jasraj (jas)

Many corporations once started out as local businesses.

The mom-n-pop shop has struggled more lately in the face of the rise of corporations, and difficult economic times favouring corporations who are better able to weather the difficult times.

I believe the opportunity to innovate and create change, however, is very much alive.

I do not see why we can’t make money, care for people, and care for our planet at the same time ~ in order for all of us, as a collective, to thrive.

📹 Corporations and local businesses

I was speaking with my neighbor today about the basic ingredients for people and, by that token, for local communities.

Between the two of us, we came up with 5 sensible things to prioritise when thinking about making an impact in your local town or city.

I share them in this video: 📹 5 ingredients for good community

I also mentioned Vaisakhi one of the most important days in the Sikh calendar ~ marking the start of the Spring Harvest 🌱

I started this morning with connection and meeting folks from around the world, thank you to the community Valentina is curating with “The PIE Network (People in Events)”

It was a nice start to the day for my brain — especially in comparison to scrolling on a screen. Thanks to everyone who showed up this morning and helped me start my day well.

📹 Connection over scrolling

~

PS. Sorry about the mildly annoying taps on the desk throughout this video; apparently, I’m still getting used to these early mornings!

What we are experiencing with the current news re: global markets, sell offs, talk of recessions, and so on… reminds me a little of the lockdowns and the associated stock market sell-offs.

Of course, this is a different time and a different situation.

It is not an easy thing for us to be aware of what is going on, without being overwhelmed and, dare I say, emotionally manipulated.

I believe the antidote is long form content, and spending more time being with ourselves and with others, rather than relentlessly exposing ourselves to the ‘breaking news’ updates which are designed to reel us in and, ultimately, keep us emotionally invested.

The irony that I am sharing this as in a relatively short-form format, is not lost on me.

Be well, and stay rooted, friends.

~

An antidote to ‘breaking news’ 🫂

As I spend every single day on technology, and human beings ~ for less than < 0.001% in our history ~ spent zero time on technology, I’m realising I want to do something about this.

I’d like to make my Sundays more sacred. i.e. wholesome activities, creating, consuming physical media, in-person connection, sport…

If you’d like to more meaningfully delve into this stuff, there are plenty of resources out there.

Here are some places I’d start:

~ 📚 Deep Work, by Cal Newport

~ 📺 The Social Dilemma, on Netflix

~ 🌍 The Centre for Humane Technology, a nonprofit

~ 📚 The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, by John Mark Comer

This month marks ten years since I first started writing words on the internet. After taking a break from creating to focus on some personal things, I’m re-emerging as a ‘creator’ (creative + entrepreneur) with a renewed sense of focus and purpose.

After mostly writing and podcasting in recent years, I’m being called to record video. I am planning to record and share a daily video this month and ~ hopefully ~ also in May and June.

Here’s a link for today’s video: 05.04.2025 ~ a new local project in Mexico City 🇲🇽

PS. The simple website for this project is being built, with a domain name purchased ~ I initially set up an instagram page, too, but have decided against using instagram for this project, for now at least.

The idea is for this to be a fun side-project I am using to help me in advance of setting up a for-profit media business further down the line.