Ideas

need (1) noticing and (2) capturing, otherwise those great breakthroughs will be lost. Stop and think regularly and carry a notebook.

Maybe It Is ‘Old-School’

but it works when you consistently show up on time; do what you say you are going to do; take responsibility; remain polite; use real grammar and structure your communications to make it easier for others; take a proper break and return refreshed; discuss face-to-face whenever reasonably possible; drop a thank you note.

Go Old-School today and surprise them.

Productivity

There’s sometimes a lurking feeling that ‘being productive’ requires one to do more, be more, adopt a new system. However, perhaps it’s as simple as being tough, saying a polite ‘no’ and doing less.

But doing that less brilliantly.

The big challenge of modern human health lies in a profound evolutionary mismatch.

We have hunter-gatherer bodies moving and thinking in a digital world, creating a disconnect that manifests in rising rates of chronic disease, mental health struggles, and declining physical vitality.

Our extraordinary brain, the very organ that enabled our species’ dominance, has become both our greatest asset and at times a dangerous liability. This remarkable 1.5kg universe evolved to allow us to be not merely animals that hunt, but strategic hunters who could outwit prey and predators alike. We became a species that does not just endure seasons but predicts and prepares for them, planning harvests and migrations months in advance. We evolved beyond simply finding shelter to actively engineering our environments, adapting entire landscapes to serve our needs.

This cognitive revolution created our capacity for imagination and innovation. Our brains learned to construct mental models of reality, to envision possibilities that did not yet exist, transforming us into the entrepreneurs and inventors who would reshape the planet. Yet there lay the trap: our success-driven brain has an inherent bias toward efficiency and energy conservation, a trait that was-literally-vital when calories were scarce, intermittent and of varying quality and simultaneously physical demands were high and constant.

What’s to be done? Walk; get outside; stop and think. Be a Human Being not simply a Human Doing.

The Best Things

-conversation, reading, a hike, solitude, live music, the desert at night, the French food market-are so often analogue. It’s the addictive screens and scrolling and software which are addictive and ultimately soul-destroying in excess.

Up your analogue. Be human.

In The Pipeline

Three new short stories are planned for mid/late October. A new non-fiction book on my MEDS, Meditation-Exercise-Diet-Sleep Strategy for November. A total revision of my Instant MBA for the new year.

Meanwhile How to Beat ChatGPT is out.

Stay tuned.

Shorten the Distance

In a world of digital transactions such as e-mail, PPT decks and AI generated reports if you can be real and get close/r, the impact is huge. If you can take the stairs and talk to the person; if your can dispense with the deck and look them in the eyes; if you can craft the report yourself with your personal quirks, the impact might be 100-fold. Quick isn’t necessarily best. Perfect can be dull.

Get real; be human; get close/r.