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Hey Reader,

If you’re American, you’ll know these words well — from the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

And if you’re not American, the pursuit of happiness will probably be fairly familiar to you, because it’s embedded in our culture.

It’s sold to us thousands of times a day by companies promising that if we’re just a little bit thinner or more beautiful or richer, or if we just buy this car or that pair of shoes or take up this hobby, we’ll finally be HAPPY.

Our inalienable right to be happy is shouted at us everywhere we go, and yet… we’re unhappier than ever. And not just because of what’s happening in the world right now.

What the modern world and those making money from it don’t want you to know is that (according to Aristotle then Jefferson) there are two kinds of happiness:

1. Hedonic happiness, which is pleasure, comfort, and — wait for it — distraction.
2. Eudaimonic happiness, which is fulfillment, purpose, and knowing that you matter.

The first type of happiness is the little dopamine spike we get when someone likes our social media post or when we doomscroll endless videos of kittens or when we eat too many Maltesers (who me?) or when we get laid.

It’s fleeting. It’s empty. And it leaves a gaping hole that we rush to fill with, yes, more distraction and vice and cheap dopamine.

But the second type of happiness — that’s different. It’s much harder to find, it takes longer to achieve, and it’s not a destination. It’s a journey.

And yes I know how fucking CHEESY that sounds but it’s true, so suck it up.

It’s a happiness that comes from discomfort and hard work and, often, boredom and we are less and less willing to endure those things.

Why should we, when we can buy a cheap shot of WOO HOO on every street corner?

And why is that a bad thing — surely happiness is good right? Well, lemme ask you: if that’s what happiness is, why are addicts so very unhappy? Why does doomscrolling leave you feeling empty and angry and sad?

Doing hard things is wonderful.

Think about it: you do the thing you’ve been putting off, and it feels GREAT. You go for a run, or lift heavy weights, and it hurts at the time but feels AMAZING afterwards.

You decide to start a new project — write a book, for example — and you commit to it and it feels SO FUCKING GOOD.

Just ask anyone, anywhere, who’s ever committed to doing something hard and followed it through. They’ll tell you how amazing it feels afterwards… and during, as well, because once we get over the initial URGGGGGHHHHH those endorphins kick in and we can ride that wave to the end.

If you’d like to indulge in a little eudaimonic happiness, and you’re sick of the shallow endless grind, and you’re ready to go now — well, MicroBook Magic Season 7 starts on Monday and I’d love you to join us. Doors close on Sunday afternoon.

You can find out everything and enrol here:

Speaking of hedonic and eudaimonic happiness, I’ve got the Friday Goodie Bag here for you. Better late than never, and I’ve wiped all the snot off, I promise.

This musical episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Now this is a bit of a niche entry, but bear with me. Joe and I have just started watching SNW and I bloody love it. It’s whimsical and fun and also thoughtful and has important messages. Classic Trek really.

Last night, we watched Subspace Rhapsody and within 30 seconds I was like OMG THIS IS GOING TO BE A MUSICAL EPISODE. I was right.

And then I was further delighted because it was a bit of a nerdy homage to Once More With Feeling, the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I know this because of three things:

1. The music made them share their true feelings even if they didn’t want to.
2. “I have a theory”
3. BUNNIES.

Anyway, go and watch it, it’s great. And remember it’s super fun for your readers if you reference niche pop culture they might also recognise, in your work.

Guillermo del Toro’s love letter to human imagination

I love GdT for many reasons, but right now it’s because of his giant middle finger to AI, which should be used for innovations in medicine, engineering, and doing the boring shit that gets in the way of us living. It should not be there to enable those with wealth to remove wealth from creators. FUCK THAT.

So GdT has partnered with Netflix to launch a new stop-motion animation studio and said: “The Idea that AI will Out-Imagine Things and Humans Is Pretty Unlikely.”

Preach, GdT. Preach. Now go out there and make something REAL.

Hazel Scott, who refused to perform on segregated stages

Hazel Scott was a Black piano prodigy who attended Julliard from age 8 and was the first Black American to have her own national TV show. She not only had a prodigious talent and worked incredibly hard to hone it, she also said ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT to the racism of the time, and fought hard to shine anyway. Check out her immense skill here.

How to use Reddit for marketing insights

Stumbled across Shlomo Genchin this week, who created a LinkedIn carousel about how he uses Reddit to gain insights and create great ads. Check it out here and then have a think about where YOU can get insights for your own marketing…

Clapham Common’s underground farm WHAT?

Did YOU know there’s a kind-of-secret underground farm in Clapham Common’s disused air raid shelter? I DID NOT KNOW THIS. This is SO cool. One of my fave things is hidden spaces and forgotten places and things being used for purposes other than their original purpose. So I was delighted when I found out about this.

It is the world’s first subterrannean urban farm, and they sell goods to all the major London shops and restaurants. So cool.

What I’m reading

I’ve almost finished Harrow the Ninth, book 2 of Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb Trilogy. Although I think there’s a fourth book on the way. It’s SUCH a weird, interesting, confusing, compelling book. I love it. You might too.

What I’m writing

I’m working on a new bit for the Hallowe’en stand up comedy gig I’m doing on — well — Hallowe’en. Tiny horror stories. Write in with yours!

Word of the week

overmorrow

Meaning — the day after tomorrow! How cool is that? Improve efficiency, save words, and use “overmorrow” in a sentence today.

Quote of the week

I don’t think Holiday is saying “never look forward to anything” — rather I think he’s cautioning against giving that anticipation all your attention now at the expense of living your life.

This is something I’m trying to train myself out of. I spend far more time in the past and future than I would like.

Happy Friday to you!

And remember — MicroBook Magic Season 7 begins on Monday and there’s still time to enrol!

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

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