Good Life Project - In a World of Overwhelm, Be a Source of Ease

Episode Date: May 14, 2015

"Don't make people work to learn what you know."Today's short and sweet Good Life Riff is about the increasing value of ease and simplicity in a world that seems designed to overwhelm and pummel.It shared an experience I had in law school, one that revealed the power of brevity and respect in a massively stressful environment and, in turn, led to a dream outcome.A few lines from the episode:When you force the person who you seek to serve to be pummeled by the spray of the firehose as a precursor to receiving the true nuggets of wisdom you have to share, how receptive do you think that person becomes? Contrast that with listening deeply, thinking more deeply, taking your time and then offering pre-digested, immediately-actionable tactical strikes with less frequency.Not only is this more helpful and respectful to the recipient, it’s also more likely to keep those in a position to judge you in a state of mind that makes them not only place a higher value on your contribution, but want more. More of what you have to share. More of what you see. More of you.This is especially true in the world in which we live today. Because, increasingly, we live and breath into a barrage of constant connection and information. A firehose world.How do you shine in that world?"Be a source of value. But more important. Be a source of ease."Enjoy the Riff, and if you're inclined, feel free to share with friends! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So today I'm sharing another short and sweet good life riff. Before we dive into it, today's good life riff is actually brought to you by Camp GLP. So what is that? It's an amazing opportunity to come and hang out with me and a pretty awesome lineup of gifted teachers and a soulful community of entrepreneurs and makers and world shakers as we literally take over a gorgeous summer camp for three and a half days at the end of August, just 90 minutes out of New York City. If it sounds cool to you, you can check out a lot more information at goodlifeproject.com slash camp. People don't want to have to work to know what you know. This is just one of the things that we're going to be chatting about in today's short and sweet Good Life Project riff. Today is

entitled The Fountain Pen and the Fire Hose. So I freaked a lot of people out in law school, especially the first year. I handwrite at about the speed of molasses because I print in all caps, which is kind of funny considering what that means online and how it wars with my outward facing manner. But that's not what this is about. Slothful handwriting was never an issue until law school, especially the first year. There's a ton of pressure to outperform this first year. It's the one chance to make what's called Low Review, an honor that opens legions of wood panel doors and follows you in all its arcane glory for decades. Everyone is gunning for it. Generally, the top 10% make it, and you can only make it the first year because once you're on, you're put to work for the next two years writing and researching and editing. So let's add another wrinkle. Most of your first year grades are based on a single exam given at the end of the year.

One test, one day, one grade for an entire year. How you perform on that day matters. And most exams are written by hand, Which brings us full circle to my dilemma. So I have one chance to impress, and I write like a slug. But there's actually one thing I do slower, read. So here I am faced with a 15-page fact pattern, very often followed by a single question. Identify all potential causes of action, argue both sides, apply all relevant rules of law, and decide who wins each and why. This is what I would call one of my oh shit moments. So minutes in, people on all sides start to write and write and write. Pages and pages of blue books

snap over as the sound of madly scrawling pens consumes the room. The firehose approach to essay test-taking is apparently alive and well. Spray the page. Write everything you've ever learned, not just during the semester, but since birth. If you came out of the womb with a priori knowledge or you've developed the ability to tap into alternative realms, write that too. Screw it. It's points, and you need every point you can get. Then pray that the TA grading your paper has already loaded up on black coffee and doesn't mind wading through a vast ocean of junk in the quest to uncover the handful of true gems that'll land you the points needed to rock the grade.

This option isn't open to me though. I can't do the fire hose. On a technical level, I just can't write that fast. For every four or five blue books my classmates amass, I can write maybe one. So I sit, knowing every word I write needs to be a direct hit. It needs to count. I can't settle for a point or check mark every three pages. For me, it needs to come every three words. Fifteen minutes pass. I sit. Thirty minutes. Still nothing. Not a word in my first and what would become my only blue book. I seem to stare out into oblivion, and friends see this and, I'd later learn, get a bit spooked. They think I've totally frozen, but something else is actually happening. I'm in a bit of a processing trance, synthesizing facts and arguments, laws and conclusions,

arguing both sides in my head, applying and battling and refuting and judging and resolving. Pattern recognition consumes me, because once I begin to write, every concept needs to be fully formed or as close as I can come. I can't do the fire hose. I can't spray and pray. I have to do more of the fountain pen. Slow, deliberate strokes indelibly rendered in a single pass. Every word must count. So finally, I begin to write, probably a solid 45 minutes to an hour after most had begun. I complete a single blue book, walk to the front of the room, turn it in

15 minutes early. From the outside looking in, this appears to confirm my friend's worst assumptions. I'd lost it. A few weeks later, I get my results. Top 10%, low review. It would take me years to understand what really happened though. My apparent linguistic disability forced me to function on a level of extreme value-driven hyper-effectiveness. I scored points, but there was something bigger going on. It was about respect. People don't want to have to work to know what you know. When you force the person who you seek to serve to be pummeled by the spray of the fire hose as a precursor to receiving the true nuggets of wisdom you have to share, how receptive do you think that person becomes? Contrast that with listening deeply, thinking more deeply,

taking your time, and then offering pre-digested, immediately actionable tactical strikes with less frequency. So not only is this more helpful and respectful to the recipient, it's also more likely to keep those in a position to judge you in a state of mind that makes them not only place a higher value on your contribution, but potentially even want more. More of what you have to share, more of what you see, more of you. This is especially true in the world in which we live today. Because increasingly, we live and breathe into a barrage of constant connection and information.

We live in a firehose world. So how do you shine in that world? Be a source of value. But maybe even more important, be a source of ease. So I hope you found that valuable. This wraps another Good Life Project riff. And if you did, and if you feel like sharing it, I would so appreciate that and always welcome a quick review over on iTunes. Thanks so much for everything. I'm Jonathan Fields, signing off for this week's Good Life Project.