Archive of posts from April 2022

Didn’t feel like you created much today?

Maybe you chipped away at a project, took care of some things… felt you didn’t really make a dent in anything?

Perhaps you feel as though your peers are creating substantial bodies of work and your work feels comparatively…boring?

“History as usually written is quite different from history as usually lived. The historian records the exceptional because it is interesting.” – Will Durant

Peers share their highlights. As do many industry leaders.

But they all have boring days too.

Great things are built in boring days.

Embrace boring days and observe the amazing things you’ll make.

“If you can get your work life to where you enjoy half of it, that is amazing. Very few people ever achieve that.” - Jeff Bezos

Enjoying your work is hugely underrated. Productivity, profitability and effectiveness may be important too; Jeff was no stranger to those either.

But consider enjoyment for a moment, and the life-giving power it brings.

Artist Frank Kozik gave up a safe, healthy design career to make satirical toys for grown-ups. He liked toys better.

Author Chris Hitchens used a typewriter until the last ribbon store in DC closed. He liked typewriters. So he used them until he no longer could.

I’ve re-ordered the same notebook brand/size/style since I bought my first one in college. I know there are alternatives. But I like my notebooks as they are, familiar faults and all.

Sometimes, productivity isn’t the goal.

Sometimes, maximising profit isn’t the goal.

Sometimes, an investment the life-giving power of actually enjoying your work, how you work or what you work on pays far greater dividends.

We don’t have to like new technological innovations.

But to dismiss them is to dismiss the opportunity to create on new canvases:

The Internet was born from military defence in the 60s, now it powers information, communication, and will soon drive our cars.

Web3 was born as various financial cryptocurrency prototypes from as early as the 80s, now it’s changing what it means to own things and equip communities to create together.

Satellites were born of a 50s race for power, now they help us find our way around our planet together.

“Technology finds most of its uses after it has been invented, rather than being invented to meet a foreseen need.” – Jared Diamond

Technology advances every year.

What will you use it to create?

Which represents ‘more’, to you:

10,000 unengaged followers, or 100 loyal customers?

1,000 posts a day to stay noticed, or 1 post a day that people look forward to?

500 average projects completed annually, or 10 projects that you’re proud of?

100 employees doing a workable job, or 5 who change the culture together?

More time spent, or time better invested?

Part of the wonder of life is found in its uncertainty. Life, when assured, is deemed boring among many in pursuit of living.

Part of the wonder of work is found in its uncertainty. Work, when assured, is deemed menial among many in pursuit of progress.

Those for whom this tautology has become obvious, are faced with a dilemma:

“Does this mean that doing things that might not work is a good thing? Is the discomfort of growth better than a regressive state of prolonged comfort?”

Answer that, and you may find yourself empowered where you once felt only fear.

Then just think of what you could accomplish.

What’s the most important part of your product description?

Clarity, or Personality?

Without clarity, people won’t know what your work is all about, why they should care, and what they should do about it.

Without personality, people won’t get the opportunity to form a relationship with your work, or see themselves in your duty of care.

Clarity without personality leaves us clear… yet cold. Illuminated… yet detached.

Personality without clarity leaves us connected… yet disengaged. Ready… yet stuck.

I admit: I didn’t start writing this post with an answer on which is more important.

I had an ulterior motive.

The market wins when you can’t decide.

So stay stuck on which is more important, and deploy both with equal importance.

Sometimes, we get to build and share what we’re building at the same time.

Other times, we’re quietly building.

But when we’re quiet, the tendency is to assume something is wrong.

But it could mean something very right is about to happen.

Don’t feel bad about quietly building.

We can’t wait to see what you’re up to.

We get to choose the blessing or the curse:

The curse: Not wanting to get up, because you don’t want to go to work… then not wanting to go home and deal, then not wanting to go to bed because it’ll start over again.

The blessing: Can’t wait to get up, because you get to be yourself as a verb… where there’s no “work” to “get through” nor weekends to live for, there’s simply living.

The difference is determined by our choices.

Choose wisely, friends.

(P.S. Hear this: you are allowed to change your mind on those decisions.)

Love SaaS?

Buy a print magazine about gardening.

Love flying fixed-wing?

Join a Discord server full of web3 degens.

A polymathic means of learning — the interest in a substantial number of potentially-divergent subjects — unlocks the ability to see what others cannot.

What’s “the only way to do things” in one industry is an innovative revolution in acquisition or production in another.

Being able to see around corners feels like staring at the wall for a moment.

And then you can see.

What makes something special?

And what makes it special, and not merely extra?

Both exceed what is necessary. Both may be topically unrelated.

Yet one is good, and the other is something we’re indifferent to.

What makes special…special?

Its ability to distinguish itself to a specific person or specific group.

Special is special because it’s not trying to please everybody. It’s selective by nature. It’s niche.

Without that, it’s merely extra.

Worth keeping in mind when you think about your work… if you’re trying to appeal to a larger audience, what does that do to what makes you special?

Want people to support your venture? Ask.

Want to collaborate with a great brand? Ask.

Want to do a project with that person? Ask.

Want to know how that creator made that thing? Ask.

Want to be introduced to that influential figure? Ask.

The things we want are on the other side of Asks…

…so Ask!

What happens to your work when the bubble bursts?

No market trend lasts forever…

Whether you’re in Facebook Ads, Shopify app development or NFTs, there will come a day when your landscape will change.

A lot.

What then?

One of two things.

Option 1: Your work collapses with the chapter and, with a bit of luck, you can rebuild in the next chapter.

Option 2: Your work transcends the trends, where your people stick to you because of what you’ve built, rather than merely where you built it.

We get to choose.

Do we build horizontally into what’s hot now, or do we build vertically into the lives of those we wish to serve?

Most company websites say “We are __”.

They tell you what they are.

But they don’t tell you what they are not.

This is equally important.

For instance, the Mortiverse experiment is exploring how we could explore stoic philosophy in fun new accessible ways.

But what is the experiment not?

It is not interested in changing the world.
It is not trying to become the next BAYC.
It is not trying to build a hyperactive Discord server.
It is not trying to apportion pointless airdrops.
It is not entertaining market hype nor pumps.

It’s just exploring one thing, honestly, to see what opportunities are there, and who might enjoy them.

Most of us can become just as energised by the prospect of a body of work by learning what it isn’t, as we can by learning what it is.

Show us what you’re not.

Being the best is exhausting.

It’s broadly defined by competition, and your rank among it.

You don’t control the competition, and so pursuit of conventional ‘best’ means being governed by forces outside of your control.

What a lousy way to live.

What’s the alternative?

Redefine best.

It might not be to change the world.
Or to become the next _____.
Or to have the biggest marketshare.
Or to have the best perks.
Or most awards.

Best might be to enjoy being good at something.
Or to do a great job for those in your care.
Or to integrate a happy, balanced lifestyle.

Those sound pretty good, don’t they?

Please, be the best.

Just remember to define ‘best.’

I love making things.

And I love selling them.

The combination of those two things brings so much joy.

But it can be lonely. Perhaps you’ve experienced this too:

You can be surrounded by care, yet feel you can’t share. Many folks don’t want the responsibility of a three-dimensional relationship with you; you fit better as a two-dimensional success in your craft.

You can be surrounded by promises, yet know they’re rarely kept. Many folks will promise a commitment or result for you, but experience will tell you that many peoples’ word doesn’t mean as much as yours does.

You can be surrounded by celebration, yet know it’ll fade if you stop winning. Many folks like to cheer for the winning team, and to claim they supported you all along. But you know they weren’t there for you at the start, and they may not be there at the end.

The pros far outweigh the cons.

But it’s worth you knowing that the cons aren’t just there for you.

We all experience them.

Keep going.

We love and hate simplicity.

We love it because we know that represents mastery. In your area of genius, you’ll likely have experienced the elegance of simplicity that comes from mastery; fewer brush strokes yielding better art.

We hate it because others don’t know that it represents mastery. The fewer the brush strokes, the more an amateur (which is more likely to be a buyer, and you a seller) is to wonder, “Why should I pay for this when it’s so simple?”

The allure and mystique of complexity leads us to overcook things.

Overcooking things leads us astray from our pursuits of mastery.

Stay the course.

The market is only as competitive as we choose.

Choosing to offer a commodity service at an aggressive price is highly competitive. Lots of people are doing the same thing, and so only of the only ways for a buyer to choose is to filter by price.

Choosing to offer an elevated service at a fair market price is less competitive. Far fewer people are doing this, so there are fewer to filter by.

Choosing to offer an elevated service with an elevated level of care and protection for the client, at a fair market price, has very little competition at all. This is the rarest option, because not only are very few people doing it, but the soft-skill assurances ensure you’d never want to buy anywhere else.

All of these options were a choice.

We get to choose.

Clarity isn’t popular. It requires most things to get out of the way, so that only the most important things take centre-stage. It requires the obvious to be obvious, the main thing to be the main thing.

Decoration is popular. It doesn’t require taking a stance like Clarity does; it encourages whatever is cool and loud to take centre-stage, alongside anything else that is cool and loud. There’s no room for Clarity here.

Focus isn’t popular. It requires saying no to lots of things, especially to your favourite distractions. Focus is uncomfortable, critical, precise.

Shiny is popular. It doesn’t require Focus to operate; it would prefer to dazzle Focus into obscurity alongside a great many other things. It’s comfortable, nice, inclusive.

Decoration and shininess will earn you more approval.

Clarity and focus will win earn you your greatest work.

Never mind your “big idea”…

What’s your “big opinion”?

A big idea may not be rooted in a big opinion. It’s simply a loose idea, that is big. It has no opinion, or perspective, or vision that its trying to pursue. ‘Big’ is all it has.

A big idea that fails leaves you looking for your footing. There’s seemingly nowhere to go except perhaps to another idea. Wandering from campaign to campaign, not backed by something bigger than itself.

A big opinion gives birth to big ideas. A big opinion transcends big ideas; big ideas exist merely to make the vision behind that opinion a reality. This is how we change the culture.

A big opinion’s big idea that failed, simply makes room for another big idea. The idea was merely a tactic within a larger strategy. The culture still needs changing per the big opinion, so more big ideas follow.

Big ideas aren’t that special.

But a big opinion about the way things ought to be, with the gall to make it so?

That’s where truly great work comes from.

Your intersection is your superpower.

What’s yours?

Perhaps it’s storytelling/writing/coaching. This person will be able to improve lives with stories. Or they could make immersive books that teach kids important life lessons. They won’t be for everyone, but for the right people, they’ll be the best thing they’ve ever experienced.

Maybe it’s tech/law/writer. This person will be able to advocate for change using software and capture the journey in words. Or they could lead a joint-faculty that creates tools for legal entities. They won’t be for everyone, but for the right people, they’ll be the best thing they’ve ever experienced.

Mine is art/tech/philosophy. I get to help people grow in life and business by equipping them with stoic resilience, expressed in culturally accessible ways. Comic-powered courses to make business development fun. Personal development cartoons. These things aren’t for everyone, but for the right people, these things change lives.

What’s your intersection?

And are you making the most of it?

What do subscription services and heroine have in common?

Users.

‘Users’ are what we refer to people who are trapped in a negative usage pattern with something harmful.

Like heroine.

Do you want victims who engage your work that ultimately wind up far worse off for having known you?

Or do you want to enrich the lives of real people – husbands and wives, sons and daughters – who will thank you for the change you made to their work or their lives?

It’s worth not losing sight over who you’re building to serve. Over what makes them unique. Over what they truly need from you. Over how you can bring unique advantage to their worlds.

Or you may end up with users.

Real-time, all-the-time.

A quick Slack message here, a quick Google Meet there.

All so immediate… yet it takes an hour to get one decision made.

Fast is, oftentimes, quite slow.

Meanwhile… thoughtful, slow messages that anticipate problems and present solutions take half the time to write, and give you the other half back to to something else while the other person ponders your words and chooses a path forward.

As Mark Twain once quipped, “I apologise for such a long letter - I didn’t have time to write a short one”…

…today’s equivalent would be, “I apologise for the long Zoom meeting - I didn’t have time to dignify you with considered thought.”

Slow down. It’s faster that way.

When companies want to move faster, what do they do?
They hire more people.

When have lots and lots of people, what happens?
Decisions are slower and shipping takes longer.

Speed doesn’t come from ‘more’:

If you want to go fast in straight lines, perhaps more people will help.
If you want to be nimble, perhaps more people will only hurt you.

When you’re ‘small’, don’t fear ‘big’. You have advantages they can only dream of.

Your work won’t last forever.

And neither will you.
And neither will your customer.

Since we know that with certainty… shouldn’t we plan for it?

When customers move on… make it great. Having them leaving unhappy and unplanned is not the only way. You can prepare a happy, planned, delightful ending that they love and tell their friends about (who may perhaps be ready to start at the beginning).

When it’s time to move on from the project… make it great. Losing a founder or closing a project don’t have to be sad, unexpected inconveniences. You can prepare a successor, or a seamless hand-over of care for those you serve to complimentary project, or something totally different.

Not lasting forever doesn’t have to be bad.

It’s just another opportunity for you to show up creatively and show those you serve just how much you care.

‘Yes’ means opening doors that were closed.
‘Yes’ lets us open as many doors as we like.
‘Yes’ can also lead to over-committing.
‘Yes’ stacks up many things we can’t give our full attention to.
‘Yes’ can become ‘No’ to doing great things.

‘No’ closes doors before they open.
‘No’ gives margin to only open doors we really want.
‘No’ doesn’t lead to over-committing.
‘No’ stacks up to give space for our full attention to a few things.
‘No’ can become ‘Yes’ to doing great things.

The best projects make us Better.

Not merely Richer.

You don’t need to be good to make money. If you did, the world’s wealthiest would also be the ranks of all of the world’s best people. And that’s not the case.

You don’t need to be wealthy to make people better. If you did, the above scenario would result in nobody making anybody better. We wouldn’t grow.

But helping people to grow AND profit?

That’s the holy grail — to equip someone with a sound, happy mind, plus the resources to go and do good from that place of strength.

Few products can achieve both.

That’s okay.

But it’s nevertheless a noble question to ask ourselves: “How could my work make people better, and equip them with the resources to do good from that place of strength?”

Being useful is underrated.

Amazon makes shipping faster because its target market are never going to wish they received packages slowly. There are other options for that, like shopping local, but they know what ‘useful’ looks like for them.

Adobe makes Photoshop do more things on more devices because its target market are never going to wish it did less things on less devices. There are other options for simpler interfaces, such as Pixelmator and Procreate. They know what ‘useful’ looks like for them.

Apple made the iPod the simplest music player (any song findable within seven seconds) because its target market were never going to wish it was harder to find songs. There are other options for the enjoyment of discovery, such as listening to vinyl records. They know what ‘useful’ looks like for them.

Craigslist runs a simple website that rarely ever changes because its target market would prefer things to stay exactly as they are. They are other options with more features, such as eBay. They know what ‘useful’ looks like for them.

Being genuinely useful means making a special gift for your choice of market, and not being deterred by competitors and ideas that make the gift less special for those specific people.

And who doesn’t like receiving a gift thoughtfully prepared just for them?

“Available”.

Discord. Slack. Teams. Skype. Even Gmail… All of these tools mark you “Available” with a green circle when you open them.

Available for your attention to be directed toward whatever others might want to use it for.

Available ‘for a quick call’, perhaps ‘to pick your brain’, because surely you’ve ‘got 5 mins’.

We can’t focus on our best work when our focus is given away freely on a first-come-first-serve basis.

But there’s a solution.

These tools all provide an “Invisible” option. Some call it “Away”, but the message is the same: “I am not ‘available’ at the moment.”

You’ve seen it. Perhaps you’ve not clicked it. Perhaps that’s why you spend so long in these kinds of tools.

Focus doesn’t happen when you’re available.

Focus happens when you’re invisible.

And focus is where your genius comes out to play, and you make great work we’re all waiting to see.

Do it for all of us: be invisible.

Seinfeld killed the most popular show on TV.

People often wonder why he’d do that.

If he waited longer, he would have killed a declining show. Nobody would have batted an eyelid at that. When would the top have been? Exactly when does the decline begin? Nobody knows until it happens. That’s usually how markets work. Only obvious in hindsight.

The point isn’t to always quit while you’re ahead. The point is to operate on your own terms.

For example:

Let’s say you have an expanding team or product-line. Growth could mean adding more resources and products. That’s growth.

Or, it could mean killing 80% to focus on the 20% that makes the most impact, causing revenue growth without all the extra bloat. That’s growth, too.

We get to choose what growth looks like.

Choose one that suits you because it genuinely suits you. Not just because it makes your grandparents proud or your LinkedIn bio look cool.

You make a call.

Perhaps it was an investment. Or a job offer.

It works out.

Were you right to make the investment or take the job?

Most of us would say yes, it was “right” to do so.

But if the investment was a 60/40 chance of success, it doesn’t become 100/0 because it paid off in retrospect.

It’s still a 60/40 bet that paid off.

What if the job offer was a 90/10 chance of working out… except didn’t work out long-term; the department closed and you were made redundant.

Was it “wrong” to take the job, after all?

Or is it still a 90/10 bet that didn’t pay off?

We often refer to the same events as risky bets, and as clear-cut facts, depending on when in time we’re referring to.

What if we recognised things for what they are regardless of time?

How would that affect our jobs, our projects, our investments… our egos?