080222 — Blog — Rulerless

When I started this blog, I thought I’d be talking to the parents of my students.

Instead, it’s turned out to be a lot of entrepreneurs and creatives. And that led me to start coaching and consulting with said entrepreneurs and creatives, which has become a career that I’m really enjoying.

But I’ve resisted going all in on gearing my topics exclusively to the small business owners who might be prospective clients.

Casey von NeumannJuly 18, 2022072822, 080222, 081722, 100122, 100322, 111122Comment

Just start somewhere

Have you ever scrolled all the way back to the beginning of someone’s social media feed, YouTube channel, or blog?

Unless they have deleted their early efforts or actually began their journey elsewhere, you will likely find content that is not at the level of professionalism, refinement, and focus of their most recent work.

Casey von NeumannJune 13, 2022070522, 071322, 080222, 091522, 111122, 112522, 012423Comment

The pointless hero’s journey

I have trouble writing fiction, and I discovered a key reason when I attempted to do NaNoWriMo: I don’t like to make bad things happen to my characters.

I don’t want to break their hearts. I don’t even want to inconvenience them.

I mean, Dorothy Gale goes to all of that trouble to get to the Wizard of Oz only to discover that she had the power to get back to Kansas the whole time.

Casey von NeumannJune 8, 2022071922, 080222, 080422, 081222, 081622, 082922, 110122Comment

Accomplishments per year

In the episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend in which Conan interviews Lin-Manuel Miranda, Conan asks Lin about comparing his own accomplishments to what other successful people accomplished at a similar age.

Lin acknowledges this habit. “I think that’s an affliction many of us share.”

He goes on to point out ruefully that the Beatles had done everything they did by the time they were thirty. Meanwhile, Andrew Lloyd Webber, he says, had written three musicals by the time he was twenty-one.

Casey von NeumannMay 19, 2022080222, 083122, 091622, 093022Comment

Running experiments for fun and profit

A friend of mine is starting a new business.

However, he’s a little self-conscious about calling it a business. That’s because it hasn’t made any money yet. But, strictly speaking, it’s not a hobby. The intention is not to just have fun. The intention is profit, eventually.

How do we bridge that gap? How do we launch the thing if we aren’t sure whether it is going to work?

Casey von NeumannMay 3, 2022052722, 053122, 062222, 062422, 070122, 072622, 080222, 090222, 091422, 122322, 122722Comment