👋 Hello! I'm Nate Kadlac, and this is #42 of Plan Your Next. It’s a newsletter that connects design, creativity, and how you prepare for your next thing.
Every Sunday, I aim to make this newsletter as timeless as pedaling downhill through the Adirondack Mountains at 50 mph. If you’re new here, join us!
What’s new this week?
👨🎨 You may see a fresh coat of paint in this newsletter. The reason for the change is to further align my site branding and this newsletter. (Even if there is little correlation.)
🎙Working on a new podcast intro for It’s Gotta Be the Mic with Paul Lecrone. I’ve always been bad at hiring out creative work, but Paul is a true talent. BTW, Reza and I are starting it back up this Thursday!
🗺 Putting together a simple email course under the working name, Approachable Design. The goal is to teach design fundamentals to non-designers. Hit reply with any questions you have about design, and I’d love to include them. More to come.
Good morning from Los Angeles!
I stood at the center of a sparse parking lot in Venice, California, looking over my left shoulder.
There, breathing in the salt-filled ocean air, was an eight-year-old girl, standing in the center of a small group of children.
The other similarly aged children were sitting cross-legged on the brisk cement pavement, gazing up at her as she was instructing them to close their eyes and breathe deeply.
Here, an eight-year-old masterfully leading this group of kids in mindfulness meditation.
Venice. Meditation. Not that shocking.
But, I'm originally from a small suburb, who drank two-liters of Tahitian Treat and ate knock-off Chex Mix for breakfast. Meditation was not a tool I had to handle anxiety or stress. At eight years old, I couldn't have explained to you what those emotions were and why I felt them.
I grew up in a strict religious household. My brother once brought up the idea of meditation to my mom, who scoffed at the idea saying, "It's the Devil's practice."
There was no room for self-help without the hand of God, so I never fully embraced meditation until my late twenties.
My own relationship with meditation has been as volatile as Bitcoin. When the currency is being suffocated, I know I should access more of it. But when things are going good, it's easy to think I had it figured out all along.
What kind of strange and twisted world do we live in that this child has more magic mind tools than Link had in Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda?
We're living in a world that continues to give me optimism. At an individual level, we have better access to tools and medicine, if we want them. If only our leaders viewed themselves as imperfect, using self-reflection as a tool to be comfortable with saying, “I don’t know.”
Then on Wednesday, we witnessed a vicious attack against our nation's capital by numbnuts. It was horrifying, chaotic, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. In the moment, I decided to treat the mayhem with wine instead of meditation and reflection. Here’s to future improvement, right?
I certainly don’t have things figured out, but I’m hopeful I can continue to improve, even if it takes a child to lead the way.
⚡️ Inspiration for this week
🧘 Waking up Meditation App
If you read my story above, I’m admittedly trying to improve my mediation practice. The one I’ve connected to the most is Sam Harris’ Waking Up. It’s a good balance of theory and mindfulness meditation, which I prefer.
If you’re looking for a fantastic free version, look at Oak.
🏗 Build Once; Sell Twice
A good summary thread on the process of taking what you know, then selling it.
🏗 A free Loom alternative: Screenity
Loom is a popular tool that makes screen sharing super simple. I use it for showing demos of interfaces that I’m designing or walking through how to use Roam.
Alyssa X created a free Loom-like tool that allows you to also mark up your screen as you record. It’s pretty handy and really fun to use.
🏡 Inspiring aesthetics: New Keys
My buddy Whit just launched a newsletter highlighting inspiring properties around the world under 100k. Even if you’re not in the market for your next home—like me—it’s fun to think about where to go once travel becomes acceptable. You can subscribe here.
👋 See you next Sunday
If you’ve forgotten who I am, here’s a little bit about me. As always, my calendar is always open to chat about your crazy ideas or if you’re creatively stuck.
Have a great week,
Nate
Twitter: @kadlac
Web: kadlac.com
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