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# #25: hiring freelancers; book in hardcover; kleptomaniacs; weekends; and the most painful way to the Olympic bronze
- URL: https://www.peterkos.org/blackbirds-bullets-25/
- Published: 2021-04-28T04:45:00.000Z
- Updated: 2021-05-05T04:15:26.000Z
- Author: Peter Kos
- Tags: newsletter

I'm super fascinated by this new creator economy. Everyone (and yours truly) has a newsletter nowadays, but while for me it's just a fun hobby to cater to my writing itch, it's a survival plan for many journalists across the globe. We read the most successful stories, but let's not forget that over 99% are still barely (if) making a living. 

Subscribing to a newsletter basically gives you a better signal-t0-noise ratio. Whatever your hobbies and interests, there is at least one newsletter for sure. And if there isn't — maybe **you** should start one? 

—Who knows, maybe you decide to monetize it one day, and it becomes another source of income. It's a valid alternative to investing in real estate or crypto, ... and it sure beats watching TV or browsing social media. 

- 🖐🏻 I'm late to the party, but I finally started finding purpose for the gig workers. Amazon now allows self-published authors to sell hardcopy books. I needed a new cover, and instead of fiddling around with things I don't enjoy, I commissioned this work on Fiverr. A couple of messages and $44.20 later, you had two happy guys — me and [Ahmed](https://www.fiverr.com/samiahmed321?source=order%5Fpage%5Fsummary%5Fseller%5Flink) from Pakistan. 🇵🇰

> Previewing hardcover design / coming soon:[https://t.co/Hz1qkKyErD](https://t.co/Hz1qkKyErD?ref=peterkos.org)  
> ... [@fiverr](https://twitter.com/fiverr?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=peterkos.org) is awesome for getting freelancers for such gigs. [pic.twitter.com/MFxS0UsjkI](https://t.co/MFxS0UsjkI?ref=peterkos.org)
> 
> — PeterKos.org (@ofkos) [April 26, 2021](https://twitter.com/ofkos/status/1386796242265575426?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=peterkos.org)

- 📔 So, yes — now there's a [hardcover version of The Elements of Lifestyle](https://amzn.to/3etywPq?ref=peterkos.org) available for order. If you haven't yet decided on it, check out the [chapter impressions ](https://www.peterkos.org/tag/the-elements-of-lifestyle/)to get a taste.
- 🏴‍☠️ For the creative kleptomaniacs, here's my take on the wonderful [Steal Like an Artist](https://www.peterkos.org/steal-like-an-artist-by-austin-kleon/) by [Austin Kleon](https://amzn.to/3aJsAkr?ref=peterkos.org). This book can make a wonderful present! (Or gift someone [my book](https://amzn.to/32QDTmD?ref=peterkos.org) and let me know — I'll mail you a handwritten dedication!)
- 😲 Don't you love a good long-form piece that makes you go WOW? [This Atlantic story](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1991/08/waiting-for-the-weekend/376343/?ref=peterkos.org) taught me that the word *week-end* first appeared in the English dictionary less than 150 years ago! Furthermore, I'll never think of a week the same after this:

> **What does the week measure? Nothing*. At least, nothing visible. *No natural phenomenon occurs every seven days*—nothing happens to the sun, the moon, or the stars. The *week is an artificial, man-made interval*.*

(*And if you're in Sales, a week is a period between two forecasts*) 

- 🥉 The wonderful folks at [AmCham Slovenia](https://www.amcham.si/?lang=en&ref=peterkos.org) hosted an educational event featuring [Petra Majdic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra%5FMajdi%C4%8D?ref=peterkos.org). If you don't know who she is, you aren't from the Nordics nor interested in Olympics. She's *just a regular lady*, one year older, with 24 more cross-country World Cup wins and one Olympic bronze medal more than me.  
See this amazing story of how she got that [Olympic bronze medal in Vancouver despite **four broken ribs and a punctured lung**](https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/video/detail/petra-majdic-and-the-miracle-of-vancouver/?ref=peterkos.org).  
Side note: this was the most emotional Zoom call ever. I barely held back tears. What a story, what a woman!

See you next week.   
Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.   
Peter K.