Articles Discussed

This is the post that kicked off the "grit" discussion. Interesting observation.

Here's the reply that turned the "grit" post into a fascinating discussion. Before reading this, I never thought of grit in terms of the ability to learn.

Another good perspective on the state of Christian movies (and art).

My latest poem, on the depths of wonder.

Share

Subscribe now

“The Woods”

The springtime woods are a wonder in that
they ever grew magnificent and tall.
A muffled-echo, an empty habitat
inside and under the shade of all.
Noises unseen in moving silence,
you can hear the stillness where time sways.
Breezes brushing through green vibrance,
with life—the canopy covers decay.

Reading the Poem

Forårsstemning i skoven (Springtime in a forest) by Godfred Christensen, 1916, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Inspiration

“The Woods” came from two ideas for poetry prompts combined into one.

Prompt 1: “Look outside and write what you see.”

Prompt 2: “The woods.”

The result being I looked outside and saw the woods, full of wonder.

Internal Tensions of Majesty

The poem plays on tensions between the senses, emptiness, fullness, life and death—capturing wonder and everything between.

Written in the Spring, my mind was on rebirth after winter. In one way, it could symbolize finding your purpose again, after the old things have passed away on the forest floor. And the new life covering all as green leaves soak in the sun.

That said, you cannot mention a forest without a sense of danger in the unknown.

That’s life. Exploration and discovery does not come without risk.

Even so, with the danger in adventuring into the unknown that is life, it’s worth it.

And we can still trust in the Maker of Heaven and Earth through it all.

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
    let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
    he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Psalm 96:11–13 (NIV)

Articles Discussed

Monday dopamine motivation?

Doc Hypnosis

Go Get Your Dopamine

Dopamine release feels good because it’s a key part of your brain’s reward system…

Read more

2 days ago · 4 likes · Doc Hypnosis

There are two types of Servant Leadership: Sacrificial and Subservient.

Jesus modeled sacrificial leadership when he served His Disciples and submitted to God's will for His life.

A reframe:

Old frame: Servant Leadership
Reframe: Sacrificial Leadership

Noah Revoy | Coach, Author, Public Speaker

Servant Leadership and the Collapse of Christian Marriage Culture

There is a phrase repeated in churches across the English-speaking world with the confidence of settled doctrine…

Read more

3 days ago · 14 likes · Noah Revoy

Share

Subscribe now

Article Discussed

Matthew 26:27–28:20 (NIV)

Matthew Chapter 26

Matthew Chapter 27

Matthew Chapter 28

Share

Subscribe now

My livestream experiment broke "containment" with real life friends. It was well received, and I got good feedback, so win-win.

Discussing the possibility of subconscious persuasion—or is it our response to something else?

Plus, reading a poem at the end.

Articles Discussed

What does this mean for how AI is used in context of religion? What if AI is weaponized further? This brings up a lot of questions. Not sure if it's AI being persuasive as much as it's people deferring to the illusion of authority and expertise...

Several life lessons here on how we set ourselves up for success or open ourselves up for attacks.

“I got phished. Here’s exactly what happened.”

This makes me think of subconscious persuasion—maybe we already see the intertwined messages, but aren’t aware? Either way, this exercise helps us see what is there that we would otherwise miss. Creating art from art.

Mandy Morris

How I Make an Erasure Poem

Erasure poetry is one of my favorite ways to write because it feels less like inventing something from nothing and more like discovering something that was already hiding in the page…

Read more

a month ago · 67 likes · 26 comments · Mandy Morris

One of my favorite poems by Claire.

Lanterns in the Dark

Interlude: A Winter Poem

Sometimes life brims up and you have to swim. It was shortly after I completed my year-long challenge to myself to post a poem a day for a year, in late summer, that life brimmed up for me. So I’ve been quieter around these parts the last couple months. But I’m very glad to be here, and excited to share this poem, a different tone than my usual! Here’s …

Read more

5 months ago · 75 likes · 21 comments · Claire Adderholt

Share

Subscribe now

Hard to believe I've been running this experiment for over 2 months now.

Spent some time on one article this morning, discussing wisdom, confidence, and influence. It's a good one!

Article Discussed

Not caring what people think about you (not being needy), on a personal confidence level, is one of the secrets to succeeding with people you care about. People want wisdom from those comfortable in their area of influence, with authenticity and security.

“Leave Me Behind”

Share

Subscribe now

Articles Discussed

This was an intriguing read that barely scratches the surface, though I get the sense that there's far more to it.

This topic is transferable to leadership, team and business culture, etc. Culture principles apply across the board, regardless of context.

“Virtue Signals vs. Rising Sun: The Failed Western Crusade to Woke Japan”

I used to regret my English degree. Now, I'm thankful for it more than ever. In the age of AI, the future is the human experience—and AI prompting.

Skip the CS Degree. Major in English. Engineering school taught us to write code. It never taught us to write. Now writing is the whole job.

Share

Subscribe now

Articles Discussed

Implementation makes or breaks innovation.

a16z

Institutional AI vs Individual AI

America | Tech | Opinion | Culture | Charts…

Read more

25 days ago · 270 likes · 22 comments · George Sivulka

Besides saving time and money, I believe this has the potential to increase positive mental health outcomes—and reduce prescription drug abuse. "Artificial intelligence will see you now: Bots to prescribe mental health drugs"

Artificial intelligence will see you now: Bots to prescribe mental health drugs

We have the opportunity to steward our potential and purpose like never before. It's up to you to put the tools—and your talents—to work.

“How I created Rosie's mRNA Vaccine Protocol”

Share

Subscribe now

Articles Discussed

No idea if this is real or not, but I love stories like this that help you keep a sense of wonder.

12,000-year-old pyramid ruins uncovered off Louisiana coast could be evidence of a lost city

Fascinating article on Greek Yogurt, of all things. Short and sweet.

You can just write things.

“What’s the Deal with Fat-Free Greek Yogurt?”

An article about reskilling as AI changes work. Valuable insight, and the first time I've seen what I would call "reframing your talents" in the wild. (I assume this is more because of cost/benefit for businesses...)

Why the math says AI won’t steal your job: this exec found $49k savings per person from reskilling. It’s saved $55 million and counting

A lot of wisdom in this short article. Check it out, and give yourself a reset to refocus!

Christopher Lynn | The Systems Dad

The 36-Hour Reset

I genuinely don’t know how most guys do it without a reset. We’re all running hard—the career, the side projects, the church commitments. On a good day, it feels like success. On a Friday in late March, it usually just feels like I’m failing everyone…

Read more

11 days ago · 1 like · Christopher Lynn | Systems

Share

Subscribe now

Articles Discussed

This has been true for all of human history. The "signals" change, but human nature stays the same. Also, pretty sure social media is amplifying this.

Social Trust Collapses When Reputation Is Too Easy to Fake

Please do your due diligence to vet any company or person before you give them your deepest, darkest secrets or struggles.

“You told BetterHelp your deepest secrets. You had no idea who was listening.”

Fascinating article discussing transparency. What we think of as a principle to instill trust, if not stewarded well, will create anxiety that dilutes and destroys trust.

The Snow Report

The Surprising Science of How To Ruin Trust In Your Relationships

Three years ago, on a random March day, a flurry of text messages started blowing up my phone…

Read more

17 days ago · 50 likes · Shane Snow

This is great news—and an excellent example of rebuilding trust.

“SECWAR Announces Reforms to Chaplain Corps”

Share

Subscribe now

Articles Discussed

This is an excellent article on confirmation bias traps. What's in here can help you be aware of persuasion attacks, and help you respond. (And it’s this person’s first published article—one of my favorite parts of this livestream is highlighting new or “regular” people’s work.)

“The Hitlerization of Politics: On the Final Works of Scott Adams”

Is this Roman propaganda?

2,000-year-old artifact may be evidence that Romans found New World — a thousand years before Columbus

The transferrable leadership principles here are gold.

“Think Like a Green Beret: Countering Propaganda Daily”

Share

Subscribe now

Plus, sharing a story of hiring (and firing) that is an example of sharing life change (leadership growth) in a leadership lesson.

Enjoy!

Articles Discussed

Found this article on what you can learn from hiring poorly to be educational. If you build teams, you will eventually run into this.

Better Call Kong

What I have learned from hiring poorly

I am likely hiring someone today who will be perfect for what I need…

Read more

24 days ago · 4 likes · BowTiedKong

Share

Subscribe now

Articles Discussed

The amount of consistency it takes to produce excellent poetry “on the spot” is nothing short of what it takes to make poetry “first nature.” (Now apply this to anything else you want to succeed at.)

TheMadSpacePoet

A Quick Look at Spontaneous Typewriter Poetry

Read more

a month ago · 42 likes · 7 comments · j j b r i n s k i

Seems like this would be obvious, but it's still interesting to dive more into why stories are better.

New research reveals why storytelling works better than bullet points in online dating

Love systems like this. Transferrable to far more than just swimming (and why athletics can be training for life).

Consistency in growth and integrity keeps you able to think on your feet. How this nurse overcame a bureaucratic obstacle in a way that still followed the "label policy" is a perfect example.

“Blast Through Obstacles by Knowing Who You Are”

Share

Subscribe now

Articles Discussed

Check out the website below to subscribe to County Highway, or find where you can pick up your copy of, “America’s only newspaper.”

County Highway, "America's Only Newspaper"

Share

Subscribe now

Plus, posts on new seasons and new opportunities.

Articles Discussed

It can be tempting to think, with all our technology and knowledge, that every discovery like this has been made. Great example to go for it.

Alexander the Great’s long-lost city Alexandria located after nearly 2,000 years: ‘Absolutely stunning’

What I like about this article is how connections are shown between several seemingly "unconnected" topics. Good reminder for more than just geopolitics and war strategy.

Campbell Ramble

Don’t Take the Bait

The War for Hormuz…

Read more

19 days ago · 136 likes · 12 comments · Alexander Campbell

I was surprised this article got into the psychology of pricing. Some good advice in this.

“The ultimate guide to Creator Subscriptions”

Excited to see where this new (rebranded) publication goes!

Bright Lines with Zach Monroe

Introducing: Bright Lines

Hey Everyone…

Read more

a month ago · 7 likes · 4 comments · Zach Monroe

Brandon was one of my first connections when I came back to social media, and I love how he’s making the choices to focus on what matters.

Order Within

I’m Okay — A Letter to My Community

To everyone who has reached out — the emails, the DMs, the comments asking if I’m alright — thank you. They’ve meant more than I can say. This community surprised me. You surprised me. And you deserve an honest update…

Read more

a month ago · 28 likes · 25 comments · Brandon Ward 😎

Share

Subscribe now

Articles Discussed

Saw this on my For You, and said, “Sure, why not, we’ll discuss it.”

This article does make you think.

“The Dome Is a Province”

It’s amazing that we can engineer dreams.

Scientists use “dream engineering” to boost creative problem-solving during REM sleep

I have to question the methods on this one.

“It tended to happen most often when participants viewed both familiar and unfamiliar pictures.”

So, most often no matter what?

Everyday mental quirks like déjà vu might be natural byproducts of a resting mind

Vince does an excellent job of confessional writing that doesn’t feel too much like a journal entry. I always enjoy reading his work.

Anvil & Ink

Writing for Tomorrow

I enjoy a very specific pain that comes from exercise. It’s called DOMS—delayed onset muscle soreness. It’s the body’s announcement of a good workout, those micro-tears in your muscle fiber signaling for inflammation and healing…

Read more

25 days ago · 1 like · Vince Mancuso

Articles Discussed

Reminds me of the strategic deceptions leading up to D-Day.

“How the US and Israel deceived Iranian leadership and China”

I wonder why this means for how we can deceive ourselves…

Psychologists implant false beliefs to understand how human memory fails

You can learn a lot about synonyms from reading this article. Word choice matters, from business to marketing to poetry, and this article helps shine light on why.

“Excessive Terms: The Cultural Evolution of English Synonyms”

Share

Subscribe now

Articles Discussed

I believe you can still forgive and pursue justice, and that the best way to command respect is to be confident and likeable. Still, intriguing article that's worth the read, even if you disagree, because it gives you an idea of how people are interpreting things...

“Forgive Nothing, Take No Disrespect, Make Them Lose: The Definitive Guide to Deal With Bad People.”

Does loyalty blind you into putting up with things you shouldn't? Are you making that decision based on discernment, pattern recognition, or loyalty? Questions this article brings to mind.

Share

Subscribe now

Articles Discussed

Heartwarming story. And it makes me wonder how much of the father-son relationship here is fueling the longevity? Purpose matters.

Aw, shucks! 99-year-old dad helps son, 80, finally crack free oysters promotion at Alabama restaurant after 50-year wait

This was a fun list to read through the filter of personal innovation—how it applies it our lives, outside of social media.

18 Tips To 100x

Share

Subscribe now

Articles Discussed

Mandy Morris

Wives, Submit? Keep Reading.

Few passages have been quoted more quickly and read more poorly than this one. It has been used to defend, to accuse, to explain why Christianity must be abandoned, and to insist it must be preserved, all while the larger argument it belongs to is left largely untouched. Long before I ever studied it carefully, I had already formed an opinion about what…

Read more

a month ago · 83 likes · 31 comments · Mandy Morris

J. Chase Davis

They Promised Basic Training. They Delivered Group Therapy.

There’s a tell in men’s ministry that most men sense but can’t name…

Read more

a month ago · 34 likes · Chase Davis

Share

Subscribe now