The people who inspire us

February 13, 2026By Travisthings that inspire

When we work hard to surround ourselves with the people who inspire us, the things that we aspire to have a way of working themselves out. It’s important to choose wisely the people who take up our space, time, and energy. Where our attention goes, our direction flows.

Jobs: How to find work going into 2026

December 14, 2025By Travisresearch

Why is it so hard to get a job right now? Despite the lag in BLS data from October and November, the markers we’re seeing combined with the general sentiment suggests a very tough job market in the US. The unemployment rate has hovered around 4.4% as of September 2025, up slightly from prior months, … Read More

Don’t wait

August 24, 2025By Travisthings that inspire

Don’t wait. On your ideas, your plans, your goals. That trip you’ve wanted to take, that career change you’ve considered making, that course you’ve considered taking, that skill or hobby you’ve always wanted to pick up, that person you’ve wanted to be honest with, that loved one you care about but haven’t reminded lately. Because … Read More

Bridging tools & perspectives into actionable strategies

August 1, 2025By Travispsychology, behavior, and other science things, story time

How to polymath in a world biased toward linearity and specialists Being a generalist or polymath can be…frustrating. 😂 But, it’s rewarding if we’re able to bridge the diverse set of tools & perspectives into actionable strategies. Here’s one example of this in the context of storytelling that I’ve encountered lately: https://travisandrewtatman.substack.com/p/bridging-tools-and-perspectives-into I don’t have the answers … Read More

A generalist approach to problem-solving

July 28, 2025By Travispsychology, behavior, and other science things, story time, things that inspire

Research shows that generalists—those who draw from diverse sectors—are less prone to cognitive “tunneling,” the narrowed focus that stifles innovation. Ancient Roots and the PolymathThe value of range isn’t new. Ancient thinkers such as Aristotle and Plutarch championed the polymath—a person who studied and connected multiple disciplines as a path to wisdom. The term polymath … Read More

On “What’s Next?” Cycles and False Fulfillment

May 29, 2025By Travisthings that inspire

Tim Ferriss was asked about success on his podcast (#813) and this was his answer, paraphrased: “Becoming successful (financially) makes the successful more predisposed to depression and anxiety. The reason is that when you’re striving you have two things: 1) you have the hope/belief that the vast majority of your problems, the things that keep … Read More

Stuck

November 12, 2024By Travisthings that inspire

If you want to do something that you’re passionate about, but you find yourself stuck in a cycle of uncertainty… Practice the process of taking one small step in the direction of your passion. Considering all the possible outcomes–plausibile and implausible–has a way of immobilizing us. And the time spent being stuck is time you … Read More

if everyone is doing it

October 22, 2024By Travisinnovative things

When everyone is doing something the same way, it might be a good time to try something different. The job market is tough right now. LinkedIn and social channels are flooded with stories of job seekers spending months and sometimes years looking for the next job. Hundreds of thousands of applications are going into ATS … Read More

Moonshots

September 3, 2024By Travisinnovative things, things that inspire

We often start with the easy stuff. It feels productive—small wins, minimal risk, a sense of momentum—but in reality, it could be a distraction from tackling the harder challenges. As Astro Teller, Director of X (a Google company), said on Simon Sinek’s podcast, A Bit of Optimism, most people solve the easiest problems first because … Read More

Pick something and ‘send it’

June 20, 2024By Travisthings that inspire

Just left a doctor‘s office and the physician’s assistant was a young undergrad unsure about what he wanted to do with his career. My advice: pick anything, literally anything you’re interested in. Work your ass off for 2-3 years, and reassess. If you are fulfilled by it, if it gives you purpose, keep going. If … Read More

Careers

August 23, 2023By Travisthings that inspire

I’ve had a lot of great jobs with highly successful companies in hyper competitive industries. Only one of those jobs was gained through the application process. Either networking is the key to success in a career, or my resume is crap. 😆