Curiosity Chronicle

Question: Does your situation need to change, or just your outlook on it? Framework: The Cobra Effect

“Hard times create strong men, strong men create easy times, easy times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” - G. Michael Hopf We live in an ease-obsessed world. To build the life you want, to earn the things you want, your resistance is the cost of entry. Remember: Nothing worth having in life should be easy. The things that matter in life are hard to build.

Question: Are you allowing self-protection to become self-rejection? Framework: Hedgehogs vs. Foxes

It's easy to allow your weeks to spiral out of control as you try to navigate your personal and professional responsibilities. Fortunately, I developed some tricks that helped me fight back. 4 tiny habits that dramatically improved my weeks: (1) Defining what a "win" looks like, (2) Creating an awareness of my energy, (3) Executing a daily management sprint, and (4) Investing 30 minutes in a visio...

Question: How can you decide to be happy today? Framework: The Ludic Fallacy

More intensity is not the answer. To achieve the things you want in life, you must pursue them with balance . Unfortunately, in the modern era, to pursue things with balance is almost indistinguishable from laziness. The single greatest challenge for any ambitious person is reframing slowing down as an essential part of your performance, not a reward for your effort. When you're constantly moving...

Question: What are the beliefs that no longer serve me? Framework: The Dartmouth Scar Experiment

In my 20s, I nearly drove myself mad adding more and more new things to my life. Today, I'm 33, happier, healthier, and more successful than I've ever been—but in today's piece, I want to share the secret that unlocked all of that: I quit. The truth is that the fastest way to improve your life is not adding new things to serve you , but quitting what no longer does . Here are 11 things I quit to t...

Question: How can you change your outlook by changing your perspective? Framework: The Theory of Constraints

I've come to believe that there is one common theme that holds people back from living the life they want—and the life they are capable of living: Overthinking. In today's piece, I want to share what worked for me: Three simple mindset shifts—reminders and reframes you can reliably turn to—that helped me conquer overthinking for good. Three mindset shifts to conquer overthinking: (1) The decision...

Question: How will you respond when you find yourself in the valley? Framework: The Two Types of Happiness

"All the things which cause complaint or dread are like the taxes of life—things from which, my dear Lucilius, you should never hope for exemption or seek escape." - Seneca This idea—that there are taxes of life that you should happily pay—resonates deeply. The reframe to view these negatives as a necessary part of my growth and progress has been tremendously helpful on my journey (and will be on...

Question: What sacrifices are you willing to make to get the things you want? Framework: Winston's Star

Last weekend, I ran my second marathon in 2:53:38. This was a 4-minute personal best. During the suffering of miles 20-26 and the journey home after the race, I found myself reflecting on the key lessons from the experience. Interestingly, none of them have anything to do with running. This piece shares 8 powerful lessons for life from running a marathon.

Question: What are the lesser goals keeping you from your real goals? Framework: The Riptide Mentality

For the last several years, I've kept a running list of my favorite life hacks. I add and subtract from the list whenever I come across new ideas that create value in my life. I'd like to make a tradition of sharing that list annually with all of you—in the hope that you take action on them and feel their impact on your life. Here are the most powerful life hacks I've found to date: 50 tips, trick...

Question: What are the barriers within you that need to be broken? Framework: The Beginner's Paradox

I have a few core Missions that define my life—everything is aligned around them. Missions are life journeys with no specific end. Missions are not goals. Missions are infinite games. The power of Missions is found in the clarity they provide: If an opportunity, person, or action does not positively contribute to one of your Missions, you can say no to it. I have clearly defined a Mission within e...

Question: Do you need to reframe retirement? Framework: The Cathedral Effect

I recently had a long conversation with a young man in his mid-20s who was unhappy with his standing in life—feeling behind, lost, without a clear vision for the future. We've all been there at different times. The conversation caused me to reflect on the honest advice I'd give to that younger, lost version of myself to help expedite his journey to the other side. This essay shares 11 pieces of br...

Question: How wide is my Information-Action Gap? Framework: The Yet Mindset

At a young age, I decided I wasn't smart. That story stuck with me for the first 30 years of my life—it created ripples into my actions, thoughts, and behaviors. The Narrative Fallacy is the tendency to craft a story around data, events, and inputs. Basically, our brains like to "make sense" of the random chaos around us, so the stories provide that structure—they provide a sense of calm. The stor...

Question: What can you do today that wasn't possible for you six months ago? Framework: Shinrin-yoku

The Chinese bamboo tree offers a powerful lesson on growth: It requires daily nurturing for several years before it ever breaks through the surface, but once it does, it can grow up to 100 feet in six weeks. Your growth can be hard to see. It often occurs silently, under the surface. You make the daily investments in yourself, but are often completely unaware of their impact. The challenge is that...

Question: What are the boring, basic actions that you are avoiding right now? Framework: The Fosbury Flop