🤔 INTERESTING
How do you breakthrough your limits?
For years, runners believed the human body couldn't run a mile in under four minutes. Doctors said it was physically impossible!
Then on May 6, 1954, British runner Roger Bannister ran it in 3:59.4.
But here’s the crazy part: 46 days later, John Landy from Australia did it in 3:58.0. By year's end, three more runners beat the “impossible” 4-minute mile.
Nothing changed physically, except belief.
I love this story because whenever someone does the "impossible,” others see themselves in that someone.
“I can't" → "they did"
"They did" → "I might"
"I might" → "I will"
It's like a possibility chain of evidence. Of course, your "four-minute mile" might look different. Maybe it's writing that post and hitting publish. Or speaking up in meetings. Or just facing the day.
And it works both ways. You might need someone else's proof to believe in what you can do. Someone else needs your proof to believe in what they can do.
Either way, you're part of this chain.
Break your barriers. Not just for you.
For everyone watching who thinks they can't.
(if you like this idea, check out my visual for The Stockdale Paradox)
📐 DESIGN
When you brainstorm visual ideas, it’s okay to be fast, messy, and even incomplete! The most important thing → get it down on paper and out of your head. I call this the “minimum viable capture.”
My notebooks are full of chicken scratches often filled more with words than sketches. They look like this:
Complaining visual (brainstorm)
Stockdale Paradox (brainstorm)
And they eventually turn into this:
The point is to avoid being precious with your sketches (especially if it’s preventing you from working out the ideas in your head).
By the way, if you’re ready to take the first step to translate your ideas to visuals, Thinking in Visual Metaphors starts in a couple weeks! Enrollment closes soon!
🔮 ENCHANTING
The Efficiency Trap
The more efficient you get, the more you can get done, right?
But does “success” just boil down to getting the most done and as fast as possible? Hmm. Depends how you define success.
Personally, I’m burning out trying to be more efficient. So as we gear up for 2026, I’m trying something new → Slooowing dooown. I call it “bullet-time productivity” 😬
Instead of doing more, I’m noticing more, feeling more, appreciating more. And the number one thing I’m loving more is really seeing the people who’re next to me on the journey.
The older I get, the more I just want to spend every minute around the people I love.
Wishing you and yours safety and health, wondrous journeys, and well-earned time with the people who make you happiest this New Years! ❤️
🤓 WHAT I’M READING NOW
I first bought “The Next Conversation: Argue Less, Talk More” by Jefferson Fisher because my buddy, Janis Ozolins, was involved in the book illustrating some awesome visuals. But after getting into it, I found Fisher’s tips very practical.
What I adored about the book is the ideas aren’t theoretical. They’re things you can apply almost immediately in your next discussion with a colleague or partner. And I am in love with the whole premise: the goal of argument is not to win (which honestly, does it ever feel like winning?), but to get to the next conversation.
I also liked the tips on building confidence in your speaking. I illustrated a few visual reminders of my favorites below:
The more you assert yourself, the more confident you feel.
End the sentence with eye contact.
The pace of your speech has a Goldilocks Zone.
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