Everything is the worst, and there's not sign of it getting better anytime soon. Is there any way to keep our creative spark alive while being pulled in a thousand direction every minute of the day?
If it helps, you are the cool kid to a lot of us. The more you share about your life, the more it feels like you are just a multiverse variant of me, where I wasn't trans and got my shit in any semblance of in order. Oh, and stopped being the fat kid lol
This is fascinating, because I've always thought of you as the cool kid, Russell. And someone who was a rebel who didn't give a rat's patootie about what others thought of you. Isn't it fascinating how we see ourselves (and what we know about ourselves) vs what everyone else sees?
Since we have met and hung out I can now tell you that I would have literally died if you didn't like me. I was absolutely sweating bullets leading up to Austin that you wouldn't.
LOL!!! Omg! You're such a dork. But that's why I like you so much, 'cause I'm a dork too. We can go hang out in the back and click pens together (but never cause the world to explode, because we're smart and know not to click too many times in a row. #youarewelcomeworld #justforyou)
I absolutely loved the distinction between commerce and capitalism. I think if more creatives--that grapple with being part of the "capitalistic meat grinder"--focused on this distinction, their lives would change.
Because of my life circumstances, I learned self validation VERY early. I also learned that you must do things purely for the love of doing them/love the process when it comes to creativity. Because I learned this so early and in such a unique way, outside validation means very little to me unless it is coming from one of my most cherished loved ones.
We talked before about publishing etc on Notes and I think if I sought outside validation a little more I would have more tolerance for the hoops that we have to jump through as writers when it comes to traditional publishing. I think it is a delicate balance and I'm still exploring what that balance is for myself.
Ultimately, it is about getting out of our own way and forging paths that feel right for our particular desires and needs.
I'm so glad it resonated :) I have a lot of posts coming up I will be talking about how to individualize this stuff for yourself. I wrote an 11,000 word post for next week about how to run a virtual conference, which is one of my favorite ways to say "I already know I'm cool, but let me show you a bunch of other cool people and watch us nerd out on a very cool topic."
My business partner and I are going to be revealing a new sales and marketing classification system for authors this month and hopefully some of that can help you hone in on some things this article makes you think about :)
"I can be a very good member of a community, but I should not be the head of one." Same! :) I tried a few times over the years, and the lessons learned helped me in my career. I realized the huge difference between Operations and Ideas roles. The standard in professional services is to get promoted to operations, but for me that sucks. I need the ideas role. Which sounds like "runs the community" but it's very different than day-to-day ops.
There's magic - and freedom - when you find the intersection of what you're good at and what people need. That's why I can't see myself going back to the corporate world.
I think it comes back to love languages at some point. Community managers are quality type types, but I'm not. My love languages are gift giving and acts of service. So, creating readable posts, making books and other objects, and then launching products I think people in my community will like is literally how I show I love them, and also how I show I love my wife for the most part.
100%. There's also a part of this I've been thinking about a lot this week which is that there are multiple different kinds of communities. We are so laser focused on these community manager communities where the owner/moderator/admin facillitates interactions between people, but that's only one kind of community. I actually am quite good at the kind of community where I act as a curator instead of a community manager, but those ones aren't talked about much.
I don’t care about the cool kids. It’s a super power.
Like Joseph Heller said, and Kurt Vonnegut reported, “I’ve got something he can never have …. The knowledge that I’ve got enough.”
That’s really how we can defeat greed and capitalism. But I appreciate hearing your journey and how you believe in yourself, with the power of math and science. We need tools to chip away at the empire.
If it helps, you are the cool kid to a lot of us. The more you share about your life, the more it feels like you are just a multiverse variant of me, where I wasn't trans and got my shit in any semblance of in order. Oh, and stopped being the fat kid lol
And the more I learn about your story, the cooler I think you are. :)
This is fascinating, because I've always thought of you as the cool kid, Russell. And someone who was a rebel who didn't give a rat's patootie about what others thought of you. Isn't it fascinating how we see ourselves (and what we know about ourselves) vs what everyone else sees?
Keep being awesome, my friend.
Since we have met and hung out I can now tell you that I would have literally died if you didn't like me. I was absolutely sweating bullets leading up to Austin that you wouldn't.
LOL!!! Omg! You're such a dork. But that's why I like you so much, 'cause I'm a dork too. We can go hang out in the back and click pens together (but never cause the world to explode, because we're smart and know not to click too many times in a row. #youarewelcomeworld #justforyou)
This was wonderful to read!!!
I absolutely loved the distinction between commerce and capitalism. I think if more creatives--that grapple with being part of the "capitalistic meat grinder"--focused on this distinction, their lives would change.
Because of my life circumstances, I learned self validation VERY early. I also learned that you must do things purely for the love of doing them/love the process when it comes to creativity. Because I learned this so early and in such a unique way, outside validation means very little to me unless it is coming from one of my most cherished loved ones.
We talked before about publishing etc on Notes and I think if I sought outside validation a little more I would have more tolerance for the hoops that we have to jump through as writers when it comes to traditional publishing. I think it is a delicate balance and I'm still exploring what that balance is for myself.
Ultimately, it is about getting out of our own way and forging paths that feel right for our particular desires and needs.
Ooph. Lots to think about.
Thank you.
I'm so glad it resonated :) I have a lot of posts coming up I will be talking about how to individualize this stuff for yourself. I wrote an 11,000 word post for next week about how to run a virtual conference, which is one of my favorite ways to say "I already know I'm cool, but let me show you a bunch of other cool people and watch us nerd out on a very cool topic."
My business partner and I are going to be revealing a new sales and marketing classification system for authors this month and hopefully some of that can help you hone in on some things this article makes you think about :)
Wonderful!!!! Looking forward to it!!!
"I can be a very good member of a community, but I should not be the head of one." Same! :) I tried a few times over the years, and the lessons learned helped me in my career. I realized the huge difference between Operations and Ideas roles. The standard in professional services is to get promoted to operations, but for me that sucks. I need the ideas role. Which sounds like "runs the community" but it's very different than day-to-day ops.
There's magic - and freedom - when you find the intersection of what you're good at and what people need. That's why I can't see myself going back to the corporate world.
I think it comes back to love languages at some point. Community managers are quality type types, but I'm not. My love languages are gift giving and acts of service. So, creating readable posts, making books and other objects, and then launching products I think people in my community will like is literally how I show I love them, and also how I show I love my wife for the most part.
If I combine my love language of physical touch with the free market, I'm gonna have problems.
But yes, I get you. :)
100%. There's also a part of this I've been thinking about a lot this week which is that there are multiple different kinds of communities. We are so laser focused on these community manager communities where the owner/moderator/admin facillitates interactions between people, but that's only one kind of community. I actually am quite good at the kind of community where I act as a curator instead of a community manager, but those ones aren't talked about much.
That's because we are just multiverse variants of each other 😅
lol. I love it.
Wow, I almost stopped reading when you said you were 40 😂I’m 52, but this article really resonated on several levels. Thank you.
You’re welcome! Glad it resonated with you :)
So many things I needed to hear!
Phew I feel so validated reading this. Felt like a £1000 psychotherapy session.
Yay! Glad it resonated :)
I don’t care about the cool kids. It’s a super power.
Like Joseph Heller said, and Kurt Vonnegut reported, “I’ve got something he can never have …. The knowledge that I’ve got enough.”
That’s really how we can defeat greed and capitalism. But I appreciate hearing your journey and how you believe in yourself, with the power of math and science. We need tools to chip away at the empire.
Very healthy