The Best Minute: Money, failure, and “finding yourself”

2 QUOTES FROM OTHERS

I. Jeffrey D. Sachs on money:

“Living doesn’t cost much, but showing off does.”

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II. John Gardner on collaborating in your own failure:

“Everyone fails. [The professional boxer and world heavyweight champion] Joe Louis said ‘Everyone has to figure to get beat some time.' The question isn't did you fail, but did you pick yourself up and move ahead?

“And there is one other little question: Did you collaborate in your own defeat? A lot of people do. Learn not to.”

2 IDEAS FROM ME

I. Trying to “find yourself” is an undefinable goal and an unhelpful pursuit.

How do you know when you have done it? What happens when you change (as everyone does)? What if you don’t like what you find?

Instead of trying to “find yourself,” decide the type of person you want to become and create small rhythms and habits to help you slowly become that person.

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II. When you’re stuck on a decision that needs to be made, as yourself this question: what would I tell a friend to do if they were facing this same situation?

This allows you to lessen the emotional sway in your thought process and focus on the most rational option (even if it is more difficult).

1 INTERESTING FACT

Clouds are much heavier than you think, so how do they stay in the sky?

Your average cumulus (fair weather) cloud can weigh more than a million pounds, and a vivacious thunderstorm can pack billions (if not trillions) of pounds of water in one tiny part of the sky. Yet, all of that weight seems effortlessly suspended in the air. It’s both a little unsettling and, at the same time, awesome to think about.

Even though typical clouds do contain a lot of water, this water is spread out for miles in the form of tiny water droplets or crystals, which are so small that the effect of gravity on them is negligible. Thus, from our vantage on the ground, clouds seem to float in the sky.

Source: Scientific American