The Connection Newsletter 36 - Year in review

Hello!

This is edition #36 of

The Connection

, the weekly email I send family, friends, and future friends (hello!) I’m really grateful you’re here.

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This is the last article and newsletter for 2018. December is usually a busy month for everyone, and we could all do with a little less email. I plan on taking the rest of December to rest, as well to plot deeds for 2019...

To wrap up this year,

I wrote a year end review

, where I talk about the work put into this blog and newsletter, and the results. I also touch on a few personal things and preview what I’m excited about for next year.

Here’s the article

.

And I decided it’d be cool to share the six most popular articles you enjoyed from 

The

Connection

this year. The topics bounce all over the place, which is the point of

The Connection,

anyway. The articles countdown from the 6th most popular to the 1st. 

Thanks so much for letting me into your inbox every Monday this year. I really appreciate it. See you in 2019.

...

Retire, Bitch!

I didn’t realize this generational warfare between Baby Boomers and Millennials was a “thing,” but apparently it is.

...

Seriously impressed with this profile on Johnny Depp

.

Did Disney try to alter his Pirates performance? “Disney hated me. [They were] thinking of every way they could to get rid of me, to fire me. ‘Oh, we’re going to have to subtitle him.’ ‘We don’t understand Captain Jack Sparrow. What’s wrong with him?’ ‘What’s wrong with his arms?’ ‘Is he drunk?’ ‘Is he mentally fucking stupefied?’ ‘Is he gay?’”

…

How Hollywood salaries really work

. This is one of the best breakdowns I’ve read on how pay for film actors works. Key takeaways:

• The quote system (how a star’s initial salary is calculated in the first place) will create salary disparity between actors. Focus on blockbusters and franchises, your quote goes up faster. Focus on Oscar-bait, slower.

• Studios collude with rival studios to get accurate reporting on existing quotes.

• An actor's quote can be supplemented with a percentage of profit pools and miscellaneous "perks" e.g. hotels, private jet transportation, etc.

...

Nat Eliason wrote one of the best posts on productivity out there

. This is Jedi-level, not for the faint of heart, and goes deeper than the usual “hacks” e.g. make your bed, meditate, Pomodoro, etc.

Some key points worth highlighting:

• “I’m almost always working on something”... and why that’s a good thing

• The difference between macro and micro planning

• Clearly defined non-negotiables e.g. sleep, exercise, etc.

• Cleary define trade-offs e.g. television, YouTube, responsiveness, etc.

…

The secret behind every loving relationship?

Try not to fart or shit in front of each other.

A terrific post on relationships.

...

The math behind getting your employees to work 80-hour weeks

. On the surface, this is just another article about the financial anchors of home ownership, car payments, and private school many (including myself) fall into.

Go one-level deeper, however, and it’s a good reminder that if you have the storytelling chops and a unique perspective, you can take a topic that’s been covered to death (financial independence) and find ways to make it fascinating.

The author turns a random drunken conversation into a piece of bro satire that reads like a personal finance fable. Strong recommend.

...

That's a wrap for 2018. Thanks again, see you in January :)

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