Burning the Boats
Hey friends, happy Sunday!
Would you still be doing what you're doing today, if you weren't already doing it?
Inertia plays a huge role in our daily lives. Everything we're currently doing in life is the result of the decisions we've made in the past.
Making it important to regularly question "If I wasn't already doing this would I still make the choice to do it now?"
If the answer is no then you need to burn the boats.
Burning the boats stems from Captain Hernán Cortés. When his army arrived to conquer Veracruz in 1519 he ordered his men to burn their own ships. Giving them no other option but to succeed at their goal.
You either sink or swim. Burning the boats requires you to rise up to the occasion because the other options are eliminated.
When you fail to remove other options it's easy to let inertia take hold of your life. When inertia is the driving force in your life you're on the path to mediocrity.
Whenever you realised that you wouldn't be doing this if you weren't already doing it you need to take drastic action and create new momentum.
This Weeks Finds
I.
How to deal with negativity
(Tweet)
This video of a twitch streamer dealing with someone hating on his small audience is the best thing I've seen this week. If you're grinding and building things then watch this video!
II.
The Observer Effect – Tobi Lütke
(Article)
I always enjoy interviews with Tobi Lutke. The way he thinks about learning and leadership is unique.
My favourite piece from this article is how he approaches learning new skills. He takes a specialised generalist approach to learning, something that I think is vital if you want to build a company.
"I find that going wide and learning the best lessons from the people who have dedicated their entire lives to a certain pursuit gets you really, really close to mastery."
III.
Vanity Metrics
(Article)
I really hate goal setting (I'm more of a systems/habits kind of person). In typical Julian Shapiro style he breaks down the three types of vanity metric and lays down a framework for avoiding vanity metrics and ultimately setting better goals.
"If you replayed your life and took the shortest path to where you are today, you’d see what an absurd amount of time was spent on the wrong things."
IV.
Write Simply
(Article)
This is great writing. Everyone should learn how to write better because we all do it every day. The first step to learning should be to read this post.
This Weeks Idea
"When most people say they want to be a millionaire, what they might actually mean is “I’d like to spend a million dollars.” And that is literally the opposite of being a millionaire." - Morgan Housel | The psychology of money
End Note
If you enjoyed this edition of the Sunday Filter then I’d love it if you could share it with a few friends. You can send them over here to sign up.
Have a great Sunday,
- Stephen