Herbert Lui

Blog on creativity, marketing, and the human condition.

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  • It’s easier to make art, harder to make a living off it

    “It’s easier than ever to make music, and harder than ever to make a living from it,” Luc Rinaldi writes. This statement applies well to writing. Perhaps it’s a matter of expectation: too many people expect to make a living from art. Maybe it’s because we are exposed to a lot of artists who have…

    Herbert Lui

    August 3, 2025
    Creativity, Creator Confidential
  • The day you took your buttons back

    There’s a phrase that describes when somebody else says something to cause a strong emotional reaction in you (usually irritating or annoying you): they are “pushing your buttons.” It’s not very useful, because it puts the other person in the driver’s seat. You’re passively letting your buttons get pushed.  It’s useful because you can always…

    Herbert Lui

    August 2, 2025
    Life, Turning Stories
  • The bad joke phenomenon

    When you get promoted, other people will laugh harder at your jokes and seem to excuse your tardiness. The feedback signals that had previously guided your behavior will seem distorted because you’ve gained power and status. Daniel Shapero calls this the “bad joke” phenomenon (via Rohan Rajiv), and he suggests three ways to accommodate this:…

    Herbert Lui

    August 1, 2025
    Creator Confidential
  • The circumstance and the experience

    Life is short. Don’t spend too much of it waiting. There are two solutions: Find an alternative. Choose or create an option where you don’t need to wait. There is, apparently, a street across from Din Tai Fung in Taiwan that serves all of the people who don’t want to wait. Accept the circumstances and make…

    Herbert Lui

    July 31, 2025
    A Matter of Time, Creativity, Turning Stories
  • Your chance to change a life

    My good friend Faiz is a pro basketball coach. Yao Ming hired him to coach China’s national team. He has also personally coached NBA champion Lu Dort. You can see him briefly in Netflix’s doc Court of Gold.  He’s gotten a lot of other coaching experience too. You’d never guess: he’s been doing all of…

    Herbert Lui

    July 30, 2025
    Life
  • The facade of a lottery

    Seth Godin recently wrote about seeing lottery elements in schools, sports, and on social media. Actually seeing lotteries is actually more difficult than it sounds.  For starters, lotteries are well disguised. If you bluntly told an Olympian that they were effectively a lottery winner, they might think you’re telling them their efforts didn’t matter, and…

    Herbert Lui

    July 30, 2025
    Expectations
  • Three ways to understand winning

    Winning is everything. If you execute on your values, ideals, and principles, winning will happen. Success isn’t about winning and losing, it’s about being your best self. Three different characters—say, Kobe Bryant, Bill Walsh, and Ted Lasso—would tell you different things about winning. You might learn something about yourself after you imagine them—or other characters—discussing…

    Herbert Lui

    July 29, 2025
    Expectations, Turning Stories
  • Hell’s Kitchen

    A year ago, my partner and I watched a musical called Hell’s Kitchen. It was created by Alicia Keys, with a storyline loosely based on her life and anchored by her songs. The musical made a really strong impression on me. Even though I was already familiar with her music, the characters, the screenplay, and…

    Herbert Lui

    July 28, 2025
    Around the World, Creativity, Expectations
  • When a detour is the best route

    You are on a road trip. The fastest path to your destination has no fuel stations, and your car is running low. An alternate path has several fuel stations, and it requires a detour—taking you an extra hour or two.  Which path will you take? Sometimes, it’s most useful to go directly towards your goal.…

    Herbert Lui

    July 27, 2025
    A Matter of Time, Creativity, Creator Confidential, Life
  • Contemplation vs. observation

    Tension—which can also be described as strain, stress, and effort—is valued in our era. You and I have been conditioned to believe that these are leading indicators to success.  One saying goes, “A for effort,” which acknowledges dedication even with an unsuccessful outcome. A twist on is, “E for effort.” (I take it to mean…

    Herbert Lui

    July 26, 2025
    Creativity, Turning Stories
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