Life Lessons

Jamie McCarthy via Irregulars irregulars@lists.tbtf.com via easysrs.org

Sun, Jul 13, 2025, 3:00 PM

to IRRegulars

I would expand on this by pointing to Wilhoit's Law, from 2018. I think this portion of it is exactly correct:

Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit:

There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind,

... See more

In more than thirty years as a writer, editor, and publisher, I have, to my best reckoning, introduced, abridged, issued or reissued, and read nearly every major work of inspirational literature produced or translated into English.

Based on experience, the “rules” of effective living—at least those I consider befitting an ethical and accountable... See more

More quotes to ponder

I am always on the lookout for sentences that make me think. Here’s a recent collection:

If you want new ideas, read old books. — Shane Parrish

To understand recursion, one must first understand recursion. — Stephen Hawking

Thousands of people don’t like what I do. Fortunately, millions do. — James Patterson

Everything that needs

... See more

Bringing goodwill to the conversation

Education is distinct from learning. Organized education is a form of indoctrination and certification. Sometimes it leads to learning, but not always.

You can win at education by figuring out what’s on the test (or what the boss wants) and parroting it back. In fact, that’s the easiest way to do so.

Learning is... See more

Resilience is a practice

It’s easy to imagine that we should do our work and then, when it doesn’t work as we hope, improvise to fix it.

But perhaps our work is to show up ready and willing to deal with a future we didn’t expect.

I keep writing about it because we all need to keep thinking about it. Especially me.

My friend Ava curated this list:

... See more

Notes to myself

1. The system can be changed and normal is not permanent


2. Find the smallest viable audience


3. Pick your customers, pick your future


4. Outdated maps might be worth less than no map at all


5. Reliability is a superpower


6. There are no side effects, merely effects


7. There’s usually an opportunity to be of service


8. Silence is an option, and so is leadership


9. T

... See more

Productive meetings

This 1-minute video by John Cleese is all you need to know about how to have productive (vs unproductive) meetings. One minute! Applies to zoom meetings, too. — KK