Reading Time: 2 minMy history of using different note-taking tools over the years is well-documented in this blog, including my recent move from Obsidian to Tana. While Tana has some great features and I really enjoy using it, it’s ultimately just a slightly better version of the tools that came before it and I may end up moving […]
Learning
Taming a wild mind
Reading Time: 2 minIf I tried to describe the way that I think, a “wild mind” is way down on the list of words I might use. I know people with wild minds, and they’re incredible to be around, but that simply isn’t me. However, a quote from Jon Acuff’s book “Soundtracks” gives a slightly different spin on […]
Work on development, not performance
Reading Time: < 1 minIt can be tempting to focus everything on performance and metrics. Whether I’m talking about myself and what I accomplish, or what I look for from my team. Ultimately, though, a stronger focus on development will lead to far better long-term results. In his book “The Coaching Habit“, author Michael Stanier words it very well: […]
Two enormous books
Reading Time: 2 minI do most of my reading on my Kindle, for reasons I’ve explained earlier. I enjoy the experience, and it makes it easy to migrate my highlights over after I’m done reading. From time to time I’ll pick up a “real” book, but it’s rare. In most cases, it’s only when I don’t have a […]
My favorite books from 2022
Reading Time: < 1 minOver the course of 2022, I read a total of roughly 70 books. I say “roughly” for two reasons: That being said, here are my favorites 10 from the year, in no particular order, with links to a post of mine with more thoughts on the book, and those posts all have links to buy […]
Use paper to assist thinking, but store everything digitally
Reading Time: 2 minFor about three years now, I’ve been loosely following the Zettelkasten method of taking notes (here’s what that is) and I’m quite pleased with how it’s going. I’m finding that having everything in one system (daily notes, book notes, meeting notes, church notes, other ideas, etc) is amazingly valuable. I’m currently using Tana for that, […]
Success is a lousy teacher
Reading Time: < 1 minIf you become successful, whether in business or athletics or somewhere else, you undoubtedly had some luck along the way, which is easy to forget about. Bill Gates and Kent Evans are great examples of that. Kent Evans? When he was 17, he was best friends with Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen, but […]
Be Radically Relevant with your own name
Reading Time: < 1 minI recently finished Blake Howard’s new book “Radically Relevant“, I encourage you to pick up a copy. I easily consider Matchstic, the company he cofounded, to be one of the top branding companies in the country. Anything that comes from Blake is bound to be fantastic, and this book is no exception. The book is […]
What do you think you know for sure?
Reading Time: < 1 minThere are some things that you’re confident about, but you keep a bit of an edge and often doublecheck yourself on them. However, there are other things you know for sure, and you have a ton of confidence in them. You might be right, but those can also become blind spots. Mark Twain once said: […]
Context leads to contradictions
Reading Time: < 1 minI’ve talked a lot on here about changing your mind, and how those that frequently change their mind tend to the be people that I trust the most. It was over a decade ago that I shared some thoughts from Jeff Bezos about people being willing to change their mind, and more recently shared the […]