A useful tool to find your mission in life is the Hedgehog Concept, developed by one of my favorite business thinkers, Jim Collins. It’s very simple. Find the intersection of the following three circles What are you deeply passionate about? What can’t you stop thinking and talking about? What can you be the best in…
Tag: Purpose
Jim Collins: 10 Suggestions for Young People
1. Build a personal board of directors: based on character, not accomplishment. Mentors you don‘t want to disappoint. People on your board don’t need to know that they are there. 2. Study yourself like a bug: what is this bug? What is this bug genetically encoded for? It’s all about non-judgemental empirical observation. Define your…
Be a Useful Member of Society
Every morning, I answer the question “What is important to me?” One of the answers is “Be useful”. Benjamin Franklin has been teaching it 300 years ago. Charlie Munger is teaching it today. The idea is simple: Be a useful member of society. Remember Charlie Munger’s Three Basic Rules: Don’t sell things you wouldn’t buy…
The Cosmic Perspective
I am fascinated by space and the universe. Recently I discovered Google Maps Space View. You can access it by going to Satellite view and then zooming all the way out (only on desktop). You can turn the earth, see where the sun is and what parts of Earth are bright or dark. As you…
Top five regrets of the dying
A nurse has compiled the top five regrets of the dying. I have read the summary often, and I also plan to read the book. I’m drawn to such insights, because they help me to break out of my day to day routine and help me re-focus on what is truly important. Here are the…
10 Life Lessons from Navy SEAL training
Here are ten lessons from William H. McRaven’s 2014 commencement address, which I can highly recommend to watch. 10 Life Lessons from Basic SEAL training: 1. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.“If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.” 2….
Passions Are Toxic
A passion is a “strong and barely controllable emotion”. The Late Latin word passio litteraly means “suffering” (from Latin pati “to suffer”). Who enjoys suffering? I don’t. The use of the word has been declining until 1980, with good reason. Then the trend reversed. It became a mantra of the tech/startup world. You’ve got to…
Contemplating Mortality
It’s healthy to reflect on the nature of impermanence, especially our human mortality. The Stoics recommend to prepare for your own death every day. During one of my daily reflections, I looked it up. Each day, 150,000 humans die. That means that in 2019, more than 50 million people will die. It’s good to remember…
Asking big questions
As the year is coming to a close, it’s the perfect opportunity to ask some big questions. I recommend to do it in writing: Which people in my life are toxic? How can I reduce contact with them? Which relationships do I want to nourish? Am I investing my time & energy into the things…
The 100-Year Company
When reading Let my people go surfing by Yvon Chouinard, one idea stuck with me: The 100-Year Company! The idea is simple. Pretend you are building a company that will flourish 100 years from now. Then use this mindset for your short- and mid-term decision making. Here is Patagonia’s 100-Year mission:“Build the best product, cause…