Podcasts about love your work

Send me a Text Message here.Attitude, baby!Another quick moment to give us clarity on one thought. Look at your feelings towards your work. How this attitude can affect our practice, should be analyzed regularly.  Support the showDon't forget to tell a friend or colleague! Click below! IW Community Buy Me a Coffee Get extras with a subscription! Share the PODCAST Subscribe to the Monthly Newsletter Listen & follow on many other platforms. Send me a voicemail! [TRANSCRIPTS ARE HERE] Thanks for listening. I'll see you next week.Take care now.

#329 | Dave is joined by Emma Robinson, Head of B2B Marketing at Canva, and Kristine Segrist, Global Head of Consumer Marketing at Canva, to break down how Canva is scaling growth across both enterprise and consumer audiences. They talk about how Canva balances brand-building with pipeline accountability, how they turn bottom-up product adoption into enterprise deals, and why brand investment is a long-term growth lever. Emma and Kristine also share how their team structure, data science investments, and creative bets like the Love Your Work campaign help Canva scale without losing the brand identity that made them famous.Timestamps(00:00) - – Intro (03:21) - – Canva's marketing org structure (06:21) - – Blurring B2B and B2C (11:21) - – How Canva measures marketing impact (16:21) - – Turning free users into enterprise deals (21:21) - – Data science's role in marketing (24:21) - – Balancing brand bets with ROI (30:59) - – Inside the “Love Your Work” campaign (37:59) - – How Canva executes large campaigns (41:59) - – Building enterprise credibility and trust (44:59) - – FedEx case study on brand governance (48:59) - – Lessons from Google and Meta (52:59) - – Why creativity is a marketing superpower (54:59) - – Closing thoughts Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterLearn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/***Brought to you by:Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive.Optimizely - An AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Get a free, personalized 45-minute AI workshop to help you identify the best AI use cases for your marketing team and map out where agents can save you time at optimizely.com/exitfive (PS - you'll get a FREE pair of Meta Ray Bans if you do). Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.  ***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more

1. Masked Singer Contestant Shockingly Withdraws Seconds Before Elimination Reveal (E! Online) (29:11) 2. Kim Kardashian finally reveals truth behind deleted party photos of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (Page Six) (38:19) 3. Justin Bieber to Perform at Grammy Awards (Hollywood Reporter) (46:11) 4. Barbara Corcoran Recalls Faking Her Own Death on Her 70th Birthday, Says Friends Found Her ‘Dead in a Coffin' (PEOPLE) (49:51) 5. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi Bring Gothic Glamour to Wuthering Heights Premiere (PEOPLE) (53:11) The Toast with Jackie (@JackieOshry) and Claudia Oshry (@girlwithnojob) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Toast Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Toast Merch ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Girl With No Job by Claudia Oshry ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Camper & The Counselor⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lean In Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon Squibb has always been committed to encouraging people to fulfil their dreams, and as a multi-millionaire entrepreneur, he's in a position to make real change. He's invested in startups, used his professional insight to write a book - What's Your Dream? Find Your Passion. Love Your Work. Build a Richer Life - and he's committed to inspiring people to take risks. Squibb's in New Zealand and he's already been spotted helping a chef in Remuera to fund her ambitions. "I can't help it, I love hearing people's dreams, and so there's no holiday from helping people that need it. And so I have actually now helped four people in New Zealand with their dreams, which is pretty exciting." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Simon Squibb has always been committed to encouraging people to fulfil their dreams, and as a multi-millionaire entrepreneur, he's in a position to make real change. He's invested in startups, used his professional insight to write a book - What's Your Dream? Find Your Passion. Love Your Work. Build a Richer Life - and he's committed to inspiring people to take risks. Squibb's in New Zealand and he's already been spotted helping a chef in Remuera to fund her ambitions. "I can't help it, I love hearing people's dreams, and so there's no holiday from helping people that need it. And so I have actually now helped four people in New Zealand with their dreams, which is pretty exciting." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello, Love Your Work listeners, those who still have this pod in your feeds – thank you for staying subscribed! I do not have a new episode for you, per se, though I've certainly thought about making new episodes, the bandwidth hasn't been there, because I have been long and hard at work on my next book, Finish What Matters! In short, you can buy the preview edition at https://kdv.co/fwmpre, but also let me tell you about it. Yes, after all the talk I made on this show about the subject of finishing projects, after all the mini episodes I published with various ideas such as the project halfpipe, the foundation effect, and Leonardo and Raphael, I finally have something ready to show you. Ironically, it has taken me a very long time to finish – or at least get close to finishing – this book. I thought I had the answers going into this one, but after digging deep into why projects – creative projects specifically – don't get finished, I have learned so much. Basically, there are really good reasons we don't always finish what matters. The creative process is open-ended, some of us have more open-ended cognitive styles, and we just don't know if finishing is going to be worth it! So it's no wonder we succumb to shiny object syndrome and struggle with motivation, and second-guess ourselves when we receive criticism.  I have surveyed you in the hundreds, I've interviewed you by the dozens. I have studied the great creators throughout history, I have traveled to Italy to immerse myself in the worlds of Leonardo and Raphael. Most important, I have locked myself in a cabin in the mountains, pondering these obstacles to finishing, and what to do about them. And now, after five years of work, I have something ready to show you. I have a publicly announced schedule of deadlines by which I will deliver to you every chapter. I have on the calendar a lecture series through which to share these concepts, and even a small-group finishing cohort to help a handful of you get a project done in Q1. So if you are interested, please visit kdv.co/fwmpre to learn more and buy the Preview Edition. This is the third and FINAL book in the Getting Art Done series, which I started ten years ago, and which has taught me so much I can't believe. I cannot wait to share it with you, and I can hardly wait to speak to you again here or on some other podcast or some other podcast-like-thing at some date in the future. Thank you, happy new year, and here's to you getting it done in Q1.

Hey friends, Chase here This episode is short and honest: if you don't love the work you're making, don't ship it — or better yet, figure out how to love the work before you ship it. I know that sounds blunt, but the market — and more importantly, your audience — can smell half-hearted work a mile away. You can't fake the stuff that matters. Loving the work isn't about perfection. It's about clarity, curiosity, and being willing to do the uncomfortable thing: choose a direction, commit to it, and then grind the craft until you actually love the result. That's the difference between noise and meaning. Here's the core idea: If you're not excited to promote what you made, you probably didn't make what you love. Shipping is great — but shipping love is better. Two common traps I see: Approval chasing: You try to design for everyone and end up designing for no one. Activity without affection: You're busy making lots of stuff, but it never lights you up. That work will struggle to find real fans. So what do you do about it? Make the work you can't not make — and build a tiny system to ship it. In today's episode I cover: Why loving what you make makes promotion natural instead of gross Three practical moves to fall back in love with your craft: pick one obsessive idea, do the research that excites you, and iterate publicly How to find the small group (10–50 people) who will sustain you — and why that's all you really need A quick playbook to ship work you love: Choose one thing: narrow the focus until you feel a pull, not a push. Make it daily: small consistent steps beat sporadic heroics. Share early: get feedback from the right 10 people, not the loud crowd. Listen, then iterate: love grows when you respond to the craft (not the vanity metrics). If you want to make a living doing what lights you up, stop designing for a mythical "everyone." Build for the people who get it — and love the work enough to tell others. Thanks for listening. Tag me with what you're shipping next — I read as many replies as I can. And remember: ship less stuff, but love the stuff you ship.

You love what you do. So why does it still feel like you're drowning?In this episode, Justin sits down with Jake Prieur (founder of VideoScale) to unpack a hard truth every marketer, entrepreneur, and leader eventually faces: loving your work doesn't protect you from burnout.Jake shares the exact systems he uses to automate, delegate, and eliminate the tasks that were draining his time, energy, and creativity — and how doing so didn't just help him grow his business, but also made him a better husband, dad, and leader.If you're stuck in hustle mode, wearing too many hats, or constantly wondering why you're exhausted even when things are “working,” this episode is your blueprint for building a sustainable path forward.*** WHEN YOU'RE READY♻️ Distribution First Newsletter

You can be great at your job, well-paid, and still feel dead inside. In this episode, Matt Doan unpacks the hidden cost of misaligned work—the Energy Tax—and how it quietly drains your health, home life, and sense of self.The same holds true in your own business too.Here, we dissect how to stop rationalizing your way through "a sensible career" and start building a life powered by work that lights you up. If you're tired of bringing home stress instead of energy, this is your wake-up call.***

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This podcast series explores a game-changing understanding of the human mind that operates “Before Psychology” — the secret source that exponentially increases peace, performance, and potential for any individual or organisation.

Do you love your job? If you're looking for a more satisfying career or experiencing an unwanted change, join us to hear how you can move forward by following a step-by-step process to a more satisfying career. Robert Dickie III will help you see work differently and to pursue it like you never have before.Become a Parshall Partner: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/inthemarket/partnersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#277 Growth | Dave is joined by Emma Robinson, Head of B2B Marketing at Canva, and Kristine Segrist, VP of Consumer Marketing at Canva. Together, Emma and Kristine lead the teams driving Canva's growth across both enterprise and consumer audiences, helping the company scale into a platform now used by over 95% of the Fortune 500.Dave, Emma, and Kristine cover:How Canva balances brand-building with pipeline accountability, and why they view brand investment as long-term growth.The playbook Canva uses to turn bottom-up adoption into enterprise deals, including how product signals guide upsell and expansion.How their team structure, data science investments, and creative bets (like the Love Your Work campaign) work together to scale B2B marketing without losing Canva's approachable brand identity.This episode offers a practical look at how one of the world's most recognizable platforms approaches B2B growth.Timestamps(00:00) - – Intro (03:48) - – Canva's marketing org structure (06:48) - – Blurring B2B and B2C (11:48) - – How Canva measures marketing impact (16:48) - – Turning free users into enterprise deals (21:48) - – Data science's role in marketing (24:48) - – Balancing brand bets with ROI (31:23) - – Inside the “Love Your Work” campaign (38:23) - – How Canva executes large campaigns (42:23) - – Building enterprise credibility and trust (45:23) - – FedEx case study on brand governance (49:23) - – Lessons from Google and Meta (53:23) - – Why creativity is a marketing superpower (55:23) - – Closing thoughts Send guest pitches and ideas to hi@exitfive.comJoin the Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterCheck out the Exit Five job board: https://jobs.exitfive.com/Become an Exit Five member: https://community.exitfive.com/checkout/exit-five-membership***Today's episode is brought to you by Walnut.Why are we pouring all this effort into marketing just to push buyers to a “request a demo” or “contact sales” button?Come on, today's buyers don't want to talk to sales right away. They want to explore your product themselves, see how it works, and understand its value before booking a meeting.That's where Walnut comes in.Walnut empowers marketers and GTM teams to create interactive, self-guided product experiences in minutes. Embed these experiences on your site, in emails, or anywhere in your funnel to let buyers engage on their terms, from awareness to close and beyond. That's the beauty of Walnut - you're getting a platform that your sales and CS colleagues can use to showcase the product too.And the best part? You get real intent data—see which features prospects love, where they drop off, and what's actually driving pipeline. Demo Qualified Leads are the new MQL.Over 500 companies, like Adobe and NetApp, use Walnut to drive 2-3x higher website conversion rates and 7 figures in pipeline on a yearly basis. So do you want to drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, and actually show your product instead of hiding it behind another typical B2B CTA? Go check out Walnut.io. And if you tell them Dave from Exit 5 sent you, they'll build out your first demo for free!

Gavin is back from Vacation and too much happen that we have get too! Fellas, stop taking your side piece to public events and losing MILLIONS. NEW MERCH DROP - BLOCK PARTY ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠DADS T-SHIRT(00:10) Prayers for the family of Malcolm-Jamal Warner - (10:20) Gavin took a vacation and his wife took him to Cancun and he's over landing along with Spirit airlines - (21:50) The fellas react to the CEO of Astronomer getting caught with his work wife at the Coldplay concert. The guys discuss work wife etiquette and the CEO being force to resign - (30:05) New York Times release an article stating how Joe Budden makes at least 20M through the Joe Budden network.- (41:38) Mike praises Hunter Biden for his recent sober interview and views on drugs and the Democratic Party. He also questions why the Black Community can't get any grace - (45:30) President Obama speaks on boys needing exposure to more and different Men, other than their Father. - (57:15) CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS: Pastor John Gray is preaching horny again! - (01:06:00) The Tea App is officially number one lifestyle app and this is a slippery slope to slander and lies - (01:14:00) The WNBA wears "PAY US WHAT WE'RE OWED" shirts to the All Star Game, Drake v. Lebron James heats up - (01:24:00) Dirty Macking Video is going viral!Submit to #ASKADAD:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.blackdadsclub.org/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Our YouTube:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bit.ly/BDCYTSub ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠JOIN THE DISCORD:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/YcFrdCbF⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Us Today:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠-⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠

Ever get a compliment on your jewelry but no sale to follow? That moment can feel confusing and honestly, discouraging. But what if I told you it's not a dead end… is it an opportunity? In this Momentum Monday episode, I'm sharing exactly how to respond when someone says “I love your work!” but doesn't buy. You'll learn how to shift your mindset, lead the conversation confidently, and build real connections that convert without feeling salesy. Let's reframe those compliments into customers, shall we?   What You Will Learn in this Episode: Why “I love your work” is actually a sales opportunity, not a rejection How to confidently respond and guide the conversation with ease The mindset shift that will protect your confidence and boost your conversions Real examples of how one message turned into a $3K custom jewelry order   Topics Discussed: Turning compliments into conversations DM strategies that feel natural, not pushy Confidence-building mindset for jewelry designers Leading like a CEO (not a hobbyist) Creating intentional connection with your audience How to follow up without being awkward __________________________   Feeling stuck in the corporate grind? Learn how to break free, reclaim your energy, and build a profitable jewelry business in just 1 hour a day. Join the Escape Corporate Burnout Masterclass now: https://jewelrybusinessacademy.ca/corporate-burnout/   Ready to transform your jewelry business? Discover why the 2025 Jewelry Biz Retreat is a game-changer in our free webinar. Learn how this retreat can help you overcome challenges, build confidence, and so much more! Join me here: https://jewelrybusinessacademy.ca/retreat/   Ready to change your life? Download your FREE training: Click here to watch your FREE training video from Robyn and learn the 6 steps that'll change your biz & life, fast.   __________________________   Ready for Growth? Then This Invitation is for You: If you're looking for my support on how to scale your jewelry business, join the Jewelry Business Academy. This is the most expansive and supportive container for jewelry business owners who want to scale to 6+ figures without burning out. You'll get my eyes on your business every single week, as well as lots of 1:1 support, and will join a community of jewelry business owners all scaling their businesses together. I've helped jewelry business owners from around the world, from those just starting out to those making multiple six-figures, build solid foundations, find clarity, implement systems and proven growth strategies, and hit big goals. I want to help you do the same. Learn more here: jewelrybusinessacademy.ca   __________________________   Connect with Us: Follow Robyn on Instagram: @RobynClarkCoaching Join the Jewelry Business Academy: Jewelry Business Academy __________________________   Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your support helps us reach more jewelry business owners like you!  

Want to Start or Grow a Successful Business? Schedule a FREE 13-Point Assessment with Clay Clark Today At: www.ThrivetimeShow.com   Join Clay Clark's Thrivetime Show Business Workshop!!! Learn Branding, Marketing, SEO, Sales, Workflow Design, Accounting & More. **Request Tickets & See Testimonials At: www.ThrivetimeShow.com  **Request Tickets Via Text At (918) 851-0102   See the Thousands of Success Stories and Millionaires That Clay Clark Has Helped to Produce HERE: https://www.thrivetimeshow.com/testimonials/ Download A Millionaire's Guide to Become Sustainably Rich: A Step-by-Step Guide to Become a Successful Money-Generating and Time-Freedom Creating Business HERE: www.ThrivetimeShow.com/Millionaire   See Thousands of Case Studies Today HERE: www.thrivetimeshow.com/does-it-work/  

Grab Mindful in 5 and start reframing your job!Ever feel disconnected from your work, searching for meaning in the daily grind? You're not alone. Some research reveals only 19% of workers worldwide feel fully engaged in their jobs – but there's a mindful path forward.Join me as I share the transformative "Purpose Pause" technique that can help you rediscover joy in your professional life. Through the story of Gene, a hospital janitor who transitions from seeing his job as "just mopping floors" to recognizing his vital role in patient recovery and family comfort, we explore how perspective shifts everything.The three-step Purpose Pause practice can start with just five minutes each morning but can dramatically change your entire workday. I guide you through identifying your work's deeper purpose, connecting even the smallest tasks to broader impacts, and approaching each responsibility with renewed intention. Remember, you don't need the "perfect job" to find perfect fulfillment – it starts with the choice to seek meaning right where you are.Ready to fall in love with your work again? Listen now to transform your professional experience through mindfulness, regardless of your title or position. The path to loving your work begins with just five mindful minutes a day.Transform career setbacks into powerful comebacks with mindful strategies and AI tools that helped me land executive roles as shared in my upcoming book, 'Phoenix Rising - Ignite Your Job Search.' Secure your spot in our exclusive Early Bird community for pre-launch access and an intimate launch event by pre-ordering through the Phoenix Career Chronicles podcast show notes or at spiwejefferson.com today.More Links and Resources Download Mindful in 5 Sample Chapters Pick up your Mindful in 5 Book and Journal from Amazon Join the Discussion on LinkedIn Join the Mindful Ninjas: Subscribe to the newsletter Website: https://www.spiwejefferson.com/ Get a Custom Signed Book and Journal Facebook Instagram YouTube Contact Us: info@spiwejefferson.com Rate Us: Goodreads and ...

Simon Squibb is not your average entrepreneur. After tragedy saw him leave home at the age 15, Simon went into survival mode - he started a gardening business with no actual experience or knowledge of the industry. 19 businesses later, Simon is a multimillionaire. He's since taken to social media to ask people about their dreams via TikTok and he's founded the ‘Elevator of Dreams' concept alongside Richard Branson. He's used his insight to craft a new book - What's Your Dream? Find Your Passion. Love Your Work. Build a Richer Life. "I was forced to be an entrepreneur - it wasn't really my path at that moment in my life, I'd never thought about becoming an entrepreneur, no one had ever taught me at school what an entrepreneur was or how to create something in your mind and make it real. I was just like everybody else...but this entrepreneur muscle woke up in my brain." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How important it is to walk along, not in haste but slowly, looking at everything and calling out Yes! No! The swan, for all his pomp, his robes of grass and petals, wants only to be allowed to live on the nameless pond. The catbrier is without fault. The water thrushes, down among the sloppy rocks, are going crazy with happiness. Imagination is better than a sharp instrument. To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work. — Mary Oliver, "Yes! No!" Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays, Beacon Press, Boston, 2003, p. 27   In this week's release of A Leadership Beyond, hosts Adrienne Guerrero and Tom Rosenak welcomed Michele Stowe, founder of Skyrocket Coaching, to discuss her continuous journey of aligning work with her core life values. Michele's story offers valuable insights for leaders seeking to create healthier work environments, achieve success with personal balance. During the interview, Michele shared valuable insights about leadership and energy management along with other insightst: The impact of energy: Nonprofit C-suite leaders are experiencing unprecedented challenges in today's environment. One client told her, "I just don't want to keep leading in unprecedented times," having navigated through the pandemic and continued uncertainty. There are always trade offs and we must learn to make choices with greater intentionality. Intentional role modeling: Leaders must be thoughtful about how they spend their time and demonstrate this to their teams. By showing employees that there are various ways to restore energy—whether through hiking, playing music, or spending time with family—leaders create space for everyone to find what works for them. Understanding cultural dynamics: Michele emphasized the importance of recognizing the cultural dynamics at play in an organization—including geographic, sector-specific, company, and generational differences in work expectations—and determining whether one's values align with that culture. After interviewing 100 nonprofit C-suite leaders with more than five years in their roles, Michele developed a framework for effective leadership: The Listen, Lead, and Love Your Work framework which she shares during our conversation. Michelle's story reminds us that leaders have the power to shape both their own work experiences and their organizational cultures. By listening deeply, modeling self-care, finding joy in work, and establishing meaningful measures of success, leaders can create environments where both they and their teams thrive. To follow and connect with Michele: Website: Skyrocket Coaching Linkedin: Michele Stowe A Leadership Beyond exists to support the alignment between the business strategy and people strategy - to drive results with people not at the expense of people (Talent Optimization). Subscribe to our podcast to join the Leadership Beyond Community of Conversation and hear insights from thought leaders and human development experts leading the way in the field of Talent Optimization.  We are grateful to you and always eager to hear from you! To learn more visit https://aleadershipbeyond.com

We're featuring another great episode from Kate Volman, this time from her show Create for No Reason

Dreams were never part of the equation for entrepreneur Simon Squibb. After leaving home at age 15, he started a landscaping business that led to another and another until becoming a multimillionaire. It was never about having a dream and now he says, he got that wrong. Squibb has become a one-man Shark Tank, investing in start-ups, helping other people understand the power of their dreams and identifying the myths that hold people back. His new book is called What's Your Dream?: Find Your Passion. Love Your Work. Build a Richer Life.

What happens when a seasoned career takes an unexpected turn in the middle of a global pandemic? I found myself facing that very question, jobless and searching for purpose. Join me as we unpack midlife career journeys with career expert Julie Bauke, who brings over 25 years of experience to the table. Together, we explore the challenges and opportunities for women over 50 in a rapidly evolving workforce that now includes Gen Z. Julie's insights reveal how viewing our careers as a series of chapters can empower women to leverage their skills and experiences, even after career interruptions.Feeling stuck or uncertain about your career path? You're not alone. In this episode, we tackle common feelings of discontent, transforming them into starting points for self-discovery and career fulfillment. By reflecting on what truly matters in your professional life, we share strategies for taking actionable steps toward a more satisfying career. Whether it's embracing the fear of failure or choosing change over stagnation, this conversation is about understanding where you are and where you want to be, offering clarity and determination for the journey ahead.Our discussion goes further, addressing the critical aspects of salary negotiations and the power of mentorship. With a focus on intergenerational relationships, we highlight how younger professionals can benefit from the wisdom of seasoned mentors. Julie shares strategies for successful salary negotiations, stressing the importance of market data over personal financial needs. We aim to equip all women with the tools they need to take control of their careers, emphasizing readiness for unexpected changes in the job market. Through stories and advice, we aspire to inspire women to confidently navigate their career paths and embrace their inherent value.You can find Julie Bauke at:https://thebaukegroup.com/https://www.instagram.com/julieonthejob/https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliebauke/Send us a text_________________________________________Are you ready to reclaim your midlife body and health? I went through my own personal journey through menopause, the struggle with midsection weight gain, and feeling rundown. Faster Way, a transformative six-week group program, set me on the path to sustainable change. I'd love to work with you! Let me help you reach your health and fitness goals.https://www.fasterwaycoach.com/?aid=MicheleFolanHave questions about Faster Way? Feel free to reach out.mfolanfasterway@gmail.comFollow Asking for a Friend on Social media outlets:https://www.instagram.com/askingforafriend_pod/https://www.facebook.com/askforafriendpod/Please provide a review and share. This helps us grow! https://lovethepodcast.com/AFAF*Transcripts are done with AI and may not be perfectly accurate.**This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

What does career success mean to you? Not the glossy, societal version—but one that lights up your zone of genius and provides the income you need to thrive. With 85,000 hours of your life spent at work, how do you make them really count? Erica Sosna, career coach and founder of The Career Equation, has the answers.In this episode, Erica shares the four key questions that unlock a career equation, how to figure out where you're at now, and strategies for crafting a mission statement that aligns work with skills, earning potential, and personal goals. At the heart of it all is the big question: what does “enough” look like, and what strategies lead to achieving it in your career?Erica's story is nothing short of incredible. Two years ago, she faced a life-changing accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down. She tells Melanie how her Career Equation mission statement became her North Star for staying focused on recovery, helping her rebuild her life, career, and income from the ground up. Truly inspiring.Whether you're making a career comeback, tweaking your current job, or dreaming up a whole new direction, this episode is packed with practical advice and fresh ideas to help you shape a career—squiggly or linear—that truly works for you.Guest: Erica Sosna Website: The Career Equation Book: The Career EquationSelf-directed course: Your Career PlanThe Enoughness with Melanie Rickey.Produced and edited by Steve Hankey. The podcast is recorded at 1 Warwick in Soho, a welcoming club for members and visitors alike, and the home of The Enoughness with Melanie Rickey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when two forces, your home life and your work life —both central to your identity—need you with equal urgency at the exact same moment? Well, chaos happens. Or guilt. Or angst. Or sheer, utter exhaustion. Or...all of the above. In this episode, Suzy gets into a heart-to-heart with Jennifer, a woman who finds herself caught in a battle between two of her deepest values: her unwavering commitment to work and her devotion to her family. It's a struggle Suzy knows all too well—because once upon a time, she was Jennifer. Her battle scars lead her to counsel Jennifer with an answer you may not expect.Want more Becoming You? Learn about the Discovery Day: The Becoming You Experience. You are always growing and evolving and so are we. Sign up for the Becoming You newsletter for fresh new content in one tidy package.  Social You can follow and tag Suzy on: - Instagram: @suzywelch - Linkedin: @suzywelch - TikTok: @suzywelch - YouTube: @suzywelch_ - X: @SuzyWelch

Have you ever had a review session with a client and they're just not feeling the work you've created? We've been there! In this episode Jen and Esther talk about some of their experiences with push-back and how they worked through the problems to create better solutions for their clients.Links Mentioned:The Anti-Anxiety NotebookInbox Question:"How do you present your initial designs to the client? What do you include– how many logo/secondary logo ideas, how many fonts (and where to get fonts/legalities), do you photoshop a mock-up and include that with the package? Like what do you do lol" — Mackenzi ChapmanConnect With Us:Our Free Facebook CommunityOur WebsiteOur Resources PagePodcast InstagramSupport us on PatreonTags:designer, design, brand design, brand identity design, design studio, design business, graphic design, brand designer, better podcast, brand designer podcast, logo design, brand identity design

Stop dragging yourself to a job you hate and start loving your work—even when it's tough. In this transformative episode, I'll share the exact mindset shifts that have helped countless clients find purpose and joy in their careers. Bonus: Get my “Love Your Workshop” completely free! https://nicolebz.kartra.com/page/love-your-work How you can help Western North Carolina → https://linktr.ee/mindfulgeek

In this week's podcast episode, I share ways to keep the balance, prevent burnout, and enjoy the process of building your dreams. Tune in to learn practical tips for recharging and setting boundaries that work for you. ➡️ Interested to turn your Instagram side hustle into a profitable full-time online business? Click here. Follow along for more 'Jules': ✨ Instagram ✨ TikTok ✨ Youtube Please make sure to leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it would help a lot to keep the show going!

Today on Karl and Crew, we explored the path to personal growth as followers of Christ, drawing inspiration from Psalm 139:23-24. Here, King David helps us emphasize an often-overlooked discipline that could be the key to spiritual maturity. We also discussed ways to experience God in the workplace. Our guest, Robert Dickie, shared his valuable insights as a career advisor, CEO, and host of the podcast Taking the Leap. We showcased his book, "Love Your Work: 4 Practical Ways You Can Pivot to Your Best Career." Check out all the highlights of today's show on the Karl and Crew podcast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you love your job? If you're looking for a more satisfying career or experiencing an unwanted change, join us to hear how you can move forward by following a step-by-step process to a more satisfying career. This conversation is designed to help you see work differently and to pursue it like you never have before.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of XYPN Radio, we welcome back Ashley Foster, CFP®, founder of NXT:GEN Financial Planning. You might remember Ashley from Episode 321 in 2021, where he shared his journey transitioning from the insurance industry to the fee-only financial planning world. Today, Ashley gives us an inside look at the firm he built, which now serves over 50 clients, focusing primarily on young to mid-career veterinarians. Ashley's passion for helping people shines through as he discusses the unique benefits he provides to his clients, from securing higher-paying positions to achieving personal alignment through life planning. His energy is infectious, and listeners will be inspired to think about demonstrating value to their prospects through thoughtful website design, engaging conversations, and a deep understanding of their client's financial situations and careers. Ashley also shares a personal glimpse into his life as a proud pet parent to his beloved cat, Frank. He talks about how building his firm and helping others live their best lives has enabled him and his veterinarian wife to do the same. Don't miss this episode, packed with insights and inspiration for financial professionals and anyone looking to create meaningful impact in their careers and lives.   What You'll Learn From this Episode: Approaching financial planning from a life planning standpoint to help align your clients with their long-term goals. Charging what you are worth at the outset and when to raise your fees. Enjoying your niche and the clients you are working with will keep you inspired and avoid burnout. Focusing on asset accumulation for the client in the early stages can eventually lead to an AUM fee structure and generate more income for you and the client. The advantages of niching down while also considering the necessary steps to continue to attract leads from the smaller pool of potential clients. Building a lifestyle and business you enjoy will inspire your clients to live their desired lifestyle. Owning your own business will allow you to be there for the people and things that matter most to you.  

Who are you? What do you do? And—most important, does it bring you joy? Whether you call yourself an accountant, a zoologist or something else, the label doesn't define you, and yet… We spend so many of our waking hours in our career roles, but how much time do we spend exploring how well they serve us? How much have you thought about your career? In this episode of the Awaken Your Wise Woman podcast, host Elizabeth Cush, LCPC, a licensed professional therapist, founder of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md., and a mid-life women's life coach, and Wamite Muthara, founder of Career Safari, talk about new ways to look at life and work. Listen in as they discuss how they've found career paths that bring them joy, what inspired them and what it's like to align your career with your better self. “I get energized and inspired by any woman, any person, who takes a moment to bet on themselves, who takes a chance on aligning their purpose and their gifts.” — Wamita Muthara Listen and learn: What a “hybrid professional” is and what it's like to be one The feelings, thoughts and experiences that might nudge us away from a traditional career Why you don't have to rearrange your life overnight Why it's important to see past the job title How Career Safari started and how it has evolved The unexpected benefits of restructuring your career How we can get lured into forgetting ourselves and our needs Why you're your mor effective when your work is aligned with your authentic self Key questions to ask yourself about your life and work You can find all the resources for this and very episode here.

SEASON 9 The 2024 Leader Daily Leadership Tips and Discussions Today's pod talks about being a "drifter" as Napoleon Hill writes about in his book "Outwitting the Devel." If you think you may be a drifter, this episode will help you or possibly, somebody you know. Paul is back in the recording studio and is bringing new challenges, discussions, leadership tips, and stories. Season 9 will be a little different. After a 2-month break, Paul is going to be focused on not only giving tips about how to be a great leader, but also a leader who is respected, a leader who people want to follow, a leader who can confidently navigate their way through both personal and professional challenges, a leader who is not afraid to share their faith while living it out, a leader who knows his/her purpose and lives to fulfill that purpose every day, and a leader who has no regrets! As always, I value your feedback and comments, especially your perspectives and opinions. Please share them with me by emailing them to Paul@CLCTeam.com  Lots of new stuff to come... please consider subscribing, sharing with a friend, and giving me a review o whatever platform you listen on.  Have a great day and Lead Well! “Run To Your Challenges!”

Support the Thoughts on Illustration Podcast at http://patreon.com/tomfroeseHave you hit a dead end with your work? Are you bored of your style? Or maybe, like me, you feel even worse about the art you've been making lately? This past year has brought a few blows to my professional and personal creativity, and at the end of 2023, I was feeling pretty crappy about my own work. I've come to this point many times in my career, and usually I just shrug it off and keep going. But this time was different. In this episode I talk about how I was able to climb out of a hole of artistic despair and rekindle my love affair with my work. By listening to this episode, I hope you will learn how to rediscover the joy in your own practice. If it hasn't happened to you yet — listen to this one and put it in your back pocket.

LifeBlood: We talked about how to love your work, why too few of us enjoy what we do, how work teaches us about ourselves, self-knowledge and the importance of constantly assessing where we're at, and how to get started, with Greg Martin, host of the Lifetime at Work podcast.        Listen to learn how to explore your career options! You can learn more about Greg at LifeTimeAtWork.com, and LinkedIn. Thanks, as always for listening! If you got some value and enjoyed the show, please leave us a review here: ​​https://ratethispodcast.com/lifebloodpodcast You can learn more about us at LifeBlood.Live, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook or you'd like to be a guest on the show, contact us at contact@LifeBlood.Live.  Stay up to date by getting our monthly updates. Want to say “Thanks!” You can buy us a cup of coffee. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeblood

Ken Rusk Revisits His Book - Blue Collar Cash: Love Your Work, Secure Your Future, and Find Happiness for Life. This is episode 619 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. Ken Rusk is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and blue-collar advocate showing that there's no degree required for comfort, peace, and freedom. Ken spent his younger years digging ditches and working in construction. He never went to college. Instead, he made goals, planned, and worked hard for thirty years. Now, Ken is a very successful entrepreneur with multiple businesses and revenue streams. Ken Rusk specializes in mentoring and has coached hundreds of young people in areas such as short-, mid-, and long-term goal setting, life visualization, career paths, and sound financial planning. He is passionate about helping people achieve their dreams regardless of their educational background or past. We talked last on November 30th, 2021. That was episode 433. It's going to be great to catch up with Ken. We are focused on Ken's book - Blue Collar Cash: Love Your Work, Secure Your Future, and Find Happiness for Life! So much to learn! So much to think about! Before you go... Could you do me a favor? Please go to my website at https://www.stevenmiletto.com/reviews/ or open the podcast app that you are listening to me on, and would you rate and review the podcast? That would be so cool. Thanks! If you are listening on Apple Podcasts on your phone, go to the logo - click so that you are on the main page with a listing of the episodes for my podcast and scroll to the bottom. There you will see a place to rate and review. Could you review me? That would be so cool. Thank you! Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! Thanks for sharing! Thanks for listening! Connect & Learn More: www.kenrusk.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-rusk-2656a7175/ https://www.facebook.com/KenRuskOfficial/ https://www.instagram.com/kenruskofficial/ https://twitter.com/KenRuskOfficial Length - 50:02

After nearly eight years of the Love Your Work podcast, I'm quitting. Here's why, and What's Next. Podcasting is a bad business This is not the immediate reason I'm quitting, but it is at the root: Podcasting is a bad business. When the indirect benefits of an activity run out, it's hard to keep doing it if it's not making money. I realized long ago podcasting is a bad business, but I kept going for other reasons. I'll explain why in a bit. Though I didn't start my podcast with dollar signs in my eyes, I did at least hope I would grow to earn money doing it. I've earned about $32,000 in the eight-year history of Love Your Work. More than half of that has been from Patreon supporters, many of whom support for reasons other than the podcast. During that time, I've spent: $1,008 on hosting $11,749 on assistance with editing and publishing $241 on equipment And some other expenses, for a total of about $13,000 In raw numbers, I've made a “profit” on the podcast. But, as I broke down in my latest income report, my “wage” was about $6 an hour. My podcast comprised about 5% of my income over these eight years, and took much more than that portion of my time and energy. Of course, I don't think about whether the podcast was worth it in terms of an hourly rate. Creative work happens in Extremistan, not Mediocristan, and I've made massive life choices to be free to explore creatively without worrying so much what I'm earning in the short-term. Ways to make money podcasting But there are many different ways to make a podcast a solid business, and none of them worked for me, for various reasons. Here are some of these business models, as they apply to the “thought-leader” space (I'll ignore the more entertainment/infotainment space that podcasts like Gimlet's inhabit). Be so massively famous, you can pick-and-choose advertisers, while demanding a lot of money. This is where Tim Ferriss and Joe Rogan are. They both started with large platforms, and applied whatever talents that helped them earn those platforms to make their podcasts huge. After more than fifteen years as a creator, I have a modest platform, but orders of magnitude smaller. Build a “content machine” that manufactures ad slots. I won't name names, but you've heard these podcasts. They're formulaic and don't seem to discern much who they have as a guest, nor what sponsors they accept. This business model is why my inbox is still full of pitches – they think I actually want more guests, because more guests would mean more ad slots. It takes a very rare set of circumstances for me to be excited to interview someone. Share information that directly helps people make money. If you have tactical and actionable information that's useful to professionals in a specific industry, you can charge for premium podcast content. I'm not as interested in the tactical and actionable as I am in the abstract and exploratory. Cover a niche topic. If you have a leading podcast about a very specific topic, advertisers within that niche will be willing to pay high rates to reach that audience. I didn't want to build my podcast according to a specific topic – more on that later. Have a “back-end” business. If you have a thriving consulting business, or training programs to sell, you can attract more clients and customers through your podcast. As I wrote in my ten-year reflections, “I want to make a living creating. I don't want creating to be merely a marketing strategy for other things. Is that completely insane?” I flirted with success in a few of these business models. Early on, I hoped my podcast would be famous enough to pick and choose advertisers at high rates. For a while, it looked like I had a chance. I was approached by a podcast network, and I had some reputable advertisers such as LinkedIn, Skillshare, Casper, Audible, Pittney Bowes, and University of California. Various times, I thought I was on the cusp of my “big break” – such as when Love Your Work was featured on the Apple Podcasts home screen. But the more I tried to go the “get famous” route, the louder the siren-song of the “content machine” route got. There were plenty of opportunities to do “interview swaps” with hosts I wasn't interested in interviewing. There were a few advertisers that had money, but whose products felt sleazy. Joining a podcast network would have pressured me to crank out content even if I didn't feel like it. There was (and still is) the never-ending stream of pitch emails for guests. I had too much wax in my ears to go the “content machine” route. Not included in my lifetime revenue-estimates for Love Your Work is money I made through the “back-end business” route. I was somewhat comfortable with this model, but I haven't made a course in years, as I've been focused on writing books. And as bad a business as people say writing books is, it's better than making a podcast. The podcast has helped me sell books in more ways than one. One way is that people who listened to the podcast bought my books. The other way is, making my podcast helped me write my books. This brings me to the reason I kept making my podcast, even after I realized it wasn't a good business. Make for what making makes you In my sixteen years experimenting with different business models as an independent creator, I've settled on one thing that works: Make for what making makes you. If making a podcast, writing a book, sending a weekly newsletter – you name it – merely makes you money, and doesn't make you who you want to be, what's the point? Sure, sometimes you don't feel like creating, and you do it anyway. Yes, sometimes you pick one project over another because you think it will be more lucrative. But you can only redirect the river that is your creativity so much before it overflows and returns to its natural path. I learned from my guests When I started Love Your Work, and was struggling to make it big enough to work with an ad model, even if I wasn't bringing in lots of ad revenue, I was still connecting with and learning from my guests. It was an incredible privilege to have in-depth conversations with people like Seth Godin, Elise Bauer, and David Allen. It was like having my own personal advisory board of heroes. Talking to them helped me learn how to go off the beaten path and find my calling. I was able to find patterns in their stories that I could apply to my own life and career. I would be a completely different person today if I hadn't had those conversations. It was time to explore But there came a point when doing interviews was no longer serving me the way it once had. It was when I had gained the confidence – thanks to my previous guests – to explore further my own ideas. That's when I stopped interviewing guests, so I'd have more time to explore. Love Your Work shifted from my personal advisory board to my personal sounding board – a sort of “open mic,” where I fleshed out ideas. I got to see how it felt to effortfully explore each idea. I got to hear how they sounded when I read them aloud. I got to feel how they resonated (or didn't) with others. It helped me write my books A couple years after I started Love Your Work, I started writing a book called Getting Art Done. Getting Art Done turned out to be three books, two of which I've published. Love Your Work has been there to help me explore the ideas in these books. The Heart to Start was full of conversations from my early guests, and came from my very real struggles in gaining the confidence to take my ideas seriously enough to pursue them. Mind Management, Not Time Management came from my very real struggles to harness my creative energy and push my ideas forward. As I work on the final book in the Getting Art Done trilogy, Finish What Matters, I'm asking myself, What struggle does this book come from? Clearly, I've finished a lot of creative work: three books, over two-hundred consecutive weekly newsletters, and over three-hundred episodes of this podcast. But as I've dwelt on that final word in the title, matters, I'm asking myself if I'm really working on what matters? Love Your Work and Getting Art Done have been an exploration in creative productivity. But at some point, writing about Resistance becomes a form of Resistance. I don't feel I've reached that point yet, but I don't want to. If I'm going to learn enough to write Finish What Matters, I have to really test my ideas of what matters. I've probably explored enough ideas, through Love Your Work, that I want to develop further in Finish What Matters. But for the time being, I need space to explore what matters. That's the biggest reason I'm quitting Love Your Work. I had considered doing so in the past, but I kept hoping I'd know What's Next before I quit. I've come to realize that I can't know What's Next until I have the space to explore. What's Next is finding What's Next It's a little scary to have that void. But it's also exciting. Furthermore, I've faced The Void many times before: when I started on my own, after finishing each book, and a little bit after each podcast episode or newsletter. What's scarier now than facing the void is that I'll stick with what's safe, and distract myself into dying with my best creations inside me. I could just say I'm taking a break, or not say anything at all and stop until I felt inspired to make a new episode. I've talked before about how I struggle to burn my boats and close doors. So, I'm calling it quits, knowing I could always drop another episode in the feed down the line if I wanted to. But I hope I find something that matters more, before that ever happens. Thank you for listening! Thank you for listening to Love Your Work. Thank you especially to my Patreon supporters, who can of course feel free to stop supporting, or keep supporting for the bonus content, and to support What's Next. To learn What's Next once I find it, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter at kdv.co. One last time, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Image: Pierrot Lunaire by Paul Klee About Your Host, David Kadavy David Kadavy is author of Mind Management, Not Time Management, The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. Through the Love Your Work podcast, his Love Mondays newsletter, and self-publishing coaching David helps you make it as a creative. Follow David on: Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Subscribe to Love Your Work Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Stitcher YouTube RSS Email New bonus content on Patreon! I've been adding lots of new content to Patreon. Join the Patreon »       Show notes: https://kadavy.net/blog/posts/quit-podcasting/

LifeBlood: We talked about how to love your work regardless of what you do, why we need a greater sense of urgency, how organizations can improve results by focusing on humanity, and the three-step process for making it happen, with Catherine Bell, Founder of the Awakened Company, entrepreneur, speaker and author.       Listen to learn why loving your work is up to you! You can learn more about Catherine at AwakenedCompany.com,  CatherineBell.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. Get your copy of The Awakened Company HERE Thanks, as always for listening! If you got some value and enjoyed the show, please leave us a review here: ​​https://ratethispodcast.com/lifebloodpodcast You can learn more about us at LifeBlood.Live, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook or you'd like to be a guest on the show, contact us at contact@LifeBlood.Live.  Stay up to date by getting our monthly updates. Want to say “Thanks!” You can buy us a cup of coffee. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeblood

You've probably heard that, in a blind taste test, even experts can't tell between white and red wine. Even if this were true – and it's not – it wouldn't matter. I was in Rome last month, visiting some Raphael paintings to research my next book, and stopped by the Sistine Chapel. I've spent a good amount of time studying what Michelangelo painted on that ceiling. There are lots of high-resolution images on Wikipedia. But seeing a picture is nothing like the experience of seeing the Sistine Chapel. You've invested thousands of dollars and spent fifteen hours on planes. You're jet-lagged and your feet ache from walking 20,000 steps. You're hot. When you enter, guards order you to keep moving, so you won't block the door. They corral you to the center, and you can finally look up. When you hear wine experts can't tell between white and red wine, you imagine the following: Professional sommeliers are blindfolded, and directed to taste two wines. They then make an informed guess which is white, and which is red. In this imaginary scenario, they get it right half the time – as well as if they had flipped a coin. If it were true wine experts couldn't tell between white and red wine, the implication would be that the experience of tasting wine is separate from other aspects of the wine. That the color, the shape of the glass, the bottle, the label, and even the price of the wine are all insignificant. That they all distract from the only thing that matters: the taste of the wine. There's some psychophysiological trigger that gets pulled when you tilt your head back. Maybe it stimulates your pituitary gland. When you have your head back and are taking in the images on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, you feel vulnerable. (You literally are vulnerable. You can't see what's going on around you. You'd be easy to physically attack.) What you see is overwhelming. As you try to focus your attention on some detail, some other portion of the imagery calls out and redirects your attention. This happens again and again. After a while, your neck needs a rest, and you return your gaze to eye-level. And this is almost as cool as the ceiling: You see other people with their heads back, their eyes wide, mouths agape, hands on hearts, tears in eyes. You hear languages and see faces from all over the world. You realize they all, too, have invested thousands of dollars and spent fifteen hours on planes. They, too, are jet-lagged and hot and have walked 20,000 steps. You can look at pictures of the Sistine Chapel ceiling on the internet. You can experience it in VR. In many ways, this is better than going to the Sistine Chapel. You can take as much time as you want, and look as close as you want. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars and fifteen hours on a plane, take time off work, or even crane back your neck. But seeing the Sistine Chapel ceiling on the internet or even VR is only better than seeing it in person, in the way that a spoonful of granulated sugar when you're starving is better than a hypothetical burger in another iteration of the multiverse. We've seen an explosion of AI capabilities in recent months. That has a lot of people worried about what it means to be a creator. Why do we need humans to write, for example, if ChatGPT can write? The reason ChatGPT's writing is impressive is the same reason there's still a place for things created by humans. Anyone old enough to have been on the internet in the heyday of America Online in the 1990s will remember this: When you were in a chat room, most the conversations were about being in a chat room: How long have you been on the internet? Isn't the internet cool? What other chat rooms do you like? Part of the appeal of the question “ASL?” – Age, Sex, Location? – was marveling over the fact you were chatting in real-time with a stranger several states away. Or maybe you remember when Uber or Lyft first came to your town. For the first year or two, likely every conversation you had with a driver was about how long they had been driving, about how quickly the service had grown in your town, which is better – Uber or Lyft?, or which nearby cities got which services first. The first few months ChatGPT was out, it was seemingly the only thing anyone on the internet talked about. But it wasn't because ChatGPT's writing was amazing. ChatGPT is a bad writer's idea of a good writer. It was because of the story: Wow, my computer is writing! Now that much of the novelty of ChatGPT has worn off, many of us are falling into the Trough of Disillusionment on the Gartner Hype Cycle. We're realizing ChatGPT is like a talking dog: It's impressive the dog can appear to talk, but it's not talking – it's just saying the words it's been taught. ChatGPT is very useful in some situations, but not as many as we had originally hoped. What made us talk about the internet while on the internet, talk about Uber while in Ubers, and talk about ChatGPT while chatting with ChatGPT was the story. Once the story behind the internet or Uber wore off, we started to appreciate them for their own utility. Part of what's cool about seeing the Sistine Chapel ceiling in VR is that – we're seeing it in VR. But even if that weren't impressive, what would still be impressive about the paintings would be more than just that they're amazing paintings. It's incredible to us a human could paint such a massive expanse. We think about the stories and myths of Michelangelo, up on that scaffolding, painting in isolation. Part of our appreciation of the Sistine Chapel ceiling lies outside the ceiling itself. While marveling at it, we can't help but think of Michelangelo's other masterpieces, such as the David or the Pietà. Lloyd Richards spent fourteen years writing Stone Maidens, and had almost no sales for decades. Suddenly, he sold 65,000 copies in a month. He was interviewed on the TODAY show, and got a book deal with a major publisher. How did he do it? His daughter made a TikTok account. The first video showed Lloyd at his desk, and explained what a good dad he was, how hard he had worked on Stone Maidens, and how great it would be if he made some sales. Then the #BookTok community did the rest. Stone Maidens is apparently a good book. But it's no better today than it was all those years it didn't sell. Most the comments on Lloyd's TikTok account – which now has over 400,000 followers – aren't about what a great book Stone Maidens is. They're about how Lloyd seems like such a nice guy, or how excited each commenter is to have contributed to his success. The study that started the myth that wine experts can't taste the difference between white and red wine didn't show that. The participants in the study literally weren't allowed to describe the two wines the same way – they couldn't use the same word for one as the other. It wasn't blindfolded – it was a white wine versus the same wine, dyed red. The study wasn't about taste at all: Participants weren't allowed to taste the wine – they were only allowed to smell. And wine experts? That depends on your definition of “expert”. They were undergraduate students, studying wine. They knew more than most of us, but were far from the top echelon of wine professionals. Most damning for this myth was that the same study casually mentions doing an informal blind test: The success rate of their participants in distinguishing the taste of white versus red wine: 70%. That this myth is false shouldn't detract from the point that even if it were true, it wouldn't matter. What the authors of this study found was not that wine enthusiasts couldn't tell between white and red wine, but that the appearance of a wine as white or red shaped their perceptions of the smell of the wine. Once you bake a cake, you can't turn it back into flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. You can't extract the taste of a wine from the color, the bottle, your mental image of where the grapes were grown and how the wine was made, or even the occasion for which you bought the wine. Something made by an AI can be awesome, either because it's really good at doing what it's supposed to, or because you appreciate it was made by an AI. Something made by a human is often awesome because of the story of the human who made it, and the story you as a human live as you interact with it. If you want to be relevant in the age of AI, learn how to bake your story into the product. Because AI can't bake. Image: Figures on a Beach by Louis Marcoussis About Your Host, David Kadavy David Kadavy is author of Mind Management, Not Time Management, The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. Through the Love Your Work podcast, his Love Mondays newsletter, and self-publishing coaching David helps you make it as a creative. Follow David on: Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Subscribe to Love Your Work Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Stitcher YouTube RSS Email New bonus content on Patreon! I've been adding lots of new content to Patreon. Join the Patreon »       Show notes: https://kadavy.net/blog/posts/ai-cant-bake/

We trust the food we eat, the drinks we drink, and the air we breathe are safe. That in case they're unsafe, someone is working to minimize our exposure, or at least tell us the risks. In The Triumph of Doubt, former head of OSHA David Michaels reveals how companies fight for their rights to sell harmful products, expose workers to health hazards, and pollute the environment. They do it by manufacturing so-called “science.” Most this science is built not upon proving they're not causing harm, but by doing whatever they can to cast doubt. Here, in my own words, is a summary of The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception. Products we use every day cause harm Chances are you've cooked on a pan coated with Teflon. Teflon is one of many polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. When introduced in the 1940s, they were considered safe. We now know they're linked with high cholesterol, poor immune function, cancer, obesity, birth defects, and low fertility. PFAS, it turns out, have such a long half-life, they're called “forever chemicals.” PFAS can now be found in the blood of virtually all residents of the United States, and have been found in unsafe levels worldwide – in rainwater. You've probably heard that, in moderation, alcohol is actually good for you. But even one drink a day leads to higher overall mortality risk. More than one drink, greater risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Alcohol is a causal factor in 5% of deaths worldwide – about 3 million a year. 13.5% of deaths between ages 20–39 are alcohol-related. If you're in pain after an injury or surgery, your doctor might prescribe for you an opioid. But the rise in opioid addiction is responsible for the first drop in U.S. life expectancy in more than two decades. It's sent shockwaves throughout society. It's helped launch the epidemics of fentanyl and heroin overdoses, and the number of children in foster care in West Virginia, for example, rose 42% in four years. You might love to watch professional football. But NFL players are nineteen times more likely to develop neurological disorders, and thirty percent could develop Alzheimer's or dementia from taking so many hits. The “product defense” industry sows doubt How have they done it? How have companies been able to manufacture and sell products that cause so much harm, for so long? They do it by defending their products, when the safety of those products are questioned. On the surface, that's not so bad. But besides lying and deliberately deceiving, they abuse society's trust in so-called “science,” and our lack of understanding of how much we risk when we move forward while still in doubt. The tobacco industry is a pioneer of product defense There's an entire industry that helps companies defend their products from regulation: It's called, appropriately, product defense. The tobacco industry is most-known for its product defense. In 1953, John W. Hill of the PR firm Hill & Knowlton convinced the tobacco industry to start – one floor below his office in the Empire State Building – the Tobacco Industry Research Committee (TIRC). The TIRC was supposed to do rigorous scientific research to understand the health effects of smoking, but mostly they just attacked existing science, doing what they could to sow doubt. Just a few years earlier, in 1950, a study had found heavy smokers were fifty times as likely as nonsmokers to get lung cancer. With the help of the TIRC, it would take a long time for these health risks to influence public policy. About thirty years later, most states had restricted smoking in some public places such as auditoriums and government buildings. Smoking had proliferated in American culture when cigarettes had been provided in soldiers' rations in WWI. Michaels describes one surgeon who, in 1919, made sure not to miss an autopsy of a man who had died of lung cancer, because it was the chance of a lifetime. He didn't see another case of lung cancer for seventeen years, then saw eight within six months. All eight had started smoking while serving in the war. Today, more than a century after cigarettes were widely introduced, we've finally seen a massive reduction in smoking in the U.S. We can fly on planes and go to restaurants and even bars, without being exposed to secondhand smoke. The sugar industry has been at it even longer Predating the product defense efforts of the tobacco industry is actually the sugar industry. The Sugar Research Foundation was started in 1943. Scientific evidence first linked sugar with heart disease in the 1950s. In 1967, as Dr. Robert Lustig told us, Harvard scientists published in the New England Journal of Medicine an article blaming fat rather than sugar for heart disease. Fifty years later UCSF researchers discovered the scientists had been funded by the Sugar Research Foundation – which they hadn't disclosed. Even more misleadingly, they had disclosed funding that actually made them look more impartial – from the dairy industry. Companies and industries set up “astroturfing” organizations The Sugar Research Foundation and the Tobacco Industry Research Committee are are early examples of “astroturfing” organizations. This tactic of the product defense industry involves setting up organizations with innocent- or even charitable-sounding names, then doing low-quality research to defend a company or industry's interests. The American Council for Science and Health has published articles opposing regulation of mercury emissions, and attacked science finding harm in consumption of sugar and alcohol. When the National Football League was first looking into the effects of playing their sport, they formed the MTBI. the “M” in MTBI gave away their stance: TBI stands for Traumatic Brain Injuries, and this committee formed for finding the effects of brain injuries was called the Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries committee. The alcohol industry set up the Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation. The first board of directors included Peter Stroh, William K. Coors, and August A. Busch III. Their first president, Thomas B. Turner, was former dean of Johns Hopkins University Medical School, a tie of which they made good use in promoting their agenda – more on that in a bit. The American Pain Foundation ran campaigns to make pain medication more widely available for veterans, running ads reminding patients of their “right” to pain treatment. Astroturfing organizations are funded by “Dark Money” Astroturfing organizations are funded by so-called “Dark Money”. In other words, they do whatever they can to hide where their funding comes from, lest their biases become obvious. The American Council for Science and Health claims much of their funding comes from private foundations, but investigative reports have found 58% of it coming straight from industry, and that many of those private foundations have ties to corporations. Leaked documents show a huge list of corporate donors including McDonald's, 3M, and Coca-Cola. The NFL's MTBI committee's papers included a statement saying, “none of the Committee members has a financial or business relationship posing a conflict of interest.” Yet the committee consisted entirely of people on the NFL's payroll: team physicians, athletic trainers, and equipment managers. Documents collected by the New York Times revealed that administrators at the The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism wanted to do a randomized clinical trial on the effects of alcohol. To fund the study, they went to industry, calling it “a unique opportunity to show that moderate alcohol consumption is safe.” They were going into the study with the conclusions already in mind, saying, “one of the important findings will be showing that moderate drinking is safe.” Several companies pledged nearly $68 million toward the $100 million budget. As part of the National Institutes of Health – a federal organization – the NIAAA was pitching this as a chance for the alcohol industry to use a government-funded study to prove their product was safe. Money directly from alcohol manufacturers was to be routed through the NIH Foundation, since it's illegal for private companies to fund government studies. When the Senate Finance Committee began investigating ties between the American Pain Foundation and pharmaceutical companies, the APF quickly dissolved, apparently knowing what would be found otherwise. Besides private foundations, straight-up lying, and routing money through a federal foundation, another way of keeping money “dark” is by taking advantage of attorney-client privilege. By having the law firm pay accomplices, even if there's a lawsuit, the documents are private. Using connections and flawed science to manufacture pseudo-events When corporations do get studies published about the risks of using their products, they're often low-quality studies. If they don't deliberately conceal their findings, they often use their connections to create what are essentially pseudo-events to prop up their flawed conclusions. Internal documents from DuPont show they knew the PFAS in Teflon was a problem. In 1970, they found it in their factory worker's blood. In 1981, 3M told them it caused birth defects in rats, and DuPont's own workers' children had birth defects at a high rate. In 1991, DuPont set an internal safety limit of 1 ppb. Meanwhile, they found a local water district had three times that amount. In 2002, they set up a so-called “independent” panel in West Virginia, and set a safe limit at 150 times their own internal safety limit – so they'd have less-strict standards for polluting their community's drinking water. In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency set a safe limit of 70 ppt (trillion!) – less than one-one-hundredth DuPont's previous internal safety limit. The NFL did very little for many years to ask serious questions about the long-term effects on their players. When players Junior Seau and Dave Duerson committed suicide, they both shot themselves in the chest instead of the head, so their brain tissue could be studied after their deaths. The MTBI argued that players were clearly fine if they returned to play shortly after concussions. They abused the concept of survivorship bias, arguing that those who didn't drop out of football in college or high school and made it to the pros were more resistant to brain injury. The editor of the journal, Neurosurgery, which published MTBI's papers, was a medical consultant to the New York Giants, and later to the commissioner's office – a clear conflict of interest. I mentioned earlier the first president of the alcohol industry's ABMRF was a former dean of Johns Hopkins. When ABMRF published a study, the Johns Hopkins press office would issue a press-release, which would instantly make the study seem more credible. One of the studies that has proliferated throughout media and culture, finding that moderate alcohol use is actually good for you, was a door-to-door survey – a very flawed methodology. Non-drinkers in a study are likely to include people who don't drink because they're already sick, or are former abusers of alcohol. One of the main “papers” the pharma industry used to defend their positions that opioids had a low risk of addiction was, from 1980, a five-sentence letter to the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine. It's a letter, not a paper – there was no peer review. It has been cited hundreds of times in medical literature – often by researchers with ties to opioid manufacturers. TIME magazine unfortunately called it a “landmark study.” (This is a great example of a pseudo-event: the proliferation of flawed information throughout media made it accepted as true.) The double-standard in access to study data The papers that do get published by the product-defense industry are usually not original studies. They're often reanalysis of existing data. Industry takes advantage of the Shelby Amendment, which the tobacco industry promoted under the guise of concern over pollution. The Shelby Amendment requires federally-funded researchers to share any data they collect. In this way, industry can reanalyze the data in ways that arrive at any conclusion they want. So, “re-analysis” has its own cottage industry within product defense. When industry does conduct original studies, they don't have to share their data, and so it isn't subject to the same scrutiny. Manufacturing doubt in other industries The Triumph of Doubt goes on and on with examples of deception and collusion from various industries. Some other highlights: Volkswagen installed a device in their diesel cars to detect when their emissions were being tested. The device would activate, causing the car to pollute forty times less, only when being tested. Johnson & Johnson knew as early as 1971 their baby powder was contaminated with asbestiform particles – asbestos-like particles that cause cancer – but pressured scientists to not report them. Monsanto publishes many studies in Critical Reviews in Toxicology, which Michaels calls “a known haven for science produced by corporate consultants.” Many authors have done work for Monsanto, don't disclose their conflicts of interest, and have denied Monsanto had reviewed their papers – later litigation showed they had. Should chemicals be innocent until proven guilty? There's a concept called the precautionary principle. It states that when we know little about what the consequences of an action will be, we should err on the side of caution. If a new chemical is developed, we should wait before we let it get into our food and water. If a new technology is invented, we should wait until we introduce it to society. In criminal courts, a defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We like this, because we hate the idea of someone being thrown in jail despite being innocent. And we can physically remove someone dangerous from society and more or less stop them from continuing to harm others. Criminal harm can be halted, chemical harm cannot But this is also our policy for chemicals, drugs, and potentially dangerous activities. We have an extremely high bar for deciding something is harmful enough we should reduce our exposure to it. OSHA – the Occupational Safety and Health Administration – has exposure limits for only 500 of the many thousands of chemicals used in commerce. Because the regulatory process is so onerous, Michaels says, in the half-century OSHA has been around, they've updated only twenty-seven of those 500. Yet, as with PFAS, even after we start reducing our exposure, the effects of harmful substances keep going. As one Stockholm University scientist has said about PFAS in rainwater, “We just have to wait...decades to centuries.” And, unlike a criminal court, where the only people motivated to keep from punishing a defendant are the defendant's lawyers and family members, huge networks of people stand to profit from harmful products – executives, shareholders, and entire industries have the incentives to conspire and collude. Balancing harm with innovation On the other hand, the precautionary principle can slow or halt innovation. Many products that may be harmful may also be useful. Teflon and other PFAS have a huge number of applications. Supposedly it's been replaced by other chemicals in cookware – though they're probably similar (taking advantage of loopholes in the slow regulatory process). Supposedly exposure potential from cooking is low – but you know now how hard it is to “trust the science.” As horrifying as some of these abuses of science are, you can't be horrified by them without at least some sympathy for those who didn't want to get the COVID vaccine: If a product is immediately harmful to everyone who takes it, that's easy to prove. But could it harm some people in the long term? It's nearly impossible to be sure. There's more money and power behind sowing reasonable doubt than behind exposing sources of harm. Meanwhile, it's easy to sow and abuse the existence of doubt, and that's why it's the main tactic used in product defense. There's your summary of The Triumph of Doubt If you liked this summary, you'll probably like The Triumph of Doubt. As a career regulator, Michaels comes off as somewhat biased, clearly partisan at times, a little shrill with his use of dramatic terms such as “Big Tobacco” and “Big Sugar.” Get ready for lots of alphabet soup, as you try to keep track of the myriad agencies and foundations identified by acronyms. Because of media's key role in the doubt-sowing Michaels writes about, I'll be adding this as an honorable mention on my best media books list. About Your Host, David Kadavy David Kadavy is author of Mind Management, Not Time Management, The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. Through the Love Your Work podcast, his Love Mondays newsletter, and self-publishing coaching David helps you make it as a creative. Follow David on: Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Subscribe to Love Your Work Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Stitcher YouTube RSS Email New bonus content on Patreon! I've been adding lots of new content to Patreon. Join the Patreon »       Show notes: https://kadavy.net/blog/posts/triumph-of-doubt/

According to philosopher Isaiah Berlin, people think in one of two different ways: They're either hedgehogs, or foxes. If you think like a hedgehog, you'll be more successful as a communicator. If you think like a fox, you'll be more accurate. Isaiah Berlin coined the hedgehog/fox dichotomy (via Archilochus) In Isaiah Berlin's 1953 essay, “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” he quotes the ancient Greek poet, Archilochus: The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one thing. Berlin describes this as “one of the deepest differences which divide writers and thinkers, and, it may be, human beings in general.” How are “hedgehogs” and “foxes” different? According to Berlin, hedgehogs relate everything to a single central vision. Foxes pursue many ends, often unrelated or even contradictory. If you're a hedgehog, you explain the world through a focused belief or area of expertise. Maybe you're a chemist, and you see everything as chemical reactions. Maybe you're highly religious, and everything is “God's will.” If you're a fox, you explain the world through a variety of lenses. You may try on conflicting beliefs for size, or use your knowledge in a wide variety of fields to understand the world. You explain things as From this perspective, X. But on the other hand, Y. It's also worth considering Z. The seminal hedgehog/fox essay is actually about Leo Tolstoy Even though this dichotomy Berlin presented has spread far and wide, his essay is mostly about Leo Tolstoy, and the tension between his fox-like tendencies and hedgehog-like aspirations. In Tolstoy's War and Peace, he writes: In historic events the so-called great men are labels giving names to events, and like labels they have but the smallest connection with the event itself. Every act of theirs, which appears to them an act of their own will, is in an historical sense involuntary and is related to the whole course of history and predestined from eternity. In War and Peace, Tolstoy presents characters who act as if they have control over the events of history. In Tolstoy's view, the events that make history are too complex to be controlled. Extending this theory outside historical events, Tolstoy also writes: When an apple has ripened and falls, why does it fall? Because of its attraction to the earth, because its stalk withers, because it is dried by the sun, because it grows heavier, because the wind shakes it, or because the boy standing below wants to eat it? Nothing is the cause. All this is only the coincidence of conditions in which all vital organic and elemental events occur. Is Tolstoy a fox, or a hedgehog? He acknowledges the complexity with which various events are linked – which is very fox-like. But he also seems convinced these events are so integrated with one another that nothing can change them. They're “predetermined” – a “coincidence of conditions.” A true hedgehog might have a simple explanation, such as that gravity caused the apple to fall. Tolstoy loved concrete facts and causes, such as the pull of gravity, yet still yearned to find some universal law that could be used to predict the future. According to Berlin: It is not merely that the fox knows many things. The fox accepts that he can only know many things and that the unity of reality must escape his grasp. And this was Tolstoy's downfall. Early in his life, he presented profound insights about the world through novels such as War and Peace and Anna Karenina. That was very fox-like. Later in his life, he struggled to condense his deep knowledge about the world and human behavior into overarching theories about moral and ethical issues. As Berlin once wrote to a friend, Tolstoy was “a fox who terribly believed in hedgehogs and wished to vivisect himself into one.” Other hedgehogs and foxes in Berlin's essay Other thinkers Berlin classifies as foxes include Aristotle, Goethe, and Shakespeare. Other thinkers Berlin classifies as hedgehogs include Dante, Dostoevsky, and Plato. What does the hedgehog/fox dichotomy have to do with the animals? What does knowing many things have to do with actual foxes? What does knowing one big thing have to do with actual hedgehogs? A fox is nimble and clever. It can run fast, climb trees, dig holes, swim across rivers, stalk prey, or hide from predators. A hedgehog mostly relies upon its ability to roll into a ball and ward off intruders. Foxes tell the future, hedgehogs get credit What are the consequences of being a fox or a hedgehog? According to Phil Tetlock, foxes are better at telling the future, while hedgehogs get more credit for telling the future. In Tetlock's 2005 book, Expert Political Judgement, he shared his findings from forecasting tournaments he held in the 1980s and 90s. Experts made 30,000 predictions about political events such as wars, economic growth, and election results. Then Tetlock tracked the performances of those predictions. What he found led to the U.S. intelligence community holding forecasting tournaments, tracking more than one million forecasts. Tetlock's own Good Judgement Project won the forecasting tournament, outperforming even intelligence analysts with access to classified data. Better a fox than an expert These forecasting tournaments have shown that whether someone can make accurate predictions about the future doesn't depend upon their field of expertise, their status within the field, their political affiliation, or philosophical beliefs. It doesn't matter if you're a political scientist, a journalist, a historian, or have experience implementing policies. As the intelligence community's forecasting tournaments have shown, it doesn't even matter if you have access to classified information. What matters is your style of reasoning: Foxes make more accurate predictions than hedgehogs. Across the board, experts were barely better than chance at predicting what would or wouldn't happen. Will a new tax plan spur or slow the economy? Will the Cold War end? Will Iran run a nuclear test? Generally, it didn't matter if they were an economist, an expert on the Soviet Union, or a political scientist. That didn't guarantee they'd be better than chance at predicting what would happen. What did matter is whether they thought like a fox. Foxes are: deductive, open-minded, less-biased Foxes are skeptical of grand schemes – the sort of “theories of everything” Tolstoy had hoped to construct. They didn't see predicting events as a top-down, deductive process. They saw it as a bottom-up, inductive process – stitching together diverse and conflicting sources of information. Foxes were curious and open-minded. They didn't go with the tribe. A liberal fox would be more open to thinking the Cold War could have gone on longer with a second Carter administration. A conservative fox would be more open to believing the Cold War could have ended just as quickly under Carter as it did under Reagan. Foxes were less prone to hindsight bias – less likely to remember their inaccurate predictions as accurate. They were less prone to the bias of cognitive conservatism – maintaining their beliefs after making an inaccurate prediction. As one fox said: Whenever I start to feel certain I am right... a little voice inside tells me to start worrying. —A “fox” Hedgehogs are: deductive, close-minded, more-biased (yet more successful) As for inaccurate predictions, one simple test tracked with whether an expert made accurate predictions: a Google search. If an expert was more famous – as evinced by having more results show up on Google when searching their name – they tended to be less accurate. Think about the talking-head people that get called onto MSNBC or Fox News (pun, albeit inaccurate, not intended) to make quick comments on the economy, wars, and elections – those people. Experts who made more media appearances, and got more gigs consulting with governments and businesses, were actually less accurate at making predictions than their colleagues who were toiling in obscurity. And these experts who were more successful – in terms of media appearances and consulting gigs – also tended to be hedgehogs. Hedgehogs see making predictions as a top-down deductive process. They're more likely to make sweeping generalizations. They take the “one big thing” they know – say, being an expert on the Soviet Union – and view everything through that lens. Even if it's to explain something in other domains. Hedgehogs are more-biased about the world, and about themselves. They were more likely than foxes to remember inaccurate predictions they had made, as accurate. They were more likely to remember as inaccurate, predictions their opponents made that were accurate. Rather than change their beliefs, when presented with challenging evidence hedgehog's beliefs got stronger. Are hedgehogs playing a different game? It's tempting to take that and run with it: The close-minded hedgehogs of the world are inaccurate. Success doesn't track with skill. Tetlock is careful to caution that hedgehogs aren't always worse than foxes at telling the future. Also, there are good reasons to be overconfident in predictions. As one hedgehog political pundit wrote to Tetlock: You play a publish-or-perish game run by the rules of social science.... You are under the misapprehension that I play the same game. I don't. I fight to preserve my reputation in a cutthroat adversarial culture. I woo dumb-ass reporters who want glib sound bites. —“Hedgehog” political pundit A hedgehog has a lot to gain from making bold predictions and being right, and nobody holds them accountable when they're wrong. But according to Tetlock, nothing in the data indicates hedgehogs and foxes are equally good forecasters who merely have different tastes for under- and over-prediction. As Tetlock says: Quantitative and qualitative methods converge on a common conclusion: foxes have better judgement than hedgehogs. —Phil Tetlock, Expert Political Judgement Hedgehogs may make better leaders As bad as hedgehogs look now, there are some real benefits to hedgehogs. They're more-focused. They don't get as distracted when a situation is ambiguous. So, hedgehogs are more decisive. They're harder to manipulate in a negotiation, and more willing to make controversial decisions that could make enemies. And that confidence can help them lead others. Overall, hedgehogs are better at getting their messages heard. Given the mechanics of media today, that means the messages we hear from either side of the political spectrum are those of the hedgehogs. Hedgehog thinking makes better sound bites, satisfies the human desire for clarity and certainty, and is easier for algorithms to categorize and distribute. The medium is the message, and nuance is cut out of the messages by the characteristics of the mediums. Which increases polarization. But, there is hope for the foxes. While the media landscape is still dominated by hedgehog messages that work as social media clips, there are more channels with more room for intellectually-honest discourse: blogs, podcasts, and books. And if many a ChatGPT conversation is any indication, the algorithms may get more sophisticated and remind us, “it's important to consider....” Hedgehogs, be foxes! And foxes, hedgehogs. If you're a hedgehog, you're lucky: What you have to say has a better chance of being heard. But it will have a better chance of being correct if you think like a fox once in a while: consider different angles, and assume you're wrong. If you're a fox, you have your work cut out for you: You may have important – and accurate – things to say, but they have less a chance of being heard. Your message will travel farther if you think like a hedgehog once in a while: assume you're right, cut out the asides, and say it with confidence. Image: Fox in the Reeds by Ohara Koson About Your Host, David Kadavy David Kadavy is author of Mind Management, Not Time Management, The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. Through the Love Your Work podcast, his Love Mondays newsletter, and self-publishing coaching David helps you make it as a creative. Follow David on: Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Subscribe to Love Your Work Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Stitcher YouTube RSS Email New bonus content on Patreon! I've been adding lots of new content to Patreon. Join the Patreon »       Show notes: https://kadavy.net/blog/posts/hedgehogs-foxes/

Many creators and aspiring creators struggle not because they don't have enough ideas, but because they have too many. Their situations, in summary, are “Too many ideas, must pick one.” Embedded in this belief are assumptions that, if challenged, can help you feel as if you have just enough ideas. In my recent AMA, I got a question I'm asked about creativity, probably more than any other: How can you pick a creative project when you have too many ideas? I've experienced, “too many ideas, must pick one,” many times. I still often do. I of course answered this question in the AMA, but here I'll answer more in-depth. This is the thought process I guide myself through when I'm in the land of “too many ideas, must pick one.” There are three assumptions embedded in, “too many ideas, must pick one.” All these ideas are equally likely to succeed. I'm equally capable of succeeding at each of these ideas. I can't work on multiple ideas at once. Let's look at each of those. Assumption 1: “All these ideas are equally likely to succeed” If you feel you have too many ideas, you must think they're equally likely to succeed, which is the first assumption. That might not sound correct at first, but think about it. If you were starving, and only allowed to eat one of various sandwiches, you would probably pick the biggest and most calorie-rich. You might not be able to tell so easily which is the biggest and most calorie-rich sandwich. In fact, there may be other factors that play into your decision. Maybe the avocado and pork belly sandwich is the most calorie-rich, but you're craving roasted duck in this moment, and there happens to be a roasted-duck sandwich amongst the selections. While satisfying your hunger is one objective of choosing a sandwich, there are other goals in mind, such as satisfying cravings, which may compete with one another. If you have a hard time deciding amongst all the sandwiches, you expect eating one sandwich to be equally likely to succeed as eating any of the others. As with projects, “success” may come in many forms. We'll get to that in a bit. Assumption 2: “I'm equally capable of succeeding at each of these ideas” If you feel you have too many ideas, you must think you're equally capable of succeeding at each of these ideas, which is the second assumption. If assumption one weren't correct, and you didn't feel each idea were equally likely to succeed, you would probably pick the one most likely to succeed. The avocado and pork belly sandwich would clearly be more filling than peanut butter and jelly. Now, if you weren't equally capable of eating each of the sandwiches, that would make your decision easier. If you're choosing between avocado and pork belly and peanut butter and jelly, but you're a strict vegetarian, the decision is easy. Same if you're not a vegetarian, but allergic to peanuts. But since you feel each idea is equally likely to succeed, and you feel you're equally capable of succeeding at all of them, you feel you have too many ideas. As with projects, you may have little information about your capability of succeeding, which is why, for all you know, your capability to succeed is equal across all ideas. We'll untangle that later. Assumption 3: “I can't work on multiple ideas at once” If you feel you have “too many ideas,” you feel they're equally likely to succeed and you're equally capable of succeeding at each of them. If you feel you “must pick one,” you feel you can't work on multiple ideas at once, which is the third assumption. In our sandwich scenario, you've been told you have to pick one sandwich. If there's no one else around and the sandwiches will go to waste otherwise, you might as well taste all the sandwiches, then pick one. Or eat a little of each, until you're full. But, in that case, you wouldn't finish any of the sandwiches. Challenging the assumptions With all three of these assumptions, you're in a deadlock. Your ideas are equally likely to succeed, you're equally capable of succeeding at each, and you must pick one. Well, how can you pick one if they're all equally appealing ideas? There are five questions that can help you challenge these assumptions: What is success? What is my risk profile? What am I good at? What's necessary to succeed? What pain do I pick? Let's look at each of these. Question 1: “What is success?” Success can come in many forms. Maybe you want to make the most money possible. Maybe you want the most freedom possible. Maybe you want to do what you're most passionate about. You may feel each idea is equally likely to succeed, because each idea is likely to get a different kind of success. One sandwich will fill you up, another will taste great, still another seems like the healthy choice. If you have a clearer picture of what forms of success are more important to you than others, your many ideas will no longer be “equally likely to succeed.” Question 2: “What is my risk profile?” Not only can success come in many forms, it can come with various risk profiles. One idea may have a big chance of bringing you mild success. Another idea may have a small chance of bringing you wild success. The overall expected value of each idea may be the same, but the risk profiles may be very different. Some are sure bets, some are wildcards. There are also various things you may risk in pursuing an idea. Mostly, what I call “TOM” – Time, Optionality, and Money. If you are young, healthy, and with no commitments, you have a lot of Optionality, but you might not have much Money. Making enough Money to live may take up much of your day-to-day Time. You can try a crazy idea, so long as it doesn't take up too much Time and Money. If you fail, you'll still have plenty of Optionality. Or, you might want to make some changes that reduce your Optionality, but free up your Time. For example, I live in South America, which limits my options for anything requiring physical presence, but it has reduced my need for Money, thus freeing up my Time. On the other hand, you may be in your sixties, retired after a successful career. You have plenty of Money and Time, but less Optionality than when you were in your twenties. You can only take on so many big projects in the rest of your life, and you may not have the energy you used to. But, you may feel you have nothing to lose by trying a wild idea. If you have a clearer picture of what your risk profile is, not all your ideas will seem “equally likely to succeed.” Question 3: “What am I good at?” Even if all your ideas seem equally likely to fit your definition of success and fit your risk profile, you're probably better at some things than others. If you have a clear picture of what you're good at, the assumption that you're “equally capable of succeeding at each of these ideas” will no longer make sense. It may be that you don't know what you're good at, likely because you don't feel you have information to tell you what you're good at. You probably have more information available than you think. Think about times in the past when someone was impressed with or complimented you on something you did, which came to you naturally. Or, ask your friends what they think you're good at. If you really don't have information on what you're good at, relative to your many ideas, then the third assumption, “I can't work on multiple ideas at once,” no longer makes sense. In this case, you can and should work on multiple ideas, to get an idea what you're good at. If you feel your ideas are too big to work on more than one, scale them back into smaller ideas. Don't fall for “The Fortress Fallacy,” like I talked about in The Heart to Start. Instead of building a fortress, try building a cottage. It's important to remember that what you're good at is not necessarily what you're best at, nor what you most enjoy. This will make more sense as we answer the last two questions that challenge the three assumptions. Question 4: “What's necessary to succeed?” In reality, you probably don't have a clear picture of how likely all your ideas are to succeed, nor how capable you are of succeeding at each. You have to ask of each, What's necessary to succeed? What's necessary to succeed at an idea is usually very different from what attracts you to the idea in the first place. You may love to play music. You may even love to play music in front of an audience. But will you love driving around the country, sleeping in a van, lugging gear, and dealing with curmudgeonly AV techs at each venue? You may love the idea of signing books for adoring fans at the local Barnes & Noble. But will you love sitting in a room by yourself, writing several hours a day? It's worth noting that what most people in a domain think is necessary to succeed may not be. Lots can change in the industry, and changes in the mechanics of media can open up opportunities to succeed without doing some things that were once necessary. For example, thanks to self-publishing, I don't have to write boring book proposals or get countless rejection letters to succeed as an author. Question 5: “What pain do I pick?” You may be really good at what's necessary to succeed at an idea that has a good chance of meeting your definition of success. But there may be some things necessary to succeed that you don't enjoy. That doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue the idea. No matter what you do, there will be some parts of it you aren't crazy about – especially at first. When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was draw. But making a living at drawing as an adult doesn't fit my risk profile, and what's necessary to succeed would interfere with parts of my definition of success: I can't travel if I have to lug around supplies and artwork, and if I do all my work on a computer, then I'm chained to a computer. I didn't used to like to write, but I found out I'm reasonably good at it. Forcing myself to write each morning was painful at first, but through building a writing habit, it's transformed into a strangely enjoyable sort of pain. Additionally, there are parts of making a living writing that I don't like, or at least didn't at first. My first one-star review shook me for days, but now I can brush them off relatively quickly. Same with angry emails from readers. I used to really hate bookkeeping, but now that I write monthly income reports, I actually look forward to tallying up my earnings. Do you really “have too many ideas,” and must you “pick one”? After all this, you may realize you don't have “too many ideas,” and you don't really have to “pick one.” If you don't feel you have enough information to form a clear picture of the odds of success and your capability of success, even after asking these five questions, then you need more information. You get more information not by choosing one idea, but by pursuing many. You'll more clearly see what has a chance of succeeding and what you're capable of succeeding at, and choosing one – or several – will become easy. Image: Stage Landscape by Paul Klee About Your Host, David Kadavy David Kadavy is author of Mind Management, Not Time Management, The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. Through the Love Your Work podcast, his Love Mondays newsletter, and self-publishing coaching David helps you make it as a creative. Follow David on: Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Subscribe to Love Your Work Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Stitcher YouTube RSS Email New bonus content on Patreon! I've been adding lots of new content to Patreon. Join the Patreon »       Show notes: https://kadavy.net/blog/posts/too-many-ideas/

Today I have a special episode for you. If you missed last month's AMA/Livestream, I'm delivering it right to your ears. In this AMA, I answered questions about: What's the best self-publishing platform, and how did I publish 100-Word Writing Habit, non standard-sized, outside of Amazon? Buenos Aires versus Medellín, which is better for mind management? How to pick a creative project when you have too many ideas? What's surprised me most in the past two years? What task management software do I use for mind management? How to focus on one project when you have multiple curiosities? How to keep from falling down a research rabbit-hole? How many half-formed ideas do I have captured somewhere? There are some parts where I refer to visuals, for the best experience, watch on YouTube. About Your Host, David Kadavy David Kadavy is author of Mind Management, Not Time Management, The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. Through the Love Your Work podcast, his Love Mondays newsletter, and self-publishing coaching David helps you make it as a creative. Follow David on: Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Subscribe to Love Your Work Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Stitcher YouTube RSS Email New bonus content on Patreon! I've been adding lots of new content to Patreon. Join the Patreon »       Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/four-sources-of-shiny-object-syndrome/

Today's guest is Stefan Falk. Stefan is an internationally recognized executive coach and the author of Intrinsic Motivation: Learn to Love Your Work and Succeed as Never Before. Stefan is also a human performance expert for top business executives, special ops in the armed forces, and elite athletes, Falk has spent more than thirty years helping thousands of individuals, teams, and organizations become intrinsically motivated. He has held C-suite roles at several global companies, and has been responsible for driving corporate transformations valued in excess of two billion dollars. His leadership and human performance techniques have been developed in continuous cooperation with leading scientists in fields including neuroscience, behavioral science, and psychology.    Today we discuss: what intrinsic motivation is and why it's so important, how to get excited about a goal you want to pursue, why you must love what you do professionally, how to avoid the pain of failure, how to effectively navigate uncertainty and negativity, why achieving daily goals is so valuable, how to know when it's time to quit a job and much more. What to Listen For: 00:00 Intro 00:30 What is intrinsic motivation? 01:38 How to get a excited about a goal you are pursuing 06:45 Use time to your advantage  08:20 Staying intrinsically motivated while working out 10:41 Master the baby steps 14:30 Losing motivation is normal 19:04 Navigating uncertainty 22:55 Regulating your nervous system 25:06 Can helping others become problematic? 27:41 Dealing with failure  32:26 Should you love your job? 36:31 Is it time to quit your job? 39:10 The only time failure is truly painful 41:44 Use a calendar for negativity  46:33 Three things you should achieve daily  Episode Resources: Stefan | Website     ⚠ WELLNESS DISCLAIMER ⚠ Please be advised; the topics related to mental health in my content are for informational, discussion, and entertainment purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your mental health professional or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your current condition. Never disregard professional advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard from your favorite creator, on social media, or shared within content you've consumed. If you are in crisis or you think you may have an emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. If you do not have a health professional who is able to assist you, use these resources to find help: Emergency Medical Services—911 If the situation is potentially life-threatening, get immediate emergency assistance by calling 911, available 24 hours a day. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org.  SAMHSA addiction and mental health treatment Referral Helpline, 1-877-SAMHSA7 (1-877-726-4727) and https://www.samhsa.gov and https://www.samhsa.gov  

Shiny object syndrome can be evidence of a problem, or it can be a normal part of the creative process. If you can identify the four sources of shiny object syndrome, you can tell the difference between being lost, or simply exploring. Three first three sources are problems The first three of the four sources of shiny object syndrome hold you back from finishing projects. They are: ambition, perfectionism, and distraction. Ambitious shiny object syndrome is starting projects that far outpace your abilities and resources. Perfectionistic shiny object syndrome is endlessly tweaking a project that could otherwise be called done. Distracted shiny object syndrome is juggling so many projects, you finish none. Before we get to the fourth source, a bit more about these three most dangerous sources. Ambitious shiny object syndrome You probably have a friend with ambitious shiny object syndrome. One day they proclaimed they were writing an epic fantasy novel. A few months later, they had dropped that and had a new plan: a feature film. A few months after that, they were starting a health-tech startup. All the while, you were shaking your head, because your friend clearly didn't have the experience or resources to take on these projects. They were writing the epic fantasy novel, yet had never written a short story. They were working on the feature film, yet had never made a short film. They were working on the health-tech startup, yet had no experience in technology, the health industry, nor raising funding. Delusional optimism can be an asset. Maybe your friend will get lucky, and one of these projects will click. They're more likely to get struck by lightning. Instead, you know what's coming when you ask how the latest project is going. They've abandoned that, and are taking on something new. Conveniently, your friend always has a great excuse for why. They find a scapegoat: You can't get a million dollars for a feature-film without a rich uncle. They claim to have never been serious about it in the first place: Oh, that silly book? I was just dabbling. More likely, they shift the conversation to another subject: Oh my god, did you see the article about the celebrity! If they had made a public prediction about their potential success in the project, you could hold them accountable. Yet they didn't, so you have to take their word for it. Interestingly, you'll never hear, That was foolish taking on that – I didn't know what I was doing! Perfectionistic shiny object syndrome Or maybe you have a friend with perfectionistic shiny object syndrome. They endlessly tweak a project that could otherwise be called done. The “shiny objects” in this case aren't other projects, but rather details within one project. Your perfectionist friend has one project they've been clinging to for years. Their novel has been through eleven revisions. It started as a memoir, but after becoming an urban-fantasy novel, it's now a thriller. They had a great-looking cover for each of these. But they've changed some details about the plot since the latest world-building workshop they traveled to attend, and they want to try a different cover designer. But before they spend money on another cover, they want to decide whether they're going to publish in places besides Amazon, because that affects the design specs. So they're taking a cohort-based course so they can ask a successful author what she thinks. There's nothing you could tell your friend to get them to ship this project. By now, they could be on their third book, having learned lessons from the previous two. Instead, they've convinced themself it has to be perfect. Distracted shiny object syndrome Or maybe you have a friend with distracted shiny object syndrome. They're taking on projects they could conceivably complete, given their skills and resources. They don't seem to suffer from perfectionism, but you can't tell, because none of their projects get anywhere near the finish line. Instead, once they make a little progress on one project, they switch to another, then another. Once their screenplay is completed for their short film, they start recording demos for their album. Once they've recorded demos for their album, they write their memoir. Once they've finished a draft of their memoir, they're writing a business plan for a non-profit. This “friend” may be you, and it certainly has been me. Shiny object syndrome is difficult to cure, because these sources are often mixed together. You may take on projects that are too ambitious, but also be distracted by the many other projects you're taking on. The perfectionism that is keeping you from shipping one project, may divert you to one overly-ambitious project, or a mixture of smaller projects. The fourth source is only natural Yet there is a fourth source of shiny object syndrome that doesn't have to keep you from finishing projects: Natural shiny object syndrome. Natural shiny object syndrome is the diversions and dead-ends that are a natural part of the creative process. When you're being creative and innovative, by definition, you are going to try some things that don't work, or need to explore new areas with which you aren't familiar. [Projects are like halfpipes.] It's fun and easy to skate into a halfpipe – to start a project. But once you're trying to skate out of the halfpipe, you've run out of momentum. It's more fun and easy to skate into a new halfpipe – to start a new project, or tweak a new aspect of the existing project. But in the natural course of being creative and innovative, you'll also start new halfpipes. When Leonardo da Vinci developed his painting style, he skated into many halfpipes. To accurately depict light and shade in his paintings, he systematically studied the way light traveled through the atmosphere, and interacted with objects. This led him into other fields, such as optics, fluid dynamics, and geometry. Leonardo da Vinci's natural shiny object syndrome In fact, one of Leonardo's most pre-eminent observations in astronomy greatly informed his painting style. He correctly theorized that the light area on the dark side of the moon was created by light reflecting from the sun, off the earth. By understanding how light worked, he was able to make paintings with an unprecedented sense of realism. The “earthshine” caused by light reflecting from the earth is the same phenomenon that causes a lighter area within the shadow on the underside of the chin of the Mona Lisa. That's caused by light being reflected off her upper chest. Okay, so Leonardo had the other sources, too Leonardo of course was an infamous procrastinator. In addition to the natural shiny object syndrome he experienced, he also had shiny object syndrome from the rest of the four sources. He had ambitious shiny object syndrome, such as when, over the course of decades, he failed twice to cast in bronze the largest-ever horse statue. He had perfectionistic shiny object syndrome, such as the fact that he never delivered the Mona Lisa to his client. He instead carried it around fifteen years, until he died, and well after it could have easily been called done. He had distracted shiny object syndrome, which caused him to run around Italy, trying to please his clients in art, architecture, and engineering. Don't fight the fourth source You can do something about most sources of shiny object syndrome. If you have ambitious shiny object syndrome, take on smaller projects. You can use the surround and conquer technique. If you have perfectionistic shiny object syndrome, simply ship your project. Recognize the Finisher's Paradox. Like Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” If you have distracted shiny object syndrome, pick a project, and finish it. Build your shipping skills as you work your way up to larger projects. But even if you clear those sources away, you'll still have to live with natural shiny object syndrome. To connect ideas from disparate fields, you need to wander into them. To find out what works, you have to try some things that won't. Image: Main path and byways, by Paul Klee About Your Host, David Kadavy David Kadavy is author of Mind Management, Not Time Management, The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. Through the Love Your Work podcast, his Love Mondays newsletter, and self-publishing coaching David helps you make it as a creative. Follow David on: Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Subscribe to Love Your Work Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Stitcher YouTube RSS Email Support the show on Patreon Put your money where your mind is. Patreon lets you support independent creators like me. Support now on Patreon »       Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/four-sources-of-shiny-object-syndrome/

Writing a tweet is a microcosm of writing a book. If you think deeply and carefully about every word in a tweet, and what the tweet as a whole communicates, you can extend those skills to all your writing. In this article, I'll break down how to think about every word in a tweet, nearly tripling its performance. Step 1: The first-impression tweet The tweet we'll work on came to me like most tweets, a thought that popped into my head. It was this: Ironically, strong opinions are the ones that are easily argued against. I could have just tweeted that. But I've made a habit of instead writing down my first-impression tweets in a scratch file, and later working on them before publishing. Here's what my thought process looks like. As a tweet, this phrase is a little wordy, and weak. It starts somewhat nonsensically with an adverb: “Ironically.” What action is being performed ironically? Step 2: Improving word economy There are also some extra words that could be cut out. Do we have to refer to “strong opinions” again, by using the word “ones”? The word “that” is often not necessary, and it doesn't seem necessary here. If we cut out all those extra words, we end up with: Strong opinions are easily argued against. Step 3: Adding back in meaning That's shorter, more elegant, and economic. But now it's weaker. It's a simple statement of fact, without presenting what's remarkable about that fact, or how anyone should feel about it. At least when it said, “ironically,” it pointed out the irony that strong opinions are those that are easily argued against. Also, since I've removed the second reference to “strong opinions” by removing the word “ones,” the statement no longer pits “strong opinions” against other types of opinions. Before, I was implying the existence of opinions that weren't strong, and describing what was different about opinions that were. Our shortened statement is also in the passive voice, which makes it weaker. “Strong opinions are easily argued against,” by whom? Who is doing the arguing? It would be more direct to say: It's easier to argue against strong opinions. But still, this statement doesn't pit strong opinions against other types of opinions. Fixing that, we could instead say: Of all opinions, strong ones are easiest to argue against. Finally, I think we at least have an improvement over the original, “Ironically, strong opinions are the ones that are easily argued against.” It's more direct, and pits strong opinions against opinions at-large. It also has the important quality, in tweet format, of delivering the most surprising – or ironic – thing about the statement at the end. There's a bit of misdirection in this statement. We've addressed all opinions, homed in on the strong ones, which primes you to expect them to be lauded in some way. Instead, the statement points out the irony that what makes an opinion “strong” is that it's easy to argue against. Step 4: Tweaking for the audience But this tweet is still not ready. The most glaring problem is, nowhere in the tweet is the term, “strong opinions,” and, as a tweet, that's where its potential lies. “Strong opinions” is a term in the parlance of some sections of Twitter. This term became popular after Marc Andreessen appeared on Tim Ferriss's podcast, where he advocated for, “strong opinions, weakly held.” By trying to be economical with words in our tweet, we've broken apart this term. In our latest iteration, “Of all opinions, strong ones are easiest to argue against,” it's simply referred to as “strong ones.” Depending upon how prevalent the term “strong opinions” is in the minds of our audience members, we could stick with that more subtle hint. Sometimes that's more effective. In my experience, on Twitter, you have to bash people over the head with what you're saying to cut through the noise. So we could instead say: Of all opinions, strong opinions are easiest to argue against. We've replaced “strong ones” with “strong opinions.” It's less economical, but includes the term “strong opinions,” pits them against opinions at-large, and delivers the counterintuitive element at the end, like the punchline of a joke. Step 5: What are we trying to say? This is probably as economically as we can write this, meeting that criteria. But it's still not ready. Now it's not clear from this observation how the author wants us to feel about strong opinions. It's, ironically, not a strong opinion. Is the upshot that you shouldn't hold strong opinions? Is it that when you hold strong opinions, you have to be comfortable with the fact they are easy to argue against? What makes an opinion “strong,” anyway? Is it the force with with which you express the opinion? If so, the statement, “strong opinions, weakly held” would mean you express the opinion with force, but are quick to change it if presented with contrary evidence. Or maybe it means that you should take decisive action on your opinions, and if that action presents you with contrary evidence, you should change your opinion and act accordingly? Now we're starting to get to what I, as an author, really think – which is like an excavation to discover, Where did this idea come from in the first place? My personal opinion is that to hold a strong opinion, you have to be faking. There are few things any of us are qualified to have opinions about. Having a strong opinion is a very “hedgehog” way of being, and hedgehogs are scientifically proven to be wrong. Yet if you express your honest opinion – which is to be more like a “fox” than a hedgehog – you're essentially expressing no opinion at all. Instead, you're exploring thoughts around a potential opinion. Given the mechanics of media today, few who see what you have to say when expressing your fox-like opinion will interact with it. And because few will interact with it, fewer will see it. So in a way, to be fox-like in media is doing oneself a disservice. Your message doesn't get seen, and since nobody can disagree with your non-opinion, you learn less. It's beneficial to masquerade as a hedgehog on social media, but be a fox in your private intellectual life. What's our angle? It's at this point in revising a tweet, where I often step back and write plainly the sub-text of what I'm trying to say. One angle is, In your pursuit of learning, you have to pretend to have strong opinions, because strong opinions are the easiest to argue against – which helps you collect information. Another angle is that When you express a strong opinion, be ready to be disagreed with, because strong opinions are by definition the easiest to argue against. So now I have two potential angles: “You should pretend to have an opinion.” “When you express your opinion, be ready for criticism.” Since this is a tweet, the sub-text of the tweet is very important. Because of the social mechanics of Twitter, people will not like or retweet something that makes them look bad. The “You should pretend to have an opinion” angle is weak, because to retweet something that espouses being inauthentic is to admit to being inauthentic, and that's socially repugnant – even if our angle has merit. Also important, it's not socially-repugnant enough to get people to argue, which would be another way of driving engagement. The “When you express your opinion, be ready for criticism,” angle is somewhat stronger. It would be a small flex to like or retweet this, because it would show that you're a person resilient enough to expose yourself to criticism, a quality which has social clout in some circles. Moving forward with that best angle, in the clearest way possible, we could say: When you share strong opinions, you will be criticized. Because strong opinions by definition are the easiest opinions to disagree with. Besides the fact it's much longer, there's something weak about this tweet. I think it's that it makes strong opinions not look good. Why have them if they're so easy to disagree with? As someone with a fox cognitive style, to me it doesn't feel right. So ultimately it seems, I believe a third angle: “Strong opinions aren't good.” If we put that simply, we're back to “Of all opinions, strong opinions are the easiest to argue against.” That still doesn't express clearly how I feel about strong opinions. It's just a statement of fact. Step 6: Applying rhetoric Maybe we can make this more economical, while also expressing more clearly my feelings about strong opinions, if we use a rhetorical form. Rhetorical forms are time-tested structures in language that add meaning beyond the simple content of the words. “Antithesis” is a good rhetorical form for tweets. Mark Forsyth in The Elements of Eloquence describes antithesis as “X is Y, and not X is not Y.” We won't use that exact formula, which would essentially be “Strong opinions are easy to argue against, and weak opinions are hard to argue against.” Instead, let's pit the word “strong” against its antithesis, “weak” – which is part of why the phrase “strong opinions, weakly held” is so memetic. As it happens, the idea of a “weak argument” is a commonly-used metaphor, so we can add extra power to our phrase by tapping into that existing idiom. With those elements in mind, we end up with: Strong opinions are weak arguments. That's about as good as we can do. We've reduced the phrase from eleven words to only five. It's now clearer what I think of strong opinions, and it presents the irony I wanted to point out in the first place. Was all this work worth it? So, how did this tweet do? I published it, making sure to record a prediction that I was 70% sure it would get fewer than 1,500 impressions (in 48 hours). It actually got 1,081. One month later, I published the unedited tweet I presented at the beginning of this article. I was 70% sure it would get fewer than 1,000 impressions. It got 384. The data suggest that through all that excruciating detail – more than 1,500 words about writing only five – I nearly tripled the performance of this tweet. The tweet still didn't go viral, which isn't the point of thinking of language in this level of detail. The real point of this exercise is that if you make a habit of thinking carefully about language, you internalize much of this process, which makes all your writing better. Image: Flower Myth, by Paul Klee About Your Host, David Kadavy David Kadavy is author of Mind Management, Not Time Management, The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. Through the Love Your Work podcast, his Love Mondays newsletter, and self-publishing coaching David helps you make it as a creative. Follow David on: Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Subscribe to Love Your Work Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Stitcher YouTube RSS Email Support the show on Patreon Put your money where your mind is. Patreon lets you support independent creators like me. Support now on Patreon »       Show notes: https://kadavy.net/blog/posts/how-to-write-a-tweet/

If you've been searching the Internet for different businesses to start, chances are you've found thousands of ways to make money online. But there may be an equal or greater opportunity to make money right in your own hometown with a good old-fashioned “blue-collar” business idea. We commonly associate hefty paychecks with briefcases and neckties – but it turns out there's plenty of money to be earned by those who sport hard hats and coveralls. In this episode, we've invited a blue-collar entrepreneur. His name is non-other than Ken Rusk. He is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and blue-collar advocate showing that there is no degree required for comfort, peace, and freedom. As a mentor, he helps people achieve their dreams. As an advocate and author, he teaches the value of blue-collar jobs and trade skills. He has been featured in numerous publications such as Forbes, USA Today, CNN, Wall Street Journal, and many more! In this episode, Ken will be sharing: 1) The Top 5 Paying Blue-Collar Jobs 2) The 5 Steps To Achieve Any Goal 3) The Best Method To Jump From The 'Somedayer' Club to 'Todayer Club' Learn more about Ken: Website: https://www.kenrusk.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-rusk-2656a7175/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenruskofficial/ Get Blue Collar Cash: https://www.kenrusk.com/blue-collar-cash/ Take The Path: https://www.kenrusk.com/the-path/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theraygacyshow/message

Stefan Falk shares his secrets to loving your work and succeeding like never before. He teaches you how to gain intrinsic motivation, overcome procrastination, and improve concentration so you can learn skills faster, sustain high levels of work satisfaction, and work towards any dream or goal you have. We've all experienced lack of motivation or dissatisfaction with work at some point in our life. It's common for people to feel like their work is boring, uninteresting, difficult, or uncomfortable, yet we continue to stay in those jobs. This begs the question: Do we need to love our work in order to have a good, successful life?  If you're struggling to find motivation from within or find enjoyment in your work, this episode is for you. “Figuring out how to tap into that energy in a smart way, to unlock our intrinsic motivation, I think that is actually the key challenge that humans should take on,” he says. Stefan Falk is an internationally-recognized performance coach who helps people achieve things they don't think they're capable of. He's also the author of “Intrinsic Motivation: How to Love Your Work and Succeed as Never Before”.    Follow Chase on Instagram @chase_chewning Follow him on Twitter @chasechewning   Key Highlights It's how you think about what you're supposed to do that decides whether you will love it or not. Thus, it's all about mindset and taking baby steps towards building and tapping back into intrinsic motivation. If you learn how to unlock intrinsic motivation, you will gain the ability to learn and master new skills much faster, work effectively towards any type of goal or dream, and sustain great satisfaction in whatever you choose to do or need to do. Stefan shares how to concentrate more effectively with minimal energy expenditure. It's important to recognize the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and how you can balance the two. Listen in to learn more! Stefan details the fascinating role of fantasy/daydreaming in building intrinsic motivation and the role of intention in sustaining motivation. Hint: The brain gets really good at what it focuses on. “If you don't erase negativity from your life, how on Earth are you ever going to have inner peace? It's impossible,” Stefan says. Episode resources: Save 20% on any skin care item with code EVERFORWARD at https://www.CalderaLab.com  Save 10% on Ketone-IQ with code CHASE at https://hvmn.me/CHASE  Join the EF Book Club https://bit.ly/efbookclub  Watch and subscribe on YouTube https://youtu.be/D4hrjxl1TUY  Learn more about Stefan's work and get his book https://learntoloveyourwork.com 

Do you love your work? Even if you own your own business, it's very easy to slip into a mindset that resents having to go to the office each day. Even if you work in exactly the industry and position you always wanted to. How then can we manage our mindset and bring our awareness back to all that we have to be grateful for? How can we shake ourselves from the malaise and get back on track to expansiveness? Intrinsic motivation! TAKE OUR FREE MONEY MINDSET QUIZ HERE: https://dreamwithdan.com/money-mindset-quiz/ Welcome once again Dreamers, to the Do it with Dan Podcast! The place to truly dream with your eyes open. It's time to expand our experience with some more great discussion on the power of the mind in all things. Whether you want to manifest more wealth, emotional abundance or love in your life; this is the podcast for you. Stefan Falk is an internationally-recognized executive coach and human performance expert. He has trained over 4,000 leaders across more than 60 different client organizations in North America and Europe. He has held C-suite roles at several global companies and has been responsible for driving corporate transformations valued in excess of two billion dollars. His leadership and human performance techniques have been developed in continuous cooperation with leading scientists in fields including neuroscience, behavioral science, and psychology. Please share your stories with me over at dreamwithdan.com. Connect with Stefan here: Website: learntoloveyourwork.com *PLEASE RATE US AND SHARE* Join me on: Facebook Instagram Twitter Music Credit: "The Dreamer", Common Timestamps of interest: 01:25 - Welcome Stefan 07:45 - The motivating factor of energy conservation 09:28 - Most work stress is self-inflicted 17:15 - What you can do if you're trapped in negative thinking 22:00 - Pull more beauty from your experiences 30:20 - The extreme importance of fantasy 32:28 - Stefan's book - Intrinsic Motivation

I welcome Stefan Falk to Passion Struck, who is a senior executive and performance coach working with elite athletes, top executives, special operators in the armed forces, and leaders from all walks of life. We explore his new book Intrinsic Motivation: Learn to Love Your Work and Succeed as Never Before. Stefan Falk discusses why intrinsic motivation is vital to success Stefan Falk and I discuss why to achieve productivity and positivity in both personal and professional life, it's important to have a sense of control, an understanding of current events and future prospects, and a strong and supportive social network. The need for connection and trust has become even more crucial with the rise of remote work. However, many of us struggle to meet these needs effectively and instead resort to unhelpful coping strategies. The key to success is to develop intrinsic motivation by focusing on activities that align with our career and life goals, rejecting a competitive mentality, finding joy in our work, and doing it well.  Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://passionstruck.com/stefan-falk-intrinsic-motivation/  Brought to you by Shopify, Green Chef, and Indeed. --► For information about advertisers and promo codes, go to: https://passionstruck.com/deals/  Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter or Instagram handle so we can thank you personally! --► Prefer to watch this interview: https://youtu.be/9YK9RPUpRl0 --► Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel Here: https://www.youtube.com/c/JohnRMiles Want to find your purpose in life? I provide my six simple steps to achieving it - passionstruck.com/5-simple-steps-to-find-your-passion-in-life/ Want to hear my best interviews from 2022? Check out episode 233 on intentional greatness and episode 234 on intentional behavior change. ===== FOLLOW ON THE SOCIALS ===== * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passion_struck_podcast * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnrmiles.c0m  Learn more about John: https://johnrmiles.com/ 

After spending a decade grappling with a fast-paced career in marketing and two autoimmune diseases, Amina AlTai hit burnout. In hopes of healing her own life, she sought training in coaching, nutrition, fitness and mindfulness and her goal became to teach others how to balance a thriving career, body and mind. She takes a holistic approach to coaching— examining any blocks in the mindset, in our bodies and in how we lead. Amina is on Goal Digger to talk about hustle culture, about knowing the difference between burnout and exhaustion, setting boundaries in the workplace, and tips for confidently selecting your next path towards and aligned, authentic career. PRE-ORDER MY FIRST BOOK: jennakutcher.com/book GOAL DIGGER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/goaldiggerpodcast/ GOAL DIGGER INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/goaldiggerpodcast/ GOAL DIGGER SHOWNOTES: jennakutcherblog.com/amina