Something to Keep
“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing.”
George Bernard Shaw
“Making mistakes is a lot better than not doing anything.”
Billie Joe Armstrong
A Second Look
Most people avoid trying because they don’t want to make mistakes in public. We’re at a point where most people are not willing to do certain things. Examples include starting a business, asking someone out, or pursuing a certain job. I wrote about asymmetries before. That’s when the potential rewards are much bigger than the consequences of failing. Mark Manson put it this way (I’m paraphrasing because I listened to this on his podcast): you can go to dozens of parties where nothing happens, and then you go to this one party, and you meet your future husband/wife. That’s asymmetrical. Worst-case scenario, you lose nothing. Best-case scenario, something that changes your life for the rest of your life happens.
The modern world is full of asymmetries, but since no one wants to make mistakes in front of others, we never get to reap the incredible rewards. Pursue what you want or need shamelessly. Get rid of your ego. You have everything to win and nothing to lose. In a world of asymmetrical opportunities, doing nothing is often the biggest risk.
Something I Liked
I read some Japanese manga lately, and that got me interested in architecture. You know how the rabbit hole goes: you start doing something new, and that leads to something else, and so on. Since I’m always thinking about creativity already, I don’t think architecture is that much of a stretch.
So I got some books about architecture (more on this later), but the thing I liked the most was watching videos on YouTube. There are countless channels about architecture and home design, but the channel I enjoyed the most is called Never Too Small. As the name implies, it focuses on small apartments and studios from all over the world.
As a fan of minimalist design, this was a godsend. It’s tempting to go and see videos from people living in mansions, but something is soothing (and realistic) about people building homes where everything serves a clear purpose.
So back to the books. Although YouTube channels give me a concrete look at how people live in a place that’s carefully designed, books go much deeper and explain the principles behind a place in a much more overt manner. To be clear, I haven’t read any of the books yet, but I intend to change that soon. There’s a part of me that’s fascinated with how people in creative spaces work, but I don’t know why it took me this long to focus on where they work, too.