Friends of Dave #350: galileo's middle finger
Remind yourself to be kind to yourself.
It was another busy week this week as we head into the last quarter of the year and everyone got off to school, so this intro is going to be just a few observations/things to think about:
One last bit from our college drop off story from last week — the parting words we left for our son just before we drove away from campus:
“Remind yourself to be kind to yourself.”
Like many of us, he is a bit of a perfectionist (okay, most of the time….except maybe when it comes to driving a car). He tends to be extremely self critical when he makes mistakes or misses a mark he expected to hit…often more critical than anyone else in his inner circle (including his parents). When he was home with us it was easy to spot, but when he is away at school, it is not as obvious to us. So we reminded him that now is the time for him to get out of his comfort zone and not be afraid to try new things and be ambitious….and that when you do this, failure is bound to happen. We told him to remember that making mistakes is a key part of the learning process. Don’t beat yourself up. Be kind to yourself. Probably not a bad thing for all of us to remind ourselves in those moments.
This is issue #350…..I haven’t counted exactly but I have probably written between 280,000 to 350,000 words in almost 6 full years of weekly preambles…That’s more than the first 3 Harry Potter books combined…..That’s about as much as Don Quixote…When I started out doing this, I just wanted to string together maybe a few weeks without missing a beat. You want to talk about chasing windmills?
Why do I do it? One of the main reasons: I get to engage with so many interesting people with fascinating stories and backgrounds as a result. Just this week alone I heard from a handful of FoDs in one form or another. I also met fellow Boston College grad Will Foley in-person for coffee for the first time and, aside from talking about work, data, AI, family, people we know in common and this newsletter, I learned that for a time after college he played basketball against the Harlem Globetrotters! I mean, how cool is that?
You can tell I’m a sucker for a captivating story. I’m not alone. Even if you never played against the Globetrotters, I’m telling you, your journey is unique and so is your story. Find a way to tell it. Maybe you start a newsletter yourself. Or a podcast. Maybe you post it on social media in words, pictures or song. Maybe it’s just something you type out and save on your computer’s hard drive. It doesn’t have to be 300,000 words….it could be 300….or even 30…..just tell it. Someone will get value from hearing it at some point….and if you can’t find anyone, hit me up.
It’s the first week of September and I am totally over pumpkin spice anything….seriously….can we have like a sabbatical from pumpkin spice in 2024? Or make it like the Olympics, the World Cup or Leap Year — you know once every 2 to 4 years…..like the McRib…Put it in a rotation with some other made up “spice”…and please take those “hazy IPAs” with you while you are at it….
Yes, if you are looking for me this weekend that is me outside shaking my fist at clouds and yelling at kids to stay off my lawn.
On a more serious note, it’s been 22 years this week since 9/11…please take 13 minutes and watch » THIS « sometime this week.
XOXO
Dave
And now a few things to make you smarter…
Why do some people seem to make constant progress in their professional and personal lives while others repeat the same mistakes? It comes down to mindset. Over time, the person who approaches life with an openness to being wrong and a willingness to learn outperforms the person who doesn’t.
“Run free, my child, and spread the sweet, spicy gospel of truth.”
The leading producer of sriracha sauce has spent no money on advertising — it’s success has all been via word of mouth. Learn all the facts you would like to know about the spicy business of the world's most recognizable hot sauce, and why the world is currently experiencing a major shortage of it.
The fascinating story (quick read) about why the middle finger of Galileo sits in a small glass egg among lodestones and telescopes in Florence, Italy, the only human fragment in a museum devoted entirely to scientific instruments.
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