Month: May 2025

One of the tests of emotional intelligence in our lives and careers is learning to differentiate between the people who actually care and the people who want to be known as people who care.

Even if you’ve been disciplined about your workout routine for a while, life will eventually get in the way. It might be travel, sickness, or some other kind of disruption. But you’ll find yourself looking at a day where there isn’t time for that workout routine.

On these days, it is helpful to ask ourselves – what’s our minimum workout?

I’ve settled on a quick 5 minute blitz – it involves a full body stretch, 10 push ups, 30 seconds of core, and a 30 second squat.

This 5 minute blitz can be done anywhere and needs no equipment. And, as it is a “blitz”, there really are no excuses to be able to find 5 minutes to do this.

The minimum workout is two things at once. It is an acknowledgment of the fact that that we don’t always have complete control over our routine. And it is also a signal of our commitment to keeping the streak and saying to ourselves – “we’ll try again tomorrow.”

Applies to other keystone habits as well.

A good friend has a wise maxim he keeps repeating – “Everyone talks their book.”

It means people tend to express opinions that support their own interests – especially financial ones.

It is why venture capitalists would have you believe that start-up founders ought to be worshipped.

Crypto enthusiasts tend to be enthusiastic about macroeconomic and fiat currency volatility.

Political votes are directly proportional to the direction of funding from the biggest lobbyists.

Depending on what drives revenues, corporate leaders will likely tell you the version of the AI story that suits that narrative.

Few publications will dare to offend their biggest sponsors.

And, finally, it is hard for someone to understand what they’re paid not to understand.

None of this is to say there aren’t exceptions. But those exceptions prove the rule.

When in doubt, look at the financial incentives.

I realized last week that we quietly passed the 17 year milestone 10 days ago.

7045 daily posts in, I realize just how much more work there is to do to learn how to do the basic things right – sleep 8 hours, eat nutritious food, drink enough water, move, exercise, stand, be present with loved ones, focus, contribute, be grateful, take chances, reflect, and keep perspective.

This 18th year is another opportunity to learn how to do some of these better than I did in the last year. After all, to learn and not to do is not to learn.

So here’s to better learning, and thus, better doing and being.

“Teams are groups where we unconsciously find the perfect foils to work out our own issues.” | Jerry Colonna

I saw that note from Jerry about how team dysfunction often stems from unresolved personal issues.

It’s not just teams, it applies groups of all kinds.

Just try asking anyone who has gone on a trip with a large group of family or friends.

“It’s not about being the best. It’s about trying your best.”

We’ve been watching a neat show on Disney+ with our kids called “Win or Lose.”

Every episode relives the days leading up to the same event from points of views of various characters. It makes for a wonderful way to have conversations about empathy and the idea that everyone is working through their own challenges.

And then there are wise notes like the one above.

A wonderful reminder that, in the long run, it is indeed the striving that counts.

Periodic reminder that the hardest part of problem solving is defining the problem to be solved.

From time to time, we find ourselves in situations where it makes sense to introduce two people in our network.

In most instances, that’s because we believe one person can help the other person. And in the other rare instances, it might even be mutually beneficial.

Two habits can make you a world class connector –

(1) Ask for permission before you make a connection. This is called a double opt in introduction. There are many reasons perfectly lovely people might not be open to a new connections.

A double opt-in introduction does two things at first. First, it helps your relationship with the potential helper as it shows that you respect their time. Second, it helps the person you’re helping as the helper is enrolled when they opt in.

(2) Set low expectations on behalf of the helper. This means not promising anything on behalf of the helper unless they’ve explicitly agreed. Even if they have, use the opportunity to set low expectations.

For example, let’s imagine the helper says – happy to find 15 minutes for a quick call. You can choose to relay that of course. Or you can do one better and let the other person know when you connect them that the helper is open to connect but might be tough for them to find time… and that you thank them in advance for their kindness.

This sets up the helper to exceed expectations.

Both of these are small acts of thoughtfulness that go a long way in setting up introductions for success, today and in the future.

I appreciated a note in Bill Gates’ blog post with his commitment to wind up the Gates Foundation and give away all his wealth by 2045.

One of the best things I read was an 1889 essay by Andrew Carnegie called The Gospel of Wealth. It makes the case that the wealthy have a responsibility to return their resources to society, a radical idea at the time that laid the groundwork for philanthropy as we know it today.

In the essay’s most famous line, Carnegie argues that “the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.” I have spent a lot of time thinking about that quote lately. People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that “he died rich” will not be one of them.

I appreciate the clarity of thought.

His foundation and his giving has been the subject of a lot of criticism because of the influence it has given him on global health. I’ve seen passionate arguments about how he’s doing it for tax purposes and how he’s just buying influence with his money.

I chuckle at these notes.

First, he was the richest person on the planet. I think he was pretty set on influence with that money and status. And if he wanted to avoid taxes, I’m sure there’d be entire organizations who’d help him.

Second, we can blame capitalism for his wealth. But his money is his money. He can choose what to do with it. And he’s chosen to focus on preventing the death of children… and do this.

What would you rather him do? Buy yachts?

Finally, this isn’t to say the man isn’t without his faults. Nobody is.

I just appreciate he chose to put his incredible wealth to use to attempt to make the world a better place.

I also appreciate that Warren Buffett followed his lead with over 40 billion dollars donated.

I hope we have more billionaires who choose to do this.

There used to be a joke in the technology community that “Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is always a decade away.” AGI was said to have arrived when the intelligence of a machine possessed the ability to understand or learn any intellectual task that a human being can.

The reason it was a joke was because AI always seemed to be a few years away from the next promised breakthrough.

It is now clear the joke has to be retired. Whatever your bar for AGI, you wouldn’t want to bet against it being here in the next decade.

I was in conversation with a wise friend who pointed out that today’s AI is already smarter than most people most of the time.

That’s an understatement. Whether it is ChatGPT or Claude, I’m just consistently blown away by their ability and how quickly they get better.

So I agree with his line of thinking – for all practical purposes, AGI is here. And considering these models are the dumbest they’ve ever been, they’re going to continue to get smarter and smarter.

That brings with it a collection of first, second, and third order consequences. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll dig into them. Most of these will be in equal parts wondrous, scary, and exciting.

But it starts with that simple and profound assertion – AGI is here. Now let’s get to figuring out what that means.