Herbert Lui

Blog on creativity, marketing, and the human condition.

  • About
  • Creative Doing
  • The Consistency Journal
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  • Be mindful of renting capabilities

    “For a while, he even makes you believe that his power has become yours. Irresistible power… that makes every desire’s fufilment seem inevitable.” When I heard this line from Rings of Power, it reminded me of this: Sometimes, business partners want to make you rely on them in order to gain leverage on you—as if…

    Herbert Lui

    May 1, 2026
    Creativity, Creator Confidential, Expectations
  • Adventure starts when everything goes wrong

    “The word adventure has gotten overused. For me, when everything goes wrong—that’s when adventure starts,” Yvon Chouinard says. It drew to mind my first trips. At some point, you may feel like your back is against the wall, and they’re closing in. Everything is falling apart. That’s a sure sign your next adventure is about…

    Herbert Lui

    April 30, 2026
    Around the World, Creativity, Expectations, Turning Stories
  • Please prompt me, and allow me to prompt you

    A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting with a friend about AI. They told me they had bought two of the highest tier Claude plans, had two computers running Claude Code, and still often ran out of tokens.  Their enthusiasm for making new things with AI was contagious. They told me they wished they’d…

    Herbert Lui

    April 29, 2026
    Creativity, Creator Confidential, Expectations
  • Resumption matters, now more than ever

    Change is happening faster. A useful term to describe this is future shock. These days, interruptions take place much more often. For example, during the two years between 2020 and 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted all of our lives. In my own efforts to avoid getting COVID-19, I paused many routines I’d taken for granted,…

    Herbert Lui

    April 28, 2026
    A Matter of Time, Creativity, Creator Confidential, Turning Stories
  • Thanks for reaching out

    In drumming up business for writing, I’ve been starting conversations with people, many of whom I haven’t spoken with in over a decade. We talk a bit about business, and mostly catch up about life. The call often ends on a note of appreciation. My conversation partner, now reacquainted, says, “Thanks for reaching out.” It’s…

    Herbert Lui

    April 27, 2026
    Creator Confidential, Expectations, Promotion
  • Maladaptive frugality

    I recently decided to, finally, have my iPhone fixed, only to realize a few hours later that my AppleCare could have covered it. I was in a low mood until my partner suggested that I was robbing myself of a good decision.  The iPhone needed fixing, and procrastinating on it wasn’t useful. Deciding to do…

    Herbert Lui

    April 26, 2026
    Creator Confidential, Life, Turning Stories
  • Speaking with i-Think

    A couple of days ago, I spoke about redefining creative commitment with the team at I-Think at the Centre for Social Innovation.  The speech was followed by a wide ranging Q&A session, which I also found very energizing. A portion of it was dedicated to writing to think, which inspired a LinkedIn post the next…

    Herbert Lui

    April 25, 2026
    Creativity, Creator Confidential
  • Sometimes, it goes before it works

    A few months ago, an entrepreneur and I were discussing their content strategy. He described his team and approach to me. I told him, it sounds like it was working. “No, it’s going. It’s not working,” he replied. That distinction resonated with me.  Many times, projects and practices won’t produce the results you seek right…

    Herbert Lui

    April 24, 2026
    A Matter of Time, Contentions, Creativity, Creator Confidential, Expectations, Promotion, Turning Stories
  • A beginner’s guide to asking

    Most of the time, it’s okay to be nosy. A more polite way to describe that is curiosity.  If you make eye contact, wave, and say, “Excuse me,” you are off to a good start.  Learn to ask indirectly. Feel out when to push and when to pull back. Know when to offer to put…

    Herbert Lui

    April 23, 2026
    Around the World, Creativity, Expectations
  • Always ask

    People can recommend incredible restaurants. They can bend rules for you. They can help make an exception or offer leniency.  With their experience, they can suggest more expansive possibilities than you could have imagined. All you have to do is one thing: Ask.  Always ask.

    Herbert Lui

    April 22, 2026
    Around the World, Creativity, Expectations
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