Betterment

Each task brings three options. But first, let’s be clear what we mean by “delegate.” If I can hire someone to do a task so well that my customer can’t tell, I can choose to…

When the persimmon trees bear fruit, Li Weilin Hi hi, I’m going to be super honest: I can’t remember when I started counting editions of this newsletter. I...

I haven’t made anything new in awhile and it doesn’t feel good. I’ve been looking after a family member who had surgery, so most of my time has been spent...

We make our world better and easier with systems.

Landlords collect rent, tenants pay it. Landlords own an asset that increases in value over time. Tenants have the freedom to move on. If you’re building a business, it pays to own an asset. …

The second time you install vacuum tubes into a handmade 2A3 stereo amplifier, you’ll know that two of the four pins are slightly larger than the other two. And you’ll know that the tub…

Bud Smith built a desk for his truck so he could write during breaks in his work as a mechanic and welder. “Now that I had my Truck Desk, that vehicle was my very own rolling cubicle.”

Which skills and careers are still going to pay off in a world of ever-present AI? Some preliminary thoughts...

In every major religion, forgiveness matters. Take, for example, the Lord’s Prayer (found in the Christian Gospels of both Matthew and Luke). “Forgive us

One of my goals this year has been to become a cinephile, so I’ve been working my way through some of the classics that have influenced generations of filmmakers. Recently, I finally got around to watching Seven Samurai. Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece has been on my list for a long time. It’s the film that […]

A short reader survey about the challenges you’re working through and the support you wish existed.

Cities used to die slowly. Ancient Rome, Babylon, Memphis (in Egypt) and others took generations to fade from their peaks. The reasons were easy to see: Shifts in trade routes Loss of political cap…

The first things humans invented, before fire, the wheel or baked brie, was trust. Trusting the others in the village. Trusting that you could get a good night’s sleep. Trusting that what you…

The complexity of our tools changes the complexity of our reality

The first German tank of World War II was about the size of your car.  The last was about the size of your living room. You can see the comparison here.

We wait and hope for the first kind, the magic that arrives just when we need it. This is the magic of inspiration, or of good fortune. The magic of opportunties offered and connections made. There…

A lovely editorial piece from Charles Broskoski at Are.na.

When we’re a little behind, we borrow to catch up. Perhaps we borrow goodwill and spend less time than we might on a project. Or we need some money to pay the rent, so we borrow against a pay…

Written pieces, talks, and other bits by Zach Holman.

A get-home bag is the kind of kit you keep in your trunk or at work — light enough to carry, but stocked with the essentials.

When’s the last time you thought about your car’s engine? Probably not for a while.  Most people don’t. Until it breaks.  This sort of thing happened last

The Asian squat refers to the typical squatting posture that is seen throughout many nations in the Far East. However, not everyone can deep squat.

A guide to venting without annoying everyone you know.

Don’t search for the answers.

Cicero loved this one weird trick for finding the crux of any issue.

So many bits of information are flying around. Emails to us, articles, posts, videos, updates, memos, meetings, books… The most common (and apparently efficient) approach is to quickly look o…

Here are five tips to ensure that you, not your slides, are doing the talking. Slides don't inspire. You do.

It takes about 900,000 minutes to become a board-certified dermatologist. At that point, you might be very skilled and well-informed. It takes less than nine minutes to make your patient feel seen,…

For three decades, British traitor, Kim Philby, spied very successfully for the Soviet KGB from the very heart of MI6 British Intelligence, resulting in

On September 9, 1965, Navy pilot James Stockdale was flying a mission over North Vietnam when his A-4 Skyhawk took anti-aircraft fire. The cockpit filled with smoke. Warning lights flashed red. He ejected, breaking a leg in the process. As his parachute carried him toward a crowd of villagers armed with machetes and pitchforks and […]