The Power of a Duality-seeking Mindset (A Powerful Strategy for Solopreneurs and More)
"The Solopreneur Series" Free Issue No. 10
“The map is not the territory” is a phrase I have frequently pondered and used over the years. It’s a powerful statement for many reasons.
For one (depending on how we interpret the saying), our "maps" (beliefs, perceptions, and interpretations) are often abstractions or simplifications of the "territory" (the real world).
Confusing the two can lead to misunderstandings of what is truly there/here, potentially leading to faulty choices, decisions and conclusions. Holding the two in our minds at the same time, can become like a superpower.
The phrase comes from Alfred Korzybski, a Polish-American scientist and philosopher. He used it in papers and a book in the 1930s. Korzybski utilized the saying as a foundational statement in a field of study called general semantics, which he founded.
Ever had someone say to you:
“Ohhh, that’s just semantics….” (often delivered a bit dismissively)?
Well… semantics is a pretty important area of study. It’s the study of meaning in language.
Where do you think one of the most critical current-day challenges and applications in which Semantics is key?
You got it…
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
More below….
Welcome to new subscribers who have joined in recent weeks. And welcome back to those who have been along for the Box Cutter Co. ride for a bit.
This issue carries on from the last issue where we unpeeled some differences between ‘having’ and ‘being’.
This week: the power of Both/And thinking and a duality-seeking mindset. (One does not have to be an active Solopreneur to leverage these skills —they can be powerful skills for anyone).
Meaning and Not-Meaning
Semantics is a branch of linguistics exploring how languages encode relationships between entities, properties, and other aspects of the world to convey, process, and assign meaning.
It also looks at how listeners interpret these meanings in context. Pretty important stuff.
The field of semantics covers various topics such as:
The meanings of words and how they come together to form the meanings of sentences.
How context can influence the meaning of sentences.
How meanings can change and develop over time.
How people use language in specific situations and how language relates to thought and understanding of the world.
"General semantics" (developed by Korzybski), on the other hand, is distinct because it goes beyond just language to explore and consider how language affects human behaviour and cognition. It’s more interdisciplinary.
Korzybski studied the abstracting process (how we form generalizations from individual experiences) and how humans use language to represent reality.
This can be immensely complicated and messy, as we are all complex systems (as a single human being) that are enmeshed within complex systems and structures. Like this image, I shared this week 👇
Two people can experience the exact same event at the exact same time and have two completely and entirely different interpretations and understandings of that event.
Similarly, if that event involves language and communication (which most events are). Those same two people can have wildly different interpretations.
Semantics is the technical and scientific study of linguistic meaning, while general semantics is an applied practice focusing on the complexities of human understanding, communication, and behaviour through the critical use of language.
Why do I highlight this? 👇
Understanding and Mis-Understanding
Korzybski believed that many societal and personal problems were the result of misunderstandings or misinterpretations of language. He argued that the structure of language affects thinking and behaviour.
Therefore, developing a more in-depth understanding of language's structures can potentially lead to more open, conscious and potentially more rational, or at least clearer thinking.
Here are a few reasons why general semantics is considered important:
Critical Thinking: General semantics encourages individuals to think critically about the language they use and the assumptions underlying it. This can lead to more open (sometimes careful) and clearer thinking.
Communication: By being aware of potential pitfalls in how we use language, we can potentially communicate more clearly and effectively, reducing misunderstandings and conflicts. Or, being open to much wider ways of operating and being (especially of other people).
Mental Health: General semantics suggests much human misery is a result of the way we label and categorize our experiences. By reframing our language (and experiences), we can potentially improve our mental health and well-being.
Education: It is used as a tool in education to teach about complex relationships between language, thought, and behaviour, which can lead to improved communication (e.g., finding things in ‘common’— the root of the word communication).
Conflict Management & Resolution: Understanding and applying aspects of general semantics can aid in resolving conflicts by potentially clarifying the language and perceptions involved in disputes. “Ohhhh, you saw it that way… this makes more sense to me now”
Personal Development: It promotes awareness of 'abstracting', the process by which we form conclusions from our sensory experiences (e.g. perceptions). Being more conscious of these processes can support personal development and self-improvement.
Science and Technology: In the fields of science and technology, general semantics helps professionals understand and manage the implications of rapid technological changes and the complex terminologies involved. (Think AI and Machine Learning)
Social Harmony: By promoting a better understanding of languages and symbols, general semantics can assist in some aspects of social harmony and maybe the peaceful coexistence of different cultures and perspectives.
In essence, general semantics is about the responsible and conscious use of language. It can be a tool for facilitating clearer thinking, better decision-making, and more effective communication, which are foundational elements in so many aspects of being human (and operating businesses).
Think for example, what is at the root of the 4+ billion people using social media (and the $250 billion annually Creator Economy)?
Writing (or at least words — written or spoken).
General semantics (or at least leveraging thinking from this field) can also support being much more open, curious, resilient, and flexible. (All critical skills in a rapidly changing social world).
I’m not suggesting we all need to engage in the various fields and study of semantics — however, it can be critically important to take some of its tenets into consideration in the world of communicating with other humans (and our Self)
Productivity and Success Porn
All across social media channels, I see the ‘productivity hustle’, and ‘success’ porn.
The addiction with ‘having’ (as highlighted in the last issue).
Having X number of Followers.
Having X number of Impressions.
Having X number of subscribers.
The prolific use of the nonsense phrase: “Time management” — as if we could manage time. Nope, the only thing we can manage is our Self. (And even that’s a challenge sometimes).
What I find frequently missed with terms like ‘success’ is all the nuance and context — and most importantly, the opposite reality. This is where duality-seeking comes in:
There is no success without failure.
There is no productivity without idleness or inactivity.
There is no obvious without non-obvious.
There is no creativity without … what?… unimaginative, routine, imitative? Or, as I get the sense from social media — the opposite of creative is productive…?
There is no light without dark.
And even with light, its existence is a duality. It is Both waves And particles - but you cannot see one while looking at the other.
What does this have to do with being a Solopreneur?
In my experiences of building Solopreneur digital writing businesses from scratch — for the last year and a half or so — I see a great imbalance between the maps and territories of:
(1) being creative, and
(2) being a digital and creative Solopreneur.
The maps (at least as I see it) are the plans, the directions, the step-by-step, the 30 days to 10,000 Followers bullshit. The “post for 30 days” to change your life mumbo-jumbo.
Don’t get me wrong — some of this is important.
If you’ve never been somewhere and you need to get from Point A to Point B, well then, a map can be incredibly helpful.
But it’s critical to remember… all maps lie flat, therefore, all maps lie.
Even the ancient roots of the word ‘plan’ mean “flat”. It comes from the Latin word planum "level or flat surface." Going way, way back to Proto-Indo-European roots is the word *pele- meaning "flat; to spread".
I cannot tell you the number of times in my life, navigating some mountainous or forested terrain, where ‘by the map’ the journey looked simple…
“Gee guys, it’s only like 3 inches on the map…”
However, the actual terrain became treacherous, dangerous, and sometimes impassable.
The same goes for sea kayaking. A simple crossing from one side of an inlet to another can become a very different expedition when the weather changes. (Contexts are critically important)
Consider the Plans (Maps) AND the Terrain
If one is in the backwoods, out in the mountains, or exploring — what is one of the most powerful things that can assist in better interpreting what’s lying flat on a map?
Experience with the type of terrain (for many reasons)
It’s not that much different when one launches into a Solopreneur (or Entrepreneurial) venture (full-time or side gig).
Of the many courses, and programs, and experts, and gurus in the online environment — there is an abundance of mapping (e.g. planning) available for you to adopt. These will tell you (for $199) how to get from Point A to Point B.
From the starting line to a ‘successful’ and ‘productive’ venture (apparently).
What do most miss?
How to navigate the challenging ‘terrain’ along the way.
For example:
What to do when you hit what feels like impassable cliffs or snow-covered mountain passes?
What to do when you realize you’ve been hiking around in circles and it feels like you’re back close to where you started?
What to do when you realize the trip might be over because you forgot to account for the taxes you need to pay at year-end?
What to do when you are on the route that you thought would be an easy and quick success (e.g., course launch) and it turns out to be a nightmare of overgrown thick brush and dead ends (e.g., no one buys it)?
These are where flat plans (the map) also need to consider the context of ups and downs along the way (the territory, the terrain).
Think about the excitement of exploring a new place, pouring over the maps, planning routes — and, then… getting out into the territory (the terrain) and realizing you had not prepared for some of the physical and emotional toil that would be required.
This is where mindset can become key.
Some might say this is the balance between ‘labour’ and ‘management’.
Engaging ‘Labour’ AND ‘Management’
I worked in the public sector for over a decade. I still teach part-time at a university. And, in many public sector (and other organizations) I’ve watched (and participated in) the constant balancing acts between ‘labour’ and ‘management’.
This can refer to the literal labour Union versus Administration realities of many organizations.
Metaphorically, it can refer to the realities and trials of being a creative Solopreneur.
In 2014, writer and teacher Louise DeSalvo published her book: The Art of Slow Writing — Reflections on Time, Craft and Creativity. Great book. I borrowed it from our library recently.
She has a short essay about some of her writing struggles and processes called “Labor and Management”.
She breaks this down suggesting that ‘the writing’ is the labour. But the process of determining when to write, when not to write, what to write, and so on… is the management.
It landed well with me, as I can relate.
I love to write. And, I write a lot. Somewhere between 50,000 to 150,000 words per month. This is through daily social media posts (for me and clients), several ‘newsletter’ issues (like this one), private writing, and writing for clients (including Ghostwriting).
I’m fortunate, in that generally the labour — the writing — comes pretty easily. I’m never short of ideas, possible projects, and words. However, I can struggle on the management side.
Sometimes, I’ll get so engaged in an article/essay that I lose track of time and the next thing I realize, the marking I needed to, or the publishing strategy, or a client’s project have now become crunched into a little window of time.
Using a Learning Journal (to assist management)
It was encouraging to read DeSalvo’s essay and reflections on her struggles, as well as writers such as John Steinbeck who kept a journal alongside his writing projects. Some of these are published as books.
For example, when Steinbeck wrote Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden — two powerful novels — he kept journals in which he managed his processes. He talked about what he was going to work on in his day’s writing. He wrote down how he was feeling bout the process.
The journals that accompanied the writing of these two books — are published.
Journal of a Novel — The “East of Eden” Letters
Working Days — The Journals of “Grapes of Wrath”
Learning Journals have been a key foundation in my life for almost 3 decades. In the past decade or so, I’ve used them much more purpose-fully. One might say, with more of an eye to ‘management’ than ‘labour’.
Since walking away cold-turkey from a 6-figure salary and corporate ladder-climbing, I have become even more purposeful with my Learning Journals. I record more about how I’m feeling about projects, about writing, and about ideas.
I track ideas and thoughts for future projects. I also try to keep in mind deadlines, timelines, and guidance. I explore ideas around potential new projects and initiatives.
It has taken leaning into some discomfort on these fronts. I’ve become much more comfortable with the idea of navigating maps AND terrain… of balancing ‘labour’ and ‘management’ in my writing life.
Some things I’m frequently tracking:
What am I learning? How do I feel about that?
What would like to be learning about this writing life and building Solopreneur businesses?
How am I feeling about that?
What am I excited about? What am I potentially procrastinating on?
What I’ve realized by doing this (and publishing Free weekly Issues of Box Cutter Co. for 60 weeks and now this free issue No. 10 of The Solopreneur Series) — is that I have also been tracking the terrain NOT just following the maps and plans.
The terrain includes the emotional components — the discomfort and sometimes frustration of learning new platforms. Trying different forms of writing — and, spending some days learning the terrain of different social media channels. Or in creating new products.
Or realizing certain tactics or writing styles are not so conducive to the ‘business’ side of things. Or realizing that much of the ‘management’ side of things will always take more time than thought or planned for.
Any of us who navigate the digital world daily recognize the imminent dangers of getting lost in death scrolls and cute kitty videos.
Or thinking that engaging, liking, following, and mucking around in social media feeds — is productive (when often it’s not).
That is the critical “experience” which develops the more one navigates Both the maps AND the terrains.
And, in this is the power of setting into a duality-seeking Mindset.
Of leaning into Both-And thinking, of realizing that Success does not exist without Failures — they are on a cyclic continuum. They mutually support each other — especially when trying something new 👇
The “Learning Journal 101” Course is Live
To this point, my expanding ‘experience’ — of learning the terrain (and the maps) — came through while building our latest (Humanity Academy) paid course:
Along with launching the course, we also launched our YouTube channel. On it is the accompaniment to our Free issues of Notes on Humanity — video issues of “Thoughts on Humanity”
The first episode is an interview of me by my lovely wife Lisa (Co-founder). Funnily enough, she published a Medium article about the experience and it’s been one of her most popular yet.
Here’s a link to the episode. 👇
Considering Maps and Territories
Recognizing maps are not the territory supports flexibility, being open to new experiences, and finding resilience in the face of challenges.
Try This Exercise: "Both-And" Reflection
Take a moment to reflect on a recent project or endeavour. Use a two-column approach in your Learning Journal or a piece of paper:
Column 1 — The Map: Write down the plans, expectations, or strategies you had at the outset. These could be your goals, the timeline, or the outcomes you were aiming for.
Column 2 — The Territory: Next to each point, describe what actually happened. Note the surprises, challenges, and perhaps the unexpected opportunities that arose. Consider the emotions you navigated.
Then, reflect on the following questions:
Where did the map align closely with the territory? Where did it diverge?
What lessons can you draw from these areas of divergence?
How can leaning into a "both-and" mindset (balancing planning with adaptability) inform your approaches on future projects?
This exercise is not about judging your planning skills harshly but about building an awareness of how dynamic and fluid the process of reaching goals can be.
Plans are great if the terrain is flat and the weather is nice. But when the terrain starts to move up and down and the weather varies — we need to become more adaptable and fluid.
It's about valuing both the map for its direction high-level view (for some planning) and the territory for its lessons (and unpredictability).
For me, my journey as a Solopreneur has not just been about the ‘successes’ — it’s also about the full spectrum of experiences along the way — especially the reality of no longer having to navigate toxic workplaces.
That is a huge motivation for me to make this Solopreneur ‘thing’ work.
The power of a duality-seeking mindset lies in the capacity to: embrace and learn (and unlearn) from this spectrum, from the planned to the unplanned, from success to failure, and from creativity to productivity.
Going back to the comments on AI and ML — the ability to hold a duality-seeking mindset, to engage in Both-And thinking, will continue to be the difference (I feel) between humans and computer-generated ‘thinking’.
Want to produce some creative ideas and write about it?
Play around with this notion of Both-And thinking. Explore a duality-seeking mindset. Write about processes of considering the maps and terrain.
What do you think of this idea? (Maybe it’s old hat, and you’re well into it. Or, maybe it’s a new idea that intrigues you?)
Have you had a wilderness or even urban experience where you put more stock in the map and not so much in the terrain?
How about in your work or Solopreneur world? Have you seen the ‘best-laid plans’ go abundantly sideways? (maybe because the planners planned for flat — and reality made for challenging terrain?)
That’s it for this issue. Appreciate you dropping a like, a comment, a share, a re-post, or otherwise.
Keep an eye out for the next issue of Box Cutter Co. (Free Issue No. 60).
Paid subscribers, keep an eye out for a coupon code coming in the “Learning Journals” stack on this site. 75% off the just released Learning Journals 101 course.
Want a teaser, check out this short video on the course.
Wow David - that was a masterpiece read! The addiction with ‘having’ (as highlighted in the last issue). The part on success - the followers, the likes... I stopped caring about that and it was very freeing. I went back to my why --- and to focus on people that I can help.