Category: Creativity
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Make a book about a person
There’s a niche that doesn’t often get discussed: books about people. This can come in the form of short, unauthorized biographies like Clayton Geoffreys’s sport series, or Jake Brown’s In the Studio series. (I have bought books from both.) These books aren’t long, Caro-sized, biographies; they can be very short books, effectively long introductions to…
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Three types of imaginary barriers
In Creative Doing, I write, “After years of learning and applying rules, you might live within these constraints even when they don’t actually apply to you. You’ll feel like you’re bumping into invisible walls.” I call these walls imaginary barriers. (You can read the full prompt here.) Here are three types of imaginary barriers—amongst many…
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If you’re reading to learn, don’t read the whole book
You don’t need to read the entire book to get something out of it. For example, I learned to take notes from skimming a book that I otherwise wouldn’t have read (and still have yet to finish). If you’ve had a book that you’ve been meaning to read, I highly recommend buying and opening it…
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Choose someone else
In case you’ve been waiting to be chosen, there’s plenty of great advice on choosing yourself (or picking yourself). There seems to be much less advice about the natural next step: choosing someone else. These days, you and I and everyone else is a gatekeeper in some way. That means we also have the ability…
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The real thing
If you want to write a book, write the book. Don’t build an audience. Don’t look for an agent. Don’t write a proposal. Don’t look for a more prominent person to ghostwrite for. Write the book. Do the real thing. When you can’t do the real thing—you’re not well-trained or qualified enough—get as close to…
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To break through perfectionism, take a small step in any direction
In Hidden Potential, Adam Grant writes (I’ve reformatted for a better list read): In their quest for flawless results, research suggests that perfectionists tend to get three things wrong. In Adversity for Sale, Jeezy writes: I always tell people when you’re feeling stressed out, lost, and overwhelmed, you’re better off taking a small step in…
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“That’s too bad, but nothing for me to be ashamed of”
Raymond Carver, who worked many jobs (including as a janitor, and a textbook editor), writes: I have friends who’ve told me they had to hurry a book because they needed the money, their editor or their wife was leaning on them or leaving them – something, some apology for the writing not being very good.…
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Three quotes on ordinariness
“We think that if only we get the big things right, everything will magically fall into place. If we choose to marry the right person, it’ll all be okay. If we choose the right career, we’ll be happy. If we pick the right investment, we’ll be rich. This wisdom is, at best, partially true. You…
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The one line paradox
Sometimes it’s much easier to write 1,000 words on a topic than to write 10. As Mark Twain writes, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” Or as Arnold Kling writes, “When I finish writing a book review, I will often say to myself, ‘There! Now…
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Practice as perpetuation
A couple of days ago, someone told me that they saw me using a portable monitor and decided to buy one for themselves. It’s just another reminder that people learn from each other and get energy and inspiration from each other. If you wish something was more widespread, the best thing you can do is…