Short Hot Takes, Long and Loosely Held

field notes from the experiment of modern life

Hey friends, I hope you all had a restful Thanksgiving break. While everyone's wrapping up their year (and leftovers), I've been collecting thoughts instead of writing my usual long-form essays.

What follows is a constellation of beliefs about life, work, technology, and human nature that have emerged from my experiences and observations.

Some of these might resonate deeply, others might prompt disagreement—either way, they're ideas I've found worth holding onto, while remaining open to their evolution. They're not quite prophecies, not quite principles, but something in between.

So in the spirit of "strong opinions, loosely held," here are my short hot takes, long and loosely held:

1. Who you marry is more important than where you live or what you do for work. While location and career have become fluid and experimental in modern life, your life partner (assuming monogamy) remains relatively fixed. Therefore, finding the right partner deserves more attention than optimizing for the perfect job or location.

2. Health and relationships become more important over time while the importance of money decreases over time. I’ve observed that rich people focus primarily on improving their health and relationships, while the happiest people I know already have good health and loving relationships, and prioritize maintaining both.

3. The "Creator Economy" is a misleading term that will eventually dissolve into simply "the economy.” Just as smartphones became simply phones. What people currently call the creator economy is actually just the content creation economy, but being a creator transcends mere content production. Creation and creativity are fundamental human traits that exist on a spectrum opposite to consumption—to create is to give, to consume is to take. The original concept of the creator economy was about individuals tapping into their innate creativity and agency, not about becoming online media personalities. Being a creator isn't a job title—it's a way of being and seeing yourself in the world.

4. Work is evolving into new modes and configurations. The day job + side hustle combo is just the beginning. Collectives, residencies, apprenticeships, and seasonal work-life experiments will gain popularity and legitimacy.

5. Living without a lease in your 20s is an underrated hack. It’s a shortcut to maximizing life experiences while sidestepping financial constraints.

6. Remote work will homogenize cities, creating islands of culture and socioeconomic stratification. The “winners” will be those who can afford to live in the city they love, move between places, or opt out entirely—choosing small towns, tiny houses, vans, or sailboats.

7. Remote work only works if you have agency over your schedule. For most people who work at companies, hybrid or in-office setups are better for the individual.

8. Paradoxically, traveling a lot makes it easier to see yourself living anywhere.

9. As AI becomes more embedded in daily activities, there will be an equal, but opposite surge in demand for AI-free, tech-free activities. These will remind us that we're human¹.

10. The modern Renaissance polymath equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci or Ben Franklin isn’t painting chapel ceilings—they’re creating video.

11. Photography will see a resurgence. The act of having gone outside to do something and then take the photo has inherent authenticity of having proof of experience. Similarly, vlogging in solitude and nature will gain value.

12. Inner work matters more than most people realize. Self-awareness and emotional health directly shape the quality of our choices, speeding up the path from insight to action.

13. True curiosity comes with slack². Even a busy businessperson or a celebrity with millions of fans ought to have free time to explore and plant seeds.

14. Being childlike is not the same as being childish. Childlike curiosity³ is essential—it lets us chase wonder unburdened by adult conditioning.

15. The role of "coach" will mean less over time. Its rise reflects a lack of religion, wisdom traditions, community, contemplation, intergenerational living, forced conflict resolution through small town living. The term just happens to be the most accessible and legible way to describe what happens.

16. Analog experiences and skilled services will command a premium. In-person communities and private events will grow in value.

17. The best third places are rec centers and libraries. Modern third places need to offer transformation, not just transaction. While cafes have become laptop farms, gyms and libraries remain sacred spaces for the body and the mind.

18. Integration is the new differentiation. HYROX, the Chainsmokers and Kevin Durant investing in startups, YouTubers starting CPG companies, professional athletes starting their own podcasts, etc. are evidence of an increasingly complex reality which rewards integration⁴.

19. The personal brand will become even more ubiquitous. As companies shrink and independence grows, self-imposed boundaries for privacy will become essential.

20. Kim Kardashian can do more for climate change than most startups. Making it socially “cool” to care is a powerful way to build mass support.

22. Reality Privilege⁵ will define inequality. This Black Mirror-esque portrayal of the future suggests that the poor and most vulnerable populations will increasingly spend their lives in digital realms. As virtual experiences become more immersive, access to real-world experiences like clean air, organic food, human touch, and natural beauty will become the new measure of privilege. The wealthy will increasingly pay premiums not for digital assets but for genuine physical experiences and connections.

23. Fun and meaning are two sides of the same golden coin. If you've been on a quest for meaning and it's felt exhausting, try having some fun and see where that takes you.

24. Hard work can be fun. When it starts to actually feel hard, that's usually a sign that enjoyment has been neglected.

25. Modern life needs more ritual, rites of passage, and ceremonies.

26. We are here to create: art, businesses, memories, babies, connections.

27. A connection combines ideas or people that might otherwise not meet. It feels satisfying and fulfilling because it’s a form of creation.

28. If energy (qi/chakra/ka/life force) could be quantified, then money and status would no longer be the primary objective function of so many.

29. We're consuming too much of everything. Doom-scrolling instead of living, collecting advice instead of acting, watching others' lives instead of creating our own. The healthy level of information consumption is likely 10x less than what we're used to right now.

30. As the world changes faster and faster, we need to change accordingly. The rate of change is increasing, and as individuals, we ought to lean into this and embrace a faster rate of change than we've seen historically. The ceiling for human potential remains unknown.

That’s all for now! Let me know which ones resonated the most and which ones left you leaving some type of way. And if you have some hot takes yourself, feel free to share them in the comments.

✌️,
Matt

1. Sam Altman says that there's going to be a huge market and premium on "human, in person, fantastic experiences" in the next 5-10 years - source

2. Studies on Slack by Slate Star Codex

3. “The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.” - Aldus Huxley

4. “Complexity science argues that the universe is evolving towards a state of complexity: increasing differentiation and integration.“ - Tom Morgan

5. Marc Andreesen popularized the term Reality Privilege, but I’m not sure if he came up with it