28: Notes To Self

Yo, it’s Luke!

So you know about that gig at Matter I got the other week? Well I’ve got 2 updates.

(1) It’s f*cking awesome. I just get to find good internet stuff all day. There have been so many times where I want to stop working and read because I had passed up on so many good things. It’s how I imagine a dog would feel if a quality meal passed by their nose every few seconds.

(2) They just launched their new product. It’s a daily feed of wide-ranging timeless reads (which I help curate). I imagine I’ll get that hungry-dog feeling every single morning now with this app. I’m geeked. If you like this newsletter, you’ll probably like the app.

Download it here.

That said, here is your weekly dose of 5 noteworthy ideas & things I learned about last week. Click on each link to dive further on that topic.

1. I Love This Photo (Mark Manson)

2. The Timeless Way of Building (Christopher Alexander)

“A man is alive when he is wholehearted, true to himself, true to his own inner forces, and able to act freely according to the nature of the situations he is in.”

If this ain’t it, I don’t know what is.

3. Questions (Patrick Collison)

Patrick thinks about a lot of super interesting societal-level questions. I’m so glad a genius & broad-thinker like him shares what’s going on up in that big ‘ole brain of his.

Here’s 5 of the questions that I’ve been playing around with:

• Why are certain things getting so much more expensive?

  

• Why do there seem to be more examples of rapidly-completed major projects in the past than the present? (ex: the Empire State Building was built in 410 days)

• How do we help more experimental cities get started?

• Most days, people don't decide to change their lives in big ways. On a few days, they do. What's special about those days?

• Could there be more good blogs?

4. The Mistake Smart People Make: Being In Motion vs Taking Action

When you’re in motion, you’re planning and strategizing and learning. Those are all good things, but they don’t produce a result. Action, on the other hand, is the type of behavior that will deliver an outcome.

Consistent reflection is good because it creates motion which primes your mind and body for immediate action.

But, action is the thing that gets you from A → B.

Taking action > being in motion.

5. Krishnamurti On Sitting By Yourself (Think On These Things)

Randomly doing this throughout the day makes my life so much richer.

“Have you ever sat very quietly without any movement? You try it, sit really still, with your back straight, and observe what your mind is doing. Don`t try to control it, don't say it should not jump from one thought to another, from one interest to another, but just be aware of how your mind is jumping. Don't do anything about it, but watch it as from the banks of a river you watch the water flow by. In the flowing river there are so many things - fishes, leaves, dead animals - but it is always living, moving, and your mind is like that. It is everlastingly restless, flitting from one thing to another like a butterfly.”

Thanks for wanting to know more today than you did yesterday! If you liked this edition, send it over to a friend who would like it too 🤝 

Cheers,

Luke

PS: Have a topic you think I’d like learning about? Send it to me here.

PPS: Got questions you want me to answer? I made an anonymous form for that.

PPPS: you can find more rabbit holes here & my writing here.