Wishing you all a fantastic 2023 ahead. It’s time for a new chapter, a new page, and a new beginning. And there is one thing that significantly increases the odds of making tomorrow better i.e. using today to learn lessons from the past.
As Patti Smith once said “What I really like is an intelligent review. It doesn't have to be positive. A review that has some kind of insight.”
I have gone through an elaborate review process for 2022 and have been able to walk away with a lot of things -
tonnes of gratitude for the beautiful things that happened in 2022
insights about myself e.g. what sparks joy? what drains my energy? which activities feed my goals?
perspective on the games I am playing, the goals I’m devoting attention to, and the environment I’m building to facilitate progress
realizations about the mistakes committed, lapses in judgment, laziness and lethargy that showed up from time to time
Provided below is the framework from Dickie Bush that I used for doing this insightful exercise -
One of the questions in there was about my favorite write-ups. This nudge was what I needed to go through all the recommended articles I have shared in my newsletter since Jan 2022.
I am so happy to have gone through them all once more and I wanted to share the best 10 pieces that left me enlightened, empowered, or entertained in the most wholesome manner possible. It impacted me when I read it the first time, and it imprinted its message even deeper in my subconscious mind this time around.
I wanted to share these beautiful pieces with you too and I am certain about you finding gems too in one of these pieces for your own goals and productivity in 2023.
#10
12 Extraordinary Stoic Moments - Ryan Holiday
This piece gives you a glimpse into a virtuous life through the most inspiring real-life stories. These stories cover presidents, athletes, stoic philosophers, army generals, corporates, and pilots. These stories cover moments that changed the course of history in many ways, inspired generations, and progressed humanity.
"History is for human self-knowledge ... the only clue to what man can do is what man has done. The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is." - R. G. Collingwood
#9
Paradox of Choice - Young Money
This piece wakes you up to the reality of our modern lives - we are way too connected for our own good, we are overwhelmed with abundance today, and the curse of casting our nets wide with passions and pursuits instead of going deep and building mastery.
#8
Status Games - Nick Maggiulli
We live in a world where everyone has a tendency to rank you in their heads - “he is the best”, “he is the slowest”, “he is a great swimmer”, “he is the richest”, “he is a failure” - it’s NON STOP. You can’t stop it from happening in other people’s heads and hence playing that game is a sure-shot recipe for losing.
This piece talks about options at your disposal to escape this matrix in a way that always keeps your confidence and self-esteem in a healthy zone. This is crucial to making significant gains at work and in life.
#7
Biggest Risk in Business - Buggy Humans
Sridharan Anand is one of my favorite writers. His posts and his tweets are insightful, thoughtful, and loaded with wisdom. Sometimes I am awestruck by the perspective that he brings to the game of investing.
Even in this piece, he shares an open letter to all managements of large corporations and SME businesses on sticking to the goal of compounding wealth for shareholders and avoiding the stupidities that are all pervasive in the corporate world.
#6
How people think - Morgan Housel
For my regular readers, you would know how much I admire Morgan Housel’s writings and may even consider me a fanboy of his. I admit. Yes, I am.
Morgan has a unique style for sharing wisdom that will stir you up, activate your grey cells, make you take notes, nudge you to dive deep within, and come back 10% better than who you were before you read the piece. And he weaves this magic with every single piece of his.
Even this write-up delves into how most people think, why they think the way they do, why it may be rational even if it looks irrational or delusional, and how could you navigate these warped thought processes that consume every single individual around you.
#5
Fat Tails - Taylor Pearson
Ever felt unlucky about how bad things got for you? Ever envied others for their good luck? Ever wondered why some people are plain lucky and you are not?
If yes, then this piece is a MUST-READ. It delves into what luck exactly is and what framework leads to creating more luck in our lives. It also provides a nuanced understanding of why most of your actions won’t lead to huge lucky paydays, and this is key to making convex choices that may have lesser inputs but massive payoffs.
#4
Haters - Paul Graham
Paul Graham is my no. 2 favorite writer, just after Morgan Housel. This piece imparts upon you an insight that will become essential in your toolkit to deal with the hyper-connected world that we live in.
When you succeed, the 1000s of appreciation or congratulatory messages can puff you up and lead to overconfidence or complacency. When you fail or deliver a shitty creative output (we all do), then the criticisms and comments can be scathing and toxic in many cases. The negativity can defuse all hopes and aspirations you may have from the creator economy.
This piece gives you a context for both of these scenarios and prepares you for not taking any of this personally. Fanboys and Haters are to be accepted as 2 sides of the same coin. This is the only way to keep your energy high and your feet on the ground. Your energy will make you create more, and your feet on the ground will keep you grounded in humility and gratitude.
#3
Envy - Lawrence Yeo
The reason for this piece being no. 3 is that it handles a chronic mental disease in the most delightful manner. Google defines ‘envy’ as a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck. And I refer to it as chronic because it is constantly nagging in the back of people’s minds.
Even Warren Buffet has often quoted “It's not greed that drives the world, but envy. Envy is a really stupid sin because it's the only one you could never possibly have any fun at."
Envy makes you spend more than you earn, envy makes you create a lifestyle that enslaves you, envy makes your accomplishments feel like nothing, and envy makes you feel distant from your shifting goalposts. Hence, conquering envy becomes fundamentally important for one’s own sanity and happiness.
#2
Rare Skills - Morgan Housel
Morgan Housel hits a home run with this piece. It talks about 3 skills that could prove life-saving in the most subtle ways. He covers the most fundamental principle behind extraordinary relationships, personal productivity, and effective communication.
Relationships create the spark and joy in our lives. Productivity is essential for personal progress and accomplishments. And communication provides you with the tools to leverage your skills and scale up your impact on a wider audience.
This was fantastic and yet so so simple !!!
#1
On Just One Breath - Sports
The best write-up from 2022 has nothing to do with investing, money, wisdom, health, or any of the topics I normally cover in my newsletters. It is about Alenka Artnik, a scuba diving legend with numerous records and accolades to her name.
This piece is not only about her skills, or the mental strength that makes her accomplish extraordinary feats. But the whole piece is a reading experience I have never come across.
The UI/UX of the website is mind-bending. The journey of the diver is covered in a way that will make you dive with her. You will be able to experience the underwater scenes in a very vivid manner. I cannot describe it because it’s experiential and you will have to discover it for yourself.
2022 was a fantastic year in so many ways. I am grateful for it all and thankful for you too taking time out to read my pieces, leave comments, and some even calling me and sharing their takeaways.
I strive to get better as a writer in 2023, add more value than you expected, publish 4 articles per month, share on multiple platforms, and amp up engagement with you all.
Wishing you a Happy New Year and kickass 365 days ahead 🎉
Sending loads of love and luck to you.
Manish