Hello there,
First off, welcome to the new subscribers (and there have been quite a few of you in the last month). Thanks for joining.
Meanwhile, if you’ve been here a while, I want to apologise. Yes, indeed. A couple of the recent editions of this digest haven’t been so good.
Sorry. And thank you for still being here.
The good news is that the tension and frustration have become the fuel for this month’s in-email article.
Beyond that, keep scrolling for a selection of ideas and resources spanning education, entertainment, and entrepreneurship. I’m putting a renewed focus on weaving the thread on how these intertwine and where there may be new opportunities to help fuel your journey... because that’s the ‘Adventures’ bit, after all.
Thanks for reading, and as always I’d love to hear what’s got your attention right now. Just hit reply.
Furiously stirring
It was obvious why those previous dispatches came out badly.
Moving to a new interface caught me in a strange no man’s land between blog and newsletter.
Hours were spent on the intro bits. They came out undercooked, were then left to simmer for far too long, before being furiously stirred and hastily plated to meet my first Thursday deadline. Word sludge.
Then there were the 50+ pieces of video content I was producing for the workshop. Those took their toll in time and energy.
So, it was obvious. Or was it?
Back to the Trap
A layer deeper, and history was repeating.
From the beginning of lockdown, I saw so much creativity out there from others.
Inspiring? Yes.
Crippling? Also, yes.
Their lucid essays; pithy Tweets; witty videos; clever podcasts.
And me, with my blinking cursor; strange, unwoven thoughts; and stuttering grammar.
I produced videos that took hours to put together and still didn't meet my hopes. What was on the canvas did not align with the mind’s eye.
Rough blog posts sat stubbornly in the drafts folder; drifting further away from salvation as time rolled past.
There was the Tweetstorm I crafted with quiet excitement before seeing it sink like the gruesomely impaled Ibiza cocaine foister from the looks-great-oh-it’s-actually-trash-hmm-I’ll-watch-it-anyway-no-these-are-terrible-empty-calories-but-oh-the-sugary-sweetness-still-tastes-so-good 'White Lines' on Netflix.
Seeing all those other people’s creativity. And their prolific, relentless, focused output.
And yes, there it was. The comparison trap. The most dangerous trap of them all.
The realisation was clear: I hated my output.
But there was one more layer to why so much of what I’d been doing felt lacking in some way. There was one layer deeper.
Time to Snorkel
Speaking of Mediterranean islands, I’ve been lucky enough to take a few family holidays in that wonderful part of the world.
One of the biggest lures?
No, not thrice-cut narcotics. Behave yourself.
Scuba diving.
My Dad and brother love to scuba dive, but I could never do it. I found equalising too difficult and the sinus pressure overwhelming. After another despondent failed attempt at submerging, I’d leave them to explore the ocean depths as a duo.
Instead, I pootled around with a snorkel; sun on my back, keeping an eye out for colourful fish. After a little while, I’d head back to shore and read a few pages of a book, sketch out some new ideas, have a chat with my Mum, or just gaze out at the shimmering water line.
And then, in what seemed the blink of an eye, the divers returned and it was time for lunch.
The most wonderful lunch spot you may ever find: Fish Shack, Ibiza. Simplicity is indeed the ultimate sophistication.
No space for scuba
Today, in New York’s concrete lockdown, there’s a bit of room for outdoor dining, but no space for scuba.
I can’t equalise, and those depths of working 3, 4, 5 hours straight on one thing are far, far away.
Yes, our attention spans are getting shorter and become harder to stretch back out, but it’s not just the usual internet distractions at play.
There are check-ins with my wife as she continues to recover from Coronavirus; a love-hate relationship with a rolling roster of video calls; the concerns of how to make a living; a nervousness about family, friends, and community.
While my pressures are minimal in the grand scheme of things, they still feel very real.
And the scuba - the Deep Work, as Cal Newport calls it - is hard to come by.
I want to dive deep, but because the window is only 60, 45, 30 minutes at a time, scuba isn’t possible. And I can’t equalise. Maybe you can’t either.
However, not going deep doesn’t mean staying shallow.
Snorkeling isn’t worse than scuba. It’s just different.
Snorkeling allows a breadth of vision.
There’s the chance not just to look down into the water, but up at the sky and out over the landscape. A chance to see something new; or something always there that you never noticed before.
There’s no tank on your back. No training required. You don’t even need to be able to swim.
Almost anyone can snorkel. And it’s easy to do together.
I can’t get to the depths right now. Maybe you can’t either.
And that’s ok.
Let’s snorkel.
Career Fuel
The Passion Economy: Here’s another good bit from Li Jin. One of the questions I’m getting asked most often at the moment is about the ‘stack’ for building a digital business: whether it’s the most effective-route to producing video content; or taking payments for a workshop. I’m interested to see which ‘full-stack’ solutions may emerge here in the coming months (there’s also an opportunity for a service business that teaches how to do put the stack together…)
Freelance pricing: Here’s a good Twitter thread on how to scope and bill projects when you’re out there in the jungle.
The Observer Effect: Interesting long-form interview with Marc Andreessen on productivity, learning, and keeping a calendar
Learning <> Doing
Mirror acquired by Lululemon: What? Eh? Pardon? What’s this doing this under the ‘Education’ heading?
I see a lot of parallels between at-home fitness like Peloton and Mirror, and new models in learning. I wrote a blog post on this ages ago and didn’t ship it (see above re. “rough blog posts sat stubbornly in the drafts folder…”). Imagine learning from incredible teachers and guides, anywhere in the world, directly through the mirror. There would be content adjusted for your expertise; multiple leaderboards; even historical figures leading a class via a hologram…
The Future of College: Love him or loathe him, Scott Galloway seems to be everywhere right now. Here’s his take on the future of college. There are a few points I disagree with, but I think he’s spot on with the suggestions of big tech burrowing into education, and gap years growing in popularity (although I think they’ll look more like rotational expeditions; 3-5 shorter tours across different cultures and environments).
The Age of Superstar Teachers: I’m big on this one. Someone (me?) is going to build CAA for teachers.
Media & Entertainment
Quibi takes a quick bite out of $2bn: Quibi has burned $1.8bn (yes, billion) on content and advertising so far. And the initial 3-month subscription deal they gave to early customers is about to run out. Youch. Just imagine what else could have been done with all that cash.
The new wave of video game music: The scale of the gaming industry is hard to understate (and the lines are definitely being blurred on what ‘gaming’ means). As the complexity and budget of top-end production keep increasing, it’s not surprising to see top composers flock to games studios. Let’s be honest though, the days of the MegaDrive are where it’s really at.
Jukebox
There’s been a lot of talk about podcast listening dropping as activities link commuting and gym workouts have declined. I’ve noticed my music consumption dropping too. Perhaps it’s that lack of scuba.
Instead, here’s something from the recent past: in a bar in Bushwick, I picked up a magazine published in Bristol, featuring a band from Brighton. They had tour dates in Belgium and Belfast, but those got canceled of course.
The band is called Squid. And elsewhere in NYC, they probably would have fitted in well at CBGBs…
Footnotes
Other things I’ve been up to this month:
Finishing up our second cohort of Workshop Creator, and launching the next one to take flight in August. I’m really excited about these kinds of community-driven learning experiences
Getting my hair cut - twice! (big shout out to both Jacinta and Astor Hair)
Becoming older. I’m now 37. Terrifying
Running around the East Village each morning. Further confirmation that although a) it’s good for my energy and creativity; b) I’m out of shape; c) I will never, ever, enjoy running