In this episode, we explore why we need to remember the friends and allies we already have - and how to find new ones too. It’s been hard, the past few years, for almost all of us. Whether it’s pandemic lockdowns, the loss of loved-ones to the reasons behind those lockdowns, the loss of so much else to the idiocies of those cursed
Insightful thoughts, Tom. Thank you for sharing them. Over the last couple of years, I experienced a number of times both ways, which led me to think about the word "enough": interesting enough and interested enough to take a specific action (whatever threshold stands behind enough). The other aspect is the oscillation of interest over time and across different contexts. As I sense, our motivational drivers are modulating these oscillations.
A hands-on example is my "interestedness" in your work and ideas shared on the Tetradian blog and here on Small Changes: for years, I was interested enough in your blog posts to curate, read, digest/outline, and visually map them out, while trying to understand the bigger picture of your mesh/network of thinking around RBPEA, while lately, given the changes or (temporary) suspension of some of my interests, my interest faltered in Tetradian posts, while I find most of your Small Changes posts enjoyable interesting. So much so that I'm often wondering how I could arouse other people's interest in your thinking besides occasionally sharing some of your posts here and there with a limited number of people (while I'm in a similar social situation as you).
Sometimes I think that Substack is more than just a walled garden; it is a walled graveyard where many valuable ideas end up dying. Same with LinkedIn comment threads, which are often insightful, but at the same time, hard to find and, when finally found, hard to follow. Other times I'm contemplating along the "the medium is the message" line: how your writings, considering how foundational they are, could be made more accessible in addition to the current "plain text"? In this sense, I greatly enjoyed your YouTube video series, especially those involving hand sketching or Lego figurines.
Amanda Palmer reminds us that it's important to ask. Benjamin Franklin also turned an enemy into a friend by asking them to lend an obscure and valuable book. Friends and allies ask for help, ask for time, ask for insight. Asking should be part of the formula.
This reflects my experiences last year starting the Bridge and The Campfire.
I'm curious about your interested and interesting framing. I was certainly doing something I was passionate about without being attached to any outcome.
Thanks Tom. And thanks Bard for helping me find the connection 😁
Insightful thoughts, Tom. Thank you for sharing them. Over the last couple of years, I experienced a number of times both ways, which led me to think about the word "enough": interesting enough and interested enough to take a specific action (whatever threshold stands behind enough). The other aspect is the oscillation of interest over time and across different contexts. As I sense, our motivational drivers are modulating these oscillations.
A hands-on example is my "interestedness" in your work and ideas shared on the Tetradian blog and here on Small Changes: for years, I was interested enough in your blog posts to curate, read, digest/outline, and visually map them out, while trying to understand the bigger picture of your mesh/network of thinking around RBPEA, while lately, given the changes or (temporary) suspension of some of my interests, my interest faltered in Tetradian posts, while I find most of your Small Changes posts enjoyable interesting. So much so that I'm often wondering how I could arouse other people's interest in your thinking besides occasionally sharing some of your posts here and there with a limited number of people (while I'm in a similar social situation as you).
Sometimes I think that Substack is more than just a walled garden; it is a walled graveyard where many valuable ideas end up dying. Same with LinkedIn comment threads, which are often insightful, but at the same time, hard to find and, when finally found, hard to follow. Other times I'm contemplating along the "the medium is the message" line: how your writings, considering how foundational they are, could be made more accessible in addition to the current "plain text"? In this sense, I greatly enjoyed your YouTube video series, especially those involving hand sketching or Lego figurines.
Amanda Palmer reminds us that it's important to ask. Benjamin Franklin also turned an enemy into a friend by asking them to lend an obscure and valuable book. Friends and allies ask for help, ask for time, ask for insight. Asking should be part of the formula.
This reflects my experiences last year starting the Bridge and The Campfire.
I'm curious about your interested and interesting framing. I was certainly doing something I was passionate about without being attached to any outcome.
Thanks Tom. And thanks Bard for helping me find the connection 😁