The best ideas from 2023.
The top 1% of ideas I encountered:
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The Surfer Mentality
When a surfer gets up on a wave, they enjoy the moment, even though they know the wave will eventually end (and maybe crash on them).
They enjoy the ride—knowing that there are always more waves coming.
A powerful mentality for riding the waves of life.
When a surfer gets up on a wave, they enjoy the moment, even though they know the wave will eventually end (and maybe crash on them).
They enjoy the ride—knowing that there are always more waves coming.
A powerful mentality for riding the waves of life.
The 4 Types of Luck
In 1978, neurologist Dr. James Austin published a book entitled Chase, Chance, & Creativity.
He proposed that there are 4 types of luck:
(1) Blind Luck
(2) Luck from Motion
(3) Luck from Awareness
(4) Luck from Uniqueness
Here's what they are:
In 1978, neurologist Dr. James Austin published a book entitled Chase, Chance, & Creativity.
He proposed that there are 4 types of luck:
(1) Blind Luck
(2) Luck from Motion
(3) Luck from Awareness
(4) Luck from Uniqueness
Here's what they are:
VIDEO
The Eisenhower Matrix
Use the 2x2 to categorize your current tasks.
The Goal: Spend more time on the important tasks that contribute to your long-term values and goals.
In simple terms:
• Manage top-right
• Spend more time in top-left
• Waste less time in the bottom half
Use the 2x2 to categorize your current tasks.
The Goal: Spend more time on the important tasks that contribute to your long-term values and goals.
In simple terms:
• Manage top-right
• Spend more time in top-left
• Waste less time in the bottom half
The Think Day
Free time is a call option on future interesting opportunities.
Schedule one day per month to step back from your day-to-day professional demands.
• Seclude yourself
• Shut off devices
• Spend the day *thinking*
You'll unlock new growth.
Free time is a call option on future interesting opportunities.
Schedule one day per month to step back from your day-to-day professional demands.
• Seclude yourself
• Shut off devices
• Spend the day *thinking*
You'll unlock new growth.
The Family Biography
My mom hired a writer to sit with my 94-year-old grandmother in India and document stories from her life.
They met weekly for two years.
She passed in October.
The process brought her joy—the result will bring us joy for years.
Everyone should do this.
My mom hired a writer to sit with my 94-year-old grandmother in India and document stories from her life.
They met weekly for two years.
She passed in October.
The process brought her joy—the result will bring us joy for years.
Everyone should do this.
The Two Arrows
"In life, we cannot always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. The second arrow is optional."
Create space between stimulus and response.
You can't control the negative that hits. You can control your response to it.
"In life, we cannot always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. The second arrow is optional."
Create space between stimulus and response.
You can't control the negative that hits. You can control your response to it.
Mental Time Travel
Zoom out from your present state:
Go back 10 years and realize how amazed your younger self would be at where you are today.
Go forward 50 years and realize how much your older self will long for the challenges you’re currently facing.
Works wonders.
Zoom out from your present state:
Go back 10 years and realize how amazed your younger self would be at where you are today.
Go forward 50 years and realize how much your older self will long for the challenges you’re currently facing.
Works wonders.
The Spotlight Effect
Harsh Truth: Most people don’t really care about you.
The Spotlight Effect says that we overestimate the degree to which other people are noticing or observing our actions.
This is liberating—stop worrying, be yourself, and live according to your values.
Harsh Truth: Most people don’t really care about you.
The Spotlight Effect says that we overestimate the degree to which other people are noticing or observing our actions.
This is liberating—stop worrying, be yourself, and live according to your values.
VIDEO
Ancestral Mathematics
How many tiny moments contributed to you being here?
How many lives filled with love, pain, joy, hope, sadness, regret, and struggle?
How many lucky encounters?
How many unlucky breaks?
You're never alone. You've got an army behind you.
Walk like it.
How many tiny moments contributed to you being here?
How many lives filled with love, pain, joy, hope, sadness, regret, and struggle?
How many lucky encounters?
How many unlucky breaks?
You're never alone. You've got an army behind you.
Walk like it.
My 5-5-5-30 Method
If you struggle with energy in the morning, do this right when you get out of bed:
• 5 push-ups
• 5 squats
• 5 lunges per leg
• 30-second plank
It’ll give you a natural energy boost and start your day with a winning feeling.
It just plain works.
If you struggle with energy in the morning, do this right when you get out of bed:
• 5 push-ups
• 5 squats
• 5 lunges per leg
• 30-second plank
It’ll give you a natural energy boost and start your day with a winning feeling.
It just plain works.
ABC Goals
For any arena, establish 3 levels of daily goals:
• A Goal: Perfect case.
• B Goal: Base case.
• C Goal: Downside case.
Feel great, hit your A Goal. Feel ok (most days!), hit your B Goal. Feel bad, hit your C Goal.
Remember: Anything above 0 compounds!
For any arena, establish 3 levels of daily goals:
• A Goal: Perfect case.
• B Goal: Base case.
• C Goal: Downside case.
Feel great, hit your A Goal. Feel ok (most days!), hit your B Goal. Feel bad, hit your C Goal.
Remember: Anything above 0 compounds!
Grayscale Mode
Removes the colors to make your phone immediately less appealing and addicting.
To turn it on, follow these steps:
(1) Settings
(2) Accessibility
(3) Display & Text Size
(4) Color Filters -> On
(5) Grayscale
Try it for a day. It's a massive life hack.
Removes the colors to make your phone immediately less appealing and addicting.
To turn it on, follow these steps:
(1) Settings
(2) Accessibility
(3) Display & Text Size
(4) Color Filters -> On
(5) Grayscale
Try it for a day. It's a massive life hack.
4 Types of Professional Time
The 4 types:
1. Management: Meetings, calls, email, etc.
2. Creation: Writing, coding, building.
3. Consumption: Reading, listening, studying.
4. Ideation: Thinking.
Batch management, increase creation, create space for consumption and ideation.
The 4 types:
1. Management: Meetings, calls, email, etc.
2. Creation: Writing, coding, building.
3. Consumption: Reading, listening, studying.
4. Ideation: Thinking.
Batch management, increase creation, create space for consumption and ideation.
The Feynman Technique
To learn anything:
Step 1: Identify a topic
Step 2: Explain it to a 5-year-old
Step 3: Study to fill in knowledge gaps
Step 4: Organize, convey, and review
True genius is the ability to simplify, not complicate.
Simple is beautiful.
To learn anything:
Step 1: Identify a topic
Step 2: Explain it to a 5-year-old
Step 3: Study to fill in knowledge gaps
Step 4: Organize, convey, and review
True genius is the ability to simplify, not complicate.
Simple is beautiful.
The 1-1-1 Journaling Method
Every single evening, write down three points:
• 1 win from the day
• 1 point of tension, stress, or anxiety
• 1 point of gratitude
It's a simple 5 minute practice that provides an incredible return in the form of clarity and peace of mind.
Every single evening, write down three points:
• 1 win from the day
• 1 point of tension, stress, or anxiety
• 1 point of gratitude
It's a simple 5 minute practice that provides an incredible return in the form of clarity and peace of mind.
The Luck Razor
When choosing between two paths, choose the path that has a larger luck surface area.
Your actions put you in a position where luck is more likely to strike.
It’s hard to get lucky watching TV at home—it’s easy to get lucky when you’re engaging and learning.
When choosing between two paths, choose the path that has a larger luck surface area.
Your actions put you in a position where luck is more likely to strike.
It’s hard to get lucky watching TV at home—it’s easy to get lucky when you’re engaging and learning.
The Time Billionaire
Phrase coined by investor Graham Duncan:
“A billion seconds is slightly over 31 years…when I see, sometimes, 20-year-olds—the thought I had was they probably have two billion seconds left. But they aren’t relating to themselves as time billionaires.”
When you're young, you're literally rich with time.
Most fail to realize the value of this asset until it's gone.
To me, being a “time billionaire” isn’t necessarily about having the time, but about the awareness of the precious nature of the time you do have.
It is about embracing the shortness of life and finding joy in ordinary daily moments of beauty.
Treat time as your ultimate currency—spend it wisely, with those you love, in ways you’ll never regret.
Remember: The days are long but the years are short.
Phrase coined by investor Graham Duncan:
“A billion seconds is slightly over 31 years…when I see, sometimes, 20-year-olds—the thought I had was they probably have two billion seconds left. But they aren’t relating to themselves as time billionaires.”
When you're young, you're literally rich with time.
Most fail to realize the value of this asset until it's gone.
To me, being a “time billionaire” isn’t necessarily about having the time, but about the awareness of the precious nature of the time you do have.
It is about embracing the shortness of life and finding joy in ordinary daily moments of beauty.
Treat time as your ultimate currency—spend it wisely, with those you love, in ways you’ll never regret.
Remember: The days are long but the years are short.
Those were the best ideas I encountered in 2023.
I'll continue adding to this list with more...
If you enjoyed this, share the first tweet in the thread and follow me @SahilBloom for more in future.
I'll continue adding to this list with more...
If you enjoyed this, share the first tweet in the thread and follow me @SahilBloom for more in future.
The Case for Breaks
Microsoft's Human Factors Lab studied 14 participants across two days of video meetings.
Insight 1: Back-to-back meetings created an accumulating buildup of stress.
Insight 2: Short breaks between meetings drove improved performance.
Take more breaks.
Microsoft's Human Factors Lab studied 14 participants across two days of video meetings.
Insight 1: Back-to-back meetings created an accumulating buildup of stress.
Insight 2: Short breaks between meetings drove improved performance.
Take more breaks.
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