Sunday June 19, 2022
What I learned this week | Simplicity
Good morning, and welcome to week 2 of Mike’s Newsletter.
Thank you for subscribing last week, it really means the world to me. If you like this newsletter, please share! Here’s what I read this week, three things I learned, and a tool I’ve been using to simplify things.
My feed this week
My co-founder Steph and I are both reading a book called Insanely Simple. The author Ken Segall spent years working as a creative director at Apple's ad agency and brings a unique take on Steve Job's superpower - the "simple stick."
Fred Wilson's blog has been my most visited read since ~2014. I liked this recent one on structuring partnerships that are real and fair. It's about VC partnerships but can be applied to any relationship, IMO.
Elon Musk, and apparently everyone at Founder's Fund, now think remote work is inferior to IRL, especially for startups trying to make it big. The Tweets are... interesting?
What I learned this week
Keeping things simple is hard but really rewarding. I'm learning that my mind actually makes things more complicated out of fear. Think about it - when things are complex, we have a hot excuse to overanalyze and do nothing. It's wild, but the fear part of my brain naturally uses complexity to keep me safe. (My first psychedelic experience in 2018 showed me this loud and clear. I overcomplicated my life because I was scared to do things - like start a company or find love.) I find that making things simple helps me take action, both in building Huddle and in life. Read below on how I've been combatting complexity.
Partnerships are all about energy production. Some of them take a lot of work and always drain the tank. Others take work but somehow always recharge the batteries. I'm learning to tune into this more. Do I feel renewed after that interaction or drained?
I'm much happier when my social feed is energy-producing too. When did I learn I had to see what everyone was saying all the time? When did I learn to care? The unfollow button is rad. I love diverse opinions... I love my own peace of mind a lot more.
Try this on
I created a little framework I use to simplify things and take action. I'm the type that needs something like this, or else I'll (un)happily hang out in my own analysis for days, weeks even.
It starts with a personal value set of mine: abundance, simplicity, movement, and courage.
When things get complex and I feel overwhelmed, I do the following exercise:
What would I do if anything were possible here? (Abundance)
What's the straightforward path to doing that? (Simplicity)
Name 1 thing I could do now to start on that path. (Movement)
Actually, to do that thing above. (Courage.)
Rinse and repeat.