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When you feel lost, think about where you're going
In this issue: setting priorities, what teaching is NOT, and why solving all your work problems shouldn't always be your top priority
PJ Milani
December 05, 2023
Sponsored by
🤔 INTERESTING
"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least."
–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
One of my biggest “aha” moments came from the book, “Essentialism” by Greg Mckeown.
And the insight was simple: the word priority is singular.
Priority used to mean “the one thing that’s most important.”
There was no such thing as priorities (plural)!
These days, we all want to do everything, everywhere, all at once. But that’s why we feel spread thin…why we’re everywhere and nowhere!
And personally, I know I often spend far too much time focusing on areas I should never have been in the first place!
Which reminds me of another favorite warning when it comes to where to focus your time:
“There is nothing quite so useless, as doing with great efficiency, something that should not be done at all.”
📐 DESIGN
It’s common to get stuck when you’re brainstorming how to visualize an idea. That’s why I have a set of reliable frameworks.
For example, consider the following:
 Inspired by the famous quote from Maya Angelou |  This framework is inspired by fellow visual creator, Janis Ozolins. |
Frameworks are thinking vehicles to get you from point A to point B.
And the more vehicles you know how to drive, the more likely you can travel anywhere you want to go with your messages.
If you want to learn more frameworks like this, you might be interested in the next Thinking in Visual Metaphors course.
🔮 ENCHANTING
“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.”
– Mark Van Doren
This issue of Visual I.D.E.A.s is sponsored by Superside:
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Graphic design, websites, ad copy–it’s all on-brand and on-time
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🧠 ANALOGY
Just when you thought you figured it out.
I loved Rubik’s Cubes as a kid, but honestly I never fully solved one. 😆
Best I could do was solve a single side and mess up everything else in the process.
This typically is my experience when I finally get work stuff in order—the rest of life turns into chaos (health, family, relationships).
P.S. My son can solve a Rubik’s Cube in less than 26 seconds…there’s a lesson in there somewhere. 🤔
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