Make everything you own 10x more meaningful [WRAP 173]


Hey Reader, I want to start with a message to all the moms out there. Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I want to thank you on behalf of all children for the impact that you have made in our lives.

Of course I specifically want to thank my mom, Mae Beth, and my wife and mother of my children, Morgan, for the love and care that they've shown us. There's no greater calling than being a mother (and father, but not our day guys). Happy Mother's Day to all!

Ok one more thing. Make your mom a card for Mother's Day. Don't buy one. Fold a sheet of paper in half, draw a heart on it, a couple flowers, and write something heart-felt on the inside. She will love it more than some store-bought card with another person's words inside.

If you really want to make an impression, make it an origami card.

Make it from you and it will mean more to her.

💡 One Big Idea: Customize Everything

Actually, let's follow that thread. I want to encourage you to make your stuff more your stuff.

One of my favorite all-time Casey Neistat videos is Customize Everything - and I was thinking about it this week because I saw my friend Matt talk about removing unnecessary tags from his clothes, or scratching off logos on sunglasses and equipment.

As a society, we make fewer things than ever for ourselves. That's even more true of physical goods like clothing and equipment. And while I'm not talking about making my own clothes or blacksmithing my own cutlery, there are cool ways of literally putting your mark on things.

Besides removing tags and logos when able, a few of the easiest and most fun ways to customize are with a white-out pen, Dremel tool (for metal), or a woodburner. Which is what I did with a french press I got for my wife on Mother's Day 2022 with "custom" engraving 🤣

You're probably not going to make something very pretty. Not at the beginning, and maybe not ever. But you will make it yours, and by making it yours, you will make it more meaningful to the people that you share it with.

So make that card for your mom tomorrow, ok?

📹 Video to Watch: Smartwatch = "Dumb" Phone?

I've mentioned a few above, but I have really been liking Reysu's videos about notebooks, attention, and productivity. This video does a good job explaining how to use an Apple Watch as a temporary alternative to an iPhone.

I say temporary because I'm way past the point of not having an iPhone, but I have noticed that I can stay in contact with the people I need to—for a couple of hours or even most of a day—with only my Apple Watch.

We talk a lot about attention and intention of your focus in this newsletter and on my YouTube channel, and Reysu does a great job of capturing that mindset in this video.

video preview​

👀 Article to Read: Hobbies are an Advantage​

I read Epstein's book "Range" when it came out several years ago. On the surface, you may think this is more of a book for athletes or high performers at the top of their field, and not something applicable for the daily lives of normal people. However, I found this essay about hobbies to be very interesting and applicable.

Epstein talks about how having hobbies is not only a performance booster in the main area of your life but an important way for people to relax, get out of their own way, and give their mind, spirit, and body a break from the main thing that commands most of their attention in life.

I've been thinking about hobbies more lately because most of my life has been optimized around either the thing that I do for work or spending time with my family. But it doesn't leave much space for doing things just for the sake of enjoyment without turning them into content.

My most consistent hobby is working out, but that doesn't really strike me as a hobby. If I were to pick out a hobby, it would probably be drawing. I like to do it; it's fun; I find it interesting, and most importantly, I don't really draw with the intent of sharing it in the way that I would for other things I make (like YouTube videos or writing for newsletters).

Anyway, those are just some of the thoughts that I had when I was reading this article. It inspired me to think about a non-business, non-content hobby that I could spend a little bit of time on every couple of days just to have fun for the sake of having fun. Because as it turns out, doing that could have a very positive effect on everything else.

Have a great weekend,

Matt Ragland

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