Category: Life
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Acceptance mindset
Growth mindset is eating the world; taken to its extreme, it proposes complete freedom and responsibility. If you don’t change, then it’s your fault. That extreme is a trap just as sticky as a fixed mindset. There are some things that you’re probably not going to be able to change. You’re better off accepting and…
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While you can afford to be bad at it…
Practice it while the stakes are low. Practice it when you don’t need to. Practice it poorly, clumsily, in a messy way, until you learn how to practice it better. You’ll thank yourself.
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“It’ll just take 5 minutes”
It won’t, because clicking and typing isn’t the hard part or the long part. It’s the thought that comes before the clicking and typing. For example, say you have to reschedule a new event; you’ll look around for a new schedule and time in your calendar, write up an apology, consider if that person really…
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Good is good enough
Doing something well is very different than doing something perfectly. In many cases, good is more than enough to get you started in the direction you want to go. If you need to do something perfectly in order to achieve your goal, your process isn’t tight enough yet. Something’s missing.
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Easy businesses
Easy businesses don’t exist. Grass is greener syndrome does. So does the Dunning–Kruger effect. Every industry and field has its own challenges and rewards. You’ll be better equipped to deal with some than others.
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Language builds culture
In Unreasonable Hospitality, Will Guidara highlights one of restaurateur Danny Meyers’ key insights: “Danny has always understood how language can build culture by making essential concepts easy to understand and to teach. He is brilliant at coining phrases around common experiences, potential pitfalls, and favorable outcomes.” Whether you want to call them mottos, memes, or…
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Don’t beat them, don’t join them
I’ve heard a couple of times from friends that they’re trying to stop using social networks. The keyword is try. It’s been difficult, to say the least. The thumb seems to have a mind of its own. Social networks are not only incredibly exciting to experience, they’re also literally how many people keep in touch. …
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The time it takes
Some of the most dangerous driving happens when a person leaves late and still tries to make it to the destination on time. They figure they’ll save time in traffic. Or, in other words, they rush. Experts do not rush. Experts know how long a process inherently needs to take. They embrace the German word…
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The decisiveness advantage
David C. Baker writes in The Business of Expertise: “After looking at 1,340 examples of successful experts, the only consistent trait was that they were risk-takers. That means that they were wrong a lot — but that they were usually right about the important things. It also means that they always made decisions. They weren’t…
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“It depends”
In order for someone to give you an answer, they need to understand your question. That doesn’t just mean they’ll listen to your question; they need to know what you’re asking them. That’s why sometimes even with the most helpful of intentions, the answer is still, “It depends.” There are way too many facts they…