Category: Creator Confidential
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Losing 101
You might’ve been born and bred to win. As a kid, you might’ve won awards, made the most friends, or been recognized as an excellent athlete. Many of us grow up like this, children of parents who were taught to do the same. We mostly learn to do this as individuals. In situations like this,…
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On writing a newsletter about books
Every month, I recommend 3 books to nearly 2,000 people. This has been an extremely rewarding experience. I’ve met some really great people through this newsletter. Some of these friends even kindly tell me to pick a new topic. I’m aware that books are not the most catchy hook, and that I could probably grow…
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World building
A decade ago, Donald Glover said, “You’ve got to build a bigger world. I’m not gonna make [just] an album; I’m gonna make an album, I’m gonna make the roll out dope, I’m gonna make the movie with it dope, I’m gonna make everything dope. I’m gonna make a world.” This approach is what led…
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Independence is a team sport
When you work in a team, you’re in a position where you’re frowned upon if you’re not a team player. You feel like you need to be a team player in order to get by. When you work as an independent, you don’t need to be a team player—you might not even have a team!…
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Put it out there
It’s good to shake things up and put your work on a public surface. Otherwise, it’s easy to forget that other people are experiencing your work too. It’s also good to ask questions early on if you’re stuck, and to let people know you need help with your work. The alternative—not asking—may feel better, and…
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Vision, practice, and spine
At his Substack, Austin Kleon suggests an alternative to having a creative vision: And this all sounds very inspiring — it really does pump you up! — but for much of my life, [having a vision] would have been almost useless advice, because I didn’t really see any of my career coming. There was no…
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Cliffhangers are cheap
I just watched two films that closed with incomplete stories: Across the Spiderverse and Fast X. I’m aware both are very different—the former was received very well, the latter was received as well as the other Fast movies—and I found both to be similarly frustrating experiences. Infinity Wars was probably the first blockbuster to pioneer…
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“I don’t have anything to say about this…”
I’m researching a topic that’s outside of my wheelhouse, with a character that’s outside of my wheelhouse. While it’s incredibly culturally relevant, and I’ve been studying, I can’t say I’ve developed a perspective on the topic yet. And yet, it still captures my attention. A truer statement is probably, “I haven’t done enough research on…
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When emotions limit earnings
When I ran an editorial studio, I was often approached by clients to join their companies full-time. I declined these opportunities and conversations, because I enjoyed entrepreneurship and thought it was the best way to learn, until one client approached me with a salary that I found difficult to say no to. While money was…
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“You don’t even know what hard is”
You don’t even know what hard is. You got plucked off the internet at what, 20? You just got lucky!… Good is the minimum. It’s the baseline. You have to be so much more than good. And even if you’re great and lucky, you still have to work really f–king hard! And even that is…