No. 481 — July 17, 2022
Brain Food is a weekly newsletter full of timeless insights you can use.
FS
“There are several lessons one can take away from this story—Brooks’ leadership to make the team hate him more than each other; Tikhonov’s ego pulling the legendary Tretiak to show the world how amazing he was; and the importance of playing to the whistle come to mind. Perhaps the most important lesson of all is that when the conditions are right, a group of “average people” can come together and get non-average results.”
TKP
I sat down with executive coach Marshall Goldsmith to discuss where confidence comes from, where leaders go wrong, why changing our behavior isn’t enough we must also changes others’ perceptions of our behavior, the three words that kill any conversation, and the relationship between intensity and consistency.
“You have to learn to quit being right all the time, and quit being smart all the time, and quit thinking this is a contest about how smart you are and how right you are, and realize that you are here to make a positive difference in the world. And being smart and being right is probably no longer the way to do that.
See when you’re in school, you take test after test, after test, after test. You have to prove you’re smart over and over. Thousands of times, you have to prove you’re smart. It’s very difficult to stop. We are programmed to prove we’re smart.”
→ Listen and Learn on FS (with show notes), Apple Podcasts, Spotify, watch on YouTube, or read the transcript.
Insight
Gerald G. Jampolsky on accepting:
“Not judging is another way of letting go of fear and experiencing Love. When we learn not to judge others – and totally accept them, and not want to change them – we can simultaneously learn to accept ourselves.”
Tiny Thought
The source of problems is blindspots. There is something hidden from us that, if we knew, would change how we thought and acted.
One of the best ways to reveal blindspots is simply to lengthen your time horizon.
A lot of good advice simply boils down to thinking longer term.
(Share this Tiny Thought on Twitter)
Etc.
Beautiful Mathematician → “I think intention and willpower … are highly overrated,” he said. “You rarely achieve anything with those things.”
Clever way to catch Cheaters → “Even if he had identified only 10% of X, he managed to get everyone who cheated to admit it and send a clear message at the same time.”
Finding Insights → Using Twitter to sharpen thinking.
P.S. Different types of Peru potatoes.