I think Neil Gaiman pretty well captures the magic of creation with this quote.
The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.
Neil Gaiman
Turns out the dude can also draw, at least in a sketchy kind of way that I hope to master someday as well, if only for practical purposes.
I love the anecdote about writing a short story for his daughter’s 18th birthday that Daily Inspiration added for context on this quote.
I’ve been doing super summaries on this blog for a while now. The idea is to condense a great book into a super distilled version that covers the core concepts as quickly as possible. Hopefully the super summary is useful, and if your curiosity is teased enough, then you can read the actual book.
I think it’s a win-win, and these continue to be some of my most popular posts.
But some books simply can’t be super-summarized.
The book Show Your Work has has been sitting on my coffee table taunting me for months. I pick it up and read a bit, absorb whatever nuggets of inspiration I get out of it, and then put it away for a while.
I keep thinking I’ll write up a super-summary on this little 184-page book. I mean, how hard could that be?
Ironically enough, this tiny, square, innocent-looking book is so densely packed with good material that a super summary is nearly impossible. I think I could but the book in half, maybe? But who wants a 92-page summary of a book? 🤔
So I’m starting a new thing here: a book snippet. I’ll take one little concept at a time from a book and post it. And then post a series of excerpts over time for any give book.
This approach fits (so to speak) with my goal of keeping things short. So with that, stay tuned for the first snippet.
👉 First snippet: “You’re only as good as your record collection.” 🎧
It looks like I’ll finally be jumping into some real SwiftUI development soon. I feel a little later to the party, but still happy to be here. 🎉
Besides my own SwiftUI posts to date, I’ll be trying the following books, which come personally recommended from a co-worker.
Thinking in SwiftUI | SwiftUI Apprentice
And also this video for the basics, please.
A super-summary on this blog is basically a “summary of a summary” of a book, with a few additions of my own. It gives you the basic idea of a book to see if you want to read the real thing.
Next up via Lucid: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking [book | audiobook].
Introverts are people who tend to benefit from alone time. They favor reflective and deliberate thinking. This approach lets them dig deep.
Some classic introverts are Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks, Abraham Lincoln, and Warren Buffett. Isaac Newton was known to be “a deeply introverted character and fiercely protective of his privacy.”
👉My favorite new introvert is standup comedian Taylor Tomlinson, who framed introversion with this joke:
I read a statistic that said in 80 percent of homicides cases the killer was someone the victim knew. When I read that, I was relieved. Like thank god, I don’t want to get murdered and meet someone. That’s a lot for a Friday, getting stabbed and acquainted.
While introverts tend to be outwardly quiet, they can also be bold, strong, and courageous. This is not a paradox.
See examples above. ☝️ You don’t have to be loud to revolutionize our understanding of the world, save a nation, or build a fortune.
They may not be fun at parties, but these are some heavy hitters when it comes to lasting, positive change in the world.
Introverts can act extroverted pretty convincingly if it is in the service of something they love. An introvert can do public speaking or standup comedy as long as it serves a core purpose.
This explains introverted, charismatic entertainers such as Prince
👉 As a bit of an introvert myself, I admire the fun, freewheeling nature of many extroverts. I’m trying to learn from them to do more and think less. But I also appreciate that my core happiness lies within and I can have some of my best nights all to myself.
Some of my very favorite books are memoirs… I Suck at Girls, The Last Black Unicorn, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Yes Please, it goes on and on. A member is like living someone else’s life for a while. Or even better… just the funny, inspiring, painful, or embarrassing parts. You learn a bit about someone you admire and usually their struggle and their particular outlook on life.
So I’m adding a link to the 50 best memoirs (according to the Ney York Times, but who else would you even ask?) to my fledgling book section. Now I have 50 more amazing books to eventually read but probably never will. 😂
patmcg.com 