Hey everyone!
Thank you for staying subscribed to this newsletter. It’s been a while since the last update. The reason is that I finished my #50days50lessons challenge and I’m not generating as much content as before, but… I’m working on my first book now!
Want to learn more? Keep reading.
I’ve created a “Now” page on my website, which I update once a month or so, and it’s where I update my current status: what I’m focused on at this point in my life.
Here is the latest update from January 24, 2024:
Launching two new projects in Asia
I’m working on two separate e-commerce projects at the same time. One in China, and one in South Korea. I’ve lived in China for 20+ years, but Korea is something new to me. A very interesting market and cool project I’m excited to launch.
Publishing my first book
I’m excited to try to self-publish my first book. It’s going to be about capoeira, habits, and life in general. All initial writings are done during the #50days50lessons challenge. Now I’m editing the book (one chapter per day), and adding new content, before sending it for proofreading.
Learning Thai
Recently I finished reading “Ultralearning” by Scott Young and decided to use principles from this book and make an ultralearning project to learn Thai. Also, I will try to use some ideas and stuff that worked for me when I was learning Chinese and Portuguese.
Improving my Portuguese
I started to learn Portuguese sporadically together with learning capoeira around 15 years ago. I love the sound of Brazilian Portuguese, along with Brazilian culture and music. My capoeira research always pushed me to get better in Portuguese, to read the sources, and to talk with capoeira masters. However, I had no systematic approach to learning. I tried Rosetta Stone, Duolingo, classical textbooks, online and offline tutors, and of course, rarely practiced with Brazilian friends. But recently I became a fan of the Pimsleur method and created a habit of practicing at least 30 minutes of Portuguese every day. Currently, I’m using “Pimsleur Portuguese Courses” for daily practice (I’m on Level 3 now). My goal is to start watching documentaries in Portuguese on Netflix and YouTube, combining leisure time with language practice.
50 books challenge
Almost every year I try to challenge myself to read 50 books. I don’t remember finishing this challenge before. The closest I got was around 30 books. This year I feel extra motivated. Let’s see how it goes. On average I have to read one book per week, and I’m a slow reader. Currently, I’m reading 4 to 5 books simultaneously: one paperback, one audio, and two or three more on my e-reader.
Check out my post “How to read and learn more” about my approach to mindful reading and taking notes. Also here is a tracker of the books I’m reading now. And some book notes with quotes and ideas for later reflection.
That’s all for now!
Feel free to reply to this message and tell me what you are focused on right now. I love learning more about my old friends and meeting new people.
Alex Maltsev
Digital Creator, capoeira teacher, proud father