,

I’m back in your inbox, and I’ve been thinking a lot about the air we breathe—specifically, the digital air.

You might not have experienced this, but I remember being a teenager stepping onto the internet for the first time.

I used to see these videos with dramatic, pulsing soundtracks that started with something like,

“5 signs you are going to be a successful person... number 3 will shock you!”

usually narrated by someone trying way too hard to have an “alpha male” voice.

Back then, it was just noise. But these days, I see people who have based their entire personalities on videos like that, and I can’t help but laugh.

The reason is simple: those videos never actually depict the reality of living.

Take, for example, those deep-fried quotes we see everywhere:

“A Lamborghini has only one passenger seat, but a bus carries a lot of people.”

Usually, they end it with some ridiculous caption like,

“If you want to go far in life, you need to work hard alone.”

Every time I see that, I just think,

“What does this even mean?”

I mean, while it is true that no one is coming to save you, you will never actually achieve your dreams by yourself. It’s a facade.

You need people to believe in you, to believe in your dream, and to invest in it however they can.

This "lone wolf" narrative is just a recipe for a very fast, very expensive burnout.

You see, , the internet has become a "Digital Village." On one hand, the free dispensation of information is a miracle.

On the other hand, it’s our greatest threat. Everyone has freedom of speech, which is great until you realise it means everyone is sharing their personal opinions as if they are universal laws.

This creates two major problems that I’ve been grappling with during my time "unplugged."

The first is the ease with which misinformation spreads.

It’s a plague. But the second issue—the one that actually causes more damage—is how often people come online to share “surface-level knowledge.”

It’s all half-baked information. We see the 1% that looks good on camera, the "hustle" performance, and we mistake it for the whole truth.

The real danger happens when viewers don’t take the time to actually research or learn the subject matter. They take that half-baked information and use it to argue, or worse, make life-altering decisions based on a 30-second clip.

This is exactly why I had to take those 100+ days away.

I needed to move past the surface. I needed to stop vibrating and start moving. While I was "touching grass," I realised that authenticity and depth aren't just buzzwords—they are structural requirements for a life that doesn't collapse under pressure.

So, my charge to you this Monday afternoon is this: learn to be a critical thinker.

Do not take everything you see and hear hook,

line,

and sinker.

Whether you’re navigating a new "sidequest" in art or trying to scale a company like I am, the most important tool you have is your ability to ask,

"Is this actually true, or does it just sound good?"

We are building The Creatives Discuss this year to be a space for that exact kind of depth.

No more cardboard cutouts.

No more "Lamborghini" individualism.

Just real people, real systems, and real connections.

I’m looking for the ones who aren't afraid to go deep. Are you still with me?

With love and a whole lot of "perhaps,"

Tésò