- Open Loops
- Posts
- Open Loops #113
Open Loops #113
Reza Saeedi
December 13, 2024
š Welcome to the 113th issue of Open Loops, a weekly newsletter to help you think, grow, and build momentum.
My name is Reza, and every week, I sift through over 100 pieces of content ānewsletters, articles, podcasts, books, and (way too many) tweetsāto pull out the most interesting, actionable ideas.
A very warm welcome to the 84 new subscribers whoāve hopped on since last week ā Iām grateful for your attention!
š on my mind
The biggest unlock in life isnāt a new strategy or skillāitās the people around you.
Some relationships leave you feeling lighter, sharper, more alive. Others quietly weigh you down, like carrying extra weight you didnāt even realize was there.
You can feel it. Some people make everything feel effortless.
Conversations flow, energy soars, and I walk away inspired. Then there are othersāwhere I leave feeling stuck, drained, like Iām moving in slow motion.
Is it me? Is it them? I wonder every time. But does it even matter? It is what it is. No point analyzingādiscomfort says enough.
When I lean into the relationships that spark something in me, everything clicks. Work feels easier. Ideas get sharper. Life feels lighter.
The ārightā people arenāt just connectionsātheyāre fuel for growth, energy, and possibility.
\\
With that, letās dive into this weekās musingsā¦
There is only one success ā to be able to spend your life in your own way.
Itās impossible to win the social-comparison game because thereās always someone getting richer faster than you.
Once you stop playing the game your attention instantly shifts internally, to what makes you and your family happy and fulfilled. It makes it so much easier to enjoy your money, regardless of how you choose to spend and invest it.
Taste goes by many names: intuition, conviction, self-trust, aesthetics. Roughly, it is the ability to make judgements about aesthetic value; to be able to tell the difference between what is and is not beautiful to you.
It turns out that the same āgood tasteā that applies to food, art, or media can also help find what is meaningful and worthwhile to spend our lives on.
šļø Iāve been diving into Alchemy (by Rory Sutherland), an ad exec and vice chairman of Ogilvy.
The book is a provocative exploration of how irrational thinking can lead to innovative solutions in business and life.
Itās an āattackā on a dangerous kind of logical overreach, which demands that every solution should have a convincing rationale before it can even be considered or attempted. Instead, it suggests taking the slightly silly approach from time to time.
Some highlights that have stood out so far:We don't value things; we value their meaning. What they are is determined by the laws of physics, but what they mean is determined by the laws of psychology.
Solving problems using rationality is like playing golf with only one club.
A rational leader suggest changing course to avoid storm. An irrational leader can change the weather.
After all, no big business idea makes sense at first. I mean, just imagine proposing the following ideas to a group of sceptical investors:
'What people want is a really cool vacuum cleaner.' (Dyson)
'. . . and the best part of all this is that people will write the entire thing for free!' (Wikipedia)
'. . . and so I confidently predict that the great enduring fashion of the next century will be a coarse, uncomfortable fabric which fades unpleasantly and which takes ages to dry. To date, it has been largely popular with indigent labourers.' (Jeans)
'. . . and just watch as perfectly sane people pay $5 for a drink they can make at home for a few pence.' (Starbucks)
i always admired the moon
it goes through
different phases of emptiness
but eventually
always ends up whole again
-when i grow up, i want to be like the moonāThe sure sign of an amateur is he has a million plans and they all start tomorrow.ā
ā Steven Pressfield, Turning Proā Maxime Barbier (@maximebarbier)
8:38 AM ā¢ Jan 11, 2024
you donāt become fully alive by killing off aspects of life you dislike.
you become fully alive by expanding until your life has space for all your fear, pain & sadness. eventually, you realize these are life itself. there is nothing apart from life. there is nothing except life.
Finishing up with this important reminder šļø
Till next week š
If youāve made it this far down and enjoy this newsletter, please share it with a friend (or eleven) who might also benefit from it.
How did you like this issue? |