Dispatch From The Sky

A flight across the North Atlantic offered the time and space to think.

I am writing this on the plane and it's a remarkably productive space. Before we dive in to this newsletter, I must say, the monthly publishing rhythm didn't happen this second half of the year and there were parts of me that enjoyed the break, but other parts less so. Specifically, how when I have the monthly commitment, I get to put my mind to work towards something productive in the gaps between life and work and so on.

I am not sure what the below is - a stream of consciousness? High altitude mental clarity? Ha! There's no "story" or one key lesson this month, instead a series of thoughts, ideas, and reflections. You will likely here from me again with my annual “Best of the Year” before we get into 2023, but before that, enjoy this and I wish you a Merry Christmas!

Since I wrote to you last…

I spent October with COVID, and the first half of November in a mixture of disappointment, anger, and frustration. December has been bronchitis but with a cozy pit-stop in Switzerland to catch my flight home to Canada, in which I was upgraded to business class, the holiday spirits have begun to shift more positively after a tough fall.

I have become completely energised by discipline, effort, and standards in pursuit of doing the best I can with the quality I seek to role model model in this life. By no means is this a journey of perfection, but one I am committing to. Some further context and inspiration.

I made it a calendar year of full time work for the first time in 5 years without going on sick leave. There was a close call in May but was able to navigate through it. Of course my initial reaction to this is "how embarrassing" and am not truly comfortable sharing it publicly, but the lesson here folks is that health and well-being is numero uno. Always.

Letting someone down is never fun, but it's a powerful teacher. The desire to control the situation through apology or expressive communication is strong. But it's not about you, it's about them. Not succumbing to this reaction has been a transformative experience for me. Most people in life will give you a second chance, so acknowledge the mistake and get on with living in accordance with how you want to be for those in your life. Words yes, but actions are vital.

I am beginning to hold the belief that purpose is overrated - especially when held in a vacuum and not tied to your capabilities. There's no satisfaction in a strong personal purpose without an awareness of what you are actually good at and what you want to do day in and day out to realise it. Also, I think this can be one of the contributions to burn out. Pursuing a purpose when all your efforts are spent outside your flow state or comfort zone is not a recipe for success.

Something that stuck out from a podcast I listened to…

"Potential is a word that hides failure."

I have explored why I focus on negative feedback more than positive feedback in my work a few times this year. Producing/Creating/Building or improving anything can be complicated. The customers say they want x but when feature is offered they don’t use it. When you talk to the team responsible they share how another thing isn’t working. But when you look at the customer feedback they love the thing the team thinks is broken. And then you think something didn’t perform but then receive further customer feedback with how satisfied they are! We are strange creatures and what we "feel", "say" and "do" are not always aligned.

For example

"Researchers asked 100 people whether a reasonable person would unlock their phone and give it to an experimenter to search through. Most said no. Then the researchers asked 103 other people to unlock their phone and give it to them. 100 of them complied."

I continue to go through phases of wanting to go Waldenponding (aka break free from digital communications and social media). Then I remembered recently that as I a kid I checked the mailbox every day with enthusiasm. Maybe there's a relationship between these things.

On Ambition… Tyler Cowen: I look for people who really value the means. So if someone says to you, "I want to be the best drummer of all time." Well, that's definitely better than no ambition at all, but I actually want to hear someone saying, "I love to drum." And that's the person who's more likely to become the best drummer of all time.

A couple occasions stand out the past two months where I unexpectedly crossed paths with people from my past. So many micro decisions go into it to have a 3 second window to physically move past one another. From what I decided to do, in what order down to whether was on my phone or not, eyes, head up ready for the world! Long time readers know, I am a sucker for serendipitous moments.

Enjoy these photos! Until next time.

Best, Jamie