What if catching up with friends could be more than cliff notes and personal updates? What if catch-ups were magical, psychological, and emotional?

Here are a few of my favourite spells to play:

For old friends…

• What’s changing in these days?
• We have 1.5 hours together today—what would make this time exquisite for you?
• If you’re writing a book of your life, what would be the name of this current chapter?
• One year from now we’ll be popping a bottle of champagne. What will we be celebrating?

For new people at parties…

• NAME, I’d really love to have a meaningful conversation with you. Are you up for that?
• Tell me 2 or 3 things that you know a lot about—not just intellectually, but experientially. It might not be what you’re passionate about. I love asking questions about those things, and I can walk away from this dinner with a lot of learnings.

Now, this might be jarring. So a little softener: “Before we jump in, I want to propose a game. Would you be keen to try it?”

To better relationships.

Heroes are important. They are who you aspire to be.

Although you might have not have access to them, you have access to their works, their interviews and their energy.

Before the day begins, before planning my goals, when my tank is empty, I touch their works.

More than what’s said, it’s the energy.

I notice when I bring a different energy, I get a different day.

Economists are smart.

They optimize their decisions to get maximum benefit with minimum effort.

Most people buy similar products from similar brands in similar places.

Most people practice meh economics, not max economics.

Richard Thaler understood this and wrote a book that raised the quality of life for entire nations.

Some ideas in there could raise the quality of your life too.

Inspiration without action is entertainment.

Knowledge without purpose is information.

Are you wasting time or enjoying time?

Trust, invented in the medieval times to offer a peace of mind to those who might not return from the battlefield. A soldier give authority of their assets to carry their intentions.

As times changed, trusts evolved. It can avoid hefty inheritance tax, bypass processes and protect assets.

These are financial tools are worth understanding. More than using them, you might learn if someone is worth your trust depending on how they are using these tools.

Why am I so energy and time-poor?

As I reflected on the question, I was surprise by how many reasons emerges.

• Shifting my schedule for about people who keep changing plans
• Being with energy draining interaction
• Being extroverted in group situation
• Continuing text conversation that I don’t feel alive
• Re-learning the norms of working at new places, as I travel to new places
• Using on the phone, thinking that i’m resting
• Watching late night TV shows
• Getting distracted by camper van upgrade research
• Not knowing what i want to create and not spending enough time exploring it

This got me thinking about advice. How can I possibly offer the right advice without knowing the nuance?

How can I ask the right question to know the problem?

I learned two new words this week that I really like, reductive and provocative.

Sometimes I hear an explanation, “We are just atom, vibrating”., “We are just energy”.

It is technically true, but something is missing. That’s reductive.

Reductive doesn’t mean untrue. It means cutting away too much truth.

Is business just about making money? Is love the answer? Is that just trauma?

Provocative, it sounds exactly like what it means.

It explain why it’s okay to exaggerate (emotions, stories or our clothes) to get it across and land in our head.

Picture the world’s attention as onebig squishy pile of apathy. To cut through, our idea, music or business, has to be both true and provocative.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is reductive and provocative.

Warnings prevent unhappy screaming customers.

People want to do the right things, if you care enough to inform them.