Caspian with a riff on:

This week, the riff is on exactly those rules. I explain my six mantras or rules that I consult when I'm feeling like I'm in a rut or a bit confused. Those rules are, for me: Macro patience, micro speed. Don’t believe all of your thoughts Doing has a higher value than not doing Don’t make 1000 decisions when one will do You're a human being, before you’re a human doing Move fast and break things

This week, the riff is on fear. More specifically, fear as an obstacle. The attitude we have towards anything can either help us or make things harder for us. The attitude is oftentimes a layer with an automatic emotional response to something. So if I have a very positive attitude, I will perceive things in a more positive manner. When the attitude is negative, our automatic response is often fea...

I've been interested in structure for a very long time, almost as long as I can remember. To have a personal structure of my days, keep track of the projects that I'm working on and to keep the information I gather very neat has been a core success factor for me. With all that being said, when I've read up on personal structure, there has always been a system. Let's take GTD as an example . The sy...

Tools are incredibly important. That's where I usually start out when entering a new domain. If I would start with photography, I'd start by buying a really good camera. But that might not be the way to go.  In every area or field, there are some core principles. Principles explaining how we can achieve better within that field. And I think we've all encountered those core principles within a...

Mindfulness is absolutely, without a doubt, one of the things that myself and my friends have been spending the most time talking about in the past 5 years. It's also something that most people have a relationship to, as do I. That relationship is a bit complex, and not always at its best.  I think mindfulness, if practiced, should be practiced as a proactive activity. I also think it needs t...

Being able to make sense out of complex matters is one of the most appreciated skills to have in my experience. To help people understand and make something out of an experience or even a couple of experiences is hard at times and at times we need help doing it. It’s something you can practice. So please do, because your life will be easier.

There seems to be a difference between perception and observation, even though they’re quite similar. Observing something when you need an output that’s quick and easy isn’t always a good idea. Similarly, perceiving something that needs detailed examination might not always work the best.

I've had a hangup on design for quite some time now, and want to spend some time discussing the ideas that have passed through me during that time.  Design has two parameters that we judge design by: beauty and functionality. Sometimes they interact and combine in the same product or process, sometimes they leverage each other and sometimes you have to choose.  Most importantly from this...

I've been actively working with becoming better at both offering and asking for help for the past 4 years. It's been one of the most prominent things for me, and it all started with one single question:  What do you need help with?  In this episode, I describe a way in which we can all become better at asking people what they need help with. I riff on why there are ways that are worse to...

I think passion can be a choice, rather than something that just happens to you. Of course, there are times at which we might be struck or even stuck with a passion that's impossible to explain. But more often I think it's possible to choose passion as a way of doing things. 

Grit and stubbornness are two vastly different things, although they might seem similar. Being stubborn is, for the most part, not constructive and nobody gains from it. When you’re stubborn, you’re not using all of the information coming to you, like in a rage. Grit, on the other hand, is the ability to push through when needed yet being able to give up when it’s time to do so. Giving up might be...

Soldiers are often trained to do one single thing. They learn to shoot, and shoot really well. Of course, that’s a complex action as it involves a lot of small skills and a precision that’s uncanny. Not to talk of the morality of the whole thing. Still, they’ve learned to master one tool - shooting. Of course, that’s a simplification of what makes up a soldier, but for the case, we’ll stick to thi...

I think inspiration is highly overrated, mostly because it's become an excuse not to act and do. "I wasn't feeling inspired". I don't ever want to say that.  On the other hand, I think inspiration is inevitable. You can't not have it. 

Responsibility can mean so many different things. It can mean "You get the blame if this goes south", or "You're going to have to carry this all by yourself.".  The way I see it, responsibility is a way to get impact. If you have responsibility, you're able to impact. You have the opportunity to make your mark and to do what needs to be done. It also means that you can ask your personal advis...

Episode 3 is here, with a riff on Creativity and Creative Work. I have loads of friends who want to write a book. Or record a song. Or learn knitting. Most of those friends also struggle with starting that, and I think most people are struggling with starting. When you've started, the rest comes a lot easier. Until you need to ship. That's often tricky as well, as you can't really say when you're...

Decisions is one of those things that most people struggle with. We all have decisions to make, numerous each and every day.  Today, I talk about mindset regarding decision making, about a mental model that I've used not to make decisions more often than I need to, and Gary Vaynerchuk gives us some food for thought on his approach to making decisions. 

I've spent a lot of time thinking about problems, and our relation to them. This is a riff on what I think problems are, how I think we can change our perspective on them, and a question to ask yourself when facing a problem.