Category: Creator Confidential
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Overthinking and stopping
I recently came across a phrase that resonated with me, “I’ve realized that the only way I’ll lose is if I stop.” You stop because you talk yourself out of doing things you want to do, you put too much pressure on yourself, you avoid problems, you panic, or you try to control things that…
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Discipline and interest
Jonnie Park has recorded over 300 episodes of his podcast, Fun with Dumb. Even though it’s one of the most consistent, disciplined, parts of his practice, he still wonders if it’s worth the effort. He knows his podcast isn’t the most viral thing he could be doing; it doesn’t get the most reach. While the…
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Long & McQuade
Over a decade ago, my friends and I released the first episode of Prologue with a recording artist named Ryan Lewis. We drove from Toronto to Montreal, went backstage to Osheaga, recorded the interview, slept, and left early the next morning. That kicked off a series of other interviews with artists like Ty Dolla $ign,…
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The infinite game of blogging: 1,000 posts later
On February 14, 2022, I started playing a game. I could win by writing a blog post every day for 100 days. Before the game, writing had felt like a chore on good days and torturous on bad days. I struggled to find my way out of the mindset of “content creation.” I started the…
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A podcast’s marketing foundation
Some websites estimate that there are six million different podcasts on Spotify. If you’re making one of these podcasts, one of the key challenges is to find people who will like your podcast, and make sure they can easily access your podcast’s latest episode. When Hamza and I first started working on our podcast, New…
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Disappointment and writing
Michael Lopp wrote a simple post about what you can expect your writing to do for you. The one that caught my attention was, “45% will do much worse than you expect when published.” That is a high percentage, but it sounds right. Writing—and all sorts of creative endeavors, really—means becoming very familiar with disappointment.…
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Creative success will not fill the hole in your heart
Tara Brach writes in Radical Acceptance, “Even when we are engaged in activities that are meaningful to us, that are creatively and spiritually gratifying, they can be “co-opted” and used to satisfy the unmet needs of the wanting self.” This resonated with me. In July 2022, I wrote, “When you instrumentalize creativity—that is to say,…
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Free coffee
The other day, I ordered a coffee at a restaurant. I sipped it slowly for 15–20 minutes, and then I asked for the bill. I waited a few minutes, and caught the manager’s eye. He said, “Sorry for the delay—don’t worry about it, it’s on the house.” The saying goes, “There is no such thing…
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The minimum
Whatever your job is, there is a good chance you can get away with doing the minimum. You can fall into a pattern of slipping on deadlines, asking for more time, and not staying on top of a project. It’s less than a regular effort; it’s the minimum. If you add just enough value to…