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Craigslist
Whether you’re looking to hire, or for your next career opportunity, try Craigslist (or Facebook Groups, or really any other job board or set of classifieds). Wherever people are, go to them. Listen. Respond. See Walter Chen on hiring from Craigslist, also Eddie Huang finding his first Food Network media opportunity through Craigslist.
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The case for consistency
On its own, consistency isn’t a particularly magical virtue; your work won’t magically improve on its own just because you show up every day. Deliberate practice and improving taste are still crucial parts of the practice. Rather, as a structure, consistency tends to build something of a keystone habit. If you commit to writing every…
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It’s the climb
If you’re considering using artificial intelligence and generative technology in your creative process, just remember these two parables. First: An old man in Calcutta would walk to get water from a well every day. He’d carry a clay pot and lower it by hand slowly, all the way down, careful not to let it hit…
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Taking your own advice
Giving advice often benefits the giver as much as the receiver. That helps the case for daily blogging; in the process of looking for ideas, you may often feel like you’re giving advice. Sometimes you could be writing an unsolicited comment that was too heavy for a forum post, or stringing a bunch together. These…
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“I don’t believe in titles, I believe in work”
Via Abloh-isms by Larry Walsh; a sentiment shared by Armando Zambrano and Karl Lagerfeld. The original interview with this gem—supposedly here—has disappeared from the internet; another reminder to rescue lost stories and collect them. Each idea gets new life when it’s mentioned. See also multi-hyphenate careers.
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Graceful embarrassment
Porsche recently shipped its first NFT, to little traction. It’s a 91-year-old company, turning 92 this year, with tons of cash in the bank. If you were being critical of it, you’d probably make the case that the team should’ve known better. It should have spent more time building ties to the community. It should…
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In defense of copycats
Michelangelo found his first patron, a Cardinal named Raffaele Riario, by forging a sculpture and artificially aging it. It wasn’t a cult of personality, or story, or perception of originality, that drove the work; it was the skill. The times have changed, in a way. We value work differently, because copies and replicas can be…
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Contentions: Describing your work
The way you describe your work is incredibly important. Not only is it how other people know what it is you do; it’s also a chance to show what you believe in, and to make the case they should believe it too. For example, Debbie Millman distinguishes between the image of “personal brand,” and the…
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The smart thing vs. the right thing
The internet is riddled with so many posts on how to do things the smart way. You’ll see it in other words—“more efficiently,” “optimize,” “pareto principle,” “shortcut,” “insight”—etc. Effectively, it’s an acceptable way of suggesting, “Here’s a secret.” You may also have been trained to keep a radar up for these things; to always try…