Ex Post Facto no. 13: Lucille, 1890s X Files, & Burnout
We’re back for another Ex Post Facto, the email with 3 things you’ll wish you’d known earlier—just in time for the weekend. Thanks for joining! –Shane
Are you too exhausted from 2020 to write a clever introduction to your email newsletter? Me too! That’s why this week we’re going to jump right to it!
Here we go:
One EXcellent bit of wisdom:
“It's a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.” <– I started looking up Lucille Ball quotes because of the post below. Turns out she wasn’t just hilarious, but wise too.
This quote in particular’s got me thinking. Do I recognize what makes me happy? Upon reflection, absolutely. So with that recognition, I’ve decided that if I’m going to have another Wall-to-Wall Zoom Call Friday, why not sprinkle a few more of those things into my day? It’s not necessarily going to cure the burnout, but it’s a helluva start.
Speaking of burnout…
One POST you won’t want to miss:
How to Hold Off Burnout During Hard Times <– Burnout is a topic for which I’m getting a lot of requests to write about, so I’ll be doing some work here over the next bit. (Please share your insights or research on it if you have some!)
This post breaks “burnout” down into its most basic psychology and should help you think about what’s needed to stop or undo burnout. I warn you that though the causes of burnout are simple, fixing it is not necessarily easy. But the more we know the more control we can have!
One FACT Of great interest:
Have you taken part in all these Virtual Zoom background shenanigans lately? Well, it turns out that the technology to “key out” parts an image and replace them with something else (e.g a weatherman on a green screen, or a video call background that makes it look like you’re in Paris instead of your crappy apartment)… was pioneered 120 years by a couple of PARANORMAL PSYCHICS.
Around the turn of the 20th century, stage magician / hypnotist George Albert Smith and his controversial business partner Edmund Gurney who were known for their “paranormal psychical research” basically came up with a way to take a picture, then take another picture over the top of it so that it looked like both things were in the same photo. They did it for art’s sake… but also maybe for convincing people about the paranormal.
In other words, your Zoom background may be (partially) a product of an 1800s version of Los Espookys.
Have a great weekend—and keep each other safe out there!
Much love,
Shane
P.S. Only a couple of weeks left before final registration closes on our January Dream Teams Leadership Intensive! Check out the details of this awesome program here—and pass the link along to anyone you know who’s an up-and-coming leader!
P.P.S. Speaking of green screens…
