The Fountain:

Welcome!

‘Bzzzt’

…

‘Bzzzt’

‘Bzzt’

A vibration runs through the table -what could it be?

I slam the book covers shut, strut to the end of the room and peer over at my phone.

It’s… beautiful. The notification glimmers like a jewel:

“Advaith has joined the mailing list.”

That’s it! That’s my day made.

Nothing better could have popped up to greet me.

It’s good to have you, Advaith .

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I’ll light up a cigar to celebrate, but before that, I’d like to show you what’s coming:

This mailing list exists to help you build a fulfilling life of learning, whether through books, hobbies or your creative passions.

I call it ‘The Fountain’ for three reasons:

1. It sounds cool.
2. Fountains store a pool of ideas, and from the spout, new ones burst to life.
3. The flourish of water reminds me of creative output.

It’s a nice, flowery metaphor for what we hope to gain.

You’ll see three types of content on the way:

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The Fountain

Short articles on learning, creativity, and the balance behind a fulfilling life.

No boring walls of theory either—I’ll include brief actionable steps to help you springboard the ideas into action, then and there.

I also realize you and I aren’t the same.

Unlike the mass-content guru economy, we’ll explore a variety of systems so you can tailor an approach that works for you and *you *alone.

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Insights

It sucks to read without being able to share the interesting ideas I pick up.

Knowledge isn’t happy locked in a cage, and this section is the answer—you’ll find mini-essays on lifestyle, philosophy, relationships, hobbies, and anything else I think you’ll enjoy.

Think bite-sized insights to enrich your day, with a extra tang of variety.

Since this is the lawless third of the newsletter, It’s also a chance to link to the best bits of content I recently found: videos, articles, podcasts—only the best of the best.

Think of it like this: I forage the internet for great ideas, risk my life testing what’s poisonous versus safe, and then bring back the finest ones to you.

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Book Spotlight

What would this newsletter be without book recommendations?

I generally avoid suggestions—you’re *you *after all, so books that give me the fizz might end up a disappointment for you.

Rather than a shallow list of my personal favourites, I want to give each book the spotlight it deserves:

An overview, plus a look into the key themes, best insights, potential challenges and writing style—everything you need to judge if it’s worth a deeper look.

It’s your reading life. I want my suggestions to stick only if they resonate with you.

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For now, you’ll receive an email 2-3 times per month.

I’ve had too many foul experiences with spammy, low-value mailing lists, so I steer clear of daily emails until my writing is majestic enough to justify them.

And remember, this is for you. Your preferences and feedback steer the ship and keep it as useful as possible.

(which is another way to say I have no plan, screw it, let’s see what happens.)

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“Wow, that sounds amazing,” you are surely thinking to yourself. Thanks. It means a lot.

But wait . . . who am I to tell you any of this?

I’ve earned over 250,000 subscribers talking on the subject, I’ve read hundreds of books, and blah blah blah—who gives a shit.

I’m simply curious, like you.

Most of my authority on the topic trickles down from personal experience—struggles and successes alike.

6 years ago, I had a love-hate relationship with books.

It felt good to read, and yet, my frustrations piled up every time I put a book down.

I couldn’t remember anything.

I barely understood most of them.

I never used what I learned for any good in the real world.

Same deal with hobbies: I wanted to do everything.

This meant jamming my calendar to bursting point, controlling each minute like a tyrannical dictator, as I bounced from violin to writing to gym, all on top of building the channel.

I built a mountain of hype, only for it crash down with disappointment.

There was no balance, no progress, no point.

And above all, I wasn’t having fun . . .

All I earned from this busy intellectual life was self-loathing. The whole bloody purpose in starting was a sense of purpose and fulfilment, but that went out of the window a long time ago.

Where’s the light at the end of the tunnel?

The first ounce of hope came when I read How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler.

‘How to read a book? What a stupid idea . . .’ I’d think to myself.

Oh how wrong I was. It was exactly what I needed.

It made me realize that reading was not a question of volume or natural talent, but *skill *—a skill you can train.

Propelled by this new vision, I engorged myself with all the reading content you could find online. Videos, articles, books—you name it.

Through early mornings, late nights and painful cycles of experimentation, I’m happy to say I’ve built a fulfilling reading life.

I’ve read for at least an hour a day.

I’ve learned how to cope with doubt and frustration.

I’ve applied techniques to better understand, remember and reflect.

Since reading is my stepping stone to creative output, I managed to find a balance in other interests too.

Growing the channel, engaging with you, practicing my writing, grappling with violin, gym, illustration—everything to step closer to the ‘Renaissance Man’ ideal.

In short, life is good.

I write this to share the journey with you, and offer everything I could have used a few years back.

Everything we need to find true wisdom, nurture a well-rounded character and satisfy every ounce of curiosity.

I hope you are as excited as I am.

And again, it’s a pleasure to have you on the ride.

Thank you and welcome,

Odysseas

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But before you go:

Can I ask a quick favour or two?

First, please drag this email into your ‘general’ inbox and reply to this email with whatever you please.

You can tell me your story, what you’d like to see in the future, or heck, even just a single word will do—I’ll be grateful regardless.

Aside from getting to chat with you, this is so your email provider doesn’t get jealous and automatically divert the emails into spam (very rude of them, I know).

I read and respond to everything.

Ok, it might take a few months to get back to you, but I can guarantee it.

I’d much prefer a slow reply than one of those robotic auto-responses, so I hope you can agree.

The only reason I would never respond is if the evil spam filter absorbs your email into the abyss, so apologies in advance.

Second, come and join the discussion!

I’m grateful for our tight-knit community on Youtube and X, where we talk about the struggles and successes in our intellectual lives.

I’ve learned so much from listening to other people’s stories, and I’m sure there’s value in it for you too.

My emails and DMs are forever open, so feel free to shoot me a message.

​Read past issues here​

​Youtube​

​X account​

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