It’s up there with those other ugly childhood taunts, like “I know you are, but what am I?” and “Kindergarten baby, stick your head in gravy…"
It’s said with a sneer, emphasis on you. “What do you know?”
The implication being that whatever you could possibly share (right now, whenever, forever) has no value. “Just shut up. No one cares.”
Read MoreI learned how to file papers from David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
It might have been better if I had simply become more effective at throwing things away. Then, I wouldn’t have found myself combing through a box filled with ten-year-old notes and supporting information, all meticulously organized.
On the one hand, it was interesting to see a time capsule of where I was in my work a decade ago — how I saw things and what I was hoping for. But whatever had once seemed precious and memorable and worth saving was gone.
Read MoreThe Notes app on my phone is full of entry codes to buildings, shopping lists, information about how to find my car in this or that parking garage, quotes I found interesting, lists of songs to play, and the truly inscrutable (“Dreamed I was schoolmarm to a teenage Jagger and Richards”).
It’s also where ideas go to die.
I’ve had this blog for just over a year, but I’ve been coming up with blog post ideas for much longer — they are all over the place. Not only that, I have a note from May 4, 2015 that says simply, “Daily blog posts.” Why did it take me nearly four years to follow through?
Read MoreThe art that people have made in quarantine is incredible.
Musicians are collaborating on complex multi-track recordings from afar — and sharing impromptu live concerts from their living rooms.
People are drawing and painting like crazy, setting up elaborate obstacle courses for their pets, and dancing up a storm.
Read MoreWhen working with a group of inexperienced singers, I use a favorite trick to instantly elicit a rich, powerful tone, no matter how weak and lackluster their voices sounded before.
It’s simple: I ask them all to try to sing as ugly as possible.
With that, the ensemble is transformed. Freed from the constraint of trying to sound pretty, every singer drops their inhibitions and actually sings. The result is immediately, undeniably superior to what they were doing before.
Read MoreWhen we're learning something new, it can be discouraging to compare ourselves with more established artists.
It can almost make you want to put down the guitar, step away from the watercolors, or get off the stunt motorbike.
The first thing to do is close out Instagram or Facebook or wherever you're watching people make art instead of doing it yourself. Social media can be great for inspiration, but it's easy to overdose on consuming instead of creating.
