#6: Looking back to look forward
(Image credits: This time they go to myself! A picture taken from Newport, Jersey City.)
Hey there! Thanks for opening this up.
What better way to show my original purpose of writing (to organize my thoughts) than to display it?
This came about through an exercise in consolidating my writing, which was scattered around my old Github pages site, Medium, and my current wordpress site. Looking back, I didn’t realize how much I’d written - revisiting everything would take too much time, so the optimal solution was to look back at what stuck out the most, which is below.
Throwback: The Senior Year Job Hunt
A journey I was partly “forced” to go on after learning the fact that cruising is often a risky way of operating.
Throwback: I graduated a semester early to spend three months in China
Travel falls on a spectrum, from a short vacation to a prolonged period of time living elsewhere, or extended wandering. This falls somewhere in the middle.
Throwback: What it’s like to solo travel and a how to
Just like with anything new, you learn by doing - and hopefully going in with some idea / plan. Even when you are traveling alone, you have yourself as a companion.
The Case for Doing Nothing
The New York Times; Olga Mecking
There are benefits to purposely doing nothing, letting oneself be, going against the cult of busyness as a status indicator. One benefit in letting the mind wander by itself is increased creativity.
"Let the mind search for its own stimulation"
An affirmation of the importance to take breaks just as seriously as work, for it sure is possible to burn out. Taking it seriously in this case means fitting it into your schedule, and fully being in those moments.
The age of the influencer has peaked. It’s time for the slacker to rise again
Quartz; Rosie Spinks
Society has had various shifts from "hustler" to "slacker", and the hustle and influencer culture of today is slowly shifting thanks to Gen Z, who are more conscious of the effects of social media. However, the question is if this is even possible given economic factors which brought about its rise in the first place.
"But back then, there was a reputational risk to selling out. Today we’re all too busy plotting our own ascents to notice."
Here's what happens when you realize that oftentimes, you can't be anything you set your mind to given the conditions of the environment. Also relates to my post on fashion, nostalgia, and hustle culture.
Letters to a Young Poet (12th August, 1904 letter)
themista.com; Rainer Maria Rilke
Ten letters written by poet Rainer Maria Rilke to a young man on topics such as being a creator, loneliness, and religion. Sort of serves as a guide, in a sense words from a mentor to a mentee. This letter discusses encountering situations of isolation, unfamiliar, and difficult.
"And if we adjust our life to the principle which advises us that we must always attach ourselves to what is difficult, then that which now still appears to us most strange, will become our most familiar and loyal friend."
My take is the same as that of Kappus, the addressee of these letters: when a great and exceptional man speaks, the insignificant must be silent.
LinkedIn is the New Craigslist
Medium; Jeff Fluhr
LinkedIn is too general of a labor marketplace and will be taken apart in the form of hyper-verticalized platforms that can cater to a user's specific needs, be there to offer the service whenever needed, provide value-add tools, and may have advantages with data moats.
“That same unbundling that happened to Craigslist is now about to happen to LinkedIn.”
This follows the ethos of unscaling, how AI can use data to deliver personalized experiences over standardized, thus being able to tap into new, even more specific niches.
Until next time! If you have any feedback, let me know - it helps make this better.
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