Best of 2024

Podcast

Ryan Holiday: How to Win the War with Yourself [The Knowledge Project Ep. #208]

I am sure The Knowledge Project helped me, actually, showed me how to become a better person: at home and at work. This 1h 39' episode is densely packed with life-changing advice. Some quotes from the passages that speak the most to me:

You’ve said before that life is always whispering at you, and if you’re not paying attention, it’ll eventually scream at you.

Yeah, there’s a Latin expression called festina lente, which just means “to make haste slowly.” We often look for shortcuts, and it takes longer than if we’d just done it slow and steady.

And this is a very core idea of Stoicism. Epictetus said, “It’s not things that upset us; it’s our opinion about things.”

that’s what sports are; they’re a metaphor for any kind of pursuit of excellence. [Sport] is just the most visible.

The problem is that the financial upside is always clear. Opportunity costs are sometimes clear, but often not clear.

We have this idea that crying is not manly. Right? Being overwhelmed with your emotions is somehow a weakness, but we make an exception culturally for anger.

Oh, I hold myself to these unrealistic expectations in every domain. I want to be the best father. [...]I want to be the best at whatever it is that I’m doing.
[...]
It is interesting how this is basically every woman’s experience up until very recently, and almost no men were thinking about these things.

Book

Wiring the Winning Organization by Gene Kim, Dr. Steven J. Spear (IT Revolution)

I think we will look back at this book as one of the most influential books on wiring (I really can't think of a better word) business for success. Best enjoyed while thinking of Westrum Generative Culture and Team Topologies.

IT Revolution also has this Step-by-Step Guide to Wiring a Winning Organization from the Middle which is a great complement to the book.

Software