Category: thought

The No. 1 Creativity Habit

In a word: solitude.

Creativity flourishes in solitude. With quiet, you can hear your thoughts, you can reach deep within yourself, you can focus.

Agreed. It is one of the reasons I am so much more productive at night after everyone else has gone to sleep (the other being I am a night owl).

See also: Shhh…

What people want is opinions, analysis, techniques, experiences, and insights. The best of all these come as a bi-product from actually doing stuff. The closer you are to the topics, the more natural you’ll be able to extract the goodies.

“Content” is a word that has been bugging me more and more lately as well. Thanks, DHH, for laying out the smackdown. Also…

This also means that it’s hard to schedule. You can’t put neatly into timeslots when you’re going to be annoyed, ecstatic, disappointed, have a great insight or discover a new awesome technique.

Ever wonder why many of my sites might go days, or even sometimes weeks, without a new post? There is your answer.

When the Conficker computer “worm” was unleashed on the world in November 2008, cyber-security experts didn’t know what to make of it. It infiltrated millions of computers around the globe. It constantly checks in with its unknown creators. It uses an encryption code so sophisticated that only a very few people could have deployed it. For the first time ever, the cyber-security elites of the world have joined forces in a high-tech game of cops and robbers, trying to find Conficker’s creators and defeat them. The cops are failing. And now the worm lies there, waiting …

Fascinating read. Also, terrifying. 

If we embrace the fact that no one can or should ever care about the health of our passions as much as we do, the practical decisions that help ensure Our Good Thing stays alive can become as “simple” as a handful of proven patterns—work hard, stay awake, fail well, hang with smart people, shed bullshit, say “maybe,” focus on action, and always always commit yourself to a bracing daily mixture of all the courage, honesty, and information you need to do something awesome—discover whatever it’ll take to keep your nose on the side of the ocean where the fresh air lives. This is huge.

Dear 18 Year Old Self,

Read this and follow every single word.

Wait, scratch that. You’ll turn out OK. Not great, but OK (trust me, I know).

Instead, give this to your kids so they have a sliver of a chance at turning out even better than you.

Love,

Yourself