“If we treated careers more like dating, nobody would settle down so quickly.”
David Epstein
Greetings from LA and Oahu!
You’ll notice this week that we’re officially introducing three specific categories for our weekly newsletter. They are: Stay Informed, Stay Entertained, & Stay Inspired.
We’ve been wanting to give these emails a bit more structure so that you can know what to expect every week, and we feel that those three categories will keep us focused while also giving us the flexibility to discuss a large breadth of topics. We’ve also added a new brief section titled, “Books We’re Reading” — hopefully this will provide you with many excellent nonfiction book recommendations. Let us know what you think!
This week we’re discussing the dark side of daylight saving time, sharing Mark Zuckerberg’s bedtime routine, and reviewing an entrepreneur’s 20 bits of tweeted wisdom.
Enjoy!
Stay Informed
Dastardly Daylight Saving Time
On May 1, 1961, Germany adopted daylight saving time as a way to conserve fuel during World War I — when daylight sticks around later, people use less electricity in the evening.
In fact, studies done by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1975 showed that daylight saving time reduces the country’s electricity usage by about one percent every day.
The U.S. followed suit on March 19, 1918. But the practice was unpopular and thus abolished at the end of the war.
Franklin Roosevelt again instituted a year-round daylight saving time from Feb. 9, 1942 until Sept. 30, 1945, referring to it as “war time” .
Finally, in 1966, daylight saving time became standard in the U.S., but the practice is not without its consequences.
- The risk of heart attacks on the Monday after daylight savings time starts increases by 24%
- The risk of stroke is 8% higher two days after the change.
- There is a 6% increase in fatal car crashes in the week after people reset their clocks in the spring.
TimeAndDate adds….
- There is an 11% increase in depression cases after the time change, which dissipates after about 10 weeks.
- Male suicide rates increase the days following the spring and fall daylight saving time shift.
With all of the health detriments, it makes one wonder why the practice is still so commonplace. If you’d like to help end Daylight Saving Time, here’s a petition you can sign which is at nearly 300,000 signatures.
Stay Entertained
Zuckerberg Bedtime Routine
Mark Zuckerberg (the Founder of Facebook) isn’t the most popular billionaire on the planet right now.
But we recently listened to Tim Ferriss’ long-form podcast interview with Zuckerberg and we feel it offered a refreshing perspective on who this individual really is, what his values are, and what he cares about.
Dare we say… the interview humanized him a bit.
It’s worth listening to when next you’re at the gym or doing the dishes. One of our favorite takeaways from the episode was Mark Zuckerburg’s bedtime routine that he has with his children — it’s basically a review of their health, relationships, and ambitions.
He says, “What are the things that are most important in life? Health. Loving family and friends. Something you’re excited about. And what did you do to help someone today…
Here are the four things (and here’s a clip if you want to just watch this part of the interview).
Health — “What did you do to make yourself stronger or more fit today?”
Loving Family & Friends — “Let’s go through something that you did today with someone that is meaningful to you.”
Something You’re Excited About — “You have to have something that you’re looking forward to for the future.”
Helping Others — “You’re gonna do something nice to help someone every day. This is an important service orientation that I want our family to have.”
Stay Inspired
An Entrepreneur’s Wisdom
The Twitter account, Straight Line Advertising, recently published a Tweet Thread titled, “20 sentences that’ll make you more money than a 4 year degree.” That’s a bit overstated, to be sure, but his entrepreneurial points are still short, sweet, and worthwhile.
And here are some of our favorites…
- Customers only care about 2 things, can you solve their problem and how fast?
- Gain inspiration from legally copying 3-5 of your competitors.
- Find the problem, then build the solution.
- Use as few words as possible.
- The person who wins is the person who wants it the most.
Extra Stuff
Here is some other random stuff we found interesting this last week!
- Entrepreneurs as Probabilistic Thinkers by David Cummings
- Dying Food Traditions by Vittles
- Putin and the Authoritarian Tradition by Areo Magazine
Books We’re Reading
Here’s what we’re currently reading!
This Week’s Photo
“People pose for a photo as they visit a lighting festival in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 29, 2022.” via The Atlantic
This Week’s Riddle
Here’s this week’s riddle — the answer is at the bottom of the email!
What word in the English language does the following: the first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four letters signify a great, while the entire world signifies a great woman. What is the word?
This Week’s Question
Answer this question — either privately or by replying to this email. If your answer inspires us, then we’ll ask for permission to include it in a future email!
Imagine you’re looking back on your life five years from now. What will you consider to be successes and achievements? What will you wish you had done differently?
This Week’s Challenge
What’s one thing you could do this week to improve your mental wellbeing? Maybe that means getting some quality time with friends, or getting some quality time alone, exercising, meditating, or doing yoga. Whatever the case, make time for that thing this week — your mental health is worth it.
Until next week,
Mike & Alec
Riddle Answer: Heroine