#085 I've Got One More In Me

Common Discourse is a project designed to help others (and ourselves) think through creativity, focus, and intentional work—from Alex Tan & Alice Otieno.

Every Tuesday we share words from a journal, a few ideas, a quote from somebody else, and links worth sharing. On Fridays we invite a guest to share images from their camera roll and a sound that resonates with them. Words from the Journal come once a month.

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Source…

Late delivery but we made it another week. Thanks for the love on the journal we released over the weekend. It’s motivating to hear that these words can be worth somebody’s time.

— Alex

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A few ideas

I. THINGS THAT DON’T SCALE

The things that don’t scale are the most valuable.

Think about time. Sure, you can outsource, look for shortcuts, hire extra hands, and use AI technology.

But all of these shortcuts are workarounds to the thing we want the most: your time, my time, their time. It may be the only thing that all of us have equal amounts of access to every day.

365 days, 24 hours, 60 minutes, 60 seconds…

If you spend them on someone, they can feel it.

II. THE PAST

What you did 5 years ago, 1 year ago, and even yesterday are great foundations and experiences to continue moving forward, but can only be used as a pedestal for so long.

Those who keep talking about the past are probably stuck there.

III. SELF-IMPOSED VALUE

One mistake we repeatedly make is self-imposing value. Getting paid what you deserve never happens because you only get paid what other people think you’re worth.

Clients and buyers don’t make choices based on what’s good for the person they’re paying—they make choices based on what they see, need, and believe.

When the offer comes in low, one option is to feel undervalued and disrespected. The other is to focus on creating the work that others seek out and believe is worth more.

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A quote from somebody else

“machines will never have your pain or your suffering, and thus they will never have the story behind your story. aesthetics in a vacuum of human experience is one thing, but an entirely different thing with the context of our blood, sweat, and heartbroken tears.”

— Salomon Ligthelm

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Links worth sharing

🐛 The Net by Andrea is a newsletter I stumbled across in the comments section of Annika Hansteen-Izora’s latest piece on “the Goo era”. Each entry consists of 400 words and two songs. One of my favourite songs she’s shared has been Bocón (Quitiplás), taken from a piece titled “Gerunds” — it’s been on repeat since I first heard it.

🧊howtoappearofflineforever.online

📝 Advice for ambitious 19 year olds by Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI

📷 Life in Public via Blind Magazine, presents two series by LA photographer Anthony Hernandez, both focused on the use of the city’s public spaces and almost 40 years apart from each other.

🌀 One Way G, Mac Demarco releases an album with 199 tracks

🏄🏼  Emily Nabnian a is both a friend and rare talent when it comes to curation. Subscribe to her newest project,

Surfista

, a sporadic collection of her obsessions and fascinations on the Internet.

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