Studio Brief - Ed. 7
Our briefing on business, society, and creation
Welcome,
Spring, the season of renewal, is upon us. Oxford Dictionary defines renewal as, “an instance of resuming an activity after an interruption.” I’m reminded of California’s heavy rains this winter that renewed our reservoirs, will bring new life, and re-grooved our waterways.
While water is soft and flows in a path of least resistance, over time it cuts deep into the earth (e.g. the Grand Canyon). The more water that flows, the deeper those cuts become. The deeper those cuts become, the more easily the water flows.
Our brains, our bodies, and our spirits are like this. We don’t need to fight to create new routines or practices if there are ones already grooved within us. So, this Spring let’s renew what has served us well. What’s old always becomes new again, right?
I’m going to renew my practice of getting up when the sun does. How about you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Each brief is a collection of insightful articles, reflections, and news. Our goal is simple: peace of mind for your pursuit. And since success leaves clues, the ones I’ve found I'll pass along here.
Please share this brief with friends and if this was shared this with you, then subscribe below.
Quick Hits
New Federal reporting Rules for Businesses | JDSupra (7 min read) As of Jan. 1, 2024, new regulations require many businesses and corporate entities registered to do business in the US to report information regarding their owners, officers and other controlling persons. The obligations stem from the recently enacted Corporate Transparency Act and regulations issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department.
Legal AI is Hallucinating and Having Disastrous Results | The Conversation (10 min read) We’ve seen deepfakes, musical derivatives, and other AI creations, but now AI is creating fake laws. AI models are trained on massive data sets, but when prompted by a user they can create new content. This is an attempt by AI models to “fill in the gaps” when its training data is inadequate or flawed, and is commonly referred to as “hallucination”.
What is Greenwashing and How To Spot It | Vice (7 min read) On the heels of the hottest year ever recorded in human history businesses and governments have stepped up their greenwashing. Greenwashing is marketing or advertising describing a product or practice as fundamentally good for the environment, when in fact, its not at all. This virtue signaling practice is more commonplace than ever and we, as constituents and consumers, should take heed.
The Joys of Getting Organized | zen habits (8 min read) Organizing your life shouldn’t be about “work” but the joy of feeling lighter and more settled. Here are a couple recommendations: (1) create a few buckets (or categories) to put your things into; (2) overcome the overwhelm by working in short bursts without aiming to finish and take pleasure in the act of clearing out; (3) when sorting trust your gut and make decisions quickly; and (4) once a week set aside time for organizing.
The 20-5-3 Rule | Men’s Health (5 min read) Americans spend 92 percent of their time indoors, and (shocker) our physical and mental health is suffering. Rachel Hopman, a neuroscientist at Northeastern, found that time in nature causes our brains to ride alpha waves, the same waves that increase during meditation or when one lapses into a flow state. This resets thinking, boosts creativity, and tames burnout. Here is her recommendation for how much time to spend in nature: 20 minutes outside 3 times a week WITHOUT a phone; 5 hours a month in semi-wild nature, like a forested park; and 3 days a year off the grid in nature.
Intelligent Failure | Freethink (8 min read) There is a deep-rooted belief in our culture that success means never failing. That if you fail, it means there’s something wrong with you. But every success story began with failure. Amy Edmondson, a professor of leadership and management at the Harvard Business School says, “Intelligent failures are the failures that teach us something new or improve us in some fashion.” Here’s her criteria for intelligent failure:
Relate to an area you don’t have knowledge in.
Be in pursuit of a goal.
Not be a random guess but hypothesis-driven.
Result in a failure that is as small as possible.
Important Dates
April 15 - IRS and CA income taxes due for individuals, self-employed persons, C-Corps, and single-member LLCs + Q1 Estimated Taxes due
April 22 - Earth Day
May 1 - Beginning of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (US)
May 12 - Mother’s day (US)
May 27 - Memorial Day (US)
June 17 - Q2 Estimated Taxes due to IRS and CA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Having a good calendar and consistent filing habits is the most important thing to maintain your business and legal “hygiene”. Get yourself organized with our essential dates for businesses and subscribe to our live public business calendar.
Client News
Best Events, a premiere event planning company in the US, is hosting their 13th annual Neon Carnival during week one of Coachella on April 13th. The exclusive, invite-only event put on by Jeffrey Best and Brent Bolthouse, has blossomed into Coachella’s most highly-coveted wristband and a mini-festival itself. The A-list guest list is limited to celebrities, influencers, and industry insiders. Brands like Tequila Don Julio, Levis, Heineken, and Liquid I.V. will be sponsoring this year.
LoveWorthy, an all-inclusive matchmaking service based out of Los Angeles, aims to connect open-minded individuals, including those from the adult industry, other non-traditional (or alternative) communities, and allies, with their true love. While they’ve only been in business for a few years, their unique approach to matchmaking has made them one of the premiere services in the United States.
Upon Waking, written and directed by Max Rissman, recently showed at the Durango Independent Film Fest in Colorado and LGBT+ Film Festival in Poland. The romance follows two young women, struggling with personal demons, who get carbon monoxide poisoning during a first date and fall into a coma. Their disembodied spirits must learn to love one another and themselves to have a chance at waking up.
BookCase
Written by Ryan Holiday, this book draws inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with patience and resilience. Stoics focus on the things they can control, let go of everything else, and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, and tougher. As Marcus Aurelius put it nearly 2,000 years ago: “The impediment to action advances action. Whats stands in the way becomes the way.”
Ryan Holiday shows us how some of the most successful people in history - from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs - have applied stoicism to overcome difficult or even impossible situations. Their embrace of these principles ultimately mattered more than their natural intelligence, talents, or luck.
About the Studio
Our mission is to provide peace of mind and creative strategies for clients’ pursuits. We believe empowering clients and demystifying the world of the suits is the best way to do that.
Wherever you are in your journey, our e-book The Venture Map will help you with the legal steps of running a business.
Looking for more help? Visit the Studio for resources and click here to schedule a call.
