Category: Creator Confidential
-
Don’t just talk about it, write it out
There is a lot of jargon in the business world. That’s because it’s easy to give something a name and talk about it. It’s much more difficult to give meaning to the name and define it. Writing the new definition out forces you to get clear on the specifics of what it means. It also…
-
Dead ends and gateways
The reward for good projects are more projects. Some people are willing to pay you for projects that you may not enjoy doing. There are two types of projects: Dead ends are projects that you don’t enjoy, and don’t lead you to an outcome you want. You can figure this out by looking at people…
-
The sincerity of a blog post
It’s not very likely your blog post will go viral. There is no status, money, or recognition to gain from writing a blog. Here’s what remains: I’ve recently been reminded of how sincere and vulnerable that people who write blog posts choose to be. I find it rare even for many of my friends, many…
-
Tolerance for difficult emotions
A paper from decades ago studied both elite and non-elite swimmers. The findings suggest that while both types of swimmers experience intense anxiety, elite swimmers interpreted the emotion as a part of the process—their bodies were getting ready to perform well—whereas more non-elite swimmers felt that the anxiety was debilitating. This tendency could probably apply…
-
Push and Ye, masculinity and maturity
Pusha T and Malice’s GQ interview has been making the rounds on the internet. There has been a lot of noise particularly about Push describing why he can’t work with Ye anymore, “He knows I don’t think he’s a man.” While I found the phrasing surprising, the sentiment was understandable. Push has been one of…
-
Aligning process with results
Earlier in my career, I focused on work that gave me energy. Some of my projects made no money (like Prologue, my early writing at Medium, etc.). I took on projects that could subsidize them. I really enjoyed this way of working. I felt free, energized, and curious. In this season of my career, I…
-
Drawing a cartoon every day
Before the New Yorker published her first cartoon, Liza Donnelly submitted eight cartoons every week for two years. (Over 800 cartoons!) Drawing must be a practice that dies hard, because Liza still publishes a new one every day at Substack and at Medium. Sometimes she draws live, which is a delight to watch.