Archive of posts from October 2022

I was talking with a friend who works in jewellery and luxury goods last week.

When I asked how sales were going, I assumed the answer would be “down” - the British public have been grovelling to the government for help with their energy bills, so surely they aren’t buying expensive watches if they can’t keep the lights on?

They sure are!

Sales are through the roof.

Another reminder that people find what they need to get what they want.

Good people are in short supply.

Partly because they often inadvertently self-destruct.

This is a quick reminder to not self-destruct.

It’s OK to charge money for your products and services. Stop trying to give everything away for free; people don’t value free, and so you’re ding them no favours making everything free. If you want to be good and help people, make an exchange and really help them.

It’s OK to cut bad partners and clients loose. Stop trying to...

Some creators show up and get discovered. For these creators, the work got picked up and found a life of its own. Their works take off suddenly and significantly. Count yourself very lucky if you’re one of these, as luck played a huge role in the process.

Some creators show up and uncover themselves. For these creators, luck wasn’t a key variable in their progress. Effort was. Drip by drip, they introduced people to the work themselves, achieving similar reach...

We’re all too afraid:

When you tweet, if you’re afraid of whether or not you’ll feel happy with the likes and RTs, there’s a problem. Tweet because it’s your voice, not because its what others want to hear.

When you create, if you’re afraid of the feedback others will share, there’s a problem. Create because you’re committed to your growth, not because of whether or not others will approve of your growth.

When you choose, if you’re afraid of what...

Sometimes all your work needs is a little nudge.

I signed up for Mastodon (decentralised social network) in 2017…

For whatever reason, I forgot about it.

But seeing the trending #twittermigration conversation talking about Mastodon gave me a little nudge.

And I got chatting on Mastodon again.

Don’t be afraid to give those who would benefit from your work a little nudge from time to time. It could be that they’ll really appreciate it. It could be that, for whatever...

“Oh people might not respond well to that…”

“That might be a bit too exciting or fun for them…”

Who are these people?

And why are they the only ones receiving your consideration as you embark on creating your work?

Be careful about shooting down ideas you love, for people you don’t.

After all, you’re unlikely to have the resources to serve the entire marketplace anyway, so you might as well lean into your chosen few, and make something that...

Ever find yourself agonising over a decision that isn’t, in the grand scheme of things, all that important?

Perhaps it’s whether or not to pick up a piece of software. Or maybe you can’t quite choose whether to paint your room white, pearl, porcelain, or alabaster.

Sometimes, time spent with these decisions is an expression of passion and care.

But more often, that time is an indicator that we’re dithering.

Perhaps the software isn’t the point, perhaps you’re stalling from...

Love isn’t supposed to be rational, especially among craftsmen:

Some writers love Apple Notes but dislike Evernote. Evernote may technically do more for them, but a love for the essentialist form of the native, default option wins them over.

Some animators love Harmony but dislike Animate. Animate is simpler, like above, but a love for the unique, quirky, nothing-else-is-like-this world of Harmony wins them over.

Is simpler (like Notes) better? Or is complex (like Harmony) better?

There is no ‘better’,...

Endurance teaches us more about success than success does:

A ‘successful’ business (however you choose to measure it) can be so due to external funding and luck, or it can be so due to patience and sustainable, iterative learning. One teaches us more than the other.

A ‘successful’ marriage (however you choose to measure it) can be so due to lots of breaks and easy living, or it can be so due to learning to truly live and work as...

I’ve had a lot of exposure to anonymous workers lately.

Pockets of the online world thrive on anonymity, regardless of profession or skill.

And I’ve discovered something about anonymity:

It reveals more about how people are:

People who are selfish become more selfish. They are less likely to honour their word, less likely to speak the truth, and less likely to come through for you when you need them.

People who are selfless become more selfless. They are more likely...

We celebrate Big more than Right.

Being Big is a popular goal for most businesses. Being Right for their choice of market comes second. Which is why those who prioritise being Right for their choice of market have to deal with growth.

Being Bigger in a market is a popular roadmap for most businesses. Being Righter in a market comes second. Which is why the pursuit of growth often comes with a sacrifice of ease and profitability, whereas the pursuit...

Some things benefit from speed… Competitive environments where everyone’s rushing hastily toward a singular goal in a zero-sum game.

But most things benefit from calm. Environments where you’re not competing with the world, but building methodically toward a specific goal, alongside people who chose to go to that same destination, in the same timing.

One only works in short bursts, is exhausting, and may be a byproduct of a bigger problem that may hold you back from your best work.

What’s your balance?

If you listen to online gurus and the loudest peers, you may feel that your desired balance is incorrect.

You may want to spend time with your family… but feel as though you should be working longer, harder, and better than you are.

You may want to earn a little less to gain a lot more free time… but feel as though that makes you a failure as a creator to want these things.

Behind every person...

Being noisy on social is the popular way to grow an audience. But if it doesn’t work for you, you won’t like it - and who wants to create work they don’t even like?

Making promises you can’t keep is the popular way to get the deal. But if it doesn’t work for you, you won’t feel good about it - and who wants to do work they don’t feel good about?

Pursuing work you enjoy requires not filling it...

Projects with a community only work when the community shows up. The community decides whether it wants to go where you want to go.

Projects with no community tend not to go anywhere, because there’s no feedback loop, no ears on the ground, no advocacy.

Maybe the focus shouldn’t be on “making the community want” what you’re doing.

Maybe trying to force it is the only failure.

Maybe the focus should be instead be on “the pursuit of things that...

The funny thing about ‘that thing’…

You know… the thing you’re afraid of doing…

The thing you keep trying to find other ways around, so that you don’t have to do it…

The thing you convince yourself you can do just fine without…

…that thing?

That’s the thing standing in your way.

What would happen if you overcame it?

Either adversity eats you for breakfast,

Or you eat adversity for breakfast.

Which is it to be?

Sometimes it’s the little things.

“You reply to tweets!” Most people are busy delegating their social media. Every interaction with my Twitter comes from me personally. The little things that go a long way in showing you care.

“You listen to your community!” Most people are eager to “free themselves” from having to “manage” their communities, if they’re fortunate enough to have them. But they don’t need managing… they need loving. The little things go a long way in showing...

We have more power than we think.

If you love certain types of project, and wish you saw more of them, vote for them. Use your attention, amplification, and money and cast your vote.

If you love certain types of creators, builders and founders, vote for them. Follow them around, cheer them on, buy their things and cast your vote.

It’s easy to let someone else go first and join in the success cheers.

And it’s easy to wish someone...

What’s enough?

A fan of my work made an interesting remark today that got me thinking.

He remarked, in good taste and in honour, that he hopes one of our upcoming projects will “add ten houses” to our portfolio.

This is a very lovely comment, intended to share good spirits and high hopes for the performance of the project’s launch.

And I was interested to notice my knee-jerk response was to say, “Yet I can only live in but one...

Bear markets aren’t bad markets.

They’re just bad markets for deploying bull market strategies.

But they’re amazing for deploying bear market strategies when most are still deploying bull market ones.

Those who coasted on reputations built in bull markets are yielding to the bear market builders prepared to love their communities more deeply.

Those who only know how to sell in bull markets are yielding to the bear market builders who cut their teeth on bear market norms.

The bear...

If you love creating, you’ve already won. The outcome and market response don’t affect you, you get to do it again tomorrow.

If you love spending time with your community, you’ve already won. You’ll never be far from the feedback you need to make your work fly.

If you love the process, the outcome doesn’t matter, and takes care of itself.

Industries have lines in the sand that define bodies of work from each other, so that the market knows roughly what to expect inside.

Thats what industries are.

But if you only play inside the lines, you miss huge amounts of opportunity.

For instance, a restaurant thinks its competing with restaurants as a place to eat, when it’s also competing with the movie theatre and bowling alley as a way to be entertained for an hour.

Your work may fit...

What do creators and runners have in common?

Some sprint, some run marathons:

Different focus: Sprinters go fast, marathon runners go far. Creators get to choose whether what kind of race they want to run, and shouldn’t be jealous of creators who chose a different type of race.

Different muscles: Sprinters are high-twitch, marathon runners are low-twitch. Creators get to choose what skills and environments to thrive in, and learn from people who are playing the same game.

Different heart...