A net-zero carbon sneaker, the storytelling AI tool you need, the secret to a happy life + more
March 23 2023
When I started to collate this Weekly Digest, all the way back in 2019 (easier times, sigh), it was a way to share with a broader group of articles and podcasts I was already distributing one on one via email or WhatsApp to friends and clients.
I’m reconnecting with that purpose in today’s edition. Each article below is selected because either someone I know needs to read/listen to it, or I do.
I hope you enjoy it!
Also, this week’s digest was partly curated through the use of the new personalised news feed app Artifact, the brainchild of Instagram’s founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, which I wrote about a few weeks ago. It’s now widely available for users of iOS as well as Android. While so far it seems to be leaning on US publishers’ content, I can easily admit that I’ve felt very engaged with the selection that came out of my personal preferences recorded so far by the app. Intuitive and easy to use, if I let myself I could scroll and read for hours so I’d happily recommend it to anyone who wants to curate their newsfeed and is not bothered by trying an RSS provider like Feedly.
That’s all for today! Thanks as always for reading me, I really appreciate it and have a good one,
Much love,
LOOKING OUT
“A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your entire life.” - Chris K. Germer
THE STORYTELLING AI TOOL YOU DO NEED
This week, I’m trying out an AI-powered platform that is supposed to be the solution for all of us who need to put together decks and presentations, whether on PowerPoint or Keynote. It’s pretty buggy on iPad, but I’ll give it a go on my laptop later. I fancy myself a decent deck-maker, but I’m still happy with any tool that can cut the work in half or more for me. With pre-loaded templates, whether you are fundraising or preparing your visual portfolio, have a go at it by clicking on this link or read more about it here.
THE FIRST NET-ZERO CARBON SNEAKER IS ABOUT TO DROP
And I was going to write about it but best you get the details from Vogue Business: the science behind this is complex, and I’m no expert. What I will say is that it’s exciting to see the brand responsible for this super sustainable footwear, Allbird, be honest about the fact that while they seek to reduce the problem of carbon emissions with their new products and by making their formula open-source, they also still seek some growth. Honesty is refreshing. Do we like the shoes? Hard to tell from the pictures at this point.
Lastly, they may be good at making sustainable sneakers, but they have a way to go to communicate about their launch. If you click through to their EU site, the product isn’t featured on the homepage. That’s a big miss if you ask me. Read more about it here.
A USEFUL SKILL TO CULTIVATE
A couple of close friends of mine are reassessing their careers, either looking for new positions or considering a pivot, out of their industry. I thought this would be a great article for anyone looking towards personal development for the sake of their career.
To be transparent, I read this article a couple of days ago and I must say that this former Google VP’s perspective on self-awareness stayed with me, so much so that I think it partly inspired this week’s upcoming essay for Looking Forward (stay tuned, it will be out on Saturday). So at the end of the day, for the last two days, I asked myself: what did I do well, did I make any mistakes? What can I do better tomorrow? And things percolated.
Useful stuff. Read here.
THE ARTICLE I WILL BE READING AT THE WEEKEND
Many moons ago, I had the pleasure of meeting writer Lauren Collins after she was commissioned to pen a long-form article on Christian Louboutin for the New Yorker. The result was a cherished and subtle piece that was followed by a lively Q&A between the designer and the author at the New Yorker Festival. Good times.
Collins has come out with a new fashion story for the magazine, this time on Balenciaga designer Demna. If you’re not much of a reader, you can listen to the audio, but I warn you, it’s a lengthy 1h20min. Like I said above, a good weekend read. If you’re into fashion, and good writing and want a subtle glimpse behind the scenes of this huge luxury house, that’s the piece for you. Personally, I’m already looking forward to it.
Discover here.
Looking In
WHAT CAN MAKE A HAPPY LIFE?
The secret is out. Thanks to the recently published results from the longest study (eighty years) on what can make a happy life.
The answer? The quality of our relationships! And those make for more than a happy life. They are also a key factor in keeping us healthy and also seem to support more financial success.
Here’s a short recap of the key points from the study, thanks to Psychology Today. I’ll point out that for men in particular, the quality of your relationships at age 47 is a crucial predictor of how you’ll adjust to the stress of ageing in years to come.
The study also found that the quality of men’s relationships at age 47 predicted how they would adjust to the stress of aging decades later. Read more here.
ON THE MERITS OF WALKING
I’ve always enjoyed walking but until last July, I had no real idea how much it could benefit me if I chose this as an activity, five days a week, for 30 uninterrupted minutes. This was one of the three pillars kindly imposed by my fantastic nutritionist, thanks to whom I dropped a nice 13kgs. So when I came across this NYT newsletter that highlights the many merits of walking, I felt it was my duty to share it with you. At times, I still struggle with the 30 minutes, because, well, my puppy likes to sniff around, and I have chores, and so do you, so you get it. But take it from me, introduce this in your life, and you’ll thank me, or Marion (the nutritionist), and the NYT. Read more here.
THE NEAR AND FAR ENEMIES OF FIERCE COMPASSION
I’m not as regular with my podcasts as I used to be. Probably because instead of podcasts, I’m now on the receiving end of audio lectures. This year I am finishing a course on Compassion with the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science, and our guest lecturer, Chris Germer, was just interviewed in this two-part episode by Brené Brown.
Germer, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and co-developer (with Kristin Neff, PhD) of the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program that has been taught to over 200,000 people worldwide. He also wrote The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, and co-authored (also with Neff) the professional text Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program and The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook. He teaches the MSC Teacher Trainer and leads MSC intensives and workshops around the world, as well as lecturing part-time on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Expect a layered, honest and profound conversation that covers Germer’s big mindfulness a-ha moment, his expertise on self-compassion (and what fierce self-compassion is), fear, how to move through emotions, as well as what are the near, often hard-to-pinpoint enemies of compassion. Here are the links for Part 1 and Part 2. Enjoy!
