“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci, Born Apr. 15, 1452. Y’all are making shit 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… Read More →
Decide what to do, and do it now. End indecision and procrastination IMMEDIATELY.
“Indecision and delays are the parents of failure.” – George Canning, Born Apr. 11, 1770. Do you have these problems? Procrastination? Overanalyzing things? Let’s fix it. How to stop unnecessarily delaying things: just do it now. Inconvenience yourself if you need to. Give that thing you’ve procrastinated on a whole day’s free time. No TV… Read More →
Stories Sell, But Only if They Start Out With Sucking
“The fact of storytelling hints at a fundamental human unease, hints at human imperfection. Where there is perfection there is no story to tell.” – Ben Okri, Born Mar. 15, 1959. Clients fuck this up when they write about themselves. And sometimes they get mad when they work with a writer who knows better. I’ve… Read More →
The “Big Problem” Is Almost Always Exercising Caution Over Taking Action.
“Action makes more fortune than caution.” – Charlotte Whitton, Born Mar. 8, 1896. Fortune can mean money. As in, he made a fortune in business. And it can mean luck. As in, he was fortunate to get into that business when he did. And it can mean your future or destiny. As in, let me… Read More →
Brick by Brick, You Must Build Your Own Destiny, According to the Designs You’ve Dreamed
“The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion.” – Alexander Graham Bell, Born Mar. 3, 1847. This is important. Like LEGO bricks. Like Voltron. Your stuff needs to combine and stack and scale. Too many chase the next client or the next job or the next… Read More →
When Life Gives You Lemons, You Can Do Better Than Lemonade
“Circumstances are the rulers of the weak; they are but the instruments of the wise.” – Samuel Lover, Born Feb. 24, 1797. Now, I can flip this one two ways. The obvious way is to make this inspiration for you, dear reader. Don’t let your circumstances become excuses that shackle you to the wall of… Read More →
Do You Really Want To Do This? If You Don’t Know, the Answer Is No By Default.
“People ask me all the time, ‘How can I become a successful entrepreneur?’ And I have to be honest: It’s one of my least favorite questions, because if you’re waiting for someone else’s advice to become an entrepreneur, chances are you’re not one.” – Michael Dell, Born Feb. 23, 1956. Now, many of my friends… Read More →
Want to Write Well? Feed the Beast Your Fingers First.
“The piano is a monster that screams when you touch its teeth.” – Andres Segovia, Born Feb. 21, 1893. What’s funny is that Andres was a guitarist. So he was describing why he hates he piano and doesn’t play it. But we are sick fuck writer masochists. And our keyboards are beasts that scream when… Read More →
Shut Up and Finish. Hit Publish. Start the Next One. Edit Later.
“Much good work is lost for the lack of a little more.” – Edward H. Harriman, Born Feb. 20, 1848. You’re so close. Just finish the fucking thing. You know the thing. You brought it nearly to the end and stopped short of the finish line. Maybe some other shit came up. Maybe you had… Read More →
How to Quit Sucking Forever: Decide to Be Excellent Instead
“If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.” – Thomas J. Watson, Born Feb. 17, 1874. If you can’t get into your writing or building your business or whatever, it might be because you aren’t being excellent. If you’re being excellent, you automatically love… Read More →