I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
George Clooney gave his friends $1 million in cash...each
Hey there,
Hope you had a good Thanksgiving. Ours was spent at home just Hilary and I with the kids, but it was a nice time playing Catan, building LEGO, and cleaning the house.
This week in the newsletter I've included a few of my favorite stories from around the internet.
FROM CREATOR SESSIONS
Ami Vitale
Ami is an award-winning photojournalist and an incredible story teller. Her creator session is one my favorites so far, and so timely. She has spent decades seeking out the best and the worst in humanity, and she still finds beauty in her fellow humans. She also learned a lot about carving out her own career along the way.
There's so much good stuff in this one, beautiful pictures and so many lessons for any creator.
WHAT I'M READING
George Clooney when we need him most
I loved this profile of George Clooney, what an interesting life and career he has had. Did you know he was widely considered a bad actor when he first started out? Then there was the story of when he gave 14 of his closest friends each $1M in cash, you know, like you do.
Read the full article here »
WHAT I'M READING
On Remembrance Day, Celebrating Two Canadian Prisoners Who Took Down an Entire Shipyard
This is such a great story of bravery under the harshest of conditions. These two soldiers took over a year to painstakingly plan their sabotage, risking their lives every day to do it. I love being reminded of the strength humans can show under such pressure, and I found it really inspiring for my own life, which is nowhere near this extreme!
WHAT I'M READING
A Twitter thread about a Christmas tree
Why does Nova Scotia send a tree to Boston every year? Of course its about more than a tree, its about a tradition born from kindness in the midst of tragedy. Its about the strength and goodness that humans can show to strangers from different countries. Its a good reminder in our polarized climate.
Thanks for joining me this week!
Nathan Barry
I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
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Hey Reader, I’m excited to share something I’ve been working on for over a year: My new essay, The Audience Shortcut: How the Right People Paying Attention Changes Everything. This is the core idea behind how I went from a string of failed startups to building a $45M/year company with no outside funding. It’s not about going viral or gaining millions of followers. It’s about getting the right people to pay attention—and how that changes everything. In this essay, I share the exact framework I...
Hey Reader, There are 50 things you do in a given week, but what are the 5 that actually matter? Most creators I know are drowning in their own to-do lists. They're posting on seven different platforms, running three different courses, testing five marketing channels, and wondering why nothing seems to gain real traction. The harsh reality is that 80% of what we do doesn't move the needle. We're busy being busy, but we're not building the business we actually want. The antidote to this chaos...