1.
“I remember at American Apparel we were discussing some project and one of the execs had an opinion that most of the people disagreed with. They were trying to convince him he was wrong and in turn sort of expected him to try to convince them. But he just said, “That’s ok. I’m ok standing alone on this one.” It was an offhand remark but I think about it a lot. The world could use more of that. It’s something I try to model in my own life.”
—32 Thoughts From a 32-Year-Old
2.
There’s a video of Mr. Rogers accepting an Emmy Award and when he gets on stage, he asks everyone in the audience to sit there quietly for ten seconds. He instructs them to spend this time thinking about someone who cared about them, who pushed them to be better, who helped them along the way. “Ten seconds,” he says, “I’ll watch the time.”
The camera hovers over the audience showing how moved they are by this request and how rare it is for them to take the time to do something like it. Mr. Rogers points out how much it means in both directions; not just to the person who spent the time thinking it, but to the person on the other side, how much it would mean to them to know how much they’ve meant to you. Stillness is the key, to just about everything.
—Mr. Rogers Acceptance Speech, 1997
3.
The concept of a ‘15-minute city’ is intriguing. This implies having all necessary amenities such as schools, work, parks and shops within a short walk, bike ride or public transit trip. The benefits of city life revolves around this concept and how it makes people more connected, healthier and happier.
“The pandemic has caused us to think about how to move differently, to consume differently, to live differently,” he says. “We are discovering that by working differently we have more spare time, to have more time to be with our families or friends. We are discovering and appreciating our neighbourhoods much more. This will make us all more engaged inhabitants.”
—How ‘15-minute cities’ will change the way we socialise