Golf is facing a similar crisis with distance gains caused by driver technology. Many of the world’s famous golf courses can’t hold the best players.
Two of golf’s governing body, the USGA (the United States Golf Association) and the R&A (the Royal and Ancient) have recommended a rollback of the golf ball, which has caused significant debate in golf circles.
Excellent back and forth. As someone considering an MBA post a failed startup, the meat, for me, was here:
> Michael: Because I think a lot of people here in the valley would argue ... spending two years at an early stage startup in the Bay Area might be more fruitful than spending those two years at an HBS or a like school.
> Jeff: Look, I think there’s an argument for that trade off in the short term. I think the harder question for people is 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now, where am I gonna end up? Because if I spend two years stepping off the treadmill at a Harvard, or a Stanford, or an MIT, I’m gonna come back with a network, a set of relationships, and a skillset that may not be immediately high ROI.
I go back and forth on if its helpful to set a goal on the number of books. Sometimes its a good motivation for me. Other times its a distraction to the goals of why I read: to learn and to enjoy.
The year my son was born I spent hours everyday pushing him in a stroller to help him stop crying and give his mom a break. I read / listened to 105 books that year, which ended up being too much. I couldn't remember most of what I read / listened to. The next year I had to re-read many of the books.
The sweet spot for me is between 40 and 50, although I've adjusted my goal from number of books to subject mastery. Focusing on a subject I care about and studying books, articles, etc. on the subject has ended up being more rewarding. In addition, I have a handful of books I read simply for the joy of reading.
I enjoyed this article and this subject. A small anecdote to share.
I had a B average after my freshman year. During the break, I had dinner with a university professor. I asked him how I could improve my grades and he shared the following points of advice.
1. On the first day of class observe the students who ask intelligent questions and are engaged. Sit by and study with them.
2. Finish small assignments a day before the due date and large assignments a week before. This is a forcing function to 1) manage your time effectively (referenced repeatedly in the article) 2) befriend your TA's and professors.
This advice helped me improve my grades and I felt a massive lift in my learning ability.
Each missionary memorizes this to drill in their purpose: "My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." https://www.lds.org/manual/preach-my-gospel-a-guide-to-missi...
Most of our activities were finding people interested in the LDS church and teaching those people about the LDS church.
I would have 20-30 45 minute in house meetings a week with people that were interested. We spent most of our time knocking on doors and meeting new people to fill up those teaching slots.
For service, probably 5-10 hours a week. Usually set up by the local LDS congregation or people we met on the street (ex. "I'm not interested but I could use help power spraying my roof).
I had an awesome mission experience. It was a lot of fun. I met a lot of interesting people, with tough backgrounds, looking for something new in their lives. Made me really grateful for my middle class upbringing and want to help people less fortunate than me.
Professor Pielke (his words) "was under constant attack for years by activists, journalists and politicians." The pressure to stop asking critical questions became overwhelming.
Seems there could be a place for viewpoints that don't go with the consensus, especially in an arena that is so highly politicized.
I have mixed feelings about this article. On the one hand I like to copy things that "successful" people do. Some of my best habits come from something I read that so and so successful person did.
On the other hand I have fell into the trap of emulating too many habits and being overwhelmed. I think the author's points have merit.
One additional one I have liked is Harvard Innovation Labs[1]. There is a Startup Secrets series that has some solid insights. Taught by entrepreneurs and VCs in the Boston area.
I have a two year old son. As you can imagine he cries a lot. Lately we have been applying some EQ lessons we've learned and have tried to teach him to be aware of how he feels when he cries. You'd be surprised he's actually pretty good.
He starts to cry and then says "I'm crying." We acknowledge that he is crying by saying something like "You seem sad." He generally stops crying at that point and we move on. Its like the signal was sent and received. He feels heard.
I have talked to literally hundreds of people off the street, coffee shops, etc. about my startup ideas. In all honesty, most of them were a waste of time.
Now, I take a different approach. I talk to my friend's friend's friends until I find the right customers to talk to. I contact my friends and ask who they know and then I ask who they know and so on. Its pretty easy once you get going. And a warm intro is an easy way to get the time you need.
Other resources are LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, Quora, etc. Find someone on there that has an interest in the idea you are working on. After you have a short interview ask who they know. Once you get the referrals flowing its very easy to find enough people to talk to.
A great read on this topic is Talking to Humans. A couple of takeaways:
1. Approach talking to others as a way to question your assumptions.
2. Ask for stories. People do a better job telling a specific story about their life, rather than answering hypothetical questions.
3. Look for clues, workarounds, passions, and pains.