Good morning!☀
Today is a light-lift Monday. Not a longer essay but rather some nuggets I picked up over the last week that I’m still chewing on. This is my commitment to you to be more regular, even if shorter.
🛥️Wargames
This WSJ article on a new era of “Great Power” scared the 💩 out of me. I didn’t realize Xi has given a public timeline on when China must be ready to invade Taiwan (2027). What strikes me about this article is not that China’s technology is better (they stole much of it) or that their version of governance is working better (no). They simply started planning earlier and are executing toward a long-term goal. Now the US is playing catch-up.
There’s a lesson to be learned on the importance of nurturing relationships with friends/allies and the benefit of methodical planning and ruthless execution.
🤷♂️ Rank your values or have them be ranked for you
Rachel Botsman is a fascinating thought leader who writes about trust. Last month, she wrote about values and how we pretend we act on them v. how we actually act on them. Put her way: “If all values are equal, which one wins when competing priorities exist?” We aren’t always deciding if we want to act with integrity (the most common company value) or not. Or if we want to collaborate (#2 most common) or not. Sometimes we have to pick whether we want to act with integrity or collaborate. Which do we choose? Whether or not you or your company explicitly rank your values, there is a rank. Might as well act accordingly. As Luke Burgis put it: “A hierarchy of values is especially critical when choices have to be made between good things.” What forces that hierarchy are often desires. Burgis’ book on mimetic desires posits that, on its way to action, desire goes through or around “models” - a family member, friend, coworker, or IG celeb.
When you don’t know what your “model” for a desire is, you’re in trouble (why am I buying this artisan soap subscription box? I have no money and I use body wash). When you do know what the model is, you’re generally safer. You can either buy that artisan soap knowing you just want to smell how that IG model looks, or you can live in the comfort of knowing that you trust whatever model made you buy soap. It is easier to align your values with your actions when your models align with your values. Tldr: be purposeful with whom you spend time.
Enjoying this? Help me out and share Monday Mornings.
☕️ Pause
I really like coffee, but I have absolutely no desire to know the mechanics of espresso like Nick details in his article. But I absolutely loved reading it. Next time you stop by your coffeeshop, pause to appreciate the depth of love that goes into crafting a great espresso. For that matter, next time you see anything that has been created (everything), pause and imagine the person who absolutely fell in love with crafting it. Visualize their passion for it. It makes life better.
This stuck with me:
We can still have nice things:
— Nico
www.nicochoksi.com | @nico_in140
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