Focus on one project at a time. If that’s not possible, then focus on one task at a time.

Try to keep tasks to one sitting. Spend a few minutes in the evening writing down the tasks that remain unfinished or the ones that came up. 

Don’t stress, and give things more time.

Sometimes, the most important thing is to focus on buying more attention—personal energy, momentum, accountability, etc.—to complete a task or project.

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One day you feel like quitting. The next you feel like doubling down. The experience of confusion is a sign of the process taking place. You don’t want to rush it.

As you explore, you will come across many new options. Be wary of the option that feels familiar, comfortable, and easy. While it seems appealing, it could cost you precious energy and time. If you’re on the fence, find a way to try it with a limited commitment.

P.S., This guideline, which I call longcutting, applies outside of career changes as well.

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An experienced author or artist knows to intentionally create these spaces in order for the reader’s brain to make the leap on its own. The more room for ambiguity, the more room there is for the reader to make meaning out of the story. The author is calling, and the reader is responding.

That’s why the book is always better than the movie—because movie adaptations fill in the gaps that the author intentionally left open. In spite of all its grandeur on screen, Hogwarts still doesn’t look as good as it did in my imagination.

When Orson Scott Card introduces his book, Ender’s Game, he writes, “The story is one that you and I will construct together in your memory. If the story means anything to you at all, then when you remember it afterward, think of it, not as something I created, but rather as something that we made together.”

Textbooks and technical manuals can feel a little different. Because the goal is to minimize misunderstanding, there is little room for ambiguity. Reading an introductory textbook is very different from reading a comic book, a memoir, or a poem. When it comes to advanced textbooks, though, or more speculative material, the ambiguity comes back—and so does the co-creative process.

I keep this perspective in mind a lot when I write this blog. Thank you for creating with me.

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I was once asked to talk at a comedy class. I went in front of the class, and I said, “The fact that you’re even here is a very bad sign.”

Most mornings I woke up early and took a walk around the neighborhood listening to an audiobook about confidence. Because that’s what I decided I needed. Confidence. I was going through a divorce, and trying to finish writing an audiobook, and pitching two TV shows, and my confidence in myself was spent. I needed confidence to stick with this divorce and see it through and not change my mind. Confidence onstage. Confidence to make decisions about my projects. But there’s nothing that will make you feel like a bigger loser than listening to an audiobook about confidence.

Sarah Cooper, Foolish 

They’re not wrong. But so what, you’re not even gonna try?

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Immediately before Kelly dunks himself under a gushing downspout draining water from the roofs of the “buildings” he is dancing past, he skips past La Valle Millinery Shop, an enticing-looking storefront with several fashionable women’s hats on display. Of course, this wasn’t a real shop. The storefront might have been a cobbled-together flat with nothing behind it, or there might have been a studio office through the “shop” door, perhaps for an MGM bookkeeper or clerk. We don’t care. We’re too charmed by the singing and dancing. Compare this fake hat shop with another prop seen earlier in the number, when Kelly jumps up on a lamppost on the edge of the sidewalk. Unlike the hat shop, that lamppost prop needed to be real, or at least real enough to support the actor’s weight. Were other lampposts on the backlot similarly well built? We don’t know, but again, we don’t care.

He likens this to software demos:

In the same way, software demos need to be convincing enough to explore an idea, to communicate a step toward making a product, even though the demo is not the product itself. Like the movie, demos should be specifically choreographed, so it’s clear what must be included and what can be left out. Those things that aren’t the main focus of a demo, but are required to create the proper setting, must be realized at the correct level of detail so they contribute to the whole rather than detract from the vision.

This operationally feels the same for all sorts of creative work, which is why some articles, speeches, or podcasts can grow into books (including mine!). The authors made something that convinced the people they were serving that their idea is worth exploring.

Working on these details is a very strategic, conscious, decision-making process, and the complete opposite of obsessive creative energy. You don’t want to get carried away by your passion, because that’s a waste of limited creative energy and resources. Instead, you’re focusing on making something that makes another person feel something.

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I said to him that I felt the reason Trent was the way he was has to do with his father. He had a dad who really wanted him to be a manly man and be sporty, but Trent wasn’t that guy. So he hit the library and donned intellect as his shield and armor. Jason was looking at me sort of mystified, and he said, “Hey, I’m going to tell you something. This whole show is about bad dads.” And I said, “Really?” And he said, “Yeah. The reason Ted is the way he is is because his father committed suicide and he decided to embrace life and adopt that positive attitude.”

Between Jamie Tartt’s dad, Ted Lasso’s dad, Nathan Shelley’s dad, and Rebecca Welton’s dad, there’s definitely a throughline. Also, the opposite flip—Sam Obisanya’s dad, Higgins and his sons, Roy Kent and his niece.

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It was a lot of fun, and I’d love to do more of these. If you know anyone who’d be interested, please feel free to contact me or to leave a comment at this blog.

I’m excited to see what comes out of people applying these ideas, similar to how my friend, author and speaker, Hamza Khan, approached his podcast differently after reading Creative Doing.

Thanks!

The post What I discussed at Interintellect appeared first on Herbert Lui.

Even if we do have one competency or skill, I’d wager that’s pretty normal too. A lot of people have developed a strength or something that they’re good at. They may not be proud of it, but they’re damn good at it.

Some things I wished I could go back and tell myself:

• You’re way better off making it easy for other people to work with us. It could mean starting a side project with somebody else, working together or hiring them as a freelancer or part-time. 
• Also, just pay for good information. Buy the book, the course, the class. Dedicate time and pay attention to what the teacher is saying. Do the homework. Follow the structure. You are not smarter than the teacher.
• If everyone is raving about something, keep an open mind and check it out. Try to figure out what makes them like it, and what you can learn about that person. 

Only by accepting that we are average—and appreciating the protagonists in films who are very average—can we truly find ways to excel.

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It’s a paradox.

Some experiences you can only get firsthand. It’s expensive (compared to reading!), and it’s unavoidable.

The post You won’t know until you do it appeared first on Herbert Lui.

We try to be super accessible. We want to be a place where everybody can get in the store and find something for themselves. I like to say you can go in and spend 200, 2,000, 20,000, 200,000, 2 million, 20 million. Name one brand where you have such an array of spend. 

… 

Everyone’s welcome, whether they’re spending, 200 to 20 million pounds. And that’s one of the greatest characteristics of the brand. So, yeah, it’s really what we’re trying to build.

Out of curiosity, I checked out what Tiffany was selling for $20 million, and it’s the World’s Fair Necklace, in its High Jewelry category. This sterling silver, pearl, pendant comes in at $325. (A reminder that Tiffany is a luxury brand; by contrast, this one at Etsy costs $18.)

If a consumer brand (which sells products at the $200 or $2,000 price point) aspires to be in a similar position as Tiffany and Co. (and which wouldn’t?), but doesn’t have nearly two centuries of brand legacy, they’ll need to figure out how to build out their own ways to make products for luxury (the $20,000 to $20 million dollar price point). A few days ago, I described Yeezy as a turnkey luxury brand:

Luxury brands are the way of the future (better margins, stronger branding, improved longevity, cultural relevance, increased desirability—I want to explain this more in another piece!); every business will need to be or own an upscale brand, the same way that Toyota has Lexus, and Honda has Acura.

In other words, working with Yeezy enables corporations like Adidas and Gap to essentially develop their own luxury brands through mind-melding with Yeezy’s product understanding (see the Yeezy-Adilette slide conflict), as well as Yeezy’s halo effect.

There’s a similar concept in business software, which basically involves business-to-consumer companies selling to enterprises for exactly the same reason; you and I may pay USD $25 per month for the basic version of Shopify, but a corporation could pay literally 80x that for Shopify Plus (not to mention much more in transactions).

If you’re working as a creator, you don’t just need 1,000 true fans, 100 true fans, or 10 true fans. You need all of them; some of them will pay at the $200 price points, and a few others will be able to pay at the $20,000 price point or higher—make sure you have products and services that can add that level of value. Elevate your creative work.

On a related note, Joe Duncan responded to the recent piece I wrote about Medium, and in turn I responded to him with an idea:

Medium will basically be a discovery platform, the opportunity would be to support creators in making money with their expertise—coaching (a-hah!—the incoming CEO also leads a coaching platform), books (like Thought Catalog), merch, etc.

Basically, one strategy for creators is to set up and sell an array of products and services—books for $15, courses for $200, a platform for $10,000 per month (like AxiosHQ!), etc.—to make the most of the opportunities available to them. In order to do this, you need to figure out how to own your marketing!

In situations like this, low-priced content like books are merely the sample for the higher margin and higher value products and services. 

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