Category: Creator Confidential
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A ladder of independence
Almost a year ago, I wrote about the importance of finding ladders to help structure your work. I just found a good one, “The Spectrum of Financial Dependence and Independence,” by Morgan Housel. There are 16 levels of independence, with clear definitions. I appreciate it because it’s much more flexible than what the typical label…
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Quantity and the long tail
A small amount of what you do is like to deliver most of the returns. When visualized in a graph, this phenomenon is known as the power law or the long tail. The problem is, you don’t know which amount it is; it’s impossible to predict, because the world is so complicated. Instead, the better…
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Ronald Read
One of my favorite recent discoveries is Ronald Read. Wikipedia describes him as an “American philanthropist, investor, janitor, and gas station attendant,” which you certainly don’t see very often. He amassed a small fortune simply by buying stocks, reinvesting the dividends, and sticking with his picks for many years. As the Wall Street Journal reports:…
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A quick spine prompt
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how you can stay focused on a creative project with a spine. 50 Cent writes a good example in his book, Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter: Whenever I’m about to hit the studio, I try to think about all the great musical moments I’ve experienced from different artists. I…
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Fingerprints
In The Undoing Project, Michael Lewis writes of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman’s collaborative writing: By the time they were finished with the paper, in early 1970, they had lost any clear sense of their individual contributions. It was nearly impossible to say, of any given passage, whether more of some idea had come from…
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Getting ahead of it
When it’s possible, the best time to meet somebody is when you don’t need to meet them. In The First 90 Days, Michael Watkins writes: Remember: you don’t want to be meeting your neighbors for the first time in the middle of the night when your house is burning down. There’s also a big difference…
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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!…