In the last email I wrote that I believe the “New American Dream” is getting paid for being yourself — and that the way to do this as a creator working online is to build a Personal Monopoly.
“A Personal Monopoly is the unique intersection of your knowledge, personality, and skills that nobody else can compete with.”
David Perell
This is something that I’m actively in the process of discovering for myself.
Last week I wrote to you about Useful Childhoods, College Admissions Knife Fights, and My Story. This week is about the New American Dream and how to achieve it.
I got sucked into an interesting Twitter discussion yesterday on the “economic precarity” that people making a living in the creator economy face.
While I’m sympathetic to the idea that individual people who make money online are virtually powerless against the big social media and tech platforms that they rely on to generate their income…
A few people have sent me Simon Sarris’ recent essay, The Most Precious Resource is Agency.
In it, Simon asks, “Do children today have useful childhoods?” Not useful for us adults, but useful for their own development.
Have you heard the term “Polywork” before?
I took a little break from recording new episodes of the Never Normal podcast over the summer. In the meantime, I’ve swapped seats and been the subject of a few interviews recently.
“When it rains it pours” as they say…
My new essay, Normal is Broken, is making the rounds on social media (and triggering a few people). These two seemed to like it:
I love the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi (as a japanophile and the son of a chef, how could I not?)
There’s something incredibly romantic about dedicating your life to the absolute mastery of a single pursuit, as Jiro has done…
But that path is not for everyone.
Wherever my friend Alex goes in the world, he always seems to have local contacts and social events to attend (even if he’s never been to that country before).
I had to find out how he does it…