Decision Making - Daniel Bourke

Daniel Bourke

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Decision Making

A collection of 18 posts

Two paintings of soup cans, one red, one blue. Artwork by Banksy.

Mistaking the menu for the food

Let’s do an experiment. A chef who can’t read comes into your kitchen to cook you a meal. You’re sitting in another room and can’t see what they’re making but you can smell it. On the bench top there are two cans, one red, one

blue and pink pill on a blue background

Decision Making

Placebo yourself

If there’s something that you’d like to do or some condition you’d like to be true, let it happen. Believe it’s going to happen. Write it down. Start talking about it with yourself. I’ve got this. You (I) can do it. That’s what most

small dog wrestling a big stick

Decision Making

Betting on yourself

Would you take a bet you could never lose?

Shedding old skin

Decision Making

Shedding old skin

A snake slithers out of its old skin without effort. A caterpillar decides it’s time to become a butterfly, encases itself in a cocoon, rests, and emerges with colourful wings. All of nature happens this way. No effort. Like air entering and leaving your lungs, happening by itself. Want

How fast is your OODA loop?

Decision Making

How fast is your OODA loop?

Originally developed for Air Force combat, the OODA loop (observe, orient, decide, act) can be applied in any battle. Even when the opponent is oneself.

Life and Living

No competition

Set the system up so you always win.

The Buttons for the User Interface of Reality

Decision Making

The Buttons for the User Interface of Reality

Become an author of your reality by stacking your talents, affirming yourself, sparking curiosity, injecting novelty, painting contrast and keeping it simple simple simple.

42 days: a cure for shiny object syndrome

42 days: a cure for shiny object syndrome

If you had the next 6 weeks to work on whatever you wanted, what would you make?

Trust one eye more than two ears

Decision Making

Trust one eye more than two ears

99% of your thought process is dedicated to maintaining your self-conceptions but 98% of them are wrong. This usually trips most people up. Because the lengths people will go to save face are extraordinary. You’re probably not as scared of failing as you think. You’re more scared of

Cook or chemist?

Decision Making

Cook or chemist?

A chemist needs things to be exact. Their tools measure down to the smallest unit. It’s in a chemist’s best interest to stick to the recipe. If something is off by even a little, it’s over. A cook does the opposite. They work off feel. Once they’

If you’re in doubt about something, get rid of it

Decision Making

If you’re in doubt about something, get rid of it

Life improves by subtraction.

Precision or applicability?

Decision Making

Precision or applicability?

Which one are you going for? Are you trying to be perfect? Trying to be right all the time? Or are you trying to be useful? I’ll say it until I go hoarse, it saddens me to think how many opportunities I’ve missed because I was waiting for

What if you did the exact opposite? (like the rogue bees do)

Life and Living

What if you did the exact opposite? (like the rogue bees do)

Bees have a dance to indicate to others where food is. It’s called the waggle dance. Great name. But a significant portion of bees in a hive completely ignore the waggle dance and venture off on their own accord. Scientists studied this and were perplexed as to why. It

Thinking for yourself

Thinking for yourself

A decade ago I was scared. It was the last year of high-school and teachers were asking “what do you want to do in your life?”. > “Lady, I’ve got no idea, I wake up, get dressed, come to school, listen, try to pass the exams, think about playing computer

Does this plane have Wi-Fi?

Does this plane have Wi-Fi?

It’s easy to get caught up in things which seem important on the surface. But dig a little deeper and you'll find out, they take up almost 0% of the average users brain. Imagine a conversation in a major airline executive meeting where the contest is between buying their

Have you got scars?

Life and Living

Have you got scars?

Life is all about risk taking. All about the outliers. All about having skin in the game. People relate to other people having scars. Superman requires Clark Kent to make him relatable. If he continued being invincible, no one would be able to relate. That’s what you need to

Avoid being a donkey (but also be a donkey)

Avoid being a donkey (but also be a donkey)

There’s a story I’ve heard a few times and each time I read or hear it, I think, I should remember this. It begins with a donkey who’s hungry and thirsty. To its left is a bucket of water and to its right is a pile of