Thinking Out Loud

A Year of Building Wealth in All Its Forms You know that moment when your social media feeds explode with #SpotifyWrapped shares? That annual digital confessional where everyone broadcasts their questionable music tastes and proudly displays their "top 0.1% of Taylor Swift listeners" badge? As I share this on Christmas Day 2025, I can't help but appreciate the irony of sending a "wrapped" reflection while many of you are probably surrounded by wrapping paper debris from freshly opened...

A Reflection On The Chiang Mai Jazz Festival If you ask me about my deepest passion, music leaps from my heart before my brain can even process the question. It's in those moments - whether creating or consuming music - that I feel most alive. Most authentic. Years ago, this passion led me down an unexpected path: frustrated by music publications ignoring my indie-sceamo band, I started my own. That small act of rebellion blossomed into a decade-long career in digital marketing. Music, it...

5 Ways I'm Actually Using AI (And None Are Writing Emails) There's a growing canyon between the AI-curious and the AI-serious – and it's getting wider by the day. On one side, you have the AI-curious: those dipping their toes in the water, mainly using free tools to polish their emails or generate quick social media posts. On the other side are the AI-serious: people who've built a stack of specialised AI tools that have become essential to their daily lives, boosting their productivity,...

Trading social anxiety for authentic connections I'm sitting at my usual spot at Rodem Cafe, watching the now-familiar face of the barista light up as I walk in. "Sawadee krap!" we exchange greetings as she helps sharpen my limited proficiency in Thai while preparing my regular order. Six weeks into my Thailand journey, and this little ritual has become a cornerstone of my day. It's not just about the coffee anymore—it's about the connection. This morning exchange got me thinking about...

The Uncomfortable Space Between Echo Chambers I've been sitting on this draft for weeks now, cursor blinking accusingly at my hesitation. Each time I start typing, I pause, delete, restart. It's not writer's block—it's something more peculiar: the fear of being heard. Isn't it strange? In an age where everyone seems to be shouting their convictions from digital rooftops, silence has become its own kind of statement. The recent American elections saw X hit record-breaking usage numbers, yet...

Escaping Routine vs Embracing Change 3 weeks. 21 days. 504 hours.That’s how long I’ve been in Thailand now - merely a quarter of my planned stay and even shorter than the time since the last issue of #ThinkingOutLoud. When I told my family elders about quitting my job and spending three months here, their eyebrows raised concern. “Too long”, they thought while nodding in understanding. While they may understand that this journey isn’t just about a change in scenery, their hesitation made me...

How to get or build your dream job I recently had someone reach out to me on Instagram asking for advice. I had to dig his DM out of the message requests dashboard where countless NFT airdrops and other scams go to die. For once, I actually encountered something of value there. Consider this a reminder to check the message requests in your DMs in the event that someone can add value to your life. The message was from a marketing student at Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth. As...

Exploring the potential of information dissemination online The news of the Queen of England passing away would still be 100 days from reaching Johannesburg. That’s if the internet and earlier renditions of this communication medium didn’t. It would take someone 100 days to walk from Balmoral Castle where she passed before arriving to the city gold. Of course, we’d have to assume that cars didn’t exist, we hadn’t figured out how to ride horses or send messages using ravens. Almost immediately...

Hey Digital Friends!A warm welcome to the 16 of you who are currently subscribed.#ThinkingOutLoud is my weekly newsletter. A digital dojo where I curate, digest and reflect on interesting ideas I’ve come across. These ideas will center around marketing, self-mastery, the web and wealth in all its variations - financial, physical and mental. Today’s piece will touch on the significance of writing.Thank you for giving my working thoughts access to your inboxThis issue of #ThinkingOutLoud will...

Hey Digital Friends!A warm welcome to the 16 of you who are currently subscribed.#ThinkingOutLoud is my weekly newsletter. A digital dojo where I curate, digest and reflect on interesting ideas I’ve come across. These ideas will center around marketing, self-mastery, the web and wealth in all its variations - financial, physical and mental. Today’s piece will touch on the significance of writing.Thank you for giving my working thoughts access to your inboxThis issue of #ThinkingOutLoud will...