Happy New Year!
Last month I devoted a significant portion of this newsletter to Clay Christensen. As we begin the new year, it seems fitting to share another one of his quotes:
“A strategy—whether in companies or in life—is created through hundreds of everyday decisions about how you spend your time, energy, and money. With every moment of your time, every decision about how you spend your energy and your money, you are making a statement about what really matters to you. You can talk all you want about having a clear purpose and strategy for your life, but ultimately this means nothing if you are not investing the resources you have in a way that is consistent with your strategy. In the end, a strategy is nothing but good intentions unless it’s effectively implemented.”
How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, et al.
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This reminds me of the passage from James Clear’s Atomic Habits:
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. This is one reason why meaningful change does not require radical change. Small habits can make a meaningful difference by providing evidence of a new identity. And if a change is meaningful, it is actually big. That’s the paradox of making small improvements.”
I recently reviewed my highlights from this book. It’s loaded with good thoughts, but this is the one I zeroed in on:
“Habits are automatic choices that influence the conscious decisions that follow. Yes, a habit can be completed in just a few seconds, but it can also shape the actions that you take for minutes or hours afterward. Habits are like the entrance ramp to a highway. They lead you down a path and, before you know it, you’re speeding toward the next behavior.” (Emphasis mine)
— Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
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Have you ever thought about your life as a story?
I’ve been an admirer of Gnarly Bay’s work for a long time. This is one of my favorite short videos, and one I try to watch at least once a year:
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Another year is in the books, and I documented it in my 3rd annual Year In Review.
Here are a few books I have queued up for 2023:
- Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
- Life is in the Transitions by Bruce Feiler
- Endurance by Alfred Lansing (This is a re-read of one of my favorite books of all time.)