Reading Time: 2 minWhen deciding what content to dig into (books, podcasts, etc), I’m often faced with an interesting decision: do I want to explore something new, or revisit an old favorite? Over the last year, I’ve been doing a lot of revisiting in place of new content. I’m still reading a few new books every month, but […]
Learning
The insatiable need to know more
Reading Time: < 1 minAs time goes on, I’m finding that people who are always striving to learn more tend to have more success in business. From my vantage point, it seems to cover two areas: There was a point in the past where you could essentially just keep things steady, but the time for that is gone and […]
Every idea is half-baked at some point
Reading Time: < 1 minWe’ve always heard about how bad “half-baked ideas” usually are, but every idea goes through that stage at some point. It certainly could be problematic to move forward with a half-baked idea, but having a half-baked idea means that you might be on to something good. In his book “Steal the Show“, author Michael Port […]
Your future self will wonder what you were thinking
Reading Time: < 1 minFor most of us, we can look back at ourselves from 10 years ago and think “wow, I had no idea what I was doing”. It’s uncomfortable to appreciate, but it stands to reason that in 10 years we’ll look back at ourselves today and think the same thing. In his book “Clear Thinking“, Shane […]
Summaries can create blind spots
Reading Time: 2 minI’m a big fan of summaries, as they can be a great way to get a lot of information in a short period of time. Blinkist creates fantastic summaries, and I certainly read them quite often. That said, summaries can leave you short. In his book “Clear Thinking“, Shane Parrish shares: Reading a summary might […]
Ask for advice, not feedback
Reading Time: < 1 minSometimes just a little shift in wording can make a huge difference. In Adam Grant’s book “Hidden Potential“, he explains the difference between seeking feedback and seeking advice: Instead of seeking feedback, you’re better off asking for advice. Feedback tends to focus on how well you did last time. Advice shifts attention to how you […]
Sit quietly in a room alone
Reading Time: 2 minCan you sit quietly in a room alone? According to many ideas in the book “Unlimited Memory“, it’s a great thing to do. They start with a quote from Blaise Pascal that brought the title of this post: “All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.” Related was […]
Decisions force us to predict the future
Reading Time: < 1 minI try to predict the future at times, and my results are hit or miss. With every decision that we make in life, though, we’re being forced to try to predict an unknown outcome. In his book “Farsighted“, author Steven Johnson explains it like this: Complex decisions force us to predict the future. Most decisions, […]
Don’t steal the revelation
Reading Time: < 1 minThere are times when getting to the right answer quickly is important, and everyone should be pushing for the answer. Other times, though, it can be more beneficial to wait and let people figure things out for themselves. In a recent episode of The Long and The Short of It podcast, Pete shared this idea: […]
Your mind never wanders
Reading Time: < 1 minDepending on what I’m doing at any given time, my mind can wander off a bit. As Kevin Horsley explains in “Unlimited Memory“, though, it never really wanders. As he says: Your mind never wanders; it moves toward more interesting things. That’s both enlightening but also frustrating. There are times when it’s fine for my […]