⭐️ Quotes

Creativity isn't always pretty in the early stages.

But if you believe in the long-term vision, then with enough time and nurturing you can turn your passion into something remarkable.

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In the old days, metal blades were sharpened by grinding two of them together until both became sharper, more effective tools. Similarly, you will gain much wisdom in life by interacting with other people who are also looking to gain wisdom.

Find like-minded individuals who have similar life goals as you. You’ll learn from each other’s mistakes, help each other think better, and grow together.

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📜 Articles

​On Wasting Time​

This was a fun article that looked at time differently. Most of the push these days is on using time "wisely;" and by that people usually mean that you should always be doing something productive. If it's work, then you should be delivering results. If it's rest, then you should be reading a book. If it's exercise, then you should be going hard.

This article argues that there is value in what people traditionally call "wasting time." The center piece is the (possibly fiction, but still illustrative) story about "Picasso and the woman." There are many variations of it, but the author presents this interesting one:

The obvious, surface-level lesson from this is that skill can't be measured by time, only results. But there is a deeper, more meaningful lesson too: there is a lot of value in "wasting time."

Picasso went to that restaurant hundreds of times. He didn't draw each time he went, which some people would consider "wasting time".... Yet it wasn't. Each visit he got to rest, take in the sounds, scenery, and taste of the food. Eventually, when inspiration struck, he drew something beautiful.

There was no clear reason that inspiration struck him that day. He didn't force himself to sit down and draw. But his wasting time allowed his mind to rest, wander, and float freely. Once it was inspired and had a masterpiece at hand, it led Picasso forward. Wasting time is necessary to allow the mind to do what it does best.

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​Managing Your Emotions During a Negotiation​

There are plenty of books, articles, and videos out there about how to negotiate. You can probably find a step-by-step plan and set of tactics that tell you the exact, research-backed methods of how to negotiate. But it's a lot different when you go and actually do it. Things don't turn out exactly as you planned and emotions come into play. To get great at negotiating, you need to know how to manage your emotions effectively.

This article offers a 4-step process for managing your emotions during a negotiation. They're perfect for calming down, recentering, and winning the negotiation.

1. Understand your triggers -- Think about the things that could happen that would throw you off. What if they reject your offer? What if they disagree? What if their proposal is terrible? By thinking about all the possible scenarios ahead of time, you can go into the negotiation a lot calmer
2. Plan for a different emotional response -- Now that you've identified your triggers you should make a concrete, logical plan for how you will react if they happen. If they give you a low offer, what will your response be? If they disagree with you, what other data will you bring to the table to convince them? This gives you backup ammo to work with
3. During the conversation, notice your triggers, and move on -- Even when you've done the above two, it's still natural to get triggered in such a tense situation. That's when you need to make an effort to slow things down. Take a deep breath and think in silence; don't feel pressured to respond. The silence will flip the pressure back onto the other person while giving you time to regain your composure and give one of the logical responses you planned in #2
4. Adapt to the situation -- No matter how much you've prepared, you may find out that the other person genuinely has different expectations. Perhaps they really do have a limit on budget or really can't meet your demands. Now you'll need to adapt to the situation. What other opportunities are there to negotiate? Can you come back to the discussion in the future? What else can you do from your side to make things more reasonable? Be adaptable

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📚 Books

​Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know​

Think Again by Adam Grant is a book about thinking more effectively. The key theme throughout the book is the idea of deliberately challenging your own assumptions and ideas. Doing so forces you to think about your problems in new ways that can lead to better solutions. It presents many scientific studies as well as fun stories that vividly illustrate the lessons.

Here are my top takeaways from the book:

• Be adaptable in your thinking -- An intelligent person can come up with solutions to problems quickly. But in today's constantly changing world, being quick isn't enough. If the world is constantly changing, then so are the optimal solutions to your problems. To be an effective problem solver, you have to (A) Unlearn what you accepted to be true before (B) Actively seek out new solutions
• Dunning-Kruger Effect -- When you lack knowledge or experience in something, it's hard to comprehend the limitations of your incompetence. This leads to overconfidence and dangerous mental blocks thinking that you know it all. Of course, you don't want to have no confidence at all as that leads to poor performance. It's best to strike a balance: Assume that there is always more to learn so that you're encouraged to improve. At the same time, be confident in your ability to execute, such that you take action firmly. This combination gives you the best chance to succeed in any situation
• Think like a scientist -- Scientific thinking helps you make better decisions. Scientists run experiments to test if a hypothesis is true; they don't conclude anything until they see results. Similarly, when you're making an important decision: test, test, test, then decide once you have enough concrete evidence
• Imposter system is a good thing -- For three reasons: (1) If you see yourself as the underdog, you'll naturally push yourself to improve and get competitive. (2) It motivates you to work smarter; you feel like you've got nothing to lose which encourages you to be creative and bold. (3) It motivates you to learn more as you're hungry to fill in the gap in knowledge that you think you have

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🎥 Videos

​Why books are here to stay​

If you love physical books like I do, then this video is going to feel super, super good. It talks about why physical books are so valuable and why they're here to stay, for a very long time.

Books are a technology of their own. They started out as markings on stone or clay, then evolved to hand-written paper binded between two pieces of wood, then came the original printing press, and finally the modern books that we know today. This cycle of evolution shows that the value of books is very high and makes its way through evolution and technological changes. Books will stay, even if they look physically different 1000 years from now.

Being a physical object, books have very special properties that make us love them. We can carry them around wherever we go, have special rooms for them in our homes, and gift them to people we care about. Physical books are better than ebooks and audiobooks because they can't be turned off. They're almost like a real living being, a being that you can communicate with, learn from, and enjoy life with.

A great book is an experience: the smell, the feel, the intellectual stimulation; all of these contribute to the joy that is reading a physical book. You carry that experience with you for life even after putting the book back onto the shelf.

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​The art of paying attention​

Wendy MacNaughton is an illustrator and graphic artist at the New York Times. In this talk, she discusses the art of paying attention to other people.

Wendy argues that the biggest issue people have when it comes to paying attention to others is that they often use "shorthand interpretations". We're so used to the world bombarding us with information that our brains create a filtering mechanism. Instead of really seeing, hearing, and interpreting exactly what the other person is trying to communicate, we only get what we expect that they're trying to communicate. Our brain tries to fill in the blanks.

The problem with this is that filling in the blanks makes us miss the point. We're filling in information with what we think, rather than what the reality is. The person is communicating the reality, but we're glossing over it and making up our own version.

So what does Wendy suggest for us to pay attention? Drawing.

Drawing, especially when drawing a person, forces you to slow down and take your time. You really focus on what you're looking at and process every detail. You don't skip over things because you see it right in front of you. It's clear.

The same thing goes for paying attention. You have to slow down just like you would if you were drawing. Take your time and focus on the details: every word, tone of voice, body language, and deeper message that the other person is trying to convey. When you slow down your mind, it'll stop filling in the blanks. Then you'll be capturing the reality of what the other person is communicating to you.

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🖼️ Beautiful Picture

Florence vibes

Photo by Mark Boss on Unsplash​