“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci, Born Apr. 15, 1452. Y’all are making it too complicated. Drowning in options and possibilities? Start slapping some arbitrary limitations on yourself and see what you come up with. Innovation and elegance come from making the best solution out of what you have at hand. So […]
Over-complication Leads to Under-performance – So Simplify, Stupid Read More »
“If you’re too big to fit into fashion, then you just have to do your own fashion.” – Vivienne Westwood, Born Apr. 8, 1941. When I first went freelance and was trying to figure out this whole guruhood-as-a-business-model thing, I had a worry. What is going to be my “thing”? What is going to be
“You don’t know what people are looking for. What you know is what you feel like might be missing.” – Pharrell Williams, Born Apr. 5, 1973. Here is one that people always struggle with. Folks like us know we want to gather an audience, but we don’t know what will attract them, and what will
The Secret of Creating Unique Material for Products, Content, Whatever, Etc… Read More »
“An artist never works under ideal conditions. If they existed, his work wouldn’t exist, for the artist doesn’t live in a vacuum. Some sort of pressure must exist. The artist exists because the world is not perfect. Art would be useless if the world were perfect, as man wouldn’t look for harmony but would simply
Emergent Challenges Aren’t Obstacles, But Opportunities to Make Better Work Read More »
“When people approach me about my films it is usually to tell me how much they hate them.” – Michael Winterbottom, Born Mar. 29, 1961. Any time you create anything, there are some people who seem to just want to tear it down because it exists. Because you bothered to try. I’m talking about haters.
Worried About Your Work? Here’s Whose Opinions Really Matter… Read More »
“If you just love movies enough, you can make a good one.” – Quentin Tarantino, Born Mar. 27, 1963. Some people love copy. They fetishize it as an object, and treat the “copywriting industry” like a religion. For people like that, the goal is to have written “good” copy, so deemed by their peers –
The Copy “Fandom” is Fun for Some, But Never Necessary for Success Read More »
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” – William Morris, Born Mar. 24, 1834. I want to talk about this in three ways. First…. While you can eventually apply that to your house, let’s at least start with your work space, wherever that may
Productivity is Dictated by Where You Work, and How You Practice Read More »
“Movie directors, or should I say people who create things, are very greedy and they can never be satisfied… That’s why they can keep on working. I’ve been able to work for so long because I think next time, I’ll make something good.” – Akira Kurosawa, Born Mar. 23, 1910. Today, let’s talk about defeat.
The Fear of Failure Feeds Your Forge – FEEL it, then USE it… Read More »
“All of my favorite creators started with zero… So you’ve got to make that first video. It’s not going to be your best, but you will learn as you go.” – Tyler Oakley, Born Mar. 22, 1989. Q. How do I get started writing copy? Just start. Q. What do I need to read to
How to Start Being a Copywriter: Start Writing Some Copy… Now Read More »
“Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better.” – John Updike, Born Mar. 18, 1932. A lot of writers worry too much about creativity, and not enough about consistency of output. If that’s you, let’s talk about manipulating your mind out of making that mistake, shall we? Creativity is
Creativity Comes to Life When You Feed it Something to Improve Read More »
