchscreen works

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I took a spin in the 2018 Audi Q5 with a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine that gets 252 hp and 273 lb.-ft. of torque. It came with all-wheel drive and 7-speed transmission.

I'm not going to get in-depth about the driving experience itself — we'll have a separate post on that later if you're interested. I will say it was a buttery smooth drive and the Q5 is quick to boot. It was rather easy to get to 80 mph without noticing.

This SUV starts at a pricey $41,500, but extra packages bumped the final price to $52,700. Believe it or not, Audi's driver-assistance package was not one of the options, so it will cost even more if you're looking for the true, high-tech experience.

All of that being said, I'll be focusing on what I liked about this car from the perspective of someone who had a few hours behind the wheel. 

1. Onto my favorite features, the first being the virtual cockpit. The Q5 has a 12.3-inch, full-color display that will show your full navigation map by using Google satellite imagery.

The thing that is great about the virtual cockpit is you can easily flick between settings using the "View" button on the steering wheel. I didn't really feel like I needed the map up the entire time I was driving but the graphics were amazing. I like the setting I have pictured here because it shows the speedometer and my upcoming directions all at once.

Audi does support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but the company's internal navigation system was actually quite good. It didn't feel inconvenient to rely on Audi's nav system in order to have the true virtual cockpit experience.

Here's a video of Audi's Virtual Cockpit if you want to give it a closer look.

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For some, shopping at Sephora will never get old. With so many beauty products available in stores and online, the popular retailer makes it easy to always find something new to try.

Yet if you don't want to bank your money on just any random item, Sephora keeps a running list of its best-sellers. 

INSIDER recently took a peek, and it appears that last month's top picks included: a $40 face oil that zaps pimples, a $18 face primer that smooths pores, and a $85 moisturizer made from hand-harvested sea kelp.

Here are 23 of Sephora's top beauty products from September:

Touch in Sol No Poreblem Primer

Cost: $18

Find out more about Touch in Sol No Poreblem Primer here >

Stila Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow

Cost: $24

Find out more about Stila Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow here >

Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter

Cost: $34

Find out more about Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter here >

With one-quarter of the NFL season nearly in the books, it's time for fantasy managers to start shoring up their rosters for the weeks ahead.

While it may feel as though it's still early in the season, you should avoid falling into that trap at all costs. In most fantasy leagues, the playoffs start during Week 13 or 14, so we're closer to the midway point than to the opening week of play.

What's more, bye weeks are back in earnest this week, with four teams — the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, and Washington Redskins — taking it easy.

Injuries are beginning to mount across the league, so this week's waiver cycle could be the most important one yet.

Here are 10 players you should consider adding to your roster.

Latavius Murray, RB

Team: Minnesota Vikings

Week 4 stats: 21 rushing yards, 8 receiving yards, two receptions

One thing to know: Though he has lost a step since his days with Oakland, Murray is a prime candidate to see more touches in the wake of Dalvin Cook's ACL tear. Despite diminished yardage totals, the 27-year-old retained his fantasy value last season thanks to some excellent work at the goal line.

Devin Funchess, WR

Team: Carolina Panthers

Week 4 stats: 70 receiving yards, seven receptions, two touchdowns

One thing to know: Funchess was the main beneficiary of Cam Newton's most productive passing performance of the season, pulling down a pair of catches in the end zone. While the Michigan product eventually left the game with leg cramps, he should have season-long value even if he's limited for the next couple of games.

Andre Ellington, RB

Team: Arizona Cardinals

Week 4 stats: 18 rushing yards, 86 receiving yards, nine receptions

One thing to know: Ellington didn't see much action last year, but he has made up for that by becoming one of Carson Palmer's favorite targets in light of David Johnson's wrist injury. He saw 14 targets on Sunday, a career high.