create a “stop doing” list

There are only so many hours in a day. As your to-do list grows, you cannot keep accumulating more tasks. Solitude gives you the space to reflect on where your time is best spent, which provides you with the clarity to decide which meetings you should stop attending, which committees you should step down from, and which invitations you should politely decline. This is something that Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, has been advising people to do for many years.

Mike Erwin

In a Distracted World, Solitude Is a Competitive Advantage. Harvard Business Review. October 19, 2017. 

See also, How Do You "Stop Doing?" by Jim Collins. jimcollins.com 2017.

and Saying 'Yes' To 'No': The Power Of A Stop Doing List by Robert Glazer. Forbes. Sept. 12, 2018

all politics is personal

I believe all politics is personal, because at bottom, politics depends on trust, and unless you can establish a personal relationship, it's awfully hard to build trust.... I have always followed my father's advice: Never tell a man what his interests are. Be straight and open with him about your own interests. And try to put yourself in his shoes. Try to understand his hopes and his limitations, and never insist that he do something you know he cannot. It's really just about making the effort to make a personal connection.

Joe Biden

Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose. By Joe Biden. Flatiron Books. 2017. Preface. 129

rules for happiness

Rules for Happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for.

Attributed to Immanuel Kant

Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose. By Joe Biden. Flatiron Books. 2017. Preface

The real source of this quote may be George Washington Burnap in his book “The Sphere and Duties of Woman: A Course of Lectures” 1848. See post on Who Said That Really? on Tumbler. Dec 7th, 2013

only the curious

Only the curious have something to find.

Sean Watkins

Song lyrics can be surprising sources of insight, just like this line from Nickel Creek’s song “This Side” (written by band member Sean Watkins) off their 2002 album of the same name. The track chronicles the story of a person experiencing things for the first time, including all the fear that comes along with change. Slowly, the person becomes more comfortable and can explore new opportunities with confidence. It inspires us to approach the world through a lens of curiosity — to strike out and find and do new things. Because if we remain at home, in a place where we’re comfortable, we’ll never discover anything bigger or find the courage to be comfortable with anything else.

Daily Inspiration. March 27, 2021. Inspiring Quotes. 

the enemy of the good

There is no point … in letting the best be the enemy of the good. 

The Economist, March 10th, 2001, p.20. 

Taken from Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien. Voltaire, Dictionnaire Philosophique (The Best Is The Enemy Of The Good).