#5 ā Why I Started Long Way Homeš”
Two gold, two silver, and four bronze medals has made Apolo Ohno, a short track speed skating athlete, the most decorated American winter Olympian of all time. But when he was a boy, he didn't want to do it. His dad dropped him off at a speed skating training camp and he escaped to a friend's place without even entering the building. Ohno's dad didn't find out until a few days into the program that Apolo had never even checked in.
Over time, however, Ohno developed an unabashed and ferocious desire to succeed. Winning was the only priority, and win he did. From 2001 to 2009, Ohno won the National Champion title 12 times, swept the 2002 winter Olympics, and won the Short Track Speed Skating World Cup Championship title in 2001, 2003, and 2005. Of course, raw talent alone doesn't make a world champion. Ohno was committed to work harder than his competition possibly could.
"For me, it wasn't a workout until I could feel the lactic acid build up in my gums, in my teeth. I derived a lot of pleasure from watching the person next to me on the mountain doing jumps start to crack under the pressure, under the hot summer heat."
A month into this journey, I want to talk about why I started Long Way Homeš” in the first place. I have main four goals for the newsletter, conveniently packaged in an acronym. With LWHš”, I want to GROW.
Generate More Content
As EugĆØne Ionesco famously says, "For a writer, life consists of either writing or thinking about writing.ā For me, it was always been 99% thinking about writing and 1% writing. I knew that if I ever wanted my life to revolve around writing, my current level of output was never going to cut it.
LWHš” has given me the opportunity to write essays on topics I adore and develop somewhat of a portfolio. And I know myself. I'm lazy. Without the persistent pressure to make something for lovely people who have actively signed up to receive my writing in their inbox each week, I won't muster the energy to do it. With this positive obligation, I now have to churn out a minimum of one essay per week, no questions asked. It's galvanizing in a way I've never felt before, and I've already written more in the last 4 weeks than the last 40 combined.
Writing is going for a hike on a trail you thought you knew, but finding landmarks along the way that you weren't expecting. I never know what's going to happen once I sit down to write, even if I have a plan. The act of writing helps me discover opinions I didn't know I had, and that byproduct of the newsletter is one of the most fascinating of allāI never know what part of myself I will uncover next.
Remember/Relay What I Learn
In my introductory issue, I mentioned using LWHš” as an "intellectual exhaust pipe". I consume a lot of fascinating content. Having an opportunity to synopsize key takeaways, interwoven with my own opinions and insights, is a godsend. There is something about the act of putting these articles/podcasts/books/albums into my own words that crystallizes their lessons and makes them more readily available to me as I move through the world.
I delve into a single topic for each week's newsletter. My research leads me to new resources and old highlights alike, and that immersion allows the concepts to seep into the less superficial corners of my brain, influencing my thinking and behaviour. Like quickly wiping a drop of ketchup off my shirt, I usually don't let these concepts stay on my mind long enough to actually leave their mark. If you're like me, you are constantly working to get through a seemingly infinite backlog of content you've been meaning to get to. However, the point is not to merely finish the article, but rather to learn something from itāLWHš” helps me do that more consistently than ever before.
Online Community Building
Folks online love to discuss how great it is to meet other folks online. On my Twitter timeline, you can find creators trumpeting that the "Twitter DM" is the real LinkedIn and that just last night, they had dinner (in real life) with a fellow writer/marketer/designer/professional they met on the internet. It would be surreal to find like-minded friends that see the world as this wonderful, complex place, both inspiring and in need of compassion at the same time. That recognize that we may not be able to save the world, but we can make at least one corner of it beautiful, and that's not bad at all.
I look forward to finding strangers on the internet and observing as they move slowly into the "friend" category. That will only happen if I continue to show up authentically, share honestly, and show kindness unsparingly. Finding and connecting with beautiful people is a huge motivator behind putting myself out there, and amazingly, I feel like the process has already begun.
Writer Better
Producing posts on a consistent schedule and receiving weekly feedback from readers is a harsh but effective teacher. I quickly learn what kind of style resonates with readers. I've noticed stylistic changes in my own writing in just the past few weeks, and I'm excited to see how my style adapts to the feedback and morphs into something even better weeks and months from now.
Greg LeMond, the famous cyclist, one said "it never gets easier, you just get faster." I think the same is true for writing. As my writing gets more skillful, I'll either produce the same quality, but faster, or I'll try to write more artistically ambitious posts in an attempt to lift the ceiling on quality. Either way, I'm excited to see how far I can push myself along this seemingly limitless frontier. If I have any dreams of becoming a writer worth an ounce of respect, I will need to put in the tonnes of labour necessary to get there. There are no shortcuts. I need to sit my butt in the chair and put something down, day after day, week after week, year after year.
Conclusions
I am enamoured by the intellectual and creative elite. The internet has taught me to worship the modern-day philosophers who have proven their aptitude through impressive investments, strings of entrepreneurial ventures, and viral podcast interviews. Our heroes are no longer war generals fighting for their lives, but rather business executives fighting for their employees' livelihoods. Elites are those that read, think, and write freely (often in that order) and have the freedom to choose how they spend each minute of their day. They get paid to share what the world looks like through their eyes.
It feels audacious, almost offensive, to say, but I dream of being in that elite. And I think I'm willing to work until I can feel the lactic acid building up in my teeth to get there.
With gratitude,
Vandan Jhaveriš”
@veryjhaveri
šµ Album I Love
Despite a few projects after this one, the incredibly talented Anderson .Paak hasnāt been able to capture the same energy as he did on his debut project, Malibu. The gorgeous melodies, funky beats, and memorable lyrics guarantee .Paak's ascent to stardom.
Anderson .Paak ā Malibu (Apple Music link)
Anderson .Paak ā Malibu (Spotify link)
Anderson .Paak ā Malibu (YouTube link)
Song to start with: Anderson .Paak ā Heart Don't Stand A Chance
šļø Podcast I Enjoy
The hilarious Jonathan Goldstein, long-time producer of This American Life, follows guests to uncover conversations with people in their lives that they are avoiding and helps to facilitate them. Goldstein is an extremely entertaining host and the stories are heartfelt. I recommend the episode "Rob" to start, but I would suggest bingeing the entire series from the very beginning.
šļø Article I Found Interesting
Adam Gopnik - Can We Live Longer but Stay Younger? (The New Yorker)
Aging, in our culture, feels like a death sentence, but this line from the article was a paradigm shift for me:
"From zero to twenty-one is about eight thousand days. From twenty-one to midlife crisis is eight thousand days. From mid-forties to sixty-fiveāeight thousand days. Nowadays, if you make it to sixty-five you have a fifty-per-cent chance youāll make it to eighty-five. Another eight thousand days! Thatās no longer a trip to Disney and wait for the grandchildren to visit and die of the virus you get on a cruise. Weāre talking about rethinking, redefining one-third of adult life!"
š¬ Quote
āThe third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking."
āA. A. Milne