All in Learning
I think too many of us have this perspective that knowledge must be ‘absolute’ and expertise in a given field must be ‘complete’ in its nature.
What I mean by that is we believe being good at something and being able to speak to that expertise requires total command over that field. No questions, no doubts. Complete mastery.
In a recent interview with Marc Maron, Rick Rubin (one of the greatest music producers of our generation) recounted an exercise he gave an artist to extract more authenticity and emotion from the lyrics this individual was writing.
“The person was writing lyrics and I thought the lyrics could be better…”
Experience is a great educator. Over time, it teaches us and provides us with a reasoned view of life and all that makes us who we are.
However, as I discuss in today's episode, this isn't an automatic process. It's one that requires a strong sense of perspective, as well as the right mindset.
One of the problems I constantly struggle with when playing guitar is that, when I’m noodling around, I’ll gravitate towards the same chords and progressions.
In other words, I want to play something fresh and original, but I’m constantly back at G, Am, C and D.
David Lee Roth once said (and I’m liberally paraphrasing) that he’d taken the time to distill his vices down to a select few and that he was determined to spend his time getting the most out of the handful that remained.
I’ve always held to the view that the root cause of poor behavior (towards others) is low self-esteem. That’s always made sense to me: if we don’t have enough self-confidence or belief in ourselves, how can we expect to accept others’ (differing) perspectives - and not react in some way?
Well, Adam Grant posited a somewhat different - perhaps a more nuanced - point of view, based on research published in journals such as Psychological Review.
When markets are at an all time low and everyone else is selling, there are the brave few who wade right into the thick of things and start buying.
They do this despite the ‘evidence’ to the contrary, because they’ve done their homework, formed an educated point of view and are willing to bet on their own logic (versus the consensus view).
So, I realize I’ve come this late (it was a big thing during the pandemic) but recently, I’ve started making my own sourdough bread.
It’s a fascinating activity to take on - a much longer and much more involved process than I originally expected. From start to finish (i.e. from levain preparation to actual baked bread), it takes about 36 hours, because there are a number of steps to be followed, each with specific time requirements, particular results to be achieved at each step, and plenty of waiting in between.
Stability is a pipe dream. We long for it and yearn for things to be normal, for things not to change.
The reality is that life doesn't quite work that way. The fact of the matter is, as I discuss in today's episode, that we're always in transition. Accept that idea and we're liberated.
In his first letter to shareholders, Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy, wrote:
“In every business we pursue, we’re constantly experimenting and inventing. We’re divinely discontented with customer experiences, whether they’re our own or not. We believe these customer experiences can always be better, and we strive to make customers’ lives better and easier every day.
Chris Brogan, a writer whose thinking I really admire, recently wrote about the idea of freedom and the struggle so many of us face between our decision to lead (which requires venturing into the unknown) or be led (where we’re told what we should be doing), especially when it comes to our work.
To illustrate this idea, he included in his most recent email (which I’d highly recommend you subscribe to), a quote from Loki, from the Marvel Comic Book Universe, as he subjugates a crowd of people:
Judging someone's character is a difficult thing to do. A one-off incident or action shouldn't be taken out of context (with a few exceptions) and presumed to represent the entirety of who someone is.
But patterns are different. If the behavior is repeated, if it's recurring, it tells you something. Patterns matter.
When we’re presented with change of any material scale, it’s not uncommon for us to hesitate, to be concerned.
We wonder what the change will mean for us, how our work will be altered, what ‘price’ we’ll have to pay.
All natural and normal reactions, because change can be scary and overwhelming.
The “Armchair Quarterback” really is a thing.
In fact, it’s alive and well in each one of us. Time and again, we’ve all taken on that role in one form or another. Whether it’s politics, business or sports, we’ve watched, listened and assessed, and then provided our own commentary on what the answer should have been.
Today's episode is short and sweet. It's about something Brene Brown shared about a core realization of midlife.
And that is that we need to let go of our armor, let go of all the protections we put up. That, in order to become ourselves, we need to become vulnerable.
One of the ways that my firm helps organizations is by forecasting commodity prices. That is, we study specific commodities (e.g. High Density Polyethylene) and, using both quantitative models as well as qualitative analysis, provide a view as to what will happen to the prices of those commodities 6 to 12 months out. It’s not a perfect science but it’s helpful in driving better decision making.
Every so often, I’ll have someone ask us for a detailed 24 month forecast. And every time, my answer is the same.
In today's episode, I recount a Facebook post from the actor Kevin Smith, and something he was told (handed, actually) when he was 19 years old.
It's a lesson that not everyone is always looking out for us, and ultimately, our path forward - our story - is down to us.
Nature loads the gun, nurture pulls the trigger. Or genes load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.
I believe this phrase (using “genes” and “lifestyle” instead of “nature” and “nurture”) was first used in a research paper about obesity, but it applies to so many aspects of our lives. It speaks to the complexity of life, of how we might be oriented and what we might be able to influence.
“It’s not fair.”
Each and every one of us can recount situations where things didn’t go our way, for reasons that, in our minds, were less than equitable.
Not getting that promotion when we had the experience and the achievements. Losing out on that business opportunity when we’d done what the client asked for. Not making that investment when we had the chance (Bitcoin, anyone?).
