SUNDAY SCROLL: There Is More Than One Way To Live
Something new to read, watch, look at, listen to and do to #bemorehuman
My gosh, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks and I have so much to catch you up on! I’m afraid I missed a few posts due to other creative projects including acting in a new short film from Bruh Collective called ‘Out of Scope’, which should make anyone who has ever dealt with a difficult client laugh! I also attended a film premiere, played my second gig in 20 years and spoke at a content conference about my podcast ‘The Business of Storytelling’. However, I have culled my list of links and selected only what I truly believe you need to read, watch, look at, listen to and do this week to #bemorehuman. I hope you enjoy it, N.
Read this…
I often disturb the parents of other children at my daughter’s school by voicing aloud, and within earshot of their offspring, my ambivalence about her attending university for any career that strictly speaking doesn’t require a degree. In fact, just as my parents didn’t want me to end up in the factory or on the building site, I don’t really want her to end up in an office, staring at a computer screen all day, ruining her eyes and her back hunched over a spreadsheet of made up numbers. There is, after all, more than one way to live but sometimes that life is hard to imagine if you’ve never seen it, which is why this Rice Media story caught my eye: Ashish Kumar Was a Top PSLE Scorer. Now, He’s a 31-Year-Old Retiree. Ashish acknowledges his privilege and has made sacrifices but see what you think of his decision and lifestyle in the article above and hear from him directly below.
Watch this…
Like Ashish I too chose a different life to a lot of my friends; I migrated to a different country, started my own company, then sold it and became an independent consultant, but I am still curious about other lifestyles. Right now, I am spending increasing amounts of time writing ‘Pro-Human’ as well as fiction, and ramping up my acting and hosting work. Having been creative on behalf of my clients for 15 years, I am feeling an unignorable urge to create for myself and thus have been investigating the so-called ‘creator economy’, which led me to this presentation by musician and Patreon founder Jack Conte. I have seen Jack speak before and he’s a brilliant bellwether for where the Internet is headed, especially for creators, so this is a must-watch not just for them but anyone thinking about creating for a living or for a different life.
Look at this…
One of the keys to a successful creator economy is the economy component. Jack Conte built Patreon to help creators build businesses and Substack has done much the same for writers, but there is still far too much money spent on dead or dying artists (yes, the Rolling Stones have announced yet ANOTHER tour!). My rule is; stream old artists but support new ones by buying their books, records, prints and tickets via Patreon, Substack, Bandcamp, Eventbrite or even going to the cinema. If we don’t then we’re doomed to a world of holographic ABBA shows and A.I. Tom Cruise endlessly running from V.R. explosions in M1:27 and nobody wants that, surely?!
Listen to this…
One of the best things you can do to escape the rat race and adopt a different lifestyle is to live simpler and spend less. My wife and I both work for ourselves and have sacrificed potentially high corporate salaries for more personal freedom and flexibility. We live within our means and are grateful for what we have but it can be hard to quit conventional thinking about success and money.
This podcast by
, author of on Substack, is an accompaniment to her book ‘The Success Myth: Letting Go Of Having It All’. There are five episodes in total but the first features founder and CEO of ‘The Financial Diet’ talking in unusually candid terms about working and paying herself less to reduce anxiety and increase time for family, friends and fun.Do this…
Speaking of fun, there’s lots of fun stuff happening for readers here in Singapore:
‘Rock For Noah’s Ark’ is a charity gig happening at the Blackbird featuring a packed line up of some of my fave local bands including Caracal, Pleasantry and Subsonic Eye. It’s happening from 1pm - 6pm on Sunday 26th May, get your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/rock-for-noahs-ark-2024-tickets-877521940747.
As AI content starts to clog up our feeds I have a suspicion (or is it a hope?), that analog media may make a comeback and you can be part of it by publishing your own ‘zine. Learn how by attending this workshop by Objectifs from 2pm - 5pm on Saturday 8th June, get your tickets here: https://www.objectifs.com.sg/starting-a-personal-zine/.
Baybeats, Singapore’s largest alternative rock festival, has an open call for bands, photographers and writers so if you fancy your hand at music journalism, here’s your chance: https://www.esplanade.com/baybeats.
That’s me done, enjoy the rest of your Sunday and I’ll see you again on Thursday. In the meantime, you can keep up with me on IG at https://www.instagram.com/nealpmoore/.