Disorder creates progress. It is within the mess we find out what needs to be cleaned up and what needs to be improved. The same goes for failure — it’s a motivator in disguise, telling us to make improvement more present. A crash adds more wisdom to our craft. Unlike sand, problems never escape counting. […]
Category Archives: Productivity & Work
TED Talk: Tim Ferriss ‘Fear-setting’
As an entrepreneur, writer, podcaster, investor, motivational speaker, and life hacker, Tim Ferriss is a jack of all trades. Like many of us, he’s obsessed with work and optimizing work habits. But he learned the hard way. A near suicide and a breakup with his girlfriend made him change. Instead of being goal-driven, he played with […]
A still inchoate creator
The blank page doesn’t write itself. It stares at you, pleading for you to quit and move on to something else. Those who persist pace themselves into unfamiliar territory. A big bang does no artist any good. What matters is not the end result, but pushing through in a gradual approach. Creators strive for long-term […]
You can be anything you want and then some
“You can’t be anything you want,” said comedian Chris Rock. “You can be anything you’re good at, as long as they’re hiring.” You need the cash. But you also need to expand your cognitive horizon and let your mind search for its own stimulation. The artist thrives on autonomy and control. But they also benefit […]
Work first, passion second
“Passion is not something you follow. It’s something that will follow you as you put in the hard work to become valuable to the world.” Cal Newport Passion is something you discover after the work has been done. You can’t possibly know what you’re passionate about without experimenting first. You may have an idea about […]
The compound effect
It’s the anticipation that kills. The only way to stem the sudden arrival of fear is to do the work consistently so there are no surprises. Hard work is nonmiraculous. It’s the transformation from turning ambition into practice that makes the man. Experience and sticktuitiveness strengthen the bones in the goose. To wake up and […]
Back of the envelope…for starters ✍️✉️
It doesn’t matter where or how an idea emerges. What matters is that the concept exists somewhere on paper, a napkin, an envelope, a Tweet, or a blog post. We can’t begin to assess and dissect our thoughts unless we can see its basic framework and bones visually. I’m not writing it down to remember […]
Ready, rock steady
The more you work the more you make, at least it appears that way. But Søren Kierkegaard thought wiser: “Of all ridiculous things the most ridiculous seems to me, to be busy — to be a man who is brisk about his food and his work.” Søren Kierkegaard Henry Miller also disdained overworking: “I’ve found […]
Does automation make us less human?
How much of our thought process do we want to relinquish to artificial intelligence? Even Gmail’s auto-replies takes the burden out of typing in two-word responses with pre-populated text likes “yes, great,” “sounds good,” or “awesome.” Soon enough the computers will be the only ones conversing and high-fiving each other. Just as the painter imitates […]