Category: Turning Stories
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Did you know many successful artists worked day jobs?
The act of working a second job, known better as moonlighting, generally isn’t something you brag about. People might start asking questions you don’t want to answer, or doubt your commitment to your first job. The creative world is no exception. In my first column for 3 Quarks Daily, I explore artists with day jobs,…
Herbert Lui
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Small talk sets up big ideas
When I’m meeting with someone, I almost always make the first topic discussion an introduction or catching up. I’m genuinely curious about what the person is doing, and what they’re like outside of the meeting. Small talk, its own form of ice breaker, can help make the rest of the meeting smoother. I’ll jog my…
Herbert Lui
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Everything is impermanent
When monk and peace activist Thích Nhất Hạnh lived in Vietnam during the war, people asked him every day when the war would end. It was a tricky question. He didn’t know the answer, of course, and it wasn’t clear things were getting better. At the same time, if he told them so bluntly, they…
Herbert Lui
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Fun first
This is the driving principle of Nintendo, the company best known for characters like Mario, Pikachu, and Zelda, as well as its game consoles Switch, Wii, and N64. The people who work there understand the power of play. Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto once noticed kids sending text messages to each other on the train; that…
Herbert Lui
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A masseur’s wisdom
A couple of days ago, my partner and I received good foot massages, along with a great motto. As the session wrapped up, the masseurs showed us some stretches to loosen up our shoulders. These were the stretches they often used themselves. Then, one of them concluded, “To be a good masseur, be a good…
Herbert Lui
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Turn a creative fever into lasting inspiration
A few days ago, an idea came to me: why is there no business book covering Pokémon? By one estimate, the company has earned over $147 billion in its existence. It just opened a theme park, and its trading cards business has survived for 30 years and gained tons of momentum. There is, clearly, a…
Herbert Lui
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The sauce and the main course
Creative success is a sauce. It can make a good main course great, but your stomach will be upset if it’s your whole meal, and you’ll go hungry soon after. You wouldn’t want to substitute it for a main course though. Creative sustainability is the main course. You can eat it on its own, and…
Herbert Lui
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Anybody else can do it…
Including you. That matters, because just because someone can doesn’t mean they will. A lot of people can do a lot of things now, but most people won’t do more than they have to (if even that!). The barriers: Open-mindedness to notice a problem. Courage to overcome fear. A willingness to put effort and energy…
Herbert Lui
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People-shaped problems
Things that change constantly are a distraction. Focus on the things that won’t change for the next decade. For example, human nature: we like convenience, paying less, and reliability. A business like Amazon realizes this, and invests heavily in delivering this to their customers. You and I also enjoy feeling certain and safe. We like…
Herbert Lui
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The return of slow
Technology disrupts at a faster pace. The internet might have changed every week or so; mobile technology changed by the day. AI changes by the hour, perhaps even in minutes. The people working on AI need to keep and push this pace, and the rest of us hasten to keep up as well. There will…
Herbert Lui