Hi everyone,

I hope you're well and safe this week. I'm definitely keeping those of you that have dealt with the fallout from the storms in my thoughts.

On my side, I haven't had anything so notable. I did have the first session of my conlang class, and it seems like it'll be super educational and fun. My homework this week is to listen to other languages in preparation for building my language's phonetic system next week. I'm sure I'll have other updates as the course progresses. On to this week's idea:

The Portfolio Approach to Work 🎨

We're all familiar with the dominant narrative around work and career: get a job, work 40+ hours a week, retire at 65. I'm sure it's no surprise to those that read this newsletter that I've begun to question the conventional wisdom as it pertains to work. Largely, my interrogation is due to the influence of some of the folks I follow online. But I think they make good points.

Namely, that the conventional approach to work is often advocated for being the most secure, but that it might not be as sure as it seems. In The Black Swan, Nassim Taleb calls the reader to consider the Thanksgiving turkey as a means of addressing the problem of induction:

Consider a turkey that is fed every day. Every single feeding will firm up the bird’s belief that it is the general rule of life to be fed every day by friendly members of the human race “looking out for its best interests,” as a politician would say. On the afternoon of the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, something unexpected will happen to the turkey. It will incur a revision of belief.

The turkey feels most secure when it is most at risk.

Taleb makes a similar point in Antifragile, which I recently finished. He gives the example two brothers in London: an HR rep and a cab driver. The cab driver is able to absorb risk by adjusting to daily fluctuations in his fares (by, for example, moving locations) while the HR rep can't do very much if his income is imperiled. The cab driver also has a job for as long as he wants one.

What's my point with all this?

First, that having a regular 9-to-5 might not be as safe as it's said to be. And second, that if we take the turkey problem seriously, that the wisest and most secure course of action could be diversifying income streams. This tweet sums up the sentiment:

Diversification is good. Your retirement accounts are probably invested in an index fund and not all in one stock, right?

If diversification becomes the goal, then it makes sense to think about work as a portfolio of income-generating activities, rather than as a monolith. By way of example, here's Tiago Forte's breakdown:

As you might imagine, my own breakdown is considerably less balanced.

Of course, there are other important considerations when discussing employment (namely, health insurance if you're in America). And there's much else that could be said on the topic. My goal with this initial discussion is to (in a very small way) shift career mindsets. After all, it was Steve Jobs who said that "everything around you that you call life, was made up by people that were no smarter than you." So, why not make something new?

P.S. - if you're interested in this idea, the aforementioned Tiago has a great article on it.

Pete's Picks ✅

1. What I'm Reading: I got President Obama's memoir on audiobook from our public library and have been loving it! Lots of detail about things I didn't really know much about, like how his 2008 run came together. High recommend.
2. What I'm Watching: My friend and faithful reader of this newsletter, Robert, recommended Erik Anders Lang's YouTube channel to me, and it's been good watching this week. Lang makes films around golf and travel, and I've been enjoying watching his expert filmmaking. It's even got me thinking I might want to hit the local links. Good stuff, even if you don't like golf.
3. What I'm Listening To: I've mentioned the My First Million podcast before here, but I just have to bring it up again because it's become my go-to business podcast. If I see a new episode's come out, odds are I'm putting it on that second. MFM differs from most business podcasts because it's purely about brainstorming ideas, not telling stories. The hosts, Shaan and Sam, have both sold companies, so they tend to know what they're talking about. In fact, Sam's company The Hustle just sold to HubSpot for $27M.

This Week's Video 📹

How to Start Speaking at Developer Conferences

Cheers,

Peter