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Help the best idea win
Ken Kocienda asks in his book, Creative Selection, “Two people have imagined two cute puppies. I assert mine is cuter. What do we do now? Do we have a cuteness argument?” Of course not. The solution is simple: in order to conduct a debate on the topic, the two people need to find pictures of…
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The Scallenge
Sometimes, you see somebody doing something on TV, and you think, “I can probably do that better.” That’s what some people thought when they saw Brian Scalabrine play in the NBA. So Brian issued a challenge, known as The Scallenge, where people could apply to play against him. Four players, each with NCAA Division I…
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Highlighting the practice
My friend Nik wrote something kind about me and this blog. I really appreciated this excerpt: A writer who can maintain a daily blog through the chaotic storm that everyday life can be is a much stronger writer than someone who only types when they feel like they have the time for it — and…
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Learning to talk to customers, directly
A little bit over a year ago, on the advice from a friend, I put together a philosophy of how I approached marketing. One of the key points was going direct. Here’s how I described it: Start where you are and work directly with your customers. Talk to them directly. Find metaphorically (and sometimes physically)…
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Determination vs. desperation
At some point in your life, you will need to cut off your options and make a critical decision. You send a message out to yourself, and to everyone else, that you are committed to follow through. There’s no other option for you. All the epic metaphors come to mind—you are making a leap of…
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Write a new future today
50 Cent’s favorite rappers are KRS-One and Kool G Rap. Still, he hasn’t patterned his career after theirs. He asks in Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter, “What would be the point of that? They were both incredible in their moment, but I’ve always been more concerned about creating my own moments rather than copying theirs.” In…
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Practice, audition, and performance
These are three very different experiences with different goals. When you practice, the goal is to improve. It’s as much a safe space to try new work and techniques, as it is a space to refine your current techniques. Having fun and gaining energy is critical to maintaining a good practice. At this stage, you…
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Read your old journals
Writing a journal is nice, but it’s just as rewarding—maybe even moreso—to go back and read it. It’ll give you hints—or direct advice—when you feel confused. I highly recommend adding your own old journals to your reading list. One helpful technique is to combine sources—for example, you can look at a journal entry from 10…
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When you’re switching careers, don’t rush to a resolution
There’s a great piece of advice that Herminia Ibarra writes in Working Identity, which is to allow for a transition period between holding on to an old identity, and letting go of it and taking on a new one. She writes, “Better to live the contradictions than to come to a premature resolution.” This assurance…