Giving My Brain a 15 Minute Break [WRAP 149]
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Hey Reader, a quick shout-out to my friends at Mighty Networks → they're hosting the People Magic creator summit October 15-17. It's online and totally free. Speakers include Ryder Carroll, Marie Forleo, Luvvie Ajayi Jones, and many more. Click here to save your spot or read more at the end of the WRAP. 💡 One Big Idea: Driving in SilenceI’m an admitted self-improvement junkie. Years of podcasts, books, videos, courses, and sacrificing (almost) every minute of available time at the altar of self-improvement. I love learning and being at my best, but the past several months my self-help was more reaction than intention. Walk the dog? Listen to a podcast. Drive to work? Listen to an audiobook. Since I've started working away from home, and I’ve actually come to enjoy the 15-ish minute commute. It gives me time to decompress after work before greeting the boys, and a big part of that compression is to listen to… nothing. Wendell Berry had this to say about silence: We begin to recognize a truth disguised or denied by media: all things have possibilities of productivity and pleasure, rest and work, that belong particularly to themselves. These possibilities exist everywhere, in the country or in the city, it makes no difference. All that is necessary is the time and the inner quietness to look for them, the sense to recognize them, and the grace to welcome them. — The World Ending Fire In the relative silence of the highway — I’m less attuned to work, which is good because it should be over. I sort through problems in my head. My mind wanders and I allow it to do its thing. I’m not trying to learn anything because I’m not being taught in the moment. Often, I’m also bored and twitchy, but that’s getting better. One thing I know—and am trying to remember—is how important it is to develop a sense of trust in myself. I believe that’s true for everyone. To trust myself, I have to know myself. And to know myself, I must listen to myself. And it’s hard to listen to myself when I’m pumping other people’s words and ideas through my head at every opportunity. 👀 Video to Watch: Wendell Berry's Deep LifeWhen productivity and agrarian values collide, you get Cal Newport talking about Wendell Berry's "deep life" habits. My uncle gave me one of Berry's novels about 15 years ago, and I've been following his work and philosophies ever since. They discuss Berry's writing shed, philosophies, and writing habits — including how he writes every book by pencil and has never owned a computer. Watch here or below. I disbelieve, and therefore strongly resent, the assertion that I or anybody else could write better or more easily with a computer than with a pencil. — Wendell Berry, Why I Am Not Going to Buy A Computer
📰 Article I Read: Taste is Eating Silicon ValleyI believe the most challenging part of content (and many businesses) going forward is balancing the ability to continuing "shipping" your product while having the "taste" necessary to make the product relevant. This article argues, and I happen to agree, that software is becoming more and more commodified. The ability to create an app is getting easier and easier. In 2025 (or not long after) you'll be able to talk to AI and it will build the codebase for you. You'll still need to have it QA'd and checked by a person, but I can't imagine that will last too much longer either. Even today you can build a working app in the fraction of the time and a fraction of the knowledge you needed in the past — shown by my friend Dan Shipper*. That doesn't mean that coders are out of work, no more than writers are out of work because of AI. There's always going to be a place, and now an even more important place, for people with taste. Taste means you can make decisions about what does and doesn't work with the look, feel, and vibe of something. That stretches across the code to the copy to design and layout and story and more. Having good taste is more important than ever, and it's not going away. *Dan is very smart and a proper coder, but he also has great TASTE. Sponsor Shoutout: People Magic SummitWe are less than 100 days January 1st, and for many content creators and educators... January is the biggest month of the year for sales, views, brand deals, and much more. January pays for all the slow months during the year — so don't you want to have a clear plan of action for it? That's why the People Magic Summit, presented by Mighty Networks, is happening October 15-17, and we want you to be a part of it. You'll join world-class speakers and entrepreneurs who will show you exactly how they are building incredible businesses and communities that serve millions of people. The Summit is 100% free to attend, all you have to do is sign up here. Have a great weekend, Matt Ragland p.s. if you have a (literal) minute to share feedback, click here. |