A Learning a Day

Often, the quickest way to get to where you want to go is to spend time with a group of people who’ve made progress heading there.

A friend recently switched jobs after a long and impactful run at her (now previous) employer. As we talked through the process, there were 3 reflections –

(1) First, she talked about the many projects/tours of duty she’d taken on during her long tenure. Her long tenure wasn’t a long tenure – instead, it was a collection of smaller stints. That’s the sign of a good run.

(2) She realized that the job she wanted next wasn’t going to be available. And she realized she’d just become bitter if she stayed longer.

Either you’re able to change the circumstances or you have to choose to remove yourself from them. In her case, she was clear her next stint needed to be outside.

(3) Finally, she wanted to run toward an opportunity and not run away. A few months into the process, one such opportunity came along, and it worked out.

I appreciated the clarity of thought at every step. A nice playbook for anyone who has come to the realization that the current project or job isn’t the one for them.

“Please do reply. I’m not a robot, I talk back. And it helps deliverability.”

I saw this on a newsletter and it made me chuckle. It does a couple things at once –

(1) It says something unexpected “please do reply” vs. usual “do not reply” warnings.

(2) It reminds you of the human on the other side.

(3) It also gives you a rational reason why he benefits.. which makes it feel all the more human.

While I don’t intend to say it at the bottom of every daily email, I’ll use the inspiration to say the same to you today – “Please do reply. I’m not a robot, I talk back. And it helps deliverability.” :-)

“People say that what we’re all seeking is meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.” | Joseph Campbell

Perhaps we assume finding the meaning of life will give us a sustained experience of being or feeling alive?

I came across this piece of wisdom – “Sometimes in life, even though it’s not your fault, it’s still your problem.”

It took me a while to learn this.

But life has this way of presenting opportunities to us to make sure we learn the lessons that need to be learnt.

So, in my most recent sticky situation, I found myself starting in denial that it was my problem.

Until I realized the only way is through… and that would only be possible by accepting it was indeed my problem.

We saw Disney’s Musafa recently. 5 reflections –

(1) Let’s start with the overwhelmingly positive – the music. Lin-Manuel Miranda should just be on a Disney retainer. Bye Bye, I Always Wanted a Brother, and We Go Together have all become instant “all-time favorites” in our household.

(2) I thought Scar’s story was exceptionally well-told. His arc from savior to proud brother to jealous brother to guilty brother who eventually betrays Mufasa feels both realistic and relatable. Great stories give villains depth – and this one certainly did.

I was reminded of a Dumbledore quote – “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” Scar was always told he was born to be a king. However, as he grew up, his actions made it clear that he didn’t deserve leadership. And that led to resentment.

Rafiki said it beautifully- “Sometimes when the people most like you don’t love you, it is a hurt that can cause the greatest pain, and this pain can lead you to hate everything.”

(3) The story had some powerful notes about leadership. The most important of which is that leadership isn’t a title, it is earned when you care enough to take action to make things better for those around you.

(4) I’m not sold on live action movies. I think some of these dialogs would have had greater impact on animated animals.

(5) Rafiki, as always, was full of wisdom. 3 quotes I loved –

“A flea can trouble a lion more than a lion can trouble a flea.”
“It is easy to doubt everything when you know nothing.“
“Sometimes, a dream is all you have. The only truth that lives in you.”

We all attach our identity to things or people. To our work, our kids, our wealth, our faith, our side projects, our investments, our health, and so on.

There are trade-offs to these attachments. On the bright side, we pour our heart and soul to anything we do that relates to these.

On the flip side, we are likely to be guilty of talking about these too much or taking offense too quickly.

There’s no right or wrong involved in picking one or some of these. It tends to work best when we combine a diversified portfolio with self-awareness that helps us avoid digging ourselves too deep in the trade-offs pit.

Perhaps the more important thing is to realize we are always choosing to attach our identity to something.

Best to be thoughtful about those choices.

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” | Kurt Vonnegut

Truth.

Choose wisely.

“Congratulations on being senior leaders. Your job now is to always find the flowers in a field full of shit.”

A teammate who heard from an executive at the offsite described this as a quote that lives rent-free in his head since.

So much of senior leadership is finding reasons to be optimistic and figuring out how to make things work against the odds.

Vivid, hilarious, and wise – it resonated.

Someone I know was talking about a recent experience working in a different part of their organization.

From the outside, it always looked like that side got whatever it asked for.

A few months in, he realized that it came with downsides he hadn’t considered. He returned with appreciation for what he had.

The grass is often greener on the other side because it is fertilized with bullshit.