Category: Creator Confidential
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Over and over
“Every novelist spends their life writing the same story over and over,” Danielle Chelosky says in an interview with The Creative Independent. “My subject matter doesn’t vary so much from book to book. Just the surface does. The settings, etc. I tend to write the same book over and over, or at least, I take…
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Ignorance premium and the idiot index
When you want to do something and don’t know how to get it done, you’re going to have to pay whoever can do it for you. Let’s call it the ignorance premium. For example, if you want to eat a specific dish and you don’t know how to cook it, you will have to order…
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Be somebody else’s good luck
My friend Peter recently wrote about the power of reaching out to two contacts—former clients, industry friends, other agencies, old friends, investors, etc.—per week. It’s clear to him that this is one of the most valuable things he could be doing for his businesses. He writes, “The network that brings us leads, talent, knowledge, and…
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Shrigley’s quantities
David Shrigley makes lists of phrases (e.g., “man being mauled by a lion”), and then he draws 30–40 of them per day. Sometimes he’ll change the phrase (e.g., “man being mauled by a horse”). Each drawing is different, and he only does each drawing once. He discards the majority of them, by his estimate it’s…
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Weirdly Brilliant
When my friend Jason told me he would write a book in 30 days, I was interested in following along. Was it possible for someone to make a book worth reading in 30 days? I recently found out when I received a copy of his book, Weirdly Brilliant. Jason really leaned into the strengths of…
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Nintendo’s weakness
Nintendo’s approach to making video games isn’t to outdo its competitors in hardware or graphics. “At its heart, making toys is about using existing technology skillfully to deliver a surprising experience. It’s not a matter of whether or not the tech is cutting edge, but whether or not people think it’s fun,” says the late…
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Prioritizing
Every CEO’s job is to prioritize. It’s to decide what to do, and more importantly, what not to do. Once they do that, they communicate the priorities to their teams—sometimes tens of thousands of people—and those teams get it done. I want to repeat this: the leader’s most important task is to prioritize. Even thousands…
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Action vs. declaration
The smallest action is worth a thousand bold declarations. A declaration merely tells somebody else what you want; an action shows them what you want and your drive to make it happen. Championship coach Bill Walsh puts it this way in The Score Takes Care of Itself: Someone will declare, “I am the leader!” and…
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Cross-subsidization
A full-time job (or other paid gig) sustains a creative hobby financially. A creative hobby sustains a full-time job energetically and with collected expertise. Keeping each objective clear is important. A creative hobby is free from financial pressure. A job is free from personal inclinations, and can keep the practitioner (you!) disciplined, professional, and fulfilled.
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Realistic vs. dream jobs
When you’re choosing to commit to a client or employer, your realistic option may actually be a worse fit for you than your dream option. There are all sorts of reasons for this. For example, if you’re looking for a new client, maybe you have more in common with your dream client—shared references, experiences, values,…