Curiosity Chronicle

The most famous sculpture in history was almost never created…

In 1464, the Opera del Duomo—the committee overseeing the cathedral in Florence—commissioned a massive statue to adorn the cathedral’s roofline.

They sourced a single, 17-foot block of marble from the quarries in Carrara, Italy.

A sculptor named Agostino di Duccio began work on the project, but after a short stint, he backed out...

•••
This episode brought to you by:
DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. 
Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place.
Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed.
Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.

A few weeks ago, I had the unique opportunity to attend a small author’s retreat hosted by Atomic Habits author James Clear.

To be honest, it was a bit of a ”pinch-me” moment.

I was in a room with a group of 15 authors I’ve long admired, who had collectively sold tens of millions of books and left an indelible mark on the world with their ideas and insights.

We were each asked to share something that had been working for us, and once I shook off the feeling of imposter syndrome, the thing I decided to share was my framework on opportunity selection.

It sparked a deep dialogue and clearly resonated with the group—so I want to share it with all of you today...

•••
This episode brought to you by:
DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. 
Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place.
Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed.
Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.

A group of kindergarteners outperformed the CEOs, lawyers, and MBAs.

The way they did it has a lesson I've never been able to forget.

While in college over a decade ago, I watched a ​TED Talk​ by a famed designer named ​Peter Skillman​ about an experiment he conducted in which groups of participants were given a challenge...

•••
This episode brought to you by:
DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. 
Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place.
Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed.
Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.

My entire life changed when I realized that I would never want to trade lives with the people I read books about.

Allow me to explain with a story about the richest man who ever lived.

In the early 1500s, an enterprising German financier named Jakob Fugger rose to prominence on the European continent...

•••
This episode brought to you by:
DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. 
Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place.
Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed.
Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.

A few weeks ago, I shared a piece on my ​Anti-To-Do List​ and the general merits of using inversion to improve your life.

The idea was straightforward:
Write down what you want to avoid doing.
Avoid doing those things.
I've gotten a lot of value from using inversion like this as a tool to provide clarity on my actions and avoid painful mistakes.

As the late Charlie Munger famously said, "All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I'll never go there."

But a few readers replied with an interesting question:

Doesn't focusing on what you don't want make you more likely to get it?

This raises an important point that I've never addressed directly...

•••
This episode brought to you by:
DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. 
Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place.
Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed.
Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.