One
I recently discovered Slo Mo, a podcast with Mo Gawdat, and the first episode that I listened to inspired me to delete Instagram and LinkedIn from my phone. Mo chats with TJ Power, an author, neuroscientist, and speaker who ironically gained his following via Instagram. They discuss how social media is destroying our brains, how gaming can improve our brain health, and how ADHD is a superpower. Very interesting.
Two
My brother sent me this photo of the sunflowers he planted with our mom at her community garden plot. They are flourishing.
It got me thinking about the word flourishing. I know what it means, of course. But I still wanted to look it up. The Oxford Dictionary defined it under two topics:
Success. To develop quickly and become successful or common.
Feelings. To grow well; to be healthy and happy.
The second topic feels so relevant to me right now. And in a really good way. I feel like I’m entering a new season of slowing down instead of moving quickly and aiming for “success”. Or at least how I’ve measured success in the past.
I’m curious, what does “success” look like for you?
Three
I experimented with tofu. My stepmom said she recently read or watched something about shredding tofu instead of cutting it into small blocks. I gave it a try and it was delicious!
Here’s the recipe for the tofu veggie stir fry I cooked:
Ingredients
Shredded smoked tofu
Snow peas
Sweet red peppers
Eggplant
Chives
Soy sauce
Salt
Pepper
Sambal
Cooking instructions
Chop and sautee the eggplant and snow peas
Chop and add the red peppers, continue sauteeing
Shred and add the tofu, continue sauteeing
Add salt, pepper, and soy sauce, and increase the heat for a few minutes
Turn off the heat once you’re happy with how cooked the vegetables are (I like my peppers and snow peas a bit crunch)
Sprinkle chives on top before serving
Add sambal if you want to spice it up 🌶️
Enjoy!
Note: I tried this recipe again and added shredded ginger, something I’ll continue doing in the future. It added a nice kick of flavor. Next, I’ll try adding fresh basil leaves.
Disclaimer: I’m not a recipe developer (and I’m a bit lazy about explaining the steps). If you’re confused about any of this, feel free to ask me about it in the comments.
Four
I recorded a podcast with Marcus from 301 Podcast. He’s an entrepreneur and creative marketeer that I met a few months ago at a networking event. He has a cozy recording studio in Amsterdam East. I’ll admit, I was nervous about the process (and the fact that there were two cameras on me! 🫣), but I had a lot of fun once I eased into it.
We spoke about:
My entrepreneurial journey
Gaining focus in my freelance business
What I’d write if I could send an SMS to the world
And more…
I’ll keep you posted once it’s available for listening.
As vegans, we eat and cook tofu in all its shapes and forms. Shredded tofu with spices makes for a GREAT scrambled egg substitute (aka scrambled tofu) :)
Not having to worry about having an income is success for me.
Maybe not for many years, because that would require a lot of savings, but being able to just leave and do whatever you want for, say, a year, would fall into this category. I'm living it right now, it feels real good. I still work, but I don't have to :)