Hey there,

We hope our US-based friends are having a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend. And while at RadReads, we didn't do offer any anxiety-inducing Black Friday specials, we do have an upcoming workshop on an age-old and frustrating question: What does it mean to be happy?

Beginning on December 11th, I'll be collaborating with my long-time coach Andrew Taggart on a live 2-day workshop to explore the foundation of happiness, get unstuck, and put it all into practice.

As we lead up to the workshop, Andrew and I will be hosting a free and live 4-day Meditation Challenge beginning on December 7th.

The company that pays you $1,000 to not check your email

I was asked this heavy question from a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed MBA student at a recent talk.

"You know there's a company that pays you $1,000 to take the week off," I responded.

"But there's a rub," I continued.

"In order to collect the money you need to satisfy two conditions. You are not allowed to log onto Slack or check your email."

In a lecture room where half the students were aspiring to be bankers or consultants - I could see their jaws hit the floor.

I wasn't fibbing. The company is called ConvertKit and here's a tweet about their "paid paid" vacation policy. (Full Disclosure: I have a small investment in the company, but they had zero influence on this article.)

While this didn't necessarily alleviate the existential angst of these MBAs searching for their dream jobs, it provided an aha moment for many.

They realized that there were jobs out there that gave you space to live your life, take care of your physical and mental health and spend time with your families - all while making a good living.

But it also fell short of answering the question: Does the perfect job exist?

It turns out that "job" (like "money" and "success") is a container for many things we hold dear in our lives.

You can think of a job as a "container" for:

• Financial security
• Identity and status
• Flexibility
• Craftsmanship
• Impact and meaning
• Learning
• Socialization

And if you evaluate a job - any job - through this lens, you'll realize that the perfect job is in the eye of the beholder.

Let's take Wall Street Wally:

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Here are this week's top reads:

// one

Climbing the wrong hill

3 minutes | cdixon
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What do you want to be working on in 10 years? In a rapid-changing world, this isn't an easy question to answer. Especially if a career pivot requires you to take a lateral move (or god forbid, a few steps backwards). Pair that with the sunk cost fallacy and you see why it's so hard to leave a comfy job with a known trajectory. Yet in staying put, you might be optimizing for the wrong outcome (i.e. the local maximum vs the global maximum).

→ Read the post​

// two

The best leaders are feedback magnets — here’s how to become one

10 minutes | First Round Review
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There is so much advice out there on how to give better feedback, but let's invert: how do attract useful feedback? First, learn how to manage your knee-jerk reactions by reframing feedback as an opportunity to grow and assuming good intent. Second, empower your colleagues to share more by narrowing your question, calling it “advice” instead of “feedback,” and getting colleagues invested. Check out Shivani's free workshop How to be an Influential Leader.

→ Read the post​

// three

Time blocking: TikTok's viral time management strategy. Does it work?

4 minutes | USA Today

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TikTok's always home to the hottest productivity trends, right? Time blocking helps you bring purpose and intentionality into your week by scheduling your days in advance. This approach can help you combat well-known time traps (like Parkinson's Law) and can ensure you don't operate in constant "react mode." It's taken me a long time to adapt the approach, but with regular prodding (from my colleague Marian) I'm absolutely becoming a convert.

→ Read the article​

// four

'I Hate Work!'

13 minutes | Ask Polly
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Honestly, I'm not sure what human doesn't need to hear this advice essay from Heather Havrilesky's Ask Polly. It's technically about building the career you want, but it's really about taking care of yourself. It's the pep talk we all need on treating yourself with kindness and care, respecting your own needs (and trusting that those needs are valid), and putting a halt to the false voice in our head that tells us we're a hot mess.

→ Read the post​

// five

Will real estate ever be normal again?

15 minute | The New York Times
​

I can't attend a single kids' birthday without hour-long conversations on America’s altered real estate market. (And as a longtime renter, I have occasional FOMO.) Home prices nationwide have gone up by 20+ percent since the start of the pandemic, which has led to online shopping for houses, multiple offers as a given and a cutthroat competitiveness once reserved for only the US’ major cities.
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→ Read the article​

// from our community

Capital Allocators is the critically acclaimed podcast for institutional investors and my friend Ted Seides interviews the who’s who of asset owners, money managers, and thought leaders (including yours truly).

This holiday season, Capital Allocators is offering a 20% discount on its premium membership and private access to unique job openings in the institutional investing space. Join the Capital Allocators Community and subscribe to Premium today.

Below the fold

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LAST WEEK'S MOST READ

• ​Why I didn’t bid on the US Constitution (RadReads, 665 clicks)
• ​Why abstaining may be easier than you think (Gretchen Rubin, 454 clicks)

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And finally, looking to show your boss that you're "active" at work? Thankfully we have mouse jugglers.

With gratitude,

Khe

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