Reading Time: < 1 minIn reading Tara Jaye Frank’s book “The Waymakers“, she shared an interesting thought that I think applies to many areas of life. She said: When I first became a mother at twenty-five, someone gave me a quote on a tiny piece of paper by Jill Churchill that read, “There is no way to be a […]
General
What are your attributes?
Reading Time: 3 minI was recently listening to the “How to take over the world” podcast episode that discussed the life and values of basketball legend John Wooden, and there were some amazing things shared during the show. One area that host Ben Wilson spent some time on was sharing the attributes of Wooden, with a brief comparison […]
What do you like that other people find tedious?
Reading Time: < 1 minLast week I mentioned a simple question from David Senra that asked “what are you good at that other people find difficult?“. He had another thought in that same show that I thought was even more interesting, where he said: “One sign that you’re suited for some kind of work is when you like even […]
Ego is slang for insecurity
Reading Time: < 1 minA recent podcast from Gary Vaynerchuk brought out a quick slew of comparisons. I had to listen a few times to get them straight, but here’s what he said: “Ego is slang for insecurity, and I think a lot of people mix up confidence with ego. Confidence is humility, and ego is insecurity. You can […]
Power poses actually generate power
Reading Time: 2 minI tend to view the world through a very pragmatic lens, seeing things practically rather than theoretically. That’s why this section from Michael Port’s “Steal the Show” struck me so oddly. From the book: You know how body language affects how others see you, but it may also change how you see yourself. Harvard University […]
Reducing attachment
Reading Time: < 1 minSomething I’ve worked hard at over the last few years is reducing attachment to my opinions. As Daniel Kahneman famously said, “I do enjoy having been wrong, because it means I am now less wrong than I was before.“ The easy example is with mobile phones. I’m an Android guy, but I’d happily switch to […]
Our standards are rising
Reading Time: < 1 minIt’s easy to think that the world is falling apart, and while there are certainly many things we need to improve, things are really going pretty well. Crime is down, medical care is always improving, and even things like sex trafficking are far less pervasive than we’re led to believe. The problem is our standards. […]
I know a guy in NYC
Reading Time: 3 minOur family recently spent a week in New York, and one of those days we spent with Adam Guy of “I Know a Guy” to be our personal tour guide for the day. Him and my wife had talked quite a bit in the weeks leading up (where we want to go, what we’ve already […]
Pay attention to what you pay attention to
Reading Time: < 1 minAttention is likely the greatest asset in the world. If you want to sell products, sell ads, lead an organization, or lead a movement, you need people to pay attention to you. There are ways to do it well, and there are ways to do it unethically, but this post is more about watching our […]
The step between an event and a reaction
Reading Time: < 1 minIn Daniel Kahneman’s famous book “Thinking, Fast and Slow“, he describes the two types of thinking that we can do: While being slow isn’t always good, us humans tend to go with the “fast” response far too often. In Ward Farnsworth’s “The Practicing Stoic“, he has a similar comparison by explaining how the “slow” system […]