Month: July 2018

Doing well in school required us to get good at studying. To study, per the dictionary, is to devote time and attention to acquiring knowledge on (an academic subject), especially by means of books. 

Studying, however, is different from learning. To learn is to gain or acquire knowledge of or skill in something by study, experience, or being taught.

The (albeit subtle) difference lies in the outcome. Studying is focused on the process of acquiring knowledge while learning involves practical application. The real test of learning is what we end up doing with what we learn.

The challenge with teaching learning in schools is that learning is hard to test in a final exams. So, we fall back to testing students’ ability to study. Of course, the obvious downside of this approach is that it is likely we end up completing two decades in schools without a good understanding of how to learn.

The good news is that our education didn’t end with graduation. There is still time to learn how to learn. And, the beauty of learning is that we see the results of what we’ve learnt in our actions every day. To learn and not to do is not to learn. So, if we aren’t actually evolving and improving how we approach our days – every day, it is time to revisit how we learn.

It is the highest leverage thing we can do with our time. After all, studying might have helped us do well in school. But, learning helps us do well in life.

A simple and useful piece of personal finance reminder I received recently was to move saved cash from an ordinary savings account to a high yield savings account. Where I am, that instantly changes the interest rate from ~0% interest to ~1.9%.

Of course, a “high yield savings account” is just a fancy name for an account that ensures your money keeps up with inflation. But, if you maintain an emergency fund in your savings account, for example, it is worth finding a savings account that at least ensures you don’t lose money to inflation every year.

Over time, that is worth a lot – literally. :-)

As I looked back at books I read in the first 6 months yesterday, I thought I’d do the same with 4 shows that resonated/are resonating.

1. Planet Earth II (Netflix)- narrated by David Attenborough. When you are #1 and #3 on the list of the top rated TV shows of all time – in an age when you are competing with the likes of Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and Sherlock – you know you’re onto something special. Planet Earth II is awe inspiring, educational, and thought provoking all at once. It reminds us that being on this planet is a privilege and of the fact that privilege comes with responsibility. I’m incredibly grateful to BBC and David Attenborough for their work.
2. Parenthood (Netflix). Parenthood is a hidden gem. It is the story of a family of 4 siblings and their kids and the complex web of relationships between them. The show takes the time to develop characters and feels real – a kid with Aspergers, a multi-racial family, marriage troubles, old age health issues, and so on. I think being a parent made me appreciate the show more.
3. Hunters and the Hunted (Netflix) – narrated by David Attenborough. We are still in the midst of watching this. Captivating.
4. Goliath (Amazon Prime)- starring Billy Bob Thornton. The word I’ll use to describe Goliath and the performance of the cast in season 1 is “riveting.” The first season of Goliath comprised 8 episodes where BBT, a down-and-out lawyer, takes up a case that pits him against a massive oil company and the firm he co-founded. Season 2 sees him spring into action following a murder of a friend. We’re still watching season 2 – so, here’s hoping it lives up. (Update: Season 2 doesn’t live up as the original writer left. :-()

Happy weekend!

Our default state is to judge others by the outcomes we see and expect to be judged by the processes they don’t see (if only they’d understand my circumstances!).

What if we flipped that?

Or, perhaps, learned to consistently find middle ground?

It is one thing to deal with the disappointment of becoming the first team in ~50 years to lose a World Cup knockout game after going two goals up. It is quite another to follow that up with a spotless dressing room and a thank you note written in your host nation’s language (“Spasibo”).

Of course, the Japanese soccer team were not alone in doing this. Their fans (along with the Senegalese fans) had endeared themselves to the hosts by cleaning up stadiums after their games. I had two reflections from Team Japan’s behavior.

First, I’ve thought about the line “leave everything a little better than you found it.” That is very hard to do consistently. But, what if we at least held ourselves to the standard of “leave everything at least as well as you found it?” Would we waste less, recycle, and compost more?

Second, the behavior exhibited by the Japanese isn’t a result of inspiration leadership and great strategy. It is simply a cultural norm – “this is what people like us do in such situations.” It speaks to the power of setting cultural norms for ourselves, our families, and our teams. Culture is both strategy and leadership in the long run.