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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“Solomon’s paradox of wise reasoning, in which performance of wisdom differs when reasoning on an issue in one’s own life vs. another’s life, has been supported by robust evidence,” write Wentao Xu, Kaili Zhang, and Fengyan Wang in Frontiers in Psychology. Sometimes, we’re too close to the problem; maybe it’s directly in our blind spot. […]
In spite of the seasons in life, some things are too important to save for, “Someday.” Like, happiness. For those deferring happiness: bad news. The next promotion won’t make you happy. Quitting your job won’t make you happy. Learning a job won’t make you happy. Dr. Hannah Rose wrote a great post on the proper […]