Helpful Email Tip: Always Draw from the Top
I’m pretty good at keeping up with a lot of things, but inevitably I fall behind on some emails. The way it works for me is that I get stuck on a final batch
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Why Artistic Compromise Makes for Better Work
Once in a while (thankfully not often), I look back at some of the posts and articles I wrote in the early days. What in the world was I thinking? Most of them are riddled with errors, typos, and sometimes just bad writing. For both The $100 Startup and my new book (more news on…
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The Cure for Writer’s Block: Start With the Last Thing You Learned
Wondering what to write about? Someone once told me, “Start with the last thing you learned—then share that.” They actually gave me this advice in reference to a talk I was terrified to give. I’d love to tell you I took that lesson to heart, thought of something great, and went on to give a…
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Thoughts on Working from the Drugstore
The drugstore in my neighborhood has a deliberate policy of wasting every customer’s time. If you arrive to pick up a prescription, you’ll wait a minimum of 20 minutes, guaranteed. It doesn’t matter if you’re just getting a refill. It doesn’t matter if your doctor’s office has called in your prescription. It doesn’t matter if…
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Managing Your Time as a New Freelancer
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” This series poses questions from readers. You’re invited to answer! You can also send in a question for a future post. Today’s question comes from Maria in Italy. Ciao, Maria! One year ago I lost my job, and instead of looking for another I…
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Creative Business as Art: A Conversation with Wendy Downs
This is an excerpt from Designed to Sell: The Unconventional Guide to Creative Freedom. Wendy Downs is the owner and designer of Moop, a Pittsburg bag company. She sat down with Jen Adrion and Omar Noory to talk about migrating from sculpture to photography to designing, sewing, and selling American made bags—and what it means…
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If You Want to Write A Book, Go to a Boring Place
A friend is writing a book and asked me what I thought about taking a writing trip. "I’m going to Bali to write for a month." she said. Big mistake! I thought. The goal of writing a book in Bali never ends well.
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The Virtue of Paranoia
Empires can crumble from lack of attention. Relationships can ebb when one person stops putting in the time and care. If you're not constantly worried about losing it all, you might lose it all.
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How Much Money Is Enough?: A Conversation with Gretchen Rubin
Research shows that money can buy happiness sometimes—but the amount of money isn’t one-size-fits-all. J.D. Roth talked to Gretchen Rubin about how to find the number that works for you. *** J.D.: Once people have a certain amount of money or a certain amount of material comfort, that additional money only brings on a marginal…
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New Ideas Are Better (and Ideas Improve Over Time)
From Neil Degrasse Tyson: “In practically every idea we have as humans, the older version of it is not better than the newer version. With the invested effort of generations, and centuries, and sometimes millennia of smart people who have been born since the idea came out, we have improved ideas.” Is new always better?…
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Hard Work and More Work
I’m not usually a baseball fan, but I enjoyed reading about Tony Gwynn’s commitment to success. “They just feel like stuff is supposed to happen to them,” he said. “They’re not going to have to work for it. And that bugs me because I know how hard I had to work to get where I…
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Soon. Very Soon.
Just watch.
Well, wait a few days. And then watch.
It will all be different, and it will all be worth the wait.
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On the Road in Berlin: Three Things from Today
I'm in Berlin. What a fun city! I'm excited to stay somewhere for three whole nights. I flew out of Doha's brand-new airport early this morning. Unbeknownst to me in advance, when I came in two days ago it was the very first day it was open—which of course was a mistake.
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Jackson Pollock’s Overnight Success Was a Lot Like Most People’s
There are layers and stages to our work. Chipping away at something day in and day out is a lot easier than relying on bouts of genius to spring forth at 3am. Better to be an overnight success that takes some time.
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Don’t Join the Popularity Contest: Make It Happen Yourself
Many times a day, I hear from someone who asks for help promoting a cause. They have something they're working on and want to share it with me—totally fine. I generally like to help as many people as possible. Being helpful relates to feeling happy, at least for me, and it's also a nice thing to do. Some of these requests, however, come in the form of “vote for me and spread the word” pitches—and these I feel less comfortable with.
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