Newsletter 172. Which technologies were unpredictably pervasive? Plus, when does AI make you a lazy thinker, how to rank higher in modern Google searches, three people to follow, and three books to read. Truly transformational technologies It seems like every 15 minutes or so we hear about a new technology that will disrupt everything. Disruption…
I’ve just returned from a senior living community where my mother is a resident. I noticed that the residents, who are mostly in their 80s and 90s, divide into two groups. One group is comfortable with email, mobile phones, apps, and web sites. This group is less dependent on others and more socially connected and…
Do you know what you do? I don’t mean your job. You’ll change your job from time to time. I mean what you do. What you’re good at, what you enjoy, what people will pay you for. My career — and what I do This is what my career looks like (I promise, this is…
If you have the financial resources not to need extra money during your retirement, then you have a set of decisions to make. You can stop working and spend time on hobbies, travel, and grandchildren. Or you can keep working. But if you keep working, you should do what makes you happy. My rules for…
In eleven years of being a freelance writer and editor, I’ve developed a very tight circle of preferred freelance partners. These include: That is the complete list. It’s a very small list. This list is important because authors are constantly bombarded with offers for various kinds of help (and countless fake and scammy services as…
How much of your time do you spend, altruistically, for other people? If your answer is less than 20%, you’re headed for disaster. What giving back means There are an infinite number of ways of giving back. It’s perfectly fine if the way you give back helps you, too. It’s natural to participate in causes…
The thing I noticed more than anything else in the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks was the unity. For as long as I’d been alive, my country had been full of factions arguing with each other. After 9-11, there was a shared sense of hurt and anger. We had felt invulnerable; we weren’t. But we…
We lost Tim Curry this week. He died at age 80. Tim Curry knew exactly what he was — a showman. He wasn’t going to win you over with the subtlety of his acting. He was going to suck you in with a knowing smile and a plummy delivery. He wasn’t a character actor —…
Newsletter 163. Why the most successful people crack wise and act wisely. Plus, Berrett-Koehler’s hybrid imprint, Anthropic indelibly marks its content, three people to follow and three books to read. Silly serious One principle explains all of my success and the fact that I’m still working and happy past normal retirement age. I’m seriously silly….