This morning I woke up to a “Late Night Letter” from Ethan Maurice; one of the most inspiring and intelligent writers I’ve been lucky enough to find online. He’s one of the crazy ones. So crazy he’ll make you question yourself, adding vital little building blocks of perspective and electric sparks of motivation, until you look back and realize you’ve changed your life. With all the constant raucous noise online, this kind of voice is rare. If he read that he’d probably think I’m the crazy one, except not in a cool way. but seriously… sign up for those emails if you’re in a headspace for growth.
Anyway, one of the notes in the email was about this idea called a “Needlestack:”
“The idea of the Needlestack is simple: if everyone with a blog or website had a dedicated page of links to what they personally consider the best pages on the entire internet, and we had a directory linking those pages together, we could separate “the needles from the haystack” of the internet and make the internet browsable by best.”
7 Reasons to Make a Needlestack – Ethan Maurice
I immediately started counting all the amazing people creating incredible resources online. The emails and articles I’m always excited to read. The people who do things differently, who aren’t afraid to dig deep, and who refuse to just accept life the way it comes at them. What would be on my list? So, still in bed, I grabbed my laptop and started writing.
This collection is going to grow and change with me, and I’ll update periodically as I find new and inspiring things to share (with the 5 people who might read it). And, since this is inherently a personal type of project, I know some of these links won’t speak to you the same. I’m not, by any stretch, an intellectual; I have a long unfortunate history of making terrible decisions. I read fiction and comic books. (Fiction will be on my list. Also probably a lot of photography-related bits– go figure.) But these are all honest things that have personally helped me, gotten me through, or formed me in some not-insignificant way. And if you find just one needle to keep from my little haystack of needles, this post has served its purpose.
I can’t wait to spend some extra dedicated time exploring, learning, and collecting. If you’re inspired to create your own needlestack, send me a note and a link! I believe sharing is what makes the world turn, and I’d be so excited to share needles with you. (wait no that came out wrong…)
BOOKS
—
• The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho forever a classic. follow your dreams.
• Humans, by Brandon Stanton cultures and histories, struggles and victories. This book is a dose of perspective that will open your mind to understanding other people.
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and Everything is F*cked, by Mark Manson take no shit, give no fucks, and never lose hope
• Creative Intelligence, by Bruce Nussbaum
• The Princess Saves Herself in This One, by Amanda Lovelace
• The Giver, by Lois Lowry another classic. there’s no beauty in perfection without imperfection. no joy without pain. no wisdom without regrets.
ARTICLES
—
• The One Rule for Life, by Mark Manson on Kant’s moral philosophy
• When Objectivity Fails to Keep us Human, by Ethan Maurice
• The Purpose of Life is not Happiness: It’s Usefulness, by Darius Foroux
• How to Welcome Uncertainty into Your Life and Release Your Worry, by J.A. Boulat for Tiny Buddha
PODCASTS
—
• Way Up North interviews Ryan Muirhead a true artist photographer, open and honest and real.
• Finished, Not Perfect by Jake Parker, and The Art Side of Life interview changed the entire way I think about producing creative work
• Bullshit Jobs, Darius Foroux interviews David Graeber you don’t have to waste your life and your potential for a job. You can always find work if you’re creative and open.
• The Soul of an Entrepreneur, Rework interviews David Sax Freedom is inseparable from Risk
• The Foundations of Abusive Environments, Preacher Boys growing up in the IFB… that’s a story for another post. maybe someday. Faith is not a bad thing, but organized religion is a like a buffet of vulnerable people for manipulators and predators. Stay cautious.
COMMUNITIES & EDUCATION
—
• The Circle by Wildist teachings of the outdoor photography gods
• General Assembly coding classes… for fun
• Unsettled A friendly collective of entrepreneurs, creatives, & goal-setters sharing encouragement & education along all our journeys, plus travel
• Weddings & Wanderlust by Adventure Instead / Maddie Mae – the O.G. Adventure Elopement photographer & educator
• Wandering Weddings everything you need to know about the wilder way to plan a wedding
TRAVEL & ADVENTURE
—
• AllTrails has all the vital info for all the hikes
• Hipcamp when you want an outdoorsy Airbnb
• The Discoverer, Backpackers, Adventure Journal, & Atlas Obscura are my favorite interesting books/ magazines/ blogs to get lost in. Down the rabbit hole!
• Check Dollar Flight Club and Scott’s Cheap Flights for crazy deals on airfare
MUSIC
—
• Esmerelda, Ben Howard Ben Howard is Mood. Best listening for an editing all-nighter, sunrise on a plane ride, or chilling somewhere cozy. And Holy Burgh Island, how captivating is this video.
• Honey Whiskey, Nothing But Thieves sexy. Overall favorite band.
• Daisy, Brand New this got me through one of the darkest times of my life. I’ve probably listened to it, sobbed and yelled out the lyrics at the top of my lungs, at least 100 times.
• ABADDON, Rogerio Silva, Harriet Waghorn & Troy Savic, Alaskan Tapes also a tough time. the choreography & cinematography of this video communicate the meaning on a whole other level.
• Fairytale, Sara Bareilles if I could sing, I would sing this.
• Sick Cycle Carousel, Lifehouse the first song I tried teaching myself to play on guitar (key word “tried”)
• Breathe, Greg Maroney the song I daydream about being able to play on piano
• OK Computer, Radiohead
• August and Everything After, Counting Crows
• Sometimes you just need a good old fashioned crackly vinyl (“borrowed” from Dad), like Alan Parsons Project Tales of Mystery & Imagination, I Robot, Poco Legend, or Styx Pieces of Eight
• If you’re not feeling all these throwbacks, Dreamland, Glass Animals
• Or just forget lyrics & jam Shibuya, Covet / Moving, HERB / Glazey, Sincerely / Baby Sprite, Strawberry Girls / Immersive, Challenger Deep
• Good Apollo I’m Burning Star, IV and the comic book it’s a soundtrack to, by Coheed & Cambria
MOVIES & SHOWS
—
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Beautiful, inspiring, uplifting, funny, brave. Best. Movie. Ever.
• Into the Wild I think most of us, at some point, have thought about running away from society.
• Life of Pi You decide how to tell your own story. You determine your own truth.
• Speaking of psychological thrills, Fight Club and Mr Robot
• Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle There are a thousand hidden references and gems of symbolism in Miyazaki’s stories. IMO, these movies are something like Tarot cards – let the art suspend your logic, and listen for a meaning that speaks to you. You might hear something different every time you watch them again.
TOOLS
—
• Unscripted is a super exciting new resource for photographers, plus an awesome community and a consistently growing catalog of inspiration
• Clickup I’ve tried project management software, CRMs, subscriptions, workflows, apps, tools, excel sheets and planners and binders and checklists…. nothing could do everything I needed until Clickup. Fully customizable, all in one place, and room to grow without costing a fortune. It just clicked 😉
• Narrative is changing the culling game
• PureRef if you’re a visual/ hands-on organizer with a lot of pictures to sort into a blog, Finder does not cut it.
• Filezilla I promise it’s not as intimidating as it looks – FTP gives you direct access to the files that make your website, and knowing how to use it will save you immeasurable time and file space.
• Automator is a superhero hiding on your Mac. Never spend forever on repetitive mundane file tasks again.
