“If you haven’t found something strange during the day, it hasn’t been much of a day.” – John Archibald Wheeler, Born Jul. 9, 1911. One of the features of life is that it will adapt to meet the challenges of the environment it finds itself in. A hard life will make a body strong. But… Read More →
The Difference Between a Pro and a Clown: Hit That Deadline
“They didn’t want it good, they wanted it Wednesday.” – Robert A. Heinlein, Born Jul. 7, 1907. It’s about expectation. A professional writer needs to deliver work at the promised time. Deadlines aren’t soft targets. (I was never as good at this as I insist others should be.) It’s about consistency. If you publish regularly,… Read More →
Waiting For Clients and Customers To Come To You Is Dumb As Hell
“Without promotion, something terrible happens… nothing!” – P. T. Barnum, Born Jul. 5, 1810. This is true in all fields, but I mostly talk to marketing and writing freelancers who have this bizarre expectation that simply hanging up your shingle is going to get you customers and clients. Nope! The best product or service in… Read More →
Break the Pattern of Boredom By Daring To Be Interested
“The chief product of an automated society is a widespread and deepening sense of boredom.” – C. Northcote Parkinson, Born Jun. 30, 1909. We are drowning in a sea of data. More new data is created and recorded now every day than in centuries of history prior to the modern era. Information bombards us. Messages… Read More →
It’s Only Too Late To Start If You Woke Up Dead Today
“When I was writing ‘Kitchen Confidential,’ I was in my 40s, I had never paid rent on time, I was 10 years behind on my taxes, I had never owned my own furniture or a car.” – Anthony Bourdain, Born Jun, 25, 1956. I didn’t start doing this thing – my life’s work, working for… Read More →
Be Weird, Work Weird, Succeed Weird – But Only a Little Bit Weird…
Serve the dinner backward, do anything – but for goodness sake, do something weird.” – Elsa Maxwell, Born May 24, 1883. There are two important parts in this lesson, but let’s talk about the obvious one first. I think a lot of people struggle unnecessarily because they try and do something completely creative, or completely… Read More →
How Much Can You Totally Screw Up and Still Be Successful?
“If you do it right 51 percent of the time you will end up a hero.” – Alfred P. Sloan, Born May 23, 1875. I want you to know how low the bar is set. It’s set so low that primarily what it takes to succeed is basically just persistence. Whether by discipline, or by… Read More →
How To Become Awesome Enough To Succeed
“My real life helped me sell a lot of records.” – Christopher Wallace, Born May 21, 1972. In this age where “authenticity” is a buzzword, lots of brand wonks will tell you that what you need to do is just be yourself. Wrong, friendo. That skips a step. Step 1: Be awesome. Step 2: Be… Read More →
How To Become An Influential Micro-celebrity (And Make Macro-money)
“I’m not famous; I am simply very well-known to certain people. Famous is something different.” – Anton Corbijn, Born May 20, 1955. Many seek fame when they get into this game. Some because they truly desire fame for its own sake. But many do only because they think it’s somehow required to succeed. But really,… Read More →
The Secret To Lasting Relevance Is Letting Yourself Be The Punchline Periodically
“Guitar solos, to me, should be a really articulate way to make fun of guitar solos.” – Josh Homme, Born May 17, 1963. Dear little baby gurus. Let me tell you what the most valuable thing is when it comes to making yourself into a lasting – even generational – personality, loved and admired by… Read More →
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