Four for 2024 (#464)

Looking back on the most resonant Friday Forwards of 2024

At the end of every year, I skim through the past year’s Friday Forwards and the replies I’ve gotten to get a sense for the messages that resonated most. In looking back, I noticed a clear theme: several of the most popular posts related in some way to challenging conventional wisdom.

I expect we will remember 2024 for quite some time, and not just because of November’s US presidential election. There is a clear hunger for challenging established norms, questioning venerable institutions, and charting different paths to success in business, media and politics. Due to transformational technology such as artificial intelligence, changes in our societal discourse and political shifts around the world, I suspect critical thinking and a willingness to challenge preconceived notions will be a valued skill and character trait in the coming years.

As you read through these posts, I encourage you to ask yourself: what are some things you’d like to rethink in 2025? Where might it be necessary to challenge conventional wisdom? Or, as my friend Phillip McKernan often asks, where might you be lying to yourself? What might you unlock by facing the truth? Those answers will set the tone for the year ahead.

• Falsification Principle (#415): Karl Popper’s falsification principle tells us that for anything to be scientific, it needs to be able to be proven false. This principle has applications far beyond the scientific realm and should be used to challenge your own thinking. Read The Post

• Divergent Path (#418): At 14 years old, Ashley Caldwell was given the opportunity to forego traditional high school to train in ski aerials, in hopes of competing in the Olympics. Her story is an inspiring reminder that atypical paths in life can be most rewarding. Read The Post

• Good Suffering (#431): Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, the company powering the AI boom, believes that great struggle is actually a prerequisite for greatness. His story is a powerful case for why. Read The Post

• Uncomfortably Safe (#447): As a culture, especially in parenting, we have become too quick to conflate discomfort with danger. It’s important to understand that the best growth occurs outside our comfort zone and encourage the people we lead to internalize this lesson as well. Read The Post

As a bonus, I also wanted to share four of the top Elevate Podcasts episodes from the year:

• David Heinemeier Hansson, co-founder of Basecamp and creator of Ruby on Rails.

• Annie Duke, champion poker player and author of Quit and Thinking In Bets.

• Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, and 2023 CEO of the Year.

• Cal Newport, author of Deep Work, Slow Productivity and Digital Minimalism.

Thank you for reading Friday Forward in 2024, and Happy New Year!

Quote of The Week

"Keep challenging yourself to think better, do better, and be better.” - Robin Sharma