Rest edition
Today's edition is a recap of my most-liked writing from the last month.
Hey everyone 👋. I'm John. Welcome to Creators' Corner: a place where I share advice on creative experiments & expanding your skillset. Here's the previous edition of the newsletter if you missed it.
“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” ― Alan Cohen
I’m on holiday this week and to savour the time off I’m re-posting three of my best-performing essays from the last month with comments from readers.
1. Choosing abundance over regret
This essay was a reminder to myself to commit to my path after I’ve chosen a certain course of action. I’m happy it resonated with a lot of readers.
had this to say:I love this essay's illustration of the first set of pathways. The green line shows how even when you make a choice, that one choice leads to a whole full menu of life engagement. It helps me to visually move from the inner sense I am restricting myself when I make a choice to what will actually get opened up by the act of making that very choice.
Commit(ting) to your mountain | #45
Once, there was a young hiker who set out to climb a mountain. He lived in a beautiful part of the world, so he had plenty of mountains to choose from.
“Maybe I should climb this one, no this one rather, or what about that one”, he thought to himself.
2. Increasing your luck one tiny product at a time
This essay captured my experience building digital products to generate a side income. Loved this comment from
:This was super helpful to read! I didn't realize you put your product together in one day, that really inspires me. We all have a treasure trove of experience to pull from and making the product doesn't have to be the hard part!
Building a portfolio of Small Bets | #47
Once there was a karate master, who trained for years, knew all the moves, and was highly respected in his Dojo, but never opened his own gym.
He never considered himself to be a teacher.
Until one day, a younger student at the Dojo asked him for advice on a complicated manoeuvre. He quickly showed the youngster the trick and went back to his training.
3. Active holidays are my new favourite holidays
This one was inspired by my cycling trip along the Danube last month. Here’s what
had to say:This sounds like such a wonderful trip. Years ago, I cycled from Prague to Vienna with friends. It ruined me for any other type of vacation besides active. Now, you've caught the bug!
3 lessons from cycling 330km in 3 days | #46
I just got back from an incredible cycling trip through Austria. Three friends and I rode along the Danube from Passau (western Germany) to Vienna over three days.
The trip was strenuous for the body, but relaxing for the mind. Exactly what I needed after a hard few months of work, mentoring and writing.
Thanks for reading. This edition was inspired by a conversation with my writing friend
who dedicates every 7th edition of her newsletter to rest & recap previous writing.Normal scheduling will resume next week :)
Soft launch: Creating Visuals course
It’s time for my next creative experiment.
and I have partnered up to launch Creating Visuals for Writing — a cohort-based course for people looking to create visuals for their work, writing or just for fun.Here’s everything in a nutshell:
Dates: 17-30 July
This includes 4 live sessions + 2 additional workshops
Plus access to a community of illustrators that gives you feedback and amplifies your work
By the end of the two weeks, you’ll have made 4 illustrations that will win over clients, colleagues, and audiences.
You can sign up here. We’ve also added a $25 discount code for subscribers. Just enter “VISUALS25” before clicking “I want this”. We’d love to have you there!
Favourites
✍️ Essay. The Daughter of a Spy by
. An incredible piece of writing I had the privilege of seeing come to life during the Writing Sprint last week. Alissa did the story of her parents justice. High espionage, family secrets and Cold War politics… this essay has it all.I’d returned to our provincial Connecticut town looking for comfort, familiarity, peace from the emotional chaos of freshman year. But out came a new truth: while living in the Soviet Union, my father hadn’t just been a senior embassy officer, my mother was not just a liaison and translator.
🐦 Twitter challenge. I’m two weeks into my Twitter challenge. So far so good! I’ve gained a couple of followers and shared three more threads. Here are the latest ones: #4: Why I love trail running. #5: A collection of pre and post-edited photos from
’s Photography for Creatives course. #6: A thread of threads (a collection of all my posts during the challenge).🙏 Small win. I received my first pledge on Substack last week — one of my subscribers would like to pay to read my writing. This show of support is simply incredible and it has prompted me to turn on payments for
. I will still give all members full access to my writing, so not to worry, but for those of you who would like to support my writing, now you have the option of paying. I’m still thinking of something fun to give paid members. Suggestions are welcome!📸 Photo of the week: snapped this while we were out foraging for oysters with Lily and Bella on Sylt, northern Germany.
Until next time, happy creating!
– John
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Thanks for all your support, John! And extra bonus: finding your Substack and all your insightful content.
A much deserved break, John. I'm happy that the message behind the REST editions are finding their way to other newsletters.
Each of the essays you selected has been a great read. But my favourite to date is also 3 lessons from cycling.