About 2000 years ago my mentor Marcus Aurelius said, "the happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." I believe writing is the best way to improve the quality of my thoughts. It's why I love journaling and note-taking.

‍Writing → Quality of Thoughts → Happy Life

But up until this year, my thoughts had remained locked up, hidden from the world. So at the start of 2021, I launched this Work Smart, Lead Better newsletter.

My newsletter goals:

• Write habitually.
• Share thoughts with the world (one idea, once per week).
• Understand new ideas by writing about them.
• Improve my written communication skills.

Last week I celebrated my 26th newsletter broadcast. I'm halfway to a full year of sending one idea, once per week. (This is probably the first time I've ever followed through on a New Year's resolution!)

Why it's the best writing advice I've seen:

In a flat, increasingly remote-first world, writing is one of the most critical skills a leader can develop. Whether it's an email, Slack thread, social media post, or a company memo, written communication needs to be engaging to hold the reader's attention and inspire or persuade them. Rhythmic writing is engaging.