Showing Kindness Goes a Long Way

I write a lesson I wished I had learned 10 years earlier, to feed our brains with intelligent content to start our week. I also share interesting articles, book quotes, and the occasional speech or TED talk to help us all get smarter, wiser and live better.

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Happy Sunday!

This week I talk about kindness. Showing kindness goes a long way.

Earlier in the week, I heard a loud bang outside my window. I looked out and saw the planks of wood tied on top of the builders’ van had come loose. The wood crashed on top of the car in front. As you can imagine, this caused some chaos.

A man driving past spotted what happened. He instantly got out of his car to help the builders load the wood back onto the roof their van. He even gave them some extra rope and strings to fasten the plank of wood. As soon as they were done, he wished them well and drove away.

I was really touched by this display of kindness by a random Good Samaritan. It’s reassuring to know that there are still some really nice and kind people out there.

The lesson here is that kindness doesn’t just have a direct impact the person you’re helping. Kindness also has an indirect benefit on others, to others like myself - a witness to the event. I have also consciously (and unconsciously) paid that kindness forward to others. The builders are likely to be in a better mood than they would otherwise have been, which will reflect positively on their interactions with their families once they return home.

You never know who will be touched by your kindness. It pays to be kind.

Showing kindness goes a long way.

Have an awesome week ahead,
Samuel

Featured Article

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We think we must know how to do something or have the experience before getting started. Successful people are different and start before they are ready.

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Killer Mike Press Conference

Atlanta rapper press conference - The racial division in the US is painful, following the brutal killing of George Floyd. Rapper, Killer Mike makes an emotional plea to protesters to hold senior officials and politicians to account. A powerful speech. We're all tired of seeing black men die.

Does school kill creativity? | Ted Talk

An engaging and thought-provoking speech by Sir Ken Robinson. Ken argues for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. The flaw in our education system is that it’s built to train students into becoming university professors. Students should be allowed to follow their curiosity - we don’t want a world where everyone thinks like or becomes a university professor.

Climbing the wrong hill

An article by Chris Dixon, partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The lesson here is to make sure the path you’re walking down is the right path. If it’s not, don’t waste years following that path. Get yourself on the right path for you.

Tweet of the Week

This Week's Wisdom

“Whatever we face, we have a choice: Will we be blocked by obstacles, or will we advance through and over them?”
- Ryan Holiday, in the book The Obstacle Is the Way

I use readwise to resurface content I've previously highlighted. My followers can get an extra month for free by following this link.

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