You and I try to figure out who we are. You and I make a decision, like a hypothesis, about who we are and act accordingly. We look at how people respond to our actions. We reflect on how our work is received and valued. We then make an update given feedback received.When it comes to hypothesis testing, when your data shows your hypothesis to be true or false, you must make updates. You don’t continue testing and testing until your data shows you want you want to see. That’s bad exploration. Given the hypothesis model of personal identity (I’m sure it’s not a novel concept), what’s your hypothesis about yourself now? What updates have you made about yourself? Where is your data leading you?Thinking about this model for myself — I believe it reduces the stress of trying to be something that I am not. Instead, I make a hypothesis and test and, hopefully if I disprove my hypothesis, I learn something about myself. A caveat… I also recognize that people do not define me. I am using people’s reactions to how I believe I am to help me learn more about myself. I don’t believe we’ll ever achieve 100% certainty. It will only be after we’re gone, when those we knew account for who we were, will we know what we became. That’s what I think… for now.

Noticing, for me, is a function of my ability to pause, still my mind, observe, and notate. It’s arguable that the waste product of my process is time. However, time is only waste if my noticing is not put to good use. Noticing requires energy — pausing, stilling the mind, and observing are energy intensive actions… or inactions. Sitting still is difficult. Not thinking about the next thing to do is a chore for many. Observing and not judging… you get the picture. If you are not skilled at noticing, the experience curve is real. You will spend more time and energy in the art of stilling your body and your mind. Eventually, with practice, you’ll become better and more efficient. The experience curve will work in your favor. Once skilled at noticing, you might notice your sense of humor changes. You might notice you start seeing the world as it is. You may find yourself more open minded to other ideas or norms. I’ve been practicing noticing for years — years! I’m not a master. I notice my sense of humor changed — I can find funny in the absurd and the ironic. I notice that I’m more open to new ideas and experience. I notice that I am more present in this moment — the only moment that matters — the only moment I own.How do you quantify the cost of owning the present?

I discovered that the more I focus on noticing the world, the more I notice the absurdity of it. I watch people change grocery checkout lines like they’re changing lanes of traffic. Where do they have to go so fast? How many more minutes did they save? And, how do they know that those minutes saved mattered? I watch people, and myself, stress and wig out about work. How silly that is. Why stress something that can’t physically harm me? And why stress something that will ultimately end? And why couldn’t there be more fun?I watch show up to church as if they’ll convene with a one true divine mystery. Many people participate in a religiion and many people believe in many different kinds of mystery. Who’s right? And who’s wrong? And does it matter? The intensity of my curiosity about the world’s absurdity postiively correlates the amount of noticing. You might find that a curse; however, I find the process of thinking and exploring quite fun.Noticing is fun.

Do you have the target defined? Marketers get this — if you create work for other people, then your work serves others. If you want to serve others, then you must inhabit their world.Inhabiting a person’s worldview is tough. You are requried to suspend judgment and play the role of observer — noticing things around you. Perhaps only as the observer can the craftsperson develop a better idea of what they must build. Perhaps only as the observer can we output more helpful things. Perhaps only as the observer can we truly see who we serve.

The ease of writing a book to you daily - great.Intention ≠ Ease. Concise and direct requires time, intention, and attention.

I sat in a shuttle going between terminals. The shuttle driver received an incoming call on the radio. The dispatcher asked the shuttle driver to go to Parking Lot A to pick some passengers. Another person came on the radio and said they would go to Parking Lot A. The shuttle driver said he would proceed to departures. The dispatcher asked the shuttle bus driver to pick someone up in Lot B. Another person said they were in Lot B. The mess of communication made the shuttle bus driver crazy. He raised his voice. He complained about how people don’t listen. He did not appreciate the lack of organization and clarity from his teammates. He said, “listening is such a hard skill. I mean, why is it so hard for people to shut up and simply focus on the task at hand.”

If you’re in a new place, you may have a list of restaurants you want to try. Which one do you pick? Consider this: you’ve never been to any of them, so you don’t know what you’re missing. And if you would derive relatively equal value from each restaurant, then consider the one that offers the least rushed experience. Give yourself the gift of savoring new.

I am not skilled at networking — it’s not my gift. However, I thought about two opposite yet complimentary ideas related to it.First: Quantity over QualityNetwork with as many people as you can to maximize for future optionality. The more people you meet, the more you can pick and choose with whom to cultivate relationships. Second: Quality over QuantityWhy not pick just a few people and focus on them? Have a few memorable conversations that may produce something beautiful in the future. People aren’t trading cards. ConclusionNetworking is a cost for me. I’m more introverted than not, and I’m a bit weird to meet in person. That said, I see how the person like me can exist in either world — quantity or quality. Focusing on rapid networking doesn’t require me to deploy emotional resources. I can see how many people I can meet before I’m exhausted. I optimize for a balanced intro and an option to meet in the future. Focusing on quality seems like a smart move for people I believe there can be a strong exchange of value. Perhaps I look at relationship-building like a funnel and I reserve “quality” towards the lower half of the funnel?

I like to think about culture. And I like to wonder how culture shapes our view of the world and how we exist in it. Perhaps I’m a bit of a culture contrarian most times. As it relates to AI, I’m remarkably curious how our culture will be changed (I believe for the better) in times to come. Here are two examples care of Tyler Cowen: Click here for a clip of how OpenAI (makers of ChatGPT) developed their tech to order 400 chocolate covered strawberries… and pay in cash.Are doctors considering AI’s diagnostic reasoning? “Doctors were given cases to diagnose, with half getting GPT-4 access to help. The control group got 73% score in diagnostic accuracy (a measure of diagnostic reasoning) & the GPT-4 group 77%. No big difference…. But GPT-4 alone got 88%. The doctors didn’t change their opinions when working with AI.”Play the role of the devil to my own optimism — how might this new tech change creative work? I believe we are entering an era where humans are challenged to be more creative. And creative in a way that kids shine — asking questions. It’s my experience that the median adult struggles to generate questions to answer; they are over index on finding answers. My experience with the median child is the opposite — they over index on asking questions. Working with AI, the ability to get better outputs from the technology is correlated to a user’s ability to craft useful prompts. Is the ability to ask better questions a result of a creative mind? In my opinion, yes. While I share the concern of many that AI may disrupt our lives in unpleasant ways. I also see the potential. I see myself becoming more creative in my thinking and more productive in my outputs. I see others experiencing the same gains. Nothing is ever too good to be true — and AI is no exception. And, simultaneously, it’s beautiful seeing how we adapt to an ever changing landscape.

Some people like to avoid conversations around death. I’m different.At the quantum level, a particle could be or could not be present — we only know once it’s observed. I take that and use it as a model for existence. You, faithful reader, could be here or you could not be here; it will only be once I see you whether I know you’re here. My idea about the impermanence of life gives me a freedom to adopt a realistic view on life and death. In a way, it’s the thought of death hanging over my head that motivates me to work harder, be more present, and to never take any moment for granted. I stress less. What’s the incentive to avoid death then? Personally, I don’t see one. I acknowledge that others might have had traumatic and horrible experiences losing a loved one. I can’t offer an insight to counter their experience, and I would never. I wonder if our avoidance is because deep within our mind there is a question that we are afraid to answer. That question might be: “Did we make the most of the time we had?” I fear the answer, for some, might be “no.”