These aren’t the first three attempts either. I’ll keep at it. I also need to post the latest podcast episode, where me and Wally discuss Kevin Hart’s I Can’t Make This Up.
He talks about persistence so I’ll have to show some.
The power of the first day on the job
I’m reading The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan sheath and they talk about the first day on the job.
What was your first day like at your current (or most recent) job? Is it fair to say that it was not a defining moment?
It got me thinking about my different first days. Some are way better than others. At my first job in New York I definitely had the situation described in the book. I pretty much set up my computer and that was all I had to do. None of that “you’ll be pushing code to production by the end of your first day!” business.
It reminded me of an episode of the Scriptnotes podcast: 317 First Day on the Job. In my attempt to make a not-bad podcast with Wally, I’ve listened to a lot of other, much better podcasts. Some I listen to and think oh ok someday we can get to that.
Scriptnotes is excellent. I know we won’t get to their level and that’s fine. They have so much knowledge about filmmaking. I’m glad they’re sharing it with the world. This is one of those podcasts that makes me happy that podcasts are free, for the most part. I just started paying for their premium version ($2 a month) to dig into the archives.
I’m more interested in writing in general than I am in film. If you like writing or film or hearing about the inner workings of Hollywood, you should listen to Scriptnotes.
Oh yah, that specific episode. They break down different ‘first day on the job’ scenes. Most of them make the first day seem like a rush of overwhelm. One scene they go over is from The Devil Wears Prada. That’s how I felt the first day I worked at Subway. My first day at a fashion company was more like, well, setting up my computer and heading home early.
SHAKE IT UP
Every day this week I’ve filled my shaker bottle with some powder or another and headed to the gym. I want to have that kind of consistency with creating content.
I said I’d post something daily. I haven’t followed through with that. I do want to create content for this blog weekly. I have been creating things this week, though.
- Video: The Power of Moments: Video games, wrestling, and TV (10 mins) – I made this thinking I’d get back to doing very frequent videos. People are subscribing slowly and that feels more good than the thumbs downs feel bad. So there’s that. Video is a fun format.
- Daily emails. I started writing a daily email to Wally. It’s something I’m trying out. Instead of doing the outline for the book of the week I just sent Wally some thoughts. I’ve been subscribing to some daily newsletters to see how they write. There’s an informality I really like about it. It might have to do with expectations. Typos are okay in emails. It’s okay not to have so much structure.
I’m going to try sharing an excerpt, a quote, and some thoughts from things that I’m reading. I’ve been consuming a lot of books.
Time to shake it up!
21: Not Caring What Other People Think is a Superpower
Check out my other post about this book.
Sun’s up WHAT’S UP. Welcome to ANOTHER-ANOTHER-ANOTHER episode of Active Recall. We used to need an intro. Now we need a better intro.
This week’s book is Not Caring What Other People think is a Superpower. Ed Latimore (@EdLatimore) can actually hit hard. He’s a boxer. He can hit hard with his words as well. I really enjoyed this book.
Ed’s site: https://edlatimore.com
The Knowledge Project: Ed Latimore (A better podcast that had Ed on as a guest)
- Why you should practice gratitude like practicing a jab. Ed Latimore is a boxer. I’m guessing he’s throwing jabs daily. I was listening to The Talent Code and there’s a quote there from Yo-Yo Ma about practice. Skip a day and he can notice, 2 and his wife notices, 3 and the world will notice. Gratitudes can be similar. Think of things that make you grateful every day.
- You can’t be angry and grateful at the same time. This makes it very concrete. When you feel anger and frustration building up, think about what you’re grateful for. It helps.
- Why even the best boxers have coaches. In team sports, it’s clear to see that coaches focus on strategy and the players are focusing on tactics. You can go a long way by being great at the tactics. As you get higher and higher you need an understanding of strategy. Mike Tyson has one-punch power, but he needed a trainer day-in day-out to teach him how to get in range and land that shot. Whatever project you’re working on, do you have a way to know that your overall strategy is a good one?
- Strategy and tactics are both important. Coaches cover the strategy and the players work on the tactics. This ties into the three models of practice. When using the music model or the sports model, you’re usually practicing tactics. With the chess model, you practice strategy.
- Warren Buffet’s 2-list strategy. Write down 25 things you’re working on. Circle the 5 most important. The other 20 are now your most challenging distractions, because you can justify working on them since there’s some good.
- Why you need to have a plan (even after you’re punched in the face). The difference between a dream and a goal is knowing the steps in between. That’s planning. If you’re trying to be the single best boxer in the world, you know it will take genetics, luck, and a ton of hard work. The goal doesn’t always need to be “single best”.
In two years, let’s say you want to be a full-time videographer. What steps do you need to follow? Who’s done it in that timeframe and what can you replicate from their success?
Check some of that out, and MORE! On this episode of the Active Recall podcast with Walter and Francis. The duo second only to bob and weave.
20: Barking up the Wrong THREE
Check out the full notes for Barking Up the Wrong Tree
Sun’s up WHAT’S UP. Welcome to ANOTHER episode of Active Recall. We tried a third time with Barking Up the Wrong Tree. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s better than our first and second attempt.
- I recorded in Washington again. Just some podcast equipment nerdery: I used a Zoom H1 to record but ended up just using the backup audio with a stock Earpod headset.
- Four metrics to measure your life with: happiness, achievement, significance, and legacy. We talked about this last week also.
- We talk about how life achievements relate to achievements in game. It’s important to celebrate the small badges along the way and not just completing the game. There is no peak achievement that keeps you happy for the rest of your lifetime.
- We are all significant. You don’t have to count to millions of people. It’s more important to count to the people you care about.
- Legacy. A few years ago my cousin said “You’re my hero”. I’d love to someday earn that title but it means a lot to know that I’m setting a good example for someone I care about.
- Introverts and extroverts. One of us is an introvert and the other is an extrovert. Can you guess who’s who? (Here’s a clue: I’m writing this on my couch and it isn’t the first thing I wrote on my couch today. And I consider this a good day.)
- WNGF: Winnable, novel challenges, goals, and feedback. It’s a good idea to give your work some elements from good games. Wally talks about how he’s turned some elements of his job into a game.
- Grit or quit. Wally pulled a quiz from the book. We get closer to whether I should continue with writing or quit writing.
- Toronto ra..coons?
- WOOP: Wish, outcome, obstacle, plan. Wish: be an awesome writer. Outcome: I stand in the airport and admire my book sitting in like a Hudson News or whatever then get on the first class seat and read my book in front of the peasants walking by while sipping the complimentary champagne. Obstacle: I am a bad writer. Plan: I’ll become a better writer.
We’re gritting along and adding an episode at a time. Thanks for checking this out!
19: Barking up the Wrong Tree, Again!
Check out the full notes for Barking Up the Wrong Tree
We tried having Barking Up The Wrong Tree as our book of the week again because we weren’t satisfied with our first attempt. Our hunch was that we’ve got a few months of experience podcasting so we’d do a better job this time around.
Our hunch was wrong.
Still, we showed up and it’s an episode. Here’s what we discussed in the episode.
- Spider-Man and his alien symbiote suit. Sometimes we mess up work/life balance and end up with work being more like an alien symbiote suit. It drains you.
- Four metrics to have a successful life: happiness, achievement, significance, legacy. Perfectly balancing these metrics probably isn’t possible. It’s good to keep an eye on which ones you’re furthest behind on.
- This podcast will be the entirety of our legacy. Okay, maybe not. But it will be some part of it. It’s part of why I consider this podcast a success even if we aren’t nailing the more traditional metrics of podcast success (e.g. actual listeners, interesting episodes). By next year, we’ll have 40+ hours of audio that we can pass on and bore future generations with. What’s more successful than that?
- The top 0.1% in many fields are available to see online. Through the internet, top performers are more accessible than they were at any time in history. Don’t measure your success against them. Or at least don’t base your happiness on that comparison. If you’re inspired by it, good. If you’re depressed by it, stop.
- Einstein’s not-so-romantic letter to his wife
Someday we will do a better job with this book. I believe that. It’s 100x better than our shows about it. As mentioned in the show, go check out Eric Barker’s blog. It’s the best newsletter on the internet.