Creative pursuits and misquoted phrases
Welcome back to the Newsletter Nerd Show!
After what seems like a rollercoaster of two months, we now have a new episode on the show. And words will not do justice to how great it feels to be back :)
Onto today’s episode then.
If you’ve always had multiple interests and are convinced that you lack the focus to specialize in one of them, you should probably (really) hit the play button right now!
Because Salman Ansari was once in your shoes too.
Every time he tried to pursue a new interest, people immediately tried to box him in and convince him he needed to pick the specialist path. This used to bug him in the past, but not anymore.
As I write this, Salman has already worn one too many hats and pursued varied interests. He’s an engineer, startup founder, writer, video producer, DJ, illustrator, mentor, and now a soon-to-be-published author!
Helping people embrace this polymathic mindset is one of the key things he tries to achieve with his newsletter Quick Brown Fox, where he explores creativity, philosophy, fables, and more.
What truly makes Salman’s work soul food for every creator is that by sharing his story with you, he gives you the reassurance that you’re not navigating the creative world alone.
Not to mention the sense of calm that washes over you as you come across his work, like the illustration you see above!
An otherwise zen-like person, if there’s one thing that sets off Salman, it is the often misquoted phrase ‘A jack of all trades is a master of none’.
Yup, you read it right.
The phrase everybody throws around so casually? It just says half the story.
Hit the play button below to find out the other half of the story and journey into the mind of a polymath.
Alternately, you can also tune in on Apple Podcasts or Anchor.
When we gather around in the reading room, there’s only one voice that we follow along. In this case, it’s that of Salman’s.
In this segment, Salman read out an excerpt from one of his newsletters. Titled the ‘Boat of Stillness’, this is one of the short stories that his to-be-published book features.
“I am a boat of stillness,” says the boat. “I am not a ship of war, waiting for my inevitable destruction. Nor am I a race vessel, chasing empty rewards. I seek only the solace that comes through stillness. Will you join me?”
Time Stamp: Head to 42:02 in the podcast episode to check out the entire reading
An ode to the infamous party game, the rules of Have You Ever are simple - I ask the guest a couple of questions, and they respond with a yes or no.
Time Stamp: Head to 52:09 in the episode to check out how Salman fared in this segment!
But for whatever reason, if you choose to continue just reading, I made a visual summary for you.
As you read each question, wait for the accompanying llama to reveal its true colour.
A green llama means a YES and a red llama means a NO.
With that final segment, I’m calling it a day!
Don’t forget to say hi to Salman here and check out his work here.
And if you’re feeling mighty generous, consider leaving a review about the Newsletter Nerd Show on Apple Podcasts. Every single feedback pushes me to keep creating :)
Until next time,
Akshaya
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