What's A Eureka?
He Had A Lot On His Mind As He Sunk Into The Bath

What's A Eureka?

I could hear banging from inside the lift well. But the entrance to the lift shaft was boarded up with rough-sawn timber (wood).

That statement right there could be an analogy for so many things.

But wait, there's more to this crazy dream I had on the 7th of October 2023.

But before I tell you more, I have to revisit the purpose of this newsletter.

This is the ninth edition of the Displace Despair Newsletter.

The purpose is to encourage you to displace your despair. How? By curating those "eureka moments".

What is a "eureka moment"?

Before we delve into that I need to tell you a story about a man who lived in the time when Romans were conquering Syracuse.

We know two things about him.

  1. He visited a public bath.
  2. He was a thinking man.

Syracuse is now in Italy. Before it had been seized by Greeks and later, the Romans.

This man lived when the Romans took control. But before they took control of Syracuse, he was tasked by the King with unravelling a mathematical puzzle.

The puzzle was about the weight of a crown the King had ordered to be made.

Was it all gold, or had the Goldsmith done the dirty and alloyed most of the crown with silver?

That was the problem on the mind of Archimedes, as he slipped into the bath.

Everyone who has the luxury of standing in a shower of hot water for any length of time realises that this is when some unusual thoughts can surface in our minds.

Well, on this day, Archimedes had such a moment. He lept out of the bath and cried, "Eureka, I've got it!"

His idea became valuable to the King, and to history.

So the point of that diversion was to reinforce to you the importance of valuable thoughts and weird dreams.

That is a summary of where this newsletter started.

In the past we had an article about a dream in relation to a school employee. I had a lot of fun writing about that. A lot of fun indeed.

But now it is time I invited you to comment on this article, or indeed, if you have read a few issues, on the newsletter in general. I'd love to hear your opinion.

Am I bringing value? If so, what is that value?


I can tell you that I garner value from the Linked.Ability group and those behind it.

Looking to Up Your LinkedIn game?

Check out our new Link?Ability site with 200+ how-to videos, articles, interviews, podcasts – everything you need to know to achieve your professional goals using LinkedIn? whether you’re just starting out or have been on LinkedIn? for a while.


Neil Smith posts and writes articles to connect ideas, people and products together. He is a farmer by choice. He has a fulfilling full-time job, off-farm.

His beautiful wife and children help him farm goats, and make and market handmade soap. www.PalmOilFreeSoap.com and www.GoatMilkSoap.co.nz

Why do we need to curate our dreams? They'll slip away unless you do.

Many of us want to improve our #career or #sidehustle income. But the world is already at no. You don't have to do anything to get it.

The boss could say no to a new role or higher pay. The customer could say no to your offering. You have to do a lot to get to a yes.

That's why I curate those eureka moments , to displace despair.


P.S. And it's working! Since I started this process of curating my dreams and ideas I've been offered better jobs twice. I've turned them both down, and I've accepted some other benefits which I won't decribe here online.

So, feel free to join the newsletter. You might even find it entertaining.

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