PROGRESSION: How to Think about Career Risk, Becoming Indistractable, and the Powerful Lesson I Finally Learned from the Tenth Leper
November 2019
December has arrived! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to enjoy time with loved ones. Our family is moving to Walnut Creek in a few days and our house is covered in boxes so this month’s email will be fairly short. I read two books this past month and highly recommend both.
Books, articles, etc.
Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal (Book)
Eyal’s first book, Hooked, was about how to build addicting products. Indistractable is about how to take back control of your life from said products. I’m very impressed that he’s making money on both sides of the equation. :) In all seriousness, this is a great book about how to take control in a world that is designed to prevent you from reaching your goals. Many books on this topic are good at the why but I love how the author made this about the how. Rather than simply tell you that your smartphone is bad and that it’s distracting you, Eyal provides practical advice on becoming indistractable.
Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 by Mitchell Zuckoff (Book)
Work took me to New York last month and I visited the 9/11 Memorial for the first time. I was looking for a book on the subject and I’m glad I picked this one. Fall and Rise tells a minute-by-minute history of September 11 and those impacted by the day’s events. This book was both heartbreaking and inspirational. My favorite part was the retelling of Flight 93 and the heroic passengers who stormed the cockpit and prevented the plane’s hijackers from achieving their horrific goal. I am in awe of their bravery and sacrifice.
Good Risk Bad Risk—How to Think about Career Risk by Dave Boyce (Article)
I really enjoyed this article. Boyce references Andy Rachleff’s Silicon Valley Career guide, which has been very influential in how I’ve evaluated opportunities, and he has a great perspective on how to think about career risk.
Observations
The Powerful Lesson I Finally Learned from the Tenth Leper
At church a few weeks back, one of the speakers gave a talk on the subject of gratitude. She included the story of Jesus and the 10 lepers as found in Luke 17. Here’s what I learned from it.
Gratitudes
I’ve found power in regularly expressing gratitude so I’ll continue the habit. I’m grateful for Lars and Tom who coached my daughter and son in soccer. The season recently ended and both kids had a wonderful experience. Having coached before, I know how much commitment and time goes into a full season. Neither was paid a dime for their efforts but the impact they had on the kids was huge.
Thanks for reading. If you've read anything worth sharing I'd love to hear about it. And do let me know if there's anything I can do to help you.
Nathan
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