Hi there,

I hope many of our readers are slowing down as we head into the holiday week in the US. We're flying to Pittsburgh to visit family in a few hours, but I couldn't resist a hot take on the US Constitution drama.

As we head into the busy holiday season, we wanted to offer you a 4-day workshop to pause, reflect and improve your mental clarity. Join my dear friend (and longtime teacher) Andrew Taggart and I for our free and live 4-day Meditation Challenge beginning on December 7th.

Why I didn't bid on the US Constitution

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This week, we witnessed one of the greatest Internet rabbit holes since the 28.8k modem came to the scene in the early 90s.

For a few bucks, you could buy a slice of the US constitution.

Yup, we the people could be owned by the people.

It was a remarkable feat watching a collective of Internet strangers come together to pool $40 million worth of actual greenbacks into an LLC and show up at the doorsteps of the storied Sotheby's auction house.

And while their plans were usurped by a hedge fund billionaire, the frenzy took place in Discord servers, tweetstorms, blog posts, mainstream media and in the daily gyrations of all the coins.

As I started to put the wheels in motion to try to buy $20 worth of the constitution, I ran it through one of my trusted algorithms to facilitate the decision-making process:

The algo made it easy. It said: "Pass."

Here are this week's top reads:

// one

Why abstaining may be easier than you think

4 minutes | Gretchen Rubin
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As a self-described "intense person" I'm either all-in or not invested. I don't do particularly well in the gray area of moderation. And whether it's cutting back on French Fries, Skinny Margaritas or dark chocolate, I jived with Rubin's assessment that, for many, abstaining is the path of least resistance.

→ Read the post​

// two

This popular remote work advice is wrong (and you’re probably following it)

4 minutes | Remotely Interesting
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Working from a single designated work place (typically a desk) was a method long ago adopted by company's trying to maximize the number of workers that could fit in a space. But when we WFH, this “one desk” rule may actually work against us for two reasons: it doesn’t optimize for different types of work and it doesn’t optimize for personal modes of working. Our specific work location should be be influenced by how we're feeling and what we're trying to accomplish (and what room the kids find themselves in 😉).

→ Read the post​

// three

Does having kids make you happy?

4 minutes | The Atlantic
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Research has shown that the first couple years of parenthood take a deep toll on a marriage. Obviously we can't extrapolate that over a lifetime, so when it comes to kids making us happy - what gives? On the day-to-day level, the answer is: meh (see: sleep deprivation, financial struggle, and overall stress). But studies show that when parents reflect on their lives, their memories recall raising children as wellspring of joy. What if real meaning, and the deep attachment parents feel to their children, supersedes the need to feel happy all the time?

→ Read the article​

// four

Retirees spend a lot of time and money to buy their ‘forever home.’ Then they sell it.

5 minutes | The Wall Street Journal
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​"There are no external solutions to internal problems" is a personal mantra that becomes more true with each passing year. And while this article itself is non-descript, the simple concept of a "forever home" is flawed. As Whitman says, "I contain multitudes" and we often delude ourselves into believing that anything we can acquire can bring lasting joy and peace.

→ Read the article​

// five

Let's buy the US Constitution

17 minute | Not Boring
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This week, a chunk of the Internet was consumed by the real-time excitement (or absurdity) of a crypto-backed DAO (Distributed Automated Organization) trying to buy a copy of the US constitution. Things moved at a feverish pace and the post below spearheaded some of the activity.

Since the auction concluded, I've enjoyed reading these concluding observations and these tweet storms on the schadenfreude of the winning bid, how DAOs could facilitate disaster relief, and the tricky art of distributed governance. (S/O to my Web3 sherpa @alexhughsam.)
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→ Read the post​

Below the fold

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LAST WEEK'S MOST READ

• ​Tech billionaires and their outdated iPhones (RadReads, 1,006 clicks)
• ​Write 5x more but write 5x less (Mike Crittenden, 535 clicks)

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And finally, an advent calendar on how much we'll complain about Daylight Savings.

With gratitude and Happy Thanksgiving,

Khe

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