📝 Steve Jobs' Advice to Young People

5 quick gems from this week

Author

Fahim Sachedina
June 03, 2024

Sup friends 👋🏼,

I’ve been heads-down this week on a bunch of critical work priorities - crazily enough, I just finished my ‘Weekly Review’ (I can write more about this in the future) and realised I didn’t tick anything off that I set at the beginning of the week…

Does this mean I had a bad week?

Well, that depends what I achieved.

There’s a few big important projects that either I forgot to write down (my fault), or they came up and I had to respond quickly (not my fault).

In this case, I should make sure I make a note of all the things I did achieve, so I don’t feel like it was a wasted week.

Anyway, let’s get to it 🙂 

💎

/1 Jerry Seinfeld on Mastery

Last month, Seinfeld hit the interview circuit to promote Unfrosted. During one interview, The New Yorker’s editor David Remnick asked him why he keeps grinding after all these years - his answer:

“Because the only thing in life that's really worth having is good skill. Good skill is the greatest possession. The things that money buys are fine. They're good. I like them. But having a skill is the most important thing.

I learned this from reading Esquire magazine. They did an issue on ‘mastery’…a very zen Buddhist concept. 

Pursue mastery that will fulfil your life. You will feel good. I know a lot of rich people and they don't feel good as you think they would. They don't. They're miserable.

So I work because if you don't in standup comedy — if you don't do it a lot — you stink.”

Here’s the full article (which I featured in a previous edition).

/2 How to Write Clearly

  • To write well, you need to get your ideas across simply and clearly

  • Outline what you want to say

  • Start where your readers are

  • Avoid jargon

  • Use familiar combinations of words

Sage writing advice.

/3 Steve Jobs’ Advice to Young People

“Make what you love your work. The journey is the reward”.

/4 Redefine Yourself

It’s never too late to change our lives.

We can make decisions to change everything in an instant.

We don’t need permission.

Look back at the goals you set at the start of 2024 - these can all still be achieved.

We just need to get the ball rolling in the direction we want.

Been a fan of Scott Young for a while - he undertakes massive learning projects (like taking the whole online CompSci degree from MIT online in just one year (usually a 4-year degree).

  1. Embrace the seasons of your life

  2. Striving is good, but achieving is overrated (my favourite)

  3. Apologise often

  4. Stop listening to people who are paid to make you angry

..and other gems!

That’s a wrap - let me know your favourite link 🙂 

Till next week,

Fahim ✌️