The Wait is Nearly Over... - WISER Newsletter

Hello 1,300+ friends, it’s Michael here!

If you missed last week's issue, I would highly recommend checking it out. It was Zac's first one and it was brilliant. You can read it here.

Thanks for checking out this issue of the WISER Newsletter!

Let’s get WISER together!

Before we dive into this week’s issue, we have something exciting to tell you - the wait is nearly over…

That’s right! The Wise Guide to Journaling e-book that we’ve been working on for over 6 months is coming out in less than a week on Friday 3 March 2023!

It has everything that you need to know to start journaling and maintain the habit. It features tips from yours truly, science to back it up, and eye-catching visuals to help make the principles memorable.

Want to learn more?

Follow our various social media channels if you want to be one of the first people to pick up a copy!

🚫 Don't be a Hammer Enthusiast. ⚒️

I know what you're thinking - this is an odder visual than the usual ones that I post. What on Earth is a "hammer enthusiast?"

I heard of the idea of a hammer enthusiast in Tiago Forte's feature in Ali Abdaal's Deep Dive Podcast.

They speak about a number of topics in this episode, but it primarily revolves about being more productive through Building a Second Brain.

You can listen to this podcast episode here:

The particular section that I am referring to in this newsletter can be found around 33:00.

Ali emphasises the importance of living a fulfilling life in line with your goals. He says that many often lose sight of what truly matters to them as they become too focused on the tools that they're using:

"There is a danger of worshipping at the altar of the tool." - Ali Abdaal

He uses the example of collecting hammers to illustrate this point, suggesting that it is better to be a carpenter that produces meaningful pieces of furniture or structures that provide value to people's lives that it is to be someone who merely collects hammers.

🪑 Are you a Carpenter or Collector? 🔨

This might seem like a bit of a silly question at first, but I strongly encourage you to reflect on this point. Do your actions reflect that of a carpenter or a collector?

When I first watched that interview, I thought to myself "I am definitely a carpenter - always have, always will be."

Upon closer inspection (through some journaling of course), I came to learn that this isn't always the case.

Allow me to take you on a trip down memory lane where I use to share my analogue photography online.

Those of you that read our newsletter issue from January 14, 2023 will know that I was a keen photographer a few years ago, sharing picture that I had taken on my film cameras, like my Leica M5 and Mamiya RB 67 Pro S.

What I didn't share in that issue was my most liked Instagram picture.

Was it the beautiful scenes of the flowing water from the base of Sgùrr na Sgine, Scotland?

Maybe it was a delicate photo of a beautiful leaf, standing out amongst the others?

Perhaps even a picture of a darkroom print I made of the frantic streets of Oxford in a snow storm?

Nope! My most liked photo amongst 500+ photos was a photo of my camera - the tool itself.

By even posting this photo, I was engaging with the collector mentality; encouraging people to value to the tool itself.

I’m not saying that you can’t be a collector, by the way. If you find meaning and fulfilment in that, then great! But in this example with me and photography, it was the craft that I found value in, not the braggin’ rights of having a nice camera.

🖼️ Show Your Work, Not Your Tools. 📷

Part of my encouragement for you today is to celebrate the things that you create, not just the things that helped you make them.

There’s a time to recognise the tools that helped you get there, but if you’re not creating something meaningful, I’d start there.

You don’t have to wait until you have that new guitar, that innovative laptop or that shiny set of chisels to work on your next masterpiece.

Whatever your craft, get creating!

❓ Could you benefit from reflecting on this more?

• Are you a carpenter or collector?

• What is your ‘carpentry’? What is the thing that you find meaning and purpose in?

• Do you spend too much time focussing on the tools and not the work itself?

✍️ Consider journalling through the above questions yourself.

💬 Also, if you want to chat about this, email or DM us! We’d love to hear from you!

Recommendations

1️⃣ Given that I've referenced it in this newsletter, it feels appropriate to recommend Tiago Forte's Building a Second Brain.

If you’re not familiar with the idea of a second brain, it’s an organisational system that you populate with information so that it doesn’t have to take up headspace in your actual brain.

You can make these in a multitude of ways, but I currently house mine in Notion. In particular, my second brain keeps track of quotes I find inspiring, articles/videos I would like to reference in future, and can be a great source of reminders like birthdays or shopping lists.

If you’d like to learn more, consider picking up a copy of Tiago Forte’s book here:

2️⃣ This second recommendation is another newsletter: Sahil Bloom’s The Curiosity Chronicles.

Sahil Bloom is one of the wisest gentlemen on the internet.

He shares regular pieces of content about how to live more intentional lives, reflections on scientific studies that are truly fascinating, and you may even see him share visuals that we’ve collaborated on! 👀

His newsletter features all of the above and more! Consider subscribing here:

* Please note that these may be affiliation links. Purchasing through these links could support Wisdom Made Easy encourage more people to get wiser.

✍️ What We’re Working On

To make The Wise Guide to Journaling the best it possibly can be, Zac and I have spent countless hours on it in the last few weeks, but we’re confident that it’s all been worth it.

We are also close to unveiling our new website! It should provide you with an overview about who we are, what we stand for, how to work with us and some other exciting projects that we have coming up. 👀 We’ll announce this over the next week too! Watch this space!

Lastly, we’re gearing up to kick off our YouTube channel in quarter 2 of 2023. We’ve begun getting all the gear, and once we’ve successfully launched The Wise Guide to Journaling, we’ll dive into making the YouTube channel the best resource it can be for us all to get wiser. Want to be the first to know when we hit publish? Subscribe here! 

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😊 Thank You!

Thanks for checking out this issue of the WISER Newsletter. If you have any feedback, we would love to hear it!

Simply reply to this email, and we will get back to you.

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Catch you in the next issue!

Thanks,

Michael and Zac!