Reading to Get Ahead

I consume a lot of information every week:

• A pile of blogs
• Email newsletters
• News
• Social media 
• Whatever book I’m working through (two per month)

All pretty much for better or worse. I go through seasonal information diets—phases where I quit sources or add a bunch of new ones to my plate. There is a part of me that aligns with Warren Buffett’s approach. He’s rumored to spend over half his day reading. He credits reading for a lot of his success. I love hearing that the habit of a billionaire aligns with what I like doing:)

I read what interests me, what I feel obligated to, and for perspective. I read and research for personal obstacles (entrepreneurship, body composition, money). I also dig in deep on indulgences, topics that interest me. I’ve read a ton about rural poverty in the US, the accompanying heroin epidemic, cultural appropriation of American cuisines, and human migration.

I also read for fun. I spent a long time only reading nonfiction, under the false premise that fiction wouldn’t or couldn’t help me. 

Should you read this much? I have no idea. There is some of what I consume that is 100% helpful. There is a lot of what I read that is mediocre, unclear, or a waste of time. There is some of what I read that is wrong, damaging, or sends me in directions that take me away from my goals or waste resources. 

There are two topics that I highly recommend that have paid huge dividends personally and professionally: money and diet/exercise.

Money

I wasn’t raised with a lot of financial literacy. I have spent the last ten or so years developing my financial literacy. Sparing you the highs and lows of my own education, I have gained confidence and a sense of security while significantly reducing my own stress. Flat out, better manage my assets, and leverage money to work for me makes me a better husband, friend, employee, colleague, brother, and son. If you’re already there, congratulations, really. It’s life-changing.

Beyond you, there are two substantial career bonuses. The first is that money is the language of industry. A firm understanding of what money is and how it works makes you more valuable and useful in your organization. The second is understanding how people interact with money. There is a tremendous amount to be learned regarding human behavior and psychology related to money. 

A quick example is that many people have a short-term mindset regarding money—leveraging money for short-term pleasure instead of long-term security or happiness. This dichotomy has a lot of parallels that relate directly to sustainability. 

Using the lens of money might open you up to new insights.

Diet/Exercise

Diet and exercise have been important to me for a long time. They are a big part of how I manage depression. That said, I make tons of mistakes, chase fads, and experiment. Every time I think I have it all figured out, things change. It took getting fat in my thirties to accept that this was going to be a lifelong endeavor. Just like money, your energy (diet) and fitness (exercise) are personally and professionally necessary. You should have an approach and philosophy to diet and exercise. It doesn’t have to be crazy.

Again, you get to “feed two birds with one scone” here. The world of diet and exercise is fascinating and provides numerous insights into behavior and psychology. Just like money, there are tons of lessons in how we humans approach health. 

One of my biggest struggles and a source of significant personal pain is taking the credit. Tooting my own horn. Patting myself on the back. Self-congratulations. Saying “I” instead of “we,” “us,” or “our.” 
I was raised Catholic in the Midwest, which has its influence, and I am sure there are many other sources/excuses. The phrases we grow up with can be hugely telling,

Cream rises to the top. You’ll get yours in the end. Nobody likes a braggart. You KNOW how well you did; why do you need their recognition.

I think a lot of it is my personality, and it has been a challenging mindset to address. For years, I have had a scarcity mindset, and the fact is, there is more than enough limelight to go around. 

I played soccer when I was growing up. I had enough innate talent that I started and typically played most of the game (this was long before I learned how much a little extra training, skill-building, and discipline could pay off). My position was sweeper/stopper, a defensive position that supports both the midfield and defense, kind of a leader/expediter for the back half of the field. I was really good at was breaking up offensive plays.

All details aside, this is classic invisible work to the untrained eye. The few coaches who knew soccer appreciated my value, but most coaches were just dads/moms doing their best and spending more time with their kids. They didn’t see my value, and I never helped them understand my value. I avoided the limelight.

To add to this, there are usually a handful of memorable plays in a season, much less a game, and the glamorous moments are often owned by the forwards taking the shots on the goal and the goalie putting it all out there. The limelight naturally gravitates to the last person to touch the ball.

As tortured as sports analogies can be, team sports are a bunch of humans trying to do something together, which describes life pretty accurately. This circumstance plays out again and again. Whether you’re supporting a boss/manager/client get a big win, facilitating a meeting, or just keeping the wheels on the proverbial bus. This is important work, institutional lubricant, organizational hygiene, and the 80% of the work behind the scenes.

Like everything, there is a dichotomy here. Many times, your job is to work behind the scenes quietly. You’re paid to make your clients look good, whoever they might be. To consistently execute on the basics that help your organization thrive, grow, gain positive recognition. There are also moments when your work is critical when something would never have happened without you.

I’m classically type A, which means that I usually miss these moments in the present. I’m on to the next problem/opportunity. I feel pangs of jealousy, envy, anger, or regret when someone else gets the pat on the back. Sometimes these people have actively stolen the limelight (which is the person I don’t want to be!), and the majority of the time, the credit goes to whoever is obvious or present, just like those youth soccer leagues. Per Marcus Aurelius, “Never ascribe to animosity what can be ascribed to apathy.”

So how do you get better at stepping into the limelight?

I’m a work in progress but I will share what I’ve learned.

First, you need to understand your value. This goes beyond your title or job function. What is the role you typically play in projects or organizational dynamics? Visionary? Details? Risk mitigation? Cat-herder? Keeper of the deadline? Guardian of the scope? Contrarian?

Once you start to understand this “functional title,” you should try it on. A lot of us do this unintentionally. We say things like “as the grammar nerd” or “as the numbers person.” You have the opportunity here to put your words in other people’s mouths. Your colleagues might start repeating your self-appointed “functional title.” This is where you own the narrative! One caveat, make sure you don’t pigeonhole yourself. Try to align your “functional title” with an organizational value or mission.

Bigger picture, I highly recommend keeping a wins board. Good teams do this at least twice a year. We take a few minutes and write down every win we can think of across the team. These are big wins like major projects completed, and “small” wins like fixing a lingering process or getting consensus from another organization. We read the PostIts out loud. It is an amazing reminder of how much the team is doing, where the value is coming from, and all of the work that is going on underneath the hood for those headline wins. Finally, it helps us all pause and appreciate the good work we’ve been doing.

We keep these wins to a spreadsheet that we reference for reviews, justifications for promotions, team presentations, and resumes. It is straightforward to think you will remember your big wins, which you might, but like anyone else, you might be shining the limelight in the wrong place.

My motivation for writing this blog is to show my work. I am sure you all had teachers or coursework that required you to show your work. Your teachers wanted you to demonstrate topical mastery, show your thinking, or identify where and why you went astray. I’m here to do the same. Demonstrate mastery and share some mistakes (both intentionally and undoubtedly, unintentionally).

What do I get out of this? Writing helps me think. It forces me to explain myself, sometimes poorly. 

Thank you for reading:)

Like everyone, I am a hypocrite. While my vocation is sustainability, I do a lot of things that aren’t congruent with what some would consider a sustainable lifestyle:

• I live +20-miles from work and commute roughly three days a week
• I eat meat and dairy
• I eat out of season produce, some well beyond a 100-mile circumference (avocados!)
• I love national and international travel
• I drink lots of coffee
• I love long, hot showers (and I live in the second most arid state in the USA)
• Lots more

As obsessed with sustainability, self-improvement, and optimization as I can be, I have my flaws. A few of these flaws are bad habits, and most of them are intentional. They come back to my personal goals, priorities, or compromises I make to live the life I want to live in this particular phase.

There is a lot of judgment and assumption when it comes to what makes a sustainable lifestyle. It is effortless to sit back and pick apart what someone else is doing. It is also easy to walk around feeling guilty every day.

I hear it all the time. People apologize to me for printing or having a bottle of water or straws. Sometimes a printed handout makes a meeting a whole lot more productive. Bottled water and straws are a bit of silly luxury, but they are symptoms of system failures. Are these the big wins? Are they worth the guilt? 

My philosophy is that a sustainable lifestyle is a journey. A lot depends on your resources, how you spend your time, your goals, your family life, your health, and your life phase. In the arc of your life, priorities, capacity, and access are all dynamic.

Where do our judgements come from?

“Cease being a monkey” Sam Harris

I have been and will continue to be a broken record when it comes to sleep, nutrition, and exercise. This is my tripod of stability, and your mileage may vary. Here are the basics:

Sleep

Try for eight hours every single night, no exceptions. The majority of people need this much sleep. Some need more. Some need less. Odds are, you are not the exception;) Beyond duration, sleep quality is critical, and there is a ton of great writing on this topic.

I spent years thinking I could get by on five to six hours of sleep. I thought I was an exception, which is absolutely untrue (as verified by a third party). I spent my mid-thirties improving my sleep habits, and I am sure it will be a life-long focus. 

If you have trouble getting to sleep, here are a few tips:

• Go to bed tired. As obvious as this sounds, this is my number one tip. Get up early, work hard, exercise hard, and live full days.
• Build habits that help you unwind at night.
  • Cut activity one hour before
  • Limit blue light
• While alcohol or cannabinoids might help you get to sleep, they are notorious for reducing the quality of your sleep.
• Natural sleep aids:
  • 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar + 1 Tbsp Honey + Hot Water
  • Nighty Night Tea by Traditional Medicinals
  • Reishi Mushroom Elixir by Four Sigmatic
  • 5 mg Melatonin – especially helpful for timezone changes

Finally, we just upgraded to a great mattress. It makes a huge difference. 

Nutrition

I am not going to tell you what to eat specifically. I have done plenty of dumb things with my diet and a few smart things. Here are the smart things:

• Prioritize for compliance. 
• Learn how to cook (I started with The Moosewood Cookbook, loved The 4-Hour Chef, and Ramit Sethi’s & Heather Pierce’s Fitillegent Food)
• Meal prep for the week. 
• Outsource (shopping services, Amazon Subscribe & Save, and even a personal chef)
• Hired a coach

Supplements

The definition of a supplement is something that completes or enhances something else when added to it. In a perfect world, my diet and environment would provide everything I need. Your world and environment and goals are different than mine. These are the supplements I take:

• Ascent Protein
• Ashwagandha 
• Choline (per my genetics)
• CoQ10 (again, genetics)
• Vitamin D3
• Daily Multivitamin
• Krill Oil
• ZMA
• Host Defense, MyCommunity – Immunity

At some point, I will swap my multivitamin for Athletic Greens as a more complete insurance policy. But yeah, this a geriatric level of supplementation and there is no way I actually need this much:) I share it because this is where I’m at after years of experimenting with supplements. Examine.com is my go-to tool.

Exercise

At a minimum, you should be moving your body intentionally four times per week. Most research on high-performers cites seven to nine workouts per week. If you don’t have much of a fitness habit, this sounds crazy. Exercise is both prescriptive and personal so I won’t tell you what to do but I can share what I like:

• Mountain Biking
• Hiking
• Vinyasa Yoga – (e.g. corepower yoga)
• Lifting (I’m a big fan of Fitbod)
• Peleton

Outside of having every workout on my calendar, there are three things that keep me exercising:

1. I invest time upfront, so I think about exercise as little as possible.
   1. Good systems for packing clothes, showering, having the right equipment, etc.
   2. Someone else plans and tracks my individual workouts for me.
2. I have goals, usually in the form of races.
3. I have fun.

Exercise is a habit and it is critical to your success and your personal happiness. Build it.

“What if I do the opposite?” Tim Ferriss

Contrarianism might be one of the tools that I use the most. I am constantly asking:

• What if we did the opposites?
• What if we turned this inside out?
• What if we turned this upside down?
• What if we did this in the reverse order?
• What if we started at the end?
• And many other variations. 

Developing Contrarian Thinking 

I’ve been told that it is a product of my undergraduate education. I’m not sure if that is causation or correlation. Does Colorado College train contrarians or attract contrarians? Probably both.

I like contrarian thinking because while humans aren’t natural systems thinkers, they are great at finding the choke points in systems and pushing the wrong way. Contrary thinking might sound like the easy way to correct this tendency (it can be), but I think it does an even better job of deconstructing the system, enhancing systems thinking. 

Rules & Constraints

I’m a rule follower, and I hate getting into trouble, which doesn’t seem to keep me from pushing boundaries. 

One of the bigger revelations in my life is that I made many of my own rules up—rules about relationships, ownership, career, education, leadership, etc. I carried a lot of scripts from my family, my formative years, the people I associated with, and the culture I grew up in. 

Understanding what law is, versus a policy, versus a rule, versus a norm (right & wrong), versus mores (right & rude) is important. These are cultural constraints. Some of them have tribal or biblical roots, while others are niceties. It would help if you understood your constraints and what boundaries you’re flirting with. 

Constraints act similarly. Projects are bound by timelines, resources, desired outcomes, and the laws of the universe. Constraints bound what is possible.

Working with/around rules and constraints is where creativity occurs, and in many cases, creativity will improve your outcomes.