Curated Collection and Daily Updates
Look What Aiden Found Today — Episode #31
Favorite stories I read plus community-nominated pieces tailored for avid readers of ILLUMINATION Publications on Medium

Dear Writers and Readers! I managed to find some great pieces for our loyal readers today. I also self-curated my monthly stories for my loyal readers and as a sample for fellow writers.
As mentioned before, December 2023 was an excellent month for me. In addition, a story near and dear to my heart got a boost. Many thanks for the comments on this story: Gaming, Fun, and Humor: The Lifelines That Rescued Me From Social Media’s Grip on My Life.
If you are an avid reader like me or Mike and can afford to consider upgrading your subscription by taking the plunge like many early adopters whom I introduced you to in this story,
ILLUMINATION editors interviewed Dr Yildiz on how Friends of Medium can share links on out tailored social media platforms. I tried them, and sharing these stories took only 10 minutes. I hope they bring many new readers to Medium. We all need to attract more readers to make this platform more vibrant and sustainable.
You may also check out the recent collection of Mike Broadly, DHSc, an avid reader and a proud FoM contributing to the earnings of our writers.
ILLUMINATION-Curators compiled our BOOSTED stories in a collection and presented them to our readers today. We will also share this collection on Substack for our many subscribers to bring more and more readers to this great platform. Let’s all collaborate and make Medium better together by being FoM or engaging meaningfully in the stories of others. These boosted stories can delight our readers and inspire our writers.
Our editors and curators also explained how we promote non-boosted stories, which are more than 99%, so I take a significant role in this process to create visibility for such stories.
Please also check our strategic approach for 2024, which is aligned with Medium’s direction articulated by Dr Mehmet Yildiz, our chief editor.
He also mentioned that only 5% of his stories performed well in 2023 and other 95% hardly got any views.
Dr Yildiz also added many new writers during his holidays. I will add their profiles to the end so you may welcome them and connect with them.
I slot detailed publication-related news toward the end of the collection so we don’t overwhelm our loyal readers. However, writers can hop to the tail end to catch up on our activities. It’s a win-win situation!
Daily List for Sharing — Volume 31
I volunteered to create a list of this collection. So you can easily share this collection on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, or Quora. You can find all our sharing platforms from this story link by Dr Yildiz.
Let’s all engage in this list and at least tweet it so that more readers can find these stories. It is the purpose of these curated lists. We appreciate your wonderful support for these writers who pour their hearts and souls into these stories to delight you. Here are the nominated stories from avid readers today.
Chosen Stories from ILLUMINATION Writers Today
As we mentioned before, “these stories are a combination of what I enjoyed and those which nominated by volunteering editors (also writers and readers) on this platform, so the stories in this collection reflect their collective tastes. As a publication, ILLUMINATION keeps a neutral position for all published stories, and it is impossible to feature over one million published stories. But we will do our best to amplify as many great stories as possible almost daily from now on based on the availability of our volunteers.”
Here are our wonderful and nominated stories today! I believe you will find something that will satisfy your reading needs.
Managing Withdrawal: 8 Steps Post-Kicking an Addiction Effectively Dr Mehmet Yildiz
Seattle’s Repeated Ascendancy to #1 in Frontier Skills Range of 2023 Dr Mehmet Yildiz (Tech)
Fear of Judgment: the Achilles Heel of Personal Development Mark Sanford, Ph.D.
The transformative power of self-compassion Vivian Robert, Ph.D.
Cellular Responses to Ketosis: Can Cancer Cells Listen and Behave? Mike Broadly, DHSc
How to Begin Fresh in 2024: 3 Positive Steps Zeenat Merchant Syal, M.A, M.Sc
Monk Mode: An Extreme (But Highly Effective) 30-Day Protocol To Become Your Most Productive Self Jari Roomer
A Simple Breathing Technique to Help You be Present in Nature David Gerken
Harbor of Hearts: The Dual Tides of Joy and Sorrow Alexa Velinxs
What Happens When You Can Not Reply To Articles And Messages On Medium Dr. Gabriella Korosi
The Simplest Method to Effective Written Communication Basma Taha
Who Knew 10,000 Hours Worth of Mistakes Would Turn Into 7 Awesome Lessons? Boysie Gordon
The Man Who Had the Biggest Impact on My Life Wasn’t My Dad Charles Amemiya
The Real Truth Why (some of) the Wealthiest People You Know Find it Hardest to Spend Dinah W
The Brutal Truth About Making Money Online is Eye-Opening Aaliyah Kissick
Pomegranate Could Protect You Against The Two Killers Of Modern Age Lanu Pitan🥰
Just Because Something “Resonates” Doesn’t Make it True Dustin Arand
What Drives Us Humans To Be As We Are And Do As We Do? Gary Niemen
How Steve Jobs Taught Us to Align Passion with Dharma Hardik Raval
Collection of Boosted Stories from ILLUMINATION Publications — V3 ILLUMINATION-Curators
What Medium Writers Can Learn from Quora and Reddit Jinmin Lee
Living by Design: Unveiling the Influence of Core Values in Everyday Life John Cunningham
24 Actionable Tips On Health, Wealth, and Relationships Juan Cienfuegos
The Funny Little Thing About ‘Women’s Choice’ Kelly Crawford
Don’t Read Me: A Writer’s Plea for Freedom (and Maybe a Glass of Wine) Midnight Young
Telling Someone to Live Their Life to the Fullest Is the Worst Advice Miriam Rachel
Screw New Year’s Resolutions — 7 Steps to Make Intentions for 2024 Paul Long
Technology Progress and Perspectives from Various States of North America Dr Mehmet Yildiz
The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Damaging Reality of Social Media Rima Eneva
How Small Gestures Create Waves of Connection in Your Relationship Ryan Miller
Here’s High School Today (from a current high school student): Shobi Kim
10 mindset shifts that made my life more fulfilling. Sonali Yadav
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger. So Why Do You Keep Running Away From It? Victor Correra
Be Positive Performer: Wetiko, The Art of Listening, The Day I Almost Gave Up Doc Samurai Sam,
An Overwatch 2 Hero Is Being Played Wrong, and It’s Working Aiden (Illumination Gaming)
Thank you for reading these beautiful stories.
Quick Updates for Highlights of Our Pubs
ILLUMINATION-Curators introduced some recently boosted stories. I believe you will find some great stories in that collection. Collection of Boosted Stories from ILLUMINATION Publications — V2
By upgrading his main profile, Dr Yildiz inspired our readers to become Medium Friends. I hope many readers join this inspiring journey. Celebrating My Reading Anniversary with My Upgraded Subscription to New Medium Friendship
Boost Education:
I’ve launched a new series to help writers hit the literary stratosphere. Dr. Yildiz got the grand opening gig because I’ve got the scoop on his stellar stories. Now that I’m peeking behind the scenes as an editor and boost nominator, I’m trying to put as many writers in the spotlight as possible. Your thoughts on the story would be cosmic — let’s team up and make these tales shine like stars! I will do it for every boosted writer as soon as I get a chance. Here is Episode 2 introducing boosted stories of Matt Williams-Spooner, Ph.D. Lessons Learned from Boosted Stories — Episode #2 and Lessons Learned from Boosted Stories — Episode #1. You can learn more about Matt’s background from this interview. An Interview with Matt Williams-Spooner, Ph.D.
Recently, I added several new writers. I look forward to seeing their stories in these collections soon. You can meet them from the attached post. I also added their profiles at the end of this post so you can follow them easily if you want to. I will add more writers later today. There are many applicants. Announcement of New Writers for ILLUMINATION #28 and #27
For new readers and writers, I have also joined the ranks as a Friend of Medium (FoM). From now on, stories I read from other writers will earn them four times the previous ones. Details are in the attached story. I Took the Plunge and Became a Friend of Medium (FoM) Yesterday.
Dr Yildiz also wrote about it to invite our readers to become Medium Friends and support our writers. The more FoMs the merrier. Importance and Value of Medium Friendship for Writers and Readers
But scammers spammed his beautiful story and tried to deceive our readers. Here’s his sad and important story: every writer and reader needs to understand and act cautiously. They act too realistically! Scam and Spam Accounts on Medium Are As Bad As Hate Speech and Defamation for Writers
They did the same thing to me. For those who missed the excitement, two days ago, I was happy the scary scam account that emulated my profile and tried to deceive my readers was removed. Those who missed the drama can read it from this link. Breaking News: My Clone Kicked the Bucket, and I’m Gleefully Celebrating It🎉
How to Identify Them? These fraudulent accounts typically lack followers and haven’t authored any stories themselves. They are non-members with no star or heart icons in their profile names. Urgent Notice: Beware of Fake Accounts Impersonating Influential Writers
If you are into gaming, I also wrote about winners of 2023 for popular games. I will introduce some of those games in my forthcoming stories for game lovers. The Winners of The Game Awards 2023 Have Been Announced
Talking of gaming, if you plan to craft stories about these remarkable games, consider submitting them to my publication, ILLUMINATION-Gaming. I’m here to elevate your narratives, ensuring they stand out and increasing their chances of a boost. I wrote about my goals and how I can help our writers in a story titled ILLUMINATION Gaming Is Part of the Boost Program Now.
To inform new writers, our special publication, ILLUMINATION-Curated, now is a boost nominating pub You may learn about How ILLUMINATION Publications Support the BOOST Program.
I’ve bundled up all my lists into one tidy little story. It is a treasure trove of fantastic reads waiting for you. Please consider sharing the love on your socials and dive into these gems! You won’t regret it.
Shareable List Links for Curated Collections on ILLUMINATION
Dr Mehmet Yildiz introduced a writing duo known as Pernoste & Dahl. You will love this introduction as he reveals the mystery behind these interesting writers who writes inspiring and engaing content on Medium.
Meet Pernoste and Dahl: A Writing Duo of a Neuroscientist and an Artist
ILLUMINATION editors introduced a great writer, Somil Gupta. I hope you check his profile and explore his delicious stories.
Our team of volunteers is working through the influx of stories, aiming to review and publish each piece while welcoming new writers into our fold. It’s a labor of love that demands time and effort. Please remember that we support 25K+ writers, as mentioned in our Monthly Updates.
If you missed this recent interview featuring Luay Rahil, here is a link for you. His stories can nicely surprise you. An Interview with Luay Rahil, MBA
For those who missed my Vocal saga, here is the link. I hope new writers don’t make the same mistake I made for 18 months. Here’s How I Miserably Failed Vocal Media But Have No Regrets
ILLUMINATION-Curators compiled boosted stories in December, so you might find some fascinating stories from this collection. I also chose to publish this collection on ILLUMINATION-Curated as our readers enjoy curated collections. Here is their treasure trove: Collection of Boosted Stories from ILLUMINATION-Curated
ILLUMINATION-Curators wrote about that exceptional story. I hope you will get a chance to read it and pay attention to your privacy. An Exceptional Story on Privacy Every Reader May Find Helpful
Our chief editor Dr Mehmet Yildiz, upgraded our publication accounts ILLUMINATION and ILLUMINATION-Curators, as well as his tech account Dr Mehmet Yildiz (Tech), making them Friends of Medium. Reading from these accounts will allow writers to earn four times more. While curating stories, we read many stories from these accounts, so it will be great for writers. Details are in his story by Dr Mehmet Yildiz (Tech): Why I Became a Friend of Medium
Our senior editor Mike Broadly, DHSc joined the curation team and created new collections from his favorite stories that you may adore. He has amazing taste as an avid reader and has already created seven collections in such a short time. I loved his new collection earlier today.
Mike’s Favorite Stories on ILLUMINATION Publications — #17 Mike Broadly, DHSc
Please find his collections with the associated lists and share them on your socials so we can bring more readers to Medium. Here are links to Mike’s collections: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16
Our supportive editor, famous nutritionist, Elin Melaas, created her second collection earlier. Elin also created the Invisible Series. Elin’s Chosen ILLUMINATION Stories — #2
And our lovely editor Surekha Chandrasekhar also created a collection of her delicious pub ILLUMINATION’s Nutrition which is also our virtual kitchen. 20 Curated Stories From Illumination’s Nutrition -2023
ILLUMINATION editors introduced some great writers. You may check out their profiles and explore their fabulous stories.
Meet Seda Anbarcı, Meet Dr Emmanuel Ogamdi, Meet Jozsef Kovacs, Meet Davor Katusic. Meet Thomas Allen Moon, Meet Sneha Nagre, Meet Zondra Dos Anjos, Meet Ani Vals Meet Ammara Hassan. Meet Sridhar Pai Tonse — Leadgen Coach- Tech Startups Chosen Stories from Omni Essence, Editorial Profile of InYah
Our editors enjoy stories and nominate them for these curated collections. You may check editor profiles in this collection.
I love reading writer biographies and curating them. If you write any bio story please let me know so I can add them to my collection. Meet ILLUMINATION Writers from Their Personally Penned Biographies
Dr Mehmet Yildiz reviewed an interesting book of Dr Emmanuel Ogamdi. If you are a book author, you may contact Dr Yildiz as he really does great reviews. He even wrote the foreword of my gaming book. Here is his great review today. “Nobody Will Tell You This”
As mentioned a few weeks ago, I created a Discord server for our writers to collaborate and share their story links, so you are all welcome to join. We already have great fun there. It is not as big as our Slack, but it will be one day, as Discord is a lot of fun.
Now, let’s welcome the new writers who joined us recently. Please explore their stories and they resonate with you may connect with them. This is a great opportunity for writers and readers to meet.
You may also check previously joined writers in the last two weeks from the attached onboarding packs. You never know who to meet.
Here is our onboarding pack covering everything you need to know.
New writers, when you need help please don’t hesitate to contact me on Slack workspace or Discord server. I introduce these services below.
I also enjoy introducing writers on YouTube. So if you are interested you may contact me on Slack or Discord.