Reading Time: < 1 min If you list some of the greatest composers of all time, people like Mozart and Bach are likely near the top. If you list some of the most prolific composers of all time, they’re also near the top of that list. Bach wrote over 1100 pieces, and Mozart (despite only living to age 35) wrote […]
Thinking for yourself requires the right friends
Reading Time: < 1 min It’s kind of a weird title, no? To be able to think for yourself, you need certain friends around you? It might not be as weird as it seems. George Mack recently published a great tweet that explains it more thoroughly. In short, you can have two kinds of friend groups: Centralized friend groups that […]
An anecdote is not evidence
Reading Time: < 1 min It can be hard to separate the two, particularly when it’s something big that happens to us personally, but anecdotes are not the same as real evidence. We seem to be in the midst of that right now with COVID vaccines, but it’s hard to see while we’re still in the middle of it. Going […]
Politics as a hobby
Reading Time: < 1 min A few weeks back, I shared about a friend of mine that posts constantly about politics on Facebook, with the majority of his posts attacking others, and a good number of his posts being completely false information. While I don’t mind his point of view and can respect all viewpoints, I find his (and a […]
Design is more than veneer
Reading Time: < 1 min I’ve been listening to a lot of the “How to Take Over the World” podcast lately, and in a series he did about Steve Jobs, one line of his really stood out: Design is more than veneer. People often think of design as “making things pretty”, and while that may be a piece of it, […]
A brilliant “paper” calendar on a digital device
Reading Time: 2 min Over the years I’ve tried various ways to handle my daily scheduling. While my official calendar lives in Google Calendar (and that’s not likely to change anytime soon), I’ve tried various ways of really processing and following my schedule throughout the day. A few years ago I picked up the Full Focus Planner, and it […]
Do you need Powerpoint?
Reading Time: 2 min While slide decks can be a useful tool in some presentations, Steve Jobs was famously against them. When having staff present him with their arguments for or against certainly decisions, he famously believed that: People who know what they’re talking about don’t need Powerpoint If you need to make an argument about an upcoming direction, […]
Don’t have all of the answers; have all of the questions
Reading Time: < 1 min At the end of most episodes of Seth Godin’s Akimbo podcast, they run an ad for the altMBA that includes a great line from T.K. Coleman that includes the quip that “there is no great thought leader who can outthink the internet“. While I personally work hard to have many answers available in my head, […]
Happiness is reality minus expectations
Reading Time: < 1 min “Happiness is reality minus expectations” I heard this quote in a recent podcast from Adam Grant, though I believe it’s attributed to Tom Magliozzi, former co-host of the popular “Car Talk” radio show on NPR. As I thought about it, it’s kind of a tricky thing. I wrote earlier this year about setting proper expectations, […]
Balance in any given day is overrated
Reading Time: 2 min Balance in life is always important. Balance between exercise and rest. Balance between work and play. Balance in eating and sleeping. However, none of that means that every single day should balance out perfectly. Consistency is worth a lot, but looking at balance across your life in terms of weeks or months is often more […]