Weekly Roundup: The Power of Surrounding Yourself with the Right People

I write and publish content five days a week.

Knowing that most people don't spend their days scrolling through LinkedIn, I'll share some of my recent writings and readings in this newsletter.

LinkedIn posts

“Fake it till you make it” is terrible advice. This message resonated with many people and was my best-performing post this week.

Living according to someone else’s script. I wrote this post after attending a talk by Paul Millerd , author of “The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story for Work and Life.” We have scripts ingrained in our minds that guide our lives, and we often don’t realize it.

The 7 Level Deep Exercise was one of the most impactful techniques I learned from Tony Robbins when I took his mastermind course in 2019. I've seen variations of this exercise since then, but it remains one of my favorite tools for understanding my aspirations.

I spent years studying careers of legendary figures, including Peter Drucker, Coco Chanel, Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, and many others.

In this post, I shared a framework I’ve developed after noticing a clear pattern across enduring careers. Take a look if you want a career that brings you fulfillment.

How different cultures define careers. Where we live plays a huge role in how we approach our careers. I discuss this in more detail in my post.

Artobiography

This week, my Substack newsletter had the highest engagement since its launch.

Feeling the Music in Art with Wassily Kandinsky was my most popular and viral article so far. I was surprised by how much people enjoyed learning about Kandinsky.?

In addition to writing about famous artists, I occasionally interview inspiring voices in the art industry. Last month, I interviewed Hall W. Rockefeller, an art advisor in New York City. This past Friday, I shared an in-depth interview with Adam Szymanski, PhD, an art advisor in Berlin, Germany. We discussed the differences between valuing the art and equity markets, as well as the promising future of NFTs.

Writer Spotlight: Dr. Julie Gurner

I often hear people say, “I don’t read newsletters outside of the NYT or WSJ.” I would challenge them to reconsider.?

Many brilliant people are sharing their knowledge and expertise through newsletters.

Today, I would like to spotlight Dr. Julie Gurner . She is a doctor of psychology and executive performance coach. She writes a newsletter on Substack called Ultra Successful.?

When I read her article “Why You Should Unleash Your Uniqueness,” I messaged her and said, “I wish I could have read this article 20 years ago. It would have spared me a lot of pain and frustration.”

These two quotes stood out to me the most:

“You can’t be a conventional person with outlier results. While society pressures you to ‘fit in,’ it’s the individuals who either don’t feel that pressure or don’t succumb to it that tend to do the best.”

“Becoming comfortable with who you are and doubling down on it is the key to your path forward.”

Last week, she published an equally powerful piece titled “Cut The Naysayers: Big Thinking Only.”?

Over the years, I’ve made a conscious effort to surround myself with optimistic, positive, and supportive people and limit my exposure to cynical, negative, and pessimistic individuals.

These quotes struck a cord for me:

“You want to do big things? You can’t be surrounded by mediocrity, cynicism, or those who say it can’t be done.”

“If you want to be the best, you must guard your headspace and guard your circle.”

I couldn’t agree more.