Why I Started This Newsletter
I came downstairs and it looked like a mad scientist was in the kitchen. Sugar was everywhere. Milk was carefully placed into measuring cups. Heavy cream was present though I didn’t know what heavy cream was for. Something green was brewing on the stove and in the background, an episode of The Crown was playing.
In the middle of the pandemic, I was witnessing the start of my wife’s ice cream business. She was perfecting her ice cream base and dreaming up new flavors to delight her growing list of customers.
She was doing something that was completely unique to herself and I was inspired.
I wanted in. Since I am no good with my mise en place, I knew she would not let me anywhere near her beloved KitchenAid mixer. So I began thinking of a project that I could take on during quarantine, something that could bring joy to others the way her ice cream did. It had to be something that was unique to me and something I thought I could be good at.
So I started this newsletter.
The newsletter would help me in three ways:
- It would force me to improve my writing and help me quickly build up a library of writing samples.
- It would force me to clarify the thoughts in my head and give me space to wrestle with important concepts.
- It would allow me to share what I’ve learned with more people.
After reading Atomic Habits, I knew that I would need to build a routine around writing if I were ever going to be consistent at it. My first decision with this newsletter was that I would write every single day. As Clayton Christensen said, “It's easier to hold your principles 100 percent of the time than it is to hold them 98 percent of the time.” Daily writing would help me lock in the habit faster.
Next, I decided that I would publish five days a week for accountability and to curb my perfectionism. Publishing at a greater frequency forces me to think of my newsletter as a conversation versus an art piece. I strive to put out really great content, but as Austin Kleon reminds us all, you have to Show Your Work. There is no dialogue without words.
Lastly, when I first created the newsletter, I only shared it with a few close friends. I knew I could use them as early adopters to help me find my voice and rhythm. Their criticism would come from a good place and their praise would be genuine. I knew that if it wasn’t good, they would tell me and the worst-case scenario would be that I had started journaling daily as an experiment. I lowered the stakes of publishing so that I could build up confidence in my writing.
I then thought of a name, drew up a quick logo, and it was off to the races.
So, that’s the story of why I started Framed Perspective.
If it’s been useful for you, feel free to share it widely.
Oh, and we have some ice cream for sale.