January 2011
30 posts
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Within ten minutes of meeting the marvelous and...
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The Failure Method: Why Taking Risks is Important...
NY Creative Interns recently invited me to speak on a panel about why taking risks is important. A topic that’s very much close to my heart, I eagerly agreed to be involved.
who’s speaking:
Dave Brown, Social Media Specialist @ Etsy
Jason Boog, Publishing Editor @ Mediabistro
Wendy Wecksell, Project Manager, Education @ Tribeca Enterprises
Me :)
the deets:
Wednesday...
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on feeling and being productive
Today felt like one of the most productive days of my life. When I told someone this, they asked me how I measure productivity. Interesting question, I thought, and I figured I’d share my philosophy here…
When assessing productivity, two areas of measure come to mind:
1) how much important stuff I actually accomplish
2) how I feel while I’m getting that important stuff done.
...
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In Search of a Domino Street Team
Last week I was appointed chief evangelist of the Domino Project. The brainchild of Seth Godin and powered by Amazon, we’re on a mission to reinvent publishing and bring new ideas to people who can use them.
My first order of business is recruiting a crew of smart, vocal, passionate and connected people to help us do so.
More on this from the Domino Project blog:
How do you know if...
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on feeling afraid things won't work out
when we have this feeling, we tend to question ourselves. we begin relying on external reassurance instead of internal guidance.
sometimes, when we want something so badly, the thought of future loss, a feeling of experiencing anxiety in advance, will deter us from moving forward and trying. it’s in these situations that our deep fears become most evident.
the thing is, we often...
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Rejecting the NYT Bestseller List
Seth just shared an update on The Domino Project and why we’re rejecting the New York Times bestseller list.
Smart people are realizing the list is easily gamed, and word of mouth ends up being more important anyway. The same thing happened to the Billboard charts once Top 40 radio faded in importance. New ways of selling (ebooks, multipacks, etc.) are more important than a label from...
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back in New York and feeling better than ever
Reading Willie’s post about his first week in New York made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Willie is one of my Project Domino teammates and someone who I fell in friend love at first sight with.
Opportunity is Everywhere
What’s incredible about being paired with five strangers is that you all come together for one purpose, one mission, and an insatiable desire to do something...
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watching, waiting & feeling uncomfortable
Someone I care about said to me today that they’re watching for their next opportunity to make them uncomfortable. Yesterday someone asked me for my advice on what she should do next and where to start.
The thing is, watching will not lead to finding. Not knowing what to do and feeling like you’re wandering will not lead to answers. Making the choice to do and telling yourself to go with...
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what's your deepest and most important thought of...
how often do you think about your most important ideas? how often do you write down your ideas and lessons, the experiences that touch you and the interactions that move you?
habit is a powerful tool that elicits more action and progress. habit allows us to build upon the ongoing and important structures we self-create. what are your habits? how can you refine and improve them? how can you create...
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on being present
you know that friend who spends half of his time with you staring at his phone, engaging in conversations outside of your moment together? how does that make you feel?
it drives me crazy. it makes me feel unimportant.
i’m a big fan of intimate conversation and focused time with the people who I care about, and when I give my time to someone, I like to focus on that present moment. my...
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“Every situation begins inside you and reflects where you are at this moment....”
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chase what scares you
it’s easy to live within our comfort zones, getting into the same routine day in and day out. it’s natural to feel afraid for how change might impact our lives, how it might show us something we’re not yet ready to face.
the problem is that we’ll never grow and evolve our perspectives. we’ll get stuck in the way things are, thinking that it’s the only way...
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“Always make your work be personal. And, you never have to lie.”
– Francis Ford Coppola: On Risk, Money, Craft & Collaboration :: Articles :: The 99 Percent (via Instapaper)
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create momentum every day
want to inspire action? want to actually do something meaningful? create momentum every day.
what is your dream? how do you want to impact the world? start. get those around you who are passionate about your idea involved. ask them how to create momentum. ask them the questions you don’t know the answers to.
when you find answers, you’ll feel progress, and this feeling will impact...
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make intellectual failure a goal
intellectual failure requires the willingness to be “wrong” and the confidence to contribute and explore until answers are found.
what is a “dumb” question? why is it dumb?
would you rather someone asked a lot of dumb questions and grew quickly or asked no questions and never evolved?
ask more questions. seek intellectual failure every day.
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only make promises you can keep
seems like a simple and straightforward concept, right?
then why do we so often make promises that we cannot follow through with?
forget all the reasons beyond your control and consider those within your control…
are you trying to please? do you not want to hurt someone’s feelings? are you indecisive? overwhelmed? spread too thin?
whatever the reason, we’ll only displease,...
The only difference between feeling excitement and anxiety is what you’re thinking about. Act as if in 2011 & nurture positive thinking.
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“Go for a walk; cultivate hunches; write everything down, but keep your folders...”
– Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven B. Johnson. (via dumplingboy)
This sounds exactly like the last year of my life. 2011 is bringing me a lot more commitment and focus which I feel excited about. That said, there’s always room for creative adventure and expression.