profile

Hi, Iā€™m a creator

Elbaum's World 98: The Law of Your Very Self šŸ“–

Published about 1 year agoĀ ā€¢Ā 1 min read

ā€‹


The Law of Your Very Self šŸ“–

I mentioned a few newsletters ago that I've been reading The Second Mountain by David Brooks.

I'm a slow reader, so I'm still going through it. This week, a chapter on the idea of vocation stood out to me. In particular, there was a thought-provoking subsection under the heading "The Law of Your Very Self." In it, Brooks mentions an idea that I've been trying to spend a bit of time thinking about.

Essentially, the concept is to take stock of your passions going back to your childhood as an indication for what your calling might be. Brooks quotes Nietzsche to make his point:

Let the young soul survey its own life with a view to the following question: 'What have you truly loved thus far? What has ever uplifted your soul, what has dominated and delighted it at the same time?' Assemble these revered objects in a row before you and perhaps they will reveal a law by their nature and their order: the fundamental law of your very self.

I think this is a fascinating experiment. I'm a little skeptical, but I can also think of lots of activities and interests I loved as a kid that got lost due to social pressure, practicality, distraction, etc.

I've written a lot here about intrinsic motivation as it relates to career, and it seems like taking stock of the things that feel (or felt) like play could be a good way to find your best work.


Pete's Picks āœ…

  1. What I've Been Reading: I've been trying various flavors of fiction in order to become a more avid reader. I recently picked up Blankets from the library since it's at the top of most "best of" lists for graphic novels. It was a sweet story and solid intro to the genre.
  2. What I've Been Watching: I just finished binging I Think You Should Leave on Netflix. It's a sketch show from Tim Robinson (ex-SNL), and most of the sketches typically focus on one person in a group who isn't picking up on normal social cues. This type of cringe comedy would have been painful for me a few years ago, but I love it now. High recommend.
  3. What I've Been Listening To: Suli Ali's episode on My First Million. Love the concept of a "deal doula" since M&A isn't something most people get to practice. I've said it before and I will keep saying it: MFM is my favorite podcast, hands down.

Some Recent Videos šŸŽ„

How to Become a Freelance React Developer

ā€‹


Cheers,

Peter

Hi, Iā€™m a creator

Read more from Hi, Iā€™m a creator

Drinking the AI Kool-Aid šŸ„¤ I'll admit it: I'm fully on the AI bandwagon. To explain why, I think it's helpful to contrast with the crypto hype train. For me, it comes down to application. The blockchain is an interesting idea, but at the end of the day it still hasn't answered the question "How will this change my life in a tangible, everyday way?" On the other hand, for the current large language models (like GPT-4, etc.), the use cases are plentiful: Virtual assistant? Check. Personal...

9 months agoĀ ā€¢Ā 2 min read

The Weight of Self-Expectation šŸ‹ļøā™€ļø I've been thinking lately about how burdensome it can feel to not do the things that I say I want to do. Some of us want to lose weight. Others imagine learning a new language. For me, there are a few things I said I wanted to accomplish while self-employed that haven't happened yet. And it's been over a year. For a long time, my version of "losing weight" has been building a SaaS (software as a service, i.e. web app that you pay for), and over the past few...

about 1 year agoĀ ā€¢Ā 1 min read

My Year in Review šŸ—“ Happy New Year! I've been inconsistent with this newsletter, but I did want to touch base to share my annual review which I wrote up on my website. You can find it here: My 2022 In Review I'm currently focused on finding the right balance of freelancing vs. working on my own products vs. slack in the schedule. I talk a bit about that in the review and will have more to say on it in the next email. Thanks for following along with these updates, and my best wishes for the...

about 1 year agoĀ ā€¢Ā 1 min read
Share this post