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A well-rounded creative practice
When you get better at what you do, you’re also becoming more critical of it. You analyze what’s not working, or what doesn’t feel right, and you improve it. It’s a happy working arrangement until the critical aspect of you gets too much influence. It knows it’s important because its taste is keeping you in…
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Some nice quotes
Dylan O’Sullivan posts some really great classic work into his X feed (I believe he runs the Infinite Books one as well). Here are some that have been rattling around my brain: C.S. Lewis: No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current…
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Progress in restraint
Earlier this year, I decided to make “restraint” the one-word theme of the year. I wouldn’t call it fun, however there’s no doubt it has made my life richer. Here are five notes on how it’s going: Some more observations related to restraint:
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Don’t start from scratch
Here’s an interesting prompt: avoid starting from scratch. This constraint prohibits the creation of new raw material (e.g., writing into a blank document). You may only rewrite or edit existing text. The result is much more consideration on what already exists. You scour your drafts, your existing work, and look for neglected ideas. You might…
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Optional prerequisites
On your first few trips to the gym, you’re trying to figure how much weight you can actually lift. (Or how fast you can run, how fast you can swim, how deep you can stretch, etc.) One good principle to adhere to is to lift what you can lift. You start light, and see what…
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A regular amount of effort
One of the most helpful, and hopefully the earliest, pieces of advice every writer comes across is to aim for a shitty first draft. That’s because sometimes, when you wait too long to do something—or when you only have one opening per week to do it—you feel like it becomes more precious. Your expectations of…
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Software vs. hardware orientation
Nintendo’s former president Hiroshi Yamauchi divided all of the products in the world in two ways, which he emphasized to the leaders of the company: The first way was what he called a “hardware orientation.” These products were valuable because they were useful. If you’re making appliances like refrigerators, cars, or dishwashers, you’d be best…
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Categorization, commoditization, and clarity
When you’re growing your business, one of your biggest challenges is market misunderstanding. When you’re working on a business (as an entrepreneur, freelancer, team, artist, author, etc.), your perspective tends to expand in breadth and depth. You develop expertise and see patterns. You come across better opportunities and bigger markets. In order to grow, you…
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Moving with the efficiency of trust
When you think about the future of work with artificial intelligence, consider the things that don’t change. For example, how people think about accountability. A person can only be responsible for so much work. At some point, they need a second person to take on more work. As the second person gets things done, the…
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First generation artist
When you’re working as a first generation artist—or author, entrepreneur, etc.—you are doing something really difficult. You are like an immigrant of sorts. It is the complete opposite of the parent-child duo who can perform on stage together, or do an art show together. Your parents practice a different craft and they will have trouble…