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NANOWRIMO INSPIRATION | RIDE THE WAVE
Here’s why some of you will fail: You will fail at NaNoWriMo because you won’t take advantage of the early momentum. You won’t write more when you could have. It’s a lot harder to make progress when the shine wears off. Instead, RIDE THE WAVE. …
NANOWRIMO INSPIRATION | MAKE THE DECISION
There is a lot of hyperbole on the Internet about NaNoWriMo. Here’s something I didn’t have to exaggerate one bit: This program completely changed my life as a writer. Although I’m not participating this year, I’m making a different kind of …
10 Things that Surprised Me About Growing Up
1) Nobody feels like an adult Most of us are just faking it. 2) Many people do not care about their jobs The idea of doing good work for good work’s sake is not universal. 3) Life goes faster every year Luckily, someone explained this one to …
Dear Young People Looking for a Career — Do This
Dear career seekers: In life, I know 2 things to be true First - crunchy peanut butter is better than creamy. Second - I will be bored of what I'm doing now in six months. I meet many people who say “I don’t like to work,” or (worse) “I’m not good …
3 Phases Every Creative Professional Must Go Through
Finding order in chaos is easier than you think. We artists like to think we are wild stallions, free to romp through the world and make our own way. It’s a nice sentiment, but it turns out there’s a structure in every creative career, a path …
Q&A with author Declan Wilson (Plus Book Giveaway!)
(I'm giving away 5 copies of Declan Wilson's new book - The Millennial Way. To get get in the drawing, tweet this.) What I loved most about my short talk with Declan were these two things: …
What To Do When You Completely Blow It
Yesterday was bad, bad, bad... but on the plus side, you can actually SEE the Tennessee humidity in this video. …
Don’t Expect This From the Internet
Oh, and you can get that book I talked about right here while the kindle price is still only $2.99. Or, if you like - read a free preview right here. …
Fear No Rejection
A Creative cannot live in fear. Period. Oh, and that book I mention in the video? You can check out a free preview of that right here, or go ahead and pre-order the Kindle version while it is still $2.99. -Todd B …
8 Things to Consider Not Caring About Anymore
“Write it again,” she said. “And this time, I actually need to know what word you’re trying to put in this sentence.” I wish I’d known how the world was going to turn out in elementary school because if I had, my response might have been something …
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 Right Way to Do Everything
I don’t know what your heaven looks like, but in my heaven there are eggs. Lots of eggs. Not whole eggs sitting around, but eggs in the pan. Basically, my heaven is a giant omelet bar. I love the crack of the shell and the spill of the yolk. I …
How to Stay a Creative Genius
I think we can all agree kids pretty are stupid. They can’t draw worth a darn, they walk like drunks, and they definitely can’t talk right. No, I do not want “basgetti” for dinner. They fail at everything they try. They fall down. They hit their …
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 …
One Question You Should Consider Today
Imagine, please, a 6'5'’ 240 lb. man perched upon a little stool, brush in hand, surveying his palette across from another tower of flesh and veins (who in my imagination is posed exactly like “The Thinker”). If I were a massive hunk of brown …
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 …
Why American Education Can’t Move Forward
Last week, I nearly passed out on the upper deck of my parking garage. It was fun, really. Well not fun. More like enlightening. I always thought people who passed out were being dramatic. I thought they were faking it. Turns out it’s a real …
26 Things I’ve Learned in 26 Years
I am not a life coach, and I’m tired of posing as one. Why would I try and tell you how to be successful if I’m sitting here right now with like $800 dollars in the bank? Why would I try and give you career advice when I’m still an underling? I’m …
The Teacher, The Engineer, and The Mad Scientist
She was always going to be a teacher. Her understated glasses framed her plain face which was surrounded by straight, brown hair. Her wardrobe epitomized modesty. Her voice, which generally rolled out of her mouth soft and sweet, snapped to stern …