Knowledge Archives – Page 2 of 2

Generalist vs Specialist: Range by David Epstein, Book Review

David Epstein's book is solidly grounded in the non-fantastical real world. It makes the case that people who have experience in a number of different areas (generalists) have some advantage(s) over those with deep expertise in a single field (specialists). This is the case even as many career fields insist that their professionals get ever more and more hyper-specialized. This can cause those specialists to miss new ideas or connections to other fields which would have been beneficial.

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August 28, 2023

Book Reviews / Books / Knowledge / Life Advice / Productivity and Self-Improvement / The Library

Essentialism Book Review

What I like about the advice given in Essentialism is that it isn't some trite quick fix. Instead, it seeks to give the reader a foundation for determining what is actually worth devoting time and energy toward. Spoiler- not most things. If you've been into the self-improvement niche for a while, you've probably heard the phrase, "If you don't decide what to do with your life, someone else will" or some variation of this. But how many of us continue to say yes to our boss, our friends, etc when offered yet another project, another "opportunity", another activity?

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July 19, 2023

Books / Elon Musk / Habits / Knowledge / Life Advice / Real World Heroes / The Library

Most Impactful Books 2020 Edition

This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase through one of these links I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services to readers that I really believe are valuable.

In a year that saw the coronavirus, racial and political strife, environmental disasters, and an embattled economy, these books provided hope, wisdom, sage actionable advice and a welcome respite from life’s troubles. These 2020 must read books will open your mind to new possibilities and will quite possibly change your life!

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December 12, 2020

Environment Design / Garage Gym / Knowledge / Making / Skill Acquisition / The Lab / The Mechanic

Why You Should Build Your Own Bumper Plate Toaster Rack

You can do it, yes YOU! Build a DIY Toaster Rack!

I recently read Adam Savage’s book, Every Tool’s a Hammer, and it absolutely reinforced a notion I have that is one of the founding beliefs of this site. As we go through life, we build beliefs about who we are, what we do, and what we’re capable of. We’re usually wrong. What I mean, is that through these beliefs about who we are, we also decide, sometimes falsely, who we’re not. We end up needlessly placing self-limiting beliefs on ourselves.

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May 31, 2020

Character Traits / Knowledge / Motivation / Skill Acquisition

Just Start Already!

When I was in college and just starting to write music of my own, a professor at the university gave me some sage advice. “Usually when people start writing they write a bunch of bad charts. And It’s best just to get that out of the way as soon as possible.” Lol. I love that! But what the heck did he mean? Was he telling me I was going to be a bad composer!? Don’t try because you’re going to write a bunch of bad music??

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May 1, 2020

Knowledge / Motivation / Productivity / The Library

My Top 5 Podcasts (27 recommendations!)

I have 30-50 minute commute to and from work everyday. During that drive I like to draw inspiration from a number of different sources, to include talk radio, music, and audiobooks. I typically pick something that’s not just going to be fun to listen to, but that’s going to put me in the right mindset to perform and achieve my goals at work and in life in general. To that end, the medium I keep coming back to most often are podcasts. What a great option to explore all kinds of topics, from health and fitness, to productivity to understanding how we learn! I LOVE PODCASTS.

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March 10, 2020