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Pineapples, pizza, and possibility
Do you like pineapples on your pizza? The style is known as a Hawaiian pizza, and it’s a polarizing topic. For example, the former president of Iceland joked that he’d ban pineapples on pizza if he could. When I lived in New York City, I searched far and wide before finding a half decent restaurant…
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Collect underpants → ??? → Profit: A guide to filling in the question marks in your plans
There’s a TV trope called the Missing Steps Plan (it’s also an internet meme). Here’s an example from a South Park episode, which involves gnomes stealing underpants: We are all missing steps in our wishes and dreams. The question is to what degree. For example, someone who hasn’t cooked and wants to cook might have…
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Do things that make you feel proud of yourself
You probably won’t feel proud of binge watching a TV show. You’ll almost certainly feel proud when you do one of these things: Make progress towards your goals. The greater the reluctance you feel before, the more pride you’ll feel after. Write or speak something from the heart. Put it out there. Take a small…
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Three useful pieces of advice for public speaking
In a vaulted episode of New Material, I received public speaking advice from Hamza (and, in exchange, advised him on publicity). While I was very focused on speaking as a business opportunity, Hamza’s most powerful advice for me was to practice speaking as its own craft, exactly like I treated writing. With that intention, I’ve…
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Music is a buoy in the seas of time and space
What new music do you listen to when you travel? Because if it goes well together, there’s a good chance that your brain will naturally associate it with the place. You can tap into this by being open to what’s around you, as well. In one of our first weeks living in New York City,…
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The paranoid only survive if it doesn’t kill them first
“Only the paranoid survive,” is a great business book title. It also contains a kernel of truth for business leaders. Without paranoia, the people running a business will grow complacent, and lose to a more innovative competitor. The flip side is this: paranoia can kill too. The entrepreneur who deals with anxiety, fear, and insecurity…
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Make your phone dumber so it’s less addictive
A smartphone—like an iPhone, or one that runs Android—is capable of many things. It can help you do your shopping. It can keep you in touch with thousands of people. It can notify you whenever someone is reaching out to you. Whatever your laptop computer can do, you can probably do it on your smartphone…