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How risks are like being stranded on a boat
In this issue: what you forget when assessing risks, how to overcome creative "disappointment of outcomes," why it's impossible to do everything at once, and a friendly reminder about the effort behind what we see.
PJ Milani
March 04, 2025
🤔 INTERESTING
Change is risky, but so is standing still.
Most of my career, my whole identity was “Mr. Milani”—
A high school film & animation teacher.
Now I love being a teacher. But whenever students asked, “What are you making?” I froze. Teaching creativity, yet creating nothing of my own, left me feeling like an imposter.
And then the pandemic hit—and confronted me with a scary question: If I can’t teach, then who am I?
One night as I journaled about my need to start creating, I had déjà-vu. So I flipped through old notebooks and found the same words—written 11 years ago!
“I need to at least start.” (oof)
It seems when you stand in a leaky boat long enough, you stop noticing the water.
So doubts and all, I took a leap—and, yes, I stumbled right into the sharks. 😂
(No one gets it right the first try)
The lesson: when you procrastinate a decision, you’re still making a choice to stay where you are.
If you’ve been wanting to make a change, maybe it’s time to test the waters.
This issue of Visual IDEAs is brought to you by:
My 3-week course to help you stand out online with your audience and clients!
WHAT STUDENTS ARE SAYING:
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“I can see how much effort has gone into creating it and the time PJ has taken to be available to his students, both on live calls and in between.”
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↳ Translate your ideas into visuals!
📐 DESIGN
↳ The simplest hack to overcome “disappointments of outcome” when you post online.
🔮 ENCHANTING
Friendly reminder: You can't fill every cup (and that's perfectly okay).
Work demands your focus
Your partner needs quality 1-on-1 time
Family deserves your presence
Friends want you to show up when it matters
The more cups you try to fill:
↳ Faster yours runs empty
↳ Longer it takes to fill back up.
You can’t give 100% to everyone, every day. There's always a trade-off.
You can have it all. Just not all at once.
🧠 ANALOGY
Hard work won’t guarantee victory, but it WILL guarantee improvement.
🤓 WHAT I’M READING NOW
I only have a handful of books I re-read and re-listen to because they keep me grounded in reality and purpose. “From Strength to Strength” by Arthur C. Brooks is one of them.
I consider it a must-read book for anyone over 40. The subtitle says it all: “Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life.”
Lots of golden nuggets in the book, but this is one of my favorites:
“Satisfaction comes not from chasing bigger and bigger things, but paying attention to smaller and smaller things.”
And of course I had to visualize my favorite piece of research:
As we age, we shift from fluid intelligence to crystalized intelligence. Critical to be aware of the value of both if you work in teams.
One of my favorite ideas: The 2 types of intelligence
 Fluid Intelligence |  Crystalized Intelligence |
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