On finding hidden mentors. Sunday Surprise (12th June)
It's that time again for the weekly dose of random...
Howdy everyone!
Welcome to the long weekend edition of the Sunday Surprise (otherwise known as the Monday Moment). It’s King Charles’ birthday and all of Australia is enjoying the day off in celebration. What are you getting up to? Hit reply and let me know!
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Thoughts from this week
On finding mentors…
If you were a serious athelete, it’d be unheard of to not have a coach. In other professions or aspects of life, having a coach or mentor is not as common, even though it should be. One of the problems is knowing who or how to even ask someone to mentor you in the first place. Or how to even define the problem you’d like some help with.
I found myself in this situation last week after posting my first “influencer” post with some photos of coffee. One of my goals for the second half of the year is to pursue the more creative endeavours a bit more seriously. While I’m in a fortunate position to not need that to pay the bills, I absolutely loved attending the events and experiences with Samsung and being able to see the bleeding edge of technology in exotic locations.
In the ideal world, I’d have Demas coach me on Instragram and Ali Abdaal guide me in growing my Youtube channel, but not only do I not know them, I’m sure they’re also just busy! I was looking around on the interwebs when by chance I realised that someone I follow on Instagram used to be the social media manager for the state tourism board. Luckily, it was someone I had chatted to about random posts and chit-chat in the past so I didn’t have to send them a “cold” message.
She kindly agreed to answer some of my questions on the topic and even suggested some other avenues I had not thought of at all. I was expecting a “reality check” since I’m not really particularly social media savvy, but rather than that, it was more encouragement to seek out better if not paid gigs! Again, I’d be more in it for experiences, technology or exploring new places but the advice was invaluable and just what I needed.
In a way, I’m glad that it was someone from my small social media following that gave me advice instead of the big shots that I follow. Firstly, those guys are in such a different league that what works for them probably won’t work for me. Secondly, asking someone in your own network probably means that you’ll get things that are more tailored to you given they know you better anyway.
So, is there something that you could use a mentor on? If so, is there anyone in your social circle/work/network that could help? Maybe reach out and ask. You’ll be surprised just how helpful it can be.
Weekly update
This whole “work-life” balance thing might have some legs! Last week was one of the most pleasant work weeks I’ve had in years! I suppose when you begin your week with a lunch time walk by the beach on a Monday, you expect…
Gadget/tech
Motion-sensing LED cabinet lights*
I’ve been waiting for the generic version of this to come out for a while now. The original is called GlowRight but this is similar but cheaper. Essentially, it’s an LED motion light for your wardrobe or cabinet but the clever this is the fact that the battery is removal and rechargeable. Instead of having to move the whole light, you just pull off the battery and now it charges via USB-C ie. the most common phone charging cable.
I’ve ordered some and will be adding to my wardrobe when they arrive next week.
Things you might’ve missed
Ulanzi J12 vs Rode Wireless Go II
Quick review on the mics I’ve been using for the podcast and videos.
randInt S03E06 - What do orcas eat for brunch?
Latest episode of the podcast, recorded via StarLink!
Vittoria Coffee - my first sponsored post!
Well well, it’s come to this has it? Selling out for coffee on Insta 😂
Read
Death’s End*
I took a little break from books the last little while and now I’m back to finishing the Three Body Problem trilogy. Just like the last 2 books, this is a mind-bending sci-fi read.
I wonder how much of it is because it’s sci-fi but coming out of Asia vs the standard US affair that we’re used to?
NordVPN*
If you’re a frequent traveller, you know you’ll be connecting to Wifi at the airport/cafe/hotel as you go. All that web traffic is far less secure than you realise and this is where a VPN comes in, encrypting your data from your device to the server you’re connecting to. It also allows you to access websites/streaming services as if you were elsewhere in the world.
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Weekly Quote
What is the work that continues to do the work for?
- James Clear
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