Special Delivery: Do I really deserve my success?

Oh, look, something special! Starting today, as a reader of the Weekly Filet, you’ll get a special delivery about once a month. These issues are not curated by me, David, but by people who inspire me and who have different perspectives on the world than my own. They will share five links that recently caught their eye or older ones that had a lasting impression on them.

This first special delivery is guest curated by Andrea Jansen. Andrea is the founder of AnyWorkingMom, a platform for people who value honest advice on how to navigate the complexities of being a parent. Even though it primarily addresses women, I myself have benefitted countless times from reading their articles or listening to their podcast. Andrea is a longtime Weekly Filet subscriber (which is nice) and lives in Hawaii (which is even nicer). These are her recommendations:

1. Do I really deserve my success?

But, look, she’s doing it all! As women, we don’t hesitate to admire other women. We see their talents, their competence, their many abilities. However when it comes to our own confidence, we struggle. We question, we measure and compare. More than often, we doubt if we deserve to be where we are, even if the seat is at the top of the table. Strange, isn’t it? This milestone article from 2014 opened my eyes, and has since never left my brain. Read «The Confidence Gap» now.

2. Why Netflix’ Chief of Marketing is badass at building cultural bridges

«I was worth one cent» says Bozoma St. John (look her up on Instagram @badassboz  — the handle lives up to the person), Chief Marketing Officer at Netflix. When moving from Ghana to the US Midwest when she was 11 years old, all her classmates knew about Africa were pictures of starving children they had seen on TV. For one cent a day, so the ads said, they could be fed. Listen to Bozoma open up about her cultural journey and how it translates into her pop-culture career in this intimate interview.

3. How can they believe that sh*t??

This is the story I shared the most in 2020. With everyone I felt comfortable sharing it with, that is (because, living in the United States, I was far from comfortable discussing politics openly). Why did so many people not only vote for Donald Trump, but idolise him like a rock star, a guru? Jeff Starlet attended Trump’s rallies and did not talk down to his die-hard followers, but actually talked to them. This brilliant piece — with even more brilliant photos — by The Vanity Fair is a must read, because, no doubt, he will be back. Read it now.

4. When is the right time to break a promise?

Christopher Solomon’s parents promised one thing to one another: they would never put the other spouse into a nursing home. And yet, one of them did. A heartbreaking story about a long, happy marriage, leaving the reader with one question: Do promises actually ever make sense in a non-predictable life? Read it here.

5. What does fame feel like? (German only)

Swiss Uber-Comedian Hazel Brugger and her husband Thomas Spitzer talk fame. Obviously, she is way more famous than he is. But how much more? And how does he deal with the fact (spoiler: pretty well)? How about other people who engage with the couple (spoiler: not so well). As a former semi-famous person I listened in awe to this honest, never pretend-to-be-humble and funny conversation about being a public person. Start listening now.

Hi again. Thanks, Andrea, for kicking off this revamped series of guest posts with these excellent recommendations. I plan to have guests on roughly once a month. Whose recommendations would you like to see here in the future? Let me know!

I’ll see you again next Friday with the next issue of the Weekly Filet. Have a good start into the week.

— David 👋