Curiosity drives us forward

Curiosity will keep you ahead of the curve. It teaches you new things and shows you exactly what you don't know.

Hello,

It’s December, and just a week ago, we lived in a winter wonderland, but we’re long back to the usual South of Sweden winters with rain and constant gloom. I’ve been watching season 2 of The White Lotus, dreaming myself away to Sicily.

Here’s something that I’ve been thinking of lately, also available on my blog.

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Curiosity drives us forward

Over the past two weeks, I’ve had the exact same thought in three different situations, so I think that’s probably a sign from above that I should write it down and share it with all of you.

As you may remember, when you signed up for my newsletter, you get an automated reply asking you what made you choose to sign up. This isn’t because I want to segment readers or run a complicated audience analysis. It’s because I’m genuinely interested in the answer of why someone would be willing to give me their email address.

I’m always grateful and honored that so many of you reply and say that you found value in my articles and are looking forward to reading more from me (ironically, this also makes me feel bad because I’m so much worse at writing these days). One reply stuck out to me a few weeks ago and ended with, “I am early in my career and feeling like I never know enough.” I’ll soon tell you what I replied.

The second time was when I was out walking Taylor and listening to a podcast with my friend and Olympic winner Therese Alshammar on the Swedish podcast Värvet. Therese was discussing how it was never really about winning medals or breaking records; it was about learning and improving. Naturally, the medals were a good gauge of her improvement, but that’s not what inspired her to train 12 times per week.

And finally, I was reading about Kobe, and this quote stood out to me:

“In the NBA, it was actually easier. What I found in the NBA is a lot of guys played for financial stability. When they came in the NBA, they got that financial stability. Therefore the passion and the work ethic and the obsessiveness was gone. I’m looking at that and I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s like taking candy from a baby. No wonder Mike wins all these f—ing championships,” Kobe explained.

This brings me back to the first situation - the feeling of never knowing enough. I recommend holding on to the desire to approach situations from a place of curiosity and exploration. Even after 20+ years of experience, I still feel that desire because I choose to take on new things.

Albert Einstein once said, “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.” Stay humble and search for answers.

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🔗 Michael Cina is coincidently touching the same topic in his latest Substack, Beginners Mind: “What once thrilled you with curiosity and wonder may not excite you as much once you become an expert. Beginners have far fewer expectations and preconceived notions, less understanding of the process, and fewer past experiences to limit their view of a situation.”

💬 The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered, “Man! Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present."

♥️ “Having my own website says I care about what I do beyond clocking in and out and cashing a paycheck. It shows I’m proud of what I create. If my taste or my work or the industry evolves, I have the power to reflect that on my portfolio. If I launch a new project, my first thought is to put it on my homepage. With this blog, I can write articles that connect directly back to me and my website.” - A love letter to my website

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Speak again soon,
Anton