Hey All!
It's almost a month since my last newsletter. I know, life has been tough for these past few weeks. But, we are getting a hang of it now!
After completing Write of Passage, I need some adjustment in my life. I was overwhelmed with countless possibilities in my mind. What platform must I do with my website? What is the best newsletter service to use? How to find my personal monopoly? So on and so forth.. I have let the tools consume me, hence I was reluctant to write. It become my excuse to not write.
Because of that, my writing streak has ended. I try to write again, but starting fresh is kinda hard. It is like going to the gym after a long holiday. The laziness hits really hard. However, after seeing many people in twittersphere keep producing content, the urge to write keeps coming back! Hence, I will be writing again with the same cadence! Once a week, delivered straight to your email inbox.
As an update, I am also currently enrolled in a course called Building a Second Brain. Tiago Forte is my productivity guru, and I can’t wait to learn many more from him. And, I hope I can set up my second brain to keep producing more content! If you want me to share my experience in the course, please leave a comment!
So, without further ado, let's start to see this weeks find.
Things I find Interesting this Week
[#Article] Cult Wars: The Making of a Cult Brand by Jordan Odinsky
It is funny that the definition of a cult has expanded so much. A cult is not only for those scary religious activities, but also encompass to our day-today life. Without we knowing, people are already culting certain aspect in their life! We see big brands cultivate their followings, through limited drop, wait list, exclusivity, and many more.
I was culting about big brands also in my life. I was team Apple and Nike! (sorry Android and Adidas fans!). When people see the other 'opposing' brand, we will treat them like our archenemies. We will find everything that we have to bring our enemy down!
Some great examples in our day-to-day life are Uber vs traditional taxi, Gojek vs traditional ojek, Gojek vs Grab, and the list goes on..
This got me thinking.. Why the cult strategy works? As I explained in my previous article people are social creature by nature. We seek to be part of a bigger picture and a community we belong to. When we believe in a certain community, we will fight and defend like our life depends on it.
If you want to make a cult brand, you have to check this article to know the psychology of people being in the community.
[#Article] You Are What You Read by Phil Mohun
During this COVID-19, people are using social media more and more. We don't only read good information about the world, but also bad information and all the hoax the internet gives us. We consume so much information that our brain is overloaded with information.
Try to pick good information in the internet, because when we consume bad information, it will reflect in our overall life. Yes, social media is very useful, however, many people use social media as a means to escape from reality. When we use social media without any plan, we will spiral down to the rabbit hole. To prevent using social media only for the dopamine hit, we have to plan the use of social media.
I really like this analogy from the article:
Subscribing to content without a plan is like ordering everything on the dollar menu. It tastes good, but you end up eating a bunch of junk.
Information is good, social media is good, everything in life which have benefits is good (hell, even drugs are good if used as prescript), just be mindful of what kind of information you consume. You don't want to be obese with junk information!
[#Article] How to Go on an Information Diet by Anne-Laure Le Cunff
I really like the mindset of information diet. The analogy really resonates with me, as it is very applicable to our day to day life. I was once trying to get a six pack. It failed miserably. Why is that? Because I never restrict my consumption. I always binge eating during the night, and eating junk food all day long. My dream of obtaining six pack becomes six layer of fats. We don't want our mind to be covered with fat right?
Anne-Laure has some great tips and tricks about how to be more mindful when consuming your information. Design your workflow, habits, and mindset to consume only the best information. Be a curator of good things, not a hoarder of information.
Treat information as a gushing river. You don't want to reroute the flow of the river to your house right? So, take what is needed based on your plan to use the water. Remember, information is only a tool. Don't let the tool control your life.
Photo of the Week
Isamu Noguchi - Memorial to Man - 1947
Quotes of the Week
Thank you! See you on the next issue!
Juan