On Purpose

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmb_12nmn2Aur06Haz23iIqNZ_XhR9lN1YjnH9eflQuNQ4vMvy4iHGrxJX4eaEubG3h4G7QSG3O-YI3jRCAT2Df1EMAx9M-arBvczFtS3Dh60jUzNrLHoqkzOiGKiI1Ygwj07AE_rjN6yIBymnIzHWpfeQ2Re3yeJ1b9wOk4StRnxH1cG2KkPEek6H=s2496" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1676" data-original-width="2496" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmb_12nmn2Aur06Haz23iIqNZ_XhR9lN1YjnH9eflQuNQ4vMvy4iHGrxJX4eaEubG3h4G7QSG3O-YI3jRCAT2Df1EMAx9M-arBvczFtS3Dh60jUzNrLHoqkzOiGKiI1Ygwj07AE_rjN6yIBymnIzHWpfeQ2Re3yeJ1b9wOk4StRnxH1cG2KkPEek6H=w640-h430" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alphonse_Osbert,_Soir_antique_(1908).png" target="_blank">Ancient Evening</a></i> by Alphonse Osbert, 1908 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p><p><em></em></p><blockquote><em><strong>“Man’s ideal state is realized when he has fulfilled the purpose for which he is born. And what is it that reason demands of him? Something very easy—that he live in accordance with his own nature.” </strong><em>— Seneca</em></em></blockquote><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Everyone is busy.</p><p>Busy creating. Busy in video calls. Busy trying to grasp onto fleeting moments with kids who, overburdened with so many activities, have limited time remaining at home before they embark upon their lives independently.</p><p>We’re all busy. But busy in service of what?</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p>I recall observing our then-six-year-old around the time she graduated from kindergarten. She was (and still is) busy, every day.</p><p>I jokingly asked her what she does on her day off. Fully aware that she is a nonstop self-driven dynamo, she chided me: “I’m a kid — I don’t have a day off!”</p><p><br /></p><p>How many of us are working at that kind of pace, as the lines between home and work continue to be blurred?</p><p>Who among us is focused on our well-being?</p><p></p><p>Well-being doesn’t happen by accident, nor does it happen <em>to</em> us. We need to turn our attention to it deliberately.</p><p>As leaders, we need to be concerned about the well-being of our employees, but we also need to be aware of our own need for well-being, for the burned-out leader is no leader at all.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>In the latest episode of the <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/s/timeless-leadership/archive">Timeless Leadership</a> podcast, I spoke with Deloitte’s chief well-being officer about this concept. Please be sure you’re <a href="https://pod.link/timeless">signed up on the podcast app of your choice</a>.</strong></em></div><div style="text-align: left;"><em><strong><br /></strong></em></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" data-dashlane-frameid="6395" data-dashlane-rid="82505425f8b074ae" data-form-type="" height="192" mozallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" src="//play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/22174217/height/192/theme/modern/size/large/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/ffffff/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward" style="border: none;" title="Embed Player" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe><div><hr /><br /></div><h1><strong>A Perennial Issue</strong></h1><p>We tend to think that this focus on our work above all else is a recent phenomenon — a side-effect of the wondrous technology that allows us to do what we do.</p><p>Our small talk at cocktail parties (remember those?) and other social events leads us to ask the inevitable question of our confreres:</p><p><strong>“What do you do?”</strong></p><p>We get straight to what seems to matter most to us, rather than the more genteel (and perhaps uber-polite British) <strong>“How do you do?”</strong></p><p>But this is nothing new. In 1782, Benjamin Franklin published <em><strong>Information to Those Who Would Remove to America</strong></em>, and in it, he noted that in America people</p><blockquote><p><strong>“do not inquire concerning a stranger, </strong><em><strong>What is he?</strong></em><strong> but, </strong><em><strong>What can he do?</strong></em><strong> If he has a useful art, he is welcome…But a mere man of quality, who on that account wants to live upon the public by some office or salary will be despised and disregarded.”</strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"><br /></pre><pre class="text"><br /></pre></div><h1><strong>Purpose</strong></h1><p><em><strong>“The purpose of life is not to be happy—but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you lived at all.”</strong> — Leo Rosten, 1962 </em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{"url":"https://ctt.ac/8ADbS","text":"Tweet this quote","action":null,"class":null}"><br /></p><p></p><p>More frequently, we see the mention of purpose as it relates to jobs and companies. We hear of “purpose-driven brands” and of finding the purpose in your work.</p><p>Indeed, my very first podcast guest, Laura Gassner Otting, wrote the book <em><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/2XWE8HC">Limitless</a></strong></em>, in which she noted how central <strong>consonance</strong> is to our work — when <strong>what you do</strong> matches <strong>who you are</strong>.</p><p>Incidentally, Laura celebrated her birthday <a href="https://twitter.com/heylgo/status/1493586076736311305" target="_blank">with this thread</a>:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgK81w1QbBsVaETDAi0lOAy2mi5HSmUW3iycx33ChEmfXj6vFNUNRMw59nrXA9QylQSiG9SEMDTHgfA1yX_DO2frSL1kU0RDrC27xQEFfvvOp2dHR7TALExg6jeB1GL7FA4h3yHRL0UaPRZxvc-2lh2w9l2LnuOvmQnBuUPxzRnMaLZk4kENuozRPMr=s687" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="687" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgK81w1QbBsVaETDAi0lOAy2mi5HSmUW3iycx33ChEmfXj6vFNUNRMw59nrXA9QylQSiG9SEMDTHgfA1yX_DO2frSL1kU0RDrC27xQEFfvvOp2dHR7TALExg6jeB1GL7FA4h3yHRL0UaPRZxvc-2lh2w9l2LnuOvmQnBuUPxzRnMaLZk4kENuozRPMr=w400-h186" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>The French philosopher Simone Weil, who died at the young age of 34, understood the importance of connecting our authentic selves to our work. When we’re doing the work that means something to us, that resonates with who we are, we’re being generous: generous to those whom the work touches, and generous to ourselves.</p><div><hr /><br /></div><p><em></em></p><blockquote><em><strong>“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” </strong><em>— Simone Weil, 1942</em></em></blockquote><p><em> </em></p><p></p><div><hr /></div><p>Doing good work — work that allows you to give your full attention, work that matters to you and that matches your sensibilities — isn’t inherently selfish. Quite the contrary.</p><p>Work with a purpose expands your soul and allows you to become your best self and—in your leadership capacity—to help others become the best versions of themselves.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"><br /></pre></div><p>So again, I ask: what are you busy in service of?</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"><br /></pre></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Thanks, and I'll see you on the internet.</p><div class="captioned-image-container" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><figure><a class="image-link image2" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72bac573-9902-4f3b-a2d1-6671a0ef7f0e_800x141.png" rel="nofollow" style="color: #007abe; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="sizing-normal" data-attrs="{"src":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/72bac573-9902-4f3b-a2d1-6671a0ef7f0e_800x141.png","fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":141,"width":800,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":19165,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null}" height="141" original="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72bac573-9902-4f3b-a2d1-6671a0ef7f0e_800x141.png" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72bac573-9902-4f3b-a2d1-6671a0ef7f0e_800x141.png" style="border: 0px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 95%; padding: 4px; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out 0s;" width="800" /></a></figure></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><hr /></div><h2 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 22.4px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></h2><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Premium Members receive an additional related essay, plus curated links, stories, and audio and book recommendations every other week. 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On Purpose

Ancient Evening by Alphonse Osbert, 1908 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons) “Man’s ideal state is realized when he has fulfilled the purpo...

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Being True to Your True Friends

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_tpev2TDB5xmHP1oxvIo0aRVnfgqsc7nBoG8d884QmaTzLYsTVf_a8DrQ5e526Jw5RW-4j7MRPe4XSOzIKJcjMQtMUjn3a_El5fefaSIBqlz9vaIHRIEIR8AxcpI4Y6fQcmkudBHDI-zJxQvx95ghvBclmNQUfMuR999UzDsHfgQodHwHmCi67z9m=s700" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="700" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_tpev2TDB5xmHP1oxvIo0aRVnfgqsc7nBoG8d884QmaTzLYsTVf_a8DrQ5e526Jw5RW-4j7MRPe4XSOzIKJcjMQtMUjn3a_El5fefaSIBqlz9vaIHRIEIR8AxcpI4Y6fQcmkudBHDI-zJxQvx95ghvBclmNQUfMuR999UzDsHfgQodHwHmCi67z9m=w640-h484" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Wilmer_Dewing_-_Summer_-_ca._1890.jpg" target="_blank">Summer</a></i> by Thomas Wilmer Dewing, 1890 (public domain - Wikimedia Commmons)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><em><strong>“A prudent man, remembering that life is short, gives an hour or two, now and then, to a critical examination of his friendships. He weighs them, edits them, tests the mettle of them. A few he retains, perhaps with radical changes in their terms. But the majority he expunges from his minutes and tries to forget, as he tries to forget the cold and clammy loves of year before last.”</strong> — H.L. Mencken, 1922</em></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"><br /></pre></div><p>How many true friends do you have?</p><p>By true, I mean the kind of friend who would drop everything if you were in need, who would defend you against the onslaughts that life sometimes sends, who is as much a part of you as one of your arms.</p><p>If you have a friend like this in your life, there’s something you need to do: tell them how much they mean to you, as soon as you can.</p><p>Because there are no guarantees that you’ll see them years from now or that the perfect moment will arise when you can express your appreciation. Make the moment.</p><p>We talked about <strong><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/timing">timing</a></strong> recently.</p><p><br /></p><p>I recently had a text from an old friend — a friend of over three decades — a friendship I had let lay fallow for half a decade.</p><p>The gap since our last chat was lengthier than usual, but it was not at all uncommon for six months or a years to pass between interactions; we don’t live anywhere near each other, and we’ve had competing priorities that have kept us on our separate paths.</p><p>In this case, I was prodded from my indolence with a <em>Seinfeld</em> video clip — the perfect instrument to incite action, as the show, which aired from 1989 to 1998, not only shared the timing of our friendship’s origin, but in many ways occupied our common language.</p><p>The straight jab of my friend’s name popping up on my phone caught my attention; he then hit me with a left hook of a video that nearly knocked me over with laughter: a perennial favorite of George Costanza that had been part of our code language since the episode’s first airing in 1993.</p><p>We texted back and forth for a bit before realizing a <a href="https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/ed3d1617-7d9c-4322-8eaa-3c5735cd913f">telephone communiqué</a> was more in order.</p><p>You know where this story is going.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>We picked up right where we left off, as if there was never a gap in our chats. We did the perfunctory updates: family, kids, work. Then we caught up on current events.</p><p>What struck me most about this part of our conversation wasn’t that our worldviews weren’t perfectly matched as they had been at one time; it was the give and take, the inquiry and debate, the curiosity and willingness to listen.</p><p>How much of that intelligent dialogue do we regularly experience any longer? How many of your “friendships” (and yes, friendships on social media require air quotes) help you grow and learn?</p><p>So much of our interaction happens over screens, and when the smartphones are out, the knives are out. The weapon of choice is a tweet, the wound inflicted is invisible, the victory notched by likes.</p><p>What do we accomplish with such digital warfare? The rush of dopamine may satiate an immediate need, but there are no lasting or redeeming effects. Tombstones don’t list impressions, mentions, or followers. And <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/a-monumental-reckoning?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web" target="_blank">they certainly don’t tell your whole story</a>.</p> When you’re gone, your memory will be carried on the shoulders of the reputation you leave behind, but it will also be shared by those whom you love and who love you.<p>The question is: do they know how you feel? Have you spent time demonstrating the importance of your friendship in actions and words alike?</p><p>Four years after leaving office, George Bush made sure Gerald Ford knew that he valued their friendship:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj18ijVw7L3BypARJTujQJ11Dc02klPQt7ZE_bWv4SHlI0D8v-npqA3B43Mi697ltQQYyhc7BJHIaDFD9QltgOSxrVQL6_9x_9z-_IOpDmkaR1Lkm4zbaloLsCUtONl_Gubmxu9_PBE3y8QvTx-7g9aTtuxWE-TXG8i8sVZmuaUjGVyNU7lNOK86BD1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1843" data-original-width="1456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj18ijVw7L3BypARJTujQJ11Dc02klPQt7ZE_bWv4SHlI0D8v-npqA3B43Mi697ltQQYyhc7BJHIaDFD9QltgOSxrVQL6_9x_9z-_IOpDmkaR1Lkm4zbaloLsCUtONl_Gubmxu9_PBE3y8QvTx-7g9aTtuxWE-TXG8i8sVZmuaUjGVyNU7lNOK86BD1=w507-h640" width="507" /></a></div><br /><p></p><blockquote><p>“So now, a little later in life, with more time to really sort out my own priorities, I write simply to say I am very proud to be your friend. This friendship matters a lot to me — it really does. As you and I drove across that Ohio countryside last week, it hit me like a ton of bricks, that too often we fail to tell our friends that we really care about them and are grateful to them.”</p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>What a wonderfully expressed moment of friendship between two leaders—two friends— communicated from the heart.</p><p>We should be so lucky to have a friend like that. And to be a friend like that.</p><p>How many <em>true</em> friends do you have?</p><p>How many of them have you told?</p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks, and I'll see you on the internet.</p><div class="captioned-image-container" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><figure><a class="image-link image2" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72bac573-9902-4f3b-a2d1-6671a0ef7f0e_800x141.png" rel="nofollow" style="color: #007abe; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="sizing-normal" data-attrs="{"src":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/72bac573-9902-4f3b-a2d1-6671a0ef7f0e_800x141.png","fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":141,"width":800,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":19165,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null}" height="141" original="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72bac573-9902-4f3b-a2d1-6671a0ef7f0e_800x141.png" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72bac573-9902-4f3b-a2d1-6671a0ef7f0e_800x141.png" style="border: 0px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 95%; padding: 4px; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out 0s;" width="800" /></a></figure></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><hr /></div><h2 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 22.4px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></h2><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Premium Members receive an additional related essay, plus curated links, stories, and audio and book recommendations every other week. 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Being True to Your True Friends

Summer by Thomas Wilmer Dewing, 1890 (public domain - Wikimedia Commmons) “A prudent man, remembering that life is short, gives an hour or ...

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Timing Is Everything

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEib6z6KDIfF2sBEFwBJL_GvQtPE-AM4p0cZEMLTWOeHdbDzqKkJpDE2_i3IC3yAMC_YPAVj3uAs86XhAlcKSDI4_lPwrxdFDpXrL8vpMu38gh4SLwUYDKPJrTHTYUzPAvhKGdJe3cG1zRthRsqjFS8KUfiC84RTavip22Zb7SLP9x9DSHmMdP3hD4qs=s1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="1024" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEib6z6KDIfF2sBEFwBJL_GvQtPE-AM4p0cZEMLTWOeHdbDzqKkJpDE2_i3IC3yAMC_YPAVj3uAs86XhAlcKSDI4_lPwrxdFDpXrL8vpMu38gh4SLwUYDKPJrTHTYUzPAvhKGdJe3cG1zRthRsqjFS8KUfiC84RTavip22Zb7SLP9x9DSHmMdP3hD4qs=w640-h362" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><a href="https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/the-presidents-house-by-george-munger">The President’s House</a></em> by George Munger, 1814-1815 (public domain - The White House Historical Association)</span></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false" style="text-align: left;"></label></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><blockquote><p><em><strong><br />“The past is always tense, and the future, perfect.”</strong> — Zadie Smith, 2000</em></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Did you know that the War of 1812 technically should never have taken place?</p><p>In the decades that followed the American Revolution, the United States was still an upstart. An experiment. World powers looked on with something of wonder, amusement, and skepticism.</p><p>When the British and French continued their centuries-long conflict, America was neutral. </p><p>However, in 1805, the British determined that they weren’t going to allow American ships through to France. Similarly, Napoleon ordered that neutral vessels sailing into British ports were subject to confiscation.</p><p>By 1812, President James Madison determined that America needed to be shown the respect it had earned. And on June 18, 1812, Congress officially declared war on Great Britain — for the second time in three decades.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>But just <em>two days before</em> — on June 16 — a motion was entered before the British council that the interference with American vessels was to cease. And the motion passed.</p><p>In those days, transatlantic communication was glacial. It could take up to a month for important missives to pass between the continents.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>It’s difficult to imagine that now, when not only can we reach each other simultaneously in multiple modes of communication, but we can even get things delivered to our doorstep within an hour of ordering them online.</p><p>We’d like to think that we wouldn’t fall victim to having our lines crossed in the 21st century. After all, we’d know things at the speed of light.</p><p>That’s mostly true. </p><p><br /></p><p>But we’re also victims of constantly focusing on whatever captures our attention at the moment, as we’re distracted by notifications and more content online than we can read in 100 lifetimes.</p><p>It robs us of a more balanced perspective of the past, of calm and considered thought, or even of time to reflect on our mistakes or successes of that day.</p><p>In <em><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/32zuIFR">The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For</a></strong></em>, David McCullough captured our fixation with the here and now:</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></div><blockquote><p><em><strong>“I have decided that the digital watch is the perfect symbol of an imbalance in outlook in our day. It tells us only the time it is now, at this instant, as if that were all anyone would wish or need to know.”</strong></em></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Yes, we need to be attuned to what is happening at the moment. But more than ever, today’s leaders need time — time to focus, time to reflect, time to consider what past events can teach them about present challenges.</p><p>Doing so may stave off a catastrophic future event.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet. </p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72bac573-9902-4f3b-a2d1-6671a0ef7f0e_800x141.png" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="sizing-normal" data-attrs="{"src":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/72bac573-9902-4f3b-a2d1-6671a0ef7f0e_800x141.png","fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":141,"width":800,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":19165,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null}" height="141" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72bac573-9902-4f3b-a2d1-6671a0ef7f0e_800x141.png" width="800" /></a></figure></div><div><hr /></div><h2>Two more things</h2><p>While we’re talking about the present and future, here are two previous entries you should consider; if you don’t have time to read them now, bookmark them for later.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2021/08/present-tense.html" target="_blank">Present Tense</a></b>: Why we all ought to be more interested in history.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/future-perfect" target="_blank">Future Perfect</a></b>: The future was already here – it just wasn't evenly read.</p><p><br /></p><p style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Premium Members receive an additional related essay, plus curated links, stories, and audio and book recommendations every other week. 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Timing Is Everything

The President’s House  by George Munger, 1814-1815 (public domain - The White House Historical Association) “The past is always tense, and t...

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