Know Me No Me #10
Question: What did 2020 teach you?
Hey! I’m Saish and this is Know Me? No! Me! – a newsletter where I talk about everything under the sun or more specifically all the interesting tidbits of knowledge that tickles my neurons every so often when I consume content. I aim to facilitate an exchange of learning between you and me through my writing.
I will try to share my learnings by sharing articles, podcast episodes, some Netflix series and many thought-provoking pieces I encounter. I send this package to an intimate group of individuals and I talk about subjects varying from entrepreneurship, design, art, music and all the way to philosophy.
In a nutshell, this is an adventure through time and the spacebar, as I take you with me in my quest to understand the fabric of the world.
If you are ready for this trip, all you need is to enter your email or better still, bring a companion with you!
On 2020. 😭
This has been a year.
A year with new beginnings, unexpected surprises, new friends, some enemies, lots of work, a pandemic, a world war scare, great experiences, my first full year in France, learning and teaching, providing value, cutting out bullshit, adapting to new realities, ups, and downs, travelling, staying home, drinking with friends, drinking alone, and a whole bucket load of crises and world-ending stuff among other things.
I have learned a lot, cried a lot, laughed a lot and mostly worked a lot. 2020 was an unusual year for all of us. We had to learn how to adapt to live in a reality where outside became so alien to us, it made us think about the importance of everything that exists around us. Small businesses shut shop, companies moved online, tech startups scaled like no one else, and we, as people learned compassion in the hardest of times.
We learned how to be kind and recognise that the world is small and that we need to truly love our neighbours because when the going did get tough, the only people we had were the ones who were around us and our loved ones who kept us going. I believe that this year has cut a lot of people’s hubris down to size and has also empowered others to take action.
This year, I spoke in front of an audience of more than 160 people, visited Tunisia for a business competition, became the president of an entrepreneurship association, started a new company, restarted reading, and gave time to self-appreciation.
This year was probably one of my best ones yet, I say this because of the number of people I met, the friends I made, new people I welcomed into my closest circle and of course having started this newsletter that has given me the chance to finally give a voice to all the ideas that keep brewing in my head and most of all, I thank you, my readers, for having been there by my side.
May this newsletter find you in good health, both mental and physical, among loved ones and inspired to move on to the next year.
Let’s be kinder, more respectful, and more loving in the new year. Here’s me wishing that you all get what you dream of.
Thanks again for staying by my side and if this newsletter has helped you, made you smirk or smile, please consider sharing it with your friends and family and getting them to subscribe.
Love you all and a very happy new year.
Today I Learned 💡
“Consistency may not have immediate rewards, but it’s a hockey stick if I ever saw one”
Most times we tend to give up on newly formed habits right when we’re supposed to reinforce that habit and it has occurred to me more than most because I always keep trying new things but barely keep up with my ideas with consistent effort.
This is something I will work towards mending in the new year, not as a “New Year’s Resolution” but as a step towards improving myself regardless of the date and time.
If you want to be part of a community to keep a check on each other and be productive, message me and I’ll do the needful.
Bookworm Time 📖
I have started reading this book called “The Black Swan” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, who is a spectacular sceptical empiricist.
There are a few things I want to talk to you about regarding this book. Nassim talks about Black Swan events; a black swan event is: first of all, an outlier, which carries great impact, and makes us create explanations after it has happened.
Some examples of Black Swans are the current pandemic, the 2008 economic crisis, 9/11, and many more.
What we do need to keep in mind is that we live in a world of extremes where even a single event can throw all our calculations and reasoning to the bin. We cannot discount even a single occurrence, no matter how insignificant it’s chances of actually occurring really are.
If you do need to know more about this book, talk to me or better still, read it 😁
What I Consumed 🔗
I’ve been reading a lot these past weeks and here are some of the best picks:
The Family’s Advent Calendar with all their directors giving precious advice to all founders
Nicolas Colin and Laetitia Vitaud’s content, syndicated through a network of their newsletters and podcasts
Yoann Lopez’ latest creation: Snowball, a newsletter and ecosystem centred around financial literacy and investing your money smartly (en 🇫🇷)
Starting a business during a pandemic, a podcast episode by the futur
Grégoire Gambatto’s fiery interview with Matthieu Stefani on Génération Do It Yourself (en 🇫🇷)
Ning Li’s inspiring talk with one of my favourite podcasts: Lucky Day Podcast
This video on the importance of the Mandelbrot set and why it seems to affect so many things around us
Good Vibes 🥰
I’ll also be using this newsletter to give a shoutout to people, projects and businesses that inspire me and I hope that you are inspired by them as well and support them in any manner possible!
My talented friend and co-founder of The Jellyfish Collective, Yatharth made this playlist that calms you down in stressful situations (only he knows how many times I’ve used it to calm myself down). P.S. all the music you hear in this playlist is his own.
The Bakang brothers (Tonjé, Bakang and Dikom) are together in building this card game that forces you to rethink relationships and don’t forget, let’s keep it between us 😉.
My favourite fitness gang in the whole wide world, KIIN have been doing virtual runs and workout sessions to support our favourite café, Le Peloton Café.
This year has been hard, let’s support each other and build each other up. ❤️
With ❤️, from Paris 🇫🇷.
Hi! Would love to read the "black swan" book. Where may I find it?