[One Idea Monday #2] A writer, a founder, and an educator walk into a person…
Greetings from Sai Gon 😊
Greetings from Sai Gon 😊
I hope you had a restful weekend!
In this week's newsletter, I’ll share with you 2 podcasts and 1 blog, 1 of my blogs on how to write consistently, and a few life updates 😎
Vamos!
🌟 Brain Food
Podcast “An Honest Conversation with Ali Abdaal”: I’ve been a fan of Ali for over 2 years now, both as a creator, but more so as an entrepreneur. The perspectives he shared, with Colin and Samir’s signature “ping-pong interview” style, create such a gold mine.
Ali talked about building a creator-led business, choosing lifestyle over money, and 3 books that changed how he thinks about building online businesses. It’s a 2-hour episode so take your time 🤗
Podcast “Did Mr. Beast ruin YouTube?”: Another podcast from Colin and Samir where they talked about the brand of “being a YouTuber” and the difference between a creator (think YouTubers) and a creative (think Hollywood directors).
We (creators) are independent media publishers, not just a creative.
Blog “Admitting What Is Obvious”: The author - Dan Shipper - is the co-founder and CEO of Every. In this essay, he shares his struggle with admitting that he’s a writer while being a founder in a world where most founders are “supposed to be” technical or business-oriented.
So, I pretended to be a founder who also liked to write.
This blog made me think about my “obvious” identity. Am I a founder who likes to create OR a creator who likes to build businesses? Do I really have to pick one over the others? Does this singular “identity” really matter?
As I discussed this with my co-founder, I said that I can survive with having many identities co-existing. I think you can and should be many things in different contexts and different phases. I cannot always be “a writer”.
I then remember about some graphics I made for a Personal Storytelling Workshop that I hosted for my school’s startup program 2 months ago. There, I said that we all have so many intertwined interests and identities, so the trick to effective personal storytelling isn’t to choose a dominant identity and disregard the rest OR to try and pitch ALL of your identities to a person you just met.
You don’t have to say all of these! This “All of me” story can intimidate A LOT of people.
Instead, the trick is to read the situation, and then pick which identity (or identities) might elevate your conversation with the person you’re talking to. These are the “Some of me” stories.
Concluding thoughts:
You don’t need to have a SINGULAR, DOMINANT identity or personal narrative.
You also don’t need to tell everyone about every identity that you have.
There are many sweet spots in the middle.
The story you tell others should serve 1 primary purpose: To make the interaction more fruitful for both you and the other party.
❓Some questions for you
What are some of your identities?
In which situation would you hide a few of them away?
Is there anyone who knows every “version” of you?
💡 1 Idea
I don’t teach writing techniques. I teach writing SYSTEMS.
💌 Life Update
This is my 6th day in Sai Gon. Starting to feel more settled in my new place and establish my routines. Here’s an excerpt from a piece I’m writing:
“You made me notice happiness in the little things, the internal things, in the feeling that I’m making tiny tiny little steps towards a defined goal, a little goal, but a beautiful goal: to make this house feel like home. A HOME. OUR HOME.”
Will be published tonight or tomorrow 🤞
I hosted a workshop for 100 people on Sunday about our “Idea Packaging Machine”. People seem to like it(?) I certainly did :))
We’ll be hosting another workshop this Sunday where you get to come and talk to 6 writers who have graduated from our blogging bootcamp Writing On The Net. It’ll be super fun! I’ll see you there!
That’s all this week! Thank you! 💖
I’m always grateful for your attention. You could have given it to anything and you chose to invest it with me.
Cheers,
Akwaaba Tung