And while some actions may not seem all that significant, when you take any action that serves your greatest good, it sends a message to your sub-conscious that you are still in the game, and that change is still in progress (however slowly).

FORBES: Want To Keep Your New Year's Resolutions The Entire Year Ahead?

Now, following an unusual apology to users, Apple startlingly unplugs one of its Android lawsuits against a competitor, and a profound personality change seems to be in progress.

ENGADGET: Editorial: A conciliatory Apple would be real innovation

The process that Cowen describes would produce a gradual bend in the curve of progress, not the sudden change in slope that actually occurred.

FORBES: Memo To Tyler Cowen: A Lack Of New Ideas Is Not The Problem