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Rudders and Oars

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I have done well to write consistently. Simply keeping up with posting on Mondays and Thursdays is plenty for me, as well as my own journal habit.

I fear I have not done my best in sharing openly. My first two blog posts were, dare I say, uninspired. While I won't wait for inspiration to strike, I do hope to choose topics that I care more about. Though this post is my oar, I hope to add real reflection and personal contextualization in my future posts. I have had a difficulty in writing about what is meaningful to me; whether that is because I don't know what to write or simply don't want to think on these things is up in the air (the air errs on the side of the latter). I suppose this will take time, as all things do.

Same as consistency, this promise to write a post biweekly has created accountability. I've had 3 instances in which I have been asked for my posts, and 3 instances in which I have failed to provide the link! While I am forgetful, and perhaps a tad absent minded, I have amended these and am proud to say I have kept to my schedule.

Am I teaching what I am learning? Perhaps. I felt pressured to learn, as might have been clear in my preliminary posts. Simply selecting a topic, a lecture to summarize or a point from a book I had yet to contextualize in the fashion I had hope, does not suffice in my eyes. How can I teach when I myself have not put in the time to create real learning?

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My Quartet

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Over the past two weeks I have done well to continue reading what I set out to. I, however, have struggled with consistency not of content, but of method.

Education and content is wonderful and lovely when it is routinely processed. Over the last two years, as I returned to learning from my COVID hiatus of platform fighters and personal dissatisfaction, I have consistently sought the perfect “personal knowledge management” software. I'll give you a quick hint: it doesn't exist. At this moment, I have devolved gratefully to a combination of handwritten notes and notepad, the default Windows .txt software.

This process of confronting my “intelligent” procrastination has been rewarding. I feel as though I have actually gotten some work done, in transcribing my thoughts to a single medium, and I am excited to share those thoughts when I am done.

I failed to mention the purpose of reading these books, but I feel as though I am narrowing in on it. I read these books at a time in which I was inspired, incredibly motivated, and surrounded by people who brought out the best in me. The also gave me the confidence to bring out the worst. Having recently – though I fear I am verging on the edge of being able to say that – graduated college, I find myself with a general degree with many soft skills, yet few hard skills. I hope to gain from my Quartet the tools and focus to truly develop a hard skill that I can bring to market: copy writing.

These books share many similarities, and weave common threads. I hope to expose these threads by producing an educated plan for developing this skill in myself over the next half year.

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Focus, as a skill

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Throughout my life, I have been blessed and cursed with obsession. I have breezed through the required and obsessed on fads ranging from Rubik's cubes to yo-yos, to chess and the like. I've however, found myself in a position where the required is not so easily coasted on: I am no longer assigned work in the traditional sense.

My situation is often one I am not proud of. Working a remote job part time, pursuing a professional Ultimate career, and living at home is a combination of existence that I was not prepared for. Plagued by injury, the solitude of remote work, and the typhoon of living with family amongst dynamics old and new alike, I've found myself craving distraction.

My primary distraction taken away by injury, the pleasure of self reflection and determination has come to me. While the prior sentence sounds to be coming from a place of confidence, it is more akin to personal assurance. It is the story I tell myself to move myself forward. The stories we tell ourselves end in the same way, funnily enough.

As I learn, or re-learn, to focus on crafting the story I choose for myself, I find myself looking to the small wins: I found myself reading nearly two entire books in the same number of days, all while reading a fantasy novel for pleasure. I've nearly all of my coaching obligations despite my injury. I've kept up with this blog.

I am in the process of focusing my life toward what I aim it to be. This is not confused with goal setting. I have no idea what it is I would like to be doing in years to come, I have no grandiose delusions (anymore) of my placement in the world (perhaps optimistic, feel free to knock me down a peg or two when you feel the whim). I only know how I feel about my day to day.

I would like to write thoughtfully. I would like to read interesting material. I would like to play ultimate at an increasingly high level. I would like to be honest.

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Trying too hard is exactly that

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Flow is real, and flow is honesty at work. I don't need to be anywhere right now, only engaged in the now. If I find myself straining, I will trust that it is not the fault of my motivation or my desire, only the fault of the systems I employ. Curious tinkering, and playful reflection are the name of the game. I only wish to keep playing.

My previous posts were trying to hard. Too hard to be valuable, and too hard to show completeness. Nothing I do is complete. Done is better than perfect, and waiting for perfect gets old, quickly.

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Who is this for?

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At first I was undecided. The authors of blogs I admired, or rather a couple of the authors I am reading, seem to sell as they write while selling what they write. I don't mean to do that. My first two, proper articles were examples of that, selling some idea that wasn't even mine to sell. My third was fun. I loved that. Why? Because it was a topic that I sought to understand, and so my sharing was inspired. I am no longer undecided. You might even say I am decided... and you might even say that was nowhere near as clever as I thought it might be.

This blog is for me. It is to put into the world evidence of my own progress. It is my scorecard, in a sense. I have first say and final say of what goes here... that does not mean, however, that I am doing this alone.

If any of my writing inspires you to share something you feel will make my life more interesting, please do. I'll respond if it is something that I wish to pick your brain about some more. “Ctrl + F” email on the home page for my contact.

Why? Because this is a grammatically correct sentence:

“Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.”

Yep. You read that right. I was confused by this too, just two days ago. You see, this is an Ultimate frisbee chant.

Confusing? Check. Fun to say? Check. An inside joke that makes no sense to anyone who isn't in on it?

Check.

If you're like me, you've re-read this chant three times over . I'm like to understand what I'm told.

And I am stubborn. So now I'm writing a blog post about it.

If you'd like to puzzle this out on your own, go for it. Thirty minutes well spent. See if we’re on the same page when you’re satisfied with your attempt.

Let’s Break it down

In order to understand why this is a complete sentence, we have to understand what a complete sentence is made up of.

1. The Subject The performer.

2. The Predicate The action being performed.

3. The Object The recipient of the action.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. [The quick brown fox](subject) [jumps over](predicate) [the lazy dog](object).

I ate a sandwich. [I](subject) [ate](predicate) [a sandwich](object).

Luckily for us, “Buffalo” can mean

1. A noun (bison)

2. A proper noun (Buffalo, NY)

and

1. A verb (to intimidate, bully, or harass) – betcha didn't know that one. I didn't.

Build it up

If we're going by sentence form, we can start simple:

[Buffalo](subject) [buffalo](predicate) [buffalo](object)

In other words, bison bully bison. Great. We're almost halfway there.

Which parts can we extend using our limited (singular) vocabulary, and which can we not?

Well, we can extend a subject by describing it. “A fox” can become “A brown fox” can become “A quick brown fox.”

Our fox could even hail from the great city of Buffalo, NY, making it a “A quick brown *Buffalo* fox.” By this logic, our buffalo could become “Buffalo buffalo.”

We can also extend a verb, using adverbs, but not with “buffalo.” A shame, but we will live.

Using our new buffalo from Buffalo, we can extend both our subject and object. [Buffalo buffalo] [buffalo] [Buffalo buffalo] .

At an impasse

How do we extend this further? Just as we described our buffalo further, let's try to describe our “Buffalo buffalo” further.

Let's take this sentence for example:

Pat paints pictures.

What if I want to talk specifically about the canvas in this sentence? I would not just say “canvas,” but rather I would say

Pictures that Pat paints.

We can describe objects by the events they have experienced. We can even get rid of “that” with it still making sense.

Pictures Pat paints

Using this formula, what would a buffalo that is intimidated by other buffalo be called?

...

They would be “buffalo (that) buffalo buffalo!” And buffalo from Buffalo that are targeted by buffalo from Buffalo?

...

They would be “[Buffalo buffalo] [Buffalo buffalo] buffalo!” That's five “buffalo” in a single subject of a sentence!

Last steps

Now that we have a new subject, let's insert it into our old phrase. [(Buffalo buffalo) (Buffalo buffalo) buffalo] buffalo [Buffalo buffalo].

And we're done. That's eight buffalo in a single, grammatically correct sentence.

And I am off to bed, having fulfilled my deadline. Enjoy your newfound grammatical toy.

Cheers!

ChatGPT 5 Sentence Summary: The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that 20% of our efforts produce 80% of our results. Warren Buffet applies this idea to investing, only choosing to invest in the 20% of opportunities he deems “great” while leaving the 80% of merely “good” investments. Joseph Juran, a quality control specialist, adapted the principle to quality control finding that solving just a few problems could greatly increase quality. In order to apply the principle to personal goals, one can ask for feedback from teammates or coaches, as they are the customers with expectations for your performance. By analyzing feedback data, one can determine which areas to focus on for improvement, as well as which areas to focus on when performance is needed, leading to the biggest impact possible. Ultimately, recruiting the community in one's endeavor can provide valuable insight and perspective.

Purpose:

By the end of this article, you’ll have a rule of thumb to help guide you in how you spend your time.

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Have you ever felt like what you’re doing isn’t having the impact you would like? Or found yourself spread thin from too many possible ventures?

The simple fact is that most of what we do, and where we spend our time, doesn’t amount to much. According to Vilfredo Pareto (a name to envy), 20% of our efforts produce 80% of our results.

Warren Buffet uses this idea, opting only to invest in the 20% of opportunities he sees as “great” while leaving behind the 80% of merely “good” investments. This is the positive application of the Pareto Principle.

Joseph Juran, a quality control specialist at Western Electric, adapted the idea: solving just a few problems could greatly increase quality. By making extensive use of employee surveys, Juran isolated the most impactful shortcomings of his company’s manufacturing process and sought to eliminate them. This methodology was so successful that, later in his career, Juran was instrumental in the association of “Made in Japan” and quality. This is the negative application of the Pareto Principle.

Achieving Ultimate Quality

Consider an Ultimate Frisbee player who doesn’t know what they should be working on to bring their game to the next level.

At the moment, they are training an equal amount of time in the following five categories:

1. Aerial Ability (vertical), through targeted weightlifting and direct practice

2. Agility, through plyometrics

3. Speed, through targeted weightlifting and track workouts

4. Positional Awareness, by watching film

5. Focused Throwing

After a few weeks of data collection (dedication!) asking teammates and coaches for negative feedback, our player is confronted with the following data:

A quick look at this graph shows that spending the same amount of time on track workouts and vertical training is a waste. It also shows that those areas with little negative feedback are likely areas in which our player excels. In game-time situations, it may be best to stick to what you're good at.

It may be tempting to say that filling out weaknesses is a waste of time: sports require specialized skill sets, and you should work on your strengths while delegating your weaknesses. This is the beauty of direct feedback. Your teammates and your coaches are your customers. When giving you feedback, they are already taking into account their expectations for you.

While this (short) article has mostly devolved into a fan-gasm for taking personal statistics on the things you care about, the point is clear. In order to make the biggest impact possible, you need to recruit your community in your endeavor. Just like in Ultimate, it is rare that you have the best perspective. Ask the sideline, and listen.

By reading this article, you will be exposed to better speaking heuristics. These simple suggestions and tools are a a condensation of Patrick Winston’s “How to Speak” lecture, a remarkably witty meta-lecture on how to give better presentations.

Starting with how to start, we will move onto some tips for delivery, setting the time and place, an overview of the tools you will use, and finishing strong.

“Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent.” – Dionysius Of Halicarnassus

Silence is a commodity, nowadays. Given that everyone is being bombarded with noise, how do we go about not intruding upon our listeners? The answer lies in honesty.

Clearly state what you will give to your audience (in exchange for their attention). Now that they understand what it is they are to look out for, all that is left is delivery.

It’s not DiGiorno

How do you go about delivering your message while staying connected to your audience?

Firstly, repeat yourself. By cycling around your topic, returning to various points along the way, you give the audience the opportunity to make multiple points of connection.

Secondly, build a fence around your idea; understanding what you’re not saying can help contextualize what you are saying. (Courtesy of Professor Winston) The concept of an arch only makes sense when you understand that a building consisting of two pillars, without a connection on top, is not an arch. It’s through the comparison of two things that we can classify both.

The third method for retaining your audience’s understanding is by re-grounding them in the purpose of what is being said. See what I did there?

Lastly, encouraging active participation from your audience can do wonders in improving retention and investment. Ask them a question, and guide them through the answer. Positivity is crucial here, you want to encourage participation, not stifle it.

Set the scene

The preconditions (time and place) of your speech can be easy to overlook.

Alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic (woo!)

Put simply, choose a time for your talk that sets them up to be able to pay attention.

Consider a sport psychology talk given to a university Ultimate Frisbee team (shoehorned that in, didn’t I). When would be the ideal time to schedule on a Saturday, when they have a 9-11AM practice? 1. 8:00 AM 2. 11:30 AM 3. 1:00 PM

Option 3 reigns supreme. Put yourself in the shoes of a player: You’re already expected to be waking up at 8:30 AM on a Saturday as a college student, you’ll be stinky afterward, and you’ve likely skipped breakfast. Everyone will benefit from those players having lunch and taking a shower...

As an organizer, you have to think about the habits of your audience when scheduling. You want them to show up, after all.

Choose the right venue

What is the worst possible venue for a speech you could think of?

Odds are, it commits one of these three faults: 1. It’s not well lit. While your slides my shine brightly,

“It’s impossible to see through closed eyelids.” – Professor Winston

1. It’s inaccessible. Both you and your audience benefit from having easy access to the space, without confusing directions and obstacles. The speaker benefits even more, as you want to case the space before hand, as to not be surprised during your talk.

2. It’s improperly sized. Your room should be at least half full, while still allowing your audience a comfortable viewing experience.

Tools of the trade

What is your intention in your talk?

People learn slowly, so be slow

If it is to teach, use a whiteboard or chalk. Writing on a board allows your audience to follow along, encourages them to actively take notes, and it give you, the presenter, something to do with your hands besides awkward flailing/shoving them in your pockets.

Your slides suck. So do mine.

If it to introduce ideas, slides are good. However, most presentations are horrendous. A general rule of thumb from professor Winston:

“You have too many slides, and those slides have too many words”

Isn’t it awesome, that this is somehow always true? It’s like magic.

When using your now reduced slides, do not use a pointing device. Turning your back on your audience is a surefire way to disconnect. If you’re turning to your slides to read from them, you 1. probably have too many words on your slides 2. don’t know your material well enough

Here’s how you should use the yardstick your professor has been hitting the board or projector screen with

For a more detailed account of making better slides, watch this excerpt from Winston’s talk.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

Use props. By creating a dynamic physical or visual representation of your idea, you give the audience the opportunity to guess for themselves what will happen. In a way, a prop is performative question to the audience.

Thaw your sponges before trying to use them

If you are hoping to inform your audience, you best be sure they are ready to absorb the information you are presenting them with.

Luckily, the first step to doing this is the empowerment promise mentioned earlier in this post. After this, it’s your responsibility to inspire your audience’s curiousity.

🌈Inspiration🏳️‍🌈

When asked what inspired them students mentioned their teachers believing in them, professors mentioned someone shedding new light on a subject, but everyone mentioned the speaker’s passion for the subject.

Hopefully you’re passionate about what it is you would like to present, because it’s difficult to fake. If you’re looking for passion in your work, ask yourself “what do I find cool about this project?” and present that. At the end of the day, we’re just here to do cool stuff.

How to finish

Don’t: say thank you. You don’t need to tell your audience they stayed to be polite. Some of them already know that.

Telling a joke is a good option, as it may fool your audience into believing they had fun the whole time!

If you’re in US politics, you can end with “God bless you, and Bless America.”

The best way is to conclude with your contribution.

A Recap

This article has provided tips for giving better presentations by summarizing the “How to Speak” lecture by Patrick Winston. Hopefully, it has taken you less time to read than it would have taken you to watch the lecture. Still, if you want to learn the material, I suggest you watch.

What you will gain from this: hopefully, something that inspires you and a laugh.

As the title suggests, this is my first blog post. As with starting anything, I believe it is important to set some intentions, and some planning. I hope you like boats.

My Rudders 🛞

The intentions that will guide me through this process.

1. To write consistently
2. To share openly
3. To create accountability
4. To teach what I am learning (selfishly)

I believe these rudders are a good start; goals and intentions mean little to nothing if not followed up by process oriented thinking. So, what will be driving me forward? If rudders are what steer me, these are my oars!

My Oars 🚣

To write consistently

This is priority number one. As I've read from folks like James Clear, Scott Young, and (insert third author to satisfy the rule of three) directly practicing what it is you would like to gain skill in is key to, well, developing that skill. My posts may be garbage, but it'll be like putting on make-up: my writing is for me, not you.

I'll be setting a deadline for two posts a week: Mondays and Thursdays. Today is neither of those days, meaning I'll be getting extra practice.

To share openly

One of the most daunting things about writing is that others will read it. Worst of all, I may read it. By sharing what I write, I hope to be allaying what anxiety I have about my writing being perceived. Heck, even writing this section is a testament to this rudder.

One way to be open and honest is to share personal reflection. As such, I will dedicate a biweekly blog post to my success with these very goals.

To create accountability

While my intentions with this may be good, I will not trust myself to be the sole arbiter of my own success. Luckily, I have friends who will likely drudge through whatever bog I put out.

Duncan, Nick, (and now!) Avi, Please hold me accountable to this. Perhaps this means I have to send you a draft the evening before my post is due, or we meet weekly to discuss yours and my goals, or something along those lines. Anyhow, I already mentioned to you both that I wanted to spend this year developing my skill as a writer.

To teach what I am learning

You may be wondering why I wrote “...(selfishly)” in my outlining above. The simple answer is that teaching is, in my experience, the best test of one's knowledge possible. And, in my opinion, if you want to truly learn what it is I am writing about I am not going to be the best source.

In the near future, you can expect posts on a collection of my favorite books: Ultralearning, Deep Work, Essentialism, and Atomic Habits. Additionally, you may see some writing on ultimate frisbee, knowledge management, and (is this joke funny a second time?).

Thank you for reading

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns please reach out to me by email at caedensethln[at]gmail[dot]com. Cal Newport may scoff at this invitation, and you may learn about why if you keep reading.