I have now made a video on this essay.
"Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known" - Chuck Palahniuk
I was looking for any earphones that haven't yet stopped working in the sea of wires. In the wooden draw. There was a memory card. The old one. Before that.
Some time ago (at that time, it was like 2 years old), I had just started a telegram channel/blog that I am writing each day everywhere I can think of. From reading in between classes at school to be in the middle of the crowded market while my mom does her shopping. And un-surprisingly I do it till today too! I plugged the card into the phone. And I was awed.
The memory card was on my old phone. Which I used to do the majority of my reading task. From articles to reading books. And I had a ton of screenshots. Then my dad's phone stopped working, and I inherent his smartphone. (My first 4G phone). Here are some screenshots that you may find useful.
(A screenshot I took which inspired me to learn/contemplate from as much as diverse sources possible.)
(Maybe this answer on Quora made me consider reading an approach. Little I know at that time that this will open up a universe for me.)
(From the book Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott.)
(Evernote: Screenshots from 2018 and 2019. A ton of work to preserve them.)
An app that used to convert youtube videos into condensed text summaries (like a PowerPoint presentation) that you can read it whenever you want and in a fraction of time. (10-minute video into 30 seconds). I have forgotten the name if you know about this app or heard anything like this app. Please do DM me on twitter at @chetneet.
This blog post ideas article I took. Which had may be unusual? Even though I have more ideas that I want to write about than I have already published, this list still serves me. Here is one.
Another blog post idea.
Well, I hear Thomas Frank saying that its usually lousy Idea. Because that discovery part (the phase where you make a ton of mistakes) goes unnoticed where we take time to know what we really want and that teaches us a lot. And I partially agree with that. Because I think still it can be pretty useful to list out just some ideas which can help someone younger or someone newbie starting in the industry as you are expert in.
One thing I want to say is, I have read a lot on Medium.com and heck I even have some articles published there. And I think my love of writing got some fire from Medium too.
This one is probably written by Ryan Holiday. And he is the one who introduced me to stoicism (geek philosophy). After it, I ordered The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
If you want to start blogging. At least a blog for a year. And I promise the rate at which you will learn will be tremendous. You won't stop blogging/writing even after a year. And a lot of opportunities will open their doors.
I remember a quote that goes something like this, I don't know what I have read that made me today where I am. Which is the same as I don't know what food I have from the beginning? But It kept me alive. I don't know which life excerpt drastically changed my life. But that excerpt must be in one of those 3000+ screenshots. I hope. I would always take a screenshot of anything that stood and appeal to me at that time. Whichever made me want to. While I was looking through them. I realize something. Screenshots that I took was like a script of my life. You don't take a screenshot of everything you read. Just those things which inspire you or something you want to come back later. Saving ideas for your future self. That's a proactive habit. In other words, I remember more often what I saved. And what I really implemented in my life. What I learned and understood to the heart. Whenever you take a screenshot of anything. Two things probably have crossed on your mind.
Hopefully, I will see this screenshot again. Because it is fascinating.
And what if I got too many screenshots that I can't even organize? How to arrange them on my gallery?
I had organized my library of screenshots. And there were more than 3000+ screenshots I have taken. And those are all wonderfully organized on my Evernote account. With that peace of mind. Safety on my personal cloud. Why Evernote? Seamless sync. All of my old screenshots will be present in my next new smartphone.
I received a newsletter from Ryan Holiday. And there are some authors that I check out their blogs regularly. For example, Cal Newport, Bill Gates, Mark Manson, James Altucher, and many more.
I checked out his best articles and saw an article titled as You Want to be a writer and that's the biggest mistake. Astonished, saved to my Evernote. To read it later.
I then read it and saw something. I have already read it. And after some days, I find the exact screenshot I saved a year ago.
One thing is clear. I have taken a ton of screenshot. And screenshots have built me. I may not review my screenshots, but whenever I do, I always find something that means a lot to me. But I still couldn't find any working earphones.
Thank you for reading. It means a lot to me.
Chetneet Chouhan.
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