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Should I kill myself, or have a cup of coffee?
“Should I kill myself or have a cup of coffee?” said the existential philosopher Albert Camus on the burden of choice — there’s one to be made in every area and every moment of our lives. And the more choices and options we have, the harder it becomes to make a good decision. While Camus…
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The better you get, the less you care
I loved this super-short The Daily Stoic podcast episode by Ryan Holiday. He elaborates on an aspect that most people won’t agree with, particularly those who haven’t achieved much success or are still dilly-dallying with “stuff they want to do.” It’s something I’ve observed among the senior-most leaders and C-level executives having worked with them for…
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The 7 powers of purpose
Bumped into this great list by Dan Rockwell (of the Leadership Freak fame) the other day that talks about the seven powers of having a purpose. From my experience, a leader without a purpose is essentially like a ship without a rudder — directionless. Here are the seven powerful things having a purpose can offer…
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Don’t be an ass!
Jean Buridan was a 14th century French philosopher who spent an entire career focusing on logic and the works of Aristotle. He’s most famous for this thought experiment known as ‘Buridan’s ass,’ the conclusions of which satirizes his own philosophy of moral detrminism. The experiment basically illustrates the paradox in the conception of free will…
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A different world
A different world cannot be built by indifferent people. Peter Marshall There’s no better way to define a transformation leader — they’re not indifferent. They feel things that others don’t feel. And their passion, energy, and tenacity fires everyone around them to rise up and stand up for a cause. Think of Marcus Aurelius, Abraham…
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Trade offs vs compromises
They’re not the same and they definitely shouldn’t be used interchangeably. But both do suck. A comprise isn’t a win-win as most would like you to believe. It’s anything but that. I believe it’s the lowest form of agreement in which one party wins while the other gets to live with something less than satisfactory.…
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On alternatives
There are many and one for anyone and everyone out there. Yes, you too! So long as you keep looking. Or just make one up! I used to be a heavy metal and hard rock aficionado during my teens but got fed up eventually by the time I was 20. Then I found alternative music,…
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Drucker’s decision-making process
Almost everything in life essentially boils down to either making a choice or doing the damn thing. The challenge is that most of us either stay stuck at the cusp of doing it or making a choice. Years ago, I bumped into Peter Drucker’s decision-making framework in HBR. It literally changed my life. For the…