Thanksgiving Weekend Grab Bag
Week #39
Hello! I’m Aaron Kardell. In my Sunday newsletter, I pick one random topic to go deep on and have some disparate quick hits at the end.
This week, I had a lot of disparate thoughts that I wasn’t quite ready to make a whole post out of. So, I’m taking a break from the norm and am just posting some bullets…
Gratitude. In the spirit of giving thanks, did you know that when you feel gratitude, you can’t feel anger or sadness simultaneously? Here’s a fascinating thread, including some advice on counteracting the #1 relationship killer – contempt.
New Home Build. Just in time to beat the freeze, our basement is dug, and footings are poured. With any luck, we hope to move in August 2024! While our architectural plans are locked in, there’s still time to mix things up on plumbing, heating, electrical, appliance selections, etc. Open call if you have any creative ideas – I’d love to hear them. Just hit reply to this email, and I'll get it!
Hospitality & Decluttering. One of our family mantras is “Experiences over Objects.” And yet, we’ve made some significant purchases recently with our vacation property and new home build. It’s probably partially a justification, but the big selling point for me to proceed with both was a desire to extend hospitality to family, friends, and beyond – and, therefore, use them as tools to create memories. It’s been fun to invite others to vacation with us. And I’m looking forward to hosting dinners and guests more often at our new home. To facilitate that, my biggest goal in the move is decluttering and finding a strategy we can stick to for a tidy house. Other than reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, what methods have worked for you in decluttering and sticking with it?
OpenAI. Last weekend and early last week, I was way too caught up in the OpenAI board/CEO drama. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, congratulations. I’ll spare you my extensive pontifications on the whole matter. All I’ll say is that for a company that’s all about our AI future, how things played out with the board is quite the study of human nature and relationships. I’m sure it will be studied for years to come.
Mid-Life Crisis Reading. Thanks to a recommendation from my friend Jesse, I’m currently listening to What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful. I’m only ~35% way through it, but I am far enough to recommend it to others – especially anyone over 40. Like it or not, I’ve begun to accept that I’m decidedly middle-aged. My running joke post-acquisition has been that I’m trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Two years later, the joke has gotten old. Especially to me! The book gives a lot of good frameworks and strategies for thinking about your next stage of impact and how that will probably look a lot different than it did before – hence the title.
Better Written Communication. Thanks to Michelle for re-posting this 1 minute guide to better-written communication.
Development & AI. This weekend, I wanted to code something really small. For someone who “used to code,” it probably would’ve taken me 20 minutes to look up all the proper references and ensure I got everything right. Instead, I asked ChatGPT and had a working code in 1 minute. I’ve shared a similar story before; maybe you've heard others. But have you seen the one where the guy draws a breakout game using "make real" (demo + code), and it’s working within a minute? A lot of people are worried about job losses. Still, honestly, I think this will follow every industrial revolution that’s preceded… It may change the style of work many of us do, but increased productivity will mean increased opportunity for all.
Robotic Coffee. I recently got a chance to experience a new fast coffee pickup experience from Octane Coffee. I love what they’re up to. They had a news story go viral a couple weeks back. Imagine never having to wait in a long drive-thru line again.
Gift Guide. A podcast I listen to – All the Hacks – just published their 2023 Holiday Gift Guide. It had several interesting ideas, some of which I’m adding to my own list. :)
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash