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2021, week 19

Good morning!

It’s hard to believe but today is already issue #19! 19 weeks and 75 highlights later I’m still commited to this curation/writing/publishing habit. I think I’ve never been so damn steady about something! It feels great and I want to thank you all, subscribers, for following and supporting this journey! But to keep myself motivated I’ve prepared a little surprise for the 20th issue of Command N + Command S. A challenge that should bring me to issue #30 if everything goes well 🤞

In the meantime, I have two 2 highlights to share with you this week.

1. The magician

It can be hard to accept how something you never believed in have finally happened or how someone has been able to do something you failed at before. From an outside point of view, it’s difficult to understand, and the spontaneous reaction can be to put those events down to luck or any other obscure reasons. A positive achievement is beautiful because we are presented with the end result. It’s like the performance of a great artist or an athlete, what we see is the end result: memorable and impressive. But, what we don’t see is the preparation ahead: long hours of boring training and attempts to get there. In his article, Jacob Kaplan-Moss reminds us how crucial is the willingness to do boring tasks in order to obtain great results. His comparison with a magician’s number makes it very clear and can be transposed into many other jobs or activities. And you, what is your boring secret?

2. The power of optimism

Last year, for his 68 birthday, Kevin Kelly shared 68 unsolicited advice on his blog. 68 years of experience condensed in a single article! Among all of these advices, one resonated with me specifically: « Over the long term, the future is decided by optimists ». I want to agree with this statement and I would go further: I strongly believe your degree of happiness will depend on how you want to perceive life and how you react to positive and negative events. Life is not always perfect, fair or easy and that is not something you can control anyway. However, you have full control over your perception and your reactions. Being positive and optimistic is a choice. Sure, we all have different past stories and experiences but, hoping for the best is the only first step to make great things happen.

Enjoy this issue and see you next week. Take care!