Switzerland based Software Design Toni keeps a List of People he’d like to meet on his personal website. This is wonderful. Thank you for the inspiration!
(via Chris Glass)
Map of Reddit
Wow! This is magical: a map of the Reddit. Each dot represents a subreddit. Two dots within the same cluster are close to each other if multiple users frequently leave comments on both subreddits. Created by Andrei Kashcha.
Integrity
The use of the word integrity is in decline.
No Excuse Hour
Wow, I love the concept of the No Excuse Hour. It seems basic as a concept, yes I have tried getting the big and important stuff done first in the mornings. For some reason, naming it the NO EXCUSE HOUR hits differently.
1/ The “No Excuse Hour” is the first hour of my day.
No distractions.
It’s one hour of pure focus on the things that have to get done.
No emails, no scrolling, no chatting. It’s just me vs. my top priority. Why?
Because the rest of the day will throw distractions your way.
Get the important stuff done first.
The In Between
“I don’t think we talk enough about the in betweens. The part when you know you want to change something but don’t yet know how, don’t yet feel strong enough, don’t yet know what your first step is. So to the people in the in betweens, don’t be disheartened, don’t give up. You’ve done the hard part. Now just take it one small step at a time.
– allyislia
An Age of Inelasticity
Thank you Roxane for giving words to this feeling we are all feeling: an age of inelasticity.
Freedom
“I think freedom, ideally, is being able to choose your responsibilities. Not not having any responsibilities, but being able to choose which things you want to be responsible for.”
– Toni Morrison
How To Improve a Company
Via this Twitter post. Original source: Smooth Scaling, twenty ritual to build a friction-free organization
A Poetic Almanac of Birds by Maria Popova
This must be the most beautiful personal project I have come across in a very long time.
My friend Maria Popova has found her love for birds and Tarot and felt moved to create her own card deck of divinations from the birds. (The deck is limited edition, for her friends only, but it might become available in the future.)
For now, we can bask in the beauty of some of her Bird Divinations and buy them as prints here, with all proceeds going to Audubon.
Maria is a national treasure. I’ll keep saying it. What a beautiful soul.
To Be Hopeful
“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
― Howard Zinn
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Rainbows in My Clouds
I love Maya Angelou‘s notion of taking anyone who has ever been kind to her energetically on stage with her when she gives talks. That way, she is never alone. Always supported. I will think of this next time I give a talk.
50 Ways To Fuel A Conversation
1. Be the first to say hello.
2 Introduce yourself to others.
3. Take risks and anticipate success.
4. Remember your sense of humor.
5. Practice different ways of starting a conversation
6. Make an extra effort to remember people’s names.
7. Ask a person’s name if you’ve forgotten it.
8. Show curiosity and sincere interest in finding out about others.
9. Tell others about the important events in your life. Don’t wait for them to draw it out.
10. Demonstrate that you are listening by restating their comments in another way.
11. Communicate enthusiasm and excitement about your subjects and life in general
12. Go out of your way to try to meet new people wherever you are.
13. Accept a person’s right to be an individual with different ideas and beliefs.
14. Let the natural person in you come out when talking with others.
15. Be able to succinctly tell others-in a few short sentences-what you do.
16. Reintroduce yourself to someone who is likely to have forgotten your name.
17. Be ready to tell others something interesting or challenging about what you do.
18. Be aware of open and closed body language.
19. Smile, make eye contact, offer a handshake, and go find the approachable person.
20. Greet people that you see regularly.
21. Seek common interests, goals, and experiences with the people you meet.
22. Make an effort to help people if you can.
23. Let others play the expert.
24. Be open to answering common ritualistic questions.
25. Be enthusiastic about other people’s interests.
26. See that the time is balanced between giving and receiving information.
27. Be able to speak about a variety of topics and subjects.
28. Keep up to date on current events and issues that affect our lives.
29. Be willing to express your feelings, opinions, and emotions to others.
30. Use T when you speak about your own feelings and personal things, rather than “you.”
31. Visually show others that you are enjoying your conversation with them.
32. Be ready to issue invitations to others to join you for other events/activities to further the relationship.
33. Find ways to keep in touch with friends and acquaintances you meet.
34. Seek out others® opinions.
35. Look for the positive in those you meet.
36. Start and end your conversations with the person’s name and a handshake or warm greeting.
37. Take the time to be friendly with your neighbors and coworkers.
38. Let others know that you would like to get to know them better.
39. Ask others about things that they have told vou in previous nonversation
40. Listen carefully for free information.
41. Be ready to ask open-ended questions to learn.
42. Change the topic of conversation when it has run its course.
43. Always search for the things that really get another excited.
44. Compliment others about what they are wearing, doing, or saying.
45. Encourage others to talk to you by sending out positive signals.
46. Make an effort to see and talk to people you enjoy.
47. When you tell a story, present the main point first and then add the supporting details.
48. Include everyone in the group in conversation whenever possible.
49. Look for signs of boredom or lack of interest from your listener.
50. Prepare ahead of time for each social or business function.
50 Ways To Fuel A Conversation, by Debrah Fine
40 by Frank Chimero
I absolutely love these learnings by Frank Chimero.
Tim Ferriss and Seth Godin
Thoroughly enjoyed this conversation between Seth Godin and Tim Ferriss. Lots of gems around improving your writing, showing up for yourself, making room for new experiences and consistency.
In 2013 Seth Godin gave a beautiful talk at CreativeMornings. Well worth a listen too.
How To Discover Your Own Taste
This episode of The Ezra Klein’s Show on How To Discover Your Own Taste is absolutely wonderful. I will make sure my teenage kids will get to hear it too.
(Thank you Annie)
How Language Shapes Thought
What an incredibly fascinating talk by Lera Boroditsky on how language structure shapes thought! Highly recommend!
The Opposite of Addiction
“The opposite of addiction is not sobriety, the opposite of addiction is connection.”
Heard here. And here’s the full TED talk by Johann Hari. (Thanks for the comment, Pablo)
Now is Better
The conversation starts at 16:47
We closed out our CreativeMornings/NYC year with a conversation between two design legends, Debbie Millman and Stefan Sagmeister. I love Stefan’s orientation towards optimism and urging us to think longterm. Jump to the start of their conversation by clicking here and skipping over all the intros. You can buy Now Is Better Book here.
Things That Aren’t Doing The Thing
“Preparing to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Scheduling time to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Making a to-do list for the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Telling people you’re going to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Messaging friends who may or may not be doing the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Writing a banger tweet about how you’re going to do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Hating on yourself for not doing the thing isn’t doing the thing. Hating on other people who have done the thing isn’t doing the thing. Hating on the obstacles in the way of doing the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Fantasizing about all of the adoration you’ll receive once you do the thing isn’t doing the thing.
Reading about how to do the thing isn’t doing the thing. Reading about how other people did the thing isn’t doing the thing. Reading this essay isn’t doing the thing.
The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.”
If You Could Change One Thing About Your Body
Stay until the kids come on. They are so pure. Heart melts.
A Way of Life
(By Case Kenny)