art
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Beware the mind virus
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1 min read
Creativity dwindles with age. First, school sucks it out of you, and then corporate work puts the nail in the coffin. Patterns of normality and absolutes are leaches. Like a mind virus, they try to kill off the imagination and train your organic reflexes into compliant sheep. If you’re lucky, you’ll have no choice but…
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We make great trends
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2 min read
Some people enjoy the process of discovery. They want access to niche communities and discrete resources, trying to “get it” before everyone else. These people are also the incubators of trends, filtering the good from the bad before deciding what goes mainstream. Naturally, the edgy curator loses interest as soon as something becomes a commercial…
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More than a job
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1 min read
The photographer’s job is to capture. They get a pass on intrusion despite a face of expressive flesh. So too does the scientist who uses their more elusive hands to dabble in a dangerous experiment. The maker needs no excuse to have skin in the game, as they should feel free to explore via an…
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From seeing to believing
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1 min read
Obvious to you, not to others. It’s the human condition to see patterns but leave them to abstraction. Identifying the gaps is only the start. No one gains from keeping silent on the puzzle of opportunity. What occupies the rest of the grey space is doing the work. Creators play the dual role of keen…
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A panoply of tools
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2 min read
What’s the primary device that unlocks your creativity — the camera, a pen, or the paintbrush? These tools are our passport to freedom. So photographers speak through photos, writers communicate in text, cartoonists draw, etc. “We become what we behold,” Marshall McLuhan said, “We shape our tools and then our tools shape us.” Our vocation shapes our…
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The archaeological dig of the self
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1 min read
A synchronization of mind thought, and people — symphonies boost enthusiasm, concentration, and memory power. Their confluence is the great harvester of human attention. If you’re always polishing the car, you’ll never go anywhere to discover new things. If you’re always rushing, you’ll never reap the benefits earned through reflection. The inner and outer worlds…
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Thoughts are seeds
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2 min read
Examining the world, collecting artifacts, awaiting that sudden flash. To believe that epiphanies are a result of short-term thinking is a canard. Good ideas emerge from gathering string over long stretches of time. Do you think Isaac Newton discovered insight into gravity only after the apple dropped on his head? No, he’d been chewing on the concept during…
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Creativity lies within
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1 min read
The quest of creativity is really the search for aliveness. It is no wonder that when we spend the time to make and ship our craft, we are happier human beings. To see and have any product resonate is icing on the cake. Few artists ever achieve wide acclaim for their work, even fewer prosper.…
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It’s the indecision that’s risky
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1 min read
In the absence of ideas, we’re lost floating at sea. Weighed down in idea debt, a lack of action can have the same debilitating effect. Inertia is the purported enemy. Just write the truest sentence already. What works better is facing fear and proceeding right into it. We keep our eyes on the prize and…
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Write to be misunderstood?
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1 min read
The write to be understood trope is itself, misunderstood. Don’t be too specific. Keep it vague enough to goad a broader curiosity. The details ruin everything, especially if they’re explained by a loudmouth. Revelations squash the guts of great imagination. The best approach therefore is one that’s provocative yet tactful. Stay determined to keep the…
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Why simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
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1 min read
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” wrote Leonardo Da Vinci. He would paint over work that didn’t meet up with his expectations. Not surprisingly, Steve Jobs adopted da Vinci’s maxim in designing Apple computers. Simplicity is the reduction of complexity. It unclutters the multiplicity of crayons and fence-sitting gray space in the middle and replaces objects…
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Make culture, don’t just consume it
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1 min read
Consumption is a conduit to creativity. Reading and curation inspire us to reproduce our thoughts and ideas to others. The problem is, most people eat the news for entertainment’s sake. Scrolling through Facebook and Instagram are passive experiences, doing more to keep us in our seat rather than encouraging us to get out of it.…