TSS #040 - May 19th, 2024
on graduation speeches, china/tiktok, and a few other things
Good afternoon and happy Sunday folks,
6 days, 6 flights, and numerous miles in rental trucks later… I am back in Austin and typing up a draft of this newsletter.
I was planning to debrief more about the past week, but honestly, I am still recovering and reflecting on my experience.
In lieu, here are a few highlights:
Met with 6 landowners to discuss enrollment for this season’s carbon program
Led a sales training session for one of North America's largest tree nurseries.
Visited one of our first inoculation trials — and got to see for myself the results of Funga’s intervention…
I am excited to write and reflect more deeply on the above in future posts — and will do so after I bump my average sleep time up from last week’s 4-5 hours per night…
Due to the lack of bandwidth, I didn’t have time to put together a theme for this week’s Study, so I will be sharing the few things I did get to consume that are worth sharing.
Let’s dive in!
Jerry Seinfeld’s commencement address
It’s graduation season! And with graduation comes some interesting commencement speakers (most notably in Kansas and at OSU…) BUT! Amongst the rough, there are some diamonds…and this one is a diamond.
Ant’s Notes:
find fascination, not passion
Jerry’s 3 keys to life:
bust your ass
pay attention
fall in love
Find something where you “love the good parts and don’t mind the bad parts too much” — find the torture you are comfortable with
Use your privilege
“We are embarrassed of things we should be proud of and proud of things we should be embarrassed about”
The richness of the human experience is in learning to enjoy the expenditure of energy that may or may not be on the ‘correct path’ — focus less on getting to the answer, destination, and result.
Do not lose your sense of humor.
“wanting to make as much money as you can < having the coolest job”
don’t think about having, think about becoming
“try to enjoy the dumbness of it all”
My favorite part of this speech is how conversational it is. Jerry does not look down or read from a paper — it’s simple, funny, and feels authentic. Worth your time.
(As a bonus, if you liked this speech, check out my favorite graduation speech from Neil Gaiman. If you have any more you love that I should check out, put them in the comments :)
On TikTok and China
I listened to this full episode, but I was driving all over GA at the time and did not take comprehensive notes. I learned quite a bit, as this geopolitical “4D Chess” stuff is not in my direct purview — I still need to do more of my own research here to have an opinion. So! Use your own judgment, but I think the clip gives some insight into the behind-the-scenes of America’s current standing with China/TikTok.
If this interests you, but you do not want to listen to the full episode, I recommend watching this clip on why Taiwan matters.
Ant’s Notes:
Is the Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to “win the global majority?”
Should TikTok be owned by a foreign entity?
On foreign policy/partnerships: “There is more stability and predictability working with China than the U.S.” (because the U.S. is quite divided right now and there are large shifts every 4 years.)
“It doesn’t matter what’s true or false, it matters who’s controlling the platform”
To the above, I think to myself, “Well can’t someone in the U.S. just make a copy of TikTok??” Then I am reminded of our current social media lords… And I don’t think Zuck and Elon are going to make social media less destructive/polarizing anytime soon (because that’s what makes $$) SO this further complicates the pros/cons, risks/rewards of social media, and platform ownership.
At the end of the day, continue to be aware of the incentives of certain platforms/politicians/owners and consume content consciously! (for example, content from curators/people you trust ;)
Extra note from me: In the clip, Matt quotes Senator Vandenburg saying, “Politics should stop at the water’s edge.”
This has been sticking with me since I first listened.
The context of this quote was to ensure the US had bipartisan support for the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and NATO during the Cold War.
The intent behind this quote is that when it comes to our national interest, we should remember that we (the U.S.) are on the same team.
i.e. that despite our differences, we as a country, need to align on certain things — specifically alignment on macro (world) issues over micro (within the U.S.) issues.
Again, I need to do more of my own research here, but I just wonder how possible this is given the current political climate and polarization. I also feel that isolationism, though it may serve us well, may not solve the problem — especially now that the world is globalized and hyperconnected…
Food for thought! Would love to hear more perspectives or resources if ya have them.
a few tweets i’m pondering
on the two important questions of life
Figure out:
What does the world want from you?
What does your soul want from you?
Neil Gaiman’s one rule for writing
“You are allowed to do absolutely nothing or…”
Murakami on becoming a writer
I did not know Murakami became a writer at 29!
a couple o’ quotes
"Don’t waste your time chasing butterflies. Mend your garden, and the butterflies will come."
— Mario Quintana
"A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning."
— Brad Henry
As always, if you’ve made it this far, thank you.
If you have any questions, comments, or ways I can improve this newsletter, please comment/reply!
Lastly, if you enjoyed or I made you think today — please consider letting me know by leaving a like. (This helps others find this newsletter…and it makes me smile :)
ML,
Ant-o-nee
For my readers in the blow-the-fold club, here are some humorous things from the past week:
In my last post, I shared some beautiful photos
- on grafik desine
(I resonate most with 1 and 7 lol)
what would i do without tiktok's ice cup gas station POV in south korea?