Hey folks! I haven't written a newsletter in a few weeks since starting a new gig work role. This has given me some time to think about my freelancing and where I want to be spending my time. Let’s jump in!

Originally this newsletter was meant to be a journal of sorts based around the work I was doing with AI and showing people how to use tools for free. I decided to start doing this because it was something I was really into at the time. I still have a lot of interest in the field, but it's taken a bit of a back burner to the things that are actually getting me paid at the moment.

Which I guess is why I'm thinking of pivoting this newsletter to being a bit more personal. If you know me personally, you know that I am constantly switching between hobbies and interests, and that I'm not afraid to change career directions at all. I spent a lot of time thinking that these were negatives - that I couldn't focus and just pick one thing. But now I see that this is one of my biggest strengths! A lot of people stay stuck in a role for years even though they're unhappy. Some people stay stuck in habits that rule their lives. I am privileged to say that I have never been one of these people. I truly think change is inevitable and an ever-present part of our lives, so we might as well embrace it.

Funnily enough, this is something about me that I don't think is going to change anytime soon. So ultimately I think if I am going to be consistent with this newsletter and writing, I need to change it to reflect things I'm more passionate about. But since those things are always in flux too, I guess the newsletter will also always be in flux. One way I'm thinking of implementing this is by creating a Branden-meter; this will be a chart that shows the distribution of my interests over the past week. This will help me (and you!) track changes in my interest over time and hopefully see some patterns.

This brings me to another thought I had, since I'll be using AI for that tracker. I've also been wanting to just use AI for some more fun purposes rather than just business or professional purposes. I think I've been missing some of that creativity and things like this will push me to create more interesting things in the future! I love random stretch goals and that AI enables me to chase these. For example, I just created an MLB stats prediction model for a few random prop bets. I don't know anything about baseball statistics, but I think this will be an interesting foot in the door for me!

So I guess this all of this goes to say that I want to be a bit more 'real' when it comes to presenting myself professionally. I have many different and often changing interests and that's a strength. On a personal note, I've been identifying some other "superpowers" of mine lately. A few colleagues recommended Mel Robbins' Let Them to me, which I've been enjoying. But I'm also not sure how much I'm getting out of it because this is more or less already how I live my life! I've learned not to be worried by what other people think and to focus on what I'm able to do within my own faculties and truly embody this. In fact, this has just made me want to dive deeper into Stoicism, so I also started reading the 2022 translation of Epictetus' Discourses by Robin Waterfield, which I am greatly enjoying. 

I guess what I mean to say is - someone who likes Greek philosophy, Magic the Gathering, entrepreneurship, coding, psychology, e-commerce, cooking, board games, statistics, mixed martial arts, and more doesn't fit a mould. But also, that person is me! And me and my unique experiences and expertise can never be replicated or replaced. I'm here to stay 😁