Ten Rabbit Holes to Explore 🐇

Character Invention, Independence, Life's Purpose, Tipping, and more.

Photo by Sharosh Rajasekher on Unsplash

Tipping

I have always enjoyed Tim Urban’s writings and I would even rank him on top of the list of creators who inspired me to start writing. He is witty, eloquent, and bold in his expressions. He even has a TED talk that has racked up 54 million views and it’s a hilarious take on procrastination. Hence I was delighted to bump into his writing on the ‘Art of Tipping’. It is an interesting take on this simple act, how to calculate it, the background story of the service industry, and the conventions followed. Your delivery guy and the waiter in your favorite restaurant will be happy you read this piece.

Wisdom

Ever questioned your choices during shopping? Ever debated about being frugal or being a spendthrift? Ever worried about the consequences of your current habits? If yes, then Morgan Housel’s piece on Frugal vs. Independent is a fantastic read. It throws light on people’s desire for status and success, which often leads to the sacrifice of happiness. And the way it plays out is unconscious to many and hence most falter. This piece might just wake you up from your slumber.

Every choice we make, every decision we take, and every act of ours has one thing in common - the lack of clarity of how it all plays out in the future. The fear of failure or loss makes most stop in their tracks, and just hope for continuity of life as it is. But change is constant and it will come, whether you like it or not. And Lawrence Yeo has written about dealing with change and embracing uncertainty in his beautiful style. This is a warm and soulful piece that you will enjoy reading.

And when you do start accepting change and embracing uncertainties, you will certainly become bold in your thinking and take on ambitious goals. And you must. What will come along with these choices is hard times, that will make you doubt every move of yours and that’s when you need to remind yourself of the reasons for your existence, the purpose of your life. It’s this clarity that gives you the strength to soldier on and Chris Guillebeau has written a simple yet profound piece on this subject. You get this right, 50% of the journey is done.

Social Media

If you are looking for a way out from your habit of endless scrolling, then this article is for you. If you know someone suffering from the disease of being glued to their phones, then share this piece with them. If you know someone who feels like he is missing out if he didn’t track what’s happening in other’s lives, then share this piece with them. It’s a must-read!!!

Spirituality

This is the first time I came across a post available in 31 languages on the website. It’s been recommended by more than ten people that i look up to, Kurzgesagt even has a video on the same matter on their YouTube channel. This one has a spiritual and a philosophical perspective to it and you might need to read it twice to completely get the essence of it. Consider it a dare from my side ;) Link

Leadership

For every team that says “this is as good as it’s going to get,” there’s a doppelgänger team out there who refuses to settle. They are pushing & they will eat your lunch—unless you raise your bar.” - Wes Kao

This is the intro to the piece and it gives you a sense of what it holds. This one is loaded with truth bombs and is applicable to you even if you have nobody reporting to you, because you always have someone looking at you for guidance and direction. And if you do have a team, this could be the best thing you read on leadership this year.

Raise the Bar - Link

Relationships

I have recently started following Sahil Bloom’s creative output and I am floored by the cadence at which he produces and the quality of his work. His talks are insightful, his newsletter is littered with gold, and his tweets are a glimpse into masterful compression of conventional wisdom. I am providing you two pieces form him that are a must read.

Interesting Conversations - Link

Character Invention - Link

AI

AI has taken over the global media by storm and hardly a day goes by without reading or seeing the implications/use cases of an AI based application/tool. It’s fascinating, and even comes close to magic. Just today morning I saw a video where every anchor and every clip shown was AI generated i.e. nothing was real in it, but everything did look and sound as real as CNBC or BBC does. And the chapter has just begun. Google seems to be making strides too and I was mightily impressed with their recent video of Gemini - Link

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Wishing you all a fantastic day ahead🤝

Manish