Jan 21, 2024 — No. 560 — Read on FS.blog — Free Version

FS

“Resentment has always worked for me exactly as it worked for Carson. I cannot recommend it highly enough to you if you desire misery. Johnson spoke well when he said that life is hard enough to swallow without squeezing in the bitter rind of resentment.”

— How to Guarantee a Life of Misery

Insight(s)

1.

“When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story.”

— Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

2.

“You’re only as good as you’re willing to be bad…The fact that you’re not going to be good at something or that you’re going to fail at something—that’s OK. Because you’re never going to get good unless you’re willing to be bad.”

— Randall Stutman

3.

“I see a lot of people with talent but the one thing they don’t have is that just love of doing it for the sake of it.”

— Rodney Mullen

Tiny Thought(s)

1.

Competence is often less of a problem than confidence.

An underrated aspect of doing anything hard is believing in yourself. Action creates both confidence and momentum.

When action seems hard, narrow the gap between where you are and what you focus on.

A marathoner who hits a wall running at mile 5 doesn't focus on the end of the race; they focus on getting around the next corner. Then, the next corner.

What's the smallest step you can take right now to make progress?

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2.

Left unchecked organizations default to bureaucracy. People default to distraction.

It doesn't take long for 3 priorities to become 10. It doesn't take long for 2 people in a meeting to become 8. It doesn't take long to move from people making decisions to committees.

The most productive organizations and people spend a lot of energy fighting what feels good in pursuit of what gets results.

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TKP

Your partner, boss, best friend, neighbor, and even that stranger at the coffee shop all have seemingly imperceptible behaviors that signal what they might be thinking at any moment. Imagine if you could read those. That’s what Blake Eastman has spent his entire life doing, and in this conversation, he shares everything he knows.

"I truly believe that most world-class presenters are thinking about their audience and not about themselves. They’re not trying to come across a certain way."

— Blake Eastman

Farnam Street Members get perks that aren’t available anywhere else. Sign up today to get access to valuable resources to help you get answers, make better decisions, and take advantage of opportunities.

Thanks for reading,

— Shane
Author of Clear Thinking

P.S. I wish I could do this.

P.P.S. We don't run many events. But this one is special.