Not for nothing
Gotta have pizzazz to survive and the highest encomium is "believing in someone before they believe in themselves." That's the gift that keeps on giving.
“Nothing like sitting down to tell your story to make you realise how much you don’t know”: Apple’s Use of Storytelling as a Leadership Tool. #prose
“The apartment described by Vincenzo Latronico in the opening pages of Perfection could be anywhere, but not anyone’s. The aesthetic is elegant, international, industrial — and distinctly millennial. Scandinavian furniture, exposed bulbs, Taschen art books and ivy plants trailing from shelf to floor are mindful of the trends of the present and nostalgic for a time that the occupants never experienced.
This is the Berlin home of young professionals Anna and Tom. It is an apartment that you restore to its “factory settings” rather than clean, before the ugliness of life reasserts itself on an Instagram-perfect picture. Indeed, the apartment is described to us from the images they upload to a subletting website — these are illusions of cleanliness, order and purpose that speak to aspiration rather than reality.”
“Nothing that says more about its creator than the work itself”: A Coder Considers the Waning Days of the Craft. #perfection
“In a world full of uncertainty, it’s the small, consistent actions — and the willingness to adapt, collaborate and learn — that can truly set leaders apart. Progress may not always be linear; but by focusing on what matters and staying committed, we can continue to drive meaningful change — even when things aren’t perfect.”
“Nothing would be done at all if one waited until one could do it so well that no one could find fault with it”: In Uncertain Times, Ask These Questions Before You Make a Decision. #progress
“Markets don’t stop moving while you sit around talking about what you “should” do. Interest rates shift, supply chains snap and new competitors pop up overnight. Businesses come and go; some grow and some shrink. Windows of opportunity close.
And then there’s you, who keeps hoping the stars will align and the so-called perfect moment will make itself known. But what’s often happening beneath that hope is actually fear and hesitation. You may claim you’re being strategic—really, what people are often doing is avoiding inconvenience and discomfort.”
“Nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things”: Change is no longer linear; we’re in a constant state of flux. #perseverance
“But let’s be clear: innovation today doesn’t mean just brainstorming clever products or pivoting your business model. That’s part of it. But the deeper engine of survival—and advantage—is mindset. Specifically, the ability to hold tension, navigate contradictions, and lead through paradox. The strategic edge now belongs to those with adaptive minds.”
“Nothing like seeing other people doing what you’re supposed to be doing”: Productive procrastination, or procrastinating productivity? #potter
“There is a crucial distinction to be made between the two forces that can take you away from the desk: inspiration and avoidance. When I walked with my old friend at the nature preserve, when I went to view the Louise Bourgeois, I was pulled by desire, energy, interest—there was psychic libido at play, a musing force—and this was why those activities were enjoyable in the moment, but also fruitful creatively.”
ICYMI - Nothing like Dubai Chocolate
“On the river Sam could escape family complications and fully emerge from Orion's shadow. With his restless soul, he found the mighty, rushing river his natural element and would long insist that his four years on the water were his life’s most enjoyable. He began to perfect his deadpan storytelling style, letting punch lines explode in the listener's mind, not on the speaker’s face, and his companions were often convulsed with laughter. “Piloting on the Mississippi River was not work to me; it was play—delightful play, vigorous play, adventurous play—and I loved it,” he said. The river never relinquished a drop of its romance. He spoke so nostalgically about it that his housekeeper later declared that “he loved the Mississippi almost as much as he loved a person, and he was always talking about it—what a wonderful river it was.” Those Mississippi years became the rapturous interlude of his life, distilling all the freedom of youth . “Oh! that was the darling existence,” he pronounced forty years later. “There has been nothing comparable to it in my life since.”
“The future author of The Gilded Age found himself at the white-hot center of silver euphoria. People traded worthless shares at blue-sky prices, and everybody believed his fortune was nigh. This was money madness in its purest form. In short, the perfect place for an aspiring writer to study human nature in its rawest form.”
― Ron Chernow, Mark Twain, 2025
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