creativity
How to Stop Creative Paralysis
First, realize that you're probably putting unnecessary expectations on the quality of your creative output. Yes, you'd show off a better body of work if you only showed your absolute best. But, then, no one would know you and few would care. Sharing your work is
The Extraordinary Can't Exist Without the Ordinary
Most photographers and writers I know live in the suburbs, despite what stereotypes would have you believe. Most do not live in studio apartments in New York, nor could they afford it if they wanted to. They live what would probably be considered "boring" lives to an art
Independence Day
The bank I write for, and have worked at for 16 years, is finally calling it quits. My last day is May 31st. I'm lucky to have options as a writer. Not many in finance do. Automation has killed a lot of their jobs. We've heard
Being Creatively Lost is Awesome
Every six months or so I feel a little lost creatively. It leads to a lot of good things, but in the moment it feels disconcerting. This is something readers write to me about all the time. They want to know what can be done to get them back to
The Stakes Couldn't Be Lower
Don't let your creative projects make you anxious. Remember, unless you're a professional, this is all about your well-being: learning and practicing something that makes you a better person. It's supposed to be an all-upside proposition. If, like me, you find yourself in creative
Bring Back The Hobby
Stephenie Buck writes in Our Parents Discovered Leisure. We Killed It [https://timeline.com/hobby-career-b5d199b0df18#.3jl4jfnmu]: > "For many of us, the hobby is dead. Our work lives have merged with our free time, and hobbies are now often indistinguishable from second jobs. In a culture obsessed with productivity,
Erase the List
Anthony Casalena talks here about how erasing his to do list made room for bigger, better ideas to seep into his brain. His better ideas became the platform this website is currently hosted on and earned tens of millions of dollars:
Thinking Slower
"People say, But with a computer you could go so much faster. Well, I don’t want to go faster. If anything, I should go slower. I don’t think all that fast." - David McCullough [http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/894/the-art-of-biography-no-2-david-mccullough] on why he used a
Get the Suck Out of the Way
I took a new kind of camera out for a spin this weekend. I knew I would suck. I knew I would delete the images and sink into self-doubt about the projects I'm working on. I knew I would revert to all the old fears and limiting beliefs
Have You Scheduled Your Solitude?
Nothing furthers my mental and emotional health more than solitude. Nothing furthers my creativity more than solitude. Nothing defies society and the hive mind more than solitude. It's the only way I can blog daily. It's the only way I can write a book. It'