TEJI TUESDAYS 
Issue #036 · 2 July, 2024

Hi All!

Here is your weekly dose of TEJI, a weekly round up of what I’m pondering and exploring. Feel free to forward along to a friend if you think they might enjoy.

The Bic Pen

Lately I’ve been really interested in democratised tools. I found a really great video explaining the impact something as simple as a Bic pen has had on literacy rates around the world.

Products like the iPhone, YouTube and now ChatGPT are having a similar effect. Anyone can now learn anything they want if they’re interested enough and willing to put in the work.

We literally have super intelligent computers at our fingertips and we often ignore the privilege and access we have. It’s crazy to think that we have access to the same tools the people that are literally running the world are using.

The video below is a super fascinating case study on the impact a great product can have on the world. Now zoom out and try imagine the impact things like YouTube and ChatGPT is going to have.

Things are about to get crazy.

The Non Linear Path

How do you know where to go when there’s no clear set of directions?

You don’t.

You fully embrace and accept the unknown in its entirety. When you walk the non linear path you learn to trust and whether that’s in god, your vision or your heart you need to believe in something.

The non linear path is scary. You don’t know what can happen and you often question your choices and the way things are unfolding. Even though you feel lost you keep going. You begin to feel the outside pressure as the people around you often question your direction.

To them it seems odd and quite peculiar. But you’ve learnt to gracefully take outside opinions as you wish. You find comfort in this pressure as you learn to let go. Your trust flourishes even in times of uncertainty.

Things begin to fall into place. Life’s amazing and then it isn’t. The non linear path takes you down a virtuous cycle of growth you’ve come to appreciate. The ups and downs, it doesn’t seem to make sense. You ask yourself why you are here and others are there. Jealousy, regret and even anger begin to rise. Until you realize the comparison games are a fruitless effort that only keeps yourself hostage.

You begin to understand it’s all relative. You’re on your own path and others are on theirs. You’re no better than anyone else and no one’s better than you.

It’s hard to believe but it’s all going to make sense in the end and even if it doesn’t, wouldn’t you rather hold on to hope until the very end instead of living in fear for the rest of your life?

The Death of The Follower

The majority of content you consume on social media isn’t even from the people you follow. Back in the day you could subscribe to your favourite creators and have their content delivered consistently. However, today if you post something its likely that 90% of your following won’t even see it.

This is exact problem was what inspired Jack Conte to create Patreon. He recently did a fantastic talk on the Death of the Follower & the Future of Creativity on the Web at SXSW.

It’s a fantastic video I’d really recommend you watch if you have a spare 45 minutes.

Don’t take it personal

If people don’t like what you do or the things you make, don’t take it personal. The same goes if you miss out on a job, a sporting team, a girl, a boy. Sometimes it’s just not the right fit for the other person, team or organisation.

Managing your emotions and not losing your cool is a really important skill to develop in the face of rejection. Check out the short video below of Pharrell speaking on this exact idea.

I love bad art

The reason why I enjoy so called bad art is because it feels relatable. It feels like I can grasp at it in with own two hands. It feels raw and authentic. It feels like someone tried something and even though they weren’t perfect, they had a go.

When I see “bad art” I think to myself:

“Maybe I could do that” and I find that really motivating.

I stumbled on a great video essay last week, explaining this very concept in much more detail I thought you might like.

Feel free to give me feedback on Twitter. What did you like? What do you want more of? What do you want less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a tweet to @TEJITOPIA and put #TEJITUESDAYS at the end so I can find it.
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Hope everyone enjoys their week!
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Love
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TEJI (@tejitopia)

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