As a 20-something, I was constantly looking up to other exceptional 20-somethings. Tech guys like Mark Zuckerberg (yikes), musicians, the Forbes 30 Under 30 list… It gave me a lot of drive! It fueled my ambition. If these people can do this at my age…why …
Time is your friend
The story of my creative journey begins with startups. And in the startup and tech world, speed is really important. If your company doesn’t show rapid growth and improvement from day one, you’re not interesting to investors. If you aren’t interesting to investors, you’re not interesting to …
Aspirational decision-making
Last week, I interviewed Dan Runcie for an upcoming episode of Creative Elements. Dan is the creator of Trapital where he writes and hosts a podcast about the business of hip hop. He writes essays about how the biggest stars on the planet like Will …
Reflecting on three years of running a freelance business
It’s safe to say that we’ll all remember 2020. There are a lot of reasons that we’ll look back on 2020 and cringe. As of this writing, we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic that the United States seems to have just given …
Holding your happiness hostage
Over the years, I’ve told a lot of friends that I want to write books. I always viewed it as this privileged achievement that I would work my way up to. First, I generate a strong economic engine in my business, which will afford me …
Making commitments
One of the best books I’ve read over the last few years is James Clear’s Atomic Habits. It really struck a chord too – it sold over 1 million copies and was on the New York Times Best Seller list for 12 straight months. I think …
Make something remarkable
I’ve invested a LOT of time into making stuff over the last three years. I’ve produced somewhere north of 500 published articles, 150 podcast episodes, a documentary, and however you want to quantify what I’ve put out on social media. But, naturally, I’ll look at …
Decision-making and way-finding
Decision-making has always been a core part of conversation within the Unreal Collective Accelerator – and that’s only become more evident over the last several weeks. During uncertain times, each decision comes with more weight. The stakes feel higher, we ask more questions, and we waffle …
Asset, Boundary, Narrative Analysis
When I quit my job a few years ago, one of the first things I did was invest in Seth Godin’s altMBA program. It was a good experience, but a couple of lessons really stand the test of time. One of those lessons and exercises …
The difference between a cocktail and running shoes
My knees hurt. I’m not a doctor, but I’d guess that it’s a combination of my age, the extra few pounds I’ve packed on this winter, and my running shoes. I’ve been thinking about buying new running shoes for months. A friend of mine once …