tl;dr: In a knowledge economy, you are as likely to create value outside as inside.

For most of my career, my approach to work has been a “brute force attack.”

I equated “time spent in front of computer” with “quality of output.” And sure, that number has to be greater than 0, but I think a lot of it was an industrial era mindset of “more hours=more value,” which was true when people were paid by the hour or by the widget.

However, as I’ve begun to try and wrap my head around what a “knowledge economy” really looks like-and how it functions-I’ve recognized the folly of my ways.

The Daily Walk

The discipline I’ve developed to help me overcome that mentality is the Daily Walk.

I used to be a big runner, but I discovered that my knees couldn’t really take it (even though I used minimalist shoes and read Born to Run). Plus, I realized that, for my health at least, fitness came down to calorie budgeting and weight training.

So I could get cardio another way…in the form of a walk.

I’m pretty religious about it and go out in any weather (except pure ice) to walk in a forest near my house. Sometimes I make calls. Sometimes I listen to books or podcasts. Occasionally, music. And frequently, I listen to nature.

Nietzsche and the Knowledge Economy

I’m reading Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche now.

Truth be told, I think I am reading it more so I can tell people I am reading it because I can barely understand what he’s talking about. However, I think I am getting a glimpse…but it’s a slog.

Ironically, however, it was another book, Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man, quoting Nietzsche that harmonized some of what Zarathustra is about (I think.”

“The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said that the only ideas that were worthwhile were those that came when he was walking under an open sky.”

As we all grapple with problems in our lives that are both big and small, it’s worthwhile to remember that humans are creatures of nature whose natural state is outside.

That’s where we connect with the larger life force, however you define it, and where we can plug into the oneness of the Universe, drawing on the huge stores of knowledge which are out there.

So, no matter what you are doing today, I hope you’ll take time for a walk.