Unknown Unknowns #28 - Heroes
It took me about a month to write the piece I'm sharing below, even though it's really short. I wrote the first draft in about fifteen minutes, I was getting frustrated with another essay I was working on and just banged out an idea that came to me.
The feedback I got was good and from people I respect. But the ideas weren't what I was trying to say. Because I was trying to integrate ideas that weren't consistent with my thoughts, I wasn't happy with the essay.
Feedback is great, but you have to be true to your writing.
This Week:
Writing:
I call this newsletter Unknown Unknowns because I like seeing new ideas or at least looking at things in different ways. But it's very hard to hunt down your blindspots.
If you knew about them, they'd be known unknowns.
One way to reveal these blindspots is by listening to other people. So what if there was a way for other people to tell you about their solutions to problems you didn't know you had?
Discoveries:
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"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." - David Copperfield
Heroes and leaders aren't always the same, but this speech from William Deresiewicz about what qualities make a good leader made me think of the first line of David Copperfield. If you want to be the hero of your own life, his advice rings true.
One excerpt: "Unless you know who you are, how will you figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life? Unless you’re able to listen to yourself, to that quiet voice inside that tells you what you really care about, what you really believe in—indeed, how those things might be evolving under the pressure of your experiences."
And a bonus - did you know snafu is an acronym for “situation normal: all fucked up”?
=> Article Here
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- Li Jin and Katie Parrott write about how legitimacy is social buy-in. They talk about how the creators are questioning the legitimacy of the platforms they use.
I find it interesting that they take it as given that the 40 hour work week has already lost legitimacy. Is this a generational assumption? I think most people my age still believe that the 40 hour work weeks is "the way things are supposed to be".
=> Article Here
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Another article on workplace culture, this time from the New York Times. This one examines the "boldness" of Gen Z employees toward their Millennial bosses.
While I haven't worked for a corporation in almost two years, I never experienced this type of behavior in the office. Have employers lost leverage over employees? Do employers have to now cater to employees? What will be the repercussions?
=> Article Here
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And a quote:
“Reading after a certain age diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking, just as the man who spends too much time in the theater is tempted to be content with living vicariously instead of living his own life.” - Albert Einstein
Questions, suggestions, complaints? Email me at [email protected]. Feedback welcome.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with a friend or two. And feel free to send anything you find interesting to me!
Have a great week,
Chris
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