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You are receiving this email because you signed up to Caffeine for your Inbox, a weekly newsletter about living a more intentional, innovative life. It’s kind of like caffeine for your life. If you were forwarded this email, you can get your own here.

Hey friends,

I am currently writing the first draft of this newsletter over a cup of coffee at 4am.

While the scenario isn’t ideal, it’s definitely taught me one key life lesson: lattes can make any situation instantly better.

Let's get caffeinated!

🥛Cream & Sugar

Ideas about living a more intentional, innovative life. The kind of stuff that makes a newsletter (and coffee) good.

This week was my first week in New Jersey after two months of being in California.

The change got me feeling like I was a new person. Being in my childhood home feels so fundamentally different from being in the city where I very quickly had to learn to be independent.

As I've thought (and overthought) about the importance of place, I've realized that the difference may not be just a figment of my imagination.

Investor and entrepreneur Paul Graham has a theory about place that he describes in terms of cities. "Great cities attract ambitious people," he says. "In a hundred subtle ways, the city sends you a message."

Each city's message is fundamentally different. While Los Angeles, California might whisper to be prettier, Boston, Massachusetts might whisper to be smarter. The different kinds of people that a city attracts create a message that the city then echoes back to you.

But merely being in a city doesn't mean you feel inclined to listen to the message. In order to embrace what a city has to say to you, you have to lean in close enough to hear it. When you actively make an effort to listen, you can take full advantage of what a place has to offer.

Listening looks different everywhere. Where do the ambitious people go in your city? In Los Angeles, you may sign up to be an extra on movies being filmed in Hollywood. In Boston, you may find yourself sitting in the public library and meeting academics from surrounding universities.

This can go the other way around too. The whisper of some places may oppose your goals and ambitions. In that case, listening too carefully can be an issue for your long-term wellbeing. Part of the magic is in hearing all of the messages a place whispers, and then selectively choosing which ones to listen attentively to.

What does your environment whisper?

💥Jitters

For that moment when the caffeine hits: a random assortment of resources, articles, and other fun things.

  • The Seven Sins of Memory: An article that covers the seven ways our memory fails us. I've always known I have bad memory, but this article really forced me to reflect on the different reasons I forget things.

  • Lessons from COVID: An overview of some of the key learnings we have had as a society in the past year.

  • Why I'm Leaving the CEO Position: A thoughtful letter from ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming to the company about his decision to transition into a new role at the company. This one gave me a lot of perspective on the business world and what it means to be a founder.

💻What's Brewing at My Desk

Updates on Think Outside the Odds and other projects.

In terms of the book, this week was one of the most packed I've had in a while. It feels refreshing to be immersed in writing again, but the nonstop writing has also been tired. Here's to an extra espresso shot brewing at my desk this Sunday.

☕Espresso Shot

All the actionable insights from this newsletter condensed into a few bullet points.

  • Take note of all the messages your environment sends you. Consider the kind of person your environment attracts, and how this archetypal person structures their life.

  • For any messages that are counterproductive to your own goals, how can you make sure they don't subconsciously influence you? For any messages that are productive to your goals, how can you actively immerse yourself in them?

  • While technological innovation may seem like sudden bursts of genius, it is actually the result of consistent experimentation over a long period of time.

I hope you found something useful here. If you made it to the end, reply to this email and tell me your favorite city and what it whispers.

I can't wait to see you next Sunday. Until then, stay caffeinated!

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