How to make the most of obstacles, setbacks, and red lights — A red light is not an obstacle getting in the way of your destination; it is the destination. You are constantly arriving at the destination, the place you’re meant to be. …

Choose to be the type of creator people can’t think of a single reason to quit — The year was 2016. The location was NYU’s music school. Legendary everything, Pharrell Williams, stopped by a classroom to provide feedback on the latest creations of a group of budding musicians. In the first two demos that he was asked to critique, Pharrell went through the motions without displaying much…

Updating your plan in unexpected circumstances — Sticking to the plan is usually the least expensive solution. However! Plans are just guesses. Sometimes we guess poorly. Or, circumstances change, and our guess proves to be wrong. For example, you planned to quit our job, and entrepreneurship turns out to be nothing like what you guessed it would…

A guide to working within the power laws that govern creative work — It’s well known that power laws apply to creative work. While the top earners can make an incredible amount of money, the rest of us in the very long tail do not. …

In praise of making decisions — For years, I’ve wanted to buy an external monitor for my laptop. I’ve worked with a dual monitor setup pretty much up till 2018. Working from a laptop screen was suboptimal. I’ve been meaning to buy one this whole time, and I didn’t until last Friday. Here’s what happened: As…

Or at least, make them smile or possibly laugh a little — “Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.” Eleanor Roosevelt said that. I think it’s pretty smart. Something else I think is pretty smart is taking the time to write…

The value of your story in finding your people — You may never own a pair of J’s, though there’s a chance you’ll know Michael Jordan’s story. You may not have heard one of Amanda Palmer songs, though you may know of her stories with crowdfunding. You may not watch Oprah, and you might still know her as a billionaire…

Don’t just passively consume stories, actively dissect them — “If you go down to meet this guy, you may never back. He’s on another level.” Shortly into his career, legendary Esquire columnist Cal Fussman, got the itch to interview Harry Cruz, a novelist who wrote off-the-wall stories about things like a man who ate a car. Despite the warnings…

Restraint is a choice — “Hey, Laia!” I shouted from my office. “Do you have any idea what a bad word is for a woman that starts with a K and ends with an N?” “What the hell are you talking about?” my wife shot back. “You’re the native English speaker, not me!” “It’s just…