I’m embarrassed to admit it. But I have to drag myself kicking and screaming to finish any piece of writing. The initial idea generation is the fun bit. Pinning down the final idea and ‘finalising’ it so it can’t change is painful. Cutting out good bits because they don’t fit is painful. End result: I’m … Read more
Worry. Worry about everything. Nothing is going to turn out right. Back this up by accepting no pleasure or comfort from things that go partly right. Notice all the tiny flaws and hate them. See every little thing that could go wrong. Demand perfection. Accept nothing less. Never look back and appreciate what you’ve achieved. … Read more
If you feel that many of the articles on this website seem — shall we say — a bit rough around the edges. Lacking that final polish. Then don’t worry. You’re not being rude. Or judging harshly. That’s exactly how it is. And it’s quite deliberate. In fact, I’m actively hoping you’ll have noticed all … Read more
Sherlock Holmes made an unusual claim in “A Study In Scarlet”: “A man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic. […] A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out. Depend upon it there comes a … Read more
It’s easy to get started. To have lots of crazy ideas that you might do something with. Or maybe you half start them. Then leave them around gathering dust. Waiting for you to return later with fresh inspiration. But that’s the easy part. Anyone can have some ideas and talk about how great they’ll be … Read more
We tend to look at our ‘heroes’ (whoever they are – business leaders, athletes, creatives, spiritual) and point to self-discipline as the reason for their success. This misses the point. In fact, it’s downright damaging. This “damage” takes two main forms: First, things that look ‘extreme’ or unusual are more visible. So it’s easy to … Read more
The more I think on it, the more I notice parallels between different approaches to the creative process and geological processes. I’m not sure there’s a one to one correspondence, but there’s something worth digging into here (pun intended). Start by considering the deposition of silt on the ocean floor. This is how a lot … Read more
Duke Ellington was once asked what his favourite composition was. His immediate reply: “the next one”. This is a powerful attitude. A great reminder that you can choose to see the world in a way that’s fluid and relative. That you have amazing power to shape your attitude so that it points you in the … Read more
There are two big reasons why you should always fight to get ahead of the curve. The first gets talked about a fair bit (though nowhere near as much as it should). But the second I think is new — I’ve not heard it expressed like this before, anyway… The first point is that it … Read more
There’s this pesky thing called ‘reality’ which has a way of humbling us all. Repeatedly. Myself very much included… This topic is particularly close to my heart because I regularly fail to take my own advice on it. Although the correct approach is “obvious” here, it’s hard to put into practice. And I tend to … Read more