Weekly Quote: Austin Kleon on Collecting Good Ideas
This week’s quote comes from Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon. Inspiration might be found everywhere. Whether reading a book, watching a classic film, chatting with some old friends, or taking a long hike, be ready to make a note in your project ideas list, journal, or commonplace book.
I’d argue the next step is actually going back and taking a look at these ideas. They’re easy to collect and forget about, yet I think you really start to find the influence and build a creative narrative from the ideas you’ve collected when you take a second (or third or fourth) pass and get another look at them.
The Cloud Under The Sea
The Verge today released a beautifully written and designed feature on the rarely thought of network of undersea cables that transfer data around the world and the people who are responsible for installing and repairing them.
Here’s a blurb from the article:
The world’s emails, TikToks, classified memos, bank transfers, satellite surveillance, and FaceTime calls travel on cables that are about as thin as a garden hose. There are about 800,000 miles of these skinny tubes crisscrossing the Earth’s oceans, representing nearly 600 different systems, according to the industry tracking organization TeleGeography. The cables are buried near shore, but for the vast majority of their length, they just sit amid the gray ooze and alien creatures of the ocean floor, the hair-thin strands of glass at their center glowing with lasers encoding the world’s data.
In addition to learning about how we are presently managing these systems, there’s also some fascinating insight into the history of submarine communications cables, which were first laid in the 1850s (yes, that’s the middle of the 19th century, not a typo!).
This is a lengthy feature. It’s worth your time, if for no other reason than to gain a slightly better understanding of how incredible it is that we are all connected and can access virtually anything from anywhere in the world with little wait despite living on a planet that’s 71 percent water.
David Sparks on Avoiding Email
I don’t deal with email as a stay-at-home dad like I did when I was in management, and yet I’m still finding value from what David Sparks has written about email. Part one, about doing the hard stuff instead, is here. Part two focuses on email as a tool, and David makes this excellent point:
Despite its widespread use, email is not an efficient tool for all types of communication. We’ve overlooked its limitations in our attempt to make it do everything. It’s time we acknowledge that email is often the wrong tool for the job.
Give it a read. David knows his stuff and wants us to use our technology in the ways that best serve us.
Weekly Quote: Finding Opportunities in Challenges with Dr. Michael Gervais and The First Rule of Mastery
I've just finished The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You by Dr. Michael Gervais, and I really enjoyed it. It's the right mixture of social science, organizational psychology, and personal development, culminating in actionable advice aimed at helping us overcome one of the more powerful external actors in our lives: FOPO, or fear of other people's opinions.
When I shared this week's quote with a few friends, we all arrived at a similar conclusion: the idea that we should see challenges to our beliefs as an opportunity and not a threat is a great idea, but it's also difficult to actually make it a part of our daily practice.
As you know, I believe in productive struggle and know mistakes are the language of growth. This aspect of development is worth working on, regardless of how difficult it is.
Weekly Quote: The Daily Creative on Brilliance Hiding in Simplicity
This quote from Todd Henry’s Daily Creative: A Practical Guide for Staying Prolific, Brilliant, and Healthy reminds you not to give up on something because you already know it and because, in your mind, it’s the most basic element of something bigger.
You might think, “surely everyone knows this,” as you consider posting something on your blog or sharing an idea on your podcast. Even if your audience is aware of what you want to share, they probably don’t know as much as you do about it, and just as important, they don’t know what you think about it.
Other people are looking for what you know and need you to share. Your voice and perspective matter. They need you to help them grow in just the same way those who shaped you did. Don’t worry that you’re wasting other people’s time. Share what you know, and let them make the choice.
Excellence in the Dish Pit
I’ve watched this video a couple times following the crew of the dish pit at Brooklyn’s oldest restaurant, Gage & Tollner, and I so appreciate how the guys who form the backbone of keeping things clean do a difficult and unrelenting job skillfully with humility, focus, and respect.
Excellence is sometimes center stage, but so often, it’s happening in the back of the house. I always celebrate it, wherever it may be. Well done guys.
Jim Eagar Talks Repotting & Retirement on the Focused Podcast
My good friend Jim Eagar appeared on the Focused podcast last week to discuss the four phases of retirement and how to find our meaning and purpose in life.
I’m not even close to retirement, yet I found so much value and insight that applies to my experience. Regardless of where you are in your life, give this episode a listen. We all hope to grow old, and there are some thoughtful ideas here on how to do that with intentionality instead of by accident.
Weekly Quote: Adam Grant on the Power of Rethinking
This week’s quote comes from Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant, bringing to mind one example of rethinking from my professional life.
Several years ago, I offered my position on a topic that differed from what others thought during a meeting about an initiative we were putting together for a client. It wasn’t controversial, but there was some amicable disagreement among the leaders at the table about how we would proceed. We kept moving forward, deciding that my department would take a different tact that still met our shared goals.
The thing is, I was wrong. After a day or two of considering the situation and those involved and looking at the data and the planning with the added perspective of what my colleagues had said when we met, I changed my mind.
The following week, when we met to discuss updates on the project, I shared that I had changed my mind and agreed to adjust my department to more closely align with how they were proceeding. I wholeheartedly embraced my ability to rethink, and it made a difference. The project was more successful, not necessarily because I changed my mind (it was a relatively minor thing in this case), but because I was willing to do so, and my colleagues had a similar mindset. I didn’t let pride or stubbornness get in the way of finding the best outcome for the client.
The takeaway is this: Don’t be afraid to change your mind. Doing anything else feels like a waste of time. Don’t cling to your ideas just because they’re yours. Find the best ideas with which to make the best decisions, regardless of who introduced you to them. This is all just too important to do anything else.
Introducing the Building in Public Newsletter from 24 Letters: Sign Up to Receive a Journaling Quick Guide Today
Friends, I've been working on my first offering beyond the blog and newsletter, and I've decided to share the details of the building process via a revamp in my newsletter, now known as Building in Public.
I’ll also be giving anyone who subscribes and confirms their email address something that can help you in your journaling practice right now. More on that at the end of this post.
For now. You have questions? I've got answers. Read on.
What are you Working On?
I'm creating a guide to journaling. Now, I know this isn’t for everyone, but I'm kind of a nerd, and I think I could share some ideas that might prove helpful for you if you're starting or restarting, as the case so often is, your journaling practice.
Why?
I strongly feel that everyone could benefit from some sort of journaling practice. Whether you’re doing morning pages or an entry once a year on your birthday or something in between, there's a lot of value in writing things down to help figure it all out. I’ve written about these ideas here on the blog and on Threads, too.
I've been journaling for years, and it's helped me build confidence, feel more gratitude, and experience less anxiety. Journaling has helped me make difficult decisions and get through some tough times. A lot of people need help with that stuff, maybe even you, and journaling can be a part of that solution.
Okay, so what's the newsletter about?
I'm going to share my insights into the process of building this course and also offer updates and previews to subscribers. I'll email you roughly once a week and sometimes less frequently. We all get too much email, and I've had to talk myself into believing it's okay to offer this to people because going on this journey with me will provide some value to you.
What is the ultimate goal here?
In addition to building tools to help you in your journaling practice, I'm interested in developing something akin to a community of people interested in journaling, personal development, and the creative process. This isn't a thinly veiled sales funnel. I'm going to send you emails with fundamental ideas and authentic experiences.
Finally, as a thank you, I'll send you my quick guide Seven Thought-Provoking Prompts for Your Journaling Practice when you confirm your email.
I’ll be sending the first email out later this week. I hope you’ll join me.
Weekly Quote: Living on Our Own Terms With Dr. Michael Gervais
This week's quote comes from The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying About What People Think of You by Dr. Michael Gervais. Dr. Gervais is a high-performance psychologist who has worked with some of the top performers in sports, business, and the arts.
It is helpful to know that even the highest achievers in the world need help overcoming the struggle of weighing the opinions of others over our own. It's one of those character traits that many of us are so good at, and we practice it to our own detriment.
Here's another helpful note. It takes everyone's time and effort to get better at this, from the highest-performing athlete and Fortune 100 CEO to you and me. We all struggle with this, and we're all finding our way together.
The Pax Romana Podcast
If you find the history of the Roman Empire as fascinating as I do, check out The Pax Romana Podcast by Professor Colin Elliot.
From the show’s official description:
This podcast, hosted by historian and professor Colin Elliott, brings to life the stories and sources from the pivotal and fascinating age that followed the death of Julius Caesar and ended just after the reign of Marcus Aurelius. This period was called the Pax Romana—or the Roman Peace—and it was an age to remember—an age of emperors, wars, conspiracies, love affairs, decadence and so much more. New episodes each week, mid-week.
I’d start from the beginning, episodes aren’t long and you can really get a feeling for this era of history thanks to the style and storytelling skill from Professor Elliot.
Weekly Quote: David Sparks on Carrying Less Water
This week’s quote is from the recently released Productivity Field Guide from David Sparks. I’m a big fan of David’s work, including MacSparky and The Mac Power Users. I’m also a member of the Labs, where he shares even more to help us get the most out of our technology and be more productive and focused in the process.
He’s been working on the ideas in the Productivity Field Guide for a long time, and it shows. He takes a thoughtful approach to the topic and looks at It through the lens of planning and crafting your arete, that is, your ideal roles in your life. David is inspired by philosophers from the ages, citing some of my favorites, including the Stoics.
David encourages us to find a balance. We shouldn't do too much, likening that to trying to carry more water than our bucket can hold. But we also shouldn't allow fear to stand in the way of doing the work we are meant to do. That's an important balance, and again, the focus on your individual roles is a way to effectively measure how you're doing in the most critical parts of your life.
It’s also worth noting that David is a really nice guy who’s offered encouraging words in my creative journey and was even kind enough to feature my Home Screen when I was first starting out. Check out The Productivity Field Guide page out for a free 30+ minute sample and see if it’s for you. I bet it could help you in more ways than you realize.
Finding Focus: How I Fortify My Day With A Morning Reading Habit
Life holds a certain dissonance, even in the best of times. Joy comes with pain. Growth with sadness. Not to sound too much like Master Yoda here, but hopefully, you get my point. Life is messy and full of responsibility. People depend on us, and to be successful, we need all the help we can get.
In my own life, this is undoubtedly true. To help fortify my day, I take 15 or twenty minutes each morning to read a daily passage from several books and to review a selection of highlights from past reading. Aside from starting the day with a sense of accomplishment, it also offers me fresh insights related to essential roles in my life.
To accomplish this, I’m using my recently acquired iPad mini, whose primary purpose is to act as a personal reflection tool. I use it for reading, journaling, highlighting, and light note-taking.
The Books
Here's what I'm reading as part of this routine, as well as the corresponding role that it's aimed at improving:
The Daily Dad: 366 Meditations on Parenting, Love, and Raising Great Kids by Ryan Holiday
The Better Parent and Partner
This is the newest addition to my daily reading list. I'm on my first read-through and started it on January 1st. As the title implies, this book is helping me build my toolset as a father. The role of a father is among the most important to me, and as a stay-at-home parent, it's where I spend most of my time on a given day, so having this book as part of my startup is really helpful to remind me of my desire to be a helpful and loving father and husband.
The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday
The Better Human
Now on my fourth read-through, The Daily Stoic is the book that began my interest in Stoicism and daily learning, helping me realize that a few pages a day can be an antidote to the powerful feelings of self-doubt that lurk just outside our field of vision. The Daily Stoic helps to fortify me against my lack of control over external events and reminds me of my power to understand and shape my reaction to those events.
Daily Creative: Find Your Inspiration to Spark Creative Energy and Fight Burnout by Todd Henry
The Better Creative and Professional
My friend Jim suggested this book during one of our regular calls last year, and I enjoyed reading passages sporadically but didn’t quite commit. This year, I'm making it a part of my daily ritual. This feeds my creative self; I'm a better writer and thinker when that gets attention.
After finishing my morning reading, I switch to the second part of this routine and jump from the Kindle app on my iPad Mini to my preferred app that helps me manage and organize highlights from ebooks, articles, and email newsletters, Readwise.
Making and Reviewing Highlights
Much of what I think and write about is sparked by my reading. To manage highlights from things I've read, I use Readwise. I like that I can access all of my saved highlights via the app or the web, and they regularly email me with highlights and summaries to review. You can read more about how I use Readwise in this piece I wrote as part of the PKM Toolkit series.
While I'm reviewing highlights, I have two shortcuts at the ready. The first allows me to easily send a topic idea to a Craft document where I keep possible ideas of interest to write about. The second opens a mind map in Mindnode for a similar purpose. However, this is less focused on specific topic ideas and more on adding bits and pieces to projects or topics already in active development.
Building The Fortification
My daily reading practice is a powerful way to start my day in the right direction and help me build a foundation upon which to work to be a better dad, husband, human, and creative. While this habit is just part of my morning routine, it's crucial to any success I find during my day and offers an outsized reward for my time invested.
Weekly Quote: Ryan Holiday on Overthinking
I haven’t much to add other than to say that sometimes my morning reading really hits the mark.
Day One Introduces Shared Journals
From the Day One Blog:
“Today we’re excited to introduce Shared Journals in Day One, a new way for you to safely share life’s moments with friends and family, while upholding the privacy and security you trust.”
As a long-time user, I’m excited that Day One has added this to their app, thus continuing to set themselves apart in the digital journaling space. One of the best aspects of this service is while the creator of the shared journal needs a premium membership, anyone with a free membership can join.
Shared Journals are end-to-end encrypted, and adding or removing members is easy. Members can also comment on posts, which mimics what can be the best (and absolute worst) part of social media.
I'm going to try setting up a shared journal with my wife where we can document memorable moments with each other and our family that we want to share. This may be the opportunity I've been waiting for to get her interested in exploring a regular journaling habit, too.
Happy 40th to the Macintosh
Apple announced The Macintosh 40 years ago today. There’s a lot of great content being written and shared right now, including multiple posts from Stephen Hackett at 512 Pixels. Jason Snell also offers his reflections on Six Colors and The Verge. For podcast fans, check out Walt Mossberg’s recollections on The Vergecast.
I bought my first Mac in February of 2003, a 15- inch Aluminum G4 PowerBook, which changed my journey into technology. While it’s not turned into a career (not yet, anyway), my interest in Apple and tech generally has become a hobby and something I’ve been deeply interested in since then.
Cheers to my fellow nerds who are celebrating today!
Beat Quit Day by Turning Your Resolution Into A Habit
We're entering the period of January when people are most likely to quit on the goals and resolutions they set for the New Year. Strava, the popular fitness app maker, calls January 19th "Quitters Day."
Don't give up. Instead, change your perspective. As I wrote on this day in 2023:
Change from the resolution mindset to a habit-building one. If you're trying to do something this year, take it in small increments, make a plan you can realistically follow, celebrate your wins, and give yourself grace when you miss the workout or don't write in your journal like you wanted. It happens, don't let that be an excuse for giving up on something important.
Another thought I shared in the latest issue of my newsletter:
Think of a resolution as a wish. It’s a nice thought, a dream you’d like to have come true, but without action, there’s often little more than a random chance that it will happen.
If your resolution was to go to the gym two times a week but you’ve only made it there a few times, that’s okay. Don’t stop going to the gym because you didn’t live up to a resolution that was based more on hope than what you could actually do.
Instead, Build a new habit, go to the gym once a week. Reevaluate at the beginning of the next quarter and see if you want to change that. See if you CAN change that. build the habit based on what you can do, not based on what you thought you should do because of all those “new year, new you” advertisements that clutter your screens.
I’m full of grace for the last few weeks. I haven’t published anything, although I have done some writing that I'll be sharing soon. My kids have needed more of me, and I’m always here for them. I appreciate your patience, too.
Turning Two
Two years ago, I launched this site into the world. Last year, I shared some thoughts when discussing the transition I had made to a stay-at-home from the working world:
I quickly realized that I still had an overwhelming desire to be creative and find a new way to continue my favorite part of being in a leadership role, giving people the tools and ideas to develop, grow, and become stronger versions of themselves. That philosophy of empowerment is central to what I'm doing because I want to guide people to learn things that help improve their lives.
This remains a focus of what I'm trying to do here, particularly as some of my focus for action shifts towards helping people develop meaningful journaling practices.
There's so much to journaling beyond putting pen, whether digital or analog, to the page. It's about mindset, what you're reading, who inspires you, what your inputs are, and where you're trying to go. It's also about your past and how the more you can understand that, the better your future will often be. It's as much about the mistakes we make as the successes we have.
In short, it's an analog for living.
I'm thankful you're here, whether you are brand new to this site or have been with me since the beginning. This year, I want to make it less about me shouting into the Internet and more about you and us connecting in new ways. Let's make it happen.
The Fresh Start Effect: Why You're Compelled to Make New Year’s Resolutions
If you feel compelled to make a New Year resolution, there's some science behind that. At the beginning of last year, I wrote about the Fresh Start Effect, which Dan Pink wrote about in his excellent book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. Dan referenced research that demonstrated how using a significant date as a temporal landmark to start something new was helpful in our navigation of time.
You can read my whole piece here, which includes a brief summary of the differences between social and personal landmarks and offers some basic tips on sticking with it. Remember to check out Dan's book, too; I read it in 2022 and still reference it regularly.
It's worth noting that most resolutions, even with the best intentions, do not stick. That's largely down to a misunderstanding of the power of habits and an inability to change those negative soundtracks that get stuck in our heads. Some further reading offers helpful insights to making successful resolutions beyond just stating a goal to your fellow revelers over champagne while watching the Death Star blow up.
Jon Acuff on Fear And Faith
In just six words, Jon Acuff makes his point beautifully. It’s easy to be scared, but it takes a regular and concerted effort to persevere and move forward with anything resembling courage.