Jonathan Moore
I am a designer who lives in code, entrepreneur, and an idea incubator driven to make our world a better place.
I am a designer who lives in code, entrepreneur, and an idea incubator driven to make our world a better place.
Over time our listening history changes with the different stages of life. Past.fm is an audio device that creates a timeline that allows you to revisit your favorite music over the years. Drop your unique token into the dock and your music profile is loaded in from Last.fm, Spotify, Rdio and iTunes.
Read more about the process and project on Razan Sadeq’s site.
Throughout life we are impacted with moments that are rich with meaning and significance. Regardless of the joy or sorrow that these moments create, it is our job to listen and respond. This summer I was given the gift of one of those profound moments.
On a warm August afternoon, my wife and I invited some close friends over for lunch to spend the day swimming in our pool. We were in the water playing with our kids, watching them one-up each other jumping in, and playing all the usual games.
One of the times my daughter climbed out to jump back in, she cried out in pain after stepping on a bee. As soon as I pulled out the stinger left behind in her foot, one by one more bees began to swarm. Thinking that the dead bee was attracting others, I picked it up and went inside to throw it away.
The moment I opened the trash in the kitchen I heard my wife scream outside. It wasn’t an ordinary scream. I look outside right at the moment she was diving into the water. Racing outside I was certain that she was being attacked by the aggressive bees.
I made it to the edge of the water right when she was coming up. My heart sank. In her arms was our little boy, blue and lifeless.
A simple reminder that everyone should revisit often. Head over to islifegood.tumblr.com to grab the desktop, iPad and iPhone wallpapers.
Looking down on Kaanapali beach from above. Next week I’ll be back in my routine of posting often, but for now I’m taking a much needed break to unplug from everything digital while on vacation. Although when I’m dry enough to carry a phone I’ll post up a few shots like these on Instagram (jonathanmoore).
“Live out of your imagination, not your history.”
Stephen R. Covey
From 37signals’ book REWORK, illustration by Mike Rohde
Our culture celebrates the idea of the workaholic. We hear about people burning the midnight oil. They pull all-nighters and sleep at the office. It’s considered a badge of honor to kill yourself over a project. No amount of work is too much work.
Not only is this workaholism unnecessary, it’s stupid. Working more doesn’t mean you care more or get more done. It just means you work more.
Workaholics make the people who don’t stay late feel inadequate for “merely” working reasonable hours. That leads to guilt and poor morale all around. Plus, it leads to an ass-in-seat mentality—people stay late out of obligation, even if they aren’t really being productive.
- Excerpt from 37signals’ REWORK released today, download PDF excerpt
There has been several times in my career where I fell into this cycle working countless nights and weekends. Looking back a lot of what drives workaholism is insecurity in your work and approval from your peers. When you fall into the cycle of workaholism it always takes far longer to make creative decisions, think critically and produce exceptional work. In my personal experience, after putting in the long hours any ground I gained was usually lost the following day or week as I struggled with not having enough downtime for my mind to be fresh.
There is a distinct difference from being a workaholic and pulling the very rare all-nighter in an effort to sprint towards a deadline. One will leave you constantly trying to make up for lost productivity with endless hours and the other gives you a sense of pride and accomplishment in launching a project.
Over the last few years I have actively worked at shifting mindset from working around the clock to working with intense focus and productivity. As a result I have been able to accomplish more that I am proud of, and more importantly I have been able to spend far more time with family enjoying life.
Last Monday at 9:03am my wife and I welcomed our new little boy into our family, Jackson Cole Moore. Although he surprised us by showing up two weeks early he was incredibly healthy and a big guy at 7 lbs, 13 oz and 19.5 inches long. I posted on Flickr a photoset with more images of the experience.
It was great to spend all of last week with family completely disconnected from work and the computer, but this week I’ll be shifting back into a work schedule and regular posts.
“If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake.”
Frank Wilczek
Fixed Mind-set vs Growth Mind-set
“It’s amazing how we as people act, see, perceive, listen, & respond. We have the ability to make or break someone’s day, week, month, or life. We have the choice whether or not others actions towards us will effect our day, week, month, or life. We can speak life or death, speak hope or hurt, speak destiny, or destruction. To which persuasion do you lean?”
