Newsletter Archive

DeveloPassion's Newsletter 187 - Stadium of selves

A newsletter discussing Knowledge Management, Knowledge Work, Zen Productivity, Personal Organization, and more!

Sebastien Dubois

10 Feb 2025 — 7 min read

Hello everyone! I’m Sébastien Dubois, your host. You’re receiving this email because you signed up for DeveloPassion’s Newsletter. Thank you for being here with me ✨

If you enjoy this, please forward it to your friends 👍. If this email was forwarded to you, then don’t forget to subscribe and become a supporter. You can also follow me on X, Bluesky, and Mastodon.

Welcome

Another week, another newsletter! I hope that you all had a great one 🤩

Have you ever wondered what your 10-year-old self would think of you today? Or what advice your future self would give you right now? This week's newsletter explores a metaphor that changed how I think about Personal Knowledge Management and personal growth. I hard about it years ago, but once again while listening to a podcast interview with Steph Ango, the CEO of Obsidian.

Alright, let's gooooo 🚀

This Week's Highlights

📝 A powerful metaphor for thinking about knowledge and personal growth
🎯 Major progress on the Knowledge Management course
🔍 Two deep-dive articles on PKM systems
🛠️ Exciting AI tool integrations
🔗 Curated resources to level up your Knowledge Management game

Before You Go Any Further

I want to reach more people. Got 60 seconds? Then share the link with one friend/colleague who would benefit from joining us!

The Lab 🧪

I hit a new sales record this week!

Couldn't be happier, as it comforts me that I made the right call to give myself one more year to succeed.

As you know, I've been quite busy in the past weeks.

On the technical front, I've been exploring and setting up various AI tools to enhance my workflow:

Installed DeepSeek R1 70B locally after upgrading my desktop PC to 96GB of RAM
Set up OpenRouter
Installed Cline
Added various MCP servers for better AI integration, including MCP server for Obsidian (Python)

I ran many tests using GPT4-o1-mini, Deepseek, Gemini 2.0 Flash, etc. I'm still experimenting, but so far, I'm quite happy with the results. I now have more ways to leverage my notes with AI, and to better use AI in general.

Stadium of Selves

Imagine you're writing in a vast stadium. But this isn't just any stadium—it's filled with every version of yourself that has ever existed and will exist. Your eager 10-year-old self sits in the front row, eyes wide with curiosity. Your 20-year-old self is there too, full of dreams and ambitions. Your future self from next year is taking notes, while your self from a decade ahead is nodding in appreciation.

Each word you write echoes through this stadium of selves, reaching across time to inform, inspire, and connect with every version of you. Your past selves learn from your current wisdom, while your future selves gather insights from your present experiences and reflections.

This metaphor has been particularly resonant for me lately. Looking back at the past few weeks, I've faced various challenges that each version of myself would handle differently:

My past self would have been devastated by a stolen wallet
My present self handled it calmly, taking systematic action
My future self will be better prepared

The same goes for my recent illness after overindulging—a reminder that some lessons need to be learned repeatedly, as each version of ourselves sometimes needs to experience things firsthand to truly understand.

When facing challenges, I've started asking myself three important questions:

What would my past self need to hear right now?
How would my future self want me to handle this?
What wisdom can I capture for my future self?

Knowledge Compounds Through Time

One thing that's become increasingly clear to me is that knowledge doesn't just grow linearly—it compounds through connections. This is why I'm so passionate about Personal Knowledge Management. Each note, each insight, each experience builds upon the previous ones, creating a deeper understanding that benefits all versions of ourselves.

As I wrote in one of my recent notes: Knowledge doesn't just grow linearly. It compounds through connections. This is particularly true when we think about our different selves through time. Each version of us adds layers of understanding, creating connections that weren't visible before.

Latest Articles

I published new articles that I'm proud of.

First first one is the analysis of my current knowledge base in Obsidian:

This one has been really well-received, and people found valuable ideas for building or improving their own systems. The cool part is that the system I sell (the Obsidian Starter Kit) is also the one I use, at scale. And it's also the one I leverage to build my Knowledge Management course.

The second one provides important recommendations about how to pick the tools for your PKM system:

Finally, I also published one targeted at content creators, discussing why daily notes are the perfect entry point for a creator's workflow:

Quotes of the Week

Knowledge Management Course Update: Final Module in Progress! 🎯

Exciting milestone: Module 7 of my Knowledge Management for Beginners course is complete! Now, I'm fully focused on crafting the final module that will tie everything together. This course has been a true labor of love, distilling years of Knowledge Management experience into a structured learning journey.

What makes this course special:

Built on real-world experience and challenges
Focused on practical, implementable strategies
Designed to grow with you as your needs evolve
Includes templates and workflows you can use immediately
Covers both foundational concepts and advanced techniques

Pre-order now to:

Lock in the special launch price
Be among the first to access the complete course
Start your PKM journey with proven strategies
Join a community of lifelong learners

👉 https://knowledge-management-for-beginners.com

What's Next?

In the coming weeks, I'll be:

Completing the final module of the Knowledge Management course
Recording and editing all the modules
Exploring more AI integrations for PKM systems

Stay tuned for more insights about turning information into lasting knowledge! 🚀

Quick Action Items

Think about a message you'd like to send to your future self
Start documenting your current challenges and solutions
Consider how your PKM system can better serve your future self
Pre-order the Knowledge Management course while it's at a special price
Check out this week's curated links for deeper insights

New & Interesting Links

For PKM enthusiasts:

A fascinating collection of AI tools for Obsidian: https://github.com/danielrosehill/Awesome-Obsidian-AI-Tools - A must-bookmark for anyone interested in AI-enhanced note-taking
DeepSeek meets Obsidian: https://b-r-i-a-n.medium.com/deepseek-meets-obsidian-61a3fe5c6069 - An interesting exploration of integrating AI with your knowledge base
A multi-level goal planning system using Obsidian: https://medium.com/obsidian-observer/a-multi-level-goal-planning-system-using-obsidian-29b94acd22f8 - Perfect for those wanting to combine PKM with goal tracking
Why people are obsessed with Obsidian: https://www.fastcompany.com/90960653/why-people-are-obsessed-with-obsidian-the-indie-darling-of-notetaking-apps - A great introduction for newcomers
The Future of Text: https://thefutureoftext.org
Turn information into knowledge: https://medium.com/@brickbarnblog/turn-information-into-knowledge-advanced-guide-00917f248170 - A practical guide to knowledge synthesis

AI and Knowledge Management:

Beyond RAG: Building a Knowledge Management System: https://nsavage.substack.com/p/beyond-rag-building-a-knowledge-management - An insightful look at the future of AI-enhanced PKM
Magic's 100M token context window: https://magic.dev/blog/100m-token-context-windows - The implications for knowledge work are mind-blowing
Hubert Lui on note-taking: https://www.workings.co/p/hubert-lui-on-the-note-taking-bullshit

Tools and Workflows:

🦶 Obsidian plugin that adds backlink/outlink tags and created/modified dates to the footer of your notes: https://github.com/jparkerweb/rich-foot
Laser Beam for Obsidian: https://github.com/drbap/laser-beam-for-obsidian
Obsidian Canvas Homepage Dashboard: https://medium.com/obsidian-observer/my-obsidian-canvas-homepage-dashboard-67c6ce1613c5

About Sébastien

I am Sébastien Dubois. You can follow me on X 🐦 and on BlueSky 🦋.

I am an author, founder, and coach. I write books and articles about Knowledge Work, Personal Knowledge Management, Note-taking, Lifelong Learning, Personal Organization, and Zen Productivity. I also craft lovely digital products . You can learn more about my projects here.

If you want to follow my work, then become a member.

Ready to get to the next level?

To embark on your Knowledge Management journey, consider investing in resources that will equip you with the tools and strategies you need. Check out the Obsidian Starter Kit and the accompanying video course. It will give you a rock-solid starting point for your note-taking and Knowledge Management efforts.

If you want to take a more holistic approach, then the Knowledge Worker Kit is for you. It covers PKM, but expands into productivity, personal organization, project/task management, and more: