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12 tweets,
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1/ After a couple hundred longform blog posts I think I’ve finally figured out what my writing/work is “about”: personal effectiveness in the digital age. But the underlying principles, mindset, and methods enabled by technology, not tips and tricks and which app to use
2/ I’ve resisted being part of the productivity tips world because honestly, my advice isn’t easy to implement. They’re long-cuts, not shortcuts. I’m not really interested in the easy way to do things, but the hard way that brings unreasonable rewards
3/ But I’ve also resisted being part of the “philosophy of success” market, because it never helped me as much as specific, actionable advice. I insist on being fundamentally rooted in real world effectiveness, or else it just becomes feel-good mush
4/ But I’ve also resisted being part of the hyper-rational, hyper-strategic world. Because I don’t think the world actually makes sense, or is something we should try to rationalize and control. That makes life much less rich and interesting
5/ But I also can’t stand spiritualists who surrender, transcend, let go of everything. There’s too many problems in the world. Too much suffering. We have a responsibility to give back to those less fortunate. And I believe life is meant to be experienced, not transcended
6/ But I also am annoyed by perennial do-gooders. The self righteousness and alarmist catastrophizing is manipulative and not needed. I don’t ultimately believe there is anything wrong with the world. The world is not a problem to be fixed
7/ So basically everyone annoys me and every group I might be part of I refuse to be :) This makes it hard to spread my message beyond a very small, very patient niche of similarly self-exiling people. And I want to spread it, because I believe it changes lives
8/ What I’m wondering now is, should I try to change my voice/message/approach/style/framing to try and reach the masses, OR focus on empowering and equipping my fellow nerds so they can do so? I genuinely don’t know
9/ It’s hard for me to distinguish the path of least resistance, which I generally advocate for, and the path of most comfort, which I generally advocate against. I can’t tell the difference between trying to change myself, and learning new skills that expand my repertoire
10/ How can you tell at which point in an idea’s journey from obscurity to ubiquity you’re meant to play a part in? Am I David Allen, or his mentor, or his mentor’s mentor? Or maybe the idea is already way overdue from a long line of great thinkers, and it just needs repackaging?
11/ Pretty arrogant to think I’m in the “main ancestral line” of an idea as important as extended cognition actually. Maybe I’m a trivial sideshow, or an aberrant deviation. Maybe I’m the cautionary tale of what not to do, and the real messenger is coming later
12/ Actually it’s probably more like a vast undulating wave than one genealogical line. Basic question for me right now seems to be: fight my way toward the mainstream but against my tendencies, OR accept my place in the great chain of thinking and not worry about it too much
