No #146 | September 22, 2024

by Matthew Boyd

Good morning, welcome to the weekly Lead It Cool newsletter.

Congrats to my incredibly talented wife, Valentina, who released her latest book this past week. This is her third book released in 16 months (!). The book is getting some pretty impressive reviews so far, so if you're a fan of the contemporary romance genre I encourage you to check it out💚.

In this week's Lead It Cool newsletter:

• ⚾Moneyball
• 📝How to Write
• ✂Shaving the Yak
• 🤣Too Much Coffee
• 😎Cool Links

⚾Moneyball

After 57 years of baseball history, the Oakland Athletics are playing their last home game this week in Oakland before relocating to Las Vegas (via Sacramento).

When I heard about this news, I had two thoughts.

The first was this must be heartbreaking for any fans in Oakland. This is the third major sports franchise to leave Oakland in recent years. The Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020, and the Warriors crossed the Bay to San Francisco in 2019. For loyal fans of the A’s, it’s a heartbreaking end to a relationship that’s lasted for generations.

As a former Vancouver Grizzlies fan, I can deeply empathize with the pain of losing a beloved local team. It’s a wound that never fully heals, made even more painful by the fact that the team continues to thrive - just in another city.

My second thought was about Moneyball, the 2003 book by Michael Lewis that chronicles the innovative and controversial approach of the Oakland A’s General Manager, Billy Beane.

The book, which was later adapted into a film starring Brad Pitt, is a seminal work not just in sports literature but also in its exploration of biases and the resistance to change in traditional systems. It’s a book I revisit every couple of years as it serves as a shining example of biases and the power of data-driven decision-making.

Here are some of my favourite quotes from the book:

So to all the fans of the Oakland Athletics out there, I give you a virtual hug.

📝How To Write

I really like this list of advice on how to write.

Three things that really stand out:

1. Write the way you talk
2. Read it out loud the next day (this is a great way to proofread)
3. If you want action, don't write, go and talk to the person

✂Yak Shaving

I learned a new expression recently: Shaving the yak.

Shaving the yak refers to getting caught up in a series of unnecessary tasks that you feel you need to complete before you can accomplish your main goal. It often happens when you start working on something simple but end up doing a bunch of unrelated things that distract you from the original purpose.

🤣Too Much Coffee

Does anyone else get to the mid-afternoon and start getting a headache then reflect on what they've had to drink so far that day and realize they've only had coffee? 🤣

Goal: drink more water.

Comic by Asher Perlman​

😎Cool Links

😁They're doing a reboot of The Office, set in Australia. This should be fun.

💸The experience economy is booming. So is regret. Experiangst is similar to buyer’s remorse. Experiangst is dissatisfaction that strikes before, during, or after an experience. Experiangst can remind you of something else you should’ve bought. And experiangst can be just plain exhausting.

📝Paper Trails: How Notebooks Change the World (Podcast). Many school curriculums downplay cursive these days. Shame. Allen points to evidence that maintaining a notebook with pen and paper is best for processing and retaining information. It can stave off depression and act as ballast to those struggling with ADHD. It is tactile, a form of “embodied cognition”, another example of the superiority of slowness. (h/t to G for the recommendation)

🧠Intentional Curiosity: Get your Brain to Focus on What Matters. While curiosity and focus may seem like opposing drives, they’re actually deeply intertwined. By understanding the neuroscience of attention you can learn to intentionally direct and sustain your curiosity to achieve your ambitions.

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