Monday Musings (6/3/2019)

Hey everybody,

Good news! I’ll be hosting a live writer’s workshop with Tiago Forte (founder of Forte Labs) and Chris Sparks (Founder of Inflection Point) on July 1st in New York City. 

The event is the official launch of our new in-person workshop, The Creative Process. I believe the internet will transform the way we write, learn, and connect with people. Powered by the internet, I’ve developed a system for writing consistently and cultivating creativity on-demand. And now, I’m ready to share it with you. 

The Creative Process is a radical new approach to work in the modern economy. The smartphone in the pocket can energize your writing life. By changing your relationship with information, you can avoid writer’s block, clarify your thinking, establish domain expertise, and write faster. In this workshop, we’ll show you why the writing process is not as mysterious as it seems. We’ll go through each step of the writing process: finding an idea, researching, organizing ideas, sorting through assets, and putting the pieces together into a finished product. This writing workshop is dynamic and interactive. By the end, you’ll have a trusted and repeatable system for on-demand writing. 

Space is limited and tickets might sell out fast. We’ll be rolling out more details in the next couple weeks. Since you’re a Monday Musings subscriber, you have first dibs on signing up.

If you’re interested, you can sign up here.

Personal Introductions

The success of your next friendship might come down to a single factor: the quality of your introduction. 

Our first impression has an outsized effect on our enjoyment of an experience. For example, guest ratings of a hotel stay are largely determined by the quality of the check-in experience (a short line, kind staff, and a ready room). People with positive check-in experiences rate their entire stay better. Their rooms are “nicer” and their food is “tastier.” But a bad check-in experience dampen the rest of the hotel stay. 

Personal introductions are like hotel check-ins. The quality of an introduction dictates the success of the relationship. 

Conversations are like a fire. They need a spark. Until you have the spark, you have nothing. No connection. No momentum. But once the spark ignites, it’s easy. You just need to keep the fire going. Last month, when I was in Missouri, a Monday Musings subscriber (thanks Andy!) introduced me to a top Silicon Valley venture