Every two weeks, I share my thoughts about investing, career transitions, meaningful work, parenting, living intentionally, and other topics that engage me. I'm in my fifties and still trying to figure stuff out.
Beyond the Cove - 26,012 Photos, On Trust, and Trader Joe's
Published 11 days agoย โขย 3 min read
Welcome. ๐
Every two weeks, I share thoughts and curated links on investing, career transitions, meaningful work, parenting, living intentionally, and other topics that interest me. I've dropped the Field Notes moniker, but I've tried to retain the experiment's lightness.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, please know how much I appreciate your interest, attention, and support. If you have feedback or want to find time to reconnect, you can always hit reply or book a slot below.
Beyond the Cove Curiosity Conversations
I'm opening 30-minute slots on my calendar for no-agenda conversations with Beyond the Cove readers. Please, no sales pitches. I look forward to helping however I can, building deeper connections with friends and former colleagues, and speaking to many readers for the first time.
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? See past issues and subscribe here.
Some Stuff To Share
26,012 Photos + 2,487 videos That's what silently sits in my iPhoto library, mostly collecting digital dust. You might even have more than that. Yesterday, I spent at least an hour with my 16-year-old son clicking on various shots from the mid-2010s, before the normal emergence of teenage self-consciousness. After he reluctantly joined me on the couch, we shared some laughs over his free-spirited toddler dancing, relived family trips to uniquely kid-friendly destinations, and generally marveled at how we and those we love have changed so much in such a short time. Consider a similar activity with someone you love. Or even alone, when you might otherwise choose to doomscroll. โ
Daniel Ek on Trust I was struck by the quote below from the Spotify founder's 2+ hour podcast conversation with David Senra that wanders across leadership, humility, growth, and creativity. I have 16 other snips, including why impact > happiness, but could have saved dozens more. Link to the podcast.
"But that idea, it's like trust is one of the greatest economic forces in the world. It truly is. And if you think about it, why is that so rare? It's because it doesn't scale, right? So trust is this notion that you'll keep doing actions that will ladder up over time. It really compounds. But you're going to add maybe 1% of trust for each positive interaction you're going to do. But it takes one interaction that's bad to ruin all of it. The moment where you even start doubting whether you can trust someone or not, you have no trust." - Daniel Ek
Critical Communication In any collaborative effort to accomplish goals, what could be more important than communication? Yet, most organizations communicate poorly. Why? Reasons include effort (i.e., laziness), cultural toxicity, or leaders not knowing better. If it's the latter, The 37signals Guide to Internal Communication from Jason Friend, one of the OG's of remote work, is a great place to start. Ignore the fact that it's also an advertisement for 37signals, an asynchronous work tool. Many of the insights are priceless.
Writing solidifies, chat dissolves. Substantial decisions start and end with an exchange of complete thoughts, not one-line-at-a-time jousts. If itโs important, critical, or fundamental, write it up, donโt chat it down. - Jason Fried
Inner Excellence Shane Parrish's Tiny Lessons hit like a gut punch. You'll see 10 below, and then 18 more on his podcast website from his interview with Jim Murphy, performance coach and Inner Excellence author. I skipped the podcast, for now, and downloaded the book immediately. You might think these lessons sound like well-worn self-help platitudes. But these felt different. They resonated. Maybe I needed to hear Murphy's message at this time. In any case, the book is excellent, at least so far. If anyone else has read it or wants to read it together, hit reply and let me know what you think.
From Shane Parrish's Brain Food newsletter
Jack Reacher Last week I wandered up the street to the Little Sharing Library seeking inspiration. I craved fiction, but more than that, something light. My eyes lit up when I saw a vigorously used Lee Child paperback, an early Jack Reacher novel. I enjoyed watching the Reacher series on Amazon, so I thought this book might hit the spot. It did. I tore through it in about three sittings. I'd forgotten how satisfying light reading can be. No notetaking. Nothing to learn. Just pure entertainment.
โ
Trader Joe's This 3+ hour podcast episode of Acquired was almost as fun as, well, a trip to Trader Joe's. Almost.
A "rafter" of fearless turkeys strolls through our yard before Thanksgiving, oblivious to ongoing menu planning. โNOTE TO READER: A census confirmed that all of these birds survived the holiday.
โ
Hi! I'm David.
Every two weeks, I share my thoughts about investing, career transitions, meaningful work, parenting, living intentionally, and other topics that engage me. I'm in my fifties and still trying to figure stuff out.