The Stonecutter’s Credo, Do Things That Don’t Scale, and Habit Stacking

Gathered here are ten hand-picked and carefully curated recommendations that might spark your curiosity this month:

I.

A wonderful quote I’ve come across this month. I’ve read “The Stonecutter’s Credo” for the first time, and it was written by author Jacob Riis:

“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”

Source: by Jacob Riis

II.

When D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus dive into the high-stakes competition for the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (MOF), France’s most prestigious pastry prize, the result is a thrilling experience. The chefs, under immense pressure, craft and present their stunning, fantastical desserts with precision, turning the entire contest into a gripping drama. This must-see shows the passion that some people have for their profession. It’s truly admirable.

III.

We all grow, fail, and evolve. So did my taste in books over the years. In this post, I answered a reader’s question about how my taste in books has changed.

IV.

Taming the Mammoth: Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People Think. This remains one of the most empowering articles I’ve read in recent years. It’s hilarious and amazing. For double trouble, pair it with my interview with the author, Tim Urban.

V.

There’s a lot I don’t understand about how languages work. Bill Gates turned to John McWhorter, a linguist who has dedicated his career to demystifying the roughly 7,000 languages spoken around the world. When he isn’t busy writing books, John is a professor at Columbia University, host of his own podcast, and frequent lecturer for Great Courses. He helped Bill understand why English is so irregular, what the ideal language would look like, why all dialects are created equal, and more. I recommend this podcast episode.

VI.

Paul Graham writes incredible essays. In Do Things that Don’t Scale, he writes about how delighting customers and making them happy scales better than most of us think. In this essay he challenges us to think about what un-scalable things you can do to delight your co-workers, clients, readers, or fans. How far do you go in delighting others?

VII.

One thing that’s made building new habits easier for me is habit stacking. It’s simple but really effective: I take something I already do, like making my morning coffee, and add a small new habit right after, like reading for five minutes. By linking new habits to existing ones, it feels more natural and less of a struggle to stay consistent. Give it a go and let me know how you feel about it!

VIII.

Louis Theroux, the documentary maker from the BBC, is one of my favorite filmmakers. Louis has this remarkable ability to connect with individuals who lead entirely different lives, and portray them in such a way that it makes them more human. Once we get to know the people we call “odd”, oftentimes we are reminded of having more things in common than we might think sometimes. In an interview for Huck, he shares some life lessons that made his career.

IX.

When I travel, no matter how remote my final destination is, Coke seems to be everywhere. Which has made me wonder several times – how does Coca-Cola make its way to these remote places? Melinda Gates noticed this during one of her trips to the developing world too, and argues in her TED-talk that the strategies that Coca-Cola uses to reach people everywhere around the globe could also work for distributing health care, vaccinations, and even condoms, to make the world a better place.

X.

In the spotlight this month:

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Lisanne