iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

9 books that shaped my life. What are yours?

Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

8. These results led to many conversations about what people believe about philosophy and why. You can read my summary here.

rulestolive.substack.com

Best life lessons from 120+ people (research results)

Highlights on how people shape their lives

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

7. I asked how well people's behavior aligned with their values and life philosophy. On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest alignment, 72% gave a 4/5. 0% gave a 1/5.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

6. People reported an average happiness score of 7.6, which was on average 15% below their all time high.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

5. 120 people participated. ~50% of respondents were 40-60 years old. 64% men, 34% women, 2% non-binary or did not say.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

4. People reported that health and relationships were the areas they needed to grow the most.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

3. The attributes people valued most were honesty and (the ever elusive) self-awareness.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

2. The main reason people gave for breaking their own rules (e.g. the golden rule) was "intuition" or protecting their own interests.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

1. I asked over 100 people for their life philosophy as research for my book How To Live. The primary way people arrived at their own philosophy rules was from suffering or things they did not control.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

“The mind wants to live forever, or to learn a very good reason why not. The mind wants the world to return its love, or its awareness... The mind's sidekick, however, will settle for two eggs over easy. The dear, stupid body is easily satisfied as a spaniel. ” ― Annie Dillard

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The best work that anybody ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing him, always. —Arthur Miller

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

"On the days you're tired of the world, remember that there is never a shortage of captivating, unbelievable things. Bees dance to give directions. Butterflies taste with their feet. At daybreak it's actually the bird song that awakens the trees." - L.E. Bowman

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

oin me tomorrow at 12pm PST - I will teach you How To Live! And teach philosophy from the new book. open.substack.com/live-stream/...

open.substack.com

LIVE SOON: How To Live: Learn Rules weekly lesson

Starting Sep 2 at 3:00 PM EDT

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

My mission was to rethink self-help books & make one that actually works. In How To Live these were the goals: - Be honest - Be fun - Be short - Use learning theory - Tell great stories - Don't assume because *I* did it, it's easy for others - Share the best of a lifetime of studying philosophy

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

“Sooner or later, life makes philosophers of us all.” - Maurice Riseling

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The two questions to ask about your life philosophy: 1. What rules do you follow in life? 2. When do you break them? We have a pretend philosophy and a real one. The pretend makes us feel good (e.g. the golden rule). The real we don't see well because we're not as self-aware as we think.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The fastest life philosophy audit: just two questions. 1. What rules do you claim to live by? Work hard. Tell the truth. Do unto others. Everyone has their list. 2. When do you break them?

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I've never loved the org chart arguments. I think it's often a distraction. Even in the perfect org designers still have to figure out if they are leaders or influencers and be good at those skills, which they often resist prioritizing.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

The 6th commandment is Thou Shall Not Kill. It's a classic example of exceptions defining the rule. Just moments after Moses showed the commandments, he decided to start killing people. The history of rules and our ability to follow them is fascinating and surprising.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Everyone believes they have a philosophy for life. The problem is self-awareness - we don't see the gaps. Our true behavior is our rules, minus the exceptions. And we don't realize all of the exceptions and excuses we make.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

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Tobias Wilson-Bates @phdhurtbrain.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

When you read a book only a fraction of what you get from the experience is the information in the book. The vast majority of what comes from reading is a new experience of yourself that comes to exist in relation to the book’s unique patterns.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Coming this fall - my next book. How To Live: Rules for People Who Don't Like Rules. It's a self-help book for people who do not like self-help books. This is book #10 - it shares the best wisdom I've learned from my life experience in a short, fun and memorable way. Stay tuned for details to come.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

“Almost nothing important that ever happens to you happens because you engineer it. Destiny has no beeper; destiny always leans out of an alley with some sort of 'psst' that you usually can't hear because you're in a rush to something important you've tried to engineer.” ―David Foster Wallace

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Join me tomorrow for a fun chat about what's coming next. I'll share some big news and then it's Q&A/AMA. Hope to see you.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

I have big news coming: new book, new website and new brand. You're invited for a sneak peak and chat about what I'm up to next. Tuesday July 14th, at 1pm PST. Will be fun and interactive, but you can just lurk and watch if you like. 20 mins + Q&A/AMA. us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

I wish American holidays all had a ritual of learning something rather than just eating certain foods. For example, for July 4th we all should read the Constitution. It's short enough to read with a beer while waiting for food to cook on the grill.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Beyond AI there are always these questions: - Is this a good decision? - Do we have wise goals? - Should we prioritize long term or short? - Are the right people involved? - Is good work happening? - Are customers and staff happy? - Is this good for the world?

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Makes me laugh every time I see this.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Interesting. There are only so many stories people want to talk about at one time I guess.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Yes! It's all a tribal ritual! (I mean the war paint and everything). It's just most of the people in it don't seem to realize what it is.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

That play became such a big deal - I guess the story for him was already there and that play was easy to fit into it. He did seem like a strange dude tho regardless which didn't help him.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

It is fascinating who becomes the scapegoat and why - there's not of logic too it. It's mostly a matter of laziness.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

I think his name was Scott Norwood - I believe the fans reconciled with him at least.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

There are soooo many of these stories unfortunately.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Yes - there's also the psychology of being in the stands and how criticizing people in the game gives a false sense of superiority that most people find irresistible.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Buckner was such a cool guy too. There was a great 30 for 30 doc about him I think.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

lol. But no one talks about the worse one that Hart missed.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

I agree it end up being a mistake, but part of what made it one was OG made an amazing play. just have a lot of grace for split second decisions. it's so easy in the stands. I was a player so maybe that's why I'm extra forgiving.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

I hate how in sports if someone makes a mistake at the end of game everyone blames them for the loss and completely forgets all of other, often larger, mistakes that were made by other players much earlier. These are team sports.

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

It is a mistake to think that moving fast is the same as actually going somewhere. - Ursula K. Le Guin

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Christopher Mims @mims.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

honestly think this could save our democracy

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

“If you think technology will solve your problems, you don’t understand technology and you don’t understand your problems.” - Bruce Schneier

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Andrew: weird and loud @ak0.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

One of my hotter academic takes is that every college degree should include a class in the first month where the new students have to engage with the most boring parts of the ideal job associated with the degree *before* spending many thousands of dollars

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Scott Berkun @berkun.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Celebration time: It's the 20th anniversary of my author career. And book #10 is on the way. Thanks for following me making all this all possible. I had a party here in Seattle. I even wore a tie! If you're a local fan LMK and I'll put you on the list for the next book party.

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