Monday Mash-Up ~ Vol. 2, Ep. 23

Recommended Reading / Listening
The Daily Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Age

I’m a big fan of Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic. I subscribe to his emails. I read his book. I listen to his podcast. The website describes stoicism as, “…a philosophy designed to make us more resilient, happier, more virtuous and more wise–and as a result, better people, better parents and better professionals.” I think that’s a good summary. Here’s a video that offers a great overview…

Recommended (Quick) Read
Seth Godin re: Insignificant Digits

Seth Godin always delivers big, profound ideas in a concise package. Here’s a post from Seth’s blog that asks us to question the data we analyze. Business people make many judgements based on the numbers they analyze. But are the numbers really telling us the story we think?

More Recommended Reading
Entertaining and Informative Writing Tips from Ann Handley

Last month, I told you about the new thank you note I send to people who sign up for my emails. Ann Handley inspired it.

Ann runs MarketingProfs which is great resource for business-to-business marketers. Her emails are among my favorites. Here’s how she describes them:

“Every two weeks I send out a (literal) letter about things I’m doing and things I believe are worth sharing. I’ll share new writing tips, useful marketing ideas, fresh thoughts, and some high-spirited shenanigans—delivered direct from me to your inbox. It arrives early Sunday morning. It’s free.”

You can sign up here.

Recommended Listening and Reading
Joni Mitchell’s Masterpiece Turns 50

Fifty years ago tomorrow (June 22), Joni Mitchell released the album Blue. It’s a masterpiece. Many critics (and other musicians) consider it to be the greatest singer-songwriter album ever. I count it among my top-10 favorite albums.

Here are two great articles I read this week about the album:

Her Kind Of Blue: Joni Mitchell’s Masterpiece At 50 (NPR)

50 Reasons to Love Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue’ (New York Times)

Here’s a video with a remastered version of “A Case of You” (Side 2, Track 4). It’s difficult to pick a favorite among the 10 incredible songs on this album. But if I had to choose, “A Case of You” might be the one.

On this Day in History…
…The US Constitution was Officially Adopted…

…when, on June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to rarify it.

The Constitution begins, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”