Two young fish are swimming along. An old fish passes by, “Hey boys, how’s the water?” A moment passes and the old fish swims off. One young fish turns to the other, “What the hell is water?!” —- You may recognize this from David Foster Wallace. I think about it often. My takeaway is: There are values and views we have, but we never question them. Because we are in a bubble. — Here’s an example: This week, the French are protesting (again). Macron (the PM) wants to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Americans I talk to are like: “So what?” That’s a huge deal to the French as their “water” about work is very different. — Most Americans sadly don’t get exposed to these other “waters.” If you can, expose your kids to the real world far away from Disney or Cancun or curated tours. I saw rural, impoverished China as a 12 year old. What I saw stayed with me for a lifetime. And I think I’m a better human for it.

New ventures in 2022 checklist…