Intro
Welcome to the first issue of Leo’s Letter.
Yes, newsletters are all the rage right now, but it’s happening for many reasons, one of them being a means of cutting through the noise - with so much content out there, it’s not so much a matter of not having enough to go through, but of finding the right ones.
Hence this undertaking to have a medium that occurs only semi-frequently (1-2 issues per month) to relay not only my own thoughts, but those of others, sourced from many different areas. Enjoy!
The baseline
I’ve been writing for a while now, ever since starting to actually enjoy it three years ago while working as an editorial intern for a small magazine. The contents are scattered around my site and my old site. Knowing the starting point, the next step here is to write based off more feedback, incorporating additional viewpoints, and tying in more disciplines.
Where to?
Onto the link sharing. I’ve learned a TON from over-planning first steps, so expect changes to how everything is laid out here. But without further ado:
‘Billions,’ ‘Succession’ and the Making of Wealth Porn
-Article mentions both dramas as ones that “aren’t exactly aspirational”, implying that these shows are ultimately a “critique of wealth itself”
-Wealth is shown to be part of the wealthy’s daily lives. It’s as if there’s no reason to show it off or revel in it, with examples of behaviors such as characters boarding private jets like a taxi
-Plus some takes on faking the billionaire look!
The NBA ‘Happiness Crisis’ and the Price of Constant Criticism
-This article shows social media as a way for NBA players to be reached, in this case with them seeing the negative criticisms about them - in a constant manner. Same can be said for celebrities...
A tweet on celebrities and normal people
(Unknown source)
“Celebs have the title but not the life. Normal people have the life but not the title”
-Hence this. Being monitored for your every move. Unable to go places without an escort. Sometimes it’s not good when everyone knows who you are.
Do Not Disturb: How I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Break
-Kevin Roose labels smartphones as a “species-level environmental shock”. This is very interesting as I’ve begun to think of things related to our evolutionary history (ahem, mindfulness and being present). For him, most habits came from the inability to remain still, taking in the physical world.
-This is why I deleted the IG app because the benefits to me weren’t worth the negatives, namely the potential to learn paled versus the self-comparison happening as I scrolled through the IG feed. On the other hand, I do accept the tradeoffs on Twitter.
-I also put my iPhone on grayscale mode, and turned off badges for any app that is not a messaging app.
Millenials Are the Therapy Generation
-The stigma around therapy has waned amongst the younger generations, helped by celebrities coming forward with their experiences and a view of therapy as a form of self-care; however, therapy is not a cure-all
-proactive self-discovery can do wonders, especially to surface any unknown issues, say with couples before marriage
-LL: coaching is different from therapy!
Until next time! Please do let me know if you have any thoughts/feedback, would do a lot in helping me learn from what I’m doing, and improve the newsletter.