Reboots and Insights
This week I'm sharing quotes from a new book I'm reading, and discussing reboots and sequels.
Welcome to Notes from Erin, a newsletter about all things from music, reading to productivity. I’m glad you’re here - subscribe below if you got this email from social media or a friend.
I want to start today's newsletter by saying happy belated International Women's Day to all the women who read this newsletter. Yes, we are awesome and deserving of a holiday. For this day, I am dedicating two songs to you, and neither of them is "Girl on Fire" by Alicia Keys because I'm not into spreading annoying energy.
Jazmine Sullivan "Masterpiece"
Now that I got that out of the way, last week, I wrote about Martha Stewart, the original influencer and first female billionaire. I want to share a video from my talented friend Leah featuring Martha and her new collab with NATURE. Also, make sure to follow Leah on Instagram - her posts are gold.
Keeping with the same theme of DIY and entrepreneurship in a way, this week I am talking about two things: great insights and quotes from the How I Built This book based on NPR's podcast with Guy Raz, and WTF (should be why and not what so technically WhyTF) do people keep trying to make reboots happen.
How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success From The World's Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs by Guy Raz
If you are a listener of Guy Raz's podcast, How I Built This, many of the stories captured in this book you have already heard. The book takes some of the podcast lessons and makes them short stories with different themes. I am just starting, but one of the chapters I have loved the most is the first chapter featuring Carol's Daughter creator Lisa Price.
I always love hearing and reading about Lisa and the launch of Carol's Daughter for some reason. Not sure if it's because she was creating these products for herself and didn't think much of creating a brand around it even though these products were an untapped market. Or if it's because of the backstory of her somewhat starting a line because she read about how Prince always smelled good because he layered his fragrances all over, even in his boots. Nonetheless, Lisa has always been one of my favorite entrepreneurs to follow, and there were some great quotes from her chapter - also, listen to her podcast episode here.
In this way, at least as entrepreneurial stories go, Lisa Price is the most like the rest of us. She was so passionate about what she did, it was so intrinsically rewarding, just as an activity that it didn't even occur to her to take the next step with her idea - to sell it or turn it into a business. It was almost weird for her, as her response to her mother clearly illustrates, to even think other people would be interested.
... the intersection of personal passion and problem solving is where good ideas are born, and lasting businesses are built.
Well, you have to know that you're passionate about what you do. If you're not passionate about it, you will quit before you make any money.
... the trouble with passion by itself is that it can lead you down rabbit holes that only you care about, or to problems that only you have.
There is a name for a person who creates something purely out of passion: hobbyist. There's a name for a person who creates something out of passion that solves a problem only they have: tinkerer. There is a name for a person who creates something out of passion that also solves a problem they share with lots of other people: entrepreneur.
"IF IT AIN'T BROKEN, DON'T FIX IT."
We all know this cliche, and it exists because of things like the second installment of Coming to America 2 and “Coldest Winter Ever” follow up, “Life After Death.” Honestly, both sucked and made me sad.
Let's start with Coming to America 2. When I heard that this was going to be a thing, I was skeptical because the first one is a classic. Whenever I watch the original, I learn something different most recently that Arsenio Hall was Morris the Barber. The original was hilarious with a great storyline, and I was a little confused about how they would pick the story back up. When I heard that Leslie Jones would be in the movie, it added to my skepticism as she's so loud that she's not funny to me. Sadly, my skepticism was for good reason because the movie was not good. I also wouldn’t say it was terrible but aside from the costuming the movie was more overly goofy than it was nostalgic; it was just loud. I did find Wesley Snipes, however, to be quite funny.
The best new things in Coming 2 America are also, weirdly, the worst new things in Coming 2 America. (Vulture)
On the other side of sequels that I didn't need was the follow-up to Sister Souljah's "Coldest Winter Ever" in the new "Life After Death." Like many, I grew up soaking up every word of CWE. Winter was a protagonist that I didn't necessarily relate to but loved reading about. When I heard a sequel coming out in 2021, I was ecstatic, and it was very lackluster. I read this book in two days as I kept reading to see if it would get better, but meh.
First, this sequel was 22 years in the making, so initially, I thought the issue was that I couldn't remember what happened in TCWE. However, as I continued reading, I realized I wasn't interested in the storyline. Winter was in jail, bartering her upcoming reality show that I imagined was a hybrid of Love After Lockup and Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Eventually, she dies, and much of the story is about her cupid shuffling through the purgatory. Bizarre concept, and it wasn't that interesting to read.
So yes, this is why I'm not really into reboots or sequels, for the most part. I am one of the Girlfriend stans who doesn’t need a reboot. I’m also one of the Sex and The City women who don’t want another movie and feel somewhat skeptical about the show coming back without Big and Samantha. I will however watch the HBO Max show.
Here are ten things I thought were worth sharing this week:
Anderson Paak and Bruno Mars joining forces as Silk Sonic is something that I never knew I needed so much. “Leave The Door Open” is a vibe, and I love both the song and the video. I also enjoyed learning about how they got their name from Bootsy Collins in this interview with The Breakfast Club. He also named Babyface just throwing that out there.
Kirk Franklin’s Tiny Desk was everything.
I started a new playlist of some of my favorite songs currently.
The Welcome to Your Fantasy podcast is way more drama than I thought it would be, and I’m here for it. The stories are so interesting, clearly more than just buff men in thongs.
Morning Brew is one of my favorite daily newsletters - I suggest that you subscribe to it. Here’s a great interview with Guy Raz with the founders. Very interesting story.
I know I’m not the only person who sometimes wonders what is going on with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. I mean, they were the cute ones and then disappeared from the limelight to focus on their clothing like The Row. Here’s an interesting read about where the brand stands now and the history of the company as well.
The Studio Museum in Harlem is one of my favorite museums, and here’s a read on how it changed the art world forever.
I still have to watch Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah, but I’ve been reading this live recap. Did you watch it? What did you think!
Good read Jenna Lyons on Coming Out (and Being Outed) After 40
Culturally, we’re not always accepting of people who make changes — particularly in this area. I feel really grateful that I was supported. And I don’t feel like I couldn’t fall in love with a man again. I don’t think that’s out of the question. I do feel less responsibility to explain. I don’t feel like it’s my job to make it clear for anyone else what’s going on with me sexually or romantically.
Interesting read on Luster author Raven Leilani and how to live alone in New York City.
That’s all for this week.