Yakir's Blog

Rough Polish Ideas Daily

The Luxury of Less

Have you ever watched a master chef prepare a simple tomato dish? Just three ingredients; tomatoes, salt, olive oil, transforms into something extraordinary. The restraint is what makes it brilliant. No distractions, no unnecessary flourishes. Just the essence, nothing to hide behind.

Our minds crave this same clarity. Each decision we face is like another ingredient added to our mental plate. Too many, and the dish becomes muddled, the flavors competing rather than complementing.

I think of my friend who trained at a wonderful culinary school. One evening, he prepared an elaborate seven-course meal for his family. Each plate was meticulously garnished, each sauce layered with complexity. He had poured his heart into creating what he considered his masterpiece. Yet his children barely touched the food, eventually asking for simple pasta. What he saw as devotion to craft and an expression of love, they experienced as overwhelming. Their young palates couldn’t distinguish between the twelve spices in his signature sauce; they simply felt confused by the intensity, ultimately preferring the comfort of fewer, clearer flavors.

The most profound luxury today isn’t more, it’s less. Think of the peace you feel entering a thoughtfully designed space with only essential elements. Or the clarity that comes from a conversation with someone who speaks directly rather than circling around multiple possibilities.

What might you “phase out” of your work or life today in order to create this same sense of luxurious simplicity for others?

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Have the Respect to Decline

It once cost me €14,000 to say “yes” to a project that every instinct warned against. Something about their timeline feels weird. The budget seems misaligned with their expectations. But hey, the money’s not bad and they’re really counting on me…

That client relationship ended in mutual disappointment. I delivered work that met our agreement but missed their unspoken expectations. They paid reluctantly, feeling they’d overspent for underwhelming results. We both walked away unsatisfied, despite my technical fulfillment of the contract.

What I didn’t realize then was that my hesitant “yes” wasn’t just a disservice to myself, it was a disservice to them. By ignoring the misalignment I sensed, I prevented them from finding someone who would have been genuinely enthusiastic about their vision and better equipped to bring it to life.

When you say yes to the wrong client, you’re occupying space in their journey that should belong to someone better suited to their needs. You’re also preventing yourself from being available to the right clients. It’s like forcing together puzzle pieces that almost fit; they may lock together with enough pressure, but the picture will always be distorted.

What opportunity might you need to decline this week, not just for your sake but for theirs? Remember that your “no” creates space for a better “yes” for everyone involved.

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Everyone Misunderstands AI At First

People react to AI tools in wildly different ways. Some embrace them enthusiastically, others dismiss them entirely, but it seems that almost everyone’s relationship with AI follows a predictable path.

Stage 1: Blind faith. “This thing is MAGICAL!” You’ve just discovered ChatGPT and you’re blown away. It writes poetry, explains quantum physics, and seems to know everything. You wonder if the singularity has quietly arrived while nobody was watching.

Stage 2: First doubts. You notice something odd. Maybe it confidently presents fiction as fact, creates a bibliography with completely fabricated sources, or writes code out of context. The spell begins to break.

Stage 3: The backlash. “This is just autocomplete on steroids!” Disappointment morphs into something stronger. You see through the illusion now. Some people camp out here permanently, joining the growing chorus of critics pointing out hallucinations, bias, the job market, and the environmental cost of training these models.

Stage 4: Nuanced understanding. With time, you develop a mental model of what these systems actually do; not “thinking” but statistically predicting text patterns. You learn when they’re reliable and when they’re dangerous. You value them as tools rather than oracles.

Stage 5: Practical integration. You’ve found your personal comfort zone with AI assistance. Maybe you use it extensively but verify important facts, or perhaps you keep it at arm’s length, using it only for specific low-risk tasks.

Interestingly, the most vocal critics and enthusiasts of AI are often those stuck in the early stages. The critics who never moved past their initial skepticism miss genuine utility, while uncritical enthusiasts who never developed healthy skepticism risk being misled.

Where do you fall in this spectrum? And is your position based on experience or preconceived notions about what these tools represent?

It’s Cool to Talk to Strangers

Remember when our parents warned us not to talk to strangers? While sound advice for a child, it might be holding you back as an adult. I’ve discovered that some of my most valuable business relationships and opportunities began with a simple conversation with someone I didn’t know.

For many people, initiating conversations with strangers feels uncomfortable, even intimidating. Worries of rejection, safety, or awkwardness play a part just as much as the question of what value these interactions could possibly bring. Meaningful connections happen less through formal structures than they happen organically, through genuine conversations and small acts of helpfulness, with no immediate agenda beyond human connection.

People generally appreciate it when you’re honestly curious about their lives. And why not be? There’s plenty to learn. Understand that every stranger represents a potential connection, opportunity, or simply a moment of human engagement that enriches both lives. Start small, perhaps with a genuine compliment or thoughtful question to someone you encounter regularly but haven’t really spoken with. These tiny moments of connection compound over time into a network that supports your growth in ways you can’t predict.

Who is one person you see regularly but haven’t really connected with yet?

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Feedback Is a Precious Gift

Have you ever spent weeks perfecting something, only to discover a fundamental flaw after launch? I’ve been there. It’s both frustrating and avoidable. What separates those who grow rapidly from those who plateau is often a simple mindset shift about feedback.

Most of us instinctively shield our ideas and creations from criticism. We fall in love with our solutions and become defensive when someone points out weaknesses. But we must understand something counterintuitive: real feedback, even when it stings, is one of the most valuable gifts you can receive. Words like “this is great” or “this is terrible” are just opinions. True feedback is thoughtful, specific insight that illuminates blind spots you couldn’t see on your own.

I remember unveiling a project I’d poured my heart into, only to have a mentor methodically identify its flaws. My initial reaction was defensive. Didn’t they understand what I was trying to accomplish? But once I pushed past that discomfort (and actually listened) I realized that every piece of feedback was an opportunity to strengthen my work before it faced the harshest critic of all: the market. That conversation saved me months of misdirected effort and helped transform a good idea into a great one.

Treat feedback as the precious resource it is. Seek it early and eagerly, before you’re too invested to change course. Be intentional about who you ask as not everyone gives gifts worth receiving. And when feedback arrives, resist the urge to explain or defend. Instead, simply start with “thank you” and consider what nuggets of truth might be hidden within, even if they’re wrapped in delivery you don’t love.

What project or idea are you working on right now that could benefit from some thoughtful feedback before you take it further?

Questions Are Greater Than Answers

For much of my life, I felt torn between my natural curiosity and the societal conditioning to race toward solutions. From school quizzes to workplace meetings, we’re rewarded for having answers, but not really for asking questions. Yet the most successful people I know aren’t the ones with all the answers; they’re the ones who ask the most insightful questions.

This is a critical shift in mindset: becoming a problem seeker rather than just a problem solver. When someone brings you a challenge, the instinct is to immediately offer solutions. But rushing to answers often means you’re solving the wrong problem altogether. There’s no such thing as the right answer to the wrong question. The real value lies in slowing down, getting curious, and making sure you’re addressing the root issue, not just the symptom.

I learned this lesson the hard way. In my early career, I prided myself on quick solutions. Clients would describe what they needed, and I’d deliver exactly that… only to find their fundamental problems remained unsolved. The turning point came when I started asking “why” like a curious child, before proposing any solution. This simple practice transformed my relationships and results. Instead of being an order-taker, I became a strategic partner who helped clients gain clarity on what they truly needed.

The next time someone brings you a problem, resist the urge to immediately solve it. Instead, get curious. Ask questions like: “What’s behind this issue?” “What would an ideal outcome look like?” “What have you tried before?” There is great value in asking the questions that lead to breakthrough insights.

What problem are you currently trying to solve that might benefit from more questions before you commit to a solution?

Your Time is Gold

I often wonder how the most successful people seem to achieve more in 24 hours than others do in a week? It seems that they treat their time differently than most people.

Understand that time is the ultimate non-renewable resource. It’s precious, perishable, and once spent, impossible to get back. The fundamental mindset shift happens when you stop seeing time as something to fill and start seeing it as your most valuable asset. I’m not talking about hustling 24/7. I mean that you must be ruthlessly selective about what deserves your attention.

The turning point in my own journey wasn’t when I could finally “afford” to delegate, it was when I realized I couldn’t afford not to. Many entrepreneurs think: “One day when I’m successful, I’ll hire help.” Millionaires flip this thinking: “I’ll hire help so I can become successful.” They don’t view people as expenses but as investments with returns. This isn’t about offloading work you don’t want to do. It’s about identifying what only you can do, then finding people who can do everything else better than you could.

Ask yourself: “What am I doing that someone else could do better?” Then take the scarier step: “What would happen if I invested in that person instead of holding onto tasks out of fear or habit?” The most valuable work you can do is focusing on the strategic work that moves your vision forward in ways nobody else can.

What’s one task you’re holding onto that you know, deep down, someone else should be doing?