Hey all,

I've been thinking about a bunch of different ideas recently, so, here are a couple that I think are decently insightful:

People are individuals and products of their cultures, environments, and upbringings.

Too often we think of people as only individuals - equating all of who they are to their choices - or as only a product of their backgrounds - equating all of who they are to the sum of their identities. However, I think it's important to recognize that people are the product of their choices and identities - especially when working in a team environment.

For example, if you're starting a startup, you need to consider the individual skills of your employees and the general culture they come from and work under.
- If your employees live in a hierarchical culture and come to work in a hierarchical workplace, they may feel much more uncomfortable reporting problems, creating new ideas, etc.

It's essential to manage your mentality differently for different situations - don't be afraid to be hypocritical.

It's alright to set higher standards for yourself while you're working versus when you've completed a task. High standards may help you shoot high while working on something but should be changed before you beat yourself up over the results. In short, work hard, but be happy with whatever result you get (within reason).

Similarly, it's okay to be hyper-competitive when the time is right but you must find it within yourself to accommodate, celebrate, or befriend others when a competition has passed.

When everyone understands it's every person to themselves, it's alright to be fierce or do what you must to win.
Often though, life is a much more collaborative sport, therefore, you should celebrate others' successes as much as yours. This is because this mentality will make you more happy, and make others much more likely to help you because of your support.

Ideally, you want both an internal drive to compete/win and the capacity to support others, make friends, and lift others with you. Great societies succeed both because their leaders are capable and because people are inspired to work with each other toward the same goal.

See you next week,

-Ethan