This issue’s sponsor is Wispr Flow:
Stop typing what you could say in 10 seconds.
Wispr Flow turns your voice into clean, professional text inside any app. Emails, Slack, client updates — speak once, send without editing. 4x faster than typing.
📐 DESIGN
Oh you wanna see the behind the scenes of a visual do you?! 😆
The scribbling behind the “how we expect people to communicate” visual above.
My favorite question to ask my high school students:
“What’s the third or fourth right answer?”
In film & animation, we explore this through a process of rapid, small-scale brainstorming called “thumbnailing.” And it’s one of my favorite ways to push the creative interpretation of an idea.
The rules are simple:
Set a timer (3-5 minutes is the sweet spot for me)
Use a pen (no erasing)
Keep the scale small and rough (we’re going for speed)
Aim for quantity and variation (5-20 versions at least)
The more absurd your ideas feel to you, the better
If you practice this skill regularly, I have no doubt you’ll come up with fresh and interesting ideas an AI would never even come close to generating.
By the way if you like stuff like this, you’ll love learning alongside fellow deep thinkers in my course, Thinking in Visual Metaphors.
Sign up for the waitlist to make sure you don’t miss the next time enrollment opens.
🔮 ENCHANTING
I'm a recovering multitasker.
Always wanting to do everything. Mostly cause it felt wildly uncomfortable to focus on just one thing. What if I picked wrong??
So the obvious choice was to get it ALL done at once.
But the older I get the more I realize the only productivity advice worth its salt is do more by doing less. The Stoics called it "Festina Lente," which means "make haste slowly."
It's a weird paradox but if your goal is to get things done, move with care at a pace that keeps you from wasting your efforts.
One thing at a time.
🧠 ANALOGY
The older I get, the more I marvel at all the trivial and major decisions that had to happen to be here.
What crazy decisions did you make or not make because of a relationship?
What random conversation allowed you to meet someone that would become a mentor?
What chance did you take that made you change ladders?
🤓 WHAT I’M READING NOW
My good friend, Jay Yang, is about to release his second book, Work With The Best. I met Jay when he was still in high school and his story is wild. He's worked with founders like Tyler Denk, Noah Kagan, and Alex Hormozi…before he was old enough to rent a car! And now he’s 20 years old publishing his second book!
I’m excited for 2 big reasons, (1) Jay is an example I mention often with my high school students of what’s possible in today’s creator economy if you put in the time, effort, and commitment to take advantage of it. (2) My good mate, Michael J. Boorman (@wisdommadeasy) is working on the visuals!
I’d recommend this book for anyone starting out or transitioning in their career.
Two of my favorite quotes from the book:
A wise mentor once told me: “Before you play the game, study the winners. If you don’t want their life, don’t play their game.”
For anything in life, it's not just about what you achieve. It's about who you become in the process.
Rate this week's newsletter:
If you’ve come this far, here's my question for you this week:
How did you adapt to the last time you bit off more than you could chew?
Reply and let me know. While I can't write back to everyone,
I read every response.
If you'd like to join the 27,000+ subscribers getting Visual IDEAs straight into their inbox, subscribe below:
Thanks for reading! Reply any time with feedback or questions.
I made this newsletter with beehiiv, my favorite tool for easily creating and growing a newsletter.
When you’re ready, I’ve built a course to teach Thinking in Visual Metaphors: Join the Waiting List
