Feed

They’re the people who make things that are wonderful, original, weird, emotionally resonant, and authentic. As our feeds become flooded with instant, AI-generated content, the most dangerous thing you can do is play it safe.

Spend more time in rooms where you don't feel like you belong. Those rooms are all around you, but your fear of being “found out” holds you back from stepping into them. Remember: That feeling of uncertainty, fear, and discomfort is usually a sign of growth.

The problem certainly lies in a lack of funding. *“I said it at the Revolution.Aero event in 2022, just after our first flight, it is investment. Whether VTOL, CTOL, whatever, we are all pulling from the same pool of money. So, unfortunately it is the same problem for everyone right now,”* says Davis.

In his first term, Trump ran up the deficit with glee; and in the first 30 days of this term, his spending per day is $4 billion higher than Biden’s was a year ago. Go read Riedl for how Trump is set to bankrupt the US still further.

So here’s my question: what’s something you could do, right away – not in the tense spirit of Facing Your Fears, but merely by stepping gracefully out of the way, with all your usual overcomplicating nonsense, and letting action happen? “Life completely unhindered by anything manifests as pure activity,” the Zen teacher Kosho Uchiyama observed. What action could you simply decide *not to hinder* today? I bet there’s something. Go on. Act fast.

I really do think anyone could do anything if they work hard at it. You get better at things if you actually try them.

The 70% rule: If you’re roughly 70% happy with a piece of writing you’ve produced, you should publish it. If you’re 70% satisfied with a product you’ve created, launch it. If you’re 70% sure a decision is the right one, implement it. And if you’re 70% confident you’ve got what it takes to do something that might make a positive difference to the increasingly alarming era we seem to inhabit? Go ahead and do that thing. (Please!)

if we want to live in good societies—where most games are positive-sum and decency is the norm—there is no substitute for having a sufficient number of people who are actually good, or struggling to be so.

Marcus Aurelius would say that doing less “brings a double satisfaction.” You get to do less and you get to do those things better. As we enter 2025, consider what you might need to say “no” to in order to say “yes” to what matters most.