I'm Interested [08] - 100 Ideas, Stoops, Fix The Education—Fix The World, Remote Work Predictions
Hello again!
I had a major product release at work today for a group of features we’ve been working on since November. So, slight delay on Issue 08, but it’s May and I’m still here writing!
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Remember—these aren’t special works meant for reading in a cozy nook with a clear head. This content is supposed to replace 10 minutes on Instagram one day, and hopefully turn into at least one good conversation with a friend. I encourage you to read I’m Interested when you’re standing in line waiting for something (and your phone is out because that’s what humans are conditioned to do now), while you drink your coffee, or when you take a few minutes of distraction before that next meeting (or during it).
100 Ideas from Atomic Habits
Sharath (@5harath on Twitter) did the dirty work of going through all of James Clear’s newsletters and distilling 100 incredibly insightful ideas into one thread.
For context, Sharath is the incoming Community Programs Manager at Product Hunt (yes, of course, I love Product Hunt), and James Clear is the author of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. I’d recommend clicking on the thread and reading through, but I’ve also added some of the best ones below:
6/ “You know yourself mostly by your thoughts. Everyone else in the world knows you only by your actions. Remember this when you feel misunderstood. You have to do or say something for others to know how you feel.”
15/ “When you say no, you are only saying no to one option. When you say yes, you are saying no to every other option. No is a decision. Yes is a responsibility. Be careful what (and who) you say yes to. It will shape your day, your career, your family, your life.”
17/ “If you want to take something more seriously, do it publicly. Publishing an article pressures you to think clearly. Competing in a race pressures you to train consistently. Presenting on any topic pressures you to learn it. Social pressure forces you to up your game.”
26/ You can be happy with who you are and still want to be better. You can love your body and still want to improve it. You can appreciate your financial state and still want to improve it. Progress does not require self-loathing. You can feel successful along the way.”
47/ “The way to attract good luck is to be reliable in a valuable area. The more you repeatedly deliver value, the more people seek you out for that value. Your reputation is a magnet. Once you become known for something, relevant opportunities come to you with no extra work.”
69/ “Knowledge is the compound interest of curiosity.” (Editor’s note: stay curious, folks!)
D.C.’s Comprehensive Plan: Less Cars, More Places to Congregate
Washington D.C.’s Comprehensive Plan. So ominous.
Is this a giant bureaucratic document that may or may not accomplish anything? Maybe.
Have I read these kinds of things end to end before? Even Arlington, VA’s Public Spaces Master Plan? Maybe.
I’m sharing it because it marks a recent major step by a U.S. metro center to commit to walkability and shared spaces for congregation. They’re even working to ensure new apartment buildings have stoops for promoting local community/neighborhood dynamics.
If the vision is carried out, it could turn D.C. into a place where fewer people drive cars, more pavement used for parking shifts to outdoor restaurant seating, and some people even pay a toll to drive downtown. The plan envisions a city where Metro stations are public gathering places, apartment buildings have stoops where people congregate, and taller buildings abut older single-family houses.
Maybe the Mayor had a chance to read I’m Interested Issue 05, where I wrote about rebuilding community, and continued the thread of building cities at human-scale. I love the concept of creating the “front porch” at an architectural scale. The ideal end state is to engage the ground-level ecosystem to liven up sidewalks and neighborhoods.
Disrupting Education: Synthesis School
Earlier this week, Synthesis School raised $5M through a large syndicate of individual investors/influencers to continue to grow its offerings and student enrollment.
Synthesis School is a venture born out of Elon Musk’s Ad Astra School, a disruptive education experience designed from scratch by Josh Dahn and his team to educate Elon’s kids.
Anthony Pompliano, entrepreneur, investor, and early Product Lead at Facebook, led an early seed funding round to get the school going. At the time of the initial seed, Synthesis had gone from $0 to $1 million in annualized recurring revenue in 3 months. Now, the company is doing more than $3 million in annualized recurring revenue.
But this isn’t about the money. This is about moving beyond the industrialized school complex and changing education for the better.
Pompliano shared a press release through his newsletter: Fix The Education, Fix the World.
“The traditional school system teaches our children rote memorization and measures success based on end of year test results. This is not the best way to prepare young children for the real world. The system leaves children lacking critical thinking skills, along with problem solving, independent thought, creativity, and teamwork experience.
Elon Musk realized this years ago and decided to build a school on the SpaceX campus for his own children. Musk partnered with Josh Dahn to create Ad Astra, which became the educational experience that he believed would be best for the children that he wanted to raise. Ad Astra (now known as Astra Nova) uses simulations, case studies, fabrication and design projects, labs, and corporate collaboratives to develop students that are enthralled by complexity and solving for the unknown.
The only problem is that the Astra Nova experience was only available to a select few families who could get into the program. But Josh Dahn, the co-creator of Astra Nova, wanted to bring this game-changing educational program to the masses.
Enter Synthesis.
Josh Dahn has teamed up with Chrisman Frank, an early employee at ClassDojo, to create a software based solution that puts children ages 7-14 through the one-of-a-kind program. These children are taught critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, creativity, independent thought, and teamwork. Simply, Synthesis prepares children for the real world in a way that the traditional education system does not.”
Mark Twain (and also a very smart friend of mine) once said: “I have never let schooling interfere with my education.”
That quote resonates with people because they did the vast majority of their learning exploring the world, socializing with other kids, playing team sports, building/breaking/fixing things, watching their family do things, experimenting, failing, and experiencing challenges outside of the small wooden desks at school—and we all know it.
To cite another classic mantra: All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. Is that because you had the open time and space to learn to share, compromise, resolve conflicts, paint, draw, make things with clay/other materials, ask questions, work together, apologize, play fair, etc.?
We’ve always known. Now someone is doing something about it.
If this concept fascinates or excites you, I highly encourage you to throw on this interview with Synthesis Schools CEO and Founder in the background while you’re making dinner or driving this week. It’s enlightening and exciting.
Remote Work: Predictions
To continue the theme on the future of work, I couldn’t help but share another great Twitter thread. This time from Chris Herd, founder and CEO of Firstbase HQ, a company that helps companies support their remote teams with technology, peripherals, and furniture, and then manage their upgrade and repair over time.
Bias disclaimer: Chris is ALL IN on the future of remote work since it’s the core of his business. He has a lot of insightful content about how remote work is going to affect hiring and quality of life.
Here are some of his predictions:
Hobby Renaissance: Remote working will lead to a rise in people participating in hobbies and activities which link them to people in their local community. This will lead to deeper, more meaningful relationships which overcome societal issues of loneliness and isolation.
(Editor’s note: Yes, yes, and yes. More hobbies, more pickup sports, more community in real life. When teams are asynchronous you will have more freedom of time and will be able to find new ways to socialize)
Written over spoken: Documentation is the unspoken superpower of remote teams. The most successful team members remotely will be great writers Companies are searching for ways to do this more effectively. Tools that enable others to write better will explode.
Remote Living: Work from anywhere RVs will become a huge business. Associated business parks and services will spring up. This will happen even more rapidly as self-driving tech emerges.
(Editor’s note: Also: frequently driving/flying on off-peak days like Tuesday - Thursday to see friends and family and then working remotely instead of using those precious PTO days and breaking the bank on travel costs.)
Health & Wellbeing: A lack of commute will give workers 25 extra days a year to do other things Workers will exploit the freedom they have to organize things more freely in their day. Afternoon runs, morning meditation, 2 things a lot of people I know now do
Closing with the Vibes
I’m trying to fill out your summer chillin’ playlists before it’s too late.
Thanks for reading and thank you for your support. Enjoy the rest of your week and stay curious!
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