Weekly Quote: Seneca on Learning While Teaching
This week’s quote from Seneca brings forth an important idea: We best serve ourselves and others around us when we learn as much as we teach. Consider what we can glean from what someone is saying when we listen. When we really listen, instead of busying ourselves with crafting our witty response, which is meant to impress but does little more than feed our ego.
Don’t waste your time trying to put on airs. The right people, those you should be spending your time with whenever possible, will see through that. Want to impress someone? Listen to them, learn from them, and then teach what you know when they are ready to hear it.
Weekly Quote: Austin Kleon on Collecting Good Ideas
This week’s quote comes from Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon. Inspiration might be found everywhere. Whether reading a book, watching a classic film, chatting with some old friends, or taking a long hike, be ready to make a note in your project ideas list, journal, or commonplace book.
I’d argue the next step is actually going back and taking a look at these ideas. They’re easy to collect and forget about, yet I think you really start to find the influence and build a creative narrative from the ideas you’ve collected when you take a second (or third or fourth) pass and get another look at them.
Weekly Quote: Finding Opportunities in Challenges with Dr. Michael Gervais and The First Rule of Mastery
I've just finished The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You by Dr. Michael Gervais, and I really enjoyed it. It's the right mixture of social science, organizational psychology, and personal development, culminating in actionable advice aimed at helping us overcome one of the more powerful external actors in our lives: FOPO, or fear of other people's opinions.
When I shared this week's quote with a few friends, we all arrived at a similar conclusion: the idea that we should see challenges to our beliefs as an opportunity and not a threat is a great idea, but it's also difficult to actually make it a part of our daily practice.
As you know, I believe in productive struggle and know mistakes are the language of growth. This aspect of development is worth working on, regardless of how difficult it is.
Weekly Quote: David Sparks on Carrying Less Water
This week’s quote is from the recently released Productivity Field Guide from David Sparks. I’m a big fan of David’s work, including MacSparky and The Mac Power Users. I’m also a member of the Labs, where he shares even more to help us get the most out of our technology and be more productive and focused in the process.
He’s been working on the ideas in the Productivity Field Guide for a long time, and it shows. He takes a thoughtful approach to the topic and looks at It through the lens of planning and crafting your arete, that is, your ideal roles in your life. David is inspired by philosophers from the ages, citing some of my favorites, including the Stoics.
David encourages us to find a balance. We shouldn't do too much, likening that to trying to carry more water than our bucket can hold. But we also shouldn't allow fear to stand in the way of doing the work we are meant to do. That's an important balance, and again, the focus on your individual roles is a way to effectively measure how you're doing in the most critical parts of your life.
It’s also worth noting that David is a really nice guy who’s offered encouraging words in my creative journey and was even kind enough to feature my Home Screen when I was first starting out. Check out The Productivity Field Guide page out for a free 30+ minute sample and see if it’s for you. I bet it could help you in more ways than you realize.
Jon Acuff on Fear And Faith
In just six words, Jon Acuff makes his point beautifully. It’s easy to be scared, but it takes a regular and concerted effort to persevere and move forward with anything resembling courage.
Weekly Quote: Ryan Holiday on Creating a Better Second Draft
This week's quote from Ryan Holiday's 2017 book Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work That Lasts is geared towards creators, that's clearly spelled out in the subtitle. However, these ideas apply to other aspects of our lives, too.
You need to find the people you trust to tell you when things aren't working. The people who aren't afraid to potentially hurt your feelings, respectfully, of course, by pointing out the flaws in something you're deeply invested in. Remember, they're doing it for a higher purpose - helping you find your way to the next level where you belong.
There's time to get it closer to where you want it to be, and you won't get there without listening to them. Find your editor. Whether you're a writer, a manager, a student, or a parent, who's the person you trust to advise you on becoming a better version of yourself?
Weekly Quote: Seneca on Reviewing the Day
I've been banging the drum especially loud about journaling lately, and this week's quote from Seneca is another reason why. Journaling is a tool that can help you authentically review your life.
The idea of the daily review and its value has mostly stayed the same since Seneca walked the streets of Rome a few thousand years ago. Sure, your journal entry might seem different initially, but the concerns that occupy your mind are similar to what an ancient person worried about so long ago.
Journaling works best when you commit to honesty and are most willing to keep a "constant watch" over yourself. That may be made easier when there is no intention to share what you write with anyone. You do so much for the benefit of others. Journal for yourself.
Weekly Quote: Asking the Right Questions with Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy
This week’s quote comes from Living Forward by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy.
How often have you been a part of the decision-making process that doesn’t go anywhere? It happens pretty regularly to most of us, and by the end, you’re left with frustration and no actionable outcome.
The missing piece was likely the need for the right questions.
This happened to me recently. My wife and I were doing some planning and decision-making, and we both realized how stuck we felt in a conversational loop. My wife, one of the most intelligent and most emotionally available people I’ve ever met, stepped outside of herself and asked a higher-level question that neither of us had considered but both of us very much needed to hear.
It provided clarity and a new perspective that didn’t make our decision for us, but it helped us get closer to a resolution. Asking good questions, the right questions, can be the difference maker.
Weekly Quote: The 12 Week Year on Making Small Gains
This week’s quote comes from The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington, and it speaks to an idea you’ve read on this site before.
Small regular gains add up in significant ways.
It takes time to get good at something, fail and succeed, and figure out the best path. Doing a little bit often is how the successes add up, and the failures offer context on what not to do.
Remember that mistakes are the language of growth. Do the thing every day, learn to fail, and you will see your successes over time.
Weekly Quote: Taking a Strategic Pause with the Daily Creative
This week’s quote comes from Todd Henry’s fantastic book Daily Creative, which along with The Daily Stoic, are books I try to read every morning as part of my startup routine.
This technique is best done using analog tools, so grab your favorite pen and some paper and settle in. If you use a connected device, put it into focus mode so you aren’t disturbed. This isn’t meditation; you can still sip your coffee and take a note here and there, but avoiding external distractions is important. You are doing this to let your mind wander, not answer emails.
Give the strategic pause a try. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do; you have things you’re working on, and taking this to think will be helpful.
Weekly Quote: Seneca on Delaying Your Anger
These ancient words from Seneca ask you to remember a foundational part of Stoic philosophy: delaying your reaction to anger offers a few moments to find the correct response. This action can bring clarity in the best cases and, at minimum, may allow you to quiet yourself and mute what could be an unreasoned response.
Try this. It takes practice and will only work some of the time. Yet, when it does, you will feel differently, like you’ve made less of a mistake, and that makes this effort worthwhile.
You can find Letters From a Stoic in both print and audio. Ryan Holiday’s The Lives of the Stoics is also an excellent resource to learn more about Seneca and the other Stoic philosophers.
Weekly Quote: Ryan Holiday on Gaining Confidence From Empathy
Ryan Holiday reminds us about the strength of empathy from Courage is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave. Understanding the context of where a person is in their life means you’ll be able to meet them where they are instead of pushing or pulling them unnecessarily.
This idea is helpful and worthy of your attention anywhere, whether at home with your kids, at work with the team you lead, at the grocery store, or anywhere. Everyone goes through stuff. The more context you have, the better prepared you will be.
Weekly Quote: Austin Kleon on Letting the Right Stuff In
This week’s quote comes from Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon.
Austin's reminder is simple. Control the inputs where you can. Read the books that inspire you. Spend time with your family. Call your best friend from middle school and talk for twenty minutes while your kids nap. Find people who make you better and listen to them. Just be prepared to do that for others, too. Your inputs inform who you become; you must be your best for others too.
Weekly Quote: E.B. White on Wonder
This week’s quote comes from the author and essayist E.B. White. White spent nearly his entire career at The New Yorker, wrote classic children’s books, including Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan, released several essays and collections of his work, revised The Elements of Style, and contributed to the voice and style of a generation of writers.
He also gave excellent advice with this simple quote from Charlotte’s Web. We spend a lot of our time distracted. We take incredible things for granted, perhaps because we can see anything we want to with a quick web search. Maybe it loses meaning when it’s all there for the taking virtually.
Listen to the birds. Open your eyes. Look at the horizon as you go for your morning walk. Glance around at those waiting in line at the coffee shop. Put your phone away when you come home from work. The emails can wait. No, they really can. Your partner and children need you. You need them too.
It takes practice to get good at this. Everyone struggles. Make today count.
Weekly Quote: Embracing Perspective for Personal Growth with The Practicing Stoic
This quote from The Practicing Stoic reminds us that taking a broader view offers perspective, something of value that we all need more of.
Good or bad, whatever is happening right now won’t last forever. In fact, It probably will be over sooner than you expect. Time is indifferent to our joy and sorrow. It just moves ahead. Our best bet is to understand how we fit into the bigger picture.
Take some time today to pull back the camera for a wider view. Write in your journal and reflect on all of this, then use what you learn to become a better human.
I send a monthly newsletter about the power of reading and journaling, the benefits of finding focus and productivity through intentionality, and how tech can help you grow in the ways you want. I also share a recommendation of something I'm enjoying or finding helpful. You can read past issues and subscribe here.
Weekly Quote: Finding Clarity in Motion with Thomas Mann
On a beautiful day last week, I loaded my son into the stroller and walked through a nearby park. We do this regularly, although this time, my primary focus was to find clarity around a difficult decision.
About twenty minutes into the walk, my conscious thinking had gently drifted into unrelated topics. I was considering the birds and beautiful sunshine, thinking about what to make for dinner, and recalling how much my children have changed in the last year. I was becoming more relaxed, but my subconscious was working.
We wandered quietly for another fifteen minutes. Then I took my iPhone from the cupholder of the stroller, opened my Personal Reflection journal in Day One, and began using voice-to-text to dictate my stream-of-consciousness thoughts on the situation.
We arrived home shortly after, me feeling relieved and my son ready to play. The day moved on. It wasn't until that evening that I had a chance to review what I had dictated. I was surprised by what I read. I was able to come to new conclusions and organized a jumbled mess of thoughts into something actionable.
The walk with my son isn't the first time I've had this experience. I've learned that movement is a force multiplier for separating meaningful thoughts from distractions. Dictation is a helpful tool, a bridge to push those thoughts to where real work can begin. The result of combining these two actions can be clarity.
Our ancestors and their distant relatives knew this too. While their lives were different in so many ways from our modern existence strewn with convenience and comfort, the human concerns that they struggled with were very similar to what we deal with today. They knew the power of movement. We need to relearn it. It can be the difference between feeling stuck in the mud and finding the path forward.
I send a monthly newsletter about the power of reading and journaling, the benefits of finding focus and productivity through intentionality, and how tech can help you grow in the ways you want. I also share a recommendation of something I'm enjoying or finding helpful. You can read past issues and subscribe here.
Weekly Quote: Tiago Forte on The Second Brain
This week’s quote comes from Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte. I’ve been familiar with Tiago’s work for some time. Still, it wasn’t until a series of conversations over the last month with my friend Jim from Original Mac Guy that I decided it was time to dig into this book and give the approach further consideration.
I have lots of data, ideas, and things collected in too many places. I need a better system as I do more and create more. I hope this book can help me learn how to accomplish that
I’ll share more thoughts as I go through Tiago’s book. I’m taking it slow, trying to make highlights and digest and reflect on what I’m reading.
I send a monthly newsletter about the power of reading and journaling, the benefits of finding focus and productivity through intentionality, and how tech can help you grow in the ways you want. I also share a recommendation of something I'm enjoying or finding helpful. You can read past issues and subscribe here.
Weekly Quote: Cato the Elder on Embracing the Wisdom of Others
This week’s quote comes from Cato The Elder. Cato was a Roman soldier, senator and historian who was also the first Latin prose writer of importance.
At the start of a new week, remember this quote. We must be open to learning from others, regardless of our perceptions about what they may or may not know. Those perceptions are often based on the biases we hold and bring around as unwanted emotional baggage.
Remain discerning, but do not rashly refuse, as Cato reminds us, just because you believe you already know what they will say. You may be surprised by what others know.
Weekly Quote: Ryan Holiday on Overcoming What Other People Think of Us
This week's quote comes from Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday, reminding us that we shouldn't let what others think get in the way of being who we are and accomplishing what is most important to us.
The vast majority of people aren't paying attention to you or, honestly, anything else. Instead, they're distracted by social media, exhausted by life, or obsessed with what others think of them.
While many people aren't paying attention, you are. This makes a difference.
Make this your superpower. Don't let your perceptions of what others think stop you.
Be the parent you want to be because you aren't worried about embarrassing yourself for being silly on the playground. Buy the car that suits your needs rather than the more expensive one because no one will notice. Be responsible and fruitful at work, but remember to shut things off when you go home to be with your family because most of what will come up can wait until the morning.
Do not live with the manufactured fear of others' opinions. Be bold and take inspiration by remembering the few who are watching you and who matter. Your friends and family, trusted colleagues, and mentors, they are paying attention because they care.
Weekly Quote: Reframing Problems with Insights from Todd Henry's The Daily Creative
This week’s quote comes from The Daily Creative by Todd Henry. Todd has written five books and founded The Accidental Creative, where he shares insights, workshops, keynotes, and other resources for creative people and teams.
When his clients get stuck, Todd urges them to ask themselves, “what are we really trying to do here?” This simple but easily ignored question offers a chance to reframe the situation, bringing a new perspective and an opportunity to move forward on a project or task. It’s not a panacea, but it can help get the gears moving again.
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