The Mix Tape, Vol. 53
Welcome!
This week, I spoke with entrepreneurs at the Tampa Bay Technology Accelerator about writing online and building a company in public.
(Thanks for the opportunity, Ken Evans!)
My message was simple:
All the barriers to writing online are personal and emotional.
The slides and speaker notes from our discussion are posted here.
Write in public, learn in public. It helps everybody.
The Terminal List
What happens when a trained Navy SEAL channels his formidable training, expertise, and rage into a Charles Bronson / Death Wish-style vendetta?
Author Jack Carr shows us in The Terminal List, a violent, compelling, and opinionated fictional story about a Navy SEAL named James Reece. It’s not a book for everybody. But it was a book for me.
Carr has an interesting story of his own. He served as a SEAL, platoon commander, and commander of a Special Operations Task Unit during a 20-year military career.
He prepared early for his two-stage career, knowing he would first serve his country and then write. As a kid, and later while serving in the Navy, Carr spent his free time reading and learning about fiction. Late in his military career, he began to write:
Carr’s firsthand military experience shines through in the book. Only someone on the inside could paint a story with the operational detail, emotions, and military politics Carr uses.
The book is first of three, and the stories will soon become an Amazon Prime series starring Chris Pratt.
I loved The Terminal List, and have already started on the second book, True Believer.
You can read a deeper review of The Terminal List here.
How to choose a note-taking app
Anne-Laure Le Cunff takes a unique look at choosing from the approximately 70 bazillion note-taking apps now available. She argues we should first think about how we use note-taking apps:
The architect. They enjoy planning, designing processes and frameworks, and need a note-taking tool that allows them to easily structure their ideas.
The gardener. They enjoy exploring, connecting various thoughts together, and need a note-taking tool that allows them to easily grow their ideas.
The librarian. They enjoy collecting, building a catalogue of resources, and need a note-taking tool that allows them to easily retrieve their ideas.
Like most writers and creative-types, I take notes like a gardener. Anne suggests Roam, amongst others, as a good choice for that group. For a deeper dive, read her entire article and it will help you make sense of the many note-taking options.
The imposter’s advantage
Zain Rizvi, on that time he was sure he was going to be fired from his job at Microsoft:
Okay, this is it. Deep breath, poker face on. No matter what, I wouldn’t let him see me sweat.
I stepped inside. Scott was sitting at the table, laptop carefully angled to hide the screen.
“Have a seat” he said, gesturing to his right. As I sat down, Scott looked straight at me. He opened his mouth to give me the news. But it wasn’t what I expected.
“Congratulations, you’ve been promoted”
Imposter’s Syndrome is the feeling we don’t know what we’re doing, and soon, the entire world will know.
Spoiler alert: everyone feels that way, at least sometimes. Rizvi’s article helps us reframe that fear and move through it.
Don’t forget: We’re all making it up as we go along.
One of the many great things about Florida: You get plenty of quality photo ops without really needing to go anywhere.
The Mix Tape community is growing. Thank you for reading and sharing.
Please send me your thoughts and suggestions. It’s great to hear from you.
See you next week.