Hi everyone. Welcome to my newsletter. This newsletter will be a compilation of articles/links around the internet in a common topic between them. I’d just like to share something from my way too often wanderings around the internet. You are far more than welcome to comment or reply about these or anything by replying to this email or reaching out to me on twitter (@raihantheperson). I hope this adds a bit of fun and serendipity to your day. Enjoy!
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For the first edition, I’d like to take you to a tour of the lives of people we often hear but don’t really consider. The media and the masses will always have their opinions, yet in the end they are still humans, just like us. Through their stories, I’ve discovered the way how powerful and significant people see the world and the society around them, or how the best performers in the world do what they do best. What drives them might be a surprise to you.

Tales of the Tyrant (The Atlantic, 2002, 58 min read)

This article chronicles the tribal mentality that now is often misunderstood and how a boy from a village becomes a paranoid, ruthless tyrant in the name of Saddam Hussein. Features tales from those are closest to him and details of his habits and illusions.

What’s interesting here for me is the explanation of why dictators are so paranoid. What a tyrant sees is what others see for him; and he cannot believe it as such. Although this is a very extreme case, it’s not hard to imagine that these distorsions too happens to leaders of smaller organisations around us.

Dr. Elon & Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla’s Production Hell (Wired, 2018, 36 min read)

Visionaries of the world often have this mysterious aura and drive around them. Modern polymath Elon Musk is on a path to greatness, but a man can’t do it alone. The cost and details of his journey are often abstracted to necessary casualty to reach something impossible to his admirers. Take a look on what a man on a mission can look like.

Is this what’s needed for humans to reach something impossible? Is it weird that this is tolerable for a nobler goal? Or is this only applauded because the cost is invisible?

Living The Stream (ESPN, 2018, ~25 min read)

HN Comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18019244

A job that wouldn’t make sense 10 years ago: streaming games on twitch and making millions in a year. Yet this is the best of them: Ninja. What seems like a laid back entertainment is enabled by a drive and motivation that is understood by few. The ability to seize an opportunity is rare, and here’s a look on how one wants to extract every bit of it.

A question to you: if given a similar circumstances and opportunity, would you do the same as he did?

Fortnite itself is a very interesting phenomenon. An article exploring why Fortnite is as successful today is here: The Most Important Video Game on the Planet (New Yoker Magazine, 2018, 27 min read)

The Loneliness of a Long-Distance Driver (1998, Autosport, 7 min read)

The greatest of all time in Formula 1 history, the legend. Michael Schumacher. But behind all the glitz and glory, there was a certain kind of madness and drive that enables him to accomplish it. The days spent refining his craft, beyond others’ views. A glimpse of what top performers of the world do.

The Contenders – Lewis Hamilton (2014, Will Buxton, 27 min read)

The current living legend in F1 is Lewis Hamilton. This piece follows his journey from his junior years to his current standing as one of the greatest (if not the) drivers on the grid. His brilliance and drive, his ups and downs, and his life beyond the competition. A look at the journey that top competitors goes through.

These stories are about the powerful and the successful. The ones who literally are on top of their worlds. My next roundup would be the lives of the unconsidered, the people who we might not ever think about.

Have something to say? Want to recommend me a piece? Reach out to me by email (hello@raihansaputra.co) or on twitter (@raihantheperson).