Jason Shen
@jasonshen
Exec coach helping founders and creative leaders rebound and reinvent so they do more of what matters most.
Jason Shen
My motivations here are simple.
In 2023, I'm trying to write more emotionally vulnerable and sensory-rich stories from my life. (From last year: What Getting Sued, Scammed, and Arrested Taught Me About Resilience). In a world where seemingly intelligent advice and nonfiction abounds, the power is in the personal. In addition, expressive and per
... See moreJason Shen | Cultivating Resilience • 138: Effortless Essays
Make your version of a copy
Second, I'm trying to create content that is more human and expressive. This is why I've been leaning into video—it's much easier to show emotion and create a deeper bond with your audience.
Jason Shen • 131: How to Be Human in the Age of Generative AI
Other studies published in 2006 and 2009 showed something similar—that people who read a lot of fiction tend to be better at empathizing with others (even after the researchers had accounted for the potential bias that people with greater empathetic tendencies may prefer to read novels). And, in 2013, an influential study published in Science found... See more
Ceridwen Dovey • Can Reading Make You Happier? | the New Yorker
Evidence that reading makes you more empathic
This is an example of what’s called a “divergence test” (as opposed to a test like the Raven’s, which asks you to sort through a list of possibilities and converge on the right answer). It requires you to use your imagination and take your mind in as many different directions as possible. With a divergence test, obviously there isn’t a single right
... See moreMalcolm Gladwell • Outliers
Some people are stronger at converging than diverging
Wanna know how they get birds to stop chirping on movie sets?
Cultural legacies are powerful forces. They have deep roots and long lives. They persist, generation after generation, virtually intact, even as the economic and social and demographic conditions that spawned them have vanished, and they play such a role in directing attitudes and behavior that we cannot make sense of our world without them.*
Malcolm Gladwell • Outliers
Redefine Your Ambition and Storytelling / Narrative
Choosing your ambition is not easy. The power of cultural context is strong.
