Move Slow and Break Things

and the power of AHA!

Here’s an adage that Silicon Valley loves:

Now let me tell you why I think it’s wrong.

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In 2016, President Obama publically applauded Danny Kahneman’s book, with good reason. Thinking Fast and Slow opened my eyes to all the inane things I do without thinking.

In a nutshell, Kahneman’s studies show that our knee-jerk, gut reactions are often foolish. We are all blind to many things, and moving quickly turns us into blind bulls in china shops. I’m a prime example.

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Old Habits Die Hard

When I was in elementary school I always wanted to be first—first pencil down, first in line, first finished with lunch.

Ever since, I’ve moved fast and broken a lot of things.

But not in the good, calculated, techy way.

In the foolish, rushing, careless way.

Here’s why I need to slow down:

Above is New Degree’s Head of Copy editing.

Does she seem happy? I don’t blame her.

It was deadline day, and they had already given me a more than generous extension. I thought I submitted the document, but hadn’t.

Mistake one:

It was still an unsent draft in my email. Careless mistake, but forgivable.

Mistake two:

Like a five-year-old, I hadn’t read the directions. The layout designer was supposed to have seen the document before submission. I didn’t even know my designer’s name.

Mistake three:

The final step (formatting) was tedious, and I rushed through it. What I had submitted was like giving a knife to someone who had ordered a bowl of soup. Completely unusable.

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The modern world is beyond fast, it’s instantaneous. Everything rips around at the speed of light—except us, and our brains. Many of us buzz around trying to accomplish a million things at once. Why? We feel like it’s the only way to catch up.

Wrong.

Slowing down is how we catch up.

We all know the feeling of an AHA! moment. A sudden realization when thinking about something else. And it’s better than anything we would’ve come up normally.

Neuroscience proves the power of the AHA. And it shows we cannot have them when rushing.

So, if we really want to grow and to break things, we need to move slow.

Lessons from a Young Creative

1. Even in the adult world, read directions. Never skip steps

2. Breaking things is good. But break the right things

   In the words of my friend Davy: “Prove you can follow rules before breaking them”

3. Have good people in your corner. Ones who will tell you when you’re wrong

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What’s next?

• The book ships at the beginning of October!! 🎃

• I’ll be guesting on podcasts and YouTube channels

  Where/with who else should I discuss the book?

• My article series (about the book) goes live

  What else do you want to see me write about? (Themes? Behind the scenes?)

I value your input!! If you have any ideas, please comment below or send me a message

Thanks for reading

—Jeremy