THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEA: “No one can build you the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life. There may be countless trails and bridges and demigods who would gladly carry you across; but only at the price of pawning and forgoing yourself. There is one path in the world that none can walk but you. Where does it lead? Don’t ask, walk!” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

TD'S TOOLKIT: Mental Health - Morning Pages - Per Julia Cameron, whose book The Artist's Way first showed me this tool, "Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. *There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages* – they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page...and then do three more pages tomorrow."

MENTAL MODEL OF THE WEEK: Fragility – Robustness – Antifragility - A system’s default response to negative variability can be negative, neutral, or even positive.

TOPIC OF INTEREST #1: Sensible Living Value Chain - By explicitly visualizing our most important personal priorities, we can quickly figure out what is going well vs. what is off the rails.

TOPIC OF INTEREST #2: Using the Peter Thiel Question as a Lens for Entrepreneurship - Being both contrarian and correct is a useful starting point for creating value and improving others' lives.

ARTICLE - Aeon: Complex System Science Allows Us to See New Paths Forward by Jessica Flack and Melanie Mitchell - Jessica and Melanie's article surfaces myriad valuable mental models related to systems thinking, while also being incredibly well written, and providing a thoughtful and concrete analysis of our COVID-19 situation.

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THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEA - You have your own unique life operating manual living inside your head. Revitalize your conviction, improve your execution, and fundamentally alter the trajectory of your life by simply writing it down and being explicit about how you want to operate.

TD'S TOOLKIT - RELATIONSHIPS - My Personal CRM Excel Template - After graduating from college and starting a crazy hard job in a new city, I did not have the right tools or processes in place to sufficiently keep in touch with my closest relationships, so I fell out of touch with some amazing people. Most people can do this organically (or at least think they can ;D), but I have learned that I often cannot. Because I never want to forget to stay in touch with my people, I created and maintain a list of the most important people in my life, along with when I last connected with them, in an Excel sheet. Some friends think this is bananas and robotic, others appreciate my extra effort and humility. Ultimately, I now never forget to reach out and I am there for my people, which is what matters most to me.

TOPIC OF INTEREST - SENSIBLE LIVING - My Sensible Living life operating system now has ~900 resources to help you learn more about the important pillars of living well, including 131 books, 74 articles, 175 blog posts, 65 podcasts, and 318 research papers.

MENTAL MODEL OF THE WEEK - Pareto Principle (The 80/20 Rule) - A large amount of a phenomenon is often created by a small amount of the causes.

VIDEO - The School of Life: How to Find Fulfilling Work - Give yourself sufficient time and space to introspect and think creatively, and the confidence and optionality to go after what you truly want.

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THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEA - "What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task." ~ Dr. Viktor Frankl

TD'S TOOLKIT - EXERCISE - Fitness First Slam Ball - With gyms closed and barbells inaccessible, I have been searching for other fun ways to fit high-intensity compound movements into my life. Enter the 'Slam Ball', which Evo Fitness describes as "a weighted, rubber-coated ball which can be used in a range of exercises...Though very similar to medicine (med) balls, slam balls have one crucial difference – they have thicker surfaces, making them ideal for high-impact throwing exercises." My favorite exercises so far are The Slam Ball and The Wall Ball. Be very sensitive to the weight you use, especially if these exercises are new or unfamiliar. I chose 25 pounds out of thin air, and it's fine, but I wish I had accidentally chosen 30.

MORNING MANTRA OF THE WEEK - LIFE IS EITHER A DARING ADVENTURE OR NOTHING

MENTAL MODEL OF THE WEEK - PROBABILISTIC THINKING - The future holds a wide variety of potential future outcomes, with distinct probabilities and consequences.

BOOK - Man's Search for Meaning by Dr. Viktor Frankl (My revised Kindle notes) - Finding meaning, embracing our freedom to choose, and forgetting ourselves are important keys to a happy life, regardless of external circumstances.

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THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEA - "Ninety percent of your long-term happiness is predicted not by the external world but by the way your brain processes the world." ~ Shawn Anchor

TD'S TOOLKIT - MENTAL HEALTH - Stoic (iOS App) - Stoic's box breathing widget is free and invaluable for regaining presence during the inevitable fraught moments of daily life.

BOOK - Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy by Mo Gawdat (My full Kindle notes) - The single best book for personal mental health and happiness cultivation that I have ever read.

BOOK - How Champions Think: In Sports and in Life by Dr. Bob Rotella (My full Kindle notes) - Dr. Bob's treatise on championship performance was a wonderful revelation for me, jam-packed with actionable advice.

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THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEA - "[Y]ou can shape your love relationships, relationships make sense. This is about biology. There is a deep logic behind our emotions. There is a deep logic behind our needs." ~ Dr. Sue Johnson

TD'S TOOLKIT - SLEEP - Mack's Slim Fit Soft Foam Earplugs - Comfortable, quality, and <$10, I bring these earplugs with me to any foreign sleep environment (e.g., vacations, retreats, business travel, slumber parties, etc.). If you have ever struggled to fall asleep due to uncontrollable environmental noise, you know how valuable comfy earplugs are to have around. Best ROI ever ;D (Note: I used to put foam earplugs in incorrectly! Check out the CDC's quick guidance for correctly inserting soft foam earplugs.)

MENTAL MODEL OF THE WEEK - BAYESIAN REASONING (BAYES’ THEOREM) - Your belief is only as valid as how well it fits all available evidence, relative to alternative hypotheses.

RESEARCH - BMJ: How citation distortions create unfounded authority: analysis of a citation network by Steven Greenberg - "Unfounded authority was established by citation bias against papers that refuted or weakened the belief; amplification, the marked expansion of the belief system by papers presenting no data addressing it; and forms of invention such as the conversion of hypothesis into fact through citation alone." (This summary visualization is delightful!)

PODCAST - The Knowledge Project #62: Cracking the Code of Love: My Interview with Psychologist and EFT Pioneer, Dr. Sue Johnson by Shane Parrish - A really powerful podcast about love relationships, diving deep into subjects like enabling secure attachment and cultivating an amazing sex life.

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THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEA - "Having eyes, but not seeing beauty; having ears, but not hearing music; having minds, but not perceiving truth; having hearts that are never moved and therefore never set on fire. These are the things to fear."

TD'S TOOLKIT - RELATIONSHIPS - BestSelf: Intimacy Deck - A collection of thoughtful prompts to promote intimacy, vulnerability, and connection in your romantic relationship. If you are long-distance and searching for more ways to strengthen your bond, this is especially helpful (it worked well for me and my ex).

TOPIC OF INTEREST - TRIGONOMETRY FUNDAMENTALS - While intimidating at first, the fundamentals of trigonometry can be relatively easy to grasp.

BOOK - Education of a Wandering Man: A Memoir by Louis L'Amour (My full Kindle highlights) - At its core, this book is about a man on a (writing) mission, who deeply values reading, self-education, exploration, curiosity, empathy, and storytelling, and who demonstrates a thoughtful appreciation for all of the vicissitudes of life.

BOOK - Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi (My full Kindle notes) - A vivid, inspirational, and fun story about a WW2-era Japanese school with a very different methodology for educating children, focused on developing autonomy and individual self-respect.

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THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEA - Distracting yourself from the important challenges in your life will not resolve them. In fact, they may compound while you aren't looking ><

TD'S TOOLKIT - EXERCISE - Hakeno Adjustable Pull-Up Bar - When COVID lockdowns started, I had no idea what the hell I was going to do for exercise without gym access. Over the past few months, I have invested in a small handful of in-home exercise equipment that is silent (because of a downstairs neighbor situation), affordable, and effective. My strong preference in strength training is for compound movements, and pull-ups are one of the best for the 'vertical pull' category. Sadly, my tiny NYC apartment has odd doorway widths, and so I ended up needing an adjustable width, no-screw setup via Hakano. There were definitely slippage issues at first, but now that I have my setup locked in, it's been a tremendously positive investment!

MENTAL MODEL OF THE WEEK - VIA NEGATIVA - “Instead of concentrating on what you do, the focus turns to what you don’t do.”

EXPERIMENT OF THE WEEK - BECOMING UNBUSY - Testing the hypothesis that explicitly cutting Great and Good activities from my life will enable more of the Amazing.

BOOK - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (My full Kindle notes) - Aldous' classic dystopian novel makes some fantastic points about society's fundamental constructs and invites meaningful personal reflection.

SPEECH - This is Water by David Foster Wallace - David's legendary commencement speech invites us to examine the surface ripples of life - the raw moments and stimuli that populate our perception of consciousness - and to truly own our implicit choices of perception as life unfolds around us.

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THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEA: "Once the situation is upon you, it’s too late. You have to be prepared in advance. You need to know, already, who you are and what you believe... not what your peers believe (that may be exactly the problem), but what you believe. How can you know that unless you’ve taken counsel with yourself in solitude?" ~ William Deresiewicz

TD'S TOOLKIT: MENTAL HEALTH - Insight Timer - A leading meditation app with a wide variety of free content. My most favorite meditation right now is Tara Brach's Gateway to Presence! It is a lovely way to start or end your day while moving your practice forward :D

BOOK - Anathem by Neal Stephenson (My full Kindle notes) - A delightful sci-fi novel that is essentially the combination of two thought experiments: (1) Asking the question, "What if we created a separate caste for scientists and mathematicians, and cloistered them away from the rest of civilization?"; (2) Asking the question, "What if multiple, simultaneous cosmos co-existed across spacetime?".

ESSAY - Principles of Effective Research by Michael Nielsen - Michael's highly practical and concrete guide reminds us of timeless principles for doing incredible work.

ARTICLE - Harper's Magazine: A Letter on Justice and Open Debate - In order to achieve our long-term goals, we must resist the temptation to weaken our principles of public discourse for the sake of short-term gains.

SPEECH - Solitude and Leadership by William Deresiewicz - William reminds us of the importance of doing meaningful work vs. hoop-jumping; of finding ourselves via focused, concentrated work separated from the distractions of the world; of the deep intimacy and connection available in our relationships; and of coming to our own conclusions about how to live and lead.

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THE MOST IMPORTANT IDEA: "When you simply ignore the box and build your reasoning from scratch, whether you’re brilliant or not, you end up with a unique conclusion." ~ Tim Urban

TD'S TOOLKIT: SLEEP - Manta Sleep Mask - After using ~10 different types of sleep masks over the past five years (in addition to [almost] blackout shades), Manta's sleep mask is my #1 favorite for comfort and efficacy, and well worth the investment. Shout-out to Chris for recommending / demonstrating to me in January on Culebra!

TOPIC OF INTEREST: What Will Not Change (In The Next Decade) - In order to resolve my recent difficulties making medium or long term plans, decisions, and commitments in the face of unprecedented uncertainty, I want to follow the guidance of Jeff Bezos and explicitly lay out what I think will not change in the next ten years.

EXPERIMENT OF THE WEEK: Explicit Dating Strategy - I wrote out a 'dating strategy' document to see if being explicit with myself, and forcing myself to reflect, leads to meaningfully better process, execution, and outcomes in cultivating a meaningful romantic relationship.

PODCAST - The Knowledge Project #86: BJ Fogg: Create Lasting Change by Shane Parrish - BJ provides us with a thoughtful overview of his most important findings in (health) behavior change theory.

INTERACTIVE DATABASE - History of Philosophy by Deniz Cem Önduygu - Deniz created an absolutely gorgeous and efficacious tool for delightfully navigating the diverse, vast world of philosophy.

BLOG POST - Wait But Why: The Cook and the Chef: Musk’s Secret Sauce by Tim Urban - Tim's epic and delightful work offers almost too much to think about in terms of how and why we live our lives the way we do, viewed through the lens of innovators like Elon Musk and first principles thinking.

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TOPIC OF INTEREST - NYC RE-OPENING AS AN EXCUSE TO SHARE SILVER LINING - My favorite ~20 photos from my NYC COVID-19 lockdown experience

PODCAST - Mindscape #102 - Maria Konnikova on Poker, Psychology, and Reason by Sean Carroll - Maria shares her intriguing journey into the world of poker, and thoughtfully reflects on how playing poker improved her decision-making throughout her life.

INTERVIEW - The Observer Effect: Marc Andreessen by Sriram Krishan - Marc shares many thoughtful reflections on working, thinking, and living.

BLOG POST - Wait But Why: The Thinking Ladder by Tim Urban - An incredible deep-dive into the different mindsets of knowledge acquisition and discussion.

BOOK - A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle (My full Kindle highlights) - For all of the credible justifications to dismiss this book entirely, there is ~10-20% that is really worth considering and embracing, if only as a fun twist and re-examination of Buddhism's core 'noble truths'.
"Arrogance is ignorance plus conviction. This is an especially deadly combo because it prevents you from improving. It not only leaves you without real knowledge, it deprives you of the humility needed to gain real knowledge or grow into a better thinker." ~ Tim Urban

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MENTAL MODELS - Mental Model Fundamentals - Announcing Version 2, a.k.a., the only slightly embarrassed edition, with ~140 mental models for understanding and describing how the world works.

PODCAST - Daily Stoic: Ryan and Robert Greene Talk Plagues, Politics, and Polarization - Robert and Ryan's conversation thoughtfully communicates the vital importance of analyzing and understanding our feelings and ego, especially if we want to take ownership of our lives and realize meaningful progress towards our goals.

PODCAST - The Tim Ferris Show #373: Jerry Colonna — The Coach With the Spider Tattoo - Tim and Jerry's far-reaching, vulnerable, and fun conversation touches on topics like the roots of depression, changing patterns in our lives, how to be compassionate with ourselves and others, the anxiety and busyness of overachievers, and the acceptance of our fundamental goodness.

BLOG POST - Ribbon Farm: Jonathan Livingston Corporation by Venkatesh Rao - Venkatesh's thoughtful criticism of the typical corporate grind offers us the majestic 'aliveness heuristic' (I swear that I came up with the 'Deathbed Regret Aversion Test' before seeing this ;D).
"There is a lot of injustice in this world...It is good to be angry. But it is good to be able to channel your anger productively and get results. And the only way to do that is to be able to have some degree of self-distance and self-analysis." ~ Robert Greene

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MENTAL MODEL OF THE WEEK - INCENTIVES - “All creatures respond to incentives to keep themselves alive.”

KILL MY CONFIRMATION BIAS - USING 'VEIL OF IGNORANCE' AS A PRIMARY MENTAL MODEL FOR ASSESSING FAIRNESS - Is 'Veil of Ignorance' a valuable tool for thinking about fairness?

ARTICLE - The Guardian: We often accuse the right of distorting science. But the left changed the coronavirus narrative overnight by Thomas Chatterton Williams - Thomas' piece highlights the importance and necessity of full, honest, and transparent accounting of both the costs and benefits of important decisions.

ARTICLE - The Atlantic: History Will Judge the Complicit by Anne Applebaum - Anne's piece does an incredible job of leveraging vivid, historical case studies of complicity to both empathize with the complicit, and to illustrate the potential dangers of traversing that slippery slope.

BOOK - Seeking Wisdom by Peter Bevelin - An efficient synthesis of wisdom from a variety of interesting subjects, yielding a lollapalooza of knowledge nuggets, proactive checklists, and leveraged tools to use for our most critical decisions.

BOOK - The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell (My summary) - This is one of those old and timeless books that still feels like it was written yesterday, and specifically for your biggest challenges.

"Correcting the wrongs have to start with our behavior." ~ George Raveling

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MENTAL MODELS OF THE WEEK - PROCESSING THE GEORGE FLOYD MURDER AND PERSISTENT RACIAL INJUSTICE - As you process the unfolding events, I want to help you think through this situation for yourself, to reach your own conclusions and decide on your best actions, so that we can utilize this moment to create meaningful, positive, lasting change.

PODCAST - The Lawfare Podcast: Rashawn Ray on Police Violence - An incredibly thoughtful, data-driven, nuanced, and action-oriented synthesis of a panoply of persistent issues of racial discrimination in American law enforcement today.

BOOK - Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life by Dr. Martin Seligman (My full Kindle notes) - Marty provides us with a simple, intuitive 'ABCDE' process for transforming pessimism into optimism.

ESSAY - As a Man Thinketh by James Allen (My full highlights) - A uniquely impactful essay describing the power of our thoughts.

"Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself." ~ James Allen

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MENTAL MODEL OF THE WEEK - VELOCITY - “Velocity is speed plus vector: how fast something gets somewhere.”

BOOK - Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger (My full Kindle notes) - Battling through hardship with others can ultimately be more rewarding than living more affluently but individualistically, as the experience of striving together taps into core human virtues and needs.

BLOG POST - Brain Pickings: Bruce Lee’s Never Before Revealed Letters to Himself About Authenticity, Personal Development, and the Measure of Success by Maria Popova - "...there is a difference between self-actualization and self-image actualization."

"The findings are in keeping with something called self-determination theory, which holds that human beings need three basic things in order to be content: they need to feel competent at what they do; they need to feel authentic in their lives; and they need to feel connected to others." ~ Sebastian Junger

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MENTAL MODEL OF THE WEEK - INFORMATION ASYMMETRY - Situations “where one party has more or better information than the other.”

ESSAYS - Oaktree Capital Management: Memos from Howard Marks - Howard's way of thinking serves as a phenomenal example of intellectual humility, balancing trade-offs in an uncertain world, and staying within your circle of competence.

BLOG POST - Farnam Street: Rethinking Fear - "Our imaginary fears harm us more than reality ever does."

BLOG POST - The Playing Field by Graham Duncan - Graham gives us an excellent framework to gauge our progress in the various works of our lives.

BOOK - Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman (My full Kindle notes) - Our communication tools, and their framing of informing vs. entertaining, fundamentally alter the volume, type, and nature of discourse, with semi-predictable repercussions.

"The real question is whether you dare to do the things that are necessary in order to be great. Are you willing to be different, and are you willing to be wrong?" ~ Howard Marks

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MENTAL MODEL OF THE WEEK - FORCING FUNCTION - “Any task, activity or event that forces you to take action and produce a result.”

ARTICLE - Skeptical Inquirer: The Burden Of Skepticism by Carl Sagan - Balancing openness and skepticism is paramount for all of us, and yet it is also quite elusive, especially when it relates to an issue that is emotional for us.

BOOK - The Principles of Product Development Flow by Donald Reinertsen (My reduction of full Kindle notes) - A really nerdy book about optimizing product development that also unexpectedly reveals a variety of principles that we can all apply directly across our lives.

BOOK - The Code of the Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakhiani (My reduction of full Kindle notes) - Vishen ultimately invites us to reflect and to question, so that we may fully appreciate and embrace how much of our lives is negotiable, and begin to transform those negotiable elements towards our vision, goals, and values.

"You must be prepared to stand firm in your pursuit of your own happiness." ~ Vishen Lakhiani

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EXPERIMENT OF THE WEEK - SERENDIPITY ADVENTURES - Adding novelty into my walking routine by exploring more of NYC's finest makes the day feel truly unique, provides a feeling of accomplishment, and engenders meaningful positivity.

BLOG POST - Interfluidity: Four Functions of Markets by Steve Randy Waldman - Steve does a wonderful job of quickly and concretely highlighting the prominent macro benefits and costs of markets, framed within a neoliberal context.

BLOG POST - The Technium: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice by Kevin Kelly - A collection of aphorisms containing timeless wisdom from the co-founder of WIRED magazine.

BOOK - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert Pirsig (My full Kindle notes) - In the work of our lives, we have the opportunity to embrace choice in how we perceive the world, our guiding values in riding towards our goals, and the baggage we bring along for the ride.

BLOG POST - Mr. Money Mustache: Hacking Hedonic Adaptation to Get Way More For Your Money - Incredibly practical and unconventional heuristics for overcoming the inevitability of hedonic adaptation when investing in upgrades and novelty across our lives.

"Most people stand in sight of the spiritual mountains all their lives and never enter them, being content to listen to others who have been there and thus avoid the hardships." ~ Robert Pirsig

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MENTAL MODEL OF THE WEEK - SUNK COST BIAS - “A greater tendency to continue an endeavor once an investment in money, effort, or time has been made.”

BOOK - FIASCO: Blood in the Water on Wall Street by Frank Portnoy (My full Kindle highlights) - An exciting and personal story about perverse incentives across the financial derivatives ecosystem in the 1990's.

BOOK - Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction by Philip E. Tetlock, Dan Gardner (My full Kindle notes) - A thorough, validated, and concrete framework for being a better forecaster.

ARTICLE - Quilette: The Scientific Importance of Free Speech by Adam Perkins - All of our theories today, in all realms of life, are wrong to some degree. Free speech and debate are essential for continuing to explore and improve our theories.

PODCAST - Reboot #60: The Work of Your Life with Khe Hy by Jerry Colonna - Figuring out suffering so as to minimize it is not the answer. Shifting from conventional materialism to spiritual materialism is not the answer. "It's all a defense against annihilation."

"There is an old Buddhist saying, "Before enlightenment, chop wood carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood carry water." Life is chop wood carry water. There is no hacking our way from chopping wood and carrying water. There is only the present." ~ Jerry Colonna

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MENTAL MODEL OF THE WEEK - OCCAM'S RAZOR - "When you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better."

TOPIC OF INTEREST - PERCEPTIONS OF TIME IN QUARANTINE - My recent experience of "Groundhog Day" while in quarantine can hopefully be mitigated by engineering more Velocity and Novelty into my life.

PODCAST - Reboot #81: The Identities That Rule Us with Semil Shah by Jerry Colonna - A really thoughtful conversation about the identities that our ego clings to, and how those identities can both serve and harm us.

BLOG POST - Productivity by Sam Altman - A wonderful read providing specific guidance for realizing the full potential of our productivity.

"It doesn’t matter how fast you move if it’s in a worthless direction." ~ Sam Altman

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MENTAL MODEL OF THE WEEK - FIRST PRINCIPLES THINKING - “Break down complicated problems into basic elements and then reassemble them from the ground up.”

BOOK - Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug (My full Kindle notes) - Steve's delightful book shares concise, concrete, thoughtful, and thorough design principles that can be applied in media well beyond the web.

BLOG POST - RibbonFarm: Deep Laziness by Sarah Perry - Sarah thoughtfully applies nature's bias to preserve energy to focused behavior change in our lives.

"Behavioral “centers” are the things that feel most like reflections of your own self, that seem to connect effortlessly to the underlying wholeness in your life." ~ Sarah Perry

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