2 years and 100 posts into this newsletter, one of the themes that keeps coming back is, well, repetition. As much as I’d like to think that each week of reflection and writing would bring some entirely new insight, it’s been interesting to see the same principles emerging again and again.
So, it’s perhaps not so surprising that, after reviewing all of my previous posts, the single best insight from all of them is… 1, #1:
Less is more. We’ve all heard it a thousand times, but it’s so easy to get drawn back into the deafening cultural insistence that, no… more is more. And while material minimalism (Marie Kondo!) and aesthetic minimalism (Apple!) are becoming increasingly popular, I’m realizing that behavioral minimalism is just as important. As I’ve often said: when you do a little bit of everything, you never do much of anything. What is important enough to you that you’re willing to do less of everything else to pursue it?
This is a lesson that I’m still learning. So, I’m excited to see what we’ll learn in the next 100 posts! But I won’t be surprised if I’m still learning the same thing then, too.
Insight inspired by: You! Thank you for reading along. And also to Banks Benitez, who first introduced me to Greg McKeown’s book, Essentialism, which inspired this newsletter in many ways. Fun fact: The 10th-anniversary edition of Essentialism came out last month—and Banks is featured in the very beginning of the new introduction. Be sure to pick up a copy!
Congratulations on your 100th, the time has flown by. Thanks for the intro to Essentialism, I listened to it on our flight back to California. Hearing the impact examples of his book at the ten-year mark is very interesting. I wish I had read his work earlier, but the current timing and intention is incredible.
Thanks, Jonathan! Your reflections have been a huge inspiration for my newsletter. Excited for the next 100!