Happy Sunday, readers!
If you're returning, thank you đđŒ. And if you're new, itâs nice to have you.
Something that helped me start this is deciding I didnât have to have an opinion, I just had to share things that caught my attention and start a conversation to invite others in.
Iâm keeping it short this week as Iâm on vacation and âtryingâ to avoid the internet.
If the links below resonate, feel free to forward this email to a friend, and encourage her to sign up at sariazout.substack.com
Cheers from đȘđž,
Sari
âYou come home, make some tea, sit down in your armchair and all around thereâs silence. Everyone decides for themselves whether thatâs loneliness or freedom.â
- Anonymous
caught my attention
One of my favorite thinkers, Naval Ravikant, advises us to âBe too busy to âdo coffeeâ while keeping an uncluttered calendarâ. People want to do coffee and build relationships, and thatâs fine early in your career when youâre still exploring. But later in your career when youâre exploiting, and there are more things coming at you than you have time for, you have to ruthlessly cut meetings out of your life. (đ§podcast)
In A Short History of 52 Cups, âMegan Gebhart shares the highlights of her yearlong experiment to meet a different person for coffee every week. Her last cup of coffee was with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
This Consumer Packaged Goods Directory đis the best and most complete list of well branded startups selling stuff online - from millennial toothpaste, to luggage, paint, and CBD infused everything.
Remember Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day? The book's author, Judith Viorst, is turning 90 and is happier than ever. Her book Nearing Ninety opens with a wonderful quote from philosopher George Santayana: âTo be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.â Instead of wistfully looking back at what we once had, or anxiously imagining what might come, what Judith is inferring is that we ought to be seeking the satisfactions, pleasures, and meaning the season weâre in has to offer us. Her advice is worth your time! đ
David Brooks on the Moral Perils of Meritocracy. One of the best things Iâve read this year. đ
Esther Wojcicki explains how she raised the CEOs of YouTube and 23andme on Recode Decode with Kara Swisher. One of those âsimple lessonsâ is to trust your children and give them freedom and responsibility from a young age â the opposite of todayâs prevalent âhelicopter parentingâ style which she argued produces incapable, self-doubting kids. ( đ§podcast)
A heartwarming thread about Floyd Martin, who retires after being a mailman for 35 years. đ
On my đshelf: Iâm half way through The Lessons of History by Will Durant and Iâm fascinated. Iâm typically not drawn to history books but Kevin Systrom recommended it on the Tim Ferris Show and the authors attempt to compress 100 centuries into 100 pages of practical conclusions was very tempting. I will report back when Iâm finished.
overheard on twitter
Terrorism, homicide, and suicide account for nearly 70% of deaths covered by the media when in reality, these causes amount to <3% of deaths each year.
If youâre wondering whoâs behind this newsletter:
My name is Sari Azout. I am a design-thinker, storyteller, and early stage startup investor at Level Ventures. My mission is to bring more humanity and creativity to technology and business.
Want more?
Follow me on Twitter, Medium, and LinkedIn.Â
Know a founder i should meet?
Drop me a note at sari@level.vc