The Mentor | #60 | Thinking
Each month, I share 3 things I’ve read on skills, careers, and personal development.
“I think, therefore I am.”- Rene Descartes
Scrolling is not thinking. Noise is not insight.
The best thinkers do something different. They step away. They go for walks. They read. They wrestle with ideas privately before speaking publicly.
Isaiah Berlin once said he became a historian of ideas because of an unexpected, sleepless flight on a WWII bomber. With nothing to do but think in the dark, his only choice was to reflect. He emerged from that flight with a new mental direction—and eventually published some of the most enduring essays of the 20th century. There’s a lesson there: thinking happens in the margins, not in the meetings.
The people you admire most likely spend more time alone than you think. Not lonely—alone. Reading. Writing. Observing. Connecting invisible dots. True thinking is a discipline. It is not loud. It’s not urgent. It doesn’t trend on social media. But it lasts.
We’re all tempted to optimize for productivity, but thinking isn’t a task on a to-do list. It’s the foundation of better decisions, better communication, and better leadership. You can borrow ideas from others, but your advantage will come from how you shape and test them. That requires time, and thought, and often silence.
If you want to be a better thinker, start by slowing down. Trade some noise for books. Make space. Let your mind wander. Not everything meaningful starts with motion.
1
Solitude is essential for developing effective leadership.
2
A powerful reminder of how solitude, books, and focused thought still outperform most modern “hacks”.
3
A counter-take.
Yet another great, instructive post; Mentor!
Kuper's article is gold...