#7: the real you
What’s on my mind
What separates great creations from the rest is how much of the artist, the creator, or the presenter you sense in them.
Great creators clearly communicate their vision.
They’re themselves.
And often, when a piece of art grabs your attention, or a speech deeply resonates, it’s because you feel that authenticity in them.
Their “own way of fracturing reality”.
Next time you’re choosing or starting a project, ask yourself, how closely it matches you.
And how it makes you “come alive”.
The world needs more of that.
This week’s stories
📝 Letter on living a meaningful life
Hume Logan asked his 22-year old friend, Hunter, for some advice back in April 1958. It’s fascinating how pure and timeless his wisdom is.
What I like about the entire letter is Hunter’s focus on, “what works for me might not work for you”:
… all advice can only be a product of the man who gives it. What is truth to one may be disaster to another. I do not see life through your eyes, nor you through mine.
For me, this is one I’ll keep going back to again and again for constant reminders.
Beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living WITHIN that way of life.
💭 4 habits of effective life-long learners
Prioritize self-learning, read a lot, and keep testing your understanding.
Continuously unlearn, and relearn.
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
♻️ Do things you can sustain
A story on a smart business decision made by Southwest Airlines in 1996. What they did?
The leaders intentionally set an upper-bound limit for growth. They chose a pace that they could sustain, so the business could grow while maintaining their culture and profitability.
This upper-bound principle can be applied to our personal lives too.
Most of us, however, focus on the lower bound: the minimum threshold we want to hit. For example, losing at least 10 pounds, or reading at least 5 books.
Choose a growth path that’s more sustainable instead: Push enough to make progress, but not so much that it’s unsustainable.
🌱 Being the real you
Anything You Want by by Dereks Sivers is one of the best books I’ve read to date. It’s only 90 pages long, but in true Derek’s fashion, he cuts the fluff and gets to the point around business and life.
One major takeaway for me that I stress test my choices and goals with:
No matter which goal you choose, there will be lots of people telling you you’re wrong. Just pay close attention to what excites you and what drains you. Pay close attention to when you’re being the real you and when you’re trying to impress an invisible jury.
🚀 9 ways to increase your energy
More energy naturally translates into the ability to get more things done. This is such a neat summary of some great habits in general, but also ones that make you more energized too.
The ones I’ve been working on lately are taking short naps and setting intentions the day before. I also like the idea of setting 10 minutes aside everyday to understand how your actions are contributing to your larger goals.
What are you going to start adding to your routine from this list?
Final Thought
People are strange: they are constantly angered by trivial things, but on a major matter like totally wasting their lives, they hardly seem to notice.
—Charles Bukowski