On: facts that are not truths, fear of success and more

This issue was first published in my biweekly newsletter.

I share 5 curated paragraphs on a mix of practical principles, frameworks, lessons, captivating stories and more.

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Today's Snapshot

• Why would one be afraid of succeeding at what they want?
• How to have a great conversation with a stranger
• Skills or time spent in school, whats valuable?
• can you really find your purpose?
• An interesting oxymoron

1-On fearing succes

Why would someone be afraid of achieving their goals?

That doesn’t make any sense (until you understand what it really means).

Fear of success is actually a thing, and it happens more than you think!

Let’s imagine you want to get in shape.

To do that, you need to ditch unhealthy foods.

That means fewer nights out and watching what you eat.

Maybe you even need to cut back on the booze.

Suddenly, you might see less of some friends who still love grabbing burgers, hitting the bar, and having a blast.

In this way, hitting your goals and being successful (getting fit) might mean losing friends, leaving some fun behind.

That’s scary for sure!

So, fearing success really boils down to fearing the changes it brings.

It’s about what you might have to give up on your path to achieving what you defined as success.

2-On being a great conversationalist

When talking to a stranger or even someone you know, it’s a good practice to not come off as either self-interested or aloof.

There is a simple framework that you can practice and then after it becomes second nature.

Step 1: Start a conversation (perhaps by asking a question)

I guess here there are no specific questions to recommend, just get the conversion started.

Step 2: when you get an answer, talk a bit more about their answer

Don’t ask another question on the heel of the one you just asked.

Instead, elaborate a bit on their answer (e.g how you can relate or something else)

This shows you are listening and paying attention.

It also helps you internalize and hopefully remember what was discussed

Note: If the response is something tragic or negative (sad event, a loss, etc…), it’s more important that you empathize instead of sympathizing.

Step 3: Leave time for the other person to ask you a question

Don’t make it fell like you are interviewing them.

When the other person hasn’t warmed up to you, it can fell a bit intrusive to ask more and more questions, and make them shutdown.

On the other hand, giving each other time to steer the conversation helps the both of you warmup to each other smoothly

Repeat Step1 through 3 back and forth.

This ladies and gentleman, is what is referred to as the ping pong method.

This video is a more comprehensive resource for the framework

3-On the new currency of education

Time used to be the gold standard in mainstream/traditional education.

Spending years in school, regardless of what you learned, held more weight than any skills you picked up elsewhere.

Employers, the gatekeepers of this system, didn’t even consider you for a job unless you followed the traditional path.

Having a high school diploma or college degree was the ultimate qualifier for consideration for a job, even if you couldn’t actually lacked the skills required to do the work.

But things are changing.

In the information age, skills have become the new currency of education.

Companies need people who can hit the ground running, not graduates who require months of training.

Hiring someone with the right skills, no matter where or how they got them, is much more efficient.

Soon, your degree won’t matter if you can’t do the job.

You’ll be competing against someone who took a bootcamp or specialized course to learn the exact skills employers are looking for.

The market doesn’t care about your fancy degree or the name of your college.

It only rewards practical skills that get the job done.

This shift will force the education system to adapt.

Schools are businesses, after all, selling a product (education) that leads to jobs.

They’ll need to compete with smaller programs offering targeted skill sets directly aligned with what the market needs.

Think schools like Bloom, where you don’t pay tuition upfront, but only after you land a job.

The future of education will more than likely be filled with smaller, specialized programs, that offer the specific skills employers are looking for.

Skills not time will be the ultimate currency of education.

4-On creating your purpose

Most self-help gurus and life coaches have one thing wrong: they tell you to find your purpose.

But I think it’s the other way around: you create your purpose.

Life on its own isn’t meaningful. You’re born somewhere you didn’t choose, live maybe 70-80 years, then die (and likely fade from memory in 100). So, if you don’t choose to give your life meaning, it won’t find it on its own.

What gives life meaning? How you choose to live it! And your chosen actions and goals become your purpose.

Finding your purpose isn’t about waiting for a lightning bolt. It’s about exploring, searching, and actively shaping your life. The journey itself is part of your purpose.

In retrospect, I actually think my alma matter was up to something with their slogan.

Choose a dream to chase, add accountability and responsibility, and you’ll be living your purpose!

It’s that simple.

5-On facts that are not true

Facts are not always true (hear me out)

“Truth” and “facts” are not synonymous.

Truth and facts are also not what persuade people in choosing (a story for another time).

And the truth shall not always set you free:

This story is an illustration of the above:

In the 1840s, Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician, made an observation that when medical students washed their hands before assisting women with childbirth, there were less mothers died after giving birth.

Instead of looking further into the merits of this observation, his colleagues called him crazy (and cancelled him)

He ended up in an asylum.

Two decades later, when Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch laid the foundation of germ theory, then only then did Ignaz’ observation make sense.

2 of my own deduction/addition to this:

• Facts are not always truths. They are truths at the time, as far as we know and as far as our understand permits.
• Just because something is true doesn't imply it will also be self-evident and accepted or recognized for it being the truth.

Max Planck famously said:

“A new scientific truth doesn’t triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die.”

Think about this.