2-3-4 Friday

‘Seeking to spark the most potential within you per word of any online newsletter’

1 thought

Over the weekend, I was in Melaka, trying to take a break. When I first thought of getting out of Singapore for an extended retreat to think about the shape of our business, the first thing I thought was:

is this really necessary? After all, couldn’t I just stay in Singapore, in a quieter place, and get the same amount of insight?

I tried.

I went to a secluded park, but somehow, sitting there, calls came in, I had to sit in on meetings, and there wasn’t the space to think.

Space to think.

How important those 3 words are.

How much space do you have to think? You might not think it’s particularly important, and it’s only something for people who can afford the time to think.

But going to Melaka over the weekend was the most stupid thing I could have done.

I had sales I needed to close, people I needed to try to meet, and articles I needed to push.

There were people in my team that needed me to drive revenues. And when you have 4 people you have to feed, and you see them talking about their kids, their holidays, what they want to buy, then things get real.

But I still went.

I’m not saying that all of us should drop everything to go for a short trip away.

But at this point in our year, with 6 weeks left, it’s useful to think,

What have I done this year?

How do I want to push things forward?

1 talk

Doing is easy, thinking is hard.

Before you know what to do, think first.

1 tip

That night in Melaka, I found a golden man. He was decked in gold, with an entirely gold face. Was it painted? I didn’t know.

But as I walked closer, I realised that some of the threads on his suit were fraying. His trousers were cuffed, and cracked, probably from too much washing.

Things were wearing out.

His was a business model that depended on kids coming up to him, and giving him US$0.30 to take a picture with him.

As you can tell, it wasn’t that great a business model. And it might not last.

But he still kept doing it anyway.

This is the part where I say - you should reflect, or risk being like this Golden Man.

But I’m not.

In fact, I’m going to say that all of us will be like this golden man one day.

Where we are irrelevant, old, and shoddy. Our ideas no longer matter as much, and our skills are dropped by the wayside, and few remember us.

Investors call it the market cycle, others call it the life cycle.

What goes up, must come down.

But before things come down, we need to build in that space to think.

Not to do, but to think.

Doing is easy, thinking is hard.

A colleague recently joked about how Singapore tried to direct so much of people's paths that they even built a literal shelter on the walkways, to encourage people to walk on that, and not the grass. 

Of course, that's a joke. 

But it does belly the wider idea about how we are sometimes encouraged to just follow, and following the assumed norm is sometimes so fuss-free, and easy that we do not think there is another way.

The trap is thinking that we don’t have to think, and all we need to do is to take that latest upgrading course the government recommends. (Here in Singapore, we are very fortunate to live under a wise government that pays $500 for a SkillsFuture course in industries like AI, etc.)

Sometimes, we swing the other way, and think too much about what we need to do next. The balance here is knowing when to think until you’re 70% settled on the answer, and to execute with conviction.

Here’s a final story before we end.

Recently I met an older publisher who had been publishing books for 40 years. When I met him, he was still sprightly and young, with a spark in his eyes.

He wasn’t stopping, at least not yet. He still spoke excitedly about the excitement of bringing a book to life.

You would think that industry is dead, especially with the rise of AI writers, TikTok, and Amazon.

But for him, it’s never been more alive.

He’s thought a lot about whether he should exit the business, and do something else. But he didn’t.

Not because he was stupid.

But because he thought his way through, rather than smashing his way through.

If you take nothing away, take this. If you’re feeling some heat, some fear, some confusion about how to move ahead.

Pause. Step back to a place where you’re not known. Stay silent for 3 days.

Think.

And you will be surprised at what you find.

John

Live Young, Live Well - Work Your Love

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