Exploring Decision-Making and the Evolution of The Knowledge with David Elikwu | Glasp Talk #16 | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

David shares his journey as a prolific writer and how his curiosity and love for reading led him to create The Knowledge, an informative platform.

Key Insights

• 🥰 Writing is a personal journey for David, driven by his curiosity, love for reading, and passion for sharing knowledge.
• 🤔 He values originality and critical thinking, often challenging popular ideas and interpretations in his writing.
• 💁 David emphasizes the importance of forming connections between different ideas and disciplines to create unique and insightful content.
• 🎚️ He encourages writers to explore different levels of abstraction, going beyond surface-level concepts and diving into the underlying truths.
• 🤔 David's writing process involves active listening, critical thinking, and engaging in dialogue with existing ideas and works.
• 🤔 He believes in the power of collaboration and the benefits of learning from others while retaining individuality in thinking and writing.
• 💯 By prioritizing being prolific, David ensures that he continuously learns and develops his own ideas, even if they are not always perfect.

Transcript

Read and summarize the transcript of this video on Glasp Reader (beta).

Questions & Answers

Q: How did David develop his writing skills and passion for sharing knowledge?

David's interest in reading and exposure to diverse books and topics from an early age sparked his love for writing. In the corporate world, his writing skills were recognized, leading him to write articles for partners, which ultimately inspired him to start The Knowledge.

Q: Why did David choose to use Substack and other platforms for his writing?

David initially started on Substack because it offered a user-friendly writing platform. However, as his audience grew, he realized the need for more control and SEO optimization, which led him to switch to Ghost and eventually to self-host his website. He also uses ConvertKit for sending emails to subscribers.

Q: How does David manage and organize his writing ideas?

David uses Notion to store and organize his writing ideas. He maintains two databases, one for notes and another for links. Whenever he encounters an interesting idea, he saves it in the links database and makes notes in the other database. He later revisits these notes to refine and develop his writing ideas.

Q: Why does David prioritize being prolific over perfection in his writing?

David believes in the power of sharing ideas and knowledge, even if they are not perfect. He values being prolific and getting ideas out into the world over spending excessive time on editing and refining. By continuously sharing his thoughts and ideas, he increases the chances of producing high-quality content.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• David is the founder of The Knowledge, a platform that helps people enhance productivity, creativity, and decision-making through his newsletter, podcast, and online course.

• He developed his love for writing and reading through his childhood experiences and professional career.

• David shares stories of how his writing skills were recognized and appreciated in the corporate world, leading him to pursue writing as a career and create The Knowledge.