A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author – in other words, anyone producing works of art – needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.” ~ Kevin Kelly
My friend @jaethan turned me onto this… a letter that Richard Feynman wrote to his wife Arline who had been dead two years at the time of the writing. It was written in 1946.
It is a bludgeon and plume of hearty life, and will affect you deeply… especially if you are a husband… living in a world of distracting gadgets and careers and ideas. Read it where it was originally posted, or I’ve reprinted it below.
Some video still has to be complex to be valuable, but the logic of the old media ecoystem, where video had to be complex simply to be video, is broken.”
~ Clay Shirky
Gary V is normally a bit too much for me. But I like this video a lot. You do too. Be honest.
I hate the way you talk about your married life, Harry,”said Basil Hallward, shaking his hand off, and strolling towards the door that led into the garden. “I believe that you are really a very good husband, but that you are thoroughly ashamed of your own virtues. You are an extraordinary fellow. You never say a moral thing, and you never do a wrong thing. Your cynicism is simply a pose.”The Picture of Dorian Gray
It is a house, nothing more than a plot of land and a few bricks. Just a house, a roof held up by a few walls to keep the rain out. A corner of the world to warm ourselves by a little. Just a house… A place to keep things and hang pictures and park cars… A place to find space hidden away for golf clubs to cob-web and toys to be played with an forgotten and left behind. It is just a house, except for a few subtle differences. For one, there is a georgeous lady in this place who brings all the meaning and truth to my world. It’s because of her that I am not some miser building a house on top of a lonely hill. Secondly, there is a small son here who finds love in me I had never known about. It is because of him that I come away from my building and storing and keeping at all. And thirdly, there are the faces of friends. The presence of people who breathe the same life as we do… In… Out… The sounds of ease and trial and challenge and support… And love… Their presence fills this place like birds fill the empty morning; and the sounds of their glasses clinking fills me up. If it wasn’t for these people, the glass would always be half empty. It is just a house. A plot of land, some walls and a roof. And i, i am just a man in a house. And yet because of you people… My wife, my son, our friends… I am a king and a giant in the presence of gods, and I am rich and grateful.
Theres a bunch of cool stuff Sendhil Mullainathan talks about in the video below… I only want to highlight one point he makes. It’s about BMW wanting to advertise the safety of their cars.
Car safety adverts are normally about car chasis getting slammed into walls in slow motion, or, in other words, the “you’ll survive wrecks in our cars” message. BMW opted for the different “our cars keep you out of accidents” message. It’s not necessarily brilliant, just a different angle on the topic.
This? this shit here? this shit matters. (you may want to fast forward to 4:45, but the intro sets up some respect for the speaker)
A farewell lecture to the class of 2009 at stanford from Robert Sapolsky, world renowned professor of neurology, neurological sciences, neurosurgery and biological sciences. or watch at youtube: Robert Sapolsky, world renowned professor of neurology, neurological sciences, neurosurgery and biological sciences.
Don’t know why this is so good to listen to, it just is.
I had a short bout as an organizational and productivity consultant a while back. I know, it’s silly, but get your giggles out now ’cause here’s a $450 tip for you:
You know when you’ve got knowledge work to do and all you can think about is organizing your desk, or cleaning the dirty whiteboard, or cleaning out that stupid little wheel on your mouse, or browsing e-cards to send to your mom for her half birthday? You know what that feels like, right?
Well, these are rudely seductive. How are they seductive? (more…)
Advertising is the price companies pay for being unoriginal”Yves Behar
I’ve been thinking a lot about design recently, namely, about the relationship between design and “style” or “fashion.” Now, when I say ‘style,’ I’m not quite sure what I mean exactly. Nor am I sure about how design and style relate to each other… I’m sure they are related somehow… but how?
So, I plopped out this question on Twitter to see if anyone had some good answers about the subject. Thankfully, I had a bite. @hippydaddy, whom I met recently at a workshop on digital marketing, had some well developed thoughts on the subject. He emailed me (posted with permission): (more…)
In a comment on a previous post about ambition and happiness, @agray posits that there is a 3rd dimension on the graph: success. I think John Wooden agrees with Aaron. Maybe this is the answer.
Hi! I’m Chase Reeves and I collect quotes about authenticity, creativity and earning a living doing something you care about. Read more »
