“The most wisdom per word of any
newsletter on the web.”

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3-2-1: On the power of trees, celebrating others, and how to have better ideas

Happy 3-2-1 Thursday!

Here are 3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider this week...

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3 Ideas From Me

I.

"Your first attempt might not be very good, but nobody's early work is good. There will always be a gap between where you are and where you want to be. And the bridge between that gap is courage. The courage to look foolish in the beginning. The courage to show up again when your early work is criticized. The courage to look yourself in the mirror and say, "I realize I'm not good enough yet, but the only way to get better is to keep working on it."

​II.

"One of the more effective ways to force yourself to have better ideas is to create an artificial constraint.

For many years, I wrote two articles per week and it would often take me over 20 hours to complete each article. Then I said, "If I only had 2 to 4 hours per week to write my newsletter, what would I do?"

That artificial constraint led to the creation of the 3-2-1 newsletter, which has become an incredibly popular format. Sometimes you can improve by cutting your options off."

III.

"You should always be rooting for the people you know. Not only because you may need their support tomorrow, but also because it feels good to celebrate something.

Celebration can rescue your day—even if it is someone else's victory. Envy will ruin your day—even if you're actually winning."

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2 Quotes From Others

I.

Writer and speaker Katrina Mayer offers a reminder:

"Time spent amongst trees is never wasted time."

Source: The Mustard Seed Way​​

​II.

Minister and philosopher Lawrence Pearsall Jacks on living an aligned life:

"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between work and play; labor and leisure; mind and body; education and recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both."

Source: Education Through Recreation (1932)

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1 Question For You

If you want a plant to grow, you can fuss over it every day—watering, weeding, moving it toward the sun. Or you can place it in the right soil and let nature do most of the work. A seed planted in the right spot often thrives on its own. Life is much the same. Progress is not only about how hard you work, but also about where you decide to work.
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Where is your energy better spent right now: pushing harder or planting yourself in better ground?

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Until next week,

James Clear ​​
​Author of Atomic Habits​
Cofounder of Authors Equity​

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p.s. Stay dangerous. ​​

What else am I working on?