Ben’s Bulletin Issue #4
I’m restarting my newsletter after reading Paul Millerd’s "The Pathless Path". I don’t know what it will do, I don’t know where it will take me. But I have the itch to put pen to paper, the fingers to the keys. I am urged to write and put my thoughts as foggy and unstructured as they come into words, giving them context, connection and leverage.
In Paul Millerd’s words: “I’m excited to find out [where this will take me].”
Quote
“Do I know where this will take me? No, but I’m excited to find out.” The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd.
The Practice: Execution, Productivity & Doing
Ambiguity kills execution. You don’t know where you’re heading, so standing still becomes an option despite being the worst of all.
To avoid ambiguity, fight it with clarity. Clarity on what done means, when done is done and how you’ll ruthlessly prioritise the important over the simply urgent.
Align every planned action with your strategy to be clear of ambiguity.
The Theory: Strategy, Planning & Learning
The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd has been a great read. On the one hand, it reignited my inner urge to be responsible for my pathless path. On the other hand, it helped me to acknowledge the risk that comes with sticking to the default path (doing what’s perceived to be a “safe” career and relying on one income stream, my salary).
Here are three examples of paragraphs that resonated with me because, when reading them, I felt as if I wrote them myself:
On work cultures that don't excite but suck:
I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my career there, let alone two years. No one seemed to care about anything. My colleagues had been coming to the same desks for decades and were more interested in their retirement portfolios than working and told me that if not for the benefits, they probably wouldn’t show up. [I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my career there, let alone two years. No one seemed to care about anything. My colleagues had been coming to the same desks for decades and were more interested in their retirement portfolios than working and told me that if not for the benefits, they probably wouldn’t show up.
On burnout:
A German report on burnout found that when burned out, people “may start being cynical about their working conditions and their colleagues…” and may “…distance themselves emotionally and start feeling numb about their work.” [A German report on burnout found that when burned out, people “may start being cynical about their working conditions and their colleagues…” and may “…distance themselves emotionally and start feeling numb about their work.”
On prestigious work:
Paul Graham, the founder of a startup incubator and mentor to thousands of young people, sees this attention as a trap. In his view, prestige is “a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy.”