#001 Certainty, Looking Outside, and The Best Idea
#001 Certainty, Looking Outside, and The Best Idea
Common Discourse Weekly Briefing
Common Discourse is a weekly newsletter designed to help others (and myself) think through creativity, focus, and intentional work. I send this newsletter out every Monday at 9:17am. To receive future briefings, hit the button below.
👋 New look! And other updates…
You’ll notice things look a bit different here. I’m now sending newsletters through Substack instead of Mailchimp. I’m also restructuring the style of this newsletter.
Every Monday at 9:17am, you’ll receive an email from me with a brief idea (or a few), a quote from somebody else, and my favorite links from the internet I’ve seen over the last week.
I’m combining a lot of elements that I’ve done in the past into one weekly briefing rather than a daily (kind of, lol) newsletter. Less invasive, more intentional, and hopefully a better experience. I’m also gearing up to create more long-form content centered on advice, creativity, focus, and intentional work.
Here’s an idea(s) from me, a quote from somebody else, and my favorite links from the internet from the last week. 👇
An idea(s) from me:
I. Certainty
Skepticism forces many of us to stay stagnant, leaving us to believe that the answer is whatever we've already made up in our heads rather than learning through trial and error.
It requires a lot more energy to sustain doubt than choosing to be certain.
II. Looking outside
Travel seems to be the only context we’ve granted ourselves permission to risk and notice more than usual.
We take more photographs, make conversation with strangers, and try foods we would never dare come in contact with at home.
If we did more of these things in our own backyard, I reckon we’d be twice the people we are now.
III. The best idea
The best idea in the room does not come from the person who is oldest, most experience, highly decorated, or holds the highest senior position.
The best idea can come from anybody. Him, her, they, the intern, the copywriter, strategist, project manager, creative director, or designer.
But only if we allow ourselves to hear it.
A quote from somebody else:
“What makes us feel liberated is not total freedom, but rather living in a set of limitations that we have created and prescribed for ourselves,” — Unknown
My favorite links from the past week:
🗞 COVID GOOD NEWS is sharing all things positive related to the virus.
🍽 Family Meal is a website designed to help raise money for New York Restaurants and their employees while closed. They team up with new designers and illustrators to create recipes that you can try at home. Just donate and download.
👾 Travis Scott hosted a concert on Fortnite and it was insane.
💁♀️ Can influencers still be influential from home? Read here.
🔍 Mackenzie and I launched a fun project called Quarantine Collection. A visual study on shape and form, using objects from my apartment.
Thanks for reading this week!
My name is Alex Tan and this is my newsletter. I’m a maker & educator, I created MOUTHWASH with my friends, and I own way too many white sneakers. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram.
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