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Expectations vs. support
Expectation: The prospect of the future; grounds upon which something excellent is expected to happen; prospect of anything good to come, esp. of property or rank. (Webster’s 1913) Support: That which upholds, sustains, or keeps from falling, as a prop, a pillar, or a foundation of any kind. (Webster’s 1913) While these two concepts don’t…
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The hotel lobby brand litmus test
If there’s anything that makes branding more tangible and easier to understand, I’m all ears. I came across this passage recently that fascinated me, from The elegance of nothing by Seth Godin (via Ben Gilbert and Liberty’s Highlights): If Nike announced that they were opening a hotel, you’d have a pretty good guess about what…
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Saving money, getting rich
This is not a finance blog, though money is as embedded into the human condition now as a means of survival and comfort. What’s truly absurd is the amount of marketing and entertainment designed to encourage each of us to spend more. It’s important to amplify the signal of how some of these artists actually…
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Lean into trying
While the saying, “Do or do not, there is no try,” is incredibly popular and compelling, it has never resonated with me. To me, the human condition is almost entirely about trying. It’s about putting yourself out there, making an attempt, and living with the outcome. Two quotes that come to mind: Stravinsky, a composer…
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Docs, branding, and opinions
There’s a reason writing amplifies the abilities of software companies, and it’s not (just) the marketing. I’ve previously put forward the idea that great writing is an extension of the product, in which I talk about documentation and brand voice. I neglected to mention a key factor: Most people don’t know what to do with…
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“Put the paint on the canvas!”
For 99.99% of people who want to make things, making something good is the second most significant challenge. Making anything at all is the most significant challenge. There are so many psychological factors that get in the way of the creative process, which prevent a person from making anything. Some statements include: “I don’t have…
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Predictive processing theory
A common saying goes, “We see the world not as it is, but as we are.” Philosopher Andy Clark wrote a book on this topic. His thesis is centered on the predictive processing theory, suggesting that the brain’s main function is to make predictions. He writes in The Experience Machine: Nothing we do or experience—if…
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The case against the case against travel
A few weeks ago, I came across this piece making the case against travel. There has been some interesting commentary on the piece already (here, and here), and I wanted to share some points: 1. One thing worth appreciating is context: while travel has remained the same in many ways, it has also drastically changed.…
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The subtle misery of high expectations
There’s a centuries-old train of thought that equates expectations with results. In Blessed, author Kate Bowler quotes Essek William Kenyon, writing, “Christian talk about hope had to be amended, for, as Kenyon claimed, “Hope says, ‘I will get it sometime.’ Faith says, ‘I have it now.’”” Bowler described the core of this metaphysical train of…
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GL HF
As a teenager I played a fair amount of Starcraft. I was rarely ever the best player—I didn’t click fast enough, I didn’t play with enough aggression, and I relied too often on the same strategies when I should have been evolving them—which meant that I didn’t put myself in a winning position very often.…