The hottest Agency Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Not Just a Camera, Not Just an Engine

Breaking Smart • 36 implied HN points • 14 Jun 25
🎭️ Culture Narratives Storytelling Media Agency Society
  1. We often feel trapped between two narratives: one where people are blindly building without seeing reality, and another where people feel helpless and see a bleak future. Both views are inadequate.
  2. There are stories that help us see and do at the same time. It's important to find a balance between understanding the situation and taking action.
  3. Some narratives not only observe but also help shape reality, which can inspire us to navigate complex contexts in a more powerful way.

Understanding Luigi Mangione

Philosophy bear • 500 implied HN points • 12 Dec 24
📖 Philosophy Ideology Biography Narrative Agency Social Psychology
  1. Luigi Mangione's journey shows how complex a person's beliefs can be. He seemed to struggle with various political ideas throughout his life, often changing directions.
  2. People often don’t think strictly in political terms, but rather look for answers to different issues independently. This highlights the difficulty in fitting people into rigid ideological boxes.
  3. Luigi's story underlines the importance of feeling included in communities, especially for those wanting to make the world a better place. A lack of belonging can lead to frustration and misguided actions.

Finding Stoicism

Polymathic Being • 75 implied HN points • 23 Feb 25
📖 Philosophy Stoicism Ethics Emotions Agency Mindfulness
  1. Stoicism is about understanding and managing emotions, not suppressing them. It's important to feel and appreciate our emotions rather than act like they don't matter.
  2. Many people struggle with anxiety because they lack challenges in life, feel pressured to blame others, and often ignore their own ability to take control. Stoicism helps address these issues by teaching personal responsibility.
  3. To practice Stoicism, focus on yourself, take ownership of your actions, and avoid getting distracted by others' problems. By doing this, you can find balance and improve your mental well-being.
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Maybe You're Not Actually Trying to Solve Your Problems?

FutureIQ • 1 implied HN point • 30 May 25
📖 Philosophy Agency Advice Self-help Psychology Decision-making
  1. We often give better advice to others than we take for ourselves. When faced with our own problems, we might ignore good solutions we would recommend to a friend.
  2. People can solve issues at work but struggle with personal challenges. Sometimes, if we applied the same skills from one area of our life to another, we'd find better outcomes.
  3. Our mindset can get stuck in a low point, causing us to miss out on solutions. It's important to remember that our capacity for action can change over time, and we should revisit problems with a fresh perspective.

The Morality Paradox

Who is Robert Malone • 18 implied HN points • 30 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Ethics Morality Agency Leadership Decision-making
  1. High-agency people have the ability to shape their own lives and pursue their goals actively. They take control and create opportunities instead of just waiting for them.
  2. Being goal-oriented is important, but high-agency individuals also display qualities like resilience, discipline, and creativity. They aren't just about making plans; they push through challenges.
  3. While high-agency behaviors can lead to great achievements, they may also come with a lack of empathy or ethical considerations. It's crucial for these individuals to balance ambition with integrity.

A Whole New Cope

Breaking Smart • 107 implied HN points • 21 Oct 23
📖 Philosophy Existentialism Ethics Agency
  1. Thanks to globalization and the internet, we now feel more involved in global events.
  2. Our reactions to distant events can be influenced by a sense of general disequilibrium in the world.
  3. The balance between constraint and agency in our lives can be disrupted by external factors, leading to heightened reactions.

Agency vs. Addiction

Polymathic Being • 68 implied HN points • 10 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Addiction Agency Regulation Exercise Relationships
  1. Personal agency is key in resisting external influences and making independent choices.
  2. Addiction can extend beyond traditional vices like drugs and alcohol to include positive behaviors as well.
  3. Past attempts at regulation, like Prohibition and the War on Drugs, have often failed, highlighting the importance of personal agency in combating addiction.

Roads to self-employment and beyond

Kenny’s Sub • 19 implied HN points • 21 Dec 23
💼 Business Freelancing Entrepreneurship Product Development Agency Self-employment
  1. Many people move from a steady job to freelancing, then to running an agency or creating products. This path allows them to gain independence and explore new opportunities.
  2. Freelancing offers flexibility but can feel like juggling multiple smaller jobs. It's important to find a balance and not get stuck doing client work forever.
  3. Building in-demand products is a key goal for many freelancers. This helps them earn more and reduces their reliance on client work.

Clock time or rock time?

lifeboat • 19 implied HN points • 03 May 23
📖 Philosophy Time Existence Agency Perception Nature
  1. Time is weirder than we think, with deep connections to the past and future.
  2. Different cultures have different ways of understanding time, like the concepts of Chronos and Kairos.
  3. Changing how we perceive time can shift our sense of agency and possibility, moving us from despair to action.

Girardian Isekai Part 1: Agency and the Christian Afterlife

From the New World • 21 implied HN points • 08 Mar 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Christianity Afterlife Agency Innovation
  1. The Christian afterlife is often depicted with the concepts of heaven, hell, and purgatory, each with its unique perspective on innovation and agency.
  2. Agency plays a significant role in how individuals respond to the Christian revelation, with the rejection of agency leading to a vision of persecution and societal systems.
  3. Innovation in a Christian society is compared to living according to the Kingdom of God, embracing a way to end mimetic rivalry and foster a more fundamental approach.

Authors, Subjects, and Roles

Logos and Liberty • 0 implied HN points • 19 Jul 23
📖 Philosophy Authors Roles Agency
  1. Bakhtin's view suggests the speaker has more freedom than Foucault's view does, impacting concepts of authorship and language.
  2. Foucault analyzes the subject and authorship in connection to language use, distinguishing between statements and the individual or subject.
  3. Butler builds on Foucault's ideas about subjecthood and agency, exploring the relationship between the individual, subject, and roles.