Conquer Resistance

I read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield about a month before I created this site. I had a lot of doubt that I’d be able to accomplish much of anything while we journeyed through life with a newborn baby who wasn’t big on sleeping. We also have a two-year-old and learning to keep everything in balance cast a shadow that I could do something that required regular creative attention.

That, my friends, was a textbook example of Resistance. As the quote suggests, fear is the fuel that feeds so much of our doubts and negative beliefs. We have the power to be our own worst enemies.

The same is true in all aspects of our lives. For example, we might tell ourselves that we shouldn’t take the risk of pushing for a new role at work. We don’t believe we’re good enough for that person who we like and have a connection. We don’t feel comfortable having that vital conversation with our children or spouse. That’s all based on fear, and it becomes a negative feedback loop that keeps you from moving ahead, from making connections, from growing.

Read The War of Art if you’re trying to do anything and feel that creeping sense of doubt about it. It’s a wonderfully written book that helped me realize that I could do this and still be a great father and husband. It helped me move past fear-based thinking, and I am better because of that.

David Bowie Knew the (Internet) Future in 1999

Recently, I came across an excerpt from this 1999 BBC Newsnight Interview featuring David Bowie chatting with Jeremy Paxman. I found the entire video and thoroughly enjoyed it, and I wanted to share a few thoughts:

• 1999 was 23 years ago. Yeah, 23 YEARS AGO!

• Bowie always had fantastic hair. I know it's required when you are a rock star, and he nailed it. He rocked the stilettos, too.

• There is some insightful talk about his career, creative process, sobriety, and, later, "Cool Britannia," which I had to look up.

• At 7:03, Bowie starts talking specifically about the Internet. Remember, this is the 1999 Internet; when the RIAA sued Napster, Microsoft was the tech giant, and dial-up was still the way most people connected.).

• At 7:19, Bowie says, "Forget about the Microsoft part; the monopolies don't have a monopoly." Now, social media companies (irony not lost on me that I likely saw this video initially on, I believe, Instagram) have a lot of the power, balanced by the likes of Apple and Google's app stores and their ability to de-platform an app.

• Bowie references how music and society will fragment even further than they had at this interview (he references Hip Hop and Girl Power as popular subgenres).

• At 10:46, he suggests that society hasn't yet seen the" tip of the iceberg" and says the "potential of what the internet is going to do to society is unimaginable."

Wow. So, yeah, David Bowie pretty had a good idea of what would happen to the Internet and how fragmented things could get.

I did not realize until I began researching that today is the sixth anniversary of Bowie's death. I think I'll reach out to a couple of friends who are much bigger Bowie fans than I am for some recommendations for a new playlist to celebrate his work.

The Great Resignation Continues

From The New York Times (subscription required), More quit jobs than ever, but most turnover is in low-wage work.

The Great Resignation continues. From the article:

More than 4.5 million people voluntarily left their jobs in November, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That was up from 4.2 million in October and was the most in the two decades that the government has been keeping track.

There are a lot of factors involved, and like so much of what we’re experiencing during the pandemic, it requires a closer look to understand better what’s motivating those who are making career changes.

This story is personal for me. I went on parental leave in October and made the difficult decision in December that I would be unable to return to my job. My life changed significantly during that time, and I suspect that’s happening to many others too. While I miss my former co-workers and the teams I managed, I am excited about the future and look forward to new opportunities.

Handling Minor Adversity

Here’s a great reminder that how we handle the little things matter, whether at work with our teams or colleagues or at home with our kids, partners, or in-laws.

For leaders, the little things can be a big part of a given day, and minor adversity happens all the time. So remember this quote the next time it seems you can’t catch a break. How you react matters, and people are watching and listening to learn how you handle it and who you are.

Once they find out, they won’t forget.

Finding Focus: Saving My 3 AM Self With Wind Down and Sleep

Our second child, now three months old, is different from our firstborn toddler, who became a steady sleeper pretty early on (I hear that chorus of duh's, parents of the Internet!). He prefers feedings every few hours (as so many babies do), so none of us sleeps particularly well.

After a 3 am feeding that often begins with some pretty intense wailing from our hungry little guy, I sometimes find myself wound up and can't immediately find my way back to sleep, despite how much I desire it.

Being awake, I sometimes feel pulled to unlock my iPhone and meander around various forums, Instagram, NYTimes, or other social media that generally do not help me relax. I know it's not great for me, and it's something I've been trying to change. Thankfully, the tool that has been the most helpful for me is a feature that came out in iOS 14 as part of the Wind Down and Sleep features Apple implemented. And, it's only gotten better with iOS 15's new Focus mode.

Adding Shortcuts to my Wind Down and Sleep Focus screens, I've created a few choices that give me the chance to make a better decision, causing me to pause for a moment before doom scrolling the night away. I've limited these to a few input and output options, including Kindle for slowing my brain down by reading a book and the opportunity to create a new document in Drafts or a new entry in Day One.

I'll write more about how I'm managing this on my iPad soon. Right now, my iPad is my go-to for Kindle, and while the Sleep and Wind Down features aren't as robust there, I'll share how I manage distractions on there as well.

These options are perfect and save me from my own bad choices. Decision fatigue is legit, and it hits hard at the end of a long day. As a tired dad, my instincts should be to give my brain a peaceful place to unwind after putting my kiddo back to bed, and I need all the tools I can get to help set me in the right direction and remind me that the dopamine hit of social media posts or the latest news can wait.

I suspect many people have discovered this feature as part of the powerful new Focus tools in iOS, iPadOS 15, and Monterey. Is that you? How are you using Focus, and how has it helped you? Drop me a note; I'd love to hear more about it.

Welcome to 24 Letters

Hey everyone, and welcome to 24 Letters. I’m excited to be launching this new project as we enter 2022, and I appreciate you stopping by!

It’s been years since I had a blog, and I’m thrilled to be back at it! I will write about topics that I have a passion for, including technology, learning, team building, communication, productivity, and development. I’ll be looking at these subjects through the lens of apps, books, streaming, the web, podcasts, and other creative media that can help make us better and keep us learning and growing. I’ll also share what I’ve learned and developed in my career as well. Of course, there will be plenty of general nerdery too!

The Title, 24 Letters, comes from a quote attributed to Athenodorus Cananites, a stoic philosopher who advised and taught Caesar Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome. Athenodorus told Caesar the following:

Whenever you feel yourself get angry, Caesar, don’t say or do anything until you’ve repeated the 24 letters of the alphabet to yourself.

I found this quote in one of Ryan Holiday’s books or emails and see how much we all need to add time and space into our lives to think and reflect. I’ve found, particularly in the last half of 2021, that I was sorely lacking in this space. So, a goal in the new year is to practice this daily, and I’ll be writing more about how that goes in the coming months.

Right now, I’m a big fan of another quote attributed to Voltaire, which says, in part:

the best is the enemy of the good.

I’m taking that philosophy to get this site launched. Of course, I could tinker with the design, the font face, or any number of aspects forever, but I realize that I would never actually publish much of anything. So, with that in mind, here goes.

I welcome your feedback and thank you for taking this journey with me. Stay connected. I’m excited about the future!