Soliciting advice from strangers
Or being open to a fresh perspective Once upon a time, there was a boy who set out at daybreak to go fishing. He entered the local harbour with great bravado, already imagining the large bucket of fish he’d bring home to his family for dinner. After setting his
Add Visuals to Your Writing (pt. 2)
Welcome to part 2 of the series! Last week we spoke about the benefits of adding visuals to your writing. Not only for your reader (the point of your essay lands immediately) but also for you as the writer (distilling your thinking, building a brand, increasing your luck and overcoming
Add Visuals to Your Writing (pt. 1)
This is a two-part series that will help you reconnect with your inner illustrator and help you create visuals for your essays. In Part 1, I share: 1. My journey back to creating, 2. The benefits of adding visuals to your writing, and 3. Where to start (which tools you
5 Lessons for Beginner Writers
Over the last 6 months, I have hosted workshops for over 100 people wanting to learn more about writing. Do I see myself as an expert writer? Not by any means. I only started writing online 18 months ago. I still have a lot to learn. I still have bigger
Drawing From Conversation
A picture is worth a thousand words According to seyens.com, the cliché holds true. Pictures perform better than blocks of text because humans are visual creatures. * Half of our brains are directly or indirectly devoted to processing visual information. * We can process images in as little as 13 milliseconds.
Storytelling Reframe
The Stoics (Marcus Aurelius and the gang) practiced a number of mental techniques to foster resilience and find tranquility in life. Two techniques they are most famous for are: * Negative Visualization: when you imagine losing something you take for granted (e.g. your health), you will appreciate it more, and
The Power of Anti-goals
"People focus on role models; it is more effective to find antimodels - people you don't want to resemble when you grow up." — Nassim Nicholas Taleb People often ask us what our goals are. What do you want to achieve? What is your 5-, 10-, 20-year plan? For me, it
Beginner's Mind
We all have to start somewhere. Even Paul Graham (one of the great essayists of our time) didn't start off being brilliant: “Before college[...] I wrote what beginning writers were supposed to write then, and probably still are: short stories. My stories were awful. They had hardly any plot, just
AI for Writing: Friend or Foe?
The advent of AI-assisted writing will create more (not fewer) opportunities for writers. I never imagined I would write for money. I studied a technical degree (actuarial science) and worked in a pure corporate role (insurance pricing) for almost nine years. In February, I landed my second writing client. By
10 Visuals to 10x Your Thinking
Here is a collection of 10 of my favourite ideas that I've illustrated and written about. 1. Learn from your peers "It's almost always better to learn from peers who are 2 years ahead of you than mentors who are 20 years ahead of you. Life evolves and most insights
