Reading Time: < 1 minIgnorance is defined simply as a “lack of knowledge or information”. It becomes very powerful if you’re able to recognize where it applies to you. In his book “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow“, author Yuval Noah Harari explains the power of ignorance and how it changed the world: “The greatest scientific discovery was […]
Learning
Chase down every reference
Reading Time: < 1 minBeing curious can be a great thing. As an enneagram 5, I’m kind of wired to be curious, and most people in my life would agree. I like to know the “why” behind so many things, and this blog is a place where I unpack and share much of that. In “Steal Like An Artist“, […]
See like your heroes
Reading Time: < 1 minI’ve been writing daily for around 600 days in a row now, and my purpose has always been the same — to gain better clarity of thought. As I said very early in this process, my goal was to learn to see the world and think though ideas in a deeper and better way. I’m […]
Notes versus highlights
Reading Time: < 1 minWhen I’m reading a book, I generally do a pretty good job of highlighting relevant bits of text, and then going back through it when I’m finished. As I shared in my “big reading shortcut” post, I’m also pretty good about getting those highlights saved for future use, but I’m not as solid about creating […]
Sometimes I’d rather just read
Reading Time: < 1 minI’ve talked a few times about my big reading shortcut, and how I can spend less than an hour to extract almost all of the best information from almost any book. It works amazingly well, but it’s a very focused hour to get it done (20 minutes reading, 20 minutes pulling more quotes, 20 minutes […]
Don’t try to be the best – just be better
Reading Time: < 1 minStriving to be the best at something can be a great approach in some areas. If you want to win a gold medal in the Olympics, you literally have to become the best at your craft. For most of us, though, becoming the “best” isn’t attainable, or often even measurable. If I wanted our marketing […]
Where is your perimeter?
Reading Time: 2 minIt’s important to know what you don’t know. I shared last year about two “intermediate” website developers who are actually miles apart in terms of skill. One underestimated their skills, while the other overestimated theirs. In the case of “Alex” in that post, he was someone that really understand where their perimeter of knowledge ended, […]
Is reading work?
Reading Time: 2 minIn episode 179 of The Long and The Short Of It podcast, hosts Pete and Jen argue that reading for knowledge should be considered “work”, and therefore it’s acceptable to do during the workday. I don’t disagree, but it’s tricky. I read quite a lot, and most of it is for the benefit of our […]
That was a dumb decision, right?
Reading Time: < 1 minWe all make bad decisions from time to time, though it’s often a good thing. Thomas Edison failed on nearly 6,000 types of filament for the light bulb, including some crazy tries like hairs from a friend’s beard, but that’s what helped lead to his genius invention. When I make a seemingly dumb choice, there […]
Routines versus practices
Reading Time: < 1 minHaving strong daily practices can be a great way to get ahead in life. With solid practices you can consistently work to become healthier, smarter, and more well-rounded. When I was using the Full Focus Planner regularly, it focused a lot on daily practices (which they call “daily rituals”) and it got me to reconsider […]