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The One Element Which Matters Most in Creative Work
Kate walks on the beach in front of me, her father to her right. I don’t know what, exactly, I am looking for. Something, anything, which shows they share a gene pool— a 6th toe maybe? A flair on the right pinky which had been passed down through …
4 Ways I Improved My Life as the World’s Most Average Person
Ready for some honesty you don’t see much on the Internet? Here we go: I am 26 years old, have started exactly zero companies to date, and currently have a net worth of approximately not very much. I have 3 very close friends and a pretty close …
These 6 Words Helped Me Overcome My Fear of Failure
Blink-blink-blink. My cursor pulsed on the blank page. I wrote sentence and then deleted every word. I stood up 6 times for coffee in 2 hours. Surprisingly, my page would still be blank when I returned. I wanted to start a blog. I wanted to start …
How to Find Your Unfair Advantage
“I used to be like you, but now I’ve found the answer, and here it is.” This is the undercurrent of every personal development article you’ve ever read. Perhaps nothing sells better than the “I once was lost but now I’m found” narrative. Hope is …
The Ultimate Survival Guide to Not Fitting In
Someone once told me to write about what I know, so here’s this: I’m good at not fitting in. I do it all the time. But humans need to belong, so I do these things to make people think I’m a normal human being. 1. Improve your small talk No …
Is it Worth it to Share your Creative Work?
In 2013 a man named Dong Nguyen probably leaned back in his chair and sighed with happiness. During his free time, Dong and his team had been using a character from a cancelled video game to make his own project - a simple mobile adventure in …
Guess I Don’t Have What it Takes to be a Hustler Because…
I am tired of running the rat race. I am tired of self-improvement. I am tired of podcasts, self-help, growth, personal development, online courses, and business 101. I am tired of chasing dollars. I am tired of writing. I am tired of coming up …
A Creative Can’t Live with this…
The pounding heart. The jangling nerves. The beads of sweat. You're afraid. You know you are afraid because you've been staring at your screen for ten minutes, wondering whether or not you should post what you've written. You know you …
The Muppets and Creative Validation
Today's guest post is from Declan Wilson - an aspiring creative with a full-time job on the side. He lives in Pittsburgh, PA with his one wife, two cats, and one baby. You can find his writings over at millennialtype.com or his podcast at …
5 Tips to Becoming King of the Castle
I burst out of college, like most people do, full of dreams. Here was the plan - I'd take a job just to fill the time while I built my million dollar business. Then I'd cash out, buy a second house on the lake, and wile the days away (probably …
Are You Buying Into this Lie?
All this "The rich just get richer" nonsense has got to go. If you've ever believed you don't have a chance because of who you are, who your parents work, where you were born, or who you were related to, you have been fed a lie. Life is not …
Could One Post Really Change Your Life?
Here's what I hate about the Internet. All over the place, our successful Internet role models are spouting things like "ONE SHARE COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE!" The problem is, people (like me) hear "One post can change your life" and think it means …
If You Want to Create Better Stuff, You Probably Need More of This
It was board game night at the Brison household, and I was about to flip a table over 3 cardboard coins. We were playing 7 Wonders, a game which I would only recommend if numbers, fantasy, and statistics appeal to you. (Luckily my family falls …
4 Words You Need to Hear Today
It's safe to say my writing career, my success at my "real job," or even these words you're reading right now would not exist if I hadn't been told the words I'm about to tell you: …
What Writers Really Care About
It's not the hearts. It's not the "likes." It's not the spikes in stats on Wordpress. It's not the hollow pats on the back. It's not the fame. It's not the ability to say "I'm a writer" (although that's nice). It's not the windfall …
How to be Magical
Machines are kind of taking over the world. Like, I don't know if you've noticed, but most of the things that were done by people just a few years ago are now being done by robots. You don't need to ask for directions anymore. You can process …
4 Ways of Redefining Success
Nobody gets a free pass at success. Money? Of course. Fame? You betcha. Good looks? I'm living proof. But never success. Why do I bring this up? …