Hey Reader,

Jeff here for the ninth edition of the Finley Fridays Newsletter. Today's going to be a bit different than usual. A lighter and less serious breakdown of what I've been up to this week:

What I've Been Into:

Hanging out at the library. I gotta thank Cara for this. She's a former librarian and got me into this habit. I usually come hang out once or twice a week and work, read, and relax. It's such a nice environment.

They also have tons of movies, shows, and other stuff you can check out for free that you'd have to pay streaming services for. There's the Hoopla app for ebooks, music, audiobooks, etc and services like Kanopy (for indie films) and Libby as well. I also managed to get a free Udemy subscription sponsored by my local library. How cool is that!

I got a Kindle (2021 basic edition) and have been loving it so far. I'm on a 30-day trial of Kindle Unlimited and found some of the books in my wish list were available so I've been flying through them.

I can also check out eBooks from the library and read them on my Kindle. I didn't know you could do that! I'm excited. My favorite thing is that it's easier on my eyes than my phone and I'm not distracted by all the other apps. I can just focus on reading and highlighting.

I'm still using Readwise to save all my highlights, but I'm not sure if I'm willing to pay $5/month for this feature. My free trial is almost out.

Busting Loose: One of the books I've been digging lately is Busting Loose From the Business Game by Robert Scheinfeld. I read his other "busting loose" book about money years ago and loved it. It's one of those "don't judge a book by its cover" type books and either resonates with you or doesn't. It looks like corny self-help drivel, but it's actually much deeper than that and well written too.

Finished The Tao of Pooh. What a nice diversion from serious self-help stuff. Wu Wei all the way baby.

The films of Sean Baker. I watched The Florida Project for the first time this week and loved it. At the time I'd been thinking a lot about poverty mentality and getting into Reality Transurfing and Law of Attraction stuff. Then I see this film about poverty but through a child's eyes. As an adult, you know how dire the situation is but the kids still find magic in the most unlikely places, always exploring and adventuring.

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I also watched his films Starlet and Red Rocket on Kanopy, both great, and cementing Sean Baker as one of my new favorite directors.

Women's College Basketball. Cara and I got into watching these games a few years ago when high school basketball phenom Paige Bueckers was going viral on YouTube. She entered the collegiate level with a class of other prospects like Cameron Brink, Hailey Van Lith, Angel Reese, and Caitlin Clark. We got addicted.

Side note: Cara and I were on our 2nd or 3rd date in 2019, and we discovered we had a mutual interest in women's basketball. She used to play on her varsity basketball team in high school and I used to edit women's b-ball highlights during my internship with FOX Sports in 2004. I got hooked after watching Diana Taurasi winning National Championships for UCONN. I loved the passion and intensity of these games and it was hard not to get into it.

Four years later, Iowa's Caitlin Clark is taking the world by storm. People who've never cared to watch women's basketball are watching and she's selling out arenas wherever she goes. They call it the Caitlin Clark Effect.

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Cara and I got to see her play live last year when her Iowa Hawkeyes came to Ohio to play OSU. Tickets were like $30. I went to buy tickets for this year's game and they were like $200 for nosebleed seats. Sheesh. But hey, we're still going to see our other favorite team UCONN when they come to Cincinnati to play Xavier later this year.

The women's Final Four is taking place in Cleveland this year and it would have been cool to go to a game, but ticket prices are through the roof due to how must-see-tv it's become. We'll happily watch from our couch in our home though!

👀 Watch Caitlin drop the first ever 40 point triple double in men or women's college basketball history during last year's Final Four.

What I'm Doing Less of:

Talking about anxiety. Sometimes the thoughts in my head are just not worth expressing. I tend to default into a confessional writing style because that has always felt authentic and real. To cut through the bullshit and talk about what's really going on.

But too often I end up writing about "the struggle." I think it's an attempt to feel seen and heard. To help others feel less alone. To get away from the "highlight reel" of internet content.

It's also too serious. Why aren't I talking about things I like? Things I think are cool and neat?

Cara and I are also making a point to cut back on heavy convos during the week. As much as we love a brainy deep dive into the nuances of the mind, we're going to save those for the weekend when we can intentionally connect over coffee and tea.

Now that we're living together, we can be too hyper-aware of each other's moods on a daily basis. Communication is healthy for relationships, but sometimes it can be too much. We're giving ourselves more space and less pressure to talk about every little idea, insight, or difficulty.

What Else:

Music Hosting: I want to upload all of my old BOXOMYLK music to streaming platforms. Considering paying the extra monthly costs on Distrokid to manage more than one artist. I think it's like $40/year. My Soundcloud Pro expired and I didn't find it worth the cost.

Website Redesign: I'm still looking to redesign my website. I made some subtle improvements to my homepage. But I would still like to have a more modern and creative aesthetic. For it to be very fast and lightweight. To be a solid home-base for my creative content, music discography, and all my products/shop. I'm open to recommendations!

AI Journaling. It's been almost a month using Rosebud, and I like it. It hasn't replaced Day One for me though. It's less an archive of my thoughts and more of a personal growth assistant. I use it to dialogue with and analyze my entries and look for trends, patterns, blind spots, etc. I highly recommend it.

Artist Community? Wouldn't it be cool if we had some sort of artist community to connect with each other and share work, insights, etc. And something where we could have local meetups in different cities. That would be fun.

Well that's about all.

Jeff ✌️

PS... In the spirit of the new year, you can save up to 60% off my book Wake Up until the end of the month. Upgrade your morning routine and stick to your habits. Get it in paperback, ebook, audiobook, or with bonuses. It's also free on Kindle Unlimited.

Have a good weekend!

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The Official Newsletter of Jeff Finley
​Designer, Author, Mystic

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