Matt Schnuck

Harsh truth: Empathy is over-discussed and under-practiced.

The lesson of the public bus drivers from San Luis Potosí, Mexico:

Cyclists often fear riding on the streets. Cars race by. Buses rarely give enough room.

The city council in San Luis Potosi, Mexico sought to change that by giving the drivers a lesson in empathy.

They set up an experience for the bus drivers to actually feel what it is like to be on a bike with a bus racing past.

Old way
Tell your team what it is like for others to experience something (theoretical empathy)

New way
Create a way for your team to feel the actual situation (empathy from direct experience)

Takeaway 
Empathy is a full-body experience you practice, not just something you think.

“I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.” —Walt Whitman

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In 2012 Novak Djokovic had a breakthrough in his mental game.

His insight (and what it can do for you):

As he began playing on the biggest stage - he’d have doubts at the worst moments.

Match point. Self doubt.

He related to these thoughts as a major problem. As bad. As something he needed to eliminate.

“I used to freeze up whenever I made a mistake.”

His breakthrough - accepting he could not eliminate his negative thoughts and self-doubt ...Even at the worst times on the court.

Old Mindset:
I need to improve so that negative thoughts NEVER arise on the court. If doubt occurs, something is wrong.

New Mindset:
Because I am human, I expect negative thoughts to happen when the pressure is highest. When they arise I just use my tools to manage them skillfully.

Now he EXPECTS doubt to arise on the biggest stage. His insight:

“Everyone goes through these thought processes of self-doubt. I don’t think it is particularly bad. I used to think it was bad. So I was trying to ignore it or shut it down.”

“But the major transformation in a positive way for me started when I acknowledged and accepted those thoughts as part of me.”

Novak’s radical shift was to stop trying to eliminate negative thoughts. But instead to develop strategies that acknowledge his humanity and would be effective when they would inevitably arrive.

Takeaway 1:

Even the best in the world face self-doubt, often at the most inconvenient times. The goal isn’t eliminating these voices - it is finding tools to deal with them skillfully.

Takeaway 2:

Conscious breathing can be an anchor to come into the present moment when negative thoughts arrive at inconvenient moments.

Practicing breathwork in low-stakes moments allows one to use this tool to move beyond negative thinking when it matters most.

Novak: “Now when I blow a serve or shank a backhand, I still get those flashes of self-doubt, but I know how to handle them.”

Mental fitness is a state of readiness.

Readiness is judged by how quickly can you recover...

It’s not about staying perfect.

It’s about practicing to be prepared.

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You don’t need to even like basketball to LOVE this play.

It is a masterclass in team excellence.

In real time, it takes just seconds.

In slow motion, you get to appreciate a moment of absolute mastery in:

1. Effort
2. Teamwork
3. Improvisation
4. Non-verbal communication
5. Getting the job done

For me, it was all in invisible work that happened in private to make a moment like that happen spontaneously under the lights.

3 guys, knowing just what each other would do - and where they would be - with just a glance.

What was your favorite part?

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This was Steve Jobs’ favorite piece of art.

Here’s why:

Simplicity can take more time than complexity.

Picasso spent countless hours reworking these designs — starting with the most complex design and slowly simplifying.

Jobs did the same thing with Apple and built that as a central tenant of the ethos at the company.

He used this image as part of the secretive company.

“It takes a lot of hard work to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions.”

Simplicity scales much faster and more sustainably than complexity.

Takeaway

Time spent thinking about what is at the core of something is time well spent.
We need to be reminded more than we need to be taught.

To me, this visual is a great reminder that studying the essential nature of whatever you are working on always makes your work better.

What are you trying to solve now? What is the core of that issue?

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Rude comments bait emotional reactions.

Don’t bite. Respond with control:

When a colleague makes a rude, passive-aggressive, or inappropriate comment, you have two choices:

- Stay silent and shrink
- React and regret it later

OR

- Respond with calm, controlled power

Here are 7 phrases that keep you in control and in the lead:

↳ “How do you feel when you say that?”
↳ “I’m surprised you said that out loud.”
↳ “Did you mean for that to sound hurtful?”
↳ “I’d like to understand what you meant by that.”
↳ “Let’s keep this professional.”
↳ “I’m not comfortable with that.”
↳ “I’d prefer we speak respectfully — I’ll do the same.”

These aren’t passive responses.

They’re power plays in plain language.

💬 Which one’s going in your toolkit?

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Kobe Bryant shocked an interviewer about Taylor Swift.

His mindset (and what it can do for you):

They were just chatting about music and big influences like Jay-Z when the interviewer joked:

“Wouldn’t it be funny if you had Taylor Swift in your car”

Kobe: “I do!”

Way before it was cool for Dads to be Swifties, Kobe was paying attention, studying her career and process.

❌ Old Way:
Only study the best in your field to hone your craft.

✅ New Way:
Study greatness across time and space. Be insanely curious about what it takes to be consistently excellent in fields outside of your own.

Kobe explained why he studied her (just look at the questions he’s asking himself):

“Taylor has been at the top of the game for a very, very long time. How does she get in that mental space to create things over and over?

“It is a lot of pressure to follow up a number one album with a better one. It is unbelievable to pull that off over and over and over.

Kobe saw that her success was only going to continue.

“You can’t have that level of consistent success and not be a killer. It’s impossible.”

➡️ Takeaway

Success leaves clues. 🔍

Study greatness across industries. Pick up patterns and apply what mindsets, processes, and techniques you can steal to improve at your craft.

Who has inspired you outside your industry?

Let me know in the comments.👇

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People pleasing won’t get you ahead.

Being assertive will. Here’s how:

Assertiveness isn’t about being aggressive, it’s about knowing your worth and making sure others do too.

💼 7 Ways to Be More Assertive at Work:

1️⃣ Stop Saying Sorry – Confidence starts with language. Replace “I’m sorry” with “Thank you for your patience.”
2️⃣ Own Your Ideas – Your thoughts are valuable. Instead of “This might be a dumb question…” say “I’d like to build on that.”
3️⃣ Set Clear Boundaries – “I’m happy to help, but I can’t take this on right now.” Protect your time.
4️⃣ Say No Without Guilt – No need to over-explain. “I won’t be able to take this on.” Simple. Direct. Done.
5️⃣ Use Confident Body Language – Stand tall, make eye contact, and speak clearly. Your presence matters.
6️⃣ Ask for What You Deserve – Want a raise? A leadership role? Speak up and state your case.
7️⃣ Disagree Professionally – Instead of “That won’t work,” try “I see your point, but here’s another perspective…”

🔥 Assertiveness is the key to career growth.

The sooner you start practicing, the sooner you’ll see results.

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A booing crowd tried to knock Novak off his game.

His response was a masterclass (on haters):

On July 8, 2024, at Wimbledon, the typically polite English crowd was rooting for opponent Holger Rune.

They used the last name “Rune” to morph into “boos” to root against Novak.

Novak didn’t flinch. He went on to win the game. 🏆

After the game he said; “I’ve played in much more hostile environments. You guys can’t touch me.”

No athlete has been more transparent about the mental strength required of a true professional than Novak Djokovic.

Once a source of weakness, Novak has trained specifically on the mental side of his game. It unlocked his success on the court.

From a previous interview:

“One of the biggest things I’ve learned about mental strength:

Recovery of how long you stay in that emotion is what differentiates you from others.”

It’s no surprise that those sitting in the stands trying to get in his way had zero impact. 🎯

The professional is always ready. 💼

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A potential Duolingo CFO lost 8 figures by treating the driver like shit.

Check out this WILD story:

After working for two companies that went public, I’ve seen firsthand how big of a deal it is to find an IPO-ready CFO.

It’s a hugely valuable role to the CEO because the public markets scrutinize and value the CFO’s experience so companies usually recruit someone with a proven Wall Street track record.

That’s also why the position comes with 8-figures worth of stock. 
–

In 2019, Duolingo conducted a global search for a CFO before their IPO.

After each candidate was flown in, the Duolingo CEO, Luis von Ahn, asked their drivers about the candidates: how did they treat you?

Luis listened to the driver’s opinion each time, and even turned down a highly “qualified” candidate because of how they treated the driver.

Luis knew that to be in a role as crucial as a pre-IPO CFO, kindness had to be at the core of their character.

Sometimes, an interview’s most revealing moments are before the first official question is asked.

Duolingo eventually found the right person to be their CFO, Matt Skaruppa.

It isn’t a coincidence that a CEO with that kind of attention to detail is leading a company that is dominating its industry.

How you do anything is how you do everything.

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