3 IDEAS FROM ME
I.
“Italy is known for tomatoes. Thailand for chilies. Germany for sauerkraut.
But tomatoes originated in Peru. Thailand imported chilies from Central America. Sauerkraut started in China.
Everything is a remix—and the world is better for it. Share what you know. Learn from others.”
II.
A reminder from Atomic Habits:
“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.
A small habit—when repeated consistently—grows into something significant.”
III.
“People who excel tend to obsess over the details.
People who struggle also tend to obsess over the details.
The difference is what details they focus on. Minutiae vs polish.
Most things don’t matter—but when it does, you want to get the details right.”
2 QUOTES FROM OTHERS
I.
Psychologist Adam Grant on how to elicit feedback:
“When people hesitate to give honest feedback on an idea, draft, or performance, I ask for a 0-10 score.
No one ever says 10. Then I ask how I can get closer to a 10.
It motivates them to start coaching me – and motivates me to be coachable. I want to learn how to close the gap.”
Source: Twitter
II.
Linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky on seeking what is significant:
“You can’t expect somebody to become a biologist by giving them access to the Harvard University biology library and saying, “Just look through it.” That will give them nothing. The internet is the same, except magnified enormously.
…
The person who wins the Nobel Prize in biology is not the person who read the most journal articles and took the most notes on them. It’s the person who knew what to look for.
Cultivating that capacity to seek what’s significant, always willing to question whether you’re on the right track, that’s what education is going to be about, whether it’s using computers and internet, or pencil and paper and books.”
Source: The Purpose of Education (hat tip to Bret Victor)
1 QUESTION FOR YOU
Does the amount of time I’m giving this match its true importance?
Until next week,
James Clear
Author of the million-copy bestseller, Atomic Habits
Creator of the Habit Journal