I heard “The Prophet” many times when I was in Turkey. Most probably in my early 20s. Never had a chance to read it. I wish I did. They say “It’s never too late”

I was listening to In-Q(one of my favorite living poets)’s top 3 most formative books at 3books podcast (highly recommend podcast). He shared his opinion & connection with The Prophet. I said myself “I should give a chance this book”

I’m glad I did. It’s more than poems. It’s an artistic lifestyle. I especially love about section on children:

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, Khalil Gibran

I was so hungry for that kind of wisdom and to see what others think about “The Prophet”. Found Salma Hayek (She is also of Lebanese descent like Kahlil Gibran) co-produced an animation movie of “The Prophet Movie” with writer & director Roger Allers (The Lion King’s Writer). Watched it and love it. Can’t wait to watch it again with my daughter when she’s old enough

-Then started to read In-Q (Thank you again for reminding me Kahlil Gibran) In-Q is my man. He’s so easy and so complex. I met him in person in late 2015 at Summit Conference by Sea (in the middle of International Water). Watching his live art performance (reading his poems) is mind-blowing. His book “Inquire Within” is a collection of his great poems. I also bought this one yesterday and read almost half of it. Definitely recommend listening to his “85” Poem My favorite one is so far:

I’m starting my own religion- And everyone is welcome

But nobody can join– If you did, you’d miss the point – In-Q

-I finished Rupi Kaur’s Home Away in less than one hour yesterday. Highly recommend it to everyone. Especially for women. I can’t remember when is the last time I highlighted that many. So much wisdom about life, being an immigrant and woman. Imposter syndrome and relationship. I read her Milk and Money 4-5 years ago but I’m going to re-read it.

i’m done trying to prove myself to myself.

.you are one person but when you move an entire community walks through you – you go nowhere alone.. Rupi Kaur

-I re-read my highlights from Clarity & Connection by Yung Pueblo. Self-healing and awareness are the keys. I ordered his first book Inward too. If you are spending time on IG, definitely follow him

It is okay to not have the answer one of the bravest things you can do is boldly embrace the unknown, accept your fear, and continue to move forward a clear mission does not always have a clear path… Yung Pueblo

I prefer to read poetry hard copy but this weekend I was so into it can’t wait for my orders to come through so bought all of them on Amazon Kindle. Also found Rupi Kaur and In-Q have Amazon Prime Videos (recorded live shows) probably I’ll watch them in the next couple of days. Sorry for writing too long but super excited to share what I discovered this weekend. It is especially amazing to live same time with your favorite artist to hear/watch their reflection of current world orders.

Today, I changed my daughter’s stroller position from facing us to facing others. In the beginning, she was shocked, and a little bit cried. That was not something she used to. But, she adopted very fast. We walked for almost 1 hour, and she was super chill. She was mesmerized for discovering her own world through her own eyes. And, we were also so free to do our business (yes, checking our phones without any quilt:)

That reminds me we do so much hand-holding or heavy lifting people around us. Let them go and run at their own pace. Yes, we should make sure they have enough to survive. No more, no less.

You are more than what happened to you so far.

You will do more.

You will fail and learn more.

Stop being paranoid about yourself.

You worth it

Keep running till the end.

Sometimes slow pace, sometimes faster than light.

You are way bigger than what happened to you.

Don’t forget: You just started!

I personally invested over early stage 15+ startups in LatAm region (Yummy and Pari )are the two biggest in my portfolio) thanks to my friend Ali Jamal’s syndicate on AngelList. They are saying LatAm is like a china 10-20 years ago. Digitization is just started. According to Financial Times, Latin American VC investments triple record to pass $15bn in 2021

Today, I came across Collaborative Fund’s post about that and they are starting to invest more in LaTam.

Here are my top highlights from the article

–The market: The region benefits from a young and growing population of 650m+ that is increasingly leaning into digital economies. Internet penetration has reached 70%+ in many countries and e-commerce is expected to continue growing at 30%+ at least until 2025

-Yes. LatAm is a place where 70% of the population earns less than minimum wage, but also a place where gig economy startups can offer carriers the opportunity to earn 2x+ the minimum wage. At least 1/3rd of the population in Latin America still lives below the poverty line, and we truly believe that high-impact entrepreneurship has the potential to change that by reshaping the financial, food, health, and education systems of the past.

Playbook means a stock of usual tactics or methods.

They are tested, and it worked or not.

What’s your playbook of marriage, losing weight, or sleep?

What has worked for you so far and not?

Share with people around you. Let them learn from your experience, and they modify it with their own twists.

For Business Side, I like Reid Hoffman’s way. Constantly iterate and iterate your tactics and try new experiments.

“If your playbook is the same as your competitor’s, you are in trouble, because chances are they are just going to run your playbook with a lot more resources!”

Expected results rarely happen with the expected number. Either you get more or less than expected.

You can only calculate known risks. But, life is uncertain and unexpected.

Give room for error. Humans can fail. Systems can break. Or people get lazy and tired.

I love economics. But, I hate economics education in school. It is full of math and theorems. That’s why I dropped economics major after failing “Math 105 Introduction to Calculus” which was the first of the next recurring 5 math courses for the econ department. I figured I had no future in it. I transferred myself to International Relations which had no math in the curriculum.

I love the part of economics that touches people’s lives daily. In the last couple of years, I read a handful of economics books about human behavior, psychology, investment, decision making, influence & the correlation of economic decisions.

How do I find those books? People I follow. Everyone is sharing their best books when you asked for them. Or someone already asked it either they tweeted or shared their blog btw almost all good econ writers have a blog.

Secret Bonus: My good friend O.K and I launched a secret podcast in Turkish Give it a try let me know what do you think? It is, for now, friends and friends of friends. Already 3 episodes in and the next one is coming this Friday.

Share it with only friends

Spotify

I booked 5 nights at an Airbnb in Kharkiv, a heavily bombed city by Russians.

I went to multiple times Kyiv and one time Kharkiv. It’s a (was) beautiful city. Today, also learned all the radio & TV broadcasts knocked by Russian military strikes.

Obviously, I’m not going. It’s strange to book an apartment in a war zone. But, at least you feel part of the resistance and supporting the Ukrainian people.

I’m sharing my contribution because Airbnb is waiving all the booking fees, and the money directly goes to the host.

It’s good to remember this. What if I have this or that question that doesn’t help us unless we can change our current situation right now. 

What we are wanting or seeing the other side is not the best. That’s their life. This is our life. We can’t compare apples vs. bananas because they are different.

Why do we compare each other anyway? 

Wait…

Why?

Because you have done what you are supposed to do.

Now, their job started.

Don’t interrupt it.

Don’t force it

Guide them with patience.