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Jimmy Carter Tough
Category: Other
p. 50 Stillness Is the Key
“Sit alone in a room and let your thoughts go wherever they will. Do this for one minute….Work up to ten minutes a day of this mindless mental wandering. Then start paying attention to your thoughts to see if a word or goal materializes. If it doesn’t, extend the exercise to eleven minutes, then twelve, then thirteen…until you find the length of time you need to ensure that something interesting will come to mind.” Twyla Tharp
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Dan Beyer – AI Degree
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Character Alarms
Character Alarms
There is a concept called Character Invention that many of the most prominent executive coaches teach to their clients.
The general idea is pretty simple:
We all have a level of fear and imposter syndrome associated with performing certain acts. Depending on your situation, you might feel it around public speaking, performing a musical act in front of a crowd, hitting the gym hard, or being the parent or partner you know you can be. This can be crippling.
With Character Invention, you create a character in your mind who can do the things you fear with ease. You teach yourself to “flip the switch” and become this character in order to crush that activity.
I like the idea of Character Invention and have made regular use of it with public speaking or appearances. But it always felt like a tool for special situations, so it never became a part of my daily life.
The Character Alarms framework is a simple way to integrate Character Invention into your daily life.
It’s a minor adaptation of the Three Alarms creation of executive coach Eric Partaker, who I first came across via my friend Ali Abdaal.
With this framework, you set alarms for specific times of day when you want to turn on a specific character. The alarms serve as both a reminder and a nudge in the right direction to act in accordance with how that character would act.
Here’s an example of how it might look for me (note, I go to bed really early):
There are three versions of me that I want to turn on:
- The Morning Monster: This character is built of cold, emotionless discipline. He doesn’t worry about how he feels on any given day, as he relies on discipline, not motivation, to take action. This character is built to hit the cold plunge and get in my weight training and cardio.
- The Deep Work Machine: This character is focused on a single task with the highest priority. He doesn’t get distracted by notifications or pulls of urgency. This character is built to write.
- The Dad & Husband of the Year: This character is present, emotionally and physically. He doesn’t use his phone and he doesn’t make excuses. He is there, with his son and wife, and embraces every second. This character is built to be the Dad and Husband I admire.
The alarm goes off and I’m reminded of the character that I want to be in that moment. For me, it’s a reminder to take the actions necessary to become that character.
When you consistently take these actions, your identity naturally follows suit.
Actions can create identity.
I’d encourage you to give it a shot. What character do you want to become at different moments during the day? Try setting these alarms and assessing whether it sparks you to action.
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Articles Library
A list of articles that I found exceptionally interesting, and that I might want to come back to at some point. (latest articles are at top of the list.)
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/04/14/the-brazilian-judge-taking-on-the-digital-far-right
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/04/12/trina-robbins-dead
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/05/03/daniel-kramer-dead-bob-dylan
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/05/01/paul-auster-novelist-writer-dies
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/letter-from-mexico
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/03/04/inside-north-koreas-forced-labor-program-in-china
https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2024/02/14/pop-tarts-appreciation-bill-post-inventor-death/
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/01/29/the-twins-obsession
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/01/has-gratuity-culture-reached-a-tipping-point
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/09/alliance-defending-freedoms-legal-crusade
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/30/jim-jordans-conspiratorial-quest-for-power
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/16/trial-by-combat
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/07/how-an-amateur-diver-became-a-true-crime-sensation
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/21/the-hidden-cost-of-free-returns
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/21/when-trucks-fly
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/07/03/book-reviews-plastic-waste
Created the idea of mutual funds.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/06/28/harry-markowitz-nobel-economist-dies/
The trials of Ed Sheeran. Sued for copyright. Article by John Seabrook.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/05/ed-sheeran-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-marvin-gaye
Alice Sebold’s case of mistaken identity.
I.S.L.T.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/letter-from-north-carolina
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/05/ed-sheeran-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-marvin-gaye
Book review of “The Individualists” – which is about liberationism, Austrian economics, Rand, etc.
Article about the losing effort to stop animal poaching.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/05/22/earth-league-international-hunts-the-hunters
Newton Minow, coined term “vast wasteland” – FCC chairman.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/03/19/tax-me-if-you-can
“Warren Buffet rule….
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/04/25/harry-belafonte-singer-dies/
History of J. Crew
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/03/27/j-crew-and-the-paradoxes-of-prep
the affects of adoption.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/10/living-in-adoptions-emotional-aftermath
Organization building.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/04/14/mike-brown-sacramento-kings/
Elephants can play the drums.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/03/david-sulzer-profile-neuroscience-music
Private investigator hired by UAE destroys man’s billion dollar business.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/03/the-dirty-secrets-of-a-smear-campaign
Good discussion of what “Christian Nationalism” really means.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/03/how-christian-is-christian-nationalism
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/16/can-ups-still-deliver-a-middle-class-life
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/01/12/thomas-hughes-vietnam-war-dead/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/01/10/adolfo-kaminsky-holocaust-forgery-dead/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/01/10/adolfo-kaminsky-holocaust-forgery-dead/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/12/05/tennis-coach-nick-bollettieri-dead/
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/11/21/the-beautiful-brutal-world-of-bonsai
David Remnick on Bob….
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/10/31/a-unified-field-theory-of-bob-dylan
New Yorker Rodger Federer article
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/06/28/anxiety-on-the-grass
Meaning of Memory
alito
why facts don’t change our minds
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/27/why-facts-dont-change-our-minds
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/08/30/mikhail-gorbachev-soviet-leader-dies/
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/22/my-dad-and-kurt-cobain
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/07/29/edward-feiner-federal-buildings-architect/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/07/18/artist-claes-oldenburg-dead/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/07/02/woodstock-designer-arnold-skolnick-dies/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/06/29/big-eyes-artist-margaret-keane-dead/
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https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/20/yoko-onos-art-of-defiance
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/06/the-la-county-sheriffs-deputy-gang-crisis
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/13/the-surreal-case-of-a-cia-hackers-revenge
Renewable energy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/05/10/hunter-thompson-campaign-coverage/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/05/06/bob-dylan-museum-tulsa/
Played tennis at the clinic. I really need to make some changes, but unfortunately, I don’t know what to change. I simply don’t try hard enough. Telling myself to try hard doesn’t work. So what do I do?
This might be something to think about.
6. You Settle for Less
Being content with what you have in life can be a good thing, but it can also lead to a lack of motivation. If you’re content and feel like you’ve settled in life, you aren’t going to be motivated to try new things. You believe you’ve gotten everything you can, so what would be the point of working for anything else?
If you want to improve your motivation, you need to realize you can have more in life. It’s good to be content with what you have, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be striving for something better.