Quitting, aging, growing, coaching
RWL #387
Greetings from the University of New Hampshire! We’re back at it - about six weeks to go for the semester. I’m still waiting to place one more student in an internship for the summer. She’s got several leads, but nothing has been finalized yet. I’m sure one of them will pan out. So I almost hit my stretch goal of 100% placed before spring break. As long as all the kids get something and it’s good for them, that’s really what matters.
For those of you listening, I’ve gotten a bit behind on the FITW podcast - sorry about that. I have two recorded and awaiting editing - one on negotiations and trust, the other on the history of childhood. Hopefully I’ll have them out shortly. I’ve got a couple more guests lined up for Health Leader Forge, too, that I am excited about. It’s fun to do a podcast, but it’s a lot of work.
I’m trying to do a little visual art these days. I like the bookmark as modality. It’s a small investment (this one is 2x6), but it’s practical. Instagram has figured out I have a minor obsession with clotheslines, especially in Old World scenes. I tried to make a bookmark illustration based on some images I saw - I had fun, but with art, I’m never completely satisfied. My vision is always so much better than what actually shows up on the page. But it’s good to stretch in multiple dimensions.
On to the links! As usual, willing good for all of you!
**
Read
What: HBR, Don’t Quit Your Job Before Asking Yourself These Questions
Why: A short article with some useful insight into when it is time to think about leaving your job.
**
What: Stephen Dunn, The Last Hours
https://www.ronnowpoetry.com/contents/dunn/LastHours.html
Why: I just finished re-reading Stephen Dunn’s poetry collection, Different Hours, and wanted to share this poem about meaningful work (or lack thereof), since I’ve been talking about that in the FITW newsletter. It goes well with the HBR link above. It’s a two-minute read. A short clip:
I'm translating his beneficence into a lifetime, a life of selling snacks, talking snack strategy, thinking snack thoughts.
**
What: Anne Lamott, All that is true about aging is illuminated on a walk
Why: Lamott is a writer who thinks and writes about life. This piece struck me. Going to jiu-jitsu three times a week keeps me humble and reminds me that I am not in my 30’s (or even 40’s) anymore. I’m going to give you the punch line, but reading this whole thing makes it so much richer:
Age is giving me the two best gifts: softness and illumination. It would have been nice if whoever is in charge of such things doled them out in our younger years, but that’s not how it works. Age ferries them across the water, and they will bring us through whatever comes.
**
Watch
What: Don Boudreaux, The Hockey Stick of Human Progress (5 min)
https://mru.org/courses/everyday-economics/trade-growth-hockey-stick-human-prosperity
Why: I discussed the “great enrichment” of humanity that has been happening since the mid-1700’s as a result of the Industrial Revolution in a FITW podcast interview yesterday with Julia Rodriguez, professor of History here at UNH. We were discussing the history of childhood and one of her points was that during that time survival rates of children until age 15 have risen from 50% for pretty much all of human history to 96% today since the Industrial Revolution. Economists call this rapid growth of prosperity The Hockey Stick of Human Progress. In this short video, one of my former professors talks about what it took to create this miracle.
**
Listen
What: The Tim Ferriss Show, Seth Godin — Coaching Tim on Overcoming Resistance, Lessons from Isaac Asimov, Writing Secrets After 8,500+ Daily Blog Posts, The Dangers of Authenticity, Practices for Consistency, and Much More (51 min)
Why: Tim Ferriss is obsessed with maximum performance. He’s interesting to listen to sometimes, but I am selective because he can be exhausting. Seth Godin is a master marketer, and if you haven’t heard of him, this is a good introduction. I also find him exhausting, but for different reasons. It may seem like I’m not selling this one very well, but I actually like them together. Godin nominally gives Ferriss some advice about blogging, but the conversation is revealing about both of them. Both highly successful, but for different reasons. The conversation is really about finding an organizing vision for yourself: Ferriss is a high-achiever, Godin is “interesting”.