Hey I'm Rohan! Thanks for reading. Thursday Thoughts is a weekly newsletter where I share one thought and then recommend 4 other random finds from across the internet. Not yet subscribed? Do so here.

In this week’s issue we will cover:

• Rubber Versus Glass

• Sahil Lavingia’s Post From Bubble to Bubble

• BOOKSTORES: How to Read More Books in the Golden Age of Content

• The Queen’s Gambit

• A quote from Bruce Lee

Rubber Versus Glass

While reading one of Ryan Holiday's articles I came across this quote:

I thought that this quote was one of the most profound things I have ever read.

This quote is from a commencement speech that Dyson made at Georgia Tech in 1991, which has till today remained one of the most remembered commencement speeches of all time - up with Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech (which you should also check out if you haven’t somehow already).

The entire commencement address is worth going through but this quote in particular, coming from the then President and CEO of Coco-Cola (who was then the 47th largest corporation in the United States) stood out.

One of the most important things that we do is to set our priorities. We decide what to focus on and as a result something else falls to the way side. Sometimes we fall into the trap of concentrating on the wrong things in our life and rush to save the rubber ball as it falls at the cost of one of the glass ones. Forget that, sometimes we don’t even know if the things we are concentrating on are rubber or glass - easily replaceable or essential.

There’s been many times for instance when my obsession with my work or school has come at the consequence of personal relationships. But at the end of the day, like Dyson says, the work will always bounce back and demand more from you. The relationships, your health, your spirit - not so much. At the end of the day its about finding balance between the rubber and the glass.

When people talk about finding balance they often throw around the term work-life balance. However, after reading the Dyson quote it’s actually quite silly to think of life as the opposite of work. Life encompasses so many other things - family, friends, health, and spirit among others. When did work become something of its own existing outside of our actual life?

The key takeaway from this is too focus on the glass balls - your family, friends, health, spirit - the things that actually matter way more than the job you currently hold. At the end of the day we need to try to live by the words of one of my favorite artists, Noel Gallagher:

Bursting Bubbles

I loved this article that Sahil Lavingia, the founder of Gumroad, recently re-shared about how he moved from San Francisco to Provo, Utah - one of the most conservative and religious towns in America.

The major thing that stood out to me was while he was on the different side of the political spectrum than many of his new neighbors, they ultimately all wanted the same thing. They were just using language that made them think that they did not.

Especially in today's turbulent political climate, now is as good a time as any to remember this lesson.

BOOKSTORES: How to Read More Books in the Golden Age of Content

This is, hands down, a YouTube video that has changed my life. It's my favorite YouTube video ever uploaded and is a mini documentary that tracks Max in his search of the perfect bookstore taking him across Europe and South America. Among the book stores he visits is Livraria Lello - the book store that inspired the Harry Potter series. Along the way he interviews tons of interesting people who help him on his journey to read more books including another favorite thinker of mine Tim Urban. I guarantee that you'll be better off having watched this video and it’s one of the reasons I was able to get back into reading as an adult.

The Queens Gambit

The hype is real. I started watching The Queen's Gambit last weekend and its been hard to pace myself through the series. The Queen's Gambit, based on the 1983 novel by Walter Tevis, explores the life of an orphaned female chess prodigy.

According to data from Apptopia, daily U.S. downloads of the top four mobile chess games across the Apple and Google app stores are up 63% since the show debuted.

I even dusted off the old chess set and opened with the Sicilian Defense over the weekend in a quick game with my younger sister!

The results?

I got absolutely humbled by absent mindedly leaving my King vulnerable.

On this weekend's to do list: study chess openings and strategies.

Quote of the Week

That’s all for this week. Please let me know your feedback on how to improve this newsletter. Would love to chat with you to make sure that each issue is providing you value going forward. If this is your first time reading and you liked it consider subscribing! Until next week - stay safe!