I first came across the phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid” when I worked at a car dealership in late 2009.
It was the only job I’ve ever been fired from. Surprisingly, it was for *not* drinking the Kool-aid.
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When It Happens To You
Our charter school is going through some investigation with the state school board. It’s been interesting to watch it play out, but it made me think about how people reach in different situations. It’s really easy to sit in the bleachers or the sidelines and talk about how you’d handle a situation, and how your …
I Want To Be Jason Fried When I Grow Up
I’ve been a Jason Fried fan for years now. It probably started when I stumbled across ReWork, which I purchased on October 29, 2013 and promptly devoured. Every once and a while a book will engulf me so fully that it’s only when I put it down that I realize it’s 2am and I haven’t …
How Much Work Do You Need?
Do you know how much work you need to stay afloat? To pay the bills? To be profitable!? It’s a pretty simple equation but man, it took me like 5 years in business until I finally realized how simple it was. Oh, and then I’ve forgotten it many times. Here’s the simple equation to work …
Getting Stuff Done in 2017
The new year typically begins with a loudly proclaimed set of goals for the year: lose weight, eat better, make more money, create more, etc.
However, these goals often lack the well known SMART qualities, as well as a system to achieve them. We find ourselves, months later, frustrated and ashamed that we failed at our goals.
There’s a better way.
Today I Turn 33
Today, I turn 33 years old. I don’t know why, but this birthday is hitting me harder than any in recent memory. I didn’t feel “old” when I turned 30. Last year was harder than previous as well, but this one *cough* takes the cake.
Rather than sit and feel bad for myself, I turned, rather, to my moleskin that has all of my notes and thoughts from the last year or so. I opened Evernote, and my voice notes, and my notes app, to search for things that I wanted to remember at a later date.
That said, here are 33 or so of those things that I wrote down, in the case some day in the future I needed them. Turns out today is that day:
CREATE EVERY DAY: REDUX
A while back I wrote a post called CREATE EVERY DAY, where I outlined how important it is for creators to be putting time and effort into their craft and their business on a daily basis.
For the last few months, I haven’t been listening to my own advice. I’ve been spending WAY more time on the business aspect and not on the creative aspect. Rather than the 10+ hours a week I was doing before (and the ~40 hours per week when I was working on the screenplay for Hidden World: The Swordsman), I don’t know that I’ve spent even 2 hours a week on creating.
It sucks. I find myself a little depressed, massively unfulfilled, and in a rut.
So it’s time to get out of that rut. Time to create, time to recommit.
7 Things You Can Do When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed
It happens to all of us.
We get stressed out, overwhelmed, stretched too far.
(Also, I really wanted an excuse to use this stock image…)
There’s a simple solution to implement when you start feeling this way:
ADD STRUCTURE.
How To Start Freelancing
I’ve received this question a few times over the last few weeks:
“How do I start freelancing?”
Well, there’s a simple answer and a long answer. The simple answer is – DO IT. But that’s not super helpful.
In an attempt to be as helpful as possible, I’m going to focus on 3 principles that will help you start freelancing over the next 6 months. (6 MONTHS? Yes. And I’ll get to that)