30+ lessons on focus, avoiding distraction, and living an intentional life from the conversation between @nireyal and @shaneaparrish on @TKPPodcast

(and why you shouldn't have a to-do list)

A thread 👇

It used to be that you'd live in a small town and wouldn't see the world.

Now we're used to seeing the entire rest of the world and the things we don't have, and we constantly want something more.

The Social Dilemma documentary leaves out the entire other side of the argument, and misconstrues a lot of things.

An example is that suicide in specific groups of people have fallen dramatically, often because they find peers online.

I've read all kinds of books on a range of topics, all focused on one thing: how to live a better life.

I've consolidated the learnings that I repeatedly find useful.

Here's a thread of 72 of them 👇

Habits are the first topic.

They form the basis of everything we do.

Good habits = good life.

Bad habits = bad life.

The best book on habits is Atomic Habits by @JamesClear. Read it.

Focus on the process, not the goal.

All habits start with a change we'd like to make.

Focusing too much on the end goal is discouraging.

Instead, focus on building the process required to get there.

Reach your process goal every day.

The results will come.

Enjoyed the @creatorlabfm podcast between @bzaidi and @waitbutwhy

Here are some takeaways 👇

Working for yourself often gives macro happiness: you're satisfied with where you are in life.

It can cause micro issues though, when you have no one to report to and everything to do.

One way to tell if you truly understand something: do you feel foggy about it?

If so, it's probably an indication that you need to dig in more.

Listened to a wonderful conversation between @jackbutcher @david_perell @anafabrega11 @will_mannon @rebecca_olason on becoming a creator and building a personal monopoly.

Here are 30+ takeaways 👇

The three parts to build a personal monopoly:
• Curiosity: what do you care about?
• Competence: what are you good at?
• Character: who are you?

Often curiosity manifests in combining multiple interests or fields (and competence in those fields).

Really enjoyed the @creatorlabfm podcast with @ShaanVP and @bzaidi

Here are some of my favourite takeaways 👇

On working at a startup vs. a big company: there are pros and cons to each.

In big companies, you work less, get paid a lot, don't fear death everyday, and that's nice.

In a broader sense, life is what you make of it. You can enjoy life at a big company or a startup.

Startups are like infants. You shouldn’t be distracted.

Bigger companies allow you more freedom.

The @farnamstreet podcast between @m2jr and @ShaneAParrish was full of lessons on leadership, mental models for startups, and building great teams.

Here are 50+ takeaways 👇

Side note: @m2jr is one of the most well-spoken podcast guests I've ever heard.

A company has products, a supply change, resources and processes and values and capabilities that give them a market position.

A startup has none of these.

There are no shortcuts to success.

Only those that provide two things: value & consistency.

Today's atomic essay 👇 (thread below)

One of my favourite questions: Are you playing the long game? Or the short game?

(h/t @farnamstreet)

Hacks and shortcuts don’t win long-term.

The only way to succeed long-term is to provide two things: value and consistency.

Trying a little experiment today, and sending out the newsletter on Sunday instead!

In the newsletter that just went out 👇

In this week's newsletter:
• Sapiens book notes
• @ThisIsSethsBlog on mood as a skill
• @david_perell's learnings from 2020
• @JanelSGM's journey to $20K
• @Alex_Danco on Canada's tech scene
• @Julian's writing guide
• @americascup the most exciting sailing competition

And this week's featured tweets:
• @AliAbdaal on how he'd start from scratch today
• @lennysan on how to improve your team's speed
• @alicellemee on the creator economy
• Thread on the takeaways from @bzaidi & @jackbutcher

The @farnamstreet podcast between @photomatt and @ShaneAParrish was excellent.

Here are 40+ things I learned, quotes and highlights👇

When it comes to starting companies, the market trumps everything else.

Communities are a competitive advantage.

All would-be creators wonder: "What am I an expert in? What can I teach?"

And most of us think: "Nothing."

We know much more than we think.

(thread below)👇

The first question would-be creators ask: “What am I an expert in? What can I teach?”

Imposter syndrome says: “Nothing. You aren’t an expert. There’s still so much you don’t know. You can’t teach.”

The more we learn about a subject, the less certain we become.

A ton of learnings from the conversation between @jackbutcher and @bzaidi on Creator Lab

40+ takeaways 👇

FYI, this is episode 2 with @jackbutcher, so check out the first for more tactics and his story

The economics of the creator economy have changed in the last decade.

You no longer need a huge audience to make a living.

1000 true fans to 100 true fans.

I enjoyed It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work so much that I went back and re-read Rework by @jasonfried and @dhh

Here are 40+ ideas, quotes and highlights 👇

Don't learn from your mistakes. Learn from successes: they tell you what does work.

Plan short-term, because we suck at planning.

Long-term planning just doesn't work.

We're all using the wrong terms for remote work.

Today's atomic essay (thread below)👇

One of the early adopters of remote work was @photomatt, founder of Wordpress.

He now runs Automattic, Wordpress’s parent company, with 1300 employees who are all remote.

Except they don’t call it remote. They call it distributed.

For Matt, language matters. No one wants to be remote.

Remote work is here to stay.

But there's a cost: culture.

Today's atomic essay (thread below) 👇

There is now more remote work than ever.

Entire industries are shifting to be remote.

But there is a hidden cost: culture.

Culture is the name for how it feels to work at a particular place.

It may include things like speed and execution but it also includes things like camaraderie and humour.

Love this piece on writing...so many gems: poynter.org/reporting-edit…

11. Prefer the simple over the technical.

Use shorter words, sentences and paragraphs at points of complexity.

21. Know when to back off and when to show off.

When the topic is most serious, understate; when least serious, exaggerate.

Making mistakes sucks.

But most of us are terrible at it.

Here's a thread about why we're wired that way, why it's important, and how to fight it 👇

Making mistakes sucks.

It happens to all of us.

We make a mistake and we think about how it could have been prevented.

We think about who will be disappointed, and the consequences.

We feel shame, disappointed with ourselves, angry, and then sorry for ourselves. Repeat.

The thing is, mistakes are unavoidable.

We're all going to make them.

And they will be even more frequent when we try to do hard things, or important things, or new things.

Making mistakes well is how we learn and how we improve.

I just finished blasting through @jackbutcher's Build Once, Sell Twice.

Inspiring and actionable.

Recommend to anyone interested in separating their time from their income.

Here's the summarized version 👇

Build once, sell twice is about creating leverage from your specific knowledge.

Your specific knowledge is a combination of knowledge, skills and experiences that is unique to you, and that can help other people.

Other people want to be able to do what you can do. Help them.

It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work by @dhh and @jasonfried was one of the best books about work I read this year.

Here are 40+ takeaways 👇

Meetings should be a last resort.

The default for communication at work should be: asynchronous first, real-time second.

The conversation between @jackbutcher and @ShaanVP was full of gems

Here are 30+ key takeaways 👇

State the obvious.

9 times out of 10 we all have a version of "obvious" that is different from others.

An audience is a superpower that lets you dabble in all kinds of things.