Josh Allred's Blog

Freedom is the presence of choice and the absence of constraints. On the other hand, independence is the presence of that choice again without being controlled or dependent on the needs of outside forces.

It is subtle, but we need to be precise. Independence requires a system to exercise meaningful freedom, just like having a key to a door but no door to unlock. If you start a business, you can argue that it is freedom. But if said business goes under, then it cannot create independence—in this case, economic independence.

Freedom is the key condition to independence. Just because we are given a choice doesn’t mean we are independent of the forces around us. We can trick ourselves into believing this is what freedom feels like, but it isn’t in its purest form.

There is a growing sentiment that humans should be authentic all the time. When we express discomfort or something we don’t like, we are automatically off the hook in the name of authenticity.

This is a terrible approach to living a fulfilled life. Not because of the authenticity. It’s because we misunderstand it. My authentic self didn’t want to get up this morning, write a blog, or exercise. My authentic self is lazy. It is an appetite that can’t be squashed. Yes, be authentic in your work. But more importantly, be a professional because no one cares that the brain surgeon wanted to try a new technique today on the operating table.

We want something proven and reliable. Yes, be authentic in your relationships…to a point. Then, be humble, forgiving, and a good listener who serves.

The examples are endless. But at the end of the day, authentic people are overrated. Grown-ups understand that growth happens when we put authenticity on the chopping block.

Something that isn’t talked about enough is that we live in a capitalist system that depends on growth. COVID showed us what happens when we pause this Ferris wheel. AI is now revealing to us that we are approaching the ceiling of what is possible in the motivation for ever-better productivity. Here now is a tool that can think, write, and crunch any task you want in seconds—and do a pretty good job.

If you do not consider how AI will benefit you, you will likely someday work for AI. In a world where dopamine hits, the sky is falling, and robots will take over, I think it is way more likely that we will see AI take the jobs of a simple set of instructions to follow. There is no map. There is no step-by-step guide to follow in navigating a complex world. What we need is a compass to help us take the next step. The next step isn’t all lit with graduating high school, then going to a popular college, getting married, and getting a mortgage…that might be gone for most. So what’s next? What makes us more than happy? Because dopamine hits, convenience is one click away. The next frontier is finding meaning in our work rather than always being productive. A shift from “How much can I get?” to “What is my impact?”

We are not used to saying out loud what we can do to help those around us.

Look at the pile of bad ideas. Ideas are in the ether. Anyone can come up with an idea. It’s the execution gap that makes an idea valuable.

I think back to the early days of apps. A decade or more later, the conversation shifts to an excellent idea for a podcast. You’re too late, and most likely with the wrong intent. The mindset shouldn’t be extracted; instead, what can I contribute?

Since we are walking memory lane, it is worth remembering that Google wasn’t the first search engine. Instagram wasn’t a photo-sharing app at first either. Novelty isn’t the answer to great ideas. Remixing, blending, refining, reimagining, and finding something that rhymes…can be more valuable than being first. Version 1.0 rarely works better than the tenth iteration.

Ideas need to grow, too. They need time to see if they can stick to the culture. Driving on the right side of the road wasn’t just a given when the first cars were rolled out.

Good ideas can start by intersecting your point of view with an idea and seeing it in a different light and perspective that no one else can see. Slack, after all, was a gaming platform until they realized that internal communication was a good idea to go market with.

You may be sitting on a good idea, but it may be just another bad one. We can be sitting around a long time waiting for eurika. But getting action-oriented tends to have eureka moments built into them.

This idea that we must all struggle to get here, that if someone steps out of the system and is not bombarded with the same struggles of debt or a monotonous job, then they are now scrutinized.

The problem with this envy is that we accept the state of things as they are as immovable as gravity. Capitalism and the forces that pull people into poverty aren’t the same.

It’s legal fiction, and we have more control than we realize. Turning on each other doesn’t solve the problem. Turning on the forces that uphold the current system is much more productive.

As children, we were reminded to brush our teeth. As we got older, we realized the importance of good hygiene. But that learning model is useless as we get older.

Posting a sign to remind adults to wash their hands after using the bathroom isn’t because we don’t recognize the importance of good hygiene. It’s because humans tend to get complacent. Perhaps they can get away with no consequences just this once.

This is a byproduct of hurried people. Bathroom breaks may even be monitored.

Putting a PSA on repeat for everyone to hear over and over again will lose its effectiveness. Subtle reminders, however, can remind us to do what is right.

It should be granted by default. There shouldn’t be any justification. And yet…we qualify it all the time.

The psychological hold a job has on us is tied to who we are by what we do from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Humans can’t be humans. They also have to be categorized by what type of human they are, whether it is by race, gender, legal status, or education. We also like to know how much someone is worth by how much money they make, which is only a short walk away from how much value this person brings.

What a slippery road this is.

A legacy isn’t marked by how much wealth is generated in a lifetime. It is a story we tell about someone.

That is an awful way to look at life. I’m afraid it is tied to getting far too comfortable looking through the lens of corporatism and capitalism.

Is to create an emergency.

Yelling there is a fire when there isn’t can get you in trouble. For good reason.

Yet, it doesn’t stop us from posting or sharing the metaphorical fire.

Urgent matters that need to be addressed are not the same as emergencies. Too often, we conflate the two, whether to fulfill some kind of need we have or to gather the attention we think this deserves.

In a vacuum, it could work. But in the digital world, where noise is loud, you won’t get the attention you seek.

Creating the next emergency is a sign of uneasiness.

Feelings are so powerful that they can be misconstrued as facts.

Facts are not enough to tell a story. Citing a number isn’t enough to get us off the couch and moving.

Feelings do. Figuring out how to convey the feeling behind these facts is a good place to start making a change.

Throwing away a bad strawberry out of a bowl of fruit makes it more delightful.

Cutting a dead limb off a tree allows it to thrive.

Trading away a player with a bad attitude allows everyone else to take a breath.

Everyone understands the concept. But it is much more difficult to see it as an option. Because with a fixed mindset, the default setting is to hold on tight to what we have.

Sometimes, “the math ain’t mathing.”