Sum of Many Moments

 I borrowed this phrase (topic of this blog) from a TED Talk by Neil Connors.  In that talk he mentions that one of his teachers directed him and his classmates to journal every day.  Connors concedes (maybe as part of youthful rebellion) that for the first few entries decried how stupid this exercise was.

Gradually, however, his mindset shifted.  He had since journaled daily.  Thanks to that habit, at any point in time, he is the sum of many moments.

Interesting!

John C. Maxwell asserts the importance of capturing and meticulously categorizing notes/quotes while reading.  This is pivotal to his elegant speeches and volumes of impactful writings.  He always has material to chew on instead of engaging in a stare down contest with a blank page.

Another maestro of the sum of many moments approach was Nicolas Luhmann, the father of the Zettlekasten system.  He created a system of maintaining hierarchical notes with a simple but robust work flow that is associated with it.  He used the system to read, reflect, and eventually cultivate an intriguing intellectual life.

His system made writing almost natural.  By creating a discipline to create six index cards worth of atomic notes, he architected a work flow that helped him write close to sixty books and hundreds of papers (you can find videos of this method on YouTube).

Sum of many moments…powerful paradigm.