Hi friends,

I recently went back into the archives to see what I wrote about in the early days, and in the eight years since I published my first article, the most consistent theme has been a rebellion against the contemporary education system.

But my gripes are bigger than that. The Western world is ruled by an apparatus of bureaucracies that suck the individuality out of the innocent people they swallow, and trap them in cobwebs of paperwork and Orwellian HR policies. How many people spent their childhoods jumping through endless hoops, only to find themselves in a prestigious corporate job, saying: "This is what I worked so hard for?!?"

Writing online is one way out.

Helping people live life on their own terms (socially, intellectually, and professionally) is why I'm building Write of Passage. If you're aligned with our mission, we have two open positions: VP of Marketing and Podcast Lead (or refer a talented friend).

Also, this month, we're launching new, one-day writing workshops: Writing Sprints. They're like workout classes for your mind — CrossFit for creativity. You’ll work against a strict deadline to draft, edit, and ship a piece of writing — all in one day. As your teacher, I'll help you get your ideas out of your head and into the world.

The first workshops will run on June 10 and June 23. Enrollment is open until next Wednesday, June 7. I'll see you on the starting block.

Today's Finds

​Jack Butcher's Lessons on Internet Art: I can't think of anybody who's at the frontier of more technological intersections — such as NFTs, digital art, internet culture, the benefits of building an online audience, to name a few. This mini-documentary is a window into Internet economics. When Jack was working at an advertising agency, he had to convince companies to work with him. When he did, he had little influence over their creative style. But once he built an audience around his unique sensibilities as a creator, those same companies would beg Jack to partner with them. Since moving into the art world, he's distributed art through bottom-up consensus instead of high-end galleries. He doesn't just monetize the final outputs either. Jack monetizes his process for creating his art too.

Why Airline Systems Are So Old: My first internship was at a travel news company called Skift. The most surprising thing I learned was that the back-end machinery of airlines is super outdated. The entire airline system runs on these ancient software platforms, which are so deeply embedded in the travel world that they can’t be changed. There’s a law in physics that a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. Likewise, the global airline system can only be as efficient as the limits of these archaic software platforms. This video explains the effects of these lethargic legacy systems.

The Economics of Airplane Leases: Many of the airplanes you board aren’t owned by the airlines you’re flying on. Instead, they’re owned by leasing companies who rent the planes out to airlines. New aircraft are typically rented for 10–12 years. The leasing model was pioneered by Tony Ryan, who went on to start Ryanair. He saw how historically, high capital expenditures and oscillating demand crushed airline profitability. As Byrne Hobart observed, leasing companies benefit from an Iron Condor. Individual airlines have high variance. They’re constantly growing and shrinking. Meanwhile, the industry as a whole is much more stable. Leasing companies absorb some of the risks that individual airlines would face if they owned their aircraft, and in turn, generate a profit. Here’s a good introduction to the aircraft leasing model.

​The Most Reluctant Convert: A film-style monologue to tell the story of C.S Lewis’ conversion to Christianity. He started his life as a pure materialist. He lived like the unexplainable was unreal. And he saw religion as a nonsensical tool to explain things to gullible and primitive people. Things changed when Lewis picked up the Phantases by George MacDonald. That book baptized his imagination and made him appreciate the supernatural. But he wasn’t a Christian yet. Instead, Lewis stiff-armed the faith away from him, like the guy on the Heisman Trophy. But despite his resistance, something lured him in. He read Chesterton. Made friends with Tolkien. Eventually, he C.S. Lewis wrote this line, which has driven my intellectual pursuits for the past few years: “If Jesus' statements are false, Christianity is of no importance. If true, it is of infinite importance, but one thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

The Hidden Costs of Fame: I believe there are two categories of fame: celebrity fame and niche fame. Celebrity fame is the kind where you get recognized on the street. It’s reserved for big-time musicians, Hollywood actors, and other prominent celebrities. Niche fame is different. It’s the fame where people won’t recognize you in public, but in certain niche communities, you have a lot of credibility — like a college professor. These two essays, one from Tim Ferriss and another from Mike Cernovich, showed me how celebrity fame can be a Faustian Bargain, and cured me of whatever desire for it I may have had. Ferriss talks about the risks of being kidnapped, stalkers, harassment, and death threats. Cernovich's piece centers around social interactions — because when you're famous, your secrets have currency, which makes it hard to trust people and build emotional connections.