Here I will share the resources that are helping me, not only in my journey as an entrepreneur but also in my personal life. Recommendations are very welcome!
Writing tools
ProWritingAid – The paid version is well worth it: a wealth of features that will assist with spelling and grammar checks. They have a website and newsletter that offers interesting webinars, workshops and blog posts with useful info for (aspiring) writers. It’s like having a brilliant assistant, editor and publisher rolled into one affordable package.
Marketing
I follow some newsletters that give me weekly insights into (copy)writing, SEO, social media etc etc. Brian Dean from Backlinko shares a wealth of free insights in his dispatches.
Productivity
Atomic Habits by James Clear – I started by following his newsletter and then wolfed down his book. Concise, smart and immediately applicable actions that you can use in your own everyday life and work.
Mental and physical health
I quit drinking alcohol a few days after my 45th birthday. Last year I didn’t drink for four months, this time I’m happily determined to never drink again. I could fill a page with the reasons why but this book explains a lot of the reasoning behind my decision: Quit like a woman by Holly Whitaker (also a good read for guys). The question that doesn’t get asked enough is ‘why DO you actually drink?’. I’m still enjoying a busy social life, I’m dancing a lot more, I go home when I’m tired or bored. Overall I’m feeling a lot more balanced, and a badass for being free.
Philosophy and contemplation
Here are some beautiful and brilliant newsletters that make me pause and think about (online) life every week.
Snakes and Ladders by Distinguished Professor of Humanities Alan Jacobs. His eloquent writing is influenced by his Christian beliefs and for the first time in decades, I don’t find this annoying. Every newsletter includes a bunch of links to other interesting reads or listens.
The Convivial Society, a newsletter by L.M. Sacasas. He thinks and writes eloquently about technology, culture and ethics. His starting point is often an idea by Ivan Illich.
China
I follow domestic and international mainstream media about China in general and Yunnan in particular – politics, economy, society. I also follow a bunch of international (American) newsletters, ‘semi-domestic’ newsletters from Hongkong and domestic newsletters (from Shanghai) that are skirting the edges of censorship and addressing issues in Chinese contemporary (online) culture and society. I think it’s good to hear a wide range of critical voices, as only reading Western media gives a very limited and skewed view of the China of today.
International media
I have paid subscriptions to The Guardian and The New York Times. Support independent and quality journalism!
What’s on Weibo is a website and newsletter by Dutch China scholar Manja Koetse. She follows hot topics in Chinese social media and translates and condenses raging online debates into a newsletter, shining a light on what’s on Chinese people’s hearts and minds. You’ll be surprised to find out how much (online) debate is happening behind the Great Firewall.
Trivium China reflects on Chinese policy and economics and how that affects the rest of the world (but mostly from a US perspective).
SupChina “is New York-based… We inform and connect a global audience regarding the business, technology, politics, culture, and society of China. SupChina exists to provide audiences around the world with an accurate, comprehensive, and contextual understanding of China — a country whose rise may very well reshape the entire world order”.
Semi-domestic media
SCMP (South China Morning Post), which also publishes Lunar – female voices in Asian media and society – and Inkstone “a digest of China-focused stories providing unvarnished insight into a rising superpower.”
Domestic media
Sixth Tone is an online magazine owned by the Shanghai United Media Group, a state media company controlled by the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Considering Sixth Tone is effectively a Party tool, they offer interesting and often critical writing of Chinese society, ranging from rural life to eroticism.
Radii “is an independent platform of artists, writers and creators dedicated to sharing vibrant stories from the rarely explored sides of China”. RADII was founded by Brian A. Wong, former Vice President of Alibaba.