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Wesley Melville

I'm a writer and business & executive coach based between Chapel Hill, NC and Mexico City. Every Sunday, the District Distinct newsletter includes photos, articles, and essays on creativity, storytelling, and culture. In addition to the newsletter, I am currently writing a novel based on my great-grandfather's WWI journal.

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District Distinct #84 - the myth of normalcy

Popocatépetl (Popo) doing its thing The Myth of Normalcy "...the real reduced beyond recognition into the ideal, an ideal too narrow and symmetry-bound to account for the spacious, uneven, gloriously shambolic reality of being what we are." -- Maria Popova I love this entire essay by Maria Popova, but especially that first line. She's writing about Alain de Botton's the myth of normalcy in which he expounds upon a type of cultural tyranny whereby humans are conditioned to view life's...

3 months ago • 2 min read

Casa ITESO in Guadalajara Things to Share: February is for resolutions Our stories should promote slow change 6 questions to ask at the midpoint of your career February is for resolutions A friend forwarded this article after we shared January updates on our respective 2024 goals. At first glance it seems tongue and cheek. What better month – the shortest one – to get started in earnest on your ambitious New Year’s resolutions? We come roaring out of the gates in January with big intentions...

3 months ago • 2 min read

Plaza Luis Cabrera, Roma Things to Share: Nice vs Kind A method for first drafts Nice vs Kind In a recent coaching session the distinction between nice and kind came up as a lens for approaching uncomfortable conversations. My client felt resistance toward providing tough feedback because she perceived that it might result in hurt feelings and a tense conversation. On the surface the words are similar, maybe even often direct synonyms, but the difference can be profound. Being nice refers to...

4 months ago • 3 min read

National Museum of Anthropology Things to Share: Favorite books I read in 2023 Annual review templates Favorite Books 2023 edition I finished 41 books in 2023. Below, in no particular order, were my favorite reads and rereads: Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill. A novella in short vignettes about a falling marriage told from the wife's perspective. The vignettes are standalone prose that also merge into the overall arc of the story. My review. Self-Help by Lorrie Moore. One of my all-time...

5 months ago • 2 min read

Valle de Bravo Things to Share: Toni Morrison's 'Site of Memory' Asking questions for clarity Valle de Bravo Toni Morrison's 'Site of Memory' Morrison's essay, Site of Memory, is an accompaniment to her novel Beloved, and it explains the process she underwent to excavate truth and imagination from the brutally disappeared history of slavery accounts. It's also included in a excellent collection, called Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir. The essay reveals the lengths to which...

5 months ago • 5 min read

Palacio Postal, Mexico City's Porfirio era post office Things to Share: Carl Jung's life advice: "do the next right thing" Micro-acts may boost well-being The inequity of household mental load Carl Jung's life advice: "If you do with conviction the next and most necessary thing, you are always doing something meaningful and intended by fate." -- Carl Jung, responding to a fan's letter seeking life advice A friend and former b-school classmate who is writing a novel told me he has this Jungian...

5 months ago • 3 min read

Clear skies and views of Popocatépetl this week Things to Share: My favorite Annie Dillard quote Solomon's Paradox Questions for your future self I recently began a new book project ghostwriting a client's memoir. Like coaching, it's a personal and vulnerable process and exchange. You listen and ask questions, attempting to understand desires, fears, and the layers of thoughts and feelings that exist below the surface. If done well, the recipient sees and understands something new, but true...

6 months ago • 3 min read

A Few Things to Share: Hank Azaria's eulogy for Matthew Perry Learning to fail better Jazz genius Christian McBride God is a bunch of drunks together in a room: Actor, comedian, and voice of hundreds of Simpsons' characters, Hank Azaria, penned a touching tribute to his friend Matthew Perry, who died last week at the age of 54. It's a portrait of Perry's comedic talent as well as his compassion for others in the face of a lifelong bout with addiction and alcoholism. But it's also an essay...

6 months ago • 2 min read

In this week’s issue: Book Review: Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing - Including You Recommended Reads: The Lindy Effect, 17 Years of Marginalian, and vent writing Quotes & Observations: Eudora Welty Book Review: Mastering Change The conventional wisdom about change is that it's inevitable and the only constant in life. And yet, every time I experience one of life's bumps in the road I still act surprised, as though I'd graduated and shouldn't have to retake the...

7 months ago • 5 min read

In this week’s issue: Post: 'Because' vs 'Despite' Recommended Reads: John Grisham's consistent writing routine, South Korea's senior subway writers, revealing our co-workers' creative talent, and Yo-Yo Ma in the Great Smoky Mountains Quotes & Observations: Donald Maas on pointing the way toward change Because vs Despite When facing the long post-injury road to recovery, an athlete will often proudly proclaim that he's coming back stronger than ever despite the injury. And yet the use of that...

7 months ago • 5 min read
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