"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." The French philosopher Blaise Pascal said this in 1654. A study published in 2014 found this to be true: many subjects chose to administer an electric shock to themselves rather than sit alone with their thoughts. It's a universal difficulty being with the discomfort that sometimes bubbles up out of our own brains, be it boredom or anxiety. But it's often on the other side of this difficulty that we find our most creative breakthroughs. Plus, achieving excellence in any craft requires an ability to negotiate with the negative voice in your head. So today, we go deep on strategies for mastering the art of solitude, detailing our own struggles with it and the strategies we use when we feel the urge to short-circuit mental discomfort by reaching for a distraction.

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A couple of recent events—Elon Musk parading onstage with a chainsaw at the Conservative Political Action Conference and bragging about DOGE's 120-hour work weeks, and Timothée Chalamet saying he wanted to be one of "the greats" in an acceptance speech at the SAG Awards—ignited a conversation on the Growth Equation text thread about what role work should play in our lives. In a society that sometimes overly valorizes busyness or performative productivity, and also sometimes overly critiques the type of obsessive work that excellence demands (lauding "balance" instead), what does the actual hard work of greatness look like? For help, Brad and Clay tapped in Cal Newport, friend of FAREWELL and host of the podcast Deep Questions with Cal Newport, who writes and thinks (deeply, as you might've guessed) about productivity, work, and how they intersect with a meaningful life.

"Elon Musk Is the World's Richest Man. Why Is He Sleeping on an Office Floor?" (The New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/opinion/elon-musk-billionaire.html

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https://the-growtheq-academy.mn.co/

Now offering up to $5 for ideas, questions, or guests that make it onto the show. Email Clay at the address above or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

If you are enjoying FAREWELL, do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!

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Today we're sharing our all-time favorite quotes we've collected over the years. These are words about everything from performance to spirituality to decency that we keep coming back to when we need inspiration, a thought-provoking prompt, or a tidy bit of wisdom. Message us at clay.growtheq@gmail.com with a few you liked from today's episode, or some favorites of your own.

Join The Growth Equation Academy today. 40% off for a limited time!

https://the-growtheq-academy.mn.co/

Now offering up to $5 for ideas, questions, or guests that make it onto the show. Email Clay at the address above or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503

If you are enjoying FAREWELL, do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.