Week 11, 2024
Week 11 of 2024 has arrived. I. Love. Spring. She isn't quite here yet, but I can hear her whistling as she comes into town.
Time to walk over to your 4K Weeks poster and fill in another square. Done?
I ripped a scab off my knee today at basketball while diving for a loose ball. A scab that had formed over a scrape I got while... diving for a loose ball. I'm 46.5 Most of them are 20-35.
One of the guys on another court laughed after. He had seen the bloody tissue on the bleachers and said he knew it was me. I think they all think I am a bit insane. I'm a little ashamed (just a little) to say that I love that.
"It makes me sick when I see a guy just stare at a loose ball watch it go out of bounds." Larry Bird
I am not sure I will ever be able to not dive after a ball... it just isn't how I play.
How do you play? Is that working for you?
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Thanks for being here and reading! These blogs help me "Sharpen The Saw" and hopefully help you to sharpen yours!
Remarkable Weeks
Week 11 of 1900, Sir Arthur Evans rediscovers the Bronze Age city of Knossos in Crete, which was believed to be the legendary home of the Minotaur. He was 2,540.43 weeks old. (48.72 yrs)
Week 11 of 2019, Greta Thunberg served as the inspiration of global Climate Change strikes held by school children. About 1.4 million children joined the movement. She was 845 weeks old. (16.20 yrs)
Week 11 of 2018, Xi Jinping, was allowed presidency for life when the term limit for the position was removed by China's National People's Congress. I think we can all agree this is bologna. No one is qualified for, and no one should be president for life. You disqualify yourself just by asking. He was 3,377.86 weeks old (64.78 yrs).
This Week's Quote
A man is not old, as long as he is seeking something. -Edmund Rostand
I am trying to take all of the lessons that are offered... and most of them are from people who don't know they are offering them.
I think that being in your 40s with children is like standing on a hill where you can see down both sides. On one side is all of the youth, and you can still mostly remember being young. Your recent experience with babies, toddlers, and teens fills in the rest. And on the other side are all of the older people, and since your parents are in that group, you can see what is in store.
It is a rare moment where you can reach out and touch the full expanse of the human experience... and learn from it all.
Which leads me to this lesson that I have learned. The youngest "old" people that I know are the ones with hobbies, plans, new ideas, creative and professional pursuits, etc., etc., etc.
I do think that you shouldn't have to be economically productive until your dying day, but I also think that the idea of "retirement" has been a disservice to lots of people who bought in.
It's ok to pause from now and then, but for your own sake, don't stop. Be as active mentally and physically as you can until the light goes out.
Also, let's bring back fabulous mustaches!
What I am Consuming This Week
I've thought a lot about this this week. It's silly, but also...
I am redesigning my professional "work flow". I have fallen too far into the trap of managing by "to-do's", which of course need to be ta-done, but they aren't often quadrant 2 work , which is where most of the 20% that gets the 80% lives. So I am trying to schedule out my week, and exploring new to-do list management tools. I have used a ReMarkable tablet most every day for the last five years, but I think it's time to move back to paper and pen for a minute. There is too much to-do list stuff, and not enough creative/original/essential work getting accomplished.
Do you have any tools that you love for daily to-do list tracking and project planning?
Freakonomics Radio, "#578, Water, Water, Everywhere - But You Have to Stop and Think." Who knew you could learn so much from poo water... and also, I GUESS I'm ok with it being tracked...? "There is a TON of human DNA in sewer water."
Freakonomics Radio, "#579, Are you Caught in a Social Media Trap?" The idea of products that cost you if you DON'T use them is very interesting.
Insta Nuggets:
Back to the Social Media Trap.
- This seems like a good way to stave off organizational entropy.
- Oh, my brain wanted to say $1 so bad!
- Lean into your weird! (Also, her dad or mom must be a pro.)
What I am Thinking About This Week
Rates of change and tug of war.
The movement of culture is like a giant game of tug-of-war.
The two forces are #1) the Status Quo and #2) Creative Disruption.
Each team is trying to tug the center point of the rope over their direction and in any given moment, what we call "The Culture" is some spot above the center. Sometimes it's more in the Status Quo direction, sometimes more Creative Disruption.
What happens when someone suddenly "wins" tug-of-war? Have you ever seen it happen?
Culture is an infinite game. Tug-of-war is a finite game.
In culture, we only win if we get to keep playing. If one side "wins", we all lose.
Every good thing about the human world and every bad thing about the human world exists because of the two forces in tension.
It's obvious why the Status Quo would typically be favored by us older people. We have invested our time, talent and treasure in the world as it is. There is obvious downside risk in change.
It's also obvious why Creative Disruption is often favored by the younger among us. They have no stake in the world as it is, and they see myriad ways it could be better. The Status Quo already has all the money and power, so for them there is significant downside risk in maintaining the Status Quo.
But they are both ESSENTIAL!!!
We live in an amazing future. If the Status Quo had "won" in 1886 we would all still ride horses. Creative Disruption offered a new alternative and over time we built a world around that change, and cars are now the Status Quo.
But, if there had been no Status Quo in 1886, there would have been no space or time for Carl Benz to invent the "vehicle powered by a gas engine".
100% Creative Disruption is chaos, and chaos is anathema to progress.
100% Status Quo is living in a cave with a loin cloth and no written language. Actually, no loin cloth... "Can you believe kids and their fashion choices these days!"
So, for those of you/us on the Status Quo side of the spectrum, remember that the Status Quo you love used to be cutting-edge stuff "those crazy kids" are doing. Create some space in your mind for new ideas and change.
For those of you/us on the Creative Disruption side of the spectrum, understand that the only reason you have food and freedom to explore new ways of doing things is because the lights are on today, and that is thanks to the Status Quo. While you are out there inventing new and better worlds for us all to live in, make sure to keep the doors open for all the people and things that made your progress possible.
And also, think long and hard about which camp you just assigned to yourself... you are on a spectrum, too... don't crawl into comfy boxes unawares!
Have a great week!
Thanks for being a part of the journey with us! Please tell me if you liked/disliked the blog this week. Ask my wife... those are the only emails I like to get!
Dad Joke O' The Week
What do you give the dentist of the year?
A little plaque!
And this one from Lucy G.
What is harder to catch the faster you run?
Your breath!
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