One of the greatest joys of my life is that I often get to spend time in rooms surrounded by big thinkers. Rooms with an extraordinary idea density.

There are certain times when, even long after leaving the room, the ideas linger in my mind. I wrestle with them to develop my only lens for each.

This piece shares 24 short ideas I can't stop thinking about.

Question: Are you embracing your Pattern Interrupts?

Framework: Zeigarnik Effect

Success isn't what you think. You're sold a glossy, filtered version of success. The reality looks different.

In today's piece, I want to share the harsh truths about success—the reality that no one sells you (because it wouldn't sell very well).

13 harsh truths about success nobody told you: (1) You will have to endure long seasons of loneliness; (2) Your anxiety will scale proportionally to your ambition; (3) To shine in the light you have to embrace boredom in the dark; (4) The climb is always better than the view from the summit; (5) You have to pay your rent daily; (6) Adaptability will always beat planning; (7) Your imposter syndrome and self-doubt never go away; (8) It will always take longer than you expect; (9) The good and the bad get amplified; (10) The money only solves money problems; (11) There's no such thing as later; (12) You never really figure it out; (13) You'll never feel successful unless you create your own definition of success.

Question: Does your situation need to change, or just your outlook on it?

Framework: The Cobra Effect

“Hard times create strong men, strong men create easy times, easy times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” - G. Michael Hopf

We live in an ease-obsessed world. To build the life you want, to earn the things you want, your resistance is the cost of entry.

Remember: Nothing worth having in life should be easy. The things that matter in life are hard to build.

Question: Are you allowing self-protection to become self-rejection?

Framework: Hedgehogs vs. Foxes

It's easy to allow your weeks to spiral out of control as you try to navigate your personal and professional responsibilities. Fortunately, I developed some tricks that helped me fight back.

4 tiny habits that dramatically improved my weeks: (1) Defining what a "win" looks like, (2) Creating an awareness of my energy, (3) Executing a daily management sprint, and (4) Investing 30 minutes in a vision.

Remember: Extraordinary change is simply the result of ordinary acts done well, over and over and over again. Always take the small things seriously, because small things become big things.

Question: How can you decide to be happy today?

Framework: The Ludic Fallacy

More intensity is not the answer. To achieve the things you want in life, you must pursue them with balance. Unfortunately, in the modern era, to pursue things with balance is almost indistinguishable from laziness.

The single greatest challenge for any ambitious person is reframing slowing down as an essential part of your performance, not a reward for your effort.

When you're constantly moving fast, everything is a blur. When you slow down, you start to see the world more clearly.

5 strategies you can use to slow down more regularly: (1) Take pride in unitasking, (2) Take more breaks, (3) Take a power walk, (4) Embrace the power of no, (5) Find your garden.

Question: What are the beliefs that no longer serve me?

Framework: The Dartmouth Scar Experiment