Man, it was sweet.
Category: appreciation
Unboxing: Maker Edition Confidant Notebook by Baron Fig
I received my order of Baron Fig’s latest limited edition notebook this week, and this has got to be the only notebook I’ve ever unboxed; that derives from the perhaps curious fact that Baron Fig’s Confidant notebooks are the only notebooks I’ve ever purchased that come in a box. The closest thing to this experience of opening the Confidant’s packaging is tearing the shrink wrap off a newly bought Moleskine.
And just as my initial handling of a newly bought Confidant is unparalleled by first experiences with other notebooks, using the Confidant is so far unparalleled as well. I’ve been working with Baron Fig’s Three-Legged Juggler limited-edition Confidant for about a month now, and it has made for fantastic episodes of notebook writing. Baron Fig has deftly done away with the annoyances I’ve faced with other notebooks. I’ve been delighted by the way the Confidant stays open in a more or less flat manner, then delighted by the feel of my Lamy fountain pen on the substantial (but not overly thick) pages, never worrying about significant bleed-through as I write. I’ve been so delighted that I had no reservations about getting Baron Fig’s latest version of the Confidant, the Maker, as my next notebook.
While opening it, I became very certain that more delight awaits…
“…everyone is crazy… life has messed all of us up” and other perspectives I really appreciate
But don’t get me wrong; though I feel the title How to Find Fulfilling Work overreaches, The School of Life has some great material in their books and videos that can help us keep it real. Here are a few of my faves.
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Toward Self-Actualization In Career: How to Find Fulfilling Work vs. Alternatives
The title of this blog post may be somewhat of a misnomer, because WordPress won’t allow me to italicize or underline words in that title. It’s not referring to finding fulfilling work vs. settling on drudgery that pays the bills; it’s referring to the School of Life’s book and video How to Find Fulfilling Work and how it compares to a few other resources of the same ilk.
Imagine five parallel universes, in each of which you could have a whole year off to pursue absolutely any career you desired. Now think of five different jobs you might want to try out in each of these universes.—from How to Find Fulfilling work
While the book How to Find Fulfilling Work and its accompanying summary video (below) offer some good thought-prodding perspectives, I’ve found that beyond the exercises offered in the book, How to Find Fulfilling Work is not as directly actionable as the guidance given in Do More Great Work and Finding Your Element. Those two books contain nicely guided activities aimed at leading you to specific and useful insights. Also, Simon Sinek’s Why Discovery Course is an invaluable approach to the “know yourself” portion of How to Find Fulfilling Work‘s recommendations, and Simon Sinek’s discussion of The Golden Circle in Start With Why (and his now classic TEDx Talk, embedded below) provides an excellent framework for understanding not only our own nature but that of organizations and movements.
How to Find Fulfilling Work is a good starting point, but readers of it should go beyond it by taking its advice to “think a lot” and structure that thought with additional resources.
What helpful resources for self-actualization and career fulfillment have you found?
Learn about happiness, learn to be happier
This flier for the edX course The Science of Happiness really caught my atttention recently; as a participant in this course and as someone who is interested in wellbeing, I was delighted to see this course publicized via good, old-fashioned bulletin board.
As an educator, I’m often skeptical of MOOCs; I really like the in-person discussion and hands-on learning the “traditional classroom” makes possible, but certain topics and approaches lend themselves well to an online approach (I think Lynda.com absolutely nails it), and edX’s The Science of Happiness is one such case where the course material works well in web-based experience.
I’ve been working on this course for a couple weeks now, and so far, it’s an informative, engaging consolidation on recent happiness (and related well-being) research presented in a straightforward way that’s even directly actionable at times. It’s what I would expect from the course instructors who work at the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center. The GGSC is a much need entity that collects and produces so much great material on, as they put it, “the science of a meaningful life.” I’ve been reading their articles for a few years now, and this course is the logical culmination of several enlightening, empowering thematic arcs in their work.
This edX course is self-paced, so if happiness is a topic that interests you, just jump right in!
Bagelsaurus: for the serious bagelvore
Onion bagel with scallion cream cheese.
Everyone I know who has been to Bagelsaurus loves it. And for good reason. The bagels, when toasted, have a nice crisp outside you’ll crunch through to a dense, chewy interior; the texture is fantastic as is the taste. Dang, it’s so wonderful. I’ve been there 3 times this week, and I tend not to repeat patronize food spots within a week, typically (to get variety).
If you like bagels and have no picky food preferences or dietary restrictions, you really can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, but there are just a few things I’d suggest:
- Don’t go there on a first date, or more specifically, don’t go there on a first date and order a bagel with cream cheese; awkward attempts at biting followed by the distracting, unbecoming oozing out of massively slathered cream cheese may ensue as you try to sever a morsel from the kind of carb-dairy-carb layered delectable shown below. Regardless of whether you’re on a date or not, you might want to have some napkins handy (or maybe I just haven’t figured out the trick to eating these things more gracefully).
- If you order a bagel with cream cheese, eat it there or soon after getting it to go; it’s just not nearly as good once it starts losing that crisp and warmth it got from the toasting.
- The times I’ve tried the pretzel bagel, it’s been seriously salty. Maybe that works for you, but just know what you’re getting into.
Tortoise and Hare Rematched by BJ Novak
Via PRI & WNYC’s Selected Shorts program, BJ Novak brings us Part 2 of the tortoise and hare saga, and it is excellent. Not only hilarious, but also witty; the moral at the end nice wraps up the story with apt perspective.
So many fantastic podcast episodes recently!
Love, Art and Bicycles, Again
I suspect that this is an anime archetype, but my sample size is limited to my picky selection of introspective anime. I also suspect that it must be a guy who is doing the pedaling.
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Oh, dang: Invisibilia episode 5
Wow. From kittens & puppies to categories to gender to culture to death. Invisibilia is once again quite a journey, interweaving personal perspectives with scientific research through compelling storytelling. This show still totally tops my charts and lists.
But my heart breaks just a little bit when I hear Lulu or Alix upspeak unnecessarily (Alix never seemed to do that in her news reporting!). Fortunately, there isn’t much of that in this episode.
Dang, I love you, NPR. TED Radio Hour, Invisibilia, Fresh Air, All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Radio Lab… you’re just nailing it.
Brené Brown, Karen Russell, David Linden: best podcasts episodes of my weekend
If you like an informative, insightful podcast episode every now and then, try the three below; they each enthralled me this snowy weekend. (In case you’re wondering why Invisibilia isn’t mentioned, I’m saving the latest episode for an evening of sheer exhaustion.)
Fingertips To Hair Follicles: Why ‘Touch’ Triggers Pleasure And Pain—Fresh Air discusses various facets of the sense of touch with neuroscience researcher David Linden.
The Courage to Be Vulnerable—shame & vulnerability researcher expert guru Brené Brown converses thought-provokingly with On Being‘s Krista Tippet.
Karen Russell On Balancing Writing, Technology, and Boredom—host of his eponymous show Leonard Lopate and author Karen Russell talk about technology, writing and boredom.
A Contemplative Compilation 