Weekly Question & Framework: June 21, 2024

Hello and welcome to the Curiosity Chronicle Weekly Question and Framework. In three minutes or less, I'll leave you with one question and one framework to get you thinking going into the weekend. Without further ado, let's dive right into it. A question to fall in love with the hard how is cheap becoming expensive in your life? You've been taught to save, to go with the cheaper option whenever possible. You have positive intentions, but this bias may be costing you a lot more than you think. One rule I've learned the cheap option is often the most expensive in the long run. When you cut corners to save, you just pay for it later and with interest. The cheaper car may end up in the shop more often than the more expensive one. The cheaper furniture may break down and require replacement. The cheaper appliances fall apart quickly. You save in the short run, but pay for it in the long run in money, stress and peace of mind. This rule applies to products, but it's even more interesting in its application to decisions. The cheap decision, the hack or shortcut is rarely the right decision. This quote by Jerry Seinfeld in an interview with Harvard Business Review captures my point beautifully. The interviewer asked, you and Larry David wrote Seinfeld together without a traditional writer's room and burnout was one of the reasons you stopped. Was there a more sustainable way to do it? Could McKinsey or someone have helped you find a better model? Seinfeld replied, Who's McKinsey? Are they funny? To which the interviewer said, no, it's a consulting firm. So Seinfeld concluded, then I don't need them. If you're efficient, you're doing it the wrong way. The right way is the hard way. The show was successful because I micromanaged it. Every word, every line, every take, every edit, every casting. That's my way of life. Remember that the right way is the hard way. Where are you losing by trying to save? Where are you taking the cheap path? Rather than embracing the expensive, ask yourself these questions, make the necessary change and start falling in love with the hard way. A beautiful story with a powerful the man, the Boy, and the Donkey One of my favorite fables with a powerful lesson for life. A man and his son were going with their donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side, a countryman passed them and said, you fools, what is a donkey for but to ride upon? So the man put the boy on the donkey, and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said, see that lazy youngster? He lets his father Walk while he rides. So the man ordered his boy to get off and got on himself. But they hadn't gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other, shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along. So the man took his boy up with him on the donkey. By this time they had come to the town and the people began to jeer and point at them. Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey? So the man and the boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought. Till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey's feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them, till they came to a bridge when the donkey kicked loose, fell over the side and drowned. That will teach you, said an old man who had followed them. Please all, and you will please none. At every step in your journey, there will be people who feel the need to voice their opinion on your actions and vision. They'll say it makes no sense. They'll laugh that you're on the wrong path. They'll tell you to be more realistic. They'll question your every move. But remember the lesson of the fable. If you listen to everyone, if you try to please everyone, you will please no one. Stop worrying about what others think. Do you be yourself and live according to your values? That's all for today. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you learned something, and I hope you'll share it with others. As always, until next time, stay curious, friends.