Tension, Resolution, And How To Have A Complete Thought

A story is only as good as how it ends. That’s not to say every thought you complete has to be a blockbuster. But it is a reminder - if you want to make a strong point, you need a strong ending. For that, we can use the concepts of tension and resolution. Take a … Continue reading Tension, Resolution, And How To Have A Complete Thought

Culture Emerges From Creators, Communicators, Collaborators

Culture emerges from: Creators, who come up with ideas,  Communicators, who spread the ideas, and Collaborators, who work with the ideas.  Good and bad alike. Yeah, it ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. As you may have noticed.  Communities contain cultures. They form collections of these ideas. What’s been created, communicated, and collaborated on.  So if … Continue reading Culture Emerges From Creators, Communicators, Collaborators

Selling Mirrors Vs. Offering Reflections

“A flower is just a weed with a marketing budget.” Rory Sutherland, paraphrased, but certainly in “Alchemy” too “However you frame yourself as an artist, the frame is too small.” Rick Rubin, via “The Creative Act” “I had to forget selling mirrors and focus on offering reflections.” Matt Zeigler, via “The Rick Rubin Of Advice: … Continue reading Selling Mirrors Vs. Offering Reflections

Why A Personal Archive Is NOT A Notebook, A Personal Journal, Or A Second Brain

A personal archive is a place where our completed thoughts live.  Archiving is the practice of completing thoughts.  Thoughts are simply our reflections and responses to the library of stuff other people are pumping out into the world, in every medium - from Instagram music choices to investment manager commentaries, from grocery store talks to … Continue reading Why A Personal Archive Is NOT A Notebook, A Personal Journal, Or A Second Brain

Two Professional Interpreter Tools (To Improve How You Take Notes AND Communicate)

Two world leaders gather to talk policy in totally different languages. And they do it(?!). All thanks to these lesser known professionals called “interpreters.” At the core of the trade are two listening and note-taking techniques. We can apply them anywhere.  Consecutive Interpreting is when a speaker and interpreter effectively take turns. The speaker speaks, … Continue reading Two Professional Interpreter Tools (To Improve How You Take Notes AND Communicate)

Letters To Younger Selves + Time Binding

If you could send a message to your younger self, what would you say?  I just heard Bogumil Baranoski’s Talking Billions episode with Christopher Mayer, where they got to talking about the idea of “time-binding.” The concept comes from a practice called General Semantics* which considers (via Wikipedia): how events translate to perceptions, how they … Continue reading Letters To Younger Selves + Time Binding

From Note To Personal Archive Entry (My Process)

An updated personal archive process workflow you can do with or without any fancy apps.  There are 3 “frequent” steps, followed by 2 “interval” steps: Receive (go get inspired by literally anything)  Reflect (notice your emotions, how your feeling, or how you’re thinking/behaving in response) Record (make a note with the input received and the … Continue reading From Note To Personal Archive Entry (My Process)