Curated Collection and Daily Updates
Look What Aiden Found Today — Episode #76
Favorite stories I read plus community-nominated pieces tailored for avid readers of ILLUMINATION Publications on Medium

Dear readers and writers, thank you for your engagement in the previous collections. Hard working editors of ILLUMINATION cleared the publishing Q beautifully today and allowed me to prepare this collection to create visibility of many great pieces. We added many new writers this weekend.
Our newsletter is ready. It was posted by the tech of account of Dr Yildiz on Medium and it is also on Substack now. Please share them on your socials.
Yesterday I featured our weekly boosted stories. We had 11 new ones.
After introducing the boosted stories of Dr Joan Naidorf yesterday, today I covered exceptional stories of Jozsef Kovacs as part of my boost education initiative to increase the chances of further distribution for our writers. I believe readers will enjoy reading these beautiful stories and aspiring writers like me learn from them.
I also managed to write a short story to inform my tech readers about a new AI photo tool called Sora. You may enjoy it as it is really cool.
As I mentioned before, every engagement and share can increase our collective chance for visibility. Please don’t underestimate the power of your engagement and shares of these stories. The goal of my collections is to increase reading times and engagement for these stories. So please choose a few pieces that are interesting to you and support these writers.
After his account drama, Mike started curating again. He recently shared a collection of interviews he read for the Friends of Medium. Like Mike, I also enjoy reading interviews with writers. I am glad that he linked some of my YouTube videos introducing top writers in 2022. He called his collection NOSTALGIA as it is full of nostalgic interviews with our top writers.
Here is the link to his beautiful collection.
You may check out his captivating collections as an avid reader and a proud FoM contributing to the earnings of our writers.
He also compiled boosted stories he read.
I added recent 18 boosted stories in the last 10 days.
Recently, I updated this piece which aims to inspire writers to post their bios as our readers love them as they keep asking me more personal stories like in this collection. I look forward to reading and promoting your writer biographies.
ILLUMINATION-Curators create a new collection for our Reading Club. It is full of engaging stories.
Invitation to Upgrade for Friends of Medium
I hope many more avid readers upgrade their subscriptions like him. He has good reasons like me. If you are an avid reader like me, Dr Kraushaar or Dr, Broadly 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.
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. Thanks, everyone, for the support that keeps me trucking on this fabulous journey.
Daily List for Sharing — Volume 76
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.
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.
Chosen Stories from ILLUMINATION Writers Today
Unique Case Study: Remarkable Effects of Phentermine in 9 Obese People in Last 6 Months Dr Mehmet Yildiz
Finding Comfort in Blocks: How Minecraft Eased My First Time Loneliness and Intense Grief at 17 Aiden (Illumination Gaming)
Here’s How I Improved My VO2max After My 60s with Persistence and Guidance. Mike Broadly, DHSc
The Most Useful Life Hacks I’ve Discovered This Year Tim Denning
The Power of the Voter Teresa D Hawkes, Ph.D.
Entering A New Cycle of Life Dr Michael Heng
Awareness — The Zen Place Is Right Here Poornima Verghese-Ram
Work Swallowed Her Whole, All Her Days Scarlet Ibis James 🦩
The Loneliness Epidemic Tobin Zolkowski, M.Sc.
Digital Flood Is Coming! Ali Alzahrani, M.Sc., Editor
Can You Be Helpful if You Don’t Breathe? Elena Vellani
How to Break the Dreaded Habit Shame Cycle with Seven Simple Questions Suzanne E.
Øivind H. Solheim — My Fiction Bio Øivind H. Solheim
Spente Le Stelle: The Stars Are Gone Dr Mehmet Yildiz
10 Vital Questions About Mass Shootings in America — Where Do You Stand? David B. Grinberg 🇺🇸
Breathing With Earth On The Roof Of Our World Rebecca Romanelli
The 7 colors of noise _Dansplain
Why You Need To Burn The Boats Abi Vikram
Stonewalling: Why We Do It, And Tips To Overcome Above The Middle
Vanilla and Joy of Sharing. Dr John Frederick Rose
Declutter Your Mind Amy Barlowe
Let Hope Set The Pace Amy Christie
Elon Musk Says Ukraine Will Lose the War Annie Wegner
How “Goblin Mode” Captures a Generational Discontent in China Anthony Tran
Spirituality and The Most Powerful Part of Your Entire Existence Is Your Outstanding Mind. James Boylan
Navigating the Myth and Reality of the American Middle-Class Dream Bernard
Quit Your Day Job Bossbabe
Mystery of the Burnt Notes Unravels a Cure CJ Coop
Unveiling the Alchemy of Monetisation: A Tale of Twitter Enchantment Digital Mindscape
Monthly Updates from ILLUMINATION Editorial Team: February 2024 Dr Mehmet Yildiz (Tech)
How to Master the Art of Saying ‘No’ Duane Michael
What do you regularly Complain About? Esther Levy
Stop Letting Fear Hold You Back. Fernando Salles
The Key to Finding Happiness in Tough Times. Freda Savahl
Evolving Insights: Yearly Trends in the Huberman Lab Podcast — Part 1 GaryGeo
Horoscope for 2024: Cancer. Hannusedit
Are You Looking to Launch A Podcast? Heidy De La Cruz
Announcement of New Writers for ILLUMINATION #35 ILLUMINATION
Metamorphosis Jan G Sokol
A New Peanut Allergy Research in “Science” Sparked My Childhood Memories Dr Mehmet Yildiz
You Never Ask Me What I Like Jasmine
Avoiding the Pitfalls: Common Mistakes Americans Make When Moving to Italy Jason Benskin
Saturday Night Fever-Is It Still a Thing? John Whye
Saturday Night Fever-Is It Still a Thing?
Does Saturday night still feel the same to you?
medium.com
My Top 5 iPhone Apps for 2024 Kainos
Waist Deep in Mud — Chain Saw Roaring — I Got it Done Kevin Hamill
My Journey Back from PTSD Kingsley Asuamah
50 Pantry Essentials For Creating Cheap and Tasty Meals Kristen Kay Brady
Dare to Intersect: The Future of Strategy in a Multidisciplinary World MAGDALENA PONURSKA
How to Create Value the World Needs Marcus Wilson
Embracing Nature’s Whisper: The Dawn of a New Kind of Retreat MK
Breaking Free from Creative Constraints Msfireballsmom
BARE: Uncensored Poetry Naomi Knight
After the Heart & Male Reproductive Health, Viagra Now Has the Potential for the Brain Function Dr Mehmet Yildiz
The Hole of Despair Nathan Forte
What I Read This Week — The Highlights Nicole Dake
The Universe Gives You What You Need Instead Of What You Want Noriko Yanyan
Investing My Blogging Income To Make Extra Bank Paul Is Positive
Pennsylvania or Bust! Paul Thomas Swann
Are Your Relationship Beliefs Hindering Your Growth? Paul Trood
Four Transformative Questions for Self Reflection Prajula Ravichandran
You Can’t Leave Him Like That. Robert Cormack
How to Care for your Emotional Well-Being Rosa Diaz-Casal
The Truth in the Clouds: A Walk Through the Myth of Nephele Runa Heilung 🌻
The Hidden Benefits of Health Savings Accounts S ESOOF SIDDIQ
Be Sincere In Your Aim And — You Will Find The Support Of Allah Surrounding You: S.a.n.a.h
The One Thing That Helped Me Move Forward Samantha Joy Laratta
Steal My SEO Strategy to Make Easy $3K/Month From Your Website Sana Uqaili
Walk With Me Through Bucharest’s Old Town Silviu-Florin Salomia
Your Voice Is Your Personality ✊ Sreevidya. A
The Fool Is Always Getting Ready To Live Startup Lab
Are Stories One of the Most Effective Ways to Communicate? Suman Shek
The Number 1 Way How to force people to read your article Taimoor Shahid
Set Boundaries in a Relationship! Tarek Rakhiess
The Beauty Within Tom Kane
7 Obvious Dangers of Constant Smartphone Use Tony Yasu
The Secret Formula About Building Irresistible Content That Keeps Your Audience Hooked Tser Dennis
Amazon’s Dirty Secret Exposed: The Shocking Truth About Amazon Salary and How I Uncovered the… Usman Aslam
A Boot Camp Approach to Cure Your Creative Block Vic Bowling
Hey, Are You Married? writingelk
The One Thing That Fuels Motivation Yana G.Y.
Top 10 Leadership and Creer Transitions Lessons To Learn From The Book “The First 90 Days” By… Youssef A.Benjeddou
This Is What I Like About Gen Z: Zach Breiner
Who Are You When You’re Not You? Zackary Henson
Exploring Frogs With Transparent Skin Rich Sobel
How To Safely Transform Dietary Protein Into Healthy Longevity? Dr. Lutz Kraushaar
Why Women in Pakistan Are Not Oppressed, But They Thrive Ammara Hassan
Thank you for reading these beautiful stories.
Quick Updates for Highlights of Our Pubs for New Writers
Here is our onboarding pack covering everything you need to know.
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:
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
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. Meet Somil Gupta on Medium
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
Today, I was busy as it was the last public holiday in Australia. I helped with onboarding around 100 new writers, so I was able to find around 60 great pieces and listed them.
As I grappled with the hedonistic treadmill pursuing money and fame, which eventually led to burnout, Dr. Yildiz’s a story deeply resonated with me. It offers valuable insights that can shift perspectives on material possessions and money, perhaps even making it easier to integrate money effortlessly into our lives. Why I No Longer Chase Money & How I Escaped Hedonic Treadmill to Find True Joy
The cloning machine struck again, attempting to cast its shady duplicates in my blockbuster movie. But let me clarify — even if they get down on their knees and beg, these scammers won’t be snagging a role in my soon-to-be award-winning cinematic masterpiece. Yay, I Was Cloned Again but I Know the Scammer Will Kick the Bucket Soon.
I learned that scammers targeted Mike’s beautiful curated collections again after 5th time spamming all the readers pretending to be him. But this time, they used sophisticated methods that Mike revealed in a masterpiece. I think those scammers have no clue that Mike is a seasoned professional and will not allow them to win. That dubious writing club might kick the bucket soon. Battling Scams: My Heartfelt Struggle Against 5 Medium Attacks in a Week, Unveiling Their Latest Tricks
One of our consulting editors, David B. Grinberg 🇺🇸, wrote an interesting story about the critically important reasons why Medium should be more transparent with users about these phishing scams. Why Medium Should Be Transparent about Clone Phishing Attacks.
During our conversations, I gained a deeper understanding of Dr Yildiz’s challenges, and I hope those who sometimes take our volunteer service for granted read this story. Running these Medium publications is no walk in the park. I believe that it’s not all roses and rainbows in the editorial team.
A Rollercoaster of My Saturday: Challenges, Surprises, and Joyful Insights
As I curated these gems, I encountered numerous “aha” moments — some inducing fits of laughter, others coaxing tears, all painting my journey with vivid emotions. I’m excited to pass on these emotional roller coasters to you, hoping they’ll add a sprinkle of joy or even a smidgen of uncontrollable giggles to your day. Enjoy the ride.
ILLUMINATION editors created an important bulletin for increasing spam, scam, and bot accounts, contaminating the platform and causing grief to writers and readers. Please be careful as I was cloned and felt bad about it.
I read an interesting story from Dr Yildiz related to Mike’s story and his findings from the spammy topics pages.
The Reason I Didn’t Publish a Science and Health Article on Medium Today
Those who missed my Vocal saga can read it from this link. But I highly recommend the story of Dr Yildiz as it is concerning for new writers like me trying to make Medium our home.
Our newsletter for Illumination informing of our progress and plans was released on both Medium and on Substack. I link both so you can share with your relevant audience. Sharing is a wonderful community trait. Here’s the Substack version.
ILLUMINATION-Curators compiled and published the collection of boosted stories from ILLUMINATION-Curated. I believe you will find amazing stories from that collection. It is a labor of love between writers, editors, nominators, and Medium curators to delight our readers.
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.
I recently self-curated my monthly stories for my loyal readers and as a sample for fellow writers. I look forward the same success this month so I keep working hard. 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.
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.
Introduction to New Writers
Now, let’s welcome the new writers who joined us yesterday. Please explore their stories, and they resonate with you may connect with them. This is a great opportunity for writers and readers to meet. I followed most of you today but I couldn’t follow more than 150 profiles so I will continue the rest tomorrow.
A Special Welcome to New Writers on New Year’s Day from the Chief Editor
A Special Welcome to New Writers on Christmas Day from the Chief Editor
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.






