Experts I’ve talked to have delicately suggested that I stop sharing new articles here every day.
“You could write just a few that are targeted to the exact problem you solve for your prospective customer,” they say. “And then you can link to those on social media.”
Yes, that is a very tidy way to do business. But that’s not what this blog is for.
Read More“I have a hard time talking to new people,” says a seventh grader. “I have social anxiety.”
“I’m such a procrastinator,” says another. “I know what I’m supposed to do, but I will avoid it until the last possible moment. I feel terrible about it.”
It’s not a bad thing that this generation of kids is very self-aware. It beats the cluelessness of my own cohort -- we didn’t have the Internet to help us figure out what was going on or find people who shared and validated our weird traits. But I worry sometimes that all the labels these adolescents give themselves will prevent them from seeing that they always have the possibility of changing their habits and disrupting their patterns, even if their personality remains fixed.
Read MoreIf you have watched the Hamilton movie on Disney Plus — or were lucky enough to see it in person before the world shut down — you might appreciate seeing Lin-Manuel Miranda’s performance of an early version of the musical’s opener, “Alexander Hamilton,” at the White House back in 2009.
Already a seasoned performer, the twenty-nine-year-old Miranda channels his nervous energy into his rapping and singing, creating that magical feedback loop between soloist, accompanist, and audience, elevating the moment and getting everyone on board with something entirely new. At the same time, you can see that the concept is not fully formed, and the piece is definitely not polished. It’s a high-wire act, with all the danger that implies, and Miranda, with the support of Alex Lacamoire, just barely managed to make it to the other side.
Read MoreOkay, technically it hasn’t been daily blogging. I do give myself (and you) the weekends off.
But on February 28, 2019, I wrote my first article and clicked “publish.” And I’ve done it every weekday since then. And I have learned a lot over the past year.
There are two things that stand out the most. Unsurprisingly, they mirror the themes I like to talk about in my articles.
Read MoreFunny how the impulse to tidy takes hold when there’s something even less appealing to take care of.
That less-appealing thing might be our most important work, but we don’t feel worthy of it. We’ve locked it away in a fortress like the princess in Super Mario 3, buried beneath many layers of to-dos. We have to clean off the desk, water the plants, put the kids through college.
What I’ve learned in my moments of inspired action is that it’s possible to bypass my rules and preconceptions about getting things done and dig right in on the most important project. The only big scary monster guarding the castle is the one created by my own mind.
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