That’s right! After thinking about it for a few weeks, I decided to start my own newsletter. I’m going to use this weekly project to share some of the things I’ve been working on. That includes links to books, summaries, podcasts, YouTube videos, or anything related to the never-ending path to self-development. The idea is to keep these newsletters short, so I want to use this as my platform to curate all the content I’m exposed to on a weekly basis.
This Week’s BIG Idea
Something I’ve been thinking a lot about for the past year or so involves minimalism. I’ve been attached to material things my entire life which include games, books, movies, and comic books, among many other things. As of lately, I’ve been doing an effort not to buy anything that’s not essential. Don’t get me wrong, I love having nice things, but I try to see them as tools that enable me to achieve something rather than toys that distract me from the goals I’m pursuing. We’ll see where this takes me, but the idea is to focus on the essentials and get rid of everything else.
What I’m Working on
Apart from working on this newsletter you’re reading right now, I just finished two books:
- Springfield Confidential by Mike Reiss: this book is about Reiss’ experience writing for the highly influential animated show, The Simpsons. As you’d expect, the book is incredibly funny, after all, Reiss is one of the reasons why the show has been so unique and irreverent for so long. Personally, I haven’t enjoyed The Simpsons in years, but I loved the part where Reiss explains how the episodes go from a concept to something that appears on television for millions to watch.
- The Ikigai Journey by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles: The authors’ previous book explained that finding your mission can help you live a long and happy life. The Ikigai Journey is a more practical take on that concept that gives you a series of actionable steps to figure out what your mission in life is. This book explains some fascinating concepts, such as the Pomodoro technique, the Pareto principle, or the idea of disconnecting from technology to achieve more things. Those interested in reading more about the book can find my summary here.
What I’m Listening to
- Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal: in the latest episode of Deep Dive, Ali is interviewing Marques Brownlee, one of the most popular content creators on YouTube. I remember reading an interview on The Verge a couple of months ago and not only did Brownlee come across as someone incredibly articulate, but he also knows a lot about running a prolific business. I honestly can’t wait to listen to this episode.
What I’m Reading
I’m currently reading two books:
- The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo: This is a practical guide to decluttering your home. Interestingly, the book teaches you to declutter through a once-in-a-lifetime event so that you never have to do it again. As fans of the Netflix show already know, the idea is to declutter by category which involves holding each item in your hand to see if it sparks joy. If it does, you keep it, and if it doesn’t you discard it. I’m rereading this book because I want to write a summary for my website, but I loved this book the first time I read it.
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens: Although this book has been on The New York Best Sellers list for quite some time, the reason why I decided to read it is that a movie based on it just came out. I have no idea what the book is about, but enough people recommended it that I’ll give it a chance.
What I’m Watching
I’ve been exploring a few interests on YouTube for the past few days. I’m interested in learning about journaling, video and audio editing, and making YouTube videos. If I had to choose one video that’s meaningful to me is this one by Matt D’avella who was brave enough to use a Light Phone for thirty days and share the results.
This Week’s Quote
“Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination. I will protect those who cannot protect themselves. I will protect even those I hate so long as it is right.”
Brandon Sanderson
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