For some time I’ve been thinking about writing, but never really spent much time on it. I always liked the idea, but then I ended up focusing on something else like work, sports, reading, or other hobbies. During the last months, I had more free time than usual as the company I was working closed their Brazilian operation. (This will likely be a good topic for the future). So during these 3 months, I got more time to focus on myself, reading, speaking with great people and just spending some time thinking.
Since college, I know that for me writing is really important to absorb concepts and I applied this to formal studies and later to work. Yes, I still write summaries on topics I’m working on to see if I understand what I’m doing. Recently I became a Notion addict and since I left my previous job my Notion has been full of different thoughts about articles/ books I’m reading and my life in general. But why move some of these Ideas from Notion to Substack? As a good Simon Sinek fan I tend to force myself to answer the “Why” question before starting something new. Here are a few things that pushed me to do this.
Organize my ideas. One of the few things I still remember about latin lessons (Yes, for the ones who don’t know in Italy you still study latin in high school) is the phrase “Rem tene, verba sequentur” - from Cato the Censor and can be translated as “Grasp the subject, and the words will follow”. I believe in the concept so much that has become the title of my high school thesis. How does this connect to writing about different topics? I believe that if I’m not able to put what I have in my head in words I don’t fully understand what I’m thinking about.
I’m a little proud. The idea that somebody could read what I’m writing forces me to do it better than I would normally do if it was only for myself on Notion. People could look at this as something bad, but I believe is very positive because it forces me to push myself and get better.
For me doing things is more fun than watching. I love to read thoughtful articles and books about different topics and I admire people who write them. In my life sometimes I look at different types of professionals doing what they do best and think: “This is amazing! Would be great to do what they are doing”. In the case of writing is not like surfing a 10 meter wave because to start I just need a laptop and some spare time. Clearly, I don’t pretend to be as good as a professional, but why don’t give it a shot? Could be fun.
I was looking for a new hobby. During my free time, I love to hang out with friends, eat some good food, and practice sports (picture below). I also like to read and share with people some thoughts about what I’m reading, it feels like a “breath and release process”. If reading is a breathing process, I just can’t keep the air inside, I need to speak about what I’m reading (maybe a little dramatic, but you got the idea). But, as you can imagine, people close to me are not always interested in what I have to say. So I believe that by starting this new hobby some of them will be happy that I won’t annoy them anymore with random things I’m reading.
Now that the why is pretty clear, there is another question that I love (and hate) to answer. “What is success for this substack?” In other words, what can you expect to find here if I’m successful?
No specific topics, but I’ll probably be speaking about business. This won’t be the place where you can find “Everything about X” but I’m passionate about businesses and how impact our lives. I can write about things I’m reading or some lessons I’m having in my personal life.
Go deep and bring my own perspective. On every topic, I’ll try to bring interesting points of view and be clear on what is my position on the subject.
Looking for good conversations. I’ll mainly write for myself, but if someone will be interested enough to read my thoughts I will be more than happy to chat with other people about what I’m writing.
Let’s get started.