I wrote a thing.

People aren't going to stop humblebragging. I wonder though whether my connections could try to add a little bit more value to their chest beating. For example, the next time you tell me how 'delighted' you are to be nominated for some phony industry award, perhaps also take the time to explain some of really difficult challenges during the period. Tell me why those challenges were so difficult for you, and your team, and your clients, and perhaps what helped you get through. Give me something I can connect to.

If LinkedIn Is All About Connecting .. Why Does It Feel So Lonely?

I loved reading this short guide to writing well.

Simple means getting rid of extra words. Don’t write, “He was very happy” when you can write “He was happy.” You think the word “very” adds something. It doesn’t. Prune your sentences.

The Day You Became a Better Writer

I’m a huge fan of infographics. The ability to use good design to convey complex information, particularly insight within big data, always impresses me. But there’s something about this particular graph.. I dunno .. I think perhaps it needed a second set of eyes before it went out.

Ahhhh! My eyes! My brain!

Those of you that know me know I’ve had a few jobs in my career. Not all of them allowed me to leave on good terms. Some of my exits I’ve later come to regret. I can’t imagine ever regretting a resignation letter this good though.

I do not understand how you have allowed this kind of behavior to go on inside your company in full view of the paper’s entire staff and the public. And I certainly can’t square how you and other Times leaders have stood by while simultaneously praising me in private for my courage. Showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery.

Resignation Letter

There’s something about this incredibly successful woman lamenting her falling-short that is comforting to me.

It was soul-crushing at first to realize that I wasn’t successful. But I learned while I was doing it that I didn’t actually want to start it — I had just internalized what I had been told I should do by other people.

Now my goals are more like intentions. They’re realistic and humane. It’s not about becoming a partner at a well-known fund or getting onto the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Those things feel sterile, and unmotivating.

Instead, I try to make a conscious effort to live each day in alignment with my intentions and values. My days of blind ambition are gone.

Deliberate Anti-Productivity (possibly pay-walled, but if so I think it’s worth a trial)

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Bennett.