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On personal development, mindful productivity, creative lifestyle design, and figuring it out as you go
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Hey There!
Happy October! I've been enjoying the autumn leaves and the pumpkin spiced everything. I recently took a very fall trip to Boston to visit friends. For the first time in a long time, I took a full long weekend off to enjoy the company of others. I saw my college friends get married and danced the night away with them, caught up with one of my former Harvard professors and got to thank him in person, and spent a day walking among the foliage in Mount Auburn cemetery with one of my dearest friends.
It was a lovely, incredibly refreshing weekend without packed agendas, sights to see, or things to check off any list. It felt like real rest - a break from the hustle, a release from the pressure to get anything in particular done. And it felt like real connection - seeing folks I hadn't seen in years, having full bodied conversations, sharing delicious meals, and just vibing.
It's reminded me to be generous in setting aside time for connection. In my entrepreneurial hustle, it's easy to get caught up in audience output, showing up for algorithms, and keeping on top of self-made timetables. But even more important is showing up for my community. Those are the bonds that outlast even the longest rounds of applause.
To the people who keep us going. Cheers
Spiritedly,
Ahsante
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If you're a member of the Brilliant Beans, don't miss out on your perks!
I've just shared the monthly Beans of Wisdom vlog, which gives you a tool to use as you're contemplating those tough life decisions.
Earlier this month, I also shared a rough timeline that I'm using when developing Bean Thinking and what my next steps are.
If you're not familiar, The Brilliant Beans is my membership community of thoughtful folks where I share additional content, discuss ideas for upcoming videos, and show behind the scenes of my creative journey, along with other perks.
Thank you so much to The Brilliant Beans for your support!
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Music to keep your spirits up and let it all out
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I've been in a salsa mood lately 🏾. Here's the playlist of grooves I've been moving to this past month. This one's distinctly dance-y. Enjoy!
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Pieces of media and pop culture that I'm absolutely loving
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Apple Bottom Jeans by The Beach Boys
Ok so I just found out about this meme where people create parodies of the song "Low" by Flo Rida as if recorded other artists as "Apple Bottom Jeans" and it's hilarious. This YouTube channel Salvador Peralta completely nailed the sound of the Beach Boys. The trend peaked last year, and if you weren't aware before, you're welcome.
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Why Rest is an Act of Resistance
Ever since I came across The Nap Ministry I've been intrigued and compelled by Tricia Hersey's message. I was delighted to see her featured in this episode of NPR's Life Kit, which is a podcast I'm sure you'd like if you enjoy Ahsante the Artist videos. The podcast gives life advice from experts on a wide range of topics. If you've needed a reminder to step away from the grind and simply be - consider this your official permission.
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Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
By Oliver Burkeman
This book takes its title from the average number of weeks that humans have on this earth, assuming a life expectancy of 80 years old. Throughout the book, Burkeman takes the approach of acknowledging our finitude and building that acknowledgement into our productivity systems, being realistic with our expectations of how much we can get done in the first place. Speaking of setting time for connection, it emphasizes prioritizing the other activities we need to live a rich, full, human life.
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As a highly organized (and - I like to think - productive) person, I found myself pushing back against some of his assertions (yes, I will get it all done because I have a conscientious to-do list that takes workload limits into account)! Still, as a person who had read countless productivity and organization books, including basically every book Burkeman mentions here, I found his perspective to be a refreshing reminder to de-center productivity from the essence of my existence.
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What's been keeping my productivity boosted
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- Logitech StreamCam: This little webcam is what keeps me crisp for the many virtual meetings that pepper my days. It has an accompanying app that allows you to adjust color temperature and a few other settings, it can stream 1080p horizontal and vertical video, and as a creator it's nice to the creative flexibility that this camera allows. I've used it for over a year, and it's been a reliable workhorse that works right when you plug it in. If you're looking for a webcam upgrade, I recommend it.
- Go Full Page - screen capture: I use this Chrome extension all the time to take screen grabs of longer web pages that otherwise can't be captured in one shot. The app gives you a continuous image of whatever is in the browser, with the option to save as a png or pdf.
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Live Spiritedly & Think Creatively
Catch ya next time :)
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