Gena Gorlin

If this is you, then come check out the newsletter and subscribe! And let me know what you think, since it’s as much as ever a work-in-progress.

This is a new kind of self-help for those who (rightly) roll their eyes at self-help.

They are, or aspire to become, high-agency humanists.

They are neither well-served by traditional therapy and mental health tools, nor content to sacrifice themselves at the altar of “hustle culture";

They are ambitious builders and creators who want to approach their lives entrepreneurially, whether or not they are entrepreneurs.

The Psychology of Ambition | Dr. Gena Gorlin | Substack Synthesizing science, philosophy, and observations from my practice to serve the unmet needs of ambitious builders. Click to read The Psychology of Ambition, by Dr. Gena Gorlin, a Substack publication...

New year, new title: say hello to my freshly rebranded newsletter, “The Psychology of Ambition”

builders.genagorlin.com

This title reflects the thinking I've done in the past year to clarify my ideal audience. Here’s what I’ve learned about the people who resonate most with my work:

The courage to be “ordinary” A conversation with Anne Briard, the insurance lawyer who is living her best life

Read all about my amazing wife Anne Briard, courtesy of @genagorlin.bsky.social. Goes without saying that the scare quotes are important.
builders.genagorlin.com/p/the-courag...

Discussion thread #2: Your best examples of the "leaden mean"? Hello, dear readers!

The “leaden mean”: when the middle path between two extremes is costlier and more disastrous than either extreme 🤦🏻‍♀️

Discussion thread just dropped: open.substack.com/pub/genagorl...

Come explore the concept, read my embarrassing examples, and perchance share your own

Honesty starts from within: conceptualization and multimethod measurement of self-honesty as a core value While the construct of self-deception has received ample theoretical and empirical attention, its virtuous counterpart—self-honesty—has been largely neglected. Yet, as argued here and elsewhere, th...

Pleased to share the culmination of a 5-year research effort involving the largest team of coauthors I’ve ever assembled

Our big takeaway: self-honesty can be measured (sort of), and it matters!

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them, 5th Installment A nugget of wisdom from my walk with Sahil Lavingia

What did absconding to Utah to study fantasy fiction and mingle with Mormons teach @shl.bsky.social about building his startup?

The one thing Silicon Valley couldn't teach him—though it's arguably the most important lesson of all.

Read the full story here:
builders.genagorlin.com/p/fantastic-...

Sigh, fair enough…. No free lunches or free Substack comment integrations, alas

Aaah, I want this for my Substack posts!!

@matt.kitchen, help? :D

A sensitive period for texting We gave our 4-year-old daughter a highly designed and enticing learning material, observed her using the material under conditions of freedom, and adjusted the material accordingly. The learning mater...

How I taught my 4yo how to read by (in part) setting her up to send text messages

higherground.substack.com/p/friday-not...

Building the Builders | Dr. Gena Gorlin | Substack Exploring the psychology of ambitious creators: what it is, why it matters, and how to build it. Click to read Building the Builders, by Dr. Gena Gorlin, a Substack publication with thousands of subsc...

Here for the link-sharing binge I’ve craved for so long

Starting with my Substack, which explores the moral psychology of ambition: builders.genagorlin.com

Recycling this from Twitter, since it’s my rallying cry:

On surface, self-honesty is just a negation—a refusal to stay self-deceived a moment longer than one can help it. But what it manifests & affirms is a deep, abiding love of existence: a commitment to living for real, not just for pretend.

I am (genagorlin.substack.com), and I just added you to my Recommendations list. Thank you for already having me on yours, hah! 😳

Ooo- where do I find this feature??

Hmmmmm

Does this mean I can post all the other photos you haven’t let me post before because you have no shirt on?

Dude

Also, is “blueskying” a verb yet?? Feel like maybe we can fast-track that linguistic evolution in this case?

Sooo what are people’s strategies for getting started on here? Do you just copy-paste your Twitter profile & start duplicating your tweets? Do you experiment with a new BlueSky persona to complement (or, perhaps, replace) your Twitter one? Do you try to “read the room” & then decide?