3-2-1: A paradox of life, how to find time to write, and three factors that lead to a high performance culture

Happy 3-2-1 Thursday!

Here are 3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider this week.

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I.

"When you need to learn quickly, learn from others.

When you need to learn deeply, learn from experience."

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​II.

"If two people have the same goal, you know nothing about the similarity of their results. But if two people have the same daily habits, you can infer quite a bit about the similarity of their results. Your results are largely a byproduct of your habits."

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III.

"A paradox of life is that the greatest returns come in the long-term, but the opportunity cost of moving slowly is huge.

Long-term thinking is not slow acting.

Act fast on things that compound. Never let a day pass without doing something that will benefit you in a decade."

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I.

Author Julia Cameron on how to find time to write (or do anything, really):

"The "if I had time" lie is a convenient way to ignore the fact that novels require being written and that writing happens a sentence at a time. Sentences can happen in a moment. Enough stolen moments, enough stolen sentences, and a novel is born — without the luxury of time."

Source: The Right to Write​

​II.

Frank Slootman, CEO of Snowflake Computing, explains three factors that lead to a high performance culture:

"Our companies ran at higher velocity, with higher standards and a narrower focus than most. Going faster, maintaining higher standards and with a narrower aperture. Sounds simple? The question is how you go about amping up your organization. How much faster do you run? How much higher are your standards? How hard do you focus? It is a performance ‘triad’ because they amplify each other. The compound effect can be electrifying.

It is breathtaking how slow, substandard and unfocused many companies out there get through the day. And think nothing of it. The lack of energy is palatable. There is performance upside everywhere. As a leader, your opportunity is to reset in each of these dimensions. You do it in every single conversation, meeting, and encounter. You look for and exploit every single opportunity to step up the pace, expect a higher quality outcome, and narrow the plane of attack. Then, you relentlessly follow up and prosecute at every turn."

Source: Amp It Up! (Hat tip to David Perell)

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Where am I spending energy trying to please someone who actually doesn't care?

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Want to share this issue of 3-2-1 via text, social media, or email? Just copy and paste this link:

​https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/march-2-2023​

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Until next week,

James Clear
​Author of Atomic Habits and keynote speaker​​

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p.s. What happens when a 20-year-old gets his own apartment...