These glass bubbles are nice for comfort, but they’re terrible for letting us experience the thrill of movement and travel. If we want the full thrill of travel, we (from time to time) need what motorcyclists take for granted: wind, sun, air. We need to let the untamed outside world touch us.
Author: James Walpole
James Walpole is a writer, startup marketer, intellectual explorer, and perpetual apprentice. He opted out of college to join the Praxis startup apprenticeship program and currently manages marketing and communications at bitcoin payment technology company BitPay. He writes daily at jameswalpole.com.
What Entrepreneurs and Creatives Can Learn From the Jedi
Sometimes in order for our projects to succeed, they have to change in form so radically that they practically die. We must give up our attachments to how they are.
It’s The Golden Mean, Not the Golden Median
Should you be self-controlled or free? The golden medians would tell you to give yourself some choice, but not too much. I would tell you that to be fully self-controlled requires being fully free, and vice versa. You must be both, to the nth degree.
Do the Thing You’ll Remember Best: A Rule for Life Choices
We all want our lives to be great stories. And we all want to look back and remember long, vivid lives. The best way to achieve both ends is to do the thing which will leave the healthiest (AKA best) and most distinct (AKA memorable) memory: the best-memorable experience.
My Famous Dead People Dinner Party Guest List
If there is a land of dead interesting people out there, you can bet I’ll be hosting a fascinating dinner party the first week I’ll get there.
The Power and Danger of Being a Geek
Stories were always meant as starting points, not end points. We should hear the story from the storyteller, learn the lesson, and go out to create our own stories. One day we’ll be able to tell them, but first we’ve got to experience them.
You’ll Have to Relearn Most Life Lessons
There are about as many life lessons out there as there are lives (and opportunities to screw them up). But there is one lesson that is common enough to all of them.
Good Always Wins, But You Still Have a Job To Do
You don’t have to be pollyannish to believe that good always triumphs over evil. Oh, sure, it may take a long time for the good to win. And all the ends of life won’t tie themselves up neatly. But most evil is an attempt to thwart reality. And reality is not something to be thwarted.
Reading (No, Everything) Is Better Outside
My outdoor reading expedition reminded me of the stark difference between today’s experience and a day spent reading inside on my couch. I almost always feel better when I’m reading outside.
Snow vs. Bureaucracy
State and local governments in the South are particularly skittish around image and risk when snow and ice hit the ground. Naturally, they err on the side of shutting down. And for the vast majority of us, that’s a wonderful thing.