68: Rules Aren't Real 📐
Dispensing with the status quo is the key to escaping mediocrity.
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67: Not all that glitters 🪩
In one morning I came across three stories that made me think twice about the ‘metaverse’. It’s not some abstract future dystopia—it’s already here. Many of us already inhabit mini-metaverses full of personalised algorithms, and few of us are ready to take off the headset. The first...
66: Win the small hill ⛷
Sometimes in order to win the game you're optimising for, you must lose the ones you've been told were important.
65: What you want for dinner 🍽
How often do you revisit ideas you believe to be common sense? When thinking of possible ways we could develop our thinking or improve our lives we naturally gravitate to new ideas instead of investigating existing patterns. When you start thinking from first principles, a lot of things you might...
64: Constraints and consistency 🎲
People become great by being creative within the boundaries and persisting when others might quit.
63: Nobody cares 📵
Sometimes you will be out in the field, pushing the limits of expectation, on the verge of changing the world, and not a single soul will care. The masses often sleepwalk through innovation. You can only make great things if you’re willing to be ignored and unafraid of going...
62: The hard thing about hard work ⚒️
Brandon Sanderson is one of my favourite authors. If he writes something I’m going to eat it up. But not immediately. Because Brandon likes to write big beefy books that could double as self-defence weapons or stools for small cats. He writes a LOT. He recently surprised his entire...
61: It Sounds Better Over There 🎋
Whenever words are carried by saltine winds over vast expanses of water, they somehow gain the magical property of resonating clearer in our minds. This is why we seem to fall head over heels in love with wisdom from faraway lands. It explains our obsession with Ikigai. It’s why...
60: The Sum of our Parts 🧩
No one human knows how to make a pencil from scratch despite it seeming like a fundamentally basic thing - something every child can use. To construct something as simple as a pencil takes mining graphite, cutting wood, shaping metal, and figuring out whatever modern erasers are made out of....
59: Greener Grass
The Sword of Damocles has become synonymous with imminent danger and the threat of sudden calamity - but that’s only half the story, and perhaps the wrong half to focus on. If you’ve never heard of Damocles before, you’re in for a treat! The story of Damocles...
57: The Power of Impostors 👻
What the heck is an impostor anyway? Someone who is not supposed to be there. An impersonator. A copycat. A covert intelligence gatherer. Uninformed. Uninitiated. Uninvited. Maybe that’s you. It’s definitely me—but maybe there’s power in that. The ones who are different I am not supposed...
A Tree in the Woods
If the cameras turn off, do the Kardashians still exist? People are designing their lives and actions around black camera lenses, hoping that an audience will exist on the other side. People stand alone in rooms swinging their arms violently and making faces at the wall, because TikTok promises their...
56: Finding your passion 🔮
People spend their lives chasing passion. We have dreams of what life should be like. What it could be like, once we find the magic that's missing. We all want to get paid to do something we love. And we want to be paid well for it! To...
55: Almost Invisible 👻
We quickly get used to the sound of alarm bells. My smart watch keeps vibrating, every single hour, reminding me to stand up. I turned on the feature because I know sitting for too long is unhealthy. And when I say I know, I KNOW. I know it in my...
54: A glass half full 🥃
Is the glass half empty or half full? Apparently, your answer indicates whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist. I think that’s silly. It’s a question of orientation, not optimism. Are you picking it up or putting it down? What’s your motivation in the scene? Are...
Drilling for Luck
I’m not sure if you believe in miracles, luck, or serendipity, but all three of them struck one Sunday in a tiny Nebraska church in 1950. It's a cold March in Nebraska. We're at the West Side Baptist Church. Choir practice starts at 7:15....
The art of being scrappy
When I was 11, I was a naughty boy stealing sweets. By 14, I was importing phones wholesale from China. Here’s the story: As a kid, most of my methods of making money involved getting into trouble. Then one day, the caveman discovered fire. My school got some computers,...
🎙️ Conversation, Curiosity, and Connection with Joe Ferraro
David speaks with Joe Ferraro, a teacher, professional speaker, and the host of The One Percent Better Podcast, where he’s interviewed some of the world's most successful people. He is also the founder of DamnGoodConversations.com, a company whose mission is to teach repeatable ways to have...
Make room for gratitude
The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus believed that cultivating gratitude was key to living a fulfilling life. He famously said, "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." And it turns out that Epicurus was onto something. Scientific research has consistently shown...
Magic Vodka Red Bull
I’m going to tell you a secret that will save you 61% on alcohol for the rest of your life, and help you feel more creative, competent, and brave. It all starts with a simple question . Do you believe mixing alcohol with energy drinks intensifies the effects of alcohol?...
🎙️ The Expectation Effect with David Robson
David speaks with David Robson, an award-winning science writer specialising in the extremes of the human brain, body, and behaviour. He has previously worked as a features editor at New Scientist and as a senior journalist at the BBC. He is the author of The Intelligence Trap, which has been...