Forward Motion

Considerations 2/15/2021: Endel App, Robin Thicke, Make Time, Ted Lasso and more

Feb 17

Just your typical causal photo of me (shot by @sunlovesthemoon)

Considerations is a thoughtfully curated newsletter focused on creative inputs for multi-disciplinaries.

Intro:

Well—

2020 was a barn burner of a year (to say the least). Personally, it's was a rollercoaster—excitement, dips, a cool breeze on my face, sweaty palms, loop de loops, high likelihood of vomit, and before you know it, it ended.

There's a Bruce Lee quote that I keep circling back to —

“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.”

Going through tough things sucks in the moment. Sometimes it sucks afterward too. But often difficult moments become turning points in our lives. An opportunity to be better and live up to our ideals, or a chance to fall apart, giving us an opportunity to pause, reassess what's important, and start anew. Maybe this is my glass-half-full showing, but I find it better to be optimistic about the future (and mistakes of the past). Because what do negativity, despair and hopelessness bring us? Nothing good.

I've been meaning to put this email out for what feels like one hundred years, but every time I sit down to finish it I'll get sidetracked by other recommendations I want to add. Consistency is something I'm working on improving this year.

I could give you a baker's dozen of reasons why I've been inconsistent, but I'd rather not dwell on it and focus on what I can do to create more consistently. It sounds counter-intuitive, but I'd like to experiment with doing weekly newsletters instead of monthly. I think it would give me a better chance to keep things moving and prevent my ideas and what I want to say from ballooning.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on weekly emails vs. monthly, how you stay consistent in your own life, and what you like to see from newsletters you sub to.

Here are some interesting things I’ve been considering lately:

1. Two Shameless Plugs:

Listen to my Interview with Jessica Jollie on the Renaissance Life Podcast

Jessica Jollie is the owner of Yoga Landing, a boutique yoga studio based in Chattanooga TN, USA. This is a fun conversation. We go into a lot of different topics—overcoming injuries, starting a business, teaching, balancing work with family, and more.

Renaissance Life is a podcast for multi–disciplinaries and is dedicated to the pursuit of creativity, mastery, and a meaningful life.
Link to the Renaissance Life on Apple Podcast
Listen on Spotify
Listen on Overcast

New Patreon!

I've set up a Patreon page for The Renaissance Life. If you are interested in supporting what I do and also getting some extra value, consider becoming a patron (less than the price of a cup of coffee or two per month!)

What you get:

Downloadable Action Guides from each episode
Advanced Guest List Q & A

2. Endel App

Endel is hands down the best app I’ve used in a while. I think I've used it every day since I've downloaded it.

Here's a description from Wikipedia: “Endel is a company that specializes in creating technology with personalized sound environments to reduce stress, increase focus and improve sleep. The sounds are generated in real-time based on various inputs such as one's location, time, weather, cadence, heart-rate, etc.”

I’ve been using it to stay focused (like finished this email), relaxing while reading, and sleep soundly.

Find Endel on:

3. Music Recommends:

So many good albums have dropped in the past couple of months! Here are some of my favorite new listens:

Arlo Parks—Collapsed In Sunbeams

Robin Thicke—On Heaven, and in Heaven

Honne—no song without you

Pink Sweat$—PINK PLANET

4. Film

Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself

In & Of Itself is a must-watch. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ll say that it’s a stage performance/magic show, but it’s so much more than that.

Tenet

I finally got around to seeing Tenet (twice now.) It’s a fun crazy ride. The heist scenes are so epic. I think what really drives the film (besides the crazy ideas/visuals) is the cast’s charisma and enthusiasm. Watching this get’s me excited for Robert Pattinson as Batman.

Palm Springs Commentary Cut

I recently rewatched Palm Springs (… again) this time with commentary from the directors and actors. Such a fun movie. Top three (if not the) movies from last year.

And The Palm Spring playlist is great too.

5. TV

Ted Lasso

I think Ted Lasso is the most wholesome and uplifting show I’ve watched in a while. I can see why it’s gotten a lot of buzz since its release. I’m excited for whenever the second season drops (and it’s a good sign that it’s already been picked up for a third.)

WandaVision

WandaVision is incredible and highlights Marvel’s attention to detail. Give it a few episodes (it starts to pick up momentum on and after the 3rd episode.)

6. Current Reads

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky

I’ve just started these, but I can already highly recommend them. Subscribe to Bookaholics to hear a review and takeaways soon.

7. Interesting Clicks

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Considerations. Have you discovered any interesting articles, books, music or what-have-yous recently? Email me at josh [at] renaissance life [dot com] or leave a comment below.

If you are into books join my monthly book newsletter, Bookaholics.

Lastly, each month Considerations will have a sister publication called Practices. Where Considerations is about creative inputs, Practices is about creative output.
Considerations is the gasoline. Practices is the match. Considerations will always be free. But if you are interested in Practices, for only $5 a month or $30 a year, you can receive a thoughtful resource to help improve and change your life. Sign up for here for your first month free.

Thanks for your time. Be Well. Keep creating.
— Josh Waggoner

Renaissance Life
Insta: @Renaissance.Life
Twitter @wiggidywags

Considerations 8/17/20

Edition #4: New Mood, The Oatmeal, Glass Animals, Palm Spring and more

Josh Waggoner

Aug 17, 2020

Hey, What’s up, Hi -

Welcome to another edition of Considerations, a thoughtfully curated monthly newsletter focused on creative inputs for multi-disciplinaries.

I feel like I’ve been working on getting this email shipped for 800 years. It’s been a hectic time in my life because the creative agency I was working for decided to close up shop. Currently, I’m just spitting in the wind, as they say. (Gross?) I’m feeling a little burnout so I’m still thinking through my next steps. I have some cool projects in the work for Renaissance Life and some exciting guest for The Renaissance Life Podcast... but in the meantime —

Here are some interesting things I’ve been considering lately:

1. New Mood — Onnit

New Mood has been a lifesaver for me the past few months. It’s marketed as a supplement to “support a normal daily stress response.” I think of it as mediation in a bottle. A literal chill pill, if you will.

Here’s a brief description from Onnit’s website:

“New Mood is a stress support supplement that assists the body in generating serotonin, a key neurotransmitter linked to mood, happiness, and positive outlook. Ingredients like 5-HTP, L-TRYPTOPHAN, and VITAMIN B6 work synergistically to increase serotonin levels without making you drowsy, allowing you to stay calm AND alert whenever you want.”

It also has Magnesium and Valerian Root which is good for relaxing your muscles and a natural way to induce sleep before bed without feeling groggy in the morning. When I have them on hand, I’ll usually pop two if I’m feeling stressed or anxious during the day, and another two before bed.

Amazon: New Mood

New Mood: Onnit.com

2. Eight Marvelous & Melancholy Things I’ve Learned About Creativity — The Oatmeal

I absolutely love The Oatmeal. Matthew Inman’s humor is my go-to strategy when I need a laugh. Eight Marvelous & Melancholy Things I’ve Learned About Creativity is a long-form comic about what he’s learned from ten years since creating The Oatmeal. It’s hilarious. It’s insightful. It’s a must if you consider yourself a creative.

3. Guide to Internal Communication The Basecamp Way

One of the biggest problems I’ve seen and experienced in business is miscommunication. It doesn’t matter whether its miscommunication with customers, clients, teammates, bosses and-or employees—it all leads to poor outcomes. Basecamp’s Internal Communication Guide is an excellent list of communication principles to base your work (and life) around.

4. Type Media 2019 Graduates

An incredible look at the final projects of the 2019 Type and Media Master’s graduates. Their work is hors de l’ordinaire. I love the simple clean look of the website too. Type and Media is “a master’s course in typeface design at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (KABK).” My favorite type designs are Decibel, Picardy, Spec and Adorno.

5. Learn Music — Ableton

This is a great step-by-step interactive web guide for learning music fundamentals. Highly recommend if you want to get into music or need to brush up on your skills. (Again—great web design too.) Get started here.

6. Reverse Engineering for Beginners

First off—This pdf is a beast. Written by Dennis Yurichev, it’s coming in at a whopping 1000+ pages of information. I’ve only just cracked the “digital” cover, so to speak. But as far as I can tell, it’s a fantastic resource for programmers. Read or Download the pdf here.

7. App: Notion

Notion – The all-in-one workspace for your notes, tasks, wikis, and databases.

I’ve been using Notion for the past year, and it’s quickly become one of my favorite apps. It has a lot of use-cases (too many to list here), but I mainly use it as an organization tool, ideation, biz dev, and writing tool. Because you can create pages within pages, one interesting trend I’ve noticed is people using a public Notion workspace as a pseudo website. For example, FAQ and product documentation and open job positions.

8. Palm Springs

Palm Springs is a rom-com movie on Hulu, starring Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg. Suffice it to say—I love it! I don’t want to give too much away. If you can, go in blind without reading about it. Give it about fifteen minutes and you’ll understand. Note: It’s Rated R, so hide your kid and your parents.

9. Quote:

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” — Vincent Van Gogh

10. Music:

Monsters — The Midnight

The Midnight just might be my favorite band I’ve listened to in the last decade. They have a killer 80’s vibe, but in a way that feels fresh and timeless. Their new album Monsters just dropped recently. Be sure to listen to Prom Night, Brooklyn, Dream Away, and America Online.

Here’s a description from Wikipedia: “The Midnight is a synthwave band composed of Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Jamison Tyler Lyle and Los Angeles-based Danish-born producer, songwriter, and singer Tim Daniel McEwan. The band was formed as a result of Tyler and Tim meeting during a co-writing workshop in 2012 in North Hollywood, CA.”

The Midnight on Spotify

‎The Midnight on Apple Music

The Midnight on YouTube

Dreamland — Glass Animals

Glass Animals is such a unique band. Dreamland is a perfect title for their new album because of its surreal atmosphere sounds and witty and eclectic lyrics. Tangerine, Hot Sugar, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Tokyo Drifting and Heat Waves are my favorite songs.

Wikipedia Description: “Glass Animals are an English psychedelic pop band formed in Oxford in 2010. Led by singer, songwriter, and producer Dave Bayley, the group also features his childhood friends Joe Seaward, Ed Irwin-Singer, and Drew MacFarlane. Bayley wrote and produced all three Glass Animals albums.”

Glass Animals on Spotify

‎Glass Animals on Apple Music

Glass Animals on YouTube

Shameless Plugs

I hope you enjoyed the second edition of Considerations.

Have you discovered any interesting articles, books, music or what-have-yous recently? Email me at josh [at] renaissance life [dot com] and I might feature it (and give props to you of course) in next month’s edition.

If you are into books as much as I am, I’m also creating a monthly newsletter about what I’m reading each month called Bookaholics.

Lastly, each month Considerations will have a sister publication called Practices. Where Considerations is about creative inputs, Practices is about creative output.

Considerations is the gasoline. Practices is the match.

Considerations will always be free. But if you are interested in Practices, for only $5 a month or $30 a year, you can receive a thoughtful resource to help improve and change your life.

Also if you convince a friend to sign up too, I’ll give you 50% off. Share Considerations with a friend and if they sign up, send me an email and I’ll send you a discount code.

Thanks for your time.

Be Well. Keep creating.

— Josh,

Renaissance Life

Insta: @Renaissance.Life

Twitter @wiggidywags

Considerations 6/8/20

Edition #3: Flobility, Organifi, SG Lewis, Kevin Kelly and more

Josh Waggoner

Jun 8, 2020

Hello friends! Welcome to another edition of considerations, a thoughtfully curated monthly newsletter focused on creative inputs for multi-disciplinaries.

I hope you are doing well—considering everything going on (Look at that, not even two sentences in and I’ve already written a dad joke. 1+ points). I don’t know about you, but ever since my day job has gone remote, I’ve officially only worn yoga pants for the past two months 😆.

Here are some interesting things I’ve been considering lately:

1. Black Lives Matter

I think Martin Luther King Jr. said it best “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” There’s some great information out there, but I particularly enjoyed Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon) and Tim Cook’s (CEO of Apple) responses.

2. Back to Form: Flobility

Spine Conscious Training | Flobility

I’ve been enjoying these Flobility exercises for the past couple of weeks. It was recommended to me by a health practitioner I met recently. Essential its simple exercises that help realign your posture and reset your movement patterns to a natural alignment. Some of the benefits include “Injury prevention, increased mobility, increased core stability, decompress your joints” and overall more biomechanical control over your body. If you aren’t interested in signing up for their online problem, I’d still recommend checking them out on Instagram (@flobility)—it’s full of good insights.

topics: exercise, posture, physical therapy

3. Drink Your Greens: Organifi Green Juice

Organifi Green Juice - Detox, Immunity & Metabolism Support

I’ve been supplementing with Organifi’s Green Juice for a little over a year now and love it. Just add water and you’ve got your daily dose of greens. I can feel its effects on my energy levels and skin health. It’s tasty too. I’ve tried a number of these types of products, and this has been my favorite so far.

topics: health, energy

4. Happy Birthday KK: A Lifetime of Advice From Kevin Kelly

The Technium: 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice

This is a superb article from Kevin Kelly, the founding executive editor of Wired magazine and author of many books including The Inevitable, a fantastic book on future technology forces. 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice is an action-packed article of advice he’s learned over the years. I've bookmarked and printing it out on paper. This is something I’ll be revisiting for a while.

topics: life, advice, practice

5. Wow! First Look at Unreal Engine 5

Unreal Engine 5 Revealed! | Next-Gen Real-Time Demo Running on PlayStation 5 - YouTube

You might have already seen this, but daaaang this looks good. First off, I wish this was a real game instead of a tech demo. Second, its amazing to see game design slowly become more and more versatile and closer to something you would see in a feature film. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next generation of console gaming has in store. This video makes me want to dive into the Unreal Engine and learn game design (which is a great sign of a well-crafted video).

topics: design, game development, 3D animation

6. $$$: How to Make Wealth

How to Make Wealth

This is an article from Paul Graham, one of the founders of Y Combinator. It’s from 2004, but just as relevant today as it was then. His answer to becoming rich is to start or join a startup. “A startup is a small company that takes on a hard technical problem.”

“Lots of people get rich knowing nothing more than that. You don’t have to know physics to be a good pitcher. But I think it could give you an edge to understand the underlying principles.”

If you are interested in starting your own thing or joining a startup, make sure you have your bases covered. This is a great article to get you started.

topics: wealth, happiness, business, startup,

7. YouTube Sans: How YouTube made their typeface

YouTube Sans: The Making of a Typeface - Library - Google Design

Type design is something I’ve fallen head over heels for in the last few months. This is a great article by Chris Bettig on the creation of YouTube’s typeface. Even if you aren’t interested in type, YouTube Sans is a great case study in the importance of having attention to detail when it comes to your brand (—everything really). They didn’t just build a font. They made something that spoke to the core of what they’re brand stands for.

“We also built in a lot of quirks and personality to reflect our worldview: we ruled out Swiss-type because we wanted it to feel more human; it had to be imperfect, unpredictable, and strong yet rough around the edges; more than a brand ambassador, it also had to be reflective of the community of creators who call our platform home. We called it YouTube Sans.”

Everything we make markets who we are and what we are about.

topics: type design, design, branding, marketing

8. Five Exercises to Level up your Design Skills

5 exercises to level up your design skills - UX Collective

This medium post written by Elaine Tran uses design as the lens, but I think the suggestions in the article can be applied to leveling up any skill.

topics: habits, metrics, personal growth

9. Finding Footing in a Shifting World

Living the Questions: How can I find my footing in a shifting world? - The On Being Project

This is a segment from On Being (which is a great podcast by the way). If you’re struggling with the break-neck speed at which life changes, give this a listen (or two).

“But, in the story of real-life – it’s almost a cliché – the endings are always beginnings, and what feel like endings are middles. And I’m fascinated by how our minds struggle to take that in. Then here we are in this moment, which also happens in the true-life story —it can happen in any day, in any week – that the phone rings, that something transpires in a relationship or in a job or, in this case, in the world, that completely upends our plans and becomes not just a transition but a threshold.”

topics: change, transformation, COVID-19

10. Music Challenge: How well do you know your oldies?

Identifying Generational Gaps in Music

How well do you know music? This is a fun little music test from the fine folks over at [The Pudding](https://pudding.cool/). I did well with recognizing the 1960s and 1970s tunes, and surprisingly did horribly for the 80s questions, and did well on the 90s and early 2000s questions—no surprise since I’m a 90s baby.

topics: music, history, trivia, statistics

11. Nifty App: Readwise

Readwise

If you have a kindle or use the kindle app, this a fantastic reading companion app. I read both physical books and kindle books (there are advantages and disadvantages for each). One nice thing about reading on the kindle is the highlight feature. Just select and drag the sentence you want to highlight and then Amazon stores that information on a personal website archive for you.

Readwise makes highlights even more useful by emailing you a daily random assortment of your highlights. They also have a clever way of sending you highlights of physical books, by analyzing your Goodreads and sending you the most popular kindle highlights from the books you’ve read on paper. Booklovers rejoice!

topics: books, tech, apps

12. MUSIC: SG LEWIS

SG Lewis is my jam.

He's a British artist / electronic producer. I can't keep up with genre anymore, but SG would be somewhere in the electro-soul / mellow beats/singer-songwriter spectrum. My favorite album is Dawn, but I enjoy all of them. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention to don't skip over all of his singles.

Related Artists: HONNE, ODESZA, RKCB

13. PERSON: Nick Kohonas

Nick Kokonas (@nickkokonas) | Twitter

Survival Strategies for Small Restaurants - Bloomberg

Nick Kohonas is the CEO of Tock, a “reservation, table, and event management system used by restaurants, wineries, and pop-ups around the world.” He's also the at Alinea Restaurant / Next / The Aviary / Roister / St. Clair Supper Club Founder. Nick Kokonas thinks differently. I highly recommend his article Survival Strategies for Small Restaurants.

14. Quote:

“That’s been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”
— Steve Jobs

15. Shameless Plugs

My Interview with Derek Sivers: How to be More Happy, Creative And Purposeful (RL #16)

This is an episode you don’t want to miss. My conversation with Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby which was the largest seller of independent music online, with $100 million in sales for 150,000 musicians. Derek Sivers is a writer, musician, programmer, and entrepreneur.

The Renaissance Life is a podcast dedicated to the pursuit of creativity, mastery, and a meaningful life.

Well, that's it for this month! I hope you enjoyed the second edition of Considerations.

If you’ve got 5 minutes, I’ve created a 5 question survey so I can learn more about you and what you’re interested in. It’s short and sweet.

If you are into books as much as I am, I’m also creating a monthly newsletter about what I’m reading each month called Bookaholics. The newest edition features some fantastic reads.

Lastly, each month Considerations will have a sister publication called Practices. Where Considerations is about creative inputs, Practices is about creative output.

Considerations is the gasoline. Practices is the match.

Considerations will always be free. But if you are interested in Practices, for only $5 a month or $30 a year, you can receive a thoughtful resource to help improve and change your life.

Also if you convince a friend to sign up too, I’ll give you 50% off. Share Considerations with a friend and if they sign up, send me an email and I’ll send you a discount code.

Thanks for your time.

Be Well. Keep creating.

— Josh,

Renaissance Life

Insta: @Renaissance.Life

Twitter @wiggidywags

Considerations 4/15/20

Edition #2

Josh Waggoner

Apr 15, 2020

Hello friends!

Welcome to another edition of Considerations—a thoughtfully curated monthly newsletter focus on creative inputs for multi-disciplinaries.

If you are new to Considerations, check out the introduction email to learn more about the intention behind this publication.

Here are some interesting things I’ve been considering recently:

1. Crossover Symmetry

I’ve been testing out crossover symmetry every day for 125 consecutive days. I’m not SWOL or look like the Rock, but I have noticed a visually significant improvement in my strength and physique.

Think of crossover symmetry (or “bow-flex” as Gabriella, my fiancé, likes to call it 😆) was designed to correct deficiencies and muscle imbalances to “functionally train movement patterns, not specific muscle groups.” Think of it like resistance bands had a baby with TRX, where you perform a series of pushes and pulls at various angles. They also have an additional Hip band that works yo core and booty.

I’m finding it as a great way to improve my posture and combat too much sitting / computer work, and to be a low-impact way to workout. If you are interested they currently have a sale going on. I started with the Athletic option but recently picked up the Elite bands. It’s a great way to work out while being stuck at home. And if you want to be able to bounce a dime off your butt, go for the CS Bundle.

topics: exercise, posture, physical therapy

2. Shape Up: Online Book by Basecamp

Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters

Basecamp is one of my favorite companies. They are, hands-down, one of the smartest and intentional group of thinkers in the world today. They recently(ish) put up a free online (or PDF) on product development best practices called Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters, written by Ryan Singer. I’m still working my way through it, but I can already say that I highly recommend it to anyone trying to build something, particularly if you are on a creative team.

Additionally, if you’ve suddenly have found yourself working from home recently, they also have a fantastic book on working from home: Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson

topics: business, productivity, creativity, teamwork

3. The History of the Web

Resilient Web Design

Another fantastic free “WebBook” I’ve discovered recently. Resilient Web Design is a lovely and concise book about how and why the web was created by Jeremy Keith (@adactio) A must-read if you make anything on the internet. It’s also excellently written and will leave you wanting more.

topics: web design, history, thinking, writing

4. How Psychedelic Drugs May Revolutionize Mental Health Care

Psychedelic drugs may transform mental health care. And big business is ready to profit from the revolution. | Fortune

Excellent article from Fortune by Jeffery M. O’Brien on the brewing research on the benefits of psychedelics for PTSD, depression, and addiction in therapeutic settings.

topics: health & wellness, medical, business

5. Podcasting 101

Gimlet Academy Has Arrived! – Spotify for Podcasters

A fantastic five-episode series from Alex Blumberg, a titan of audio storytelling. If you are interested in starting a podcast or learning more about how to be a better storyteller, definitely give Gimlet Academy a listen. Shameless Plug: I recently rebooted my podcast, Renaissance Life. I’ve got some great interviews lined up, so be sure to subscribe to your podcast app of choice.

topics: podcasting, storytelling, marketing, shameless-plug

6. Learn Music Theory in Half an Hour

Andrew Huang has a great little primer on music theory on YouTube. The video is great, but Andrew’s personality and humor are even better.

topics: music, music theory

7. Care for a Game of Hnefatafl?

The Best Board Games of the Ancient World | Smithsonian Magazine

It’s nice to know that many cultures throughout history also had their unique board games to strategize, learn and pass the time with.

topics: fun, board games, history

8. Music Recommend: The Main Squeeze

My good friend and music partner n’ crime Damien (Hey D!) shared these guys with me. Their music lives somewhere in the middle of Rock, Blues and Funk genres. There two new singles Karma and Little Bit are killer. After that, check out the Without a Sound Album.

9. Person: Naval Ravikant

Naval (@naval) | Twitter

Naval is the co-founder and former CEO of AngelList. He has invested in 100+ companies, including Twitter and Uber. Naval is extremely insightful and thought-provoking. In my book, following him on Twitter and listening to his bite-sized podcast is essential listening.

Other Great Interviews with Naval:

Shameless Plugs:

The Renaissance Life Podcast: Interview with Alex Lavidge

Alex Lavidge — Entrepreneurship, Personal Branding and Investing in Yourself (#15) — Renaissance Life — Overcast — Apple Podcast

My friend Alex Lavidge (owner of Startup Champs) and I sat down early this year over mics and had a fun conversation. We discuss starting a business, running your life like a business, building a personal brand, validating ideas, getting healthy, books, tech and what it means to create a renaissance life.

If you have a moment to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review for the Renaissance Life on Apple Podcasts, it’s a great free way you can support the show and what I do.

Most Enjoyed Daily Blogs this month on Renaissance Life:

Well, that’s all she wrote folks! I hope you enjoyed the second edition of Considerations.

If you’ve got 5 minutes, I’ve created a 5 question survey so I can learn more about you and what you’re interested in. It’s short and sweet.

If you are into books as much as I am, I’m also creating a monthly newsletter about what I’m reading each month called Bookaholics. The newest edition features some fantastic reads.

Lastly, each month Considerations will have a sister publication called Practices. Where Considerations is about creative inputs, Practices is about creative output.

Considerations is the gasoline. Practices is the match.

Considerations will always be free. But if you are interested in Practices, for only $5 a month or $30 a year, you can receive a thoughtful resource to help improve and change your life.

Also if you convince a friend to sign up too, I’ll give you 50% off. Share Considerations with a friend and if they sign up, send me an email and I’ll send you a discount code.

Thanks for your time.

Be Well. Keep creating.

— Josh,

Renaissance Life

Insta: @Renaissance.Life

Twitter @wiggidywags

Considerations (3/4/20)

Edition #1

Josh Waggoner

Mar 4, 2020

Hi friend!

Welcome to Considerations, a thoughtfully curated monthly newsletter highlighting observations, insights, recommends and curiosities around topics I love.

(I know, I already said that in the intro email, but I thought I’d repeat it in case you skipped it.)

Here are some interesting things I’ve been considering recently:

1. On Being a Multi-Hyphenate

Ryan Holiday: The Case for Being a Multi-Hyphenate

I’ve been slowly stewing (like a nice soup) on Ryan’s work for a while now.

Ever since Trust me I’m Lying and The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan has subtlety become one of my favorite authors without me noticing. The Case for Being a Multi-Hyphenate is a great article for any multidisciplinaries out there.

Topics: Mastery, Learning, Polymaths

2. Learning Synth

Ableton’s Learning Synth

Ableton created a fantastic introduction to how synth music works. If you are a beginner (like me), looking for a refresher or just a curious type, definitely play around with this. It will work on your phone or computer. Sidenote: The design and development of this tutorial they’ve put together is very impressive to boot.

Topics: Music, Science

3. Books make us better:

Penguin Random House: Books make us better

I don’t remember how I found this but boy I’m glad I did. If you love books, Penguin house and London Studio Anyways have created a fun interactive experience to exploring new books to buy or give as gifts. Another excellently crafted website too. And the animations are killer! 😱If you are curious about the work behind the scenes, follow it up with an article on the studio that created it.

Topics: Books, Design, Coding, Animation

4. Figma’s Design Lessons

Learn Design with Figma

Figma is one of the first pieces of software that I flipping LOVE. Like — is it possible to married to an inanimate-browser-based-application — kind of love. Every conversation I have I’ve found a way to annoying mention Figma. Anyway, they’ve created a nice introduction to design pilot that’s worth checking out. Even if you already are a master of design, it’s a great overview and hands-on of the fundamentals.

Topics: Design, Coding, Storytelling, Entertainment

5. The Man Who Made Adidas Cool Again

Buzz Feed News: The Man Who Made Adidas Cool Again

Business Insider: Adidas Unusual Approach to Designing Products is Paying Off

Have you noticed how stylish Adidas shoes (and clothing) looks lately? They are oozing classy and modern. That got me wondering about who was behind their resurgence. So I went to the ol’ google box and found these two interesting articles about Paul Gaudio.

Topics: Entrepreneurship, Fashion/Style, Product Design

6. The Drive: A Podcast I Can’t Stop Listening To

PeterAttiaMD.com | The Drive on Overcast | The Drive on Apple Podcasts | The Drive on Spotify

I love The Drive more than I like my podcast. 🙈 I listen to quite a few podcasts, but not so much lately. It’s because all of my podcast listening time has been sucked up by Peter Attia’s Drive. Peter and his guests are super sharp and most of the time what they are talking about is waaaaay over my head, but I kinda love it for that. Even if you aren’t into medicine or health & wellness, I’d recommend listening to The Drive just to surround yourself with great thinking.

Topics: Podcasts, Health, Medicine, Longevity

7. Sauna Deep Dive:

Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s Research on the Benefits of Saunas

This is an action-packed article (to put it mildly) on the benefits and research around saunas. I’ve been going to the sauna every week for the past two years now. My interest stems from my chronic neck/nerve pain issue. Although it hasn’t healed me, sauna’s have been a lifesaver for reducing pain (aka it takes the edge off).

Topics: Health + Wellness, Research, Pain

Quote:

“You’ve gotta find a way to get out of your own way, so you can progress in life.”
— Steve Carlton, American professional baseball player

Album I’m Digging: Love, Death & Dancing

Jack Garratt: Love, Death & Dancing: Spotify | Apple Music | Youtube

Jack Garratt has such a unique sound. Love, Death & Dancing (Vol. 1) is technically a single — which used to mean ah song, but nowadays singles can be multiple songs. Mara and Time are my favorite. This album has electronic raw gospel singer-songwriter vibes. Follow it up with Weathered from his Phase Album.

The full album will be out sometime by the end of May 2020.

Artist I’m Cry-Laughing to: Hannah Hillam

Insta: @hannahhillam

Hannah’s comics hit my funny bone almost every time. I’m not a cat person (because I’m allergic to them) but her cat humor is exactly how I imagine it is living with cats.

Shameless Plugs:

The Renaissance Life Podcast: Interview with Justin Butts (@Mute0n)

I recently had a great conversation with Justin Butts (over mics). We talked about Art, Running, Books (always) and what it means to be a working artist. Listen to it here.

And if you have a moment, leave a review for the Renaissance Life on Apple Podcasts, it’s a great free way you can support the show and what I do.

Most Enjoyed Daily Blogs this month on Renaissance Life:

Well, that’s all she wrote folks! I hope you enjoyed the first issue of Considerations.

If you’ve got 5 minutes, I’ve created a 5 question survey so I can learn more about you and what you’re interested in. It’s short and sweet.

Have you discovered any interesting articles, books, music or what-have-yous recently? Email me at josh [at] renaissancelife [dot com] and I might feature it (and give props to you of course) in next month’s issue.

If you are into books as much as I am, I’m also creating a monthly newsletter about what I’m reading each month called bookaholics.

Lastly, each month Considerations will have a sister publication called Practices. Where Considerations is about creative inputs, Practices is about creative output.

Considerations is the gasoline. Practices is the match.

Considerations will always be free. But if you are interested in Practices, for only $5 a month or $30 a year, you can receive a thoughtful resource to help improve and change your life.

Also if you convince a friend to sign up too, I’ll give you 50% off. Share Considerations with a friend (and ) and if they sign up, send me an email and I’ll send you a discount code.

Thanks for your time.

Keep creating. Keep challenging yourself.

— Josh Waggoner,

Renaissance Life

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