Morning Brew - 🍻 Impostor syndrome

Impostor syndrome is not that thing from the video game Among Us. It’s when you experience inadequacy and self-doubt; you feel like a fraud and worry people are going to find out (I’ve been there). About 70% of people say they’ve dealt with it—even really successful people. Mike Cannon-Brookes, the co-CEO of Atlassian, says impostor syndrome often comes with success. The Brew’s CEO Alex Lieberman talked about this in a recent Founder’s Journal episode, and shared his tactics for coping with it. The key: It’s about working with impostor syndrome, not through it.

Ask yourself, though: Is the problem really you, or your workplace? A recent HBR article argues that applying impostor syndrome to women in particular places too much blame on individuals. “Imposter syndrome directs our view toward fixing women at work instead of fixing the places where women work,” and this is especially the case for women of color. 

Next time you’re doubting yourself, no matter where it’s stemming from, type out why in Exhale, hit enter, and watch it disappear forever. It’s very satisfying. 

• How to join the Peloton cult without purchasing a $1,900+ bike and waiting at least 2 months for it to arrive. Or, opt for SNL’s Pelotaunt. It comes with patented passive aggression.
• A list of every music genre imaginable, including but not limited to bubblegum dance, dungeon synth, and pet calming.  
• A top 10 sleepaway camp lunch: grilled cheese and tomato soup. I could make this every week...it’s that tasty. 
• Get your book recs from the world’s most interesting people. The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim, from Mikyung Kim’s list, feels like a priority. 
• Subscribe to Pact to support a grassroots org for as little as $3 per month (new month, new org). You set the amount, Pact pools the donations and gives one lump sum to high-impact nonprofits (h/t Kyle). 

To quote everyone’s mom: “If only I knew then what I know now.” Actually, Mom, flipping it around, and writing to your future self, is cool now. Even Seth Godin does it. It’s effective for processing something difficult, making a big life decision, or manifesting your hopes and dreams. I know because I do it all the time. 

And you don’t even need the post office. FutureMe allows you to schedule the delivery of your letter to Future You. You can also read future letters from others...odd but fascinating. My 10-year plan is currently in FutureMe’s hands and heading to my inbox in 2028.

If you get really into it, here’s a story of someone who made writing notes to himself a nightly event, with some prompts to keep your material fresh. 

Or, do the opposite. Hitha Palepu suggests writing letters from your future self to your present self. She says: “By doing that habitually, you’re planting seeds in your mind and slowly putting in the work to make that a reality. And why shouldn't it be?” Bonus points if you share your letter with others. 

If you invest but no one hears about it, did you really invest?

The mystery of whether or not a tree makes a sound when it falls in the forest has confounded humanity for generations. But if you make a great investment and you have no one to share it with? That’s not a mystery—that’s just a shame.

Public.com is the investing social network. You can have conversations with lots of other investors about strategies, and of course, just talk shop.

If you care about investing in companies you actually believe in, then Public is the place for you. Public is a space where people chat about the things that matter to them, and then figure out which companies will help them put their money where their mouth is. 

And unlike some of the other zero-commission apps, Public doesn’t sell your trades to third-party market makers.

Download Public today and start with $10 in free stock.

To celebrate National Day of Unplugging tomorrow, we’re hosting a giveaway with our favorite jigsaw puzzle brand, Whiled. All of their puzzles are colorful, designed by artists, and come in either 500 or 1,000 pieces, so no puzzle is too daunting. Plus, they double as wall art. 

When you share Sidekick using your unique link, you’ll be entered to win one of two Whiled jigsaw puzzles. And 1 referral = 1 entry, so the more you share, the greater chance you have of enjoying some tech-free screen time and slowing down over a Whiled puzzle.  

This (US only) giveaway ends Monday, March 8 at 11:59pm EST. 

• When you go home to see your parents, do you also love looking through old photo albums? Keep up the tradition with Chatbooks. Their monthly photo books are easy to throw together—you just open the app, upload 30 pictures from your camera roll, and BOOM, create a photo book.
• One of my go-to gifts: the desktop photo calendar from Artifact Uprising. It goes with your minimalist WFH setup or Nancy Meyers-style kitchen.  
• Whether it’s for your daily journal, goal setting, or writing letters to your future self, Papier’s personalized notebooks are beautifully designed (how can you pick just one?). They come in hardback or softback, and you can choose from lined, plain, and even–for all my fellow bullet journal enthusiasts–dotted.

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