1, #20 - Nothing beats a story

On what you remember - Estimated Read Time: 42 seconds.

Photo by alexandru vicol on Unsplash

I recently read a short essay that I can’t stop thinking about. It’s by Khe Hy, and discusses his “$10,000/hour work” idea. Khe points out that we should be optimizing for high-skill, high-leverage work, rather than falling into the trap of “$10/hour work” (low-skill, low-leverage—like sorting emails), “$100/hour work” (low-skill, high-leverage work), or even “$1,000/hour work” (high-skill, low-leverage work—a senior attorney, billing hours). This framework is a game-changer. But what has stayed with me is the essay’s format. It’s a simple story about two people: one who takes the path toward this kind of prioritization, and one who takes the busywork path. Frankly, it’s impossible for me to summarize the impact of the story, so you’ll just have to read it. But that’s the point: the irreducible power of a compelling narrative. While I’m still an advocate for brevity, nothing beats a story.

Inspired by: Khe Hy, on multiple levels, because his work encouraged me to start writing 1! But more recently, this story (read it!) and this piece with more about the $10K/hour work concept. Plus, 1 reader Kristin Joys, for sending me the story this week!