“Enjoy it!” — Brody Stevens
Most people have never heard of Brody Stevens and that’s a shame.
Because he was one of the most original comedic voices we’ve ever seen.
He passed away recently and while I didn’t know him personally, I was a fan of his work and he accomplished something few people ever do in any creative field:
He was truly one of a kind.
Here’s a touching eulogy about who he was and what he did.
Here’s an amazing story about one of his performances.
And here’s a bit of his standup.
Now, on to this week’s ideas…
1. THERE’S NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF
“Fear is the result of underestimating what you can handle.”
We all get scared, but it’s what we do in the face of our fears that determines how our lives turns out.
In this post I explain why there’s nothing to be afraid of and share five things to remember when you’re scared to do something including that giving in to fear is scarier than facing it, fear can be helpful, and fear can’t actually stop you.
RELATED: How to overcome your fear and get what you want.
2. THE POWER OF KEEPING PROMISES
“The promises that we make and we keep and those we choose to dishonor…that is what defines us and our character.”
This is an incredibly powerful video.
In a 36-minute Creative Mornings talk Alex Sheen breaks down the power of promises and explains how his father inspired him to launch because I said I would, a social movement and nonprofit dedicated to the betterment of humanity through promises made and kept.
RELATED: Five keys to a successful movement.
3. BUILD FOR YOURSELF FIRST, YOUR FRIENDS SECOND, AND THE WORLD THIRD
“You should be making work that you enjoy, that you need, that you want to hold in your hands or use.”
I’m sure one of the biggest reasons for the success of For The Interested is that it’s a creation I’d want to consume.
That fits right in line with Joan Westenberg 🌈’s belief that you should build for yourself first, your friends second, and the world third because doing so leads you to create work that ultimately has more meaning, more utility, and less compromise.
RELATED: Stop wanting to be, start wanting to do.
4. 100 RESOURCES THAT WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER WRITER
“Books, Essays, Websites, Quotes, Lists, Advice, Movies . . . Whew.”
You’re pretty much guaranteed to find something here that will help your writing.
Shaunta Grimes has compiled a list of 100 resources that will make you a better writer including stuff designed to help you write better novels, learn from the masters, and get published.
RELATED: 20 ideas on the craft and process of writing.
5. WHY YOU SHOULD TREAT YOUR WEEKEND LIKE A VACATION
“When people are nudged to treat a weekend as a vacation they return to work on Monday happier than the control group that spent their weekend doing the same-old same-old.”
It turns out not all weekends are created equal.
Carla Fried explains why you should treat your weekend like a vacation based on a study which found people who do so report increased happiness on Monday and were more attentive to the present moment.
RELATED: How to make the most of your weekends.
6. ARTISTS BECOME FAMOUS THROUGH THEIR FRIENDS, NOT THEIR ORIGINALITY
“Artists with a large and diverse network of contacts were most likely to be famous, regardless of how creative their art was.”
What if your ability to network with other artists is every bit as important as the art you create?
It may be, according to a study that looked at how the work of various historical artists became famous and the correlation between that work and the artist’s social network.
Casey Lesser points out artists become famous through their friends and that an artist being particularly creative with their work had little correlation with their level of fame compared to the influence of their network of relationships.
RELATED: Why artists are no longer criticized for selling out.
7. THE FOUR KINDS OF LUCK
“If I lost all my money and if you drop me on a random street in any English-speaking country, within five to ten years I’d be wealthy again because it’s just a skill set that I’ve developed and I think anyone can develop.”
Whether you think you’re lucky or not, this one’s likely to change your mind about what luck is.
Naval Ravikant breaks down the four kinds of luck (based on a Marc Andreesen concept) including blind luck, luck that comes as a result of persistence or hard work, luck which is actually the result of an ability to identify luck, and luck that is attracted by something you create.
RELATED: Three ways to increase your luck.
8. YOU DON’T NEED TO QUIT YOUR JOB TO BE A MAKER
“There is no moment that you become an entrepreneur, so there is no need to quit your job just to define yourself as one.”
If you want to do something entrepreneurial, the first step is to realize your job isn’t likely holding you back from making it happen.
Steph Smith suggests you don’t need to quit your job to be a maker, breaks down why the idea that you don’t have enough time is a myth, and points out how having a job can actually help you be more successful in your entrepreneurial effort.
RELATED: How having a day job can help you make better art.
9. HOW TO GET BETTER AT ESTIMATING YOUR TIME
“While we’re bad at estimating how long tasks will take us to complete, we’re actually pretty good at estimating how long it will take someone else to complete a task.”
We’re bad at predicting how long it takes to do things.
Luckily, Jessica Greene-Zapier has compiled six ways to get better at estimating your time including to use historical data, use three-point estimations, and create estimates during the low point of your day.
RELATED: How to become a time realist.
10. SIX THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOUR NEXT CAREER MOVE
“Every career is a work in progress — forever.”
Some of the best ways to figure out the direction you want to take your career have nothing to do with the jobs themselves.
In this post I share six things to consider before your next career move including to look for better instead of perfect, move toward something instead of away from something, and chase learning.
RELATED: How to make the right choices in your career.
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WHERE I FOUND THIS STUFF
I got some of this week’s ideas from Scott Monty, Khe Hy, Thomas Oppong, Creative Mornings, and Article Group — they’re awesome and worth checking out.