Issue 201: New starts, Group support, Surf Therapy & Personality Quizzes
Hello everyone! And, welcome to 2019. I'm writing this on my 34th birthday from the Reno airport, where I'm an hour early for my flight home after a weekend of snowshoeing, skiing, and catching up with one of my best friends.
For me, birthdays, more than New Year's are a time for reflection, recommitment, and resolutions. I took some time off from this newsletter because I've been really questioning what I have to say as an artist and person and whether or not anyone cares. I've been reading a really interesting book called Your Art Will Save Your Life and it's convinced me that I do this newsletter for me, and if other people enjoy it, that's really great too, but it's necessary for me.
Anyway, the howling wind here is promising for a bumpy takeoff which is one my nightmares, so while I go enjoy that, please enjoy this newsletter!
Encourage Eachother To Ask For Advice.
Reposting this from an earlier Facebook post I made toward the end of last year. Image by Alice Mollon for Harvard Business Review
I've been seeing a lot of people post about how you should never reach out to successful friends or acquaintances asking for advice or 'to pick their brain.'
Some of these people are career-wise way ahead of me, and some are way behind me (of course that's my subjective opinion). Either way - it's incredibly discouraging to see people say stuff like this. The only reason I've had any opportunities is that someone else gave me a chance. I don't think any of us get anywhere without help and guidance from others and most of the time asking for that help or advice is embarrassing and difficult and feels icky. No reason to make it feel worse. We all gotta help each other!
Asking for help is already so stigmatized and it really bums me out to see people perpetuating the narrative that people only make it if they work hard on their own. Working hard is 100% necessary, so is being nice, but the entertainment industry is hard enough without people rooting for you. This is a community and we only benefit by treating it like one. I think people get precious about how hard they worked and don't want to help other people because they're afraid these other people are going to somehow cut the line. That's a crummy, fear-based reason to not help other people.
I have so much further to go with my own professional and career goals and I'm not sure what I have to offer anyone, but if anyone who reads this ever feels like they could benefit from asking me any questions about my experiences, or picking my brain, please reach out. I wouldn't be where I am if people ahead of me weren't generous and encouraging with their time.
Whadya think?
Some interesting things I read, watched, or listened to recently...
Will Jeff Bezos Get Half Of MacKenzie Bezos' Fortune?
Flawed coverage of the Bezos' divorce highlights how we talk about powerful men vs. women. Side note, there's a sublink to MacKenzie Bezos' ONE STAR AMAZON REVIEW of a biography about her husband that is 🔥🔥🔥
VOX: The Secret Chord That Makes Christmas
...and how Mariah Carey reverse engineered the Christmas hits of the 30s-60s to make the most popular new Christmas song in decades. This also dates the first draft of this particular newsletter [shrug emoji]
R29: What's It Like To Be A Female Breadwinner
My brilliant wife uses our relationship as a jumping off point to discuss financial dynamics in relationships. It's one of her best articles yet.
I'm using Facebook's birthday fundraising thing to raise money for Surfer's Healing. Surfer's Healing is an organization that enriches the lives of people with autism and other developmental disabilities by exposing them to the unique experience of surfing. Their mission means a lot to me and has contributed to the health and happiness of people like my sister, Alicia, and our family.
I hope you'll consider contributing as a way to celebrate with me. Whether you donate $5 or $100, every little bit counts. You can chip in here.
Want to take a personality test that isn't written by 23-year-olds trying to meet the content quota at their online publishing job? The wizards at Five Thirty-Eight have you covered.
Did I ever tell you I got to voice Michaelangelo in this awesome TMNT short from Nickelodeon? It was super fun.
Thanks for reading! I'd love to get your feedback. Favorite segment? What's working? What's not working? What do you want to see more of?