The first thing I do when I wake up is start asking questions. Did I get enough sleep? Do I have enough time to exercise? Will I get to everything I need to get to today on top of the crap I didn’t get to yesterday? Know what that is? A scarcity mindset. Not so … Continue reading Sufficiency > Scarcity
Tag: mental models
Managing Time By Commitment (Not The Clock!)
Nothing like the post-vacation work email hole. It feels like working through the five stages of grief. I’m a few days back and still not to acceptance yet. Oh well. In time. Like reading and responding to emails, or anything where to-do’s and time-blocking comes into play, this observation via Luke Smeyer caught got my … Continue reading Managing Time By Commitment (Not The Clock!)
Getting Over The Mountain
We were already a solid hour up into the mountains. We drove another hour to get even higher, and then it was another hour and a half of all-up zig-zagging to get to the plateau. It was totally worth it. Les Plateau des Lacs (France) We hung out to have lunch and explore before making … Continue reading Getting Over The Mountain
Applying Keith Johnstone’s Status Seesaw
A guy slips and falls on a banana peel. Classic. Well, classic-funny if it’s a fancy looking gentleman with a monocle and a top hat, but kind of sad and distressing if it’s a feeble old man with a cane. Why? Status. Every interaction is a status game. Keith Johnstone breaks it down better than … Continue reading Applying Keith Johnstone’s Status Seesaw
Using Munger’s Mental Models To Skill-Up
This Charlie Munger quote is gold. It’s a reminder that to become truly skillful we need to not only practice, but understand what to practice and why. Whether we’re naturally good or not gifted in the slightest, skill only comes after we’ve got a workable understanding of what it takes to improve. Getting in the … Continue reading Using Munger’s Mental Models To Skill-Up
Reprogramming Our (Human) Hardware, Firmware, and Software
How many times have you wanted to reprogram a frustrating part of your brain? 10? 20? 200? How about so far today? Ugh. Here’s a helpful thought - what if we think about ourselves, as Daniel Jefferies puts it, in terms of hardware, firmware, and software? Hardware is hard to change. I’m just shy of … Continue reading Reprogramming Our (Human) Hardware, Firmware, and Software
He Made A Few Billion, But Wanted To Talk About The Knicks
Coinbase made its public markets debut as a $100 billion dollar listing last week. Fred Wilson and his firm, Union Square Ventures, helped lead their Series A back in 2013. They turned 5 million into almost $5 billion over that period of time. The day Coinbase went public - what was Fred thinking about besides … Continue reading He Made A Few Billion, But Wanted To Talk About The Knicks
It Takes Chaos And Confidence
In physics, a two-body problem is how we understand what happens when two objects interact with each other in space. Two-body problems are predictable. They’re like cause and effect, or the things in our professional work where we say, “If this happens, then we’ll do that.” Three-body problems, on the other hand, are not possible … Continue reading It Takes Chaos And Confidence
Write Your Last Paragraph First
When Jerry Colonna was struggling to finish his book, his editor gave him this brilliant advice: Write your last paragraph and then write your way to it. We don’t have to be writing a book, that advice applies to just about anything. All it asks us to do is think about where we want to … Continue reading Write Your Last Paragraph First
Defend Your Onions
I was sick a few weeks ago and misread a note that said “defend your opinions” as saying, “defend your onions.” Kind of dumb, kind of funny, and kind of useful. Our work requires us to be opinionated. Engaging with others requires us to listen to their opinions. Whether you’re the president, a parent, or … Continue reading Defend Your Onions