For years, I've been connecting with interesting people and documenting insights that might help my clients and myself. What was once private is now (mostly) public.

People often ask: "How do you know all these people?" and "How do you connect these (re: random) ideas?" The answer is simple: consistent relationship cultivation and thoughtful note taking. My north star is trusting my instincts, my maps are the constellations in these reflections.

This approach to multidisciplinary networking has helped dozens of clients, colleagues, and friends strengthen their networks and unlock new opportunities. Find my Personal Archive on CultishCreative.com, watch me build a better Personal Network on the Cultish Creative YouTube channel, and listen to Just Press Record on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and follow me on social media (LinkedIn and X) - now distributed by Epsilon Theory.

You can also check out my work as Managing Director at Sunpointe, as a host on top investment YouTube channel Excess Returns, and as Senior Editor at Perscient.

Feel free to steal these ideas directly - that's what they're for! I can't promise you'll learn FROM me, but I guarantee you can learn something WITH me. Let's go. Count it off: 1-2-3-4!

Introducing... Kevin Alexander!

Do you know Kevin Alexander? He's the author of the brilliant "On Repeat Records" Substack, a weekly music discovery newsletter that's become essential reading for anyone who still believes in the magic of finding your new favorite song. He's also a master playlist curator who somehow knows what you'll love before you do.

If not, allow me to introduce you. Kevin spent his high school years working in a record store (living the dream we all wish we'd had), developed an encyclopedic knowledge of music that spans from New Order to Jawbreaker, and now dedicates his life to surfacing incredible sounds for people who are drowning in the overwhelming ocean of available music. I wanted to connect with him because he embodies something I value deeply: the art of curation as service - helping others discover beauty they didn't know they needed.

Our conversation is LIVE now on the Just Press Record YouTube channel (and this Cultish Creative Playlist). Listen and you'll hear insights about music discovery, the magic of one-to-one recommendations, and why local venues matter more than ever.

THREE: That's The Magic Number of Lessons

In the meantime, I wanted to pull THREE KEY LESSONS from my time with Kevin Alexander to share with you (and drop into my Personal Archive).

Read on and you'll find a quote with a lesson and a reflection you can Take to work with you, Bring home with you, and Leave behind with your legacy.

WORK: Be The Lightning Bolt Between Art And Audience

Key Concept: In an age of infinite content, the most valuable role isn't creating more noise - it's being the filter that helps people find signal. Kevin understands that curation is both an art and a service: knowing not just what's good, but what specific people need to hear at the right moment. The goal isn't to show off your taste; it's to create those lightning moments where the perfect song finds the perfect listener.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: The daily (non-survival, but very real) struggle of opening one of the music apps on my phone is in the decision to go back to something familiar or take a shot on something new. The old usually wins. But then, while I’m listening, I inevitably start to remember the joy of finding it, whenever or however I did, and wish I could feel it again.

It’s the same with movies. That, “I wish I could see this again for the first time” feeling (i.e. The Usual Suspects, Memento, or even just Pulp Fiction for me - that thrown in the deep end WHAT DID I JUST SEE feeling is magic). But you have to sift through so much, you have to get so lucky, to have those moments and - I’m tired, you know?

The internet, for all its problems, made the searching easier. If anything, it made it too easy. You can find people or art or all sorts of non-productive things before you ever get stuck and bored with one tape in your Walkman in the back seat of your parent’s station wagon on a long car ride that forces you to learn to love it.

But it also means, if you’re willing to find the curators and connectors of people to ideas, it’s never been a better time to have friends you trust. In my own childhood, it was radio DJs and cool older friends and friends’ siblings who played this role. But now, as an adult, it’s my favorite critics and critical listeners, which are increasingly not tied to major media outlets, but obscure little internet outposts.

That’s what Kevin’s writing means to me, and I both respect and love his commitment to catching that lightning just to share it with the world.

Work question for you: In your field, how could you become the curator who helps others discover what they didn't know they needed, rather than just adding to the noise?

LIFE: Chase The High Of That First Discovery

Key Concept: The most powerful motivation comes from remembering your own transformative moments and wanting to create them for others. Kevin's north star isn't professional recognition or industry respect - it's the memory of how it felt to discover something that changed his perspective forever. When you can tap into that feeling and dedicate your work to recreating it for others, you've found purpose that sustains itself.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: One piece of life/career advice I wish I understood sooner is to find someone who is 3 steps ahead of you and follow their footsteps. Way too often we see somebody 30 or 300 steps ahead of us and we go, “I want that, let me get there.” And then, if they give us advice or somebody else is telling us how to climb this or that ladder to reach it, we fall on our face or find out the path has totally changed.

But somebody 3 steps ahead of you, they’ve just done the thing, so they can literally say, “Step here next.” Now, the people 30 and 300 steps ahead give us direction, and maybe even strategic long-term goals, but they don’t put our left foot in front of the right foot.

We have to remember it for others too. If we’re 30 steps ahead, we shouldn’t be giving out tactics. It’s abstract and it’s ok to admit it. But if we’re 3 steps ahead, then we can point at those steps. We can even say something simple like, “Oh, you like music too? Check out what I just found” and if it lands, great, and if it misses, no time lost.

You want to find people who are 3 steps ahead of you. You want to be the person who is three steps ahead for someone else. There’s honest value here. It’s when the lightning bolt can strike or - way more simply - the light switch can just get flipped to “on.”

Life Question For You: What was your "Stop Making Sense" moment - that discovery that changed everything - and how are you working to create similar moments for others?

LEGACY: Balance The Old Gods With New Discoveries

Key Concept: True cultural stewardship means honoring what came before while remaining open to what's emerging now. Kevin's wisdom is in recognizing that you can't be a purist about old or new - the magic happens in the connections between them. Finding "today's version" of something you love creates bridges across generations of art and helps ensure that great traditions evolve rather than fossilize.

Personal Archive Note-To-Self: The best curators are good stewards. They’re three steps ahead of us with a deep awareness and appreciation what came 30 and 300 steps before. They know the direction of each step and can point back at their recent footprints to help others make progress.

And, along the way, those curators are tastemakers too. Taste is always personal. But that’s why you need your personally chosen guides. You have to know yourself to know them. And you inevitably get to know yourself more while you experience each next successive step.

The danger in all of this is that you freeze. If you stop moving forward, if you get stuck and don’t unstick yourself - it’s game over. Inevitably we all have these moments of feeling like the game is up, but the question is, how do we look around and see what’s new?

True cultural stewardship is always looking for the new because it includes all the new contributors (which are probably biased towards more younger than older, but older counts too!), and keeping life fresh by constantly refreshing whatever feeds our souls.

We can’t do it alone. We can do it to a pretty great soundtrack. Open your mind and your ears more often, you won’t regret it (and find somebody great to help you, like Kevin).

Legacy question for you: How are you balancing respect for the foundations that shaped you with openness to the innovations that could reshape your field?

BEFORE YOU GO: Be sure to…

• Subscribe to Kevin's "On Repeat Records" Substack at thekevinalexander.substack.com

• Check out his weekly playlist recommendations (they are killer)

• Support local music venues in your area (Kevin mentions Atwood Music Hall in Madison)

• Take a moment to reflect on all these ideas!

You have a Personal Network and a Personal Archive just waiting for you to build them up stronger. Look at your work, look at your life, and look at your legacy - and then, start small in each category. Today it's one person and one reflection. Tomorrow? Who knows what connections you'll create.

Last thing: Don't forget to click reply/click here and tell me who you're adding to your network and why! Plus, if you already have your own Personal Archive too, let me know, I'm creating a database.