Herbert Lui – Blog on creativity, marketing, and the human condition.

Against reality distortion

One of the most intriguing qualities about Steve Jobs is described as his “reality distortion field.” It seemed like he was able to bend reality to his will. For example, with its influence, he occasionally made unrealistic deadlines happen like the original Apple Macintosh computer, or going public with the Pixar IPO right after Toy…

Herbert Lui

June 17, 2026

Expectations, Turning Stories

Modest shapes

Whenever I come across an interesting idea, I hear my mind’s chatter, “This would be a great book.” I can envision the book cover with a big, bold, title. The feeling is captivating, almost euphoric; I call it a creative fever. A few moments, or perhaps days, later, I realize that I’m not going to…

Herbert Lui

June 16, 2026

Creativity, Creator Confidential, Expectations, Turning Stories

Choicefulness

This year marked Apple’s 50th year in business. It came awfully close to closing shop in its second decade, largely because it lost direction. The company failed to release hit products, was losing a lot of money, and scrambling to survive. In 1993, Apple released nearly 40 products, maintaining over 70 total. (For the Apple…

Herbert Lui

June 15, 2026

Creativity, Creator Confidential, Turning Stories

Take your practice seriously

In the 1950s, decades before he became a well-renowned composer, Philip Glass was a young man who recently moved to New York City to start his education at a prestigious art school, the Juilliard School. His first home was in a room on the fourth floor of a brownstone in the Upper West Side of…

Herbert Lui

June 14, 2026

Creativity, Creator Confidential, Turning Stories

Multiple strategies

Advice from a strategist, which resonated with me: You don’t need to pursue one strategy at a time. You can draft up three to five strategies, test them out, and see which ones work. In fact, it’s probably useful to think of more than one path to win. The most effective entrepreneurs and companies generally…

Herbert Lui

June 13, 2026

Creator Confidential, Expectations, Turning Stories

A fan of yourself

Olivia Levin wrote a book, The Story of Us, to cover Taylor Swift’s fan community. It’s a really interesting angle, and it made me wonder how a story covering Ye’s fan community would look. Right away, the phrase, “A fan of yourself,” immediately came to mind. In addition to the music, and the products, Ye…

Herbert Lui

June 12, 2026

Creativity, Creator Confidential, The Yeezy Way

Play the whole game

During the first half of yesterday’s NBA finals playoff game, the New York Knicks were losing by a lot. At one point, they were trailing by 29 points. They were not playing well at all. For context, no team losing by that much has ever come back to win in the finals. They were leading the…

Herbert Lui

June 11, 2026

Creativity, Creator Confidential, Expectations, Turning Stories

Experience happens in the passthrough

In technology, a passthrough is a device that allows a signal to transfer from a source to a receiver. A VCR could act as a passthrough for S-video signals to reach the TV. This concept applies to our work. In some ways, you act as a passthrough for ideas, directives, and requests. When these ideas…

Herbert Lui

June 10, 2026

Creativity

Winning at the casino

A family member, who worked at the bank, saw a lot of high net worth clients lose a lot of money gambling, to the point of even re-mortaging their houses. They told me, “At a casino, the worst thing that can happen to you is winning.” Chasing the ecstasy of the first win leads you…

Herbert Lui

June 9, 2026

Creator Confidential, Life, Turning Stories

Pokopia

For decades, Pokémon games have largely held the same premise and core mechanics. (e.g., You play as a person who chooses one of three starter Pokémon, catch more along the way, level them up by battling other people, adventure through eight cities or towns and beat each one’s respective gym leader, beat the Elite Four,…

Herbert Lui

June 8, 2026

Creator Confidential, Promotion