The Lights Are On: Seeking a lightbulb moment? There are plenty to be switched on 💡

For all the first-time readers, a warm welcome to you! 🤗 And to my dedicated readers, a (virtual, non-sexual, consensual and grandma-like) smooch 💋

It’s endlessly curious to me how you can hear a message many times, but then in, that one moment, something just *clicks*. 🖱

Trying to re-engineer the specifics is difficult. Was it because of a:

• a particular person relaying the message?

• the medium and story to help you digest a point?

• the right time in your life when you were open to receiving it?

   

I suppose that’s why they say it’s a ‘lightbulb’ moment.💡 The lights in an otherwise dark room are on, you can see things you haven’t before, maybe there is a new set of people in there with you?

I’m in love with that sensation-feeling of growing your mind, understanding new perspectives and the motivation to learn more, put it into action or meet new groups of people that follow. I wonder about those giant human leaps, like what would that one person who sparked their first fire have felt? It’s a pleasure, knowledge and creativity of the mind that must be hardwired into us.

Well, this is my roundabout point to share these moments with you, to pass on those *clicks* and make helpful small or large shifts happen 😘 (same kissing sentiments as above 👆🏼).

Who I’m learning from

“The Top Idea in Your Mind” by Paul Graham, best known for co-founding Y-Combinator. Paul starts in the shower (nothing sexual here, my friends👐🏽). For him, the 🚿shower🚿 is where he was best able to observe his thoughts and notice the patterns of the negative consequences when they fell into the money and/or conflict with others’ buckets.

He hated raising VC money as a start-up (interesting how he became one later) because his thoughts most mornings weren’t about the innovation within the team, a cool marketing campaign or product feature. It was about who he was speaking with that day, what figures he needed to know by heart, the financial opportunity of a lifetime sales pitch, and what would happen to him and his team if he didn’t *crush it*.

😵‍💫 I’ve certainly experienced this, and it isn’t something I’m excited to spend the average six full-time on (likely longer during a recession).

Or conflict with other people-whether, arguments with his family, friends, or colleagues, comparing himself to others, hating a politician or group of people who are to blame for XYZ. 👉🏽 👈🏽

Anger and money woes are exhausting, draining and generally unpleasant experiences. In Paul’s lightbulb moment, he realised paying attention to what took up his mental space was critical to understanding the quality of his life and what needed to shift. I’m sure his showers now are relaxing, optimistic about a new day and imaginative.

I’ve started to pay attention to my thoughts as part of my healthy mental hygiene practice. Let me know if any lightbulbs switch on for you (but don’t take one into the shower, please- I’m not responsible for any electric shocks💀⚡️).

What I’m watching

Bookmark this one on Netflix for some awe-inspiring strength in every sense of the word. Ronnie Coleman: The King is an eight-time world champion of bodybuilding, nicknamed Mr Olympia (have you ever seen so many muscles before?!😵‍💫), including the breakdown of his body in his later life.

There were many tiny sparks were flying in my mind of how:

🤯 he was a competitor mostly with himself,

🤯how his love of helping others through policing never stopped (he continued working as a cop even at his peak),

🤯how his determination, grit and discipline led him to succeed and,

🤯 it was never about the money for him (even though he was born into poverty and still works out at a REALLY crappy gym his buddy owns).

I will place my bets that if you watch this, you’ll feel stronger in some way!🎬

Future Optimism

There’s a lot to be optimistic about if you know where to pay attention. One that the Scale Your Impact initiative is focused on especially zoomed into our future harnessing the power of technology.

When was the Internet mass adopted? Let’s go with 1993, then. So for nearly thirty years, we’ve had minimal ethical governance, protection of universal human rights, little oversight on long-term consequences like tech addictions and considerations around how tech could help people stay safe until the year….(date: TBA). Progress is a bit slow, in my opinion, but the shift is happening and proud to be a small part of it.

Here’s a quick roundup from the week!

• The signal of safety tech is booming, with one company Anthropic AI demonstrating that by raising a $580M Series B round!💸

• The UK’s Online Safety Bill is looking like it will pass, which means FINALLY there will be legislation reforms around the protection of children and active efforts to minimise harassment and hate speech. While it may seem obvious now with so many of the consequences that have followed, tech companies will be held accountable if they are not actively taking measures to prevent harm (not currently the gold standard in getting more attention and ad revenue).

• I’m excited to share that Safe & the City, has launched our i3 React Alert emails this week, giving you an email summary of the most important protests (and hopefully no riots) taking place for the Queen’s Jubilee long weekend. Want to know what’s taking place, how to join or avoid them? Sign up before June 1st here!📥

   

That’s it from me for now.

Bye bye 👋🏻👋🏻

Jillian❤️

www.jilliankowalchuk.com