14 - On Unexpected Newsletter Lessons, playing your game, and paths

Notes from a Commonplace

Author

Carson B
August 31, 2024 • Reading Time: 6 minutes

3..Notes from the Greats 🏆

American Industrialist, John D Rockefeller, on which path to take:

"If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success."

John Adams on inter-generational duty:

"I must study politics and war so that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy…in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music."

Peter Thiel on the right profile for entrepreneurs:

2..Notes to Know 🧠

Play Your Game: From Morgan Housel’s book, Psychology of Money, the idea is to play your own financial game, and not get caught up in the games others are playing. If you’re investing a piece of your salary for retirement, don’t compare your portfolio to a hedge fund. Personal finance success is more about human psychology than dollars and cents. It’s is critical to avoid distractions and comparisons.

Clarke's Third Law: This law states that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. For example, watching SpaceX rocket's safely land is so far ahead of our expectations from existing technology, it almost looks magical. Watch here.

1..Note From Me 📓 On Unexpected Newsletter Lessons

For the last 10 weeks, I've written a personal newsletter. It's a simple collection of information I find notable throughout the week. One of the primary intents being to record all that I’m learning. But I didn't expect to learn something about myself.

I started because I love to learn. As I have written about before, reading is only part of the learning battle. To truly learn and absorb information, it helps to apply it.

This has been a major part of why I bother creating a personal newsletter each week. It's mostly selfish. But if there are other insatiable learners out there who enjoy some of the content, then that is a bonus.

The very process of organizing my notes and streamlining my thoughts has been a huge improvement in my learning efforts. It forces me to go back and review information that might go into the newsletter — almost like a form of spaced repetition.

Beyond that, the process of writing is the ultimate filter for my thinking. I might have an idea or an understanding in my head, but it isn't until I write it out that I can confidently articulate it verbally.

“Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard."

David McCullough

I knew I would learn a lot given the focus of my content. It was completely unexpected to learn something about myself.

What I learned is I like creating a product.

My day job is in a services-based business, so I don't have exposure to the process of product development. Each week I get to create a simple product that I can iteratively improve on.

The craftsmanship involved in creating a product, improving on it, and seeing it grow is something I have been missing.

I've learned that I really enjoy the decision-making and prioritization around creating a product. Ideas only get you so far, and there are plenty of good ones. The challenge lies in the prioritization of what ideas to pursue and expand on.

Practicing this on a smaller scale has been tremendously informative for my long-term goals around entrepreneurship.

"If you're having trouble sticking to a new habit, try a smaller version until it becomes automatic. Do less than you're capable of, but do it more consistently than you have before."

James Clear

This process of consistently developing this simple newsletter has taught me more about myself and my interests than I could have expected.

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A commonplace book is a personal collection of quotes, observations, ideas, and other bits of information that an individual finds interesting or inspiring. It is one of the most tried and true methods for learning & compiling information. Famously, Leonardo da Vinci, Marcus Aurelius, and Thomas Jefferson all carried a commonplace book.

This newsletter shares the notes from my own commonplace book and will add highlights to yours.