Join thousands of readers who read my short daily posts on edutainment, product design and running sustainable creator-led business for over 20 years. Blogging daily since 2017.
Adam Fairhead
Too tired to practice that skill or start that project?
It can be the middle of the night, you feel sleep deprived from your baby not sleeping, thinking you’ve got absolutely no energy left to do a single thing…
…and then they vomit on you.
Boom! Suddenly you spring up, you’re taking care of that whole situation, while holding your little one.
Maybe we’re not as tired as we think we are!
Adam Fairhead
Do you ever go on social media feeling calm and happy…
…only to then feel anxious and like you’re missing out on some opportunity?
If so…
Because newsflash:
Sticking to yours, giving it time love and care, forgetting about the rest and their opinions, that’s where your wins come from.
Adam Fairhead
Nothing that is in the pursuit of something, is failure.
Like picking up charcoal for the first time, going to the zoo, and deciding you’re going to draw a gorilla. That first drawing is going to stink, on a major scale. Maybe you can’t draw well. Maybe charcoal isn’t what you expected. Maybe gorillas aren’t your thing.
What about that is a failure?
You got up and tried. You started to draw. You learned what didn’t work. Your finished work is all smudged up. You had a nice day at the zoo.
What about that is a failure?
You started a lifelong journey toward improving your artwork. There is no end. There are always people better than you. The odds of you even making a living doing it are fairly small, and they’re certainly a long way away.
What about that is a failure?
You’re just on the way. Doing your thing, that you chose, in your timing, without comparison nor judgement. You get a tiny bit better every time you go.
What about that is a failure?
Adam Fairhead
Many of us are afraid of failing.
But being afraid of doing things that might not work makes sense if you can only go once…
…but we can go many many times.
Many many many many many many many times.
Like a videogame where you play with near-infinite lives.
So why be afraid to play?
Adam Fairhead
Inexperienced marketers think they can define the landscape they operate in.
Experienced marketers know the customer already defined it, and its our job to fit into it in a meaningful way.
“Outside the box” means get out of your box… and into theirs.
Adam Fairhead
There’s a flavor of soup available.
How do you know if it’s for you?
You don’t have to believe it.
You don’t have to hope in it.
You don’t have to know it.
You don’t have to trust it.
You only have to taste it.
And so it is with new skills, new projects, and new businesses.
Adam Fairhead
Why write a daily blog?
It’s not for readership. Or numbers, or fame, or profit. Or archival purposes, or to be historically correct, or for the joy of it.
It’s for the ritual.
The ritual won’t last forever, but for as long as it’s useful to me, I’ll maintain it.
The ritual of sitting down and doing it whether I feel like it or not.
The ritual of having ideas on command, something that is vastly easier for me 2,711 consecutive days in than it was on the first day.
I highly recommend giving it a try.
Adam Fairhead
What’s the hurry?
When my son’s older, he could use AI to generate an email to me. Or he could write one himself, using his words. Words we learned together in the living room reading stories together. Words that say so much more than the words themselves. It takes longer, but it means so much more.
When we go on family trips, I could AI generate a story to give him to read in the car. Or I could draw one myself, using my ideas and his interests. One in a little comic, that makes him giggle, maybe sets a challenge for while we’re on the trip, one that comes with a prize at the end. It takes longer, but it means so much more.
We don’t get long on this marble.
Make the effort.
Adam Fairhead
When Netflix or Amazon Prime presents a list of movies for us to watch, we know they paid the creators for that content to be there.
When Apple Music or Spotify presents a list of songs for us to play, we know they paid the creators for that content to be there.
When Kindle or Kobo presents a list of books for us to read, we know the creators specifically chose for their books to be there.
When AI generates videos, songs, pictures or text, we know the creators it was trained on were not paid for it to be there.
This is the one of the biggest problems with AI currently: plagiarism.
If ChatGPT paid videographers to train on Disney movies, that’s different.
If Perplexity paid artists to train on their artwork, that’s different.
If Meta paid authors to train on their books, that’s different.
Many people are so caught up in “not being left behind”, that they’re lapping up whatever is presented to them in lieu of thought.
This could be a real force for good, for humanity.
We just need to remember to not stomp all over humanity in order to get there.
Adam Fairhead
Toon Boom stopped selling perpetual licenses, and animators are furious.
It’s understandable:
The gains in ongoing fees from users, may come at the cost of advocacy, support, and loyalty.
As someone who runs a Harmony and Storyboard Pro studio, it’s a shame to see.
We can only hope it doesn’t go the Adobe route: a brand we all loved in 2005. We bought every creative suite update we could afford as a vote of support. And now? A necessary evil in the creative world we’ve mostly lost hope in ever turning a corner, returning to advocating for creatives again.
Advocacy, support and loyalty are rare, delicate things. They’re given to brands that show they care.
It’s worth pursuing, and holding onto if you’re lucky enough to get it.
I create a weekly newsletter for creators who want to improve their product marketing and their mindset. Check it out: