No. 535 — July 30th, 2023 — Read on FS — Free Version

Insight

The power of curiosity in problem-solving.

“[Problem solving] has to do with curiosity. It has to do with people wondering, ‘What makes something do something?’ And then to discover, when you try to get answers, that they’re related to each other. The things that make the wind make the waves, and the motion of the water is like the motion of air, [which] is like the motion of sand.”

— Richard Feynman

TKP

Part two of Dr. Julie Gurner dropped this week, and like the first episode, she was a fountain of wisdom. Here are a few lightly edited insights that stood out in ep #2.

"A lot of people say, “If you want to be happy, don’t have expectations.” And I think that’s a really good way to be unhappy for the rest of your life because … if you don’t have expectations, you will just put up with everything. I mean, you don’t expect anything for yourself. With high expectations, with [a] kind of enforceability around that, you’re not going to put up with a bad relationship, a bad work environment, a bad employee, all of these types of things."

"If you are looking for a partner to build with, you’re going to look for different traits and qualities than somebody who just clocks in and clocks out."

"You have to care deeply to be able to challenge directly, and … somebody has to know that you care deeply about who they are in their role, that you care about their performance, that this is coming from a place that’s meant to make them better. And if it’s not coming from that place, and it’s coming from a place of punishing or shaming or humiliating or dominating, it’s not a really effective thing to do. But people can take hard feedback from people that they know are in their corner."

"We all have bad moments, bad minutes, bad hours, but we don’t have to have bad days."

Listen and Learn

Tiny Thought

Contrary to what we’re led to believe, clear thinking is often the result of the position you are in at the time of the decision.

Even a genius looks ordinary if circumstances force them into a bad position.

The best position themselves to win before the game even starts. Tom Brady couldn't show up on Sunday and perform if he didn't put in the reps first. By studying film, eating healthy, stretching, and practicing, he puts himself in a position to win. It's not just sports, the best in business do the same thing.

An underrated element of doing your best is the position you are in when you need to perform.

History is littered with successful people who positioned themselves to win and took advantage of the storm.

You can position yourself to win no matter the circumstances. There is always something you can do to improve your current position.

Eating well, saving money, sleeping, preparing for your next job, taking on more responsibility at work, removing people from your life who drag you down, reading and learning, etc.

When you master your circumstances, every path is a winner. When your circumstances master you, things quickly go from bad to worse.

Over a long enough time horizon, positioning beats predicting.

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Etc.

The Resourceful Life

“I used to think of resourcefulness as a kind of practical intelligence, but I’ve recently started thinking of it as a combination of an energy state, an attitude, and an unexamined philosophy.”

— Source

Turn daily learning into quantifiable skills employers recognize.

Cheers,
— Shane

P.S. Oddly fascinating.