Betterment

Write about what you learn. It pushes you to understand topics better. Sometimes the gaps in our knowledge only become clear when explaining things to others.

In the book, “Blue Ocean Strategies,” the authors talk about the difference between “Red Ocean Strategies” and “Blue Ocean Strategies.” “Red” means an

Back in 1947, on her 21st birthday, Britain’s Princess Elizabeth (who would be crowned Queen Elizabeth II a half-decade later), in a speech to her nation

Back in 2009, the British philosopher, Simon Critchley came out with a delightful read called “The Book Of Dead Philosophers.” Critchley believed that how

Over on Chris Williamson’s “Modern Wisdom” podcast #651, the college professor AND bodybuilder, Dr Mike Israetel, spends time talking about “The Pessimism

Contrary to expectations, written contracts don’t have to be adversarial. In fact, the effective ones rarely are. When you hand someone a release, a royalty agreement or even a partnership do…

In a widely-used simple approximation, the world of thinking and writing is a world of specific arguments. Readers collect their opinions by combining the arguments of those they read/hear with arguments that they think of for themselves. In this approximation, the only reason to interpret a writer/speaker is to figure out what exactly are his or her arguments.

Courage is the willingness to face risk, discomfort, and intimidation. The modern world offers scarce opportunities to exercise courage. Few will ever see combat, and danger has largely been removed from work, travel, and the procuring of food. Whereas artistic and intellectual courage was once required in flaunting dominant paradigms, it is seldom called upon […]

When we show up to bring humanity to work, we’re making a choice. It involves risk and effort and emotional labor. We’re here to make a change happen, and we’re giving something t…

Anna and Kelly Pendergrast on the secret recipes, the superstition, and the myths embedded in what we call “innovation.”

The first step is to imagine what the people you serve want and care about it. The second is to figure out why they don’t have it yet. If you can help people get to where they seek to go, whe…

Back in 1961, at the height of the Cold War and three years after the creation of NASA, President Kennedy gave his famous “Moonshot” speech. "We choose to

When someone acts in a surprising way, we can begin to understand by wondering what they might be afraid of.

One weird trick for hacking the space-time continuum.

The candidate running for re-election offers truth. This is what I did, I would like to do it again. The candidate coming out of nowhere offers hope. We can’t know but we can imagine. Kicksta…

A core component of making great decisions is understanding the rationale behind previous decisions. If we don’t understand how we got “here,” we run the risk of making things much worse.

Following my mind-is-a-computer essay, I cover seven other popular-among-experts-but-widely-disbelieved opinions I agree with!

If the ferry is leaving in fifteen minutes, do you drive faster than normal to get to the dock on time? If someone is driving close behind you and pressuring you to turn when you don’t feel s…

“We are meaning-seeking creatures. Dogs, as far as we know, do not agonize about the canine condition, worry about the plight of dogs in other parts of

This keeps coming up in different contexts, so I thought I might write a short (ha, as if I can write short things!) blog post that I can point to on various occasions. I spend a lot of time here o…

In the hustle and bustle of modern life, slow living often seems like a distant dream. Yet, embracing a slower pace, especially at the start of the day, can

In the constant search for well-being and personal growth, the concept of everyday carry (EDC) has gained great prominence. And...

As a young man, Jack London joined the crew of a schooner bound for seal hunting in the Pacific.  When his ship pulled into port in the Bonin Islands, Jack gazed with wonder upon the jungle-covered volcanic peaks and breathed in the exotic scent of the tropics. “It was my first foreign land,” he remembered. […]

A well-placed hook to the head can knock a man out, and one delivered to the kidneys or liver will bring the strongest of brawlers to their knees.

Posted on Friday 4 Aug 2023. 1,290 words, 8 links. By Matt Webb.

At the dawn of the plastic age, it was a cheap substitute. The word “plasticky” is not a compliment. Over time, the plastics industry developed new finishes, colors and most of all, cul…