Agalia Tan

Your superpower is outlasting everyone, especially when the excitement of it being fashionable has long faded. You just keep going.

Find another register of enjoyment

Life is so dull if it’s just “like” or “dislike.” Maybe the movie is riveting but you still hate it. Can you find “begrudging enjoyment?” You simply do not understand the outfit of that kid on the subway. Can you locate “would be compelling to someone who is not me”? How do you feel about the song that represents ... See more

Absorb or create a critical vocabulary

If you don’t have any vocabulary for a medium, then the film or song or dish simply appears as a blur of impressions, it’s hard to draw lines and isolate the particular areas and causes of enjoyment. So, having a better vocabulary for a given medium doesn’t just make you sound smart, it increases the resolutio... See more

I had a conversation a few days ago with one of the most rockstar women I know. She said: “I don’t want to lead my own thing. I want to be a first follower who passionately supports a mission I care about, and enables teams to do their best work.” Her level of awareness and conviction has lingered on my mind. It made me realize that a lot of peo... See more