Welcome to Mindful Monday!

Here are some things I found useful this week...

• An entertaining and useful conversation with Erin McGoff (of "Advice with Erin" fame)
• A typewriter interview from Austin Kleon about rediscovering exuberance in your work
• A classic from Morgan Housel about respect and admiration
• An essay on the importance of your opening (I think this applies to a keynote speech, too)
• And wise words about the most impactful people from Michael Gerber

#677: Erin McGoff - The Secret Language of Work

​Erin McGoff is an award-winning filmmaker known for telling nuanced stories that challenge perspectives and spark positive change. As a director and creator, she has collaborated with brands like Google, Meta, National Geographic, Capital One, Hilton, LinkedIn, Indeed, and many others. Erin has built a big online presence with over 6.5 million followers, delivering candid career and life advice for Gen Z and Millennials. Her book The Secret Language of Work provides hyper-helpful scripts for every workplace situation. You can also WATCH this conversation on YouTube.

Rediscovering Exuberance in Your Work

I love Austin Kleon's typewriter interviews. It's analog and old-school. So pleasant to read (entertaining and useful). Here is his latest one with Tom Hart about how to rediscover exuberance in your work.

Respect and Admiration

The Eulogy exercise: Write down what you want your obituary to say, then figure out how to live up to it. Everyone’s will be different, but most people would want their obituary to say: You were respected. You were admired. You were helpful. You were a good parent, a good spouse, a caring friend. You were an asset to your community. You made a contribution to your industry. But notice what's not in there.

The Introduction is The Essay

Paul Graham’s essays have some of the best introductions ever read - written in an intentional manner to hook the reader. So what exactly is PG doing in those first few sentences that most writers aren't? There's a line from old-school copywriting: you want three yeses from the reader in thirty seconds to hook them in. Yes to the title. Yes to the first sentence. Yes to staying for the paragraph. Here’s an example from one of PG’s essays: A Project of One's Own to explain how to engineer three yeses.

Wise Words

“Contrary to popular belief, my experience has shown me that the people who are exceptionally good in business aren't so because of what they know but because of their insatiable need to know more.” - Michael Gerber​

Mindful Monday is a reader-supported publication. If it helped you, forward it to your friends. Thank you! -- Ryan

Ryan Hawk Author: The Score That Matters, Welcome to Management, & The Pursuit of Excellence​ Host: The Learning Leader Show​