7 Takeaways Archives - 7 Takeaways

A library with dust and cobwebs everywhere. Books are stacked on tables, covered in dust. The shelves have cobwebs. It's clear no one has picked up a book in ages.

Choosing to Be Functionally Illiterate – 7 Takeaways No. 257

Reading takes effort. Put on your pants. Inspiration vs cynicism, fight! Fools never listen. Just do things. Imposing our standards on others. Simplification vs. complexity, fight!

An individual receiving ideas beamed into their head from 100's of social media sites and mobile devices. They're sitting at a desk, staring glassy-eyed at a computer screen.

A Collection of Downloaded Opinions – 7 Takeaways No. 256

Local significance. Taking time to think. Thinking practice. Imperfection done beats perfection never seen. What can you learn? Where do your opinions come from? Embracing the chaos.

I Am in Awe and Therefore I Wonder – 7 Takeaways No. 255

Mattering in the very long run. Word salad. Dealing with “those” people. Sometimes just listen. Awe and wonder. Acceptance as meditation. Acceptance as strategy.

an individual calmly sitting with eyes closed on a park bench in the distance in a park setting next to a pond where ducks are swimming.

Embrace the Solitude – 7 Takeaways No. 254

Boredom is a good thing. Ideas in competition. Dumbasses yell at me. Manners? What manners? Question the ideas you hold dear. Everyone’s background music is different. Speaking and writing clearly.

an individual looking at a bowl of slop they've been served in a restaurant with a questioning look on their face

Amorphous Fast Casual Food Served in Bowls – 7 Takeaways No. 253

Paying attention to small decisions. Ask yourself some questions. Ask yourself some more questions. Knowing when to let go. Consuming slop isn’t new. Paying attention to what works. Intentional friendship maintenance.

a bright, cheery home library where a person at a desk has a book open to one side and is writing on a notepad in front of them

The Twin Pillars of Deep Thinking – 7 Takeaways No. 252

Prescient predictions. Puns as superpower. How words make you feel. Lying on the rise (honest!). Reading more. Reading, writing, thinking. Notice stuff.

Four vignettes stitched together in one image: An elderly man and his dog leaning gently toward each other. A little girl racing past on her tassel-bright bike. A snail carefully inching across a sidewalk crack. A single bright leaf unfurling.

Choose Joy – 7 Takeaways No. 251

Moar anger! Storm chasing. Hope power. Enough already. Rest up. Find joy. Find people.

an unhappy man with a series of identical clones or copies of him in a line standing behind him fading into the distance

Carbon Copies of Unhappy People – 7 Takeaways No. 250

All criticism is self criticism. The power of the random nut. One true purpose, or not. Re-examining your beliefs. Taming the savageness of man. Showing up. Friendship takes work.

A quiet suburban street contrasted with dramatic news on TV.

Boring Reality – 7 Takeaways No. 249

Reality? Meh. Safety versus courage. Mattering takes time. Sociological thermodynamics. Black, white, and gray. Gathering courage. You can’t handle the abundance.

a woman in a recliner in a home library smiling as she reads a book

Re-reading Something You Love – 7 Takeaways No. 248

Do the thing. Laundry cycle. Informed anxiety. Imperfection is gray. Anxiety as protection. Re-read something. Look for good news.