#25: hiring freelancers; book in hardcover; kleptomaniacs; weekends; and the most painful way to the Olympic bronze

I'm super fascinated by this new creator economy. Everyone (and yours truly) has a newsletter nowadays, but while for me it's just a fun hobby to cater to my writing itch, it's a survival plan for many journalists across the globe. We read the most successful stories, but let's not forget that over 99% are still barely (if) making a living.

Subscribing to a newsletter basically gives you a better signal-t0-noise ratio. Whatever your hobbies and interests, there is at least one newsletter for sure. And if there isn't — maybe you should start one?

—Who knows, maybe you decide to monetize it one day, and it becomes another source of income. It's a valid alternative to investing in real estate or crypto, ... and it sure beats watching TV or browsing social media.  

• 🖐🏻 I'm late to the party, but I finally started finding purpose for the gig workers. Amazon now allows self-published authors to sell hardcopy books. I needed a new cover, and instead of fiddling around with things I don't enjoy, I commissioned this work on Fiverr. A couple of messages and $44.20 later, you had two happy guys — me and Ahmed from Pakistan. 🇵🇰

• 📔 So, yes — now there's a hardcover version of The Elements of Lifestyle available for order.  If you haven't yet decided on it, check out the chapter impressions to get a taste.
• 🏴‍☠️ For the creative kleptomaniacs, here's my take on the wonderful Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. This book can make a wonderful present! (Or gift someone my book and let me know — I'll mail you a handwritten dedication!)
• 😲 Don't you love a good long-form piece that makes you go WOW? This Atlantic story taught me that the word week-end first appeared in the English dictionary less than 150 years ago! Furthermore, I'll never think of a week the same after this:

What does the week measure? Nothing. At least, nothing visible. No natural phenomenon occurs every seven days—nothing happens to the sun, the moon, or the stars. The week is an artificial, man-made interval.

(And if you're in Sales, a week is a period between two forecasts)

• 🥉 The wonderful folks at AmCham Slovenia hosted an educational event featuring Petra Majdic. If you don't know who she is, you aren't from the Nordics nor interested in Olympics. She's just a regular lady, one year older, with 24 more cross-country World Cup wins and one Olympic bronze medal more than me.
  See this amazing story of how she got that Olympic bronze medal in Vancouver despite four broken ribs and a punctured lung.
  Side note: this was the most emotional Zoom call ever. I barely held back tears. What a story, what a woman!

See you next week.
Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.
Peter K.