Category: Creator Confidential
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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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Out the trunk
In his memoir Lucky Me, Rich Paul shares a motto—a philosophy, an approach, a stance, etc.—that I really like, “Out the trunk.” Rich is a jersey connoisseur; in the early 2000s, he had spent thousands of dollars buying rare jerseys at Distant Replays. He eventually met owner Andy Hyman and offered to invest in Distant…
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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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Rich Paul on flying private, salary with LeBron, and fronting
I came across Rich Paul’s memoir at a bookstore the other day, so I picked it up and I’m really enjoying it. Naturally, I also started digging into some of his appearances at YouTube. I really liked his panel with Junior Bridgeman and Earn Your Leisure. Junior has a great story too, but some notable…
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“Should I be doing that instead?”
There’s a saying that the best workout plan is the one that you’re actually going to do. It’s a great approach to exercise. As a principle, it can be just as effective when you apply it to other parts of your life as well. What works for somebody else isn’t going to be what works…
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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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“My record sales ain’t much as theirs, and we still ride the same coupes”
There is a path to creative work that doesn’t require record sales, relevance, or any financial pressure; it’s a path of longevity. In Push’s case, the path works because he doesn’t make money with his music; he does it through his brand partnerships and his businesses. These outside streams of income keep the pressure off…