Hey friends,
I hope youāre doing well! Iāve been making a concerted effort to do more collaborations lately. Collaborations are a great way to learn from others who are experts in their domain, spark serendipity, and vibe off of each otherās energy. Theyāre also a wonderful way to mix things up and try new things, which is perfectly in line with my general approach of exploring different pursuits. I recently did an animation+music collaboration with Jeff Romejko, and continued the momentum this Saturday when I hosted a Clubhouse session with Drew Austin on the Future of Cities. We explored the evolution of public spaces, mobility of affluence, climate change, ghost kitchens, transit and urban advocacy, and much more. I was delighted to receive a lot of positive feedback from the session ā some listeners noted that it even sounded like a professional radio show. (Sadly no recording is available, but we might record future ones!)
The session gave me some confidence to keep going with the format, and to potentially explore an old idea Iāve had for a while: starting a podcast where I interview folks to share their stories of creativity and polymathic endeavors. As exciting as the idea is, I have to temper my eagerness on it given all the existing projects I have in progress. Iāve started to develop a more intuitive sense of what Iām able to juggle at any given time, and try to caution myself once I sense Iām near the limit.
The balancing act is the most important part of the play.
P.S. I just published a new speaking page where you can find my past talks, workshops, and podcast interviews. If youāre looking for a podcast to start with, check out my chat with Brandon Zhang on creativity, polymath principles and picking books that resonate. Itās one of the more popular podcasts Iāve done.
How to Generate Ideas
I recently got this great question from Ayaz Hussain during a DM conversation: āWhere do you find inspiration for topics to write about?ā Instead of sharing a few quick messages back, I decided to explore this a bit topic in a bit more detail, and published a note about it:
In this note, I share the process that has worked to help me publish and share ideas consistently. I explore three key tactics: finding creative prompts, balancing your inputs, and maintaining consistent outputs.
This note is a first pass and still a work in progress. The approach I take with notes is to share more and edit less. So if the note sparks a thought, or you have feedback on it, Iād really love to hear it!
Ask Me Anything
Ayazās question made me wonder: What questions would QBF readers ask?
Iād like to hear from you. I write this newsletter for many reasons, but one of the biggest is engaging with people directly about the ideas Iām passionate about. This mostly happens on Twitter, where I tend to get more replies. It also happens through this newsletter, when folks reply to an email. But Iād like to see it happen more here in this newsletter. When it doesnāt, Iām left looking at things like my subscriber growth and engagement metrics to get a sense of impact (I really donāt want to be doing that). As much as I enjoy being playful and self-directed with my work, I really do thrive on feedback.
Ask me anything! A few areas to consider for your questions:
Overcoming creative obstacles
Balancing multiple pursuits
Improving self-awareness, building mindfulness practices
Tips on drawing, writing
Career navigation decisions
So, donāt be shy, give it a go! Reply to this email (or DM me on Twitter) with a question, and I encourage you to provide any additional context (feel free to let me know whether youāre comfortable with me sharing the context or just the question). I canāt wait to hear from you! š
P.S. Iāve added an FAQ section to the front page of my notebook to list out the answers as I publish them. Todayās note, How to Generate Ideas, is the first note on the list.
Iām utterly mesmerized by this animation loop from Stephen Mangiat, created and captured in real-time using Unity:
Honestly, I cannot stop watching this. I have become a hypnopigeon. (What is a hypnopigeon, you ask? The answer lies in this thread of my favorite TikToksā¦)
I also loved another animation of Stephenās that has a Knight Rider vibe to it. You can check out more of his incredible work on his Instagram page: @smangiat
Iāll leave you with a poem inspired by this adorable little kitten (shared on Twitter by Khaled):
Look boldly now,
Unleash your meow
Golden ball of glimmering fur,
The time has come, do not demur
Pounce at once, before it escapes!
Revenge at last, upon the evil drapesā¦
Until next time,
āSalman
š salman.io | š¦ @daretorant
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