One of the books I’m reading on vacation at the moment is John Gribbin’s magisterial tome, The Scientists. I’m only up to page 190 (which is to say, only up to Isaac Newton), but even early on I’ve become intrigued by a repeated observation: though the scientists profiled in Gribbin’s book are highly “productive” by any […]

What kinds of questions do you usually ask people? We often ask Yes/No questions--they're simple and direct. But when simplicity and directness aren't our only goals, Yes/No questions can be problematic. They surface a minimum of new information because they...

I’ve spent a lot of time in my life trying to force myself to do things. Really good things. Things that are important to me. Things like meditating, journaling, going to the gym, and so on. I set schedules over and over. (I will rise at 5. Meditate, 530-630. Journal 630-730. Breakfast 8-9, and so... READ MORE

Chris Dixon's blog.

I’ve always wanted to make a lot of money, have people pay a lot of attention to me and do a lot of exciting things. I just never knew how. Many of my friends who are founders of their own companies tell me how they exhibited the entrepreneurial spirit as a kid -- they sold candy out of their backpacks, had a landscaping business during the summer, etc. They created value and learned the virtues of hard work early on. But that wasn’t me.

Listen now (8 min) | A superpower to unlock growth in your writing, career, and life

Unfettered creative expression allows one to gain insight into one's unconscious mind, deepening one's self-understanding. And that's only the start...

I think it was in the time of spring 2012, when I came across David Shiyang Liu's lovely piece of work about Ira Glass. It was the most inspiring and motivating…

Color me geeky, but the feature I’ve been most excited for after Apple’s 2021 WWDC keynote has been Quick Notes. I’m not even a Notes user (or at least I wasn’t). Nor has the Notes feature-set ever been one that feels fulfilling to me.

What's the digital equivalent of sticky notes?

A list of apps that I either pay for or use for free to help me run my businesses. The goal being to give other business owners ideas for tools or new products.

Before we dive in, a recommendation (not an ad). Solo Capitalist is a fantastic new newsletter by my friend Wes Kimbell. He profiles million-dollar creator businesses and distills the techniques and frameworks they use to grow them. Now on to today's framework. 💡 The ideaHow do you know even before the

A mathematician on how to get the mind into motion.

The goal is resonance. Nothing is better than resonance. If you have a billion dollars, you are still seeking resonance. If you are well respected, you are still seeking resonance. If you are enlig…

If you are making a li

The psychological origins of waiting (... and waiting, and waiting) to work

What's yours?

A look inside the pricing playbooks used by dozens of unicorn companies with Pete Flint and Madhavan Ramanujam.

Fill-in-the-blank headlines you can use to generate ideas for effective content and provide value to your audience.

How to deal with the bollocks in your head with creativity Published Jul 08, 2021

Two hacks to get shit done Published Jul 08, 2021

The play before time ran out. The last speech of the campaign. The typo on your resume or the spot on your tie. The final decision before the company declared bankruptcy. We focus on the thing that…

Earlier this week, Caitlin Flanagan published a provocative essay in the Atlantic titled: “You Really Need to Quit Twitter.” In this instance, the label of “provocative” seems obligatory, even though an objective read of the piece reveals mainly common sense. Which serves to underline the whole point Flanagan is attempting to make. The article reports […]

That’s why some of this stuff is not a joke. We’re talking months of work—useful work—not busy work, not garbage work, but useful work done in days. At the beginning we asked the question, ‘Can you be productive to build the life you want?’ Imagine if you could move this quickly toward the thing you …

You can technically write an entire novel inside of Apple Notes or compose your blog posts in Notepad on your Windows computer. The basic concept of letting users type text into an app is not special, and yet writing apps are one of those things that everyone is very particular about. It’s all about the little things, and what feels right for each person.

“Am I dead? Am I still alive?” “Those aren’t the questions you should be asking.” (Care of Adult Swim)

No modern productivity guru would dare suggest it, but minimalist painter Agnes Martin got into creative flow by staring at the wall for a few hours.

I have two exemplary pieces of 21st-century writing that I want to share with you. Neither is hot off the CMSes; they've both aged just a li

Need a great ebook design? Get this guide on how to design an ebook like a pro. In 5 simple and free steps, you’ll produce an ebook that will engage your readers.

A list of things you're allowed to do that you thought you couldn't, or didn't even know you could.