From David Brooks in the Times — “The real contradiction of capitalism is that it arouses enormous ambition, but it doesn’t help you define where you should focus it. It doesn’t define an end to which you should devote your life. It nurtures the illusion that career and economic success can lead to fulfillment, which…
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From William Gibson’s about page: “I do have an email address, yes, but, no, I won’t give it to you. I am one and you are many, and even if you are, say, twenty-seven in grand global total, that’s still too many. Because I need to have a life and waste time and write. I…
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I’m a big fan of 99U, an offshoot of Behance that exists to help people implement their great ideas instead of just brainstorming more and more ideas. Last week they published have a new book of collected essays, and I contributed one about “Recruiting an Army of Allies.” You can check out my essay below,…
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Graham Green on writing a book: “I was trying to write a book that simply would not come. I did my daily five hundred words, but the characters never began to live. So much in writing depends on the superficiality of one’s days. One may be preoccupied with shopping and income tax returns and chance…
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A conversation with David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker. Interviewer: The role of an editor is much broader today. Is there anything you feel uncomfortable doing, or is there anything you’re doing that you hadn’t expected to enjoy? D.R.: I enjoy all of it to one degree or another. There are days when you…
Read MoreFrom David Mitchell, the author of Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks: “One of the questions I always try to keep in the front of my mind is to ask why would anyone want to read this, and to try to find a positive answer for that. People’s time, if you bought it off them,…
Read MoreI’m not very good at all the things you’re supposed to do to be more productive. I check email first thing in the morning and then continually throughout the day. I jump from task to task and I read the news five times a day. But I do try to be outcome-focused, and I appreciated…
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“Pub date” is shorthand for publication date—the day when a new book is out. Here are a few thoughts I starting writing on a short break from a five-week process of full-time preparations. I’m now flying to New York City … preparing for launch! On Tuesday we’ll debut the book. *** The taxi comes to…
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Q: What are your tricks for time management? “The simple answer is to attempt to avoid, at all costs, situations that waste people’s time.” “Regarding my personal time management, I also try to live by the philosophy that focuses on: ‘What did I do that was productive and beneficial in the last 40 minutes?’ I…
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At the Hyatt Dulles, my shuttle driver was named Abdullai. He was extremely enthusiastic about welcoming his early-morning travelers on board for the ride to the terminal. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “Welcome to my shuttle. I’ll be taking you to the Dulles airport this morning. The journey will take exactly 13 minutes.” Then he…
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I often enjoy the Ethicist column by Chuck Klosterman. A recent column posed an interesting question: “Do I have an ethical duty to find a better job even if I’m unhappy with the work?” The letter writer explained that his or her parents had funded a college education, but it had only led to what…
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Lydia Davis, an author of “very short stories” for more than 40 years, described her editing process in feature for The Atlantic. The image above contains the original handwritten text. She then made these edits: 1. The two dogs and two cats, as well as the mice, were part of my real situation, but I…
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So many good things in this one. Best bet is to watch the video. “When you make something, you wonder: Will it stay at the top? Will it speak to people? Will it lose its relevance? But you can’t worry about those things. You have to create things that are truthful to yourself.” “Every…
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Online interviews are a dime a dozen… except when they’re done amazingly well. Jonathan Fields decided to rise to the challenge of producing thoughtful, in-depth features on interesting people. He’s kept at it for more than three years and is still going strong. I asked him why he started Good Life Project, otherwise known as GLP. Here’s…
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