3 People | Sources I Follow Closely
We're shaped and fashioned by what we love.
~― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Hello HIVERS! 👋
Today let's talk about 3 People or Sources I Follow Closely.
This topic made me remember a book I read and made some notes sometimes last year, by the author Austin Kleon titled Steal Like an Artist. Am sure some of you out there have checked it out, if not yet, I think it is worth the time. Anyway in the book he talks about a lot of cool points, quoting a myriad of different present and past thinkers, one piece of advice though resonates with today's Blogging Challenge;
In these section Austin starts of with a quote from the 20th century French-American painter, Marcel Duchamp;
"I don't believe in art, I believe in artists."
Marcel Duchamp
I have the book somewhere but I cannot find it as I write this so I am going to be using the short notes that I had written in my Journal back when I was reading through the book.
- "Chew one thinker - writer, artist, activist, role model - you really love
- Study everything there is to know about that thinker, then find three people that thinker loved, and find out everything about them.
- Repeat this as many times as you can.
- Climb up the tree as far as you can go.
- Once you build your tree, it's time to start your own branch."
- "Seeing yourself as part of a creative lineage will help you feel less alone as you start creating your own stuff.
Of course he wrote other stuff too, but to me the above was what I say necessary to always remember. But unfortunately I just kinda forgot that I even had such wise words somewhere in my Journal, yeah definitely life happens but am glad this question made me go back and remind myself of what I had learned back then...
1. Peter McKinnon
Photographer
Back in 2018, in the middle of being lost, and just trying to push to the next day, I accidentally came across this Canadian Photographer on a Video by the famous Tech Reviewer MKBHD. Here is the link to the video. It is really just a normal video but for the first time in a very long time I felt like I had actually finally realized who I wanted to be, what I wanted to do with my life.
I watched it around September, which is funny since I always saw it as a suggestion but I never really gave it much thought, until that day with my frustration of the algorithm always suggesting the video I just decided to get it over with.
Somehow watching that video helped find a part of myself that am not sure I would have, my passion for creating stuff, my love for capturing emotion using a camera, my desire to be a creative. I had always struggled with that desire to create but before then I wasn't sure which medium to use, I had tried drawing but my mom discouraged me and somehow that never amounted to anything because of how everyone was always against it.
But here I was, in Uni I had the freedom to be whoever the hell I wanted to be, and Peter, helped me realize that... I am Peter too so 😅...
Ever since then, I have watched most of his videos if not all, 🤦♂️ If you don't follow him please do, here are links to his website and YouTube Channel.
2. Caitlin Doughty
Mortician
I never admit this to many people, but I am fascinated by Death, I am guilty of thinking too much about it. At one point I definitely did consider suicide as an escape from all the suffering but of course I didn't carry on with it.
After my head was at a much a better place, I decided to just try and learn more about death, in a quest to not only understand but actually make peace with the fact that it is inevitable despite how much we try to deny that fact. The modern man has both consciously and unconsciously came up with ways of lying to himself that somehow he will live forever, and at some point I being me meant accepting that it will actually happen and the earlier I made peace with it the better. And that way I found Caitlin Doughty.
I also believe death has some relation with creativity, or rather introspection on death, but am not sure yet, anyone with a better understanding of this please comment below or write a post and tag me.
I have definitely watched all her videos, even rewatched some of them, she is a lover of history and a combination of the spooky and history, now that's more my jam. Here are her links:
There is so much to learn from her, guys you definitely should check her out, of course not everyone will concur, but still...
3. Lex Fridman
AI scientist
What a better way to top my love for creativity, fascination with death, than with a love for science and the complexity of life?
I have a deeper appreciation for science, taking a Bachelors in Computer Science, and since discovering Lex in one MIT video, I haven't stopped following him closely, and just keeping up with whatever it is he is up to. I love his sorta of detached and kinda cold persona. He also has a huge Podcast with conversatio ranging from the wonders of Science, Philosophy, Psychology, Love, History...just to state a few.
I am not very good at listening to podcast because some I feel like they are not super interesting and I would rather be lost in a novel, but the conversations organized by Lex are always worth the my time. I find new book recommendations, and I get to hear about a myriad of perspectives from people who have made peace with who they really are, pursued their passions, and they inspire me to keep grinding.
Here are his links:
There are so many people I follow closely, but I decided to share the above three since they are the representation of who I would love to be, my views on life, my passions and so much more. The list is definitely huge, there are so many people I keep up with, because I see something a trait in them I would love to develop.
... see you all in my next update!
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Disclaimer:
~ Images credits: pexels.com
