Category: Turning Stories
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Doing difficult things with, and without, motivation
When I was a teenager, I started going to the gym for a lot of reasons. Namely, I wanted to get stronger. I also wanted to look more grown up. I was a 16-year-old teenager with the body of a 12-year-old and the face of a 10-year-old. My classmates thought I was cute, like their…
Herbert Lui
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Build your own supply chain, gain more control, do more work
If an author works with a traditional publisher, they’re using the publisher’s supply chain. They need their book proposal accepted by the publisher. The author needs to apply the publisher’s feedback, even if they don’t agree with it. The publisher will schedule the book’s launch, and the author will follow. The publisher will, hopefully, put…
Herbert Lui
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Skill mindset
Being happy is a skill. When you’re making a difficult decision, you can ask yourself this: In 1,000 parallel universes, which decision makes you happier in 999 of them? If the decision makes you only happier on the condition it turns out your way, then you need to consider what’s in your control, and the…
Herbert Lui
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Today, now
A sense of immediacy means doing something today, now. Not tomorrow, the day after, or someday. Not putting it on a to-do list or into a task management system. Not until you feel ready or confident. Today, now. Backlogs don’t exist. You can delete them. Clear your mind as well. Spontaneity is a driving force.…
Herbert Lui
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Progress happens between practice sessions
In response to my post on voluntary discomfort, marginalia_nu writes: I think expectations matter quite a lot. For example, when practicing a practical skill, the actual practice session itself will likely suck. Not only will you see no progress, you may even feel you’re going backwards. You’ll also get mentally and physically tired and quickly…
Herbert Lui
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Creative competition
A recording artist had started writing a book about creative work. Not long after, he read The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. “Every page made me feel better about my own artistic pursuits,” the artist writes. Then, doubt came over him. Rick’s book was so good that the artist wondered if he needed to write…
Herbert Lui
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What I got out of business school
In university, I attended a business school. It was good, with a decent reputation, nothing fancy enough to name drop. I picked it because I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do after studying, and the skills seemed flexible enough to apply to all sorts of jobs. Worst case, maybe I would be able…
Herbert Lui
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Stop trying to fill an acceptance shaped hole with ambition
If you tune into any type of media—traditional, social—you will receive the message that success will fix everything. Except it doesn’t work. Success promises to make you happy, but it can’t. You don’t need to look very far to see a successful person do something a happy person would not. The next time you crave…
Herbert Lui
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Turn a difference of kind into a difference of degree
“Once you start making things, once you take that leap, you have the same status as any other artist,” Questlove writes in Creative Quest. “I’m not saying that you’re as good. I’m not saying that you’re as important. But all of a sudden it’s a difference of degree rather than a difference of kind.” If…
Herbert Lui
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Patience creates new possibilities
If there was a recipe for making sure I don’t sleep well, a high dose of caffeine would be a key ingredient. The first hour is great—then stress, anxiety, and rumination surge, continuing through the night. The advantage is, I won’t stop working. The disadvantage is, I can’t stop or rest, even if I wanted…
Herbert Lui