Happy 2025. Thoughts from the last year, what worked, what didn’t…I will continue…Blogging every day, continue.Aiming for >7 hours of sleep. Allowing myself 30 min to fall asleep. No distractions.3.5L of water per day.>30 minutes of exercise per day.Maximizing protein intake.>2 hours of piano practice per week.Write personal notesAim to read a chapter per day of a bookI will stop…I no longer see the value in specific eating plans. There’s enough evidence out there that energy deficiency is required for losing weight, and diets are simply a lever that can be pulled. Not saying what I think. I have the habit of hedging or softening my positions, I will stop that in 2025. In 2024, I got better outcomes by being more blunt. The tradeoff is momentary stress, but the long-run benefit is congruency. I don’t know if I will stop, but I may limit my consumption of general business books in favor of specific academic subject areas. Example — stop reading about leadership and start reading more about a specific industry or brand. I will limit, not stop, my time with others and prioritize my home life and my personal time. My time is finite, and I can’t be all things for all people. I need to more focus on that which brings me long-run utility and value over short term gains from making people happy at the expense of myself. I will start…I don’t know that I want to start anything at the moment. I’m happy with reductions for the moment. Sometimes life doesn’t need adding….Best Music EnjoyedThinking of You - Aaron FrazerYai Yai - Mohama SazPaper Doll - Kurt Eling & Sullivan FortnerPixingando - Amina Mezaache & MaracujaForever - MidlifeNo Death - Mirel WagnerElectric Energy - Ariana DeBose, Boy George, and Nile Rogers (I’m a sucker for that bassline)La Comparsa - Ernesto Lecuona played by Frank FernandezVaper Wipe - The Breadman (shameless plug, I did keys for their album… but I love this track, a nod to my influence, Richard Tee)Best Movies Enjoyed“Argylle”“Red One” - cackled non-stop“Conclave” - the skeptical and lapsed Catholic in me loved this one“Deadpool & Wolverine” - I waited for this movie all year, it did not disappoint“American Fiction” and “Am I A Racist” - Yes, I saw both, and loved both. I’m attracted to the controversy, I love satire, and I think it’s healthy to laugh at ourselves.“The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” - watched multiple times. All and all — a good year. Lots learned, lots of music enjoyed, lots of enjoyable movies, and fun experiences. Looking forward to 2025.Happy New Year.

You can’t live a life without considering tradeoffs. To inform your boss you want a raise or sit quietly. Or in poker, to hold or bet. Or in nuclear war, to use aggressive rhetoric or to allow cooler heads to prevail. My working belief about what drives the decision to act or to wait are feedback loops. Feedback loops are powerful. They can reinforce, balance, or limit behaviors of systems. Between 1947 and 1952 (4 years), the United States 64x’d their atomic bomb stock from 13 to 841. Driven, as sold to the American public, by a need for deterrents. The reinforcing feedback loop looks like this: the more bombs we have, the more secure we’ll become, and we need to increase our stock of security. But our system exists in a zoo, with other nation states and their systems.Russia and other nations increased the stock of their own bombs for similar reasons. The reinforcing loop in one system influenced the behavior of another system. Economists call these spillover effects, externalities. While the system of production does its thing, it’s the system of people and their deliberations and their beliefs which ultimately set a catastrophe in motion. The decision to allow cooler heads to prevail, or the decision to be aggressive. Of course, that all depends on the reinforcement feedback loops present in those social and political systems.The takeaway for me is simple: your system of thought and life matters — your inputs, your outputs, and the feedback loops that help shape your processes all matter. Your system helps create a life of contentment vs war.Inspiration and facts about bomb production from Annie Jacobsen’s “Nuclear War: A Scenario” — continuing to be the one of the best books I’ve read… and I’m not a war junkie.

The opening sentences of Annie Jacobsen’s book, “Nuclear War: A Scenario” haunt and pique the senses.

A 1-megaton thermonuclear weapon detonation begins with a flash of light and heat so tremendous it is impossible for the human mind to comprehend.

The prologue and the next 2 chapters discuss the history of the US’s plan to launch nuclear weapons at Russia and the real effects of the atomic bomb blast over Hiroshima. Most concerning (and admittedly upsetting) was that the US kept the effects of the bomb on Japanese citizens confidential to avoid enemies learning of the effects. I visited Nagasaki’s atom bomb museum a decade ago, the images are real and horrific — what’s the justification for keeping that confidential?

I just acquired “Nuclear War: A Scenario” by Annie Jacobsen. I’m not looking forward to nuclear war, and it’s my hope that our world never experiences that fate. I became interested in the book because I am interested in risk.How do we define risk? How do we manage risk? How do we game out potential scenarios? What history did we use as the basis for our models? Similar questions to the ones I asked yesterday. Some of the best ways for learning a new way of thinking are to study people who obsess about a thing and write about their obsession. You can learn a lot more about the music industry reading works by people who obsess about music. You’ll learn a lot more about business by reading biographies and autobiographies of people who obsess about a business/industry than a general business book. And I’ll learn more about risk management from someone who obsesses about a horrible scenario and writes about it than from a book on risk.

Let’s say you are presented with a scenario that includes a prediction — reviewing a job offer, making a health decision, or reviewing a product to purchase. Here are three questions you can use to generate a picture of future-reality, adapted from Donella H. Meadows’ “Thinking in Systems”.

1. Are the driving factors likely to unfold this way?
2. If they did, how will life likely unfold?
3. What is driving the driving factors?

Question 1 is a guess.

An elderly gentleman with Alzheimer’s sitting outdoors, wearing a Notre Dame football sweatshirt, in a hospital courtyard featuring animal sculptures. He presents a pensive expression while seated on a bench. Remarkably clear about what he does and doesn’t know in the zoo.

Here is a man that could easily feel defeated, and at times had.

Here is a man that is aware that the present is just past the future and that the present seems disorganized, cloudy, and like a broken puzzle.

A blogger asked me 5 questions. What do you do?What do you like to read?How did you find this?What is your favorite joke?What is your dream?I thought my answers effectively communicated who I am and what I do. I thought to share them with you.I work in Customer Success by night and by day I am a professional musician in Milwaukee. Or perhaps that’s the other way around… I also maintain two blogs that I enjoy writing in for fun.  I enjoy reading widely — I’m reading a book on the history of the Philippines and one on system dynamics.  I’m a bit of a book work. I found your site via Perplexity.  I was searching for another method of publishing one of my blogs that involved Obsidian vs using Squarespace (which is where I currently maintain my blog).  My favorite joke: listening to people complain about traffic.  That’s funny for me because there’s a tendency to project into other driver’s a motive — “they cut me off, they’re in my way.”  It’s as if they have mind reading ability.  I would love that person who complains about traffic to be on my shoulder when I need minds read.  My dream?  Survive…. Calmly… and but not too calm.DavidGPT thought my answers are cheeky… which it believes is authentic to me. Me?

A year or so ago I took down my AI-chat bot. Now, I created a GPT using ChatGPT. The GPT is trained on all of my blog posts, all of my notes, book notes, writings, and thoughts. If you engage with the GPT, it will not be like you’re engaging with me. Instead, it will output knowledge and advice I might give. Give it a tryExample:Prompt: How would David advise me to approach a job search? I’m so frustrated that I can’t find a job.Response (no indent for reading clarity):I hear you. That frustration is a tough weight to carry, and it’s easy to feel like every rejection chips away at your momentum. Let’s reframe this moment as an opportunity to refocus and build a plan rooted in clarity and connection.Step 1: Understand the LandscapeFirst, take a step back. The job market can feel overwhelming, but instead of seeing it as a monolith, think of it as a landscape to explore. Ask yourself:What industries or roles excite me right now?Where have I felt most effective or fulfilled in the past? This reflection helps you focus your energy on opportunities that align with your strengths and values. If you’re not sure where to start, revisit your past successes or seek input from people who know your work well.Step 2: Focus on RelationshipsMost opportunities come from connections, not cold applications. Tap into your network, but don’t make it transactional. Instead, lead with curiosity and generosity:Reconnect with former colleagues or mentors. Ask about their experiences and share your own journey.Attend industry events or online forums—not just to “get a job,” but to learn, contribute, and make genuine connections. If reaching out feels intimidating, frame it like this: What can I learn from this person? How can I offer value in return?Step 3: Reclaim the NarrativeFrustration often arises from feeling out of control. Reclaim your sense of agency by breaking the process into manageable steps:Target 3-5 roles a week. Research them thoroughly to tailor your applications.Dedicate time daily to growing your skills, whether it’s through online courses, volunteer work, or personal projects that showcase your expertise.Set aside 20 minutes a day for outreach—whether it’s LinkedIn messages, networking events, or asking for referrals.Step 4: Balance Doing with BeingWhen you’re constantly “doing”—applying, networking, strategizing—it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Take moments to reflect on why you’re pursuing this path:What kind of impact do you want to have in your work?How can this journey align with your broader life goals? Balancing your drive to “do” with moments to simply “be” will keep you grounded and motivated​.Step 5: Cultivate ResilienceRejections sting, but they’re not a reflection of your worth. Think of each as a step closer to the right opportunity. Celebrate small wins: a connection made, a skill learned, or even the effort of putting yourself out there.Remember:You’re not just looking for a job—you’re shaping your next chapter. It’s not about how fast you get there but about finding something that fits who you are and what you bring to the table. If there’s one thing I’d urge you to do right now, it’s to focus on the relationships and insights that will pave the way to where you’re meant to be. Where are you feeling most stuck, and how can we get you unstuck together?

By age 60, most Americans will spend nearly twice as much of their time alone as they do with a partner. The chart below makes that point super clear… the x-axis is age, not year.

   [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2014"]   Source  [/caption] 

And if you notice that we spend the most time with ourselves, you can say that time with others is scarce. It’s also possible to say that resources, like time, that are scarce are oftentimes more valuable than abundant resources. Therefore, interacting with people you scarcely see can be considered valuable and precious. At the same time, we have a gift giving crisis. This is the time of year when people like to buy gift cards because they don’t know what to buy for others. The gift cards are from stores the recipient may never visit, the experience to buy and redeem are not thoughtful. If spending time with people you scarcely see is considered precious time, then the experience of buying a gift for these same people should be precious as well. Seth Godin, in a recent post, proposes a new process for gift card giving. See below.- Go the the online store, find an item you think a friend would like. Instead of ordering it, choose GIFT CARD.- The store asks you if you’d like to purchase a charitable donation add on as well.- Now, the site produces a unique digital gift card, with a picture of the item and a link to redeem it. The QR code it generates also includes a thank you from the charity.- Your friend simply has to scan the lovely page you printed out (or emailed them) to go to the redeem page. Once there, they can choose to get the item you carefully picked out, choose something else or easily get cash back.- And so, they get delighted three times: When they get the thoughtful card. When they go to the site and discover they can get the cash back. And when the item arrives in the post and they unwrap it.I love Seth for his thoughtfulness, his belief in the recipient’s agency, and the purchasing and redeeming experience — full cycle. It’s easy for a store to make a gift card redeem code available over email; it takes time, effort, and intention to make that experience ultra-meaningful. Seth proposes the missing x-factor: design.People who make products (hard or intangible) apply design and craft to build products that appeal to consumers. Now, many sites are optimized for fast click-thru and quick outcomes; that’s what consumers tend to want and what Google rewards. Seth’s proposal adds a few tweaks: gift giver picks what consumer might like, makes a gift card for that thing, creates an and makes an opt-in for a donation. Elegant and simple tweaks that say “hey, recipient, I am thinking about you…”. and allow for the recipient to say “yes, that’s me…” or “yes, thank you for thinking of me…”. The time spent purchasing and selecting the gift for the person you scarcely see in total is time spent in the service of others. As that time becomes scarce and scarce, the experience spending that time must proportionately become more and more meaningful.

Quick thought: spend more time listening to understand how a person or thing’s system is preventing them from getting the outcomes they intend. Then, address the roadblock that will give you the most gains quickly with the least amount of problem solving energy.