Owning up to the mistake extinguishes the potato. It’s no longer on fire.

Bureaucrats push paper and ask questions. Whiners ask questions and pass responsibility. But linchpins ship. 

We need to pay attention to the things we do every day. Because even if we don’t recognize it, our lives are a merely a collection of what we we do every day.

Someone once asked me how I retain all the marketing and productivity tips I hear when I listen to so many podcasts. The short answer? I don’t. 

If you’ve had a bad client like this then you know the feeling of “post-client-stress-disorder”–the fear, the distrust, the wariness. When these monster clients get their way, I become skittish. I tense my body at the thought of them, as if a bully were about to punch me in the hallway. 

Sometimes we can get discouraged with our business ideas because people could just do it themselves. And if people can do it themselves, then why would they pay us to? But that’s the catch. People won’t do it themselves. Everyone wants a giant balloon sculpture to take a picture in front of, but no one is going to take the time to do it. 

Researchers spend months or years trying to earn tenure at their universities by doing all the legwork. Then, Daniel Pink rolls up, reads a few scholarly articles at a cafe, cranks out a 170-page knowledge bomb from a Chromebook, and sells a million copies.

Creating is always a sacrifice, and that’s what makes it so easy to get into a creative slump. 

I think I’ve realized that blogging every day in this format is not something I want to continue doing in December. However, committing to another daily discipline next month is something I do want to continue. The learning curve I’ve climbed over the past 30 days has been amazingly insightful. I want to do 30-day challenges like this more often. What’s next? Running? Creating videos? Writing songs? Networking? Drawing? 

LeBron James is awful at a lot of things. He’s not much good to share a spongecake with. He won’t join you for an all nighter playing Halo. He’s tough to have a quiet walk in the park with. But do you know what he’s incredible at? Basketball. 

This got me thinking. Why am I so comfortable considering a $1300 trip to Bali (for the 4th time), but so discouraged thinking about buying a Rhodes for $1500? Which one is a new experience? Which one will last me longer? Which one is an asset I own and could make money with?

Companies rebrand every decade to keep their look fresh. Social Media platforms add features to make their apps better. I buy new shoes every six months so I don’t look like a slob. It’s time text message platforms followed suit and got themselves an update already.

I saw my friends’ band a few weeks ago at a small venue inside a record store in Long Beach. They played a great set. The band that played after them had a talented drummer. He played with a lot of technical skill, he created some interesting rhythms, and he was right on time with his bandmate. Only one problem. It was deafening.

Obviously a campaign like this requires more work and research than a one-and-done slogan and design. But the impact outworks the effort in this case, making the campaign a huge winner in my book. The Grinch is one of cinema’s best-loved villains, and the agency could have gotten away with writing something that read, “Get mean with us this Christmas” and no one would have batted an eye. But instead, they sought to turn heads, and it worked.

Don’t use social media like a billboard. Use it like a hand written note.

When I have a great idea, I get excited. I’ll whip out my notebook, scramble for a pen, push the mess off my desk and start writing furiously. It’s thrilling! I enjoy the process of coming up with ideas, and the feeling that I might be coming up with the next big one makes me feel alive.

When I get stressed about little things and big things, I find a lot of comfort in asking myself how I’ll view this experience in one day, one month, and one year. I often find that stress melts away, as I remember all the other negative experiences that weren’t so bad in hindsight, or that turned out for the best!

$5 coffee? No. Coffee and pastries are just the medium to deliver hospitality, and the regulars’ “good taste” is just an acceptable excuse before they admit they pay kindness. Blue Bottle customers pay $6 for midwestern hospitality, where people know your name and ask how you’re doing. Oh, and you also get an almond latte on the side.

It starts with Friendsgiving. You’re the kind of person who creates non-traditional experiences for the benefit of others. American culture coaxes us to use that initiative to build a successful career. But the single-minded pursuit of success loses its own game. Economies change, money is spent, people die, and work is forgotten. We go back to the drawing board and we discover the influence we desire lies in how we work, not in what we do.