One of the unexpected things about getting older is how weird it is to see celebrities your age get older.
There’s a world full of people out there doing things you didn’t think were possible.
Everyone says they want to do what they want, but few have the courage to do so.
We’re so busy thinking about the future we forget the present will soon be the past.
It’s easy to overlook the value of the familiar in the search for the new.
It’s the best of times and the worst of times all the time.
One day a baseball hitter crushes a pitch but the wind’s blowing in so it’s just an easy out.
The next day he barely makes contact but the wind carries it out for a home run.
Don’t confuse a wind problem for a you problem.
The first step to being able to tell a great story is being able to recognize a great story.
The real way to learn is to do.
If you sit outside on a cloudy day and close your eyes, you can feel the moment when the sun peeks out from behind the clouds.
You didn’t do anything to make it happen and you didn’t “see” it, but you sense it.
We can sense all kinds of things if we give ourselves the space to do so.
It’s never too late to try something new.
It’s never too late to learn something new.
It’s never too late to become something new.
I have no interest in writing a newsletter I have to bribe people to subscribe to.
Here’s one for your next book club.
“Featuring 86 close-ups of Picasso’s assholes from the last 6 to 8 years of his life.”
There’s nothing wrong with selling in every email you send.
But there may be something wrong with content designed to sell in every email you send.
Not everything you create needs to be an attempt to sell.
Most people don’t even try to do something original - they’re too busy trying to do what others do.
Eyes close Breeze blows Breath flows
Tweet go the birdies Squirrels start to scurry There’s no need to hurry
Doing nothing is really something.
One of my favorite things:
Pick a song I like, press play, and go for a walk.
While listening to the song, pick another song that comes to mind and listen to it next.
Repeat.
Add each song to a playlist.
By the end of the walk I’ve got a new playlist filled with songs I like that flow beautifully.
15-Word Story Starters
A creative exercise for the hell of it: Use no more than 15 words to start a story someone would want to hear more of. Here are 3 examples I came up with: STORY STARTER 1 The alarm woke him up. It didn’t wake her up. Neither could he. Whoops. STORY STARTER 2 On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 10 women wept. STORY STARTER 3
“The most important creative decision we’ll ever make isn’t what we make - it’s who we choose to make it for.” - Tommy Geoco in this fantastic video:
“Everybody lives inside a world the outcasts build.”
Rose Betts in Hot Girl Summer