10 Ideas For The Interested This Week - For The Interested

10 Ideas For The Interested This Week

“The future is coming so fast, we can’t possibly predict it. We can only learn to respond quickly.” — Steve Kerr

Being wrong is valuable.

Finding out a direction isn’t right for us isn’t inherently a bad thing — it gives us information that gets us closer to the right path.

Keep that in mind the next time you make a mistake or regret a decision.

My Dad taught me that a long time ago and it’s served me well (thanks, Dad!).

Father’s Day seems like the perfect time to pass it on to you.

Now, on to this week’s ideas…

1. HOW TO START A CREATIVE PROJECT WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN

“The magic happens at the intersection of ideas and execution.”

The only thing as tough as finishing a creative project is figuring out how to start one.

In this post I explain how to start a creative project when you don’t know where to begin.

I use the hypothetical example of writing a book, but the fundamental process of doing parallel work on the ideas and execution of your project can help you get just about anything up off the ground.

RELATED: People who start things know this is true.

2. FIVE WAYS TO BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE BY PUTTING YOURSELF INTO “HUMAN AIRPLANE MODE”

“When you’re reading something on your phone, computer, or scrolling through a feed, consider: Would you actually spend money to read this right now?”

You don’t have to be on an airplane to use your phone’s airplane mode and it turns out you don’t even have to use your phone to put yourself in airplane mode.

Confused? Don’t worry, this Kara Cutruzzula post will break down how to become more productive by putting yourself into “human airplane mode.”

Her tips include to make meals a distraction-free zone, recognize how you feel, and pay attention to the value of the information you consume.

RELATED: The key to managing your time is to learn to manage your attention.

3. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MONEY

“The paradox of wealth is that people tend to want it to signal to others that they should be liked and admired. But in reality those other people bypass admiring you, not because they don’t think wealth is admirable, but because they use your wealth solely as a benchmark for their own desire to be like and admired.”

This will change the way you think about money and the world’s relationship to it.

The Collaborative Fund explores the psychology of money including 20 common flaws and biases that impact how people deal with money.

They include that people develop biases anchored to their own history, are seduced by pessimism when optimism is more reasonable, and tend to be influenced by people who are playing a different financial game than they are.

RELATED: Six easy ways to save money.

4. NINE STORYTELLING RULES FROM MICHAEL LEWIS

“Cheap storytelling is a cheap pattern writing machine. If there’s something that violates the pattern, if you incorporate it into the story, often it makes the story even richer. It’s at first blush uncomfortable, because you had this neat story. Sometimes the better stories are messier.”

Michael Lewis has learned a few things about how to tell a good story in the process of writing books like Moneyball and The Big Short.

In this Heleo post, he shares his nine rules of storytelling including to pay attention to the way you tell the story of your own life, create characters readers will want to follow, and don’t overtax the reader with how you say things.

RELATED: Great storytellers explain how to tell a great story.

5. THE SECRET TO THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS’ THIRD QUARTER DOMINANCE

“Kerr does not want to be the only voice in the room — far from it, in fact. He has carved out time for others to speak. Once Kerr finishes making his main points, the associate head coach, Mike Brown, often speaks to the group. Then, the senior assistant coaches, Ron Adams and Jarron Collins, add their thoughts. Kerr likes to close by seeking input from the players, too, especially in the playoffs.”

The NBA champion Golden State Warriors consistently dominate the third quarter of games, so the New York Times looked into what the Warriors do at halftime that leads to their third quarter success.

The details of how they approach halftime are fascinating, and the tactics could likely improve the leadership, culture, and strategic approach of just about any business.

RELATED: Why there isn’t a “next Michael Jordan” any more.

6. HOW A WEEKLY REVIEW CAN BE A KEY TO SELF IMPROVEMENT

“The weekly review serves as my ‘operating system’ to implement personal development initiatives, make sure I progress on projects, and appreciate my life.”

Here’s a simple way to ensure continued progress toward your life and work goals — keep track of them and the lessons you learn in pursuit of them on a weekly basis.

Growth Lab suggests a simple weekly review habit can function like an operating system for your life.

It includes documenting things like the highlights of your week, what you want to improve the following week, and what you’re afraid of at the moment.

RELATED: What I learned from keeping a daily “Great List.”

7. NINE WAYS TO KILL IT ON INSTAGRAM

“You need to give people content that they want to see, content that will give them some serious FOMO (fear of missing out), if they don’t follow you.”

A selfie is not a strategy.

For a slightly more sophisticated take on how to build a meaningful audience on Instagram, check out Lynx Cordeau list of nine ways to kill it on Instagram.

His tips include to give value, stick to one specific niche, and use direct messages to network with other people on Instagram.

RELATED: I did what every Instagram expert says is stupid and it’s working great.

8. WHY YOU SHOULD EMBRACE DOODLES

“Doodles are cheap. Doodles are non-intimidating. Doodles are freeing. You can put down a lot of doodles — and throw them out if they don’t work. No big deal. They’re just doodles.”

This is not a post about drawing — it’s much broader than that.

Eric Karjaluoto explains why you should embrace doodles in your work and uses doodles as a metaphor to describe the exploration phase of all creative work.

He points out doodles can help you avoid more expensive mistakes down the road, and suggests every once in a while a doodle becomes a masterpiece.

RELATED: The most overlooked part of the creative process.

9. A RECOMMENDED NEWSLETTER FOR PEOPLE INTERESTED IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND INTELLIGENT OPTIMISM

“We create an email newsletter every fortnight containing crazy scientific breakthroughs, good news from around the world, and amazing stories from the best parts of the internet.”

It’s amazing how many great newsletters I come across these days and here’s another one I recommend.

The Future Crunch newsletter is packed with interesting stuff related to science, technology, and assorted bits of good news which is a nice change of pace from so much of the typical news we get these days.

You can subscribe to Future Crunch here.

RELATED: Join my Facebook group for Newsletter Creators.

10. YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT

“You don’t have to do it. You don’t have to try something new. You don’t have to press publish. You don’t have to take the meeting. You don’t have to put yourself out there.”

It will only take you one minute to read this post I wrote.

If you do, it just might change the way you think about the things you “have to do.”

RELATED: How to tell the 11 excuses that hold you back to f — off.

MEANWHILE, ON THE FTI SOCIAL ACCOUNTS…

Each week I share ideas on social media that aren’t featured in this newsletter. Here are some you may have missed:

• I asked, if we’re all so busy, why are we so bored?

• I revealed how Instagram’s algorithm works.

• I encouraged you to take the win.

WHERE I FOUND THIS STUFF

I discovered some of this week’s ideas from the newsletters of Dean Yeong and Kara Cutruzzula — they’re awesome and worth your time.