The era of outthinking and outworking
You don't have to outwork people, but you have to learn to outthink them. That's where the value lies.
To employers, knowledge workers, parents, and students alike, adaptability and continuous learning have become indispensable in navigating the ever-evolving landscape of the modern world.
But this idea of 'outworking' is not as important as we used to think it is.
The modern era presents new opportunities, technologies, and solutions to solve modern problems. And nothing could really stop the tremendous amount of hours put into research and development by major firms like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google.
Think ChatGPT.
Soon knowledge will become commoditized. Then the world will become full of people who think exactly the same, do exactly the same and talk exactly the same.
But what is never going to be commoditized?
My take is going to be judgement.
It is precisely why I write like my journal entry. I write in a way that best allows me to articulate my creative ideas, thoughts, and judgement.
Many of my ideas are expressed in a way that's directed to me, and me only.
It's me shouting out my frustrations and perspectives on life.
It's me telling myself that good things take time and I have to do the boring work every day regardless.
It's me reminding myself that no matter what happens in life, no matter how hard it is, no matter how much I resent it, I have to show up.
I have to learn to love myself before I can project the love energy to others.
Showing up for yourself is a highly respectable trait, not for everyone to know, but for yourself.
To think clearly, your mind has to be clear
Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace. Watch the turmoil of beings, but contemplate their return.
Lao Tzu, Chapter 16 of Tao Te Ching
Becoming empty is the road to becoming still, and in life, stillness is key.
At its core, emptiness in the mind creates inner stillness and mental clarity.
Sometimes, emptiness is full of possibilities.
Sometimes taking a day off is what you really need to gain mental clarity, stillness, and perspective.
Alvis, X
Since then I've created a system to write:
Idea → Journal (or Reminders App on iPhone)
Journal → Tweet
Tweet → Thread
Thread → Newsletter (Use the tweets that resonate with me the most or performed the best)
Newsletter → More tweets
Usually, I would batch-make 5 to 10 content per session every 3 to 4 days.
This creator system has created so much leverage for me that nothing could really stop me from doing what I do.
The more I tap into this system, the more time leverage I have to think, create, and divert my energy to more meaningful pursuits – like doing videos (coming up soon).
The takeaway here is to free up more time to really think and create a system around it (do more by doing less).
Empty the mind to see things clearly.
Empty the mind to let the great ideas flow in.
Empty the mind to be open, non-judgemental, and non-attached to outcomes.
Your friends and family don't understand what you do, but do it anyways
"Don't work so hard. Don't work till so late. You need to rest. You can't do this. This is too risky", they said.
Do not be fooled by the words of others for they are programmed by their own experiences, beliefs, and backgrounds.
The only reason you're not achieving your life goals is because you put people's opinions ahead of yours.
You put so much value into what they have to say, and completely disacknowledge your own.
The hard truth is: You're trapped inside a societal loop that you believe what everyone else said and don't even bother fact-checking it yourself.
It's time you realize you don't have to count on others to make your dreams work. You have to count on yourself. You have to believe in yourself. You have to be you.
The difference between discipline and obsession
Discipline is doing what most people won’t.
Obsession is doing what most people can’t.
Discipline itself illuminates our limits while obsession transcends them.
However, to unveil the thresholds of human potential, both are needed.
Life is an infinite game (a game with no set rules, with no predefined participants), and to finally understand that life is indeed a game will allow you to drop short-term desires for long-term fulfillment.
The idea that a game between strangers with arbitrary rules and no practical consequences matters, is a social hallucination.
As I've mentioned leverage many times here, how can we actually take action?
Here is the two-step habit to do every day to get what you want in life:
Think of high-leverage activities that you can do to get the maximum output from the minimum input
Execute activities that would make you 1% better every day.
Once you understand the core concepts of leverage, it'll become second nature to you. Whatever you see, whatever you think, whatever you act on, you'll put leverage at the forefront.
With that being said, still, very few are willing to put in the reps to get to where they want to be despite wanting to become someone who is highly expert in a field.
To overcome that, I've been following these four steps since the beginning of my journey as a basketball captain. Just like shooting a basketball, in life, we have to follow through on the tasks we tell ourselves we will do. The cycle goes like this:
1. Show up for yourself
2. Doing the work (Not half-ass)
3. Follow through to the end (Use leverage to its fullest)
4. Rinse and repeat
Ending it here.
AI Tools to Boost Your Productivity
Fathom - Free app that records, transcribes, and summarizes video calls from platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams. Extremely useful for internal team and client meetings.
Taskade - With built-in AI content writer, video chat, mood boarding, mindmaps, and many more, this tool is perfect for marketers.
Tome AI - Save hours on design and never use default templates again. Build presentations simply via prompts.
Cognosys AI - Create AI agents that optimize over time. It's able to provide personalized AI agent services, data analysis, trend predictions, and personalized recommendations.
Superhuman AI - AI-powered email built for high-performing teams. It's compatible with Gmail and Outlook email accounts and is available for macOS, iPhone, iPad, and Chrome using a browser extension.
LeapAI - Build the next-genAI workflows in minutes without code by integrating apps via API.
In partnership with Figma
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Personally I used Figma daily to create my creatives and prototypes, and has been a game changer in my design process. Figma's intuitive interface and collaborative features have significantly streamlined my workflow. Try it out if you haven't.
Top Learnings of the Week
Beyond content creation using GenAI: Over the week, I have learned about how GenAI can be beneficial not just to writing but aspects like journey conversions, acquisition, experiments, and workflow automation. Especially for journey conversions utilizing GenAI chatbots. GenAI chatbots are so much more conversational and intuitive compared to rule-based chatbots, but it really depends on your specific use case. Read this Threads’ posts of how limited the use cases of GenAI are for most people.
ChatGPT’s laziness was due to its system prompt: In my Threads, I talked about how ChatGPT is becoming lazier and lazier. This means that it's not responding with the same level of detail, promptness, or relevance as expected. If you have GPT-4, you might have noticed this yourself. It's not that the agent doesn't want to provide the best and most accurate answers, but rather it is just trying to follow the list of rules (system prompt) it has been given. Recently, Sam Altman told the public that GPT-4 should be less lazy after a slow start on its New Year’s resolutions. Indeed, it is.