Work : The Art of Non-Conformity

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Work

The Essence of the Process Is Revision

I've said before that writing a book isn't difficult when you break it down into 1,000 words a day. In fact, if you write 1,000 words a day fairly consistently, you can write more than one book a year.

A few smart readers have pointed out that the writing is the easiest part. Truly crafting something worthwhile requires much more work in the editing or revision phase. It's one thing to get 50,000 words on the page, and it's another to turn them into something that other people want to read.

I still maintain that it's more important for most of us to focus on forward motion, on making choices that allow for consistent, daily effort. Most people remain stuck at the beginning, unable to envision a reality of themselves actually writing a book or creating another big project.

Nevertheless, the comments that revision is more difficult and more important are true. First you create, then you revise. The essence of the process is revision.

49,000 Words and Miles to Go

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Work

Changing the Default

Most productivity advice doesn't help me. I work on a lot of projects at once. I read and reply to email throughout the day. I say yes more than I say no.

But I've found a new habit that is helping a lot. The habit is changing my default behavior.

Those of us who do knowledge work for much of the day have no shortage of choices. As I've written before, for me the ultimate superpower is to always know what to do next.

Work

How to Make Decisions

I received a copy of the new book Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath, two brothers and co-authors responsible for the previous bestsellers Switch and Made to Stick.

I've always enjoyed Chip and Dan's work, so when our mutual publisher asked me to share an excerpt of their new book, I was happy to do so.

Check out the excerpt below, or pick up the book for full reading.

Work

Product Launch Lessons from Adventure Capital

After producing a new project, I try to circle back and share a few of the lessons learned. Last week we had a small beta launch for Adventure Capital, a new business course, so it's time for another breakdown.

It's been a long time since I've released a paid product of any kind, and there's nothing for sale in this post. If you're creating offers of your own, or if you're just curious how things went with the beta launch last week, I hope the lessons are helpful.

Let's kick off the debrief!

Work

The Two Problems of Aspiring Entrepreneurs

I mentioned earlier that most new business owners struggle with at least one of two fundamental problems:

1. They don't make the right products or services.

2. They don't connect with the right people.

One way or another, if you're trying to get a new project up and running, the struggle likely relates to one or both of these issues.

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Work

How to Finish Something You Don’t Want To

After a long delay, my new project Adventure Capital will be launching tomorrow in beta. A lot of people have asked for more info on it, and a few people have also asked, “What took so long?”

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Work

Superpowers, Part II

Those of us who are self-employed, as well as anyone who performs intellectual work of some kind for a living, are continuously faced with a dilemma.

The dilemma can be stated in the form of a two-word question: What's next?

Many of us encounter this dilemma numerous times a day, whenever we first approach the machines that guide us through our work.

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Work

Climb the Right Ladder

Over the weekend I heard a talk and short performance piece by Stephen Kellogg, an independent musician who was speaking at the annual TEDxConcordiaUPortland event. Stephen talked about the joy of work. From a young age, he always wanted to be a touring musician, with fans, albums, and concerts. He loves what he does and feels fortunate to have the chance to reach audiences with his music.

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Work

If It Matters, You’ll Find a Way

This post was written entirely in the air between Seattle and Anchorage the other day.

It was a bad travel hacking morning. For some reason I was assigned a middle seat in peasant class—the torture chamber of the modern traveler. Alas.

I squeezed into 6B and unloaded my stuff. MacBook, notebook, magazine, iPad, book manuscript, cinnamon twist. I tried to arrange things as best as possible, without sitting on the MacBook or the crucial cinnamon twist.

I felt sorry for myself for a moment. And then I realized the obvious: am I going to complain, or am I going to get to work?

Work

Leading a Horse to Water

There's an old story about a salesperson who was disappointed in losing an important sale.

He talked with the boss about why it didn't work out. "I guess," he said, "It just proves you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

"Maybe," said the boss, "But let me give you some advice: your job is not to make him drink. It's to make him thirsty."

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Work

The DIY Book Tour

Over the past few years, I've hosted more than 100 events with readers in eight countries. There is no “author school” where one learns to do these things—it's very much been a make-it-up-as-I-go process.

I've also received a lot of questions from other authors, aspiring authors, musicians, artists, and other readers who like the idea of taking their show on the road.

In this (long!) post I'll share a few stories, highlights, and lessons learned from the past three years of coordinating and hosting book events. I hope something here will be helpful to anyone who hopes to reach more people with their message.

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Work

A Tale of 9 Startups

Jon was inspired by a blog post that told him to quit his job and start a business. He dutifully did so, firing off a farewell message to his boss and former colleagues. Having heard about becoming “location independent,” he bought a backpack and went off to the world. What was it about that business thing? How would he actually make a living? He would figure it out along the way, he assured himself ...

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Work

A Challenging Question

In talking with Chris Brogan for his new podcast recently, he said something I've been thinking of ever since. It was a question that you ask yourself when evaluating new opportunities. This question didn't actually come from Chris—I believe he said it was from one of his other podcast guests—but Chris is the one who implanted it in my head.

The question is: How will this new opportunity help me serve the community I already have?

Wow. Tough question.

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Work

Q&AA on Finding a Valuable Skill

Over the next few weeks, I'll be touring India and then traveling elsewhere in the world. While I'm away, we'll be publishing a new series of Questions and Attempted Answers (Q&AA) from readers. I'll share my answer, and you're invited to share an answer of your own as well.

Today's question comes from Jan, who writes in from Belgium.

“I understand the importance of focusing on a valuable skill, but I'm not sure that I have any such thing. There are a lot of things I like to do, but nothing I feel especially passionate about or think that I do better than anyone else. I went to university and earned a degree, but I didn't have any business training. What do I do?”

Great question. Here's my attempted answer →

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Work

Q&AA: When to Let Go of an Unsuccessful Project

Over the next two weeks, I'll be touring India and then traveling elsewhere in the world. While I'm away, we'll be publishing a new series of Questions and Attempted Answers (Q&AA) from readers. I'll share my answer, and you're invited to share an answer of your own as well ...

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