Hello and welcome to Friday,
I came across a quote this week which squares nicely with our recent discussions on David Goggins and James Mattis. “The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood,” wrote Voltaire. A great reminder heading into the weekend – the most important decision you can make is how you will approach the day.
The best links this week:
“Five years down there at least,” Stockdale writes, “I am leaving the world of technology and entering the world of Epictetus.” I’d seen passing references to Stockdale’s story and reverence for the Stoics, mainly from Ryan Holiday’s books, but I recently read Stockdale’s writing for myself. He truly embodied Epictetus’ ideas about learning “things that will do you good if your child dies, or your brother dies, or if you must die or be tortured.”
Seth Godin on Plans: We plan for things to go right, but more often they hit a snag. What then?
Paul Graham on Haters. I have recommended this essay before, and it’s one I frequently revisit, so I’m recommending it again this weekend. We revisit good stuff for reason – bowls of queso, the corner café that makes that great latte, favorite shows and books – because they please us! This essay is no exception; the topic is timely, yet Graham reveals, also timeless. Graham also maintains a chattiness, while throwing in a great sparkling sentence every now and again – a truly enjoyable reading experience.
“According to Facebook, it’s possible that the most viewed URLs on the largest platform in the world for a period of time were the result of the spamming tendencies of a nostalgia-powered Facebook page run by Steve Urkel.”
The second in Anne Helen Peterson’s series on the latest fitness and cultural fad, Peloton. This installment discusses the current path to ‘celebrity’; the monetization of every aspect of one’s life. In this case, a wedding complete with color codes for guests and required reading newsletters. (!) More often than not, I’ve found physical fitness and social media to be at odds with one another, which means the explosive popularity of a product melding the two together leaves me baffled. I’ll just be over here continuing to lift weights in the garage, thanks.
Currently reading: Twitter and Teargas by Zeynep Tufekci
Have a great weekend.
