Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is the skill of knowing where to invest.

In startups, choosing what to invest in is critical. The same is true in life—relationships, careers, where we live—these all have a big impact on our lives.

But it's not only important to choose where to invest, but for how long and how much. Investing in the right thing doesn't matter if you don't invest enough.

In startups, it shows up in things like technical debt for projects not finished or well-documented, or a good idea rejected because it didn't go through enough iterations.

In our lives, it's things like sticking with a company long enough to get the promotion, or investing in the relationship enough to make it work.

The decision to invest is never easy, nor is it obvious how much is required. Sticking with an unsatisfying job is a poor idea, just like sticking in a poor relationship is too.

Which is why the skill of knowing when and how much to invest is so important.

But it's not one skill either, because it rarely transfers across domains.

The best we might be able to do is make sure we're thinking about it as we gain better investing judgement in each.

I hope you have a great week!

Graham

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Links

📖 15 questions to ask yourself when you’ve messed up and everyone is angry with you - Zahra Kanji - I messed up at work recently, which is always painful; customers get angry, colleagues have to deal with your mess, and you feel bad. Thankfully I work with an amazing team who made the best of it, but mistakes are always an opportunity to reflect and get better at a) whatever you made the mistake on, and b) responding to making a mistake. This is a good list of questions to start some reflecting with.

📖 Learning Is a Learned Behavior. Here's How to Get Better at It. - Ulrich Boser - HBR - One of the many things I don't think gets taught enough (at all?) in most education: how to learn. It took me a long time to realize learning was a skill, and it came easily for most of my life. I can only imagine how much those for whom it doesn't come easily would benefit.

🎧 Earth.fm - Their tagline says it all: "like Spotify, but for natural soundscapes." This is a collection of natural soundtracks from around the world. Fascinating and relaxing.

🍿 Jetson ONE - World's First EVTOL Commute to Work - This is where I think the next big step will come in terms of personal transportation; having seen drone technology advance over the last 10 years, most of what is required is already available. With the decrease in battery costs and increase in performance, it should become more and more feasible.

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