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Happy Tuesday. Each week I share some thought-provoking insights of my own, along with wisdom from the great thinkers I’ve encountered through books, other media, and my network.
Top of Mind: Life Rewards Focus
It seems that optionality is rewarded in youth, and focus is rewarded with age. In truth, life always rewards focus, it just gets clearer over time.
Big Idea: Conflicting Truths
My working definition of wisdom is the ability to hold conflicting truths in your hands at the same time, and still move forward.
There are endless scenarios where we have to rely on judgment.
I think the most zoomed-out version is our own lives.
It’s powerful to recognize simultaneously both the importance and the insignificance of our individual life experiences.
In so many respects, our lives matter immensely, even if it’s just to a small group of people.
And at the same time, we must recognize our utter smallness compared to space and time.
I think about this often. When I'm in a meaningful one-on-one conversation, I'll say to myself, 'wow, we're really doing something here.' It reminds me of an excerpt from Bessie Anderson Stanley's poem on success (often misattributed to Emerson): “to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, that is to have succeeded."
There is power and comfort in both of these, especially when held simultaneously.
Borrowed Wisdom: Renoir’s Last Words
Legend has it that the final words from French Impressionist master painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir came at age 78 in 1919, after he finished painting a small bouquet of flowers.
He said “I think I’m beginning to learn something about it,” then simply “flowers.”
To me, this story about Renoir is such an inspiration and a masterclass in humility and wonder, a reminder that the lessons in life take a full life to learn.
Reading, Watching, Listening: Scott Galloway
Author, professor and entrepreneur Scott Galloway does not pull punches, and he and his team have proven to be great data aggregators and researchers. Since 2024, Scott has published a series of essays, videos and posts entitled “America’s War on The Young.” They are thought-provoking pieces about our country’s demographics, socio-economy and a changing American Dream. Here are a few of them.
Hope you have a great week.
Adam
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