What I've Learned from this Newsletter

The biggest lesson I’ve learned from writing and sending out this newsletter is that writing is hard. I kind of already knew that, but now I know it even more.

I’ve tried (many times) to “just write and send something!” But I end up saving it in my drafts or deleting my words.

I used to think that it was something wrong with me. I’m not confident enough. I’m lazy. I’m afraid. It still might be some of those things, but I think it’s mostly this: I take my words seriously.

What I mean by that is: I want my words to mean something. I don’t want them to go out haphazardly with little regard for their impact. My words are my little ambassadors that relay my thoughts, my intentions, and my conclusions. So if I don’t weigh and consider my analysis and opinions, then my words are wasted, or worse, detrimental.

Part of my job as a writer is to hone my thoughts. To say what I mean to say in the way I want to say it. And if I don’t think and rethink, write and rewrite, frame and reframe, I’m just spewing nonsense.

At the same time, part of my job as a writer is to entertain you. It’s to grab at your attention and make you think, consider, and learn. If I write sloppily, I am doing you a disservice, and perhaps you will never return. And then we won’t have this intimate connection between writer and reader in which we can enter a world and connect the dots together.

So I’m glad I realized this. It gives me permission to take the time to not only write, but write well. It also gives me permission, on the days in which I cannot write, to share beautiful writing from others. (See below)

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Some Good Thoughts (From Twitter and Beyond)

Great thoughts on apology

Duke Kwon @dukekwondc

HOW TO APOLOGIZE: • express sorrow (I’m sorry) • own guilt (I was wrong) • name specific wrongs (I did X) • name impact (I hurt you) • no IFs (sorry if I) • don’t blameshift/defend (but you) • no passive voice (sorry you were offended) • make amends (what can I do)

Thoughts on Work:

Esau McCaulley Ph.D @esaumccaulley

I'm still shocked by the fact that we know nothing of what Jesus did from roughly the age of 12 til the age of 30. He was, by most estimates, simply the local wood (or metal) worker. The son of God spent decades simply going to work and doing his job well. There's a lesson here.

You have to read this obituary. Link here and in the tweet:

At the Mountains of Zackness @ZackDavisson

RIP Stanislav Petrov - None of us would be here if you hadn't refused that order to launch your nuclear missile.

npr.orgStanislav Petrov, ‘The Man Who Saved The World,’ Dies At 77Petrov was on overnight duty in 1983 when computers indicated the U.S. had launched a nuclear strike against his country. He had only a few nerve-jangling minutes to act.

This story was amazingly researched and is amazing in general. Did you know that before Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation was in the news, dogs that were part of dogfighting rings were just euthanized? Now many of them are rehabilitated. Link in the tweet or click here.

Michelle Legro @michellelegro

"The Washington Post tracked down all 47 dogs and compiled a comprehensive look into their post-adoption lives and the families they joined." ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

washingtonpost.comMichael Vick’s dogs could have been euthanized. They became adoption ambassadors.Twelve years ago, 47 dogs were rescued from quarterback Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation and given the opportunity to be family pets.

You might need to watch this via the Twitter app, but it’s WORTH IT:

Sung Min Kim @sung_minkim

Korean call (MBC Sports+) of Hyun-Jin Ryu's home run vs. the Rockies. #Dodgers

That’s all for now. Write to you later!