Category: Expectations
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Hell’s Kitchen
A year ago, my partner and I watched a musical called Hell’s Kitchen. It was created by Alicia Keys, with a storyline loosely based on her life and anchored by her songs. The musical made a really strong impression on me. Even though I was already familiar with her music, the characters, the screenplay, and…
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Perpetual beginner
This month, Grant Snider is writing one Haiku and making a drawing with it every day. He posts them at his website. At his Substack, he dives into the creative process, and shares the stories behind the scenes. “Maybe when it comes to art, I’m not a master. I’m a perpetual beginner,” he writes. This…
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Live and dead options
An option is live if it’s a real possibility. This could be a practical choice you can make. It also appeals to you; it energizes you, like electricity running through a live wire. An option is dead if it is impossible. This could feel like an impractical choice, or so infeasible that it feels unacceptable.…
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Assume sincerity
“It was so great to see you!” your colleague says. Does your colleague say that to everyone to be polite, or did they actually mean it? “I love your shirt!” a waiter tells you. They just served you the bill. Are they flattering you in the hopes of earning a higher tip? You describe a…
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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…