When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras. - Dr. Theodore Woodward
It’s more important to do big things well than to do the small things perfectly. - Ray Dalio
Stop starting and start finishing!
This awesome tool blends your everyday work apps into one. It replaces tools like Trello, Google Sheets & Evernote to be your all-in-one workspace. See my personal wiki & work dashboard template. created using Notion.
I enjoy morning exercise but getting up early can be especially hard in the dark depths of winter! This light helps me rise and get going by re-creating a natural sunrise. Conversely, the sunset simulation gradually decreases light intensity before bedtime which is great for winding down.
Remove the background of an image, hassle free in 5 seconds! I was pleasantly surprised to see this free website work exactly as advertised!
This book examines our failures to recognise the role chance plays in life and our tendency to assign meaning to random events.
This book changed my perspective on ‘non-realized’ outcomes when analysing decisions. (eg. If a man were to get rich playing Russian roulette, can he be said to have made a good decision when one of the five alternative scenarios involved death!?)
It does not matter how frequently something succeeds if failure is too costly to bear.
Professionals forget the following reality. It is not the estimate or the forecast that matters so much as the degree of confidence with the opinion.
Dramatic IT management fiction! The series of challenges besieging Parts Unlimited will be familiar for those working in any software company. A must read for all techies!
Geography plays a key role in global politics and economics. This book explores the geography of 10 major regions and the influence it has on geo-political strategies of the world powers. I don’t watch the news, so this drastically improved my grasp of global politics and economics!
Great advice and tips that can easily be followed to help build new habits. The book focuses on the small changes that can have a revolutionary effect on your career, your relationships, and your life.
I cheated and picked 4 here, which still proved extremely hard! For more recommended reads, view my digital bookshelf here & full reading list here.
In 1987, an Alabama man had an idea. So he made a deal with the mob. And ended up with 3,186 tons of trash no landfill would take. This is the accidental birth of recycling in the U.S.
This info-packed and entertaining interview with Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather, dive deeps on advertising, persuasion, and why humans do some of the silly things we do. This episode is so good I started reading Rory’s book Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don’t Make Sense.
Andy Puddicombe is not your typical entrepreneur – in his early twenties, he gave away everything he owned to train as a Buddhist monk. But after ten years, he decided he wanted to bring the benefits of his meditation techniques to more people. While running a meditation clinic in London, Andy met Rich Pierson, who had burned out on his job at a high-powered London ad agency. Together, they founded Headspace in 2010. Nine years later, Headspace’s guided meditation app has users in 190 countries and an annual revenue of over $100 million.
Awesome list of 88 bite-sized life lessons! My favourites include:
11) Every problem you have is your responsibility, regardless of who caused it.
13) If you never doubt your beliefs, then you’re wrong a lot.
43) Almost every cliché contains a truth so profound that people have been compelled to repeat it until it makes you roll your eyes. But the wisdom is still in there.
48) Even if it costs no money, nothing is free if it takes time.
The iPhone could be an incredible tool, but most people use their phone as a life-shortening distraction device. This article is a fully comprehensive guide (very long) to optimising your phone usage.
Simple nuggets of advice from renowned author Ryan Holiday as he reflects on growing a year older.
Loved the best of 2019, but crave more great content? Check out the Best of 2018 to satisfy that curiosity!
View all previous newsletters here and all previous newsletter links here.
Feel free to forward this email to a friend or reach out with feedback and suggestions for the next edition! ✌️
- Peter Duffy