Is this the community building tool we’ve all been waiting for? This post originally appeared on my Substack: Strategic Altruism. Substack just launched a feature called “Notes.” The idea is that writers (or creatives, or whatever the heck we’re called) can post short thoughts, half-baked ideas, prompts, images, or even snippets from other people’s work. I just made a few posts to test things out. Here’s an example:

A comprehensive process for self-evaluation. — This post first appeared on my personal blog Strategic Altruism on Substack. Prologue How many times have you set a New Year’s Resolution? How many times have you tried to change a habit or create a new one? …

Hourly? Flat-rate? Retainer? This post first appeared on my personal blog Strategic Altruism on Substack. You’ve wrestled with your rates, how much you should charge, and how you should charge. If you’re like me, you’ve also accidentally discounted your services by either solving problems for free, or by working extra…

Ultra-endurance athletes, Jiu-Jitsu, and a path to mastery. — One of the burdens we each face in our individual journey through life is figuring out how to stay present in the moment without rushing to get to the next phase. When we’re kids, all we want to do is grow up. When we’re old, all we want to do…

Generosity, good intentions, and doing the right thing. — Where have you been? It’s been about a year since you last heard from me. Wow. During that time, I’ve thought a lot about the purpose of this blog, about the purpose of my work, and the purpose of my life. We’re in a time right now where democracy in the United States is…

(An excessive, imaginary dyad.) I’ve caught myself, many times, saying “I really should be doing ____.” Sometimes that’s fine, but I have a tendency to do it a lot. (Sidenote: I liked the “too many tabs open” sentiment in this header image, but like, what’s with the fall theme? What?) …

(Software, Google Calendar, and one of those giant novelty checks.) Have you ever really wanted to accomplish something and realized that you just simply haven’t made time for it? And then, to your excitement, your brilliant, innovative mind decided you could just block off some real-estate on your Google Calendar…

(Infinite regression, turtles, Sherlock Holmes, and The Big Lebowski) When I was studying philosophy in college, I came across a story about two philosophers discussing the roundness of the earth. …

(Yoda, Hitler, and Dr. Suess.) Humans have a strange fascination with old books. Go ahead, pick an ancient book that is part of your foundation for life. The Constitution of the United States. The Bible. Whatever. It’s nice to have a heritage or a sense of history in what you…