Conscious Culture 37: The Minimalist Entrepreneur
Aug 26, 2021 3:03 am
The Minimalist Entrepreneur
Welcome to Conscious Culture, a weekly newsletter full of interesting reads for curious, intelligent people who want to sharpen their minds
Hi everyone,
I hope you're having a great week!
In this week's newsletter, you'll find the introduction and first chapter of The Minimalist Entrepreneur, Sahil Lavingia's new book that's available for pre-order, as well as insights on why you feel uncertain about the things you make, crowds and technology, and the difference between web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0.
Also in Tools and Resources, you can find out how Google targets you.
Feel free to hit reply and let me know what you think.
Interesting Reads
Sahil Lavingia, the founder and CEO of Gumroad — a platform that helps creators sell their products online, is writing a book, and here is a look at the introduction and first chapter. In January, I shared an article written by Sahil on how there are no meetings, no deadlines, and no full-time employees at Gumroad. People work at Gumroad as little as they need to sustain the other parts of their lives they prefer to spend their time and energy on: a creative side-hustle, their family, or anything else.
If you enjoy reading the chapters, you can pre-order a copy.
Some Highlights I made after reading:
"Building a minimalist business does not mean settling for second best. Instead, it’s about creating sustainable companies that have the flexibility to take risks to serve the greater good, all while empowering others to do the same. Being profitable, hopefully from the very beginning, means being able to focus and to stay focused on the reason you started a business in the first place: to help others."
"Eventually I realized that a business is not an end in and of itself. A business is a tool to make or do stuff, a legal structure; that’s it. At first I didn’t need a company, but eventually my creations required a legal structure, a team, and an operation to make the stuff I wanted to make, so I started a business."
Why You Feel Uncertain About Everything You Make
"Getting others’ opinion can be valuable, until it’s not. So we must choose carefully when and how we get it. And realize that ultimately, our own opinion is what makes our work original."
"Social platforms are The Great Enabler. They eliminate the need for physical proximity, yet provide a readily available standing group of individuals to call to action at any moment in time. The effort required to participate in a digital crowd is much lower than in the real world: you don’t have to yell or march or carry a sign, just click the Share or Retweet button from your couch. The cost of participation is also much lower: you’re unlikely to be physically harmed, arrested, or killed as a participant in an online crowd. In fact, you can usually participate anonymously."
Learning
Differences Between Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0 Standards
"Find out the differences between web 1.0 vs web 2.0 vs web 3.0. Web 3.0 refers to the third generation of web technology that is yet to be fully realized. It comprises semantic web and usage of artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D graphics to create the next level online experience that one could only dream of just a few years back."
Tools and Resources
"The Brave browser is a fast, private and secure web browser for PC, Mac, and mobile. Download now to enjoy a faster ad-free browsing experience that saves data and battery life by blocking tracking software."
"Brave blocks trackers by default, so that you can browse freely and anonymously. From foiling attempts to record your online activity to preventing the installation of malware on your computer, Brave’s built-in blocking tool, Brave Shields, works overtime to stop online stalkers in their tracks."
Note:
http://adssettings.google.com shows you how Google is targeting you.
"A collection of thinking tools and frameworks to help you solve problems, make decisions and understand systems."
Fun Stuff
"Talk with an AI that speaks and thinks like Kanye West"
"A game of exploring and racing through Wikipedia articles! Fun and surprise await as you go down the "Wikipedia rabbit hole" and find the "degrees of separation" of sometimes wildly different topics in this addictive and educational game."
Quote of the Week
"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become."
— James Clear
🎉End
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With gratitude,
Will