Adventures of a Lifetime 🔭
Adventures of a Lifetime 🔭
Shuffle Sundays #14 • April 4, 2021
Hello and welcome to Shuffle Sundays, a weekly curated list of content I thought was worth sharing with more people. This week’s edition is one that I have been cooking for a while, just waiting for the right pieces to come together in a cohesive collection in my head. When I started this Newsletter, not long ago, my idea was to be an (almost) random collection of content without being tied to any specific theme or category. But once I started submerging myself into the world of curation and putting more and more energy into this project, something magical started to happen: my head started making connections in between the different contents I was consuming, and without forcing myself, I began noticing different patterns and themes forming around some of the things I was collecting. So without further ado, I really hope you enjoy the reading!
🎧 • soundtrack: Smerz - Believer
🎬 In & Of Itself
{something to watch • film, 90 min}
The first time I’ve heard about “In & Of Itself” was through Austin Kleon’s newsletter, where he recommended this movie to be watched knowing as little as possible about it. In an act of trust, I followed his recommendation and hit the play button without watching any trailers or even reading the synopsis. It was an unusual experience, I must say, but I was so glad I did it that way. I was so hypnotized and enthusiastic about it, that as soon as the credits started rolling up, I started calling friends to recommend the movie! I wanted them to have the same experience I just had, and I also wanted to have people to talk about what I had just seen.
So, assuming that you enjoy my recommendations (since you subscribed to this newsletter), I urge you to follow Austin’s (and now mine) advice. Watch this movie without looking for any information beforehand. If you do that, I’d love to hear about your experience!
📚 The Practice: Shipping Creative Work, by Seth Godin
{something to read • book, 272 pages}
Self-improvement books can be a blessing and a curse, depending on when you read it and what do you do with all that information you just read. Even though I had promised myself to take a big break from consuming this type of content, I was super curious to read Seth Godin’s The Practice, after seeing comments online from people that I admire. And to my surprise, it turned out to be an enjoyable and pleasant surprise!
Serving as a great companion (or follow-up) to other books like Creative Calling and the Steal Like an Artist trilogy, The Practice: Shipping Creative Work is mainly a book about the importance of finding consistency in anything that you do, especially (but not limited to) creative work. It almost reads like Godin’s daily blog (or newsletter), where each little chapter serves as an extra push to give you the confidence to just keep doing what you’re doing, or maybe finally starting that thing you’ve been putting off for a while.
I enjoyed it so much that I ended up publishing a selection of 50 favorite highlights from the book, which you can read on my website. Here’s a little taste:
“We do the work, whether we feel like it or not, and then, without warning, flow can arise. Flow is a symptom of the work we’re doing, not the cause of it.”
“if you need a guarantee you’re going to win before you begin, you’ll never start.”
“Do the work, become the artist. Instead of planning, simply become. Acting as if is how we acquire identity.”
📺 Abstract: The Art of Design
{something to watch • tv-series, 2 seasons}
By now you may be tired of hearing me talking about how much I enjoy consuming any kind of content that takes me behind the scenes of artists creating their work, right? That’s why Abstract grabbed my attention right in the first minutes of the very first episode. But even though the discussions generally happens around (all forms of) Design, the series ends up being about so much more than that.
Each episode brings one person/artist and focuses on one specific type of design, from well-known choices like Graphic Design and Interior Design, to others less obvious like Bio-Architecture, Toys, and Typeface Design. Some of my favorites include Illustrator Christoph Niemann (S1E1), Architect Bjarke Ingels (S1E4), Photographer Platon (S1E7), Artists Olafur Eliasson (S2E1), and Toy Designer Cas Holman (S2E4). But the beauty of a show like this is that even if you’re not interested in that particular subject, or are not familiar with that persons’ work, you can always expect the same level of quality throughout the whole collection.
There have been only 2 seasons, so far, but I really hope they don’t stop there, as this is something I’d be happily watching year after year. It surprises me that I don’t see many people talking about it, so it sometimes almost feels like a hidden gem.
📬 Adventures in Life
{something to read • newsletter}
Created and written by William Willis (Coach Willis), Adventures in Life is a daily newsletter where each weekday he shares 1 sketch + 1 quote + 1 atomic essay to challenge and inspire you. What I love about these daily doses of content is that, instead of forcing yourself to digest every single line of every single issue, you quickly learn to evaluate and take the pieces that resonate best with you in the current stage of your life. Since they’re all atomic (in size) essays, you will end up finding yourself reading all of it anyway, even if the subject line didn’t grab you as much as the day before.
One of my favorite issues, so far, was Make Your Own Luck, where he talks about opportunities, luck, and serendipity, discussing the importance of developing your habits, skills, and systems.
“You must play the long game, even when the entire universe seems aligned against you. Opportunity WILL come, often when you least expect it. Keep putting one foot in front of the other with one small improvement after another.”
It has become one of my favorite things to read every morning as part of my daily routine.1
⚡️ Something to Inspire
Holger Nimtz is a Germany-based Photographer specialized in abstract seascapes, minimalism, infrared shots, and long exposures. Check his website or Instagram for more. Here are some favorites:
🔀 On a different note:
I’m completely addicted to half·alive’s new music video for their new single What's Wrong. Is there any other band out there incorporating choreographies like they’ve been doing?
💽 New Music
{something to listen to • albums & singles}
This week I'm particularly interested in checking the new albums from BaianaSystem, Flock of Dimes, Ryley Walker, and The Natvral. Also, great new tracks from half•alive, SOHN, Mat Kerney, Natalia Lafourcade, St. Vincent, and many more. If you’re curious to hear some of these songs and more, make sure to follow my 2021 playlist on Spotify, updated weekly with new releases:
👋🏼 See you next Sunday
My name is Leo Mascaro and you are receiving this email because you signed up for Shuffle Sundays, a weekly curated list of content I thought was worth sharing with more people. If this email was forwarded to you, subscribe using the box below:
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I love talking about my systems, habits, and routines, so let me know if you’d like to hear more about it, by any chance!
Leo, thank you for the mention!
Also thank you for the show recommendations: In & Of Itself and Abstract. I'm looking forward to digging in, revelling in the experiences of others and mining for ideas.