What is this 30-day challenge?
Inspired by NaNoWriMo, where amateur writers attempt a novel every November, I’m writing for 30 days on my Substack. The goal is to put out 30 days of horrible writing, but 30 days of showing up. If anybody’s up for it, join me.
Octavian, also known as Augustus, the first Roman emperor, had an idea.
To build The Forum of Augustus. He wanted to add statues of Rome’s greatest men.
In Why Public Monuments Matter More Than We Think by Modern Caesar, we see Augustus cover the forum with men of valor. He had their deeds inscribed on the stone pedestals.
His plan was simple: “[He] was building a pantheon of heroes, with a goal in mind that every one of these statues would raise standards for Roman citizens, and make them demand more from themselves and their leaders.”
We all have heroes.
We all have someone in our life that we look up to.
My mother was my hero.
The way she lived her life inspired my brothers and I to start the Fathima Fowzia Foundation in her honour. Since then, we tried to live by the standards that she lived.
Creating the foundation’s website over the past year made me reflect on how the Romans built their monuments. I was left thinking…
Treating website as the first digital seed
Our website is the first seed of our existence in the internet age.
So why shouldn’t we treat our personal website like how Romans built their monument but something that requires constant iteration. It could be an arena for:
how we think
the world we look to build
the ideas we have
the creativity we own
the impact we are looking to do
the type of people that we love to work with
the jobs we are seeking
the master’s programme we are looking to apply to
the business plan that we look to scale, etc etc
It need not just be a body of work that we have done, but it can also be a future idea that we are looking to do.
Carving my site like a Roman statue
My own website rayaanwriter.com has gone through several iterations over the years. My taste, my focus, my interest evolve. I first believed it had to be static and own a niche, but I often lean towards updating regularly on…
the work ethos I strive for
the type of people I would love to work with and
legacy
One thing that has always been constant on my site is calling myself a writer. No matter what sort of ‘AI-assisted writing’ or ‘AI will take away writing’ narrative goes around, I will proudly continue to call myself a human writer.
Your digital site as a Roman monument
Treating our website just like how the Romans did gives us the opportunity to set a high standard for ourselves. I first believed that a site has to be visually appealing.
But nothing beats a simple minimalistic design. Sample Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway site which looks like a basic HTML text! But damn, the business is worth billions.
Not everything that glitters has substance. Nor does simplicity equate to low thinking. It is ideal to build our site with a simple tool and focus on the work we do.
As we go building our site, remember the purpose of why we are doing this: to preserve our legacy. Keep it as a memorable digital space that will exist even after our passing. But let us not be worried as we build and carve. Nothing is the same. Our interest won’t stay the same. We keep changing, and so should our site.
Rayaan Writer’s Day 6 Prompt:
You know the drill — Pick up a pen/paper or your laptop and explain in 200 words
If you have or don’t have a website, consider including the following questions:
Who you are
What you do
What you love
What you hate
Things you appreciate in life
Things you appreciate in work
Things you dislike in work
Things you dislike in life
The books you read
The music you listen to
The movies you watch
The art you appreciate
We just write good horrible first drafts and hit publish!
And that’s all for today! Reach out to me on LinkedIn to say hi.
You can simply reply to this email or comment below. See you soon! 😊❤️
