Starting Strong in 2024: Embrace Lifelong Learning and Harness the Power of Goals
Hey There,
Welcome to first edition of Sherman’s weekly digest in 2024!
As my personal friends may know, since 2022, I've been dedicatedly reading and sharing my insights on Instagram and LinkedIn. My Instagram highlights from the past two years attest to my consistency and devotion to lifelong learning. This edition might be a bit longer than usual, but as we embark on the new year, I invite you to join me on this enriching journey. Let's dive in!
Embracing the Journey: The Power of Long-Term Goals
Ever contemplated the significance of a long and grand goal? Such a goal serves as an anchor of certainty to yourself and those around you. It empowers you with a sense of control over your life, becoming a pillar of stability amidst our volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world.
Reflecting on the profound words of Charlie Munger, "I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest, sometimes not even the most diligent, but they are learning machines. They go to bed every night a little wiser than they were when they got up and boy does that help, particularly when you have a long run ahead of you." It is evident that the key to progress and success is continuous learning and making incremental improvements every day.
You need a shorter feedback loop to keep yourself motivated and accountable
Maintaining motivation and accountability is key to achieving your goals, and an effective way to do this is through a shorter feedback loop. Take last year, for instance. I set various goals - reading, running, writing newsletters - and I was successful in many. But one goal eluded me: producing a quarterly report on intriguing topics such as AI and US-China relationship. The feedback loop was simply too long. I didn't get the immediate satisfaction that comes from ticking off a goal.
This year, I've made a significant change: I've broken my goals into smaller, daily tasks. Every day, I commit to a 'promodoro' of reading from my book list, pushing a little forward regrading the weekly digest, and posting on my 100-day writing challenge on LinkedIn. And to keep myself accountable, I've started keeping a daily habit tracker. The first few tasks are simple: weighing myself, stretching for five minutes, doing 30 pushups, and going for a short morning jog. These small victories at the start of the day energize me and set a positive tone.
This approach is reminiscent of the agile methodology, where projects are broken into small, manageable tasks to ensure progress and celebrate mini wins. It's a far cry from the "waterfall" approach where you might not see results until the very end. And there's a great sense of pride and accomplishment that comes from reviewing my journey and seeing how far I've come. Regular reflection reassures me that I am becoming a better person every day.
Exploring the Hidden Benefits of Broadcasting Your Goals
Have you ever come across those Instagram posts advocating for "disappearing for 5 months to learn skills and become a completely different person"? Well, I respectfully disagree with this approach. Here's why.
When you isolate yourself to learn something, you miss out on valuable feedback. How can you know if the skill you've spent months or even years honing is truly useful? There's also the issue of accountability. By broadcasting your goals, for example, sharing your progress daily on Instagram, you're holding yourself accountable.
Moreover, openly discussing your goals, particularly long-term projects, provides a point of connection for others. Imagine a friend needing to get you a birthday gift. Wouldn't it be easier if they knew what you're genuinely interested in? The same principle applies here. Your friends can offer support if they know what you're working towards.
In the professional world, where first impressions often define us, publicly committing to a goal and consistently achieving it can shape a positive perception of you. This isn't just about impressing others. It's about being true to your goals and showing progress.
Finally, a nugget of wisdom from Sam Altman's blog "How to be successful": Be bold. - “I believe that it’s easier to do a hard startup than an easy startup. People want to be part of something exciting and feel that their work matters. If you are making progress on an important problem, you will have a constant tailwind of people wanting to help you. Let yourself grow more ambitious, and don’t be afraid to work on what you really want to work on.” Working on challenging projects can draw people towards you, creating a supportive environment that fuels further progress.
The Graceful Farewell by Ryuichi Sakamoto （坂本龍一）
I want to share the remarkable story of Ryuichi Sakamoto, a globally revered musician. Sakamoto, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 at the age of 62, offered a profound example of maintaining control over our lives, even when confronted with death.
He curated a playlist of 33 songs to be played at his funeral, a gesture that displayed his grace and composure. This selection took over two hours to play. Just three days before his passing, Sakamoto added a final song to this playlist, "Breath". Despite living in a world where certainty is elusive, Sakamoto made the utmost effort to provide a degree of certainty that even transcended his existence. His farewell was not only composed and graceful but also resolute, standing as an inspiring testament to his strength.
Wrap-up thoughts: it’s not what we consume that defines us, but what we create
Alright, let's wrap this up with a bang! Remember, it's not about the shiny stuff we consume, but the valuable things we create that truly define us. Take it from Luo Zhenyu (羅振宇), the trailblazing founder of the DeDao得到 App (a.k.a. the Chinese versions of Blinklist and Coursera). During his electrifying New Year's Speech, Luo publicly announced his life-long project – a deep dive into the history of human civilization that he planned to commit to dissect one specific year in history every week from his 50s to 70s. Such ambition, such passion!
Oh, and did I mention that Luo's Dedao App has become my go-to source for learning and insights? It's been a game-changer! His words from that New Year's speech still echo in my mind, "Dream big, take small steps, walk a long road, endure hardships, never stop, and of course, don't rush. (發大願，邁小步，走遠路，磕長頭，不停頓，當然，也完全不必著急）"
This is our journey, folks. Let's keep moving forward, one step at a time, no matter how small. Let's make it count, and I wish you all a prosperous 2024!
Sherman
Things that I found interesting this week:
📚 Book — 坂本龍一 《我還能看多少次滿月》
🎬 Video — How to Make 2024 The Best Year of Your Life (youtube.com)
📃 Blog — What Oprah’s success can teach us about setting achievable goals… (gorick.com)
📃 Blog — How To Be Successful - Sam Altman
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