MICHAEL MCHUGH

Friday Five – The Most Important Question of Your Life, Seek progress and not perfection

person wearing suit reading business newspaper

Quote of the Week

“We seek progress, not perfection.” –– Richard and Christopher Chandler

Music of the Week

Big Desk Energy was shared by The Morning Brew recently. The playlist is perfect to have on in the background at work. Separately, Breathe in, Breathe out, Move on by Jimmy Buffett was featured in the Axios New Orleans newsletter. The entire Jimmy Buffett Take The Weather With You album from 2006 hits. 

Article of the Week

Mark Manson’s article The Most Important Question of Your Life poses the question “What pain do you want in your life? What are you willing to struggle for?” I love this framing. 

The article is loaded with thought-provoking ideas like this paragraph that says “Everybody wants to have an amazing job and financial independence—but not everyone wants to suffer through 60-hour work weeks, long commutes, and obnoxious paperwork, to navigate arbitrary corporate hierarchies and the blasé confines of an infinite cubicle hell. People want to be rich without the risk, without the sacrifice, without the delayed gratification necessary to accumulate wealth.”

Another paragraph that hit me hard was this one, “People want to start their own business or become financially independent. But you don’t end up a successful entrepreneur unless you find a way to appreciate the risk, the uncertainty, the repeated failures, and work insane hours on something you have no idea whether or not it will be successful.”

Book of the Week

Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life by Steve Martin walks you through the hilarious and at times sad story of Martin starting his career in the mid-seventies when he exploded onto the comedy scene. Fast forward to the early 80’s and Martin quits stand-up forever. 

Martin starts the book at age 10 when he sells guidebooks at Disneyland, at the time a newly opened theme park. After his time at Disneyland in the magic shop, Martin next worked at the Big Cage Theatre where he performed his first comedy/magic act working and honing his craft that would last a lifetime.

Two things are clear in this book. One, the incredible sacrifices and discipline required to hone your comedic craft. Two, how hard Martin’s father was on him by never acknowledging his work.

Podcast of the Week

Renewable energy podcasts were the flavor of this past week. New Project Media, Catalyst, Volts, and Currents all offered informative podcasts on all things renewable energy. A few of my favorite podcasts episodes I enjoyed include PEI Global Partners on the Development Loan SectorCresta’s Managing Partner on Clean Energy InvestmentEV Realty CEO on EV Fleet InfrastructureSonnen Senior Vice President on Energy Storage SystemsA clever new way to distribute storage on the gridUnderstanding the transmission bottleneckJonathan Kaufman | Evercore, and Vinod Mukani | Nomura.


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