100 - creations are intimacy portals
The final artifact in my 100 mini-essays experiment exploring the intimacy of creations and the value of sharing your mind with the world.
100 mini-essays
On April 9, 2021, when I turned 24, I started an experiment to write and publish 100 mini-essays by the end of August by trying to publish something (almost) every day. Mini-essays meaning they concisely demonstrate a single principle and are lightly edited (if at all).
My goal for them is to be a forcing function for me to distill the ideas with some substance that I think about each day into a publicly digestible form, but not edited or polished enough to become a full-blown blog post to retain some of that rawness and decrease the barrier to releasing it into the digital ether. I was also inspired by visakanv’s “do 100 things” principle and the #30for30 movement to continually produce and make things. I’ve been doing this in private with my live monitor habit tracker but decided that creating a public artifact is better for creating learning exhaust. I want to be fairly regimented about getting 100 of these things out but don’t want to force myself to the point that it feels like a chore and I lose the joy of creating them. With that perspective in mind, I’d like to have 100 artifacts by the end of August.
You can find links to all of them below, or join the conversation on Twitter in the mega-thread.
99 - beginnings
Exploring the concept of beginnings through a creative medium
98 - quiet confidence
Quiet confidence is when you’re able to naturally take your time, take up proper space, and be unapologetically yourself without putting down anyone else or manufacturing dependence.
97 - glorious purpose
I’m a strong believer that we create our own meaning—something can be meaningful for no other reason than the fact that we believe it so. In that sense, I think all of us have a glorious purpose in creating the change and meaning that we want to see in the world.
96 - reclaiming time
What if anyone could reclaim control of time for themselves? What does a world look like where we challenge Time for control but that power is free for anyone to seize rather than only the wealthy and powerful?
95 - ephemeral permanence: an exploration of the future of digital data
What if every object you created digitally was “owned” by you and stored permanently in a space private to you regardless of what the platform you created it on does with it?
94 - energy liquidity
In that sense, my personality and energy feels like it has liquidity, trading in maker coins for neighbor marks and adventurer badges. They naturally arbitrage and find the best deal, shifting to the demands of the surrounding environment that make certain currencies an unbeatable deal.
93 - dance
I think dancing really teaches you to trust your instinct for what’s “right” broadly, as in everything I do has value for no reason other than the fact that I chose to do it. It’s an exercise in asserting yourself and trusting yourself to do things that you like.
92 - data stockholm syndrome
However, Wrapped is just another neatly packaged corporate product designed to convince us to stay within our walled data moats by gift-wrapping what is ours in the first place.
91 - amulets
If poems are just “things made” that exist for their own sake and meaning, then these amulets are meaning lighthouses in a space of so much context collapse and narrative war.
90 - future of tools
What is the future of the tools we use every day, and will web3 push them to become more community-led and empowering or will it force unnecessary structure and unwelcome incentives into a relatively “innocent” space?
89 - provocateur
I want my projects to push people to think in a different way and challenge them to reconsider reality in a new light. I want to make crazy ideas feel realistic, extreme fictional worlds feel relatable, complex creative environments feel approachable.
87 - life suppressants
this is a reminder to never compromise my ability to be fully present for every moment.
86 - scope of normality
Normal is variable, an always-shifting concept in our minds, that binds us together or drives us apart.
85 - photography origin
The origin story of why I like photography.
84 - financialization
I crave for an internet-native space where it’s okay to just be yourself and let your hair down—where making things that are worthless and inefficient are not only allowed but encouraged rather than squeezed for every penny they’ll generate.
83 - allure of ephemerality
In the web3 world, where everything is permanent, stored on-chain forever. This chaotic, ephemeral process of creation is especially compelling. It harkens to the instability of the current Internet…
82 - fear perspectives
I think one of the highest leverage personal growth moments is learning how to overcome fear. And then repeating that over and over and over again, until the process is inscribed into your body.
80 - conviction
poem on conviction
79 - vandalism
Adaptions, translations, exact replicas are all forms of imitation with varying degrees of change. They all bridge a gap: adaptions connect media, translations connect languages, and replicas connect availability.
78 - impatience
I’ve been struggling uselessly trying to will the change into being, where I need to be focusing my energy on doubling down on the rituals that empower me
77 - leverage
prioritizing the tasks that maximize the impact to time/effort input ratio.
76 - urgency
Urgency is important because it imbues energy
75 - luca
Silencio Bruno means betting on yourself, trusting yourself to do whatever is needed to push you towards a brighter future and a stronger you.
74 - bad vibes
you can be a nice guy while not understanding the vibes
73 - pitter patter
a couple poems on this rainy SF day.
72 - soothing fire: a raging fire that cools
The goal state is an oxymoron. A feathery intensity, a gentle hurricane, a soothing fire. It means being uncompromising about what you love and fight for, but also embracing playfulness in every moment.
71 - ablaze heart
a poem on setting your heart ablaze
70 - taking what you want
I guess the problem is that most things that you really want are controversial—they’ll provoke people.
69 - power acclimation
Humans are fickle creatures. We like to stop ourselves from doing things that are good for us, often, paradoxically, in the name of preserving the good and protecting us from the bad.
68 - manifesting
Manifesting whatever belief or identity you want in yourself means having full control of your mind, body, and whole being.
67 - fast feedback loops and perils of convention
Why fast feedback loops are important and why convention over configuration makes software feel impossible to change to your own needs
66 - unstoppable expression
…like when you get the star in MarioKart—there’s nothing, no one that can stop you from achieving your dreams and realizing your vision.
65 - simple things
an ode to the simple things
64 - crazy ideas
The truly society-changing, ground-shaking, future-making ideas always start as crazy ideas.
63 - radical migrations
Make radical demands of how we can change society from how it is now, rather than running away to start fresh or focusing on marginal improvements.
62 - intensity
Intensity means that you’re living and experiencing more of the life that’s passing by around you.
61 - opportunity
I never want to tone down my intensity or dilute my flavor for the sake of others.
60 - internet of empty promises
Link rot kills our digital history
59 - app paradox
Social apps have misaligned incentives with what is best for individuals and communities
58 - perception
I explore appearance as a gateway to connection. At first, it’s all we know, but eventually, it becomes just the key for unlocking a deeper connection. Deep emotional connection is all around us for the taking; we just have to be willing to dig for it and receive it when it appears.
57 - arc of the valley
A hero’s journey view on technologists' experience coming to and living in Silicon Valley
56 - privilege of dreams
Dreams are a privilege to those who have the means. Media showcases this in bleak terms.
55 - irreplaceable
Being irreplaceable can be either the defining marker in bringing something good out of something bad, or it can be an excuse for shirking change and avoiding confronting the future.
54 - life is fragile
Life is fragile which means we have to make the most of cherishing the people we love and pursuing the things that give us energy.
53 - compliments
Resurfacing an old idea on the power of compliments and a poem on second sky
52 - cafe encounter
A chance cafe encounter leading to inspiration and reminding me what I looked forward to in moving to San Francisco
51 - extraction and flower
Taking a gamble by doing the small things to make people happy and exploring how to be mindful of my energy and enjoying the moment.
50 - formulation
As a fiction writer, our job is to take the most interesting path, not the one that we feel is right. We are the guide for the reader’s experience, not to fulfill our secret dream experience.
49 - now's focus
I’m splitting time between a lot of different projects. There isn’t enough time for all of this and the switching cost is taking its toll. I need to learn how to get really good at picking off one piece at a time and making a difference as I can.
48 - singular purpose
I want the courage to manifest more of what I truly want. Feeling lost and committing to finding a foundation in my instinct and trusting myself to get through whatever I jump in.
47 - fear
Fear told me there was a hard script for me to follow, that deviating from the script meant certain failure, a sure way to give up everything I had built thus far.
46 - pitiful rage
a poem about a sad encounter
45 - re-solved problems
How did we end up in a place where some of the smartest people in our society are stuck re-solving the same hard problems and re-implementing the same solutions we’ve seen before?
44 - liminal illusions
the liminality of vegas and how it exposes the absurdity of our day-to-day
43 - kindness journal
Compliments are one of the few things that are infinite energy machines. It’s free to think of and give, and each one generates so much equivalent energy in happiness.
42 - fake money
more haikus
41 - decisiveness
an exploration to become more decisive
39 - weary faces
a plane haiku
34 - denim personality
an exploration of how fashion becomes a part of your personality, why it came to matter so much to me, and rejecting the “uniform”
33 - the same thing
“They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, yet persistence is the key to success.”
32 - chasing stability
It’s a fable of chasing after what we can’t reach, of putting our real life on hold to live out someone else’s idea of a life, of deferring to society’s pressures and whims rather than seizing each day, every single fleeting moment for ourselves to enjoy.
31 - the technology paradox
on my paradoxical relationship with technology
30 - the gaps
a late-night poem
29 - uneven time
A world where time is uneven, the image to maintain, and the power of mindsets
28 - a drop of color
a cap to my time in New York. On post-travel sadness and what places leave you with. plus a couple fun bonuses like a riff on a song and a haiku.
27 - home and fake nostalgia
our different selves, their homes, and feeling fake nostalgia from the media we consume
26 - do more, be more
a reflection on what New York asks of you and how that environment shapes the default shaping of a person
25 - silent conversations
an exploration of the intimacy of purchases while wandering NYC
24 - dauntlessness
a rabbit hole on Omar Sy
23 - trust
exploring lack of trust as an indicator of the low points of my life
22 - reflection systems
I wrote an overview of the spaces I make for reflection and my intention around sharing that broadly. All the tools I use have been templatized and are free for you to try out if you’re curious!
21 - aperture of life
on the aperture of life and appreciating all the infinite detail and intricacy in our everyday
19 - the silo culture
“Because we don’t interact with other groups, we don’t understand their struggles, needs, and hopes. We only think about us and our tribe when we go to the voting booth, when we launch products, and when we write policy.”
10 - dampening of curiosity
I never want to feel so comfortable that I feel scared to leave. I want to teeter in that grey, liminal space between the edge of my comfort and the known boundary of the unknown, a place of greater risk but also greater reward…
8 - craft over career
what if we chose to optimize our craft rather than our career? The implication is that everything we do, everything we’re doing right now is the most important thing, not just some stepping stone for some “better” future.
6 - shaping the world
how do we shape the world before us, especially when the tools and systems we expect to work fail?
2 - vibe tribes and finding psychological oxygen
This is what a vibe tribe is for, a space that fosters psychological oxygen by default. A community where you can be yourself and feel encouraged rather than pressured to create and express yourself authentically.
[862364091] ✍️ the weight of dreams •
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[863475981] 🖇️ devices •
[862364091] ✍️ the weight of dreams •
[863482625] 🎧 Life is Better (Live) •
[806502420] 📿 “I start every day with two empty hands” •
[863449337] 🔨 home •
[805029828] 📖 Wrong Way •
[863219718] 🏃♂️ atsui: 2.1km •
[863475981] 🖇️ devices •