Coolest thing I’ve learned today (Nov 20)

In order to grow my audience—no matter the format (writing or short clips)—it’s important to write what I should write about, not just what I wanted to write. As I’m still figuring out how to create a real emotional experience for my current readers (there aren’t a ton yet). The 0-to-1 phase is often the most grueling and exciting part. Lucky for me, I love the challenge and see it as a test of both my grit and my intellectual potential.

So… here’s some cool stuff I’ve learned today:

1/ Good taste is a real differentiator

It’s become obvious that I need to level up my taste when it comes to creating things. Think of yourself as the product manager of your own personal brand:

What message and vision do you want to project?

Who exactly is your audience?

How seriously do you take your craft?

The only way I’ve found so far to improve taste is to write consistently—ideally every day, in public. At the same time, absorb from great artists and emulate them.

As I’ve been building my production studio this year, it’s also become a test of my personal taste. All those hours spent in art museums and reading classics are quietly elevating it. The more I experience, the better I get at refining it. Strive only for the best possible experience.

Good taste in people, products, and businesses will bring tremendous value to your life. All it takes is a little bit of time.

2/ Venice’s architecture & its past seapower

I came across Paul Signac’s painting of Venice and instantly fell in love. It’s fascinating to look at the city’s architectural forms and examine with its history, and the political power behind it. Venetian architecture is basically a record of the city’s fabric and a beautiful expression of its once-mighty seapower.

Why does this matter to us? Simple: besides living surrounded by today’s (often bland) modern architecture, we have the option to peek into what the past achieved.

IF citizens can’t even stand urban ugliness and cultivated a pair of sharp eyes, it’s not a big leap to imagine they’d become more proactive in politics or start demanding more informed/better policymaking from their governments.

3/ Ode to Joy (Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9)

I only realized today that the text was originally adapted from “Ode an die Freude” by Friedrich von Schiller, a German poet and historian.

Btw, I love Herbert von Karajan’s version the most.

Paul Signac’s painting of Venice

Rembrandt, Philosopher Reading, 1631