Timeless & Timely Links - March 18, 2020
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“We’ve got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.” — D.H. Lawrence, 1928
Thanks for sticking with me two days in a row. I didn’t want to overburden you with an email yesterday that was too lengthy. (Oh—and I updated yesterday’s email with the perfect clip from Jaws, and a punchier conclusion. Check out Pulling Together - Separately.)
So here are the sections that I omitted that typically appear every Wednesday.
Know someone who’d like this? Consider a gift subscription:
Timely: Present Tense
“The industrial world destroys nature not because it doesn’t love it but because it is not afraid of it.” — Mary Ruefle, 2012
This is a sensitive time. Even more than your physical health, you should consider how to protect your mental health during the coronavirus outbreak. (BBC News)
Marketers should be especially careful during this time. Ann Handley recommends a slow down to speed up (#SDSU) approach to your activities. (MarketingProfs)
Don’t forget to check and edit the COVID-19 Corporate Goodwill document and share the Upskilling in a Downturn document. (Google Docs)
Timeless: For the Curious Mind
“Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.” — H.G. Wells, 1920
Solidarity and Survival: Whether it’s earthquakes, famines, or floods, the social contract is continuously put to the test in times of calamity. (Lapham’s Quarterly)
An excellent companion piece to the Adam Smith quotes from yesterday’s essay.
While this may seem a little philosophical, this might be the perfect time for reflection. What is the soul, if not a better version of ourselves? (Aeon)
Can philosophy be taught through a painting? This video is a fascinating study:
A Life Replete with Thankfulness
“The world is a comedy to those that think, and a tragedy to those that feel.” — Horace Walpole, 1776
There’s so much to be grateful for this week, primarily my health. But also the good fortune that I’ve had in my life, and my ability to share some of it with you. I made a two-minute video about just that:
Recommended Listening / Reading
“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in the face of defeat.” —Ralph Ellison, 1952
🎧 Night Vale’s Joseph Fink introduces a new kind of current events podcast: Our Plague Year. An island in a storm of bad headlines. An experiment in public anxiety. Let's get through this year together. With contributions from Cory Doctorow and Nisi Shawl.
📘 So often in life, we get stuck in a cycle of response. We put out fires. We deal with emergencies. We stay downstream, handling one problem after another, but we never make our way upstream to fix the systems that caused the problems. Upstream probes the psychological forces that push us downstream—including “problem blindness,” which can leave us oblivious to serious problems in our midst. In Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen, Dan Heath introduces us to the thinkers who have overcome these obstacles and scored massive victories by switching to an upstream mindset.
Oh, one more thing…
Next Tuesday, March 24 at 2:00 p.m. EDT / 11:00 a.m. PDT, I’ll be part of a group discussion about Maintaining Entrepreneurial Normalcy in an Abnormal Time. I’ll be joined by other entrepreneurs and global keynote speakers Jay Baer, Aliza Licht, Jeremiah Owyang, Peter Shankman, and Winnie Sun.
Registration is free. I hope you’ll sign up and join us.
What else is influencing me? You can check out my sources of inspiration on my site and in the Timeless and Timely Flipboard magazine I curate.
The above may contain Amazon Affiliate links.