rainbows, rhythms, and respect
april '24
Last week, Anya and I snuck away to explore Argentina and Uruguay amidst a supposed ‘busy season’ of life and an ‘off season’ of travel. I’ll be honest, I had a lot of guilt prior to embarking on this trip, considering the continual upheaval of work, the ongoing search for collaborators at Strike & Ripple, untouched hard drives of photos, and a few trips in February and March already. Plus, I didn’t know if I could afford another budget for international travel. But who knows the next time I would get a week to explore the country of my childhood idol…
Well, we made it happen. In fact, this newsletter was written on-the-go between American airports, Delta flights, Argentinian ferries, and Uruguayan buses. And as I polish my words and set a scheduled time to publish, I so badly want to tell you about my trip. I want to tell you how the universe sent me all kinds of signals, curses, and messages, and how I’ll most certainly never come back. I want tell you how Anthony Bourdain’s words of misfortune ring in our ears and how dozens of reddit posts failed us.
But all that will have to wait until next month’s letter, because I’m already 2 weeks tardy on this one. So for the sake of brevity and composure, you may now scroll.
i’m feeling lucky
This month’s playlist is inspired by my new fascination with house and trance music - genres that have influenced my productivity greatly as I explore not-so-cozy cafes in Austin. I think it’s something about the rhythm that motivates me to work harder and stay focused. No, this isn’t a work playlist, but it totally could be - try it out and let me know!
[Archive playlist can be found here, and in my spotify bio]
big magic
Sometimes I find myself in a rapid race of creative ideation and entrepreneurial optimism, where ideas, theories, crafts, discoveries and whatnot run rampant. It’s fun but also hard to navigate - much like being on a Super Star while trying to keep your 1st place position on Rainbow Road in Mario Kart. In today's world, being a creative, a thinker, or a multi-hyphenate individual is both a blessing and a challenge. We are constantly bombarded with stimuli, ideas, and inspirations from various sources, each vying for our attention and consideration. But what do we do with these ideas? How do we treat them? Do we execute, or let them ruminate? What labyrinths must we navigate through to transform ideas into something tangible, something meaningful?
Enter: Elizabeth Gilbert’s beautiful concept of Big Magic. Gilbert - who also wrote Eat, Pray, Love - proposes this notion that ideas are not merely fleeting thoughts generated by our minds, but rather entities with their own consciousness and souls. Ideas aren’t material things, but they have the will to be manifested. And that power to manifest lies within all of us. She explains how we are all creative beings, from accountants to designers to authors to chefs - we are all victims of inspiration. The only way to act on that inspiration is to accept a partnership with a specific idea. These ideas may come to us in many forms and at any time, as they are simply looking for willing and available humans to take them on. Gilbert emphasizes that this partnership is a choice, not an obligation. We have the agency to decide whether to embark on the journey of realizing these ideas or to let them pass us by.
I love this concept, because it flips the script on the privilege we hold as creative thinkers. When you treat ideas as living beings with their own trajectories and soul, you feel a special connection with the ones that chose you on purpose. Why did you, as a musician, think of that specific chord progression while in the back of an Uber? Why did you, as public health student, think of a new electric bike model and happened to know the right people to execute the idea? Why did you, as an accountant, think of beautiful combinations of words while looking at numbers all day?
We can answer these questions by reframing the way that ideas come to find us, and it’s easier to trust and follow them that way. No matter the outcome or the funding or the capability, we feel compelled to protect these ideas and manifest them ourselves, rather than letting them find someone else. Of this special connection, Gilbert notes, “You’ve entered into a contract with inspiration, and you must try to see it through, all the way to its impossible-to-predict outcome.”
In a thought-provoking interview with Jacob Collier by Samir & Colin, Collier attempts to highlight another challenge of being hyperactive thinkers in today’s digital world: a conscious shift in priority from contributing to the world of knowledge vs taking knowledge for yourself. He speaks of his first experiences in music production and being able to take inspiration from early Youtubers like Jack Conte. With a tone of nostalgia, Collier adores the times when he would upload videos or snippets of vocal layers to show people a new idea he had - then allowing it to enter the world’s domain and get tossed around and eventually back to him through the medium of comments, messages, and further explorations. He notes that nowadays, we prioritize the input of knowledge for ourselves, and then the output of something polished for the world. Similar to my last post about the perfect iteration, Jacob Collier’s sentiment leads to the question of why we take on such ideas and why they mean something to us. In the interview, he says:
"Irrespective of any kind of reach, the value [of an idea] was found in: how much did this wake up my soul… how interested am I in this?”
Amidst a digital sea of noise, it's crucial to prioritize the ideas that stir our souls, that ignite our passion and curiosity, regardless of their potential reach or engagement metrics. If we employ a bit more of Gilbert’s thinking and view ideas as soul-having entities, we owe it more to the idea itself than to a feed or to ourselves even. With this shift in focus, the journey of ideation and creativity is a profound and collaborative one - between the idea and yourself. It's about embracing the magic of ideation and recognizing the power we hold to shape our world through the ideas we choose to bring to life.
through my eyes
This serene scene was taken on Whidbey Island in Washington, as Anya and I spent a few days exploring Gautham’s home base of 4 years. The colors in Pacific North West are just different - they’re lazy, dull, and unmotivated but if you watch them for long enough and you might notice a bit of life, inspiration, and freedom. This video was taken on my iPhone 11, which is finally starting to show signs of outdated capability as I ooh and aah at others’ photos taken on iPhone 14s and 15s. Nonetheless, I still believe: ‘the best camera is the one you have’.
overflowing inboxes
Ever since I started writing on Substack, I’ve also been reading more on Substack. There are dozens of amazing writers out there who dig into the intricacies of life, friendships, creativity and more. I don’t want to say that there is such a thing as subscribing to too many publications, but I might be getting close. Or rather, I need to find a better way to cordon time to read them all.
It only takes a few minutes to read through, why do I procrastinate this too? It’s probably just an OCD thing, but I’m not a fan of having a number of unread emails - I’m a zero-inbox person. I find comfort in knowing that there are not loose ends or unread meeting invites. However, I place a lot of importance in these publications and can’t bear to open them without providing eyes of intent and inspiration. So they sit there, for days and usually not more than a week, until I can find a moment to read through.
So while I catch up on reading the ones still open in my inbox, here are several publications to add to yours:
link dump
speaking of beautiful ideas…
success is all about luck… I think
It’s a shorter letter for the month of April - considering it’s already the 14th and this should technically be when you receive the pitstop letter. But I have a tough time abandoning principles and must release this jumble of words before the next one. I appreciate your forgiveness of my tardiness and also for the accountability to keep me on schedule - I hope this letter adds a bit of value to your inbox without cluttering it further. Enjoy the changing of the seasons, along with these tunes, and keep an eye out for April’s pitstop next week! (it’s a special one)
I appreciate the link and the tunes. I’m bringing this playlist with me on tomorrow’s bike ride. Out of curiosity, what was your best meal in Buenos Aires?