One Quote:

"Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it." - Søren Kierkegaard

If you want to change your life, just go for a walk.

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One Framework:

Are Batteries Included?

A few months ago, I saw a tweet from my friend Jack Altman that sparked my interest.

Jack is the founder and CEO of Lattice, a workforce management platform that was most recently valued at $3 billion in a Series F round in January, so he has real qualifications to talk about hiring and people management—both as a founder of his own company and via the thousands of clients who use Lattice software for their workforces.

One reply to the tweet linked to an article that referred to the concept of "batteries included" (or "batteries not included") employees—a simple play on the toys we used to get as kids, which generally said "batteries included" or "batteries not included" on the box.

The idea is that there are two types of people:

• Batteries Included: Come with a built in energy source. They create energy for those around them.
• Batteries Not Included: Come without a built in energy source. They rely on others to create energy for them.

While the article focused on employees and the workforce, I think this framework can be extended broadly across relationships, sports, personal development, and more.

It made me think: What are the traits of a "batteries included" individual?

• Creates Ecosystem Energy: Inspires others to move through their movement. Their movement puts off a positive charge that creates movement in others. Shows the way through action, not words.
• Internally Motivated: Does not need a consistent drip of external motivators or rewards in order to do their job. Creates internal motivation to perform and grow. Finds enjoyment in the growth and process.
• Disciplined: Takes pride in doing what they say they are going to do. Recognizes that movement creates motivation.
• Consistent: Shows up for the team, day-in, day-out.
• Accountable: Takes personal responsibility for the good and the bad. Owns mistakes and improves because of them.

I'm sure there are more, but these were the first that came to mind.

The "batteries not included" individual can be assumed to possess the opposite of these traits. There is probably a spectrum of "batteries not included" to "batteries included", but the reality is that these traits tend to be rather binary from my own experience. People either have them or they don't.

When I zoomed back out and looked at this list of traits, I realized that the "batteries included" individual is the person you always want on your team: as a partner, friend, sports teammate, colleague, employee, or anything else.

This framework may be helpful as a tool for thoughtfully evaluating yourself and those in your life.

Some questions to ask to get started:

• Are your batteries included? Are you creating or draining energy from your ecosystem? What steps can you take to create more energy than you consume?
• Who are the "batteries not included" people in your life? Are you allowing them to drain your energy and happiness? Can you take action to remove them from that position of power?

Try this framework out and let me know what you think!

Since this is a rather new one for me, I'd love to hear from you:

• How would you implement this framework in evaluating yourself or your relationships?
• What other traits would you add to the list? What would you remove?

One Tweet:

I'm officially announcing my retirement from thread writing—because this is the single greatest thread that will ever be written and there is nothing any of us can do about it.

Ok but seriously, this is a must read.

It could be a Hollywood hit: Plot twists and turns, character development, suspense, and a shocking surprise at the end.

Just enjoy it.

One Article:

​How to Make the Most of Your 24 Hours​

I recently discovered Zen Habits—shame on me for taking so long.

This article had four key actions worth covering:

1. Be Intentional: Starting each day with clear intention is a recipe for success. I've always believed in the power of bending the universe with your will. Start each day with a clear idea of how you want it to go. That intentionality will create momentum.
2. Focus on What Matters: I've written recently about the importance of identifying what matters and avoiding everything else. When you define success by the volume of work you get done, you may lose sight of the fact that not all work is created equal. Think about work having a weight per unit of volume—meaning higher priority work has more weight per unit of volume. Aim to move the most "weight" per day. With this aim, nailing one high priority task is more valuable than 100 low priority tasks.
3. Create Transcendence: Moments of transcendence are those where you separate from the movement and appreciate the ability to just be. I think of this as similar to the Kurt Vonnegut reminder to look up and say, "If this isn't nice, then what is?" Find moments every single day where you stop moving and embrace the beauty of being.
4. Voice Gratitude: At the end of each day, reflect and voice 1-3 things you are grateful for. I actually have a journal on my bedside table where I write these down each night. It's a small reminder of our gifts that has a way of drowning out the stress.

This article sparked my inspiration to write more about daily routines for living intentionally and productively. Stay tuned!

One Podcast:

The Crazy Ones - Episode 1

This was a cool first episode of a new podcast co-hosted by Sophia Amoruso (of Girl Boss fame), Alex Lieberman (founder of Morning Brew), and Jessie Pujji (successful bootstrapped entrepreneur).

It was entertaining and insight-rich:

• Liquid Death's brilliant marketing strategy that has allowed it to break the mold of water being "boring" and achieve a $700 million valuation in record time.
• A discussion of how to make 7-figures in 12 months or less. Some awesome ideas came out of this.
• How Jesse pitched his new startup to seed investors and what takeaways and lessons he had from the process.

I'm going to be listening to the next few episodes. Hopefully I've found a new staple of my listening rotation!

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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