I love reading books, watching YouTube videos, listening to podcasts, you name it. Anything learning related is my jam. But I recently realized that if I don’t take notes on what I’m learning, I will probably forget everything. Now when I hear something interesting, I write it down in an Apple note for that month. Below are some of the learnings I jotted down in January, summarized by ChatGPT. I hope you find them as interesting as I did.
1. Work-Life Balance & Fulfillment
- Fun, not discipline: Scheduling enjoyable activities each week prevents work from creeping into all free time.
- Success definition: True success is loving both your work and your personal life.
- Capping success: Decide how much growth you can handle without losing who you are.
2. Tradeoffs & Decision-Making
- No perfect solutions: Everything has pros and cons; success lies in choosing the right tradeoff.
- Red flags: If you find yourself thinking “but it’s so much money,” reassess your motives.
- Fear of big goals: While aiming high is less crowded, it can also be used as an excuse if you fail.
3. Competition & High Performance
- Hidden costs: Emulating high performers may mean accepting hidden sacrifices.
- Consistency: Deliberate, ongoing practice filters out those who can’t sustain effort.
- Focus vs. Obsession: The lazy lose to the average, the average lose to the focused, the focused lose to the obsessed.
4. Adaptability & Innovation
- Pivot or perish: Like Western Digital clinging to telegrams post-telephone, ignoring new tech can be fatal.
- Company reinvention: Nintendo, YouTube, and Slack all started with entirely different products.
5. Human Needs & Motivations
- Beyond basics: After food and shelter, people want affiliation, status, and freedom from fear.
- Status & affiliation: These drive many personal and social decisions, from kids to career choices.
6. Simplicity & Execution
- Complexity as an enemy: Simpler approaches often yield better execution (Tony Robbins).
- Stress from neglect: Stress arises from ignoring important tasks or problems.
7. Personal Growth & Mindset
- Meditation zones: Mindfulness, Support, Flow, and Awakening each expand consciousness in different ways.
- Courage gap: For most smart people, the missing piece is the bravery to act.
- Thinking in writing: Writing clarifies thoughts and fosters deeper understanding.
8. Entrepreneurship & Career
- Keys to success:
- Courage to start
- Perseverance to test multiple approaches
- Skills to build, sell, and harness luck
- Courage to start
- Building an audience: Focus on the right followers, share your niche expertise, and aim for ongoing improvement.
- If you don’t choose a goal: Society will assign you one you might not want.
9. Health & Well-Being
- Weight control: Balance palatability with low calorie density.
- Dental health: Poor oral care can raise dementia risk by up to 30%.
- Marriage vs. career: A great marriage and an average job can be happier than a great job but unhappy marriage.
10. Education & Parenting
- Raising a sovereign child: Freedom over control; allow exploration and independent thought.
- Scaffolding: Provide temporary support or structure until a child (or learner) can handle it on their own.
- Beware status games in youth: Sports can become more about prestige than personal growth.
11. Angel Investing & Business Acumen
- Founder first: Investors should look at who’s running the startup more than the idea itself.
- Pratfall effect: Revealing small imperfections after showing competence makes you more relatable.
12. Societal Observations & History
- Slowing progress: Bigger scientific fields often have slower breakthroughs.
- Policy & power: Politicians can stifle innovation (e.g., Facebook’s Libra).
- Odd facts: 80% of US cash is in $100 bills; 70% of restaurant food is delivered.
13. Influence & Conformity
- Preference falsification: Publicly supporting what you don’t believe privately.
- Conformity vs. prestige: We follow the crowd for safety or follow those with status to elevate ourselves.
14. AI & the Future of Work
- Leadership vs. management: As AI handles tasks, leadership (direction, strategy) grows more important than micromanagement.
- Using AI: Either harness AI to assist your projects or risk falling behind.
15. Overarching Wisdom
- “Enough” vs. “more”: Don’t let the pursuit of endless growth blind you to the beauty of having enough.
- Fail fast, learn faster: The cost of being wrong is often lower than the cost of doing nothing.
- Mind as friend: Wisdom comes from taming your own mind.