Two weeks ago I sent one of my weekly article titled with "Creativity is like breathing". The article was a different format than usual. Rather than sharing one particular article with you, I shared a more diary style format with personal recommendations & things that are on my mind.
It was an experiment, but the feedback has been amazing. I got so many emails from readers telling me they really enjoyed the style of the email and would love to see more of it.
So I thought, why not doing it more often? Of course I will still share unique articles written just for you, but here and there I will throw in one of these more personal emails where I share things I'm enjoying right now, and what's on my mind.
But first, I had a look at the weekly email time machine! (or throw back Sunday machine?) EXACTLY one year I wrote an article titled "Doing it Wrong" - And it's still valid!
But let's get into this weeks email:
1. I've finished reading "Ego is the Enemy" by Ryan Holiday. I've enjoyed pretty much every book written by Ryan, from "Trust me I'm lying" to "The Obstacle is the way".
Having read all these books by Ryan, I could sense a more mature Ryan Holiday in his third book where he speaks about the dangers of your ego. Ego is often the single biggest obstacle that stands in your way, even if we often don't like to hear it.
This book opened my eyes and helped me to remind me to question myself more often: Is my ego in the way? How would my actions look like if my ego wouldn't exist?
2. I've started watching "Chefs Table" on Netflix and was hooked immediately. After many friends told me about this series I finally had to watch it. Even if you're not so much into food, you would love this series. On that note, if you haven't already, watch the movie Chef (one of my all time favs), the classic documentary Jiro's Dreams of Sushi and maybe even the movie Burnt, just for contrast.
There is something fascinating for me personally about chefs. As a designer who worked in many different industries, I can't stop thinking about"whats next". What is my ultimate goal as a designer? Who do I look up to? Who do I identify with?
As a designer & creative it's difficult. The more "senior" you become, the more you will be forced to move into management roles, if you like it or not. You might started becoming a designer for the love of the craft, but your promotions at your company led you into managing other people. Before you even noticed it, you're not designing anymore. The one thing that got you into design, taken away from you.
It's the fate of many talented designers and even engineers. But this is why I'm so fascinated by chefs. Many of the worlds best chefs are still actively cooking, while running their own restaurants and mentoring their teams. There is something so magical about the passion for food & cooking that keeps pulling these chefs back into the kitchen. They manage to have the perfect balance.
As a designer, I strive to be like these chefs. The more my industry tells me to "step up" in my career and become a manager, the more I'm motivated to indulge myself in my craft rather than going away from it.
3. I started reading a book called "Small Giants". It's a book about small companies that choose to be great instead of big. It's about going against the grain and re-defining what success means to you and your company. "Small Giants" is about rejecting the traditional mantra of growth. It's about staying small and nimble while still running a great company.
Of course I haven't finished the book just yet, but trying to apply this mantra to my own company Semplice, I'm sure there will be many lessons in this book that will resonate with me. I will report once I finished the book of course.
PS: I always share my favorite reading recommendations on my website. The books I enjoyed the most end up on my Reading Recommendations list right here.
4. Almost a year ago my girlfriend started her own blog/online magazine called "Sand & Such". It's a blog dedicated to sleep and everything around it. Sleep is one of these things I've always underestimated & rarely appreciated.
It's this thing I have to do, but I barely know anything about it. But in reality, sleep is the backbone of our life, and on top if it, sleep defines our waking hours more than we might think.
Maybe Sand & Such will help me appreciate more in the future. (I hope linking her blog here won't crash her server ????)
5. I also enjoyed reading this piece by Nathan Barry about why he ignores advice, even when given by his smartest friends. Reminded me of a similar piece I wrote more than a year ago titled "Ignore Everybody" (in case you haven't read it yet)
6. Black Mirror! If you haven't watched it yet, it's one of my all time favorite series. I watched it years ago, but recommended it to a friend of mine the other day. I also just noticed Episode 1 of the new Season 3 just premiered on Netflix. So in case you haven't, go ahead and watch Black mirror (on Netflix). Episodes can be watched in any order you like, each episode has it's own story.
Black Mirror is hard to describe, but think of it as little sneak peeks into the future. A future that is already here. Watching Black Mirror will always leave you with an uncomfortable feeling and it will make you think.
7. On a more personal note: I landed a new skateboard trick this weekend! FUCK YEAH!
Other than that, more highlights from last week:
- This is still my favorite GIF of all time.
- This little kid will motivate you for all next week.
- I stopped playing Pokemon GO, it was about time.
- Almost done with my new blog (can't wait to show ya)
- A new NTMY episode will come this week! YAY! ????????
I wish you all a wonderful new week. If you enjoyed this weekly email, let me know on Twitter @vanschneider.
High fives,
Tobias
