Searching for purpose in all the wrong places
Howdy folks, I missed last week's video (and newsletter) so that means I owe one of you £100.
To decide who wins I put everyone who replied to this email into a random draw and Laura M won. Laura, I've sent you an email.
Unlucky to the rest of you suckers, you’ll have to make do with the treasure below.
I did however learn to drive a boat last week (highly recommended). And I got very sunburnt in Corfu (not highly recommended).
Here's me doing my best James Bond impression (just pretend I did something cool 30 seconds before... not that I was hanging on for dear life because the sea was choppy 😮💨)
Anyway, let’s get into the filter.
Ohh and before you think ‘what a sucker he’s done it again’…. here is this week's video. A slightly rambly backstory on how I built my business + what's next.
1. The benefits of sharing creative work (tweet):
This has been an unexpected benefit of writing this newsletter and making videos. Even though things are still super small I get messages similar to this regularly and it feels great. As Paul Millerd says it's a nice hidden compensation for creative work.
2. Searching for purpose in all the wrong places (articles): As always, Sivers makes a great point in this article. You shouldn't go searching for passion or purpose you should let it find you. There's no point in trying to construct your life story, it will only become clear when you draw the dots after you've lived it.
3. Barter deals (tweet):
I've recently done something similar to this and it's a great way to create a win-win situation for both sides. Once you have enough income to cover your needs I'd recommend playing around with barter deals.
4. Simplicity (quote):
But simplicity is not so simple to attain. Steve Jobs figured out that “you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.” The Arabs have an expression for trenchant prose: no skill to understand it, mastery to write it.
— Nassim Taleb, Antifragile
5. Brains seek balance (video): Our brains seek to find balance but I'm fascinated with finding is the best way to strike that balance. I think I'm coming to realise that for me balance comes from extreme contrast, so cycles of intense work then complete rest.
6. Create, don't judge (tweet): So simple, but incredibly difficult to do.
7. The importance of creating space (quote):
"We do not live in this moment. We, in fact, try desperately to get out of it—by thinking, doing, talking, worrying, remembering, hoping, whatever. We pay thousands of dollars to have a device in our pocket to ensure that we are never bored. We sign up for endless activities and obligations, chase money and accomplishments, all with the naïve belief that at the end of it will be happiness."
— Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the key
End Note
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Have a fantastic week!
- Stephen