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The power of small updates
One way to make your work easier is to constantly share updates about it. Rituals like standups are built to facilitate and encourage this. You want to constantly get feedback from people and show them how you’re moving along—even if it’s just to make sure that the final work doesn’t deviate too far from the…
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Shrigley’s quantities
David Shrigley makes lists of phrases (e.g., “man being mauled by a lion”), and then he draws 30–40 of them per day. Sometimes he’ll change the phrase (e.g., “man being mauled by a horse”). Each drawing is different, and he only does each drawing once. He discards the majority of them, by his estimate it’s…
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Weirdly Brilliant
When my friend Jason told me he would write a book in 30 days, I was interested in following along. Was it possible for someone to make a book worth reading in 30 days? I recently found out when I received a copy of his book, Weirdly Brilliant. Jason really leaned into the strengths of…
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Nintendo’s weakness
Nintendo’s approach to making video games isn’t to outdo its competitors in hardware or graphics. “At its heart, making toys is about using existing technology skillfully to deliver a surprising experience. It’s not a matter of whether or not the tech is cutting edge, but whether or not people think it’s fun,” says the late…
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Prioritizing
Every CEO’s job is to prioritize. It’s to decide what to do, and more importantly, what not to do. Once they do that, they communicate the priorities to their teams—sometimes tens of thousands of people—and those teams get it done. I want to repeat this: the leader’s most important task is to prioritize. Even thousands…
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“Impossible” may just be a problem you haven’t solved yet
One of my goals for this blog is to build up a queue of posts. Ideally, it’s maybe a month’s or season’s worth of posts. This queue makes publishing here every day much more relaxing, and I can experience less worry about falling behind a schedule (which has happened!). Until this week, that goal felt…
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Be mindful of what you look for, because you might find it
During the first few weeks Terry Crews was on set for The Expendables, he felt miserable. While the actors were in the major action scenes, his character was playing a minor role. He was brought in as a replacement for Wesley Snipes, and chosen for the role because of his muscles. He sat around in…
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Action vs. declaration
The smallest action is worth a thousand bold declarations. A declaration merely tells somebody else what you want; an action shows them what you want and your drive to make it happen. Championship coach Bill Walsh puts it this way in The Score Takes Care of Itself: Someone will declare, “I am the leader!” and…
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Cross-subsidization
A full-time job (or other paid gig) sustains a creative hobby financially. A creative hobby sustains a full-time job energetically and with collected expertise. Keeping each objective clear is important. A creative hobby is free from financial pressure. A job is free from personal inclinations, and can keep the practitioner (you!) disciplined, professional, and fulfilled.
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Realistic vs. dream jobs
When you’re choosing to commit to a client or employer, your realistic option may actually be a worse fit for you than your dream option. There are all sorts of reasons for this. For example, if you’re looking for a new client, maybe you have more in common with your dream client—shared references, experiences, values,…