Relationships over ideas

Start something new with a relationship, not with an idea.

Whether it’s a new job or a new project, a new role or a new country, a new company or a new responsibility. Identify the ones who own a stake in what you are going to do, sit with them, and listen. Gather their problems, their expectations, their motivators, their goals, their ambitions. Be friendly and genuinely interested.

With this knowledge, you can shape the work in a way that serves a real purpose. At the very least, you will have found supporters and sponsors for what will come next.

Far away

Sometimes we are deeply touched by events that happen miles away from our life and daily routine.

There’s much to learn when this happens. It’s about the interpretation we give to the facts, about the values they represent, about the relationships we want to establish in the world, about the group of people we want to belong to.

If we take some times to reflect on why and how such events affect us, we can get out on the other side more aware and grateful for the things we are building.

Let this be a step forward, not a reason to get stuck.

Measuring life

There’s so much in this article by Clayton Christensen. So much to relate to and to learn from.

And most importantly, there’s this.

I have a pretty clear idea of how my ideas have generated enormous revenue for companies that have used my research; I know I’ve had a substantial impact. But as I’ve confronted this disease, it’s been interesting to see how unimportant that impact is to me now. I’ve concluded that the metric by which God will assess my life isn’t dollars but the individual people whose lives I’ve touched. I think that’s the way it will work for us all. Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people.

Clayton M. Christensen, How will you measure your life

When feeling down

When you are having a tough period, double down on your practices.

Whether it’s meditation, writing, running, working, helping, or any other. Being consistent with what makes you feel good, with what gives you a sense of accomplishment, is even more important when there’s something that deeply troubles or bothers you.

And by the way, the best moment to start a practice is today.

The magic of technology

We got accustomed to thinking that technology, whatever technology, as long as it’s shiny and new, will eventually solve a problem.

As a result, we have lost the ability to focus on the problem – though someone might argue whether this ability has ever been central. If left to itself, technology will not amicably and magically find its way into our lives. There has to be a feedback loop at some point, as early as possible, that matches the capabilities of the technology to actual, and positive, impact in the world. And if the match cannot be done, even after trying hard, it is ok to drop the technology and forget about it.

This inability to take the distance from technology is the reason why we have deepfakes and artifically generated faces. We are often so fascinated from what is possible nowadays that we forget to discuss about the convenience and rightness of what is created.

Technology needs more questioning and groundedness.