Articles

Why You Should Show Up Every Day

Because if you do, you’ll be more creative, you’ll make more money, you’ll improve at your craft, and you’ll build an audience. And gosh-darnit, people will like you!

I’m completely serious.

You may never write a NYT Best Seller or have a billion dollar exit. But showing up every day to do your best work will absolutely leave you better off.

Diligence is the single most important component to creativity and building a business.

Just ask these clever guys:

“Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you’re doomed.” — Ray Bradbury, hard-working writer

“The keys to success are patience, persistence, and obsessive attention to detail.” — Jeff Bezos, hard-working entrepreneur

“Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.” — Chuck Close, hard-working painter

Do you see why diligence is more important than money, talent, relationships, audience, tools, or anything else?

It’s through your diligence (your persistence) that you build those assets.

Showing up every day is how you go about making money, developing your skills, building relationships, growing your audience, and mastering your tools.

Showing up every day means you have passion and focus. Why else would you do what you’re doing?

(Of course, there’s more to it than just showing up. You’ve got to be intentional about how you’re spending your time. (Work smarter, not harder.) But that’s a topic for we’ll get to later.)

* * *

Here are a few other advantages to showing up every day:

  • By showing up every day, you’ve stopped waiting passively for inspiration to mosey on by. Instead you’ve turned the act of doing your your best work into part of your daily routine. Now you’re playing offense.

  • Doing focused, creative work every day is challenging and, at times, even mundane. Your diligence helps you build a resistance so you don’t quit when it gets difficult.

  • The consistency of showing up every day, providing value, and showing your work is one of the best ways to build a relationship with your audience and establish true fans.

  • After a few years of showing up every day to do the work, you’ll have invaluable experience and perspective about how seasons of life go up and down. You’ll have a better story to tell about your work. (This goes hand-in-hand with developing your resistance to the mundane.)

  • Diligence in one area of your life will bleed over into other areas. It’s a skill you can learn.

  • Quantity leads to quality.

  • Quantity also breeds confidence. The more you do something, the more confident you become. Stick with it and you’ll slowly take ownership. You’ll realize you’re a writer and not just someone who writes; a photographer and not just someone who bought a camera; an entrepreneur, not an imposter.

  • Showing up every day removes the pressure of having to have a huge breakthrough ASAP. No single day becomes more or less important than any other day — the value is in the aggregate.

* * *

Isn’t it silly to think that as creative and entrepreneurial folks we should live without routine, discipline, or accountability?

Showing up every day is the best thing you can do for your business, your creativity, and your platform.

Give your ideas and your goals a fighting chance.

Why You Should Show Up Every Day

Quality is a Probabilistic Function of Quantity (Part 7)

(Or: Why The Fastest Route to Doing Your Best Creative Work is to Show Up Every Day, Ship Early, and Ship Often.)

This is part seven in a series on creativity and entrepreneurship. You can find the previous articles here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

* * *

As people who care deeply about what we do and what we create, our goal is always quality. We’re aiming to write or design or record the best work we can; always seeking to get better.

Like I said last week, as a creative person, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in the end product. You have this idea — this clever, beautiful, amazing thing you see in your mind. You want to make that, and anything less is unacceptable.

But, when you’re there, in the mire of your own work, it usually feels like anything but quality. It usually feels like crap.

As a writer, I never cease to amaze myself at my inability to find the words I am looking for. And then, when I can’t find them, I have no choice but to use the less-exciting words which have come to mind rather than those perfect ones which always seem to escape me.

It is in those moments where I have to remember that quantity leads to quality. Or, put another way, I’ve become comfortable with falling short of my own lofty expectations.

Today, the goal isn’t perfection. It’s far more simple: The goal is to show up and do the best work that I can.

Don’t believe that you must chose between creating a lot of something, or creating one thing that is a masterpiece. The former leads to the latter.

Yes, I want to be a fantastic writer. Yes, I want to write engaging, clever, and quotable works. Yes, I want my articles to be insightful and memorable. But I’ll never reach it if I quit while things seem poor. I cannot allow myself to only write when it feels inspired and en route to greatness.

If we sit around and wait for quality it won’t come.

Quality must be pursued.

In an article in The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell cited psychologist Dean Simonton and brings up Simonton’s argument that quantity does, in fact, lead to quality:

The psychologist Dean Simonton argues that this fecundity is often at the heart of what distinguishes the truly gifted. The difference between Bach and his forgotten peers isn’t necessarily that he had a better ration of hits to misses. The difference is that the mediocre might have a dozen ideas, while Bach, in his lifetime, created more than a thousand full-fledged musical compositions. A genius is a genius, Simonton maintains, because he can put together such a staggering number of insights, ideas, theories, and observations, and unexpected connections that he almost inevitably ends up with something great. “Quality,” Simonton writes, is “a probabilistic function of quantity.”

In his book, Deep Work, Cal Newport also argues that along with the ability to focus, quality is a byproduct of quantity.

High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus)

He then goes on to say that, “unless your talent and skills absolutely dwarf those of your competition, the deep workers among them will outproduce you.”

Moreover, the idea that quantity leads to quality is the same case Geoff Colvin makes in his book, Talent is Overrated. Stating that the world’s top performers are, for the most part, people just like you and I but who have (a) put in far more hours practicing their craft and (b) made the most of their practice time by practicing with intentionality and deep focus.

“One day at a time. It sounds so simple. It actually is simple, but it isn’t easy. It requires incredible support and fastidious structuring.” — Russell Brand

* * *

Consider the fairytale of Goldilocks and the three bears.

Goldilocks happens upon the home of three bears while they’re out on a walk. She comes in and tastes their porridge, sits in their chairs, and sleeps in their beds.

The first bowl of porridge was too hot; the second, too cold; but the third was just right. And likewise for the chairs she sat in and the beds she napped in.

So it is in our pursuit of quality, excellence, and breakthrough…

At first we feel like intruders; imposters. Everything we put our hand to is not quite right. Too hot, too cold, to big, too small, hard, soft.

But then, after enough perseverance and focus, eventually, we create something that’s just right.

Quality is a Probabilistic Function of Quantity (Part 7)

Fantastic Friday: Books and music and podcasts

Here we are, the first Fantastic Friday of May. Welcome!

On a personal note, my wife and I are almost done unpacking! It’s been 3.5 weeks since we moved in to our new home. We’re down to just the last few boxes — I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

As any of you who have moved can surely attest to, it’s not easy to keep going. Each day I try to do at least one if not two projects around the house — even if they’re small projects. Such as yesterday: I (finally) put up a hand towel holder in our master bathroom.

In other news, I’ve got something awesome planned for The Focus Course that we’ll be doing in June. I’ll share more information with you in just a few days. But here’s a hint: it may or may not involve a cowboy hat…

nice-hat

— Shawn

 

1. 11/22/63

I’m a huge fan of Stephen King’s book, On Writing, but I’m not a fan of horror fiction. So I haven’t read any of King’s fiction books until now… 11/22/63 is about a man who travels back in time. It’s not horror fiction, and the storytelling is fantastic. I’m still early on in the book, so don’t tell me what happens.

 

2. Unemployable Podcast

Last week I linked to one of the episodes of Unemployable featuring Austin Kleon. Since then I’ve listened to about a dozen more episodes of the show. It’s fantastic. The episodes are short (usually just 20-30 minutes) and full of inspiration.

 

3. Paradise Valley by John Mayer

This is the album I’m listening to right now as I type up this week’s Fantastic Friday.

 

4. My iMac’s Desktop Wallpaper

May is here, the seasons are changing, and it’s as good a time as any for a fresh desktop wallpaper. For this one I just went to Unsplash and searched for “mountains”.

Fantastic Friday: Books and music and podcasts

Creative Goals (Part 6)

Pre-S. This is part six in a series on creativity and entrepreneurship. You can find the previous articles here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

There are two types of creative goals.

  1. The first type of goal is the goal a project that you’re building. Something you’re making. A goal of something that does not exist and that you are in process of creating.

  2. The second is a goal related to your creative output. Your skill set, your talent, your ideas, inspiration, motivation.

The two go hand in hand. Each one needs the other.

Because, as we’ll dive in to next week, quantity leads to quality. The more you do the work and the more you learn by shipping — then, in turn, the more you will grow in your skills. And, the more you grow in your skills the more you’ll be able to reach your goals for the work you create.

Loving the Process

How much do you enjoy the journey of creativity?

What if there was no end result? What if it was just a process of day in and day out. Showing up and showing your work?

Are you content in the creative process?

Are you content with your creative process?

When I think back to the building and launching of The Focus Course, what I remember most is the whole story and all the work leading up to the launch.

It started with a few dozen podcast episodes for the Shawn Today members. Those episodes turned into chapters of a book that never got published because I changed my mind about the book and began creating an online course instead. I mapped the whole thing out on my floor with index cards. I then led a small pilot group through the course using an email list…

That whole process, that year-long creative journey, was so much fun. It was exhilarating.

The launch of the Focus Course was just a one-day event. One day.

Then, I went back to creating. I started working on the next version of the course.

Baby

Perhaps what’s most difficult is that feeling of overwhelm when you’re on the threshold of a new project and you see where you are right now and you compare it to where you hope to go, and it feels unsurmountable.

Ira Glass explains this so well. Take a few minutes to watch this video:

Remember this: start with the simplest step first.

You never outgrow that bit of advice.

No matter how advanced you are in your craft, how much experience you have, etc. You always have to start with the first step.

As a creative person, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in the end product. You have this idea — this clever, beautiful, amazing thing you see in your mind. And you want to make that. Anything less is unacceptable.

The problem, however, is that this clever, beautiful, amazing thing you see is completely unreasonable as the first version.

The first version is the baby version…

It’s small. It’s naked. It’s crying at first contact with the real world. It needs to be nursed and continually cared for and swaddled. It poops its pants whenever you’re not looking. It won’t even let you sleep through the night.

But with proper care and feeding, your baby will grow up. It will mature. And, over time, it will learn to stand on its own.

If you’re in it for the long run, be encouraged…

Starting small isn’t something you “settle” for. Rather, it’s the proper way to get going. And when you commit your time and energy to your creative goals, you will see progress.

As we’ll talk about more next week, a commitment to quality is what gives motivation to show up every day. And showing up every day — that quantity of work — is what leads to creating with quality.

 

Read the next article here »

Creative Goals (Part 6)

Thoughts on Risk (Part 5)

risky doggy

Creativity and business are both packed to the rafters with risk. If you’re trying to do your best creative work or if you’re building a business, then you’re going to have to take risks.

But they don’t have to be wild, all-in bets. And, you can have fun in the process.

* * *

Risk is part of creativity

Have you ever found yourself staring down the barrel of a project, and you say:

“This might not work.”

Hopefully that’s a common phrase for you. Because when you’re not sure if something will work, that’s when you know you’re on to something.

Perhaps the idea or the project itself won’t prove to be successful, but that’s okay. Merely trying something out that may or may not prove to be great is worth the effort.

Ernest Hemingway’s advice was to “write drunk, edit sober.”

Create without inhibition. Create without fear of failure; without mind for other people’s opinions; without fear of rejection; without feeling like an impostor.

Have fun.

As Derek Sivers writes in his book, Anything You Want:

Business is as creative as the fine arts. You can be as unconventional, unique, and quirky as you want. A business is a reflection of the creator.
Pay close attention to what excites you and what drains you. Pay close attention to when you’re being the real you and when you’re trying to impress an invisible jury.

Risk will always be a part of the creative process. Because creativity is not a science — it’s filled with objectivity that changes from within and without based on the weather.

There’s no sure fire way to make something awesome. There’s no proven formula to go viral. There’s no such thing as literal overnight success.

Get comfortable with risk. When you know that risk is just part of the game, it helps you in your fight to stay creative.

Moreover, if you can be comfortable with risk in your creative work, you will, in turn, be more comfortable with risk in your business.

That’s important because…

Risk is Part of Business

Five years ago, when I quit my job and began working for myself, I took the “leap” to writing full time.

It’s called a “leap” for a reason.

Going full-time with my writing was a risk.

I was standing at the edge of a cliff. There was a gap, and there was another cliff across from me. I had to leap from not-full-time and hope made it across to the other side.

Standing at the edge, there was no bridge that was going to come build itself. I had gone as far as I could with the time and the resources I had available to me. I could either remain there in that spot, or I could take a leap and hope to make it to the other side.

So many people get get to that same spot. That spot where they’ve gone as far as they can with the time and resources available to them. But then, once they’re there, they stop and wait.

Who knows what they’re waiting for. More time? More resources?

It’s (probably) not time or money that’s the biggest issue holding them back. I think it’s fear.

However, that’s not to say you should throw caution to the wind. When I took the leap into my full-time writing gig, I most certainly did my due diligence and was prepared financially. (Which is a topic worthy of its own book.)

You’ve got to make sure you…

Minimize Financial Risk

When I quit my job, I had:

  • No kids, no debt, an emergency fund saved up, my wife had a part-time income.
  • My website was already making some money ($1,000 / month).
  • I also had a plan to front-load 90-days worth of income by having the membership subscription charge people quarterly instead of monthly.

The best-case scenario was obviously that I would be able to earn enough revenue to pay all our bills and keep writing full-time. Fortunately, that’s how things have turned out so far.

But the worst-case scenario really wouldn’t have been that terrible. If, after having given the writing gig my full-time attention for 90 full days without seeing any traction, I would have gone to get a part-time job somewhere and then returned to the drawing board.

Basically, if the membership model hadn’t worked out, it would have been embarrassing but not catastrophic.

Over the years, as I’ve slowly built a business around writing and publishing, I’ve continued to minimize financial risk by doing things like staying out of debt and moving at the speed of cash and saving up a business emergency fund.

But there is more at risk than just the financials themselves. You also want to make sure what it is you’re creating is actually of value to others. You want your creative endeavors to fly.

How can you do that?

Minimize the Risk of Failure

There are so many ways you can minimize the risk of your project failing. The way I know best is through consistently writing.

Writing helps you get your thoughts out onto paper. It helps you get your ideas in order. And it gives you assets you can use for your business and creative endeavors.

It’s also what you have to do first before you publish anything. Writing an article, a podcast outline, a video outline, etc. You’ve got to write if you want to publish content.

And, quite frankly, publishing content is one of the best things you can do to minimize the risk of your next big project being a flop.

By writing and publishing, you’re doing three huge things:

  1. Opening a feedback loop between you and your audience (the people who will buy from you, spread the word about your work, etc.).
  2. Giving away value and helping others.
  3. Establishing yourself as someone who is credible and who cares.

And so, yes, you minimize the risk of failure by showing up every day. It’s not about numbers, it’s about connections.

As Jeffery Feldman says (quoted from Austin Kleon in in Show your work!):

What you want is to follow and be followed by human beings who care about issues you care about. This thing we make together. This thing is about hearts and minds, not eyeballs.

Showing up every day, teaching what you know, and connecting with your audience by being honest is how you actually connect with folks.

Now that you’re comfortable with risk, it’s time to…

Celebrate Your Progress

When you’ve taken a risk, give yourself a high five. ?

Keep track of what you create, what you ship, what you sell, what you were expecting to happen, what actually happened, what worked, what didn’t work, etc.

I do this by journaling in Day One.

Celebrating progress keeps up your intrinsic motivation. It’s also an excellent way to keep track of your growth and lessons learned.

Because in a few months time, you’ll have forgotten all about that risk you just took because you’ll be on to the next one.

Which is why next week I want to share about how to set creative goals and actually make progress.

The risk part is just one big step. But then, after you’ve taken that initial leap — the first big risky move — what comes next is all the hard work of iteration.

Setting creative goals is also critical because you’ve got 100 ideas for inspiration. You need a goal so you know what to focus your time and energy on. Without creative goals, you’re like a wave in the ocean, being tossed to and fro with the wind.

* * *

This was part five in a series of articles I’ve been writing about creativity and entrepreneurship lessons learned after five years as a full-time self-employed writer. You can find the previous four articles here:

  1. Five
  2. Creativity and Entrepreneurship
  3. Consistency and Honesty
  4. Family Balance
Thoughts on Risk (Part 5)

Fantastic Friday: Gadgets

Hello friends, and welcome to another edition of Fantastic Friday.

The past two Fridays have been silent because, as you know by now, my family and I moved into a new home. We’re nearly settled in! As fun as it is to move to a new place, I’m ready to get back to life as normal.

This week’s edition of Fantastic Friday, I’ve got a few gadgets for you. One is a new one you may never have heard about but if you have an Apple TV you definitely need it. The others are not new, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth talking about.

Enjoy. And I hope you have a great weekend.

— Shawn

 

1. Apple TV Remote Cover

If you’ve got one of the latest-generation Apple TVs you know how awkward the Siri remote is. It’s difficult to tell which way is the proper way to hold it, and there’s no easy way to pick it up without fear of accidentally fast forwarding.

This case / cover for the remote solves all the handling problems of the remote. It makes it feel safe to pick up, you know which way to hold it, and it’s easier to hold.

 

2. The Apple Watch

Speaking of Apple gear, my pal Casey Liss recently wrote an article about how it’s becoming “trendy to be smug about the Apple Watch.” I’ve noticed this here and there for sure. Though, from where I’m sitting, most of my friends who bought an Apple Watch still wear it. As do I.

During our move I couldn’t remember which box I packed my Apple Watch charging cable in. It took me a few days to find the box and thus I went 48 hours or so without my Apple Watch. And it was a massive bummer.

I don’t use my Apple Watch for much, but what I do use it for is so helpful. I love being able to quickly reply to incoming text message threads; I love seeing what the outside temperature is every time I glance at my watch; I love being able to control the music we’re AirPlaying from my wrist; I love having one-tap access to a timer; I even love the Watch’s alarm chime far more than my iPhone’s.

The only two gripes I have about this incredible first-generation gadget is that I’d love it to be faster (especially when using Siri dictation), and I’d love for it to be even smarter about turning on the display when I’m trying to see what time it is. Otherwise, the conveniences the Apple Watch provide are fantastic.

I’ve had my Apple Watch for nearly a year now. I suppose a proper year-later review is in order…

 

3. Sonos Play:1

So I finally broke down and bought a Sonos speaker. Thanks in no small part to a gift card from a friend. (Thanks, Tyler!) We’ve had the Play:1 for about a month and I’m still not sure about it. I’ll probably write more about my Sonos at some point in the near future, but for now my thoughts boil down to this: The speaker sounds absolutely incredible, but using the Sonos app is not so great.

What about you guys? Do you have a Sonos setup? It seems that if you’re going to go Sonos, you should go all-in with them and not just get one speaker for one room.

 

4. Simplenote

I’ve long been a fan of Simplenote. And once again the app proved its usefulness as I used it to compile pretty much all of the notes and ideas and other random tidbits of information related to our move. With things getting packed into boxes and just generally thrown into a tizzy for about 6 weeks, one thing I did have on me at all times was my iPhone. So, having a singular central spot for all the necessary information related to our move was so helpful.

Fantastic Friday: Gadgets

Family Balance (Part 4)

“Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things.”

That’s Robert Louis Stevenson.

I love that quote for two reasons. Not only is it good life advice, but it’s also a word of warning.

To be perpetually devoted to something does require perpetual neglect of many other things. This is one of the huge themes throughout The Focus Course: finding clarity about what to focus and also what to let alone. (In the words of David Allen, you can do anything, but you can’t do everything.)

Stevenson’s quote is also a cautionary one. Among the most common regrets of the dying is having worked too hard and, in turn, neglecting relationships, values, and even their own happiness.

May devotion to our business not be sustained by neglect of our health, relationships, values, and even our own happiness.

* * *

I’ve got an “all in” type of personality.

When I’m working on a project or an idea Iget very single minded. I focus in on that project and I can hardly think about anything else.

It’s why I spent an inordinate amount of time trying out clickey keyboards.

It’s why I took 10 days off of work to move my family into a new home.

And, since building a business is a project in an of itself, I discovered early on that because of my “all in” personality my business had the potential to take over every other area of my life.

I want my business to add to the quality of my life. Not only is it something I’m building with long-term goals in mind, but it’s also something I enjoy working on today — right now.

While I’m a firm believer in the importance of showing up every day to do the work, after so many hours worked in the day there is a point where time spent at work is pretty much just wasted time.

How pitiful and ironic would it be if our creative work took over our time and attention so much that it suffocated the creativity right out of us?

* * *

For the past few years on my birthday, I have been writing down a retrospective of sorts into my Day One journal.

I write down what highlights I remember from the past year, what projects and events I was proud of, what things I regret having done (or regret having not done), and more. I also write down what I want to do more of in the future.

Examples of things from the past year I’m glad I did:

These are just a few things. And they remind me that the day-to-day minutia of running a business is necessary, but it’s not nearly as urgent as it often feels. And that I’m happiest when I’m on a memorable trip or event or else creating something of substance with a long-term shelf life.

Choosing something until it chooses you back

Last July, on my birthday, I wrote this in my Day One:

Life is almost entirely a series of small, nearly-inconsequential choices and moments. All the little things that I do (and don’t do) are what paint the picture of my life. If I want a different life, make a small change to sone thing and stick with it.

It’s a choice to live a life with healthy boundaries. It’s a choice to give our time and attention to the things that matter most.

And, probably the best way to learn how you best balance work and life is through trial and error.

Life will zig and zag. It will ebb and flow.

Something I can’t unpack right now is the idea that margin in your work schedule can actually give you the strength to take risks and have fun in the process.

Don’t let the boundaries between your work and family life be dictated by social expectations. Rather by authenticity to your goals, visions, and values.

P.S. The podcast interview I did with Havilah Cunnington was awesome. We discussed balancing family with creative entrepreneurship.

Family Balance (Part 4)

We Moved

As I type this, I’m surrounded by cardboard boxes.

My desk is temporarily crammed here in the corner of the guest room.

The Monument Valley soundtrack is playing (as always), but this time it’s via my iMac’s not-so-great, built-in speakers.

You see, we just moved.

tools, bin, life

I feel like the above photo sums up my life pretty well right now: a bunch of stuff packed into a bin; mostly construction tools plus my Baron Fig notebook and trusty pen.

Here in my “office” (a.k.a. the guest room), I see boxes of kids toys and books we haven’t yet unpacked. There are all of our picture frames and paintings leaning against the wall. Even a couple of lamps sitting on the floor.

To my right: more boxes! Pretty much my entire office is in those boxes. Cables, podcasting gear, even the books I’m currently reading (or at least was reading before we packed them up two weeks ago).

And all this is after I spent the past 3 days ruthlessly unpacking what was in this room. It’s a miracle we’ve slimmed it down to just the 10 boxes here right now. (Whatever you do, don’t look in the garage.)

* * *

It was a little less than 12 weeks ago that my wife, Anna, and I first had a conversation about moving. Now, three months later, we’ve sold our old house, bought a new one, and are moved in (ish).

It was a sprint. But we also had incredible fortune along every step of the way…

The first day we went out looking for houses with our realtor, we found the home we wanted. A few days later we put in our offer, and, despite it being a seller’s market here in Kansas City we were able to buy our new home for less than market value.

To sell our old home, the only fixing up we had to do was refinish the hardwood floors. When we listed it, we got 3 offers the first day and sold it for asking price in less than 24 hours after putting it on the market.

Despite everything going so smoothly, the process itself of moving has still been incredibly time consuming.

I completely underestimated how much time it would take to move.

I also underestimated how many boxes we’d need, how much would be left over to pack up or throw away after we got the obvious stuff taken care of, and how much time it would take to unpack.

Friends warned me about all of that. And I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the scope of work. But I was wrong.

And, the way things landed, we closed on our new on April 4th. The very same day as the 5-year anniversary of when I began writing at shawnblanc.net full-time.

I had a series of articles I had written out for that week to share what I’d learned after 5 years of being an indie writer and running a small business.

But the events surrounding our closing completely took over my time.

Our scheduled closing on the new house was delayed by 72 hours.

And the delay in closing had a whole slew of challenges that came with it, and it ate up all the margin I had in my work schedule.

I had to choose to take some unexpected time off of work in order to focus on moving and being as present as I could with my family during the transition.

Though I had planned ahead for my writing schedule, I clearly didn’t plan ahead enough. I ended up not writing for 10 days in a row. Which is why it’s been silent here for so long.

My apologies for the extended period of silence.

This morning is the first time I’ve been able to sit down and write in almost two weeks time. It feels great to be writing again.

Now that we’re past the craziness and things are slowly returning to normal, so too will my writing and podcasting schedule.

This week I’ll be picking back up where I left of with my series about creativity and entrepreneurship. You can catch the first three articles here, here, and here. And the timing is actually pretty great — on Wednesday I’ll be sharing about work-life balance and always keeping family first. Something I literally just walked through.

* * *

office-construction

Also, on the nerdy side, I’ll soon be posting an update to my Sweet Mac Setup. Right now we’re still in the middle of building out my office space here at the new house. Though it won’t quite be my dream workspace, it will certainly the best so far.

We Moved

Consistency and Honesty (Part 3)

A few days ago I asked this question:

Is there a path to creative success?

As I’m sure you know, the answer is yes.

Now, the definition of success varies wildly. But I like to define creative success like this:

The ability to do creative work we’re proud of and to keep doing that work.

By that measure, most of you reading this are already creatively successful. You just might not know it yet.

If there is a path to creative success, what is it?

Here’s part of it: Consistency.

Choosing to show up ever day.

Choosing to do the hard and frightful work, day in and day out. Not waiting for permission. Not waiting for inspiration. Not waiting for a faster, fancier, more expensive gizmogadget.

Whatever it is you want to do with your art, you have to show up every day and make something. Failing to do this will be your single biggest roadblock to doing your best creative work.

As you know, I’ve been at this full-time writing racket for 5 years now. And still, day after day, for 5 years, one of the biggest challenges is to get my butt in the chair and write.

Once I’m here, typing, the second biggest challenge is to be honest.

Because — as I mentioned yesterday — when it comes to creativity and entrepreneurship, I consider the most important advice I to be this: focus on consistency and honesty.

Consistency and honesty are, I believe, the backbone for how you can make a living as a creative entrepreneur / artist.

Consistency is important for two reasons:

  • First off, the internet thrives on patterns and regularity; showing up every day lets people know they can rely on you to be there. It also keeps things moving and is the “machine” you use to build your business assets and stock and flow content.

  • Secondly, even if you’re a talentless dweeb like me, writing (or doing anything) every day will help you become better at that craft.

Honesty is important because it’s how you build trust with others. (Obviously.)

Do you want to earn the respect and long-term attention of your audience? Be honest. Always seek to provide at least 51% of the value between you and your readership.

Regardless of how you serve your audience, always give as much as possible. It’s not about you, it’s about them.

Do this and you’ll be signing up to play the long game. By building trust and providing “preeminent” value, you’re proving to folks that you’re the real deal and you have something to offer.

Five years ago, when I first announced that I was quitting my job to write here for a living, I asked people to sign up for a subscribing membership at $3/month.

400 of you signed up the first day.

As much as I like to think you signed up because my sales pitch was awesome and heart-felt, the truth is that it was awesome and heart-felt… No, seriously, those of you signed up for a membership back in 2011 did so because I’d been writing consistently on my site for several years. Over those years I built up trust you guys — with my readership — and so when I asked for your direct support, it was an easy decision for hundreds of you.

A few years later, when I launched The Focus Course, 600 of you signed up in that first week. And it wasn’t because The Focus Course has an awesome landing page (Though it certainly does. Thanks, Pat!). It’s because I’d been writing about focus for so long that you guys trusted the course was not just snake oil.

* * *

To sum this all up:

  • People want to connect to the artist as much as (if not even more than) they want to connect to the art. That’s why a signed book is so much more valuable than the Kindle version; a live concert more memorable than listening to an album on iTunes.

  • Consistency means relationship building. Remember from 1,000 True Fans? This is where you connect with your readership, audience, customers, and provide ongoing value to them.

  • Consistency is also means doing the work every day. Never wait until you’re inspired to do the work because quantity leads to quality. (Which is a whole other topic we’ll dive into later.)

  • Honesty means making the choice to be transparent and genuine. Have fun.

Showing up to do the work every day isn’t easy. And there’s more to it than just putting your butt in the chair and writing for an hour.

You’ve also got to think about how you’re spending your time and energy when you’re not in the chair. Up next, I’ll be sharing about keeping life in balance.

Consistency and Honesty (Part 3)

Creativity and Entrepreneurship (Part 2)

Quitting my job to blog for a living was so embarrassing.

It didn’t seem like a “real job”.

People would always ask me questions like: “So what exactly is it that you do?” And I never knew how to answer them.

(Actually, I still don’t know how to answer that question.)

It’s been five years now, and I’m so glad I took that dorky risk.

As I reflect on these past five years and share what I’ve learned, my default is to focus on the creativity aspect. I love talking about how to show up every day or how to build an audience of awesome and smart people. I want to dive in to to the topic of doing our best creative work.

But over these past five years I’ve also learned about bootstrapping and running a business. I’ve learn the ins and outs of starting and building a business through experience, trial, success, and error.

There is so much involved with being an independent creative entrepreneur.

For one, you have to have the creativity side. This includes:

  • Finding own vision and voice for your creative work;
  • Showing up every day to do that work;
  • Being focused with your time and energy;
  • Staying inspired;
  • Having fun.

Creativity is critical. And, as we’ll get to another time, it’s so important to show up every day to do the hard, creative work.

But just as important as creativity is the entrepreneurial side…

  • You’ve can’t be so romantic about making money that you never get around to earning a dollar.
  • You have to be willing to take risks and experiment with new ideas.
  • You have to get good at making money.
  • You have to learn how to budget, project, save, invest, make a return, and live well beneath your means. Otherwise your business will never get the financial root system it needs in order to thrive.

Creativity and business chops. You need both.

Later this week I’ll be sure to share some of the things I’ve done over the past five years to make money. But first…

Knowing that both the creative aspect and the business aspect are so important, I want to dive into what’s I think is needed to write on the internet for a living.

(This could go for just about anything, really. Writing is what I know best, but this stuff goes for podcasts, newsletters, photography, etc.)

Basically, if I were brand new and starting out fresh… if I were giving advice to my past self… these would be the highlights of that conversation.

  • Show up every day: I’m going to touch on this more, but showing up every day is vital. This is how you strengthen your own creative muscle, it’s how you improve your skills, and it’s also how you build your audience. (Recommended reading: Show Your Work.)

  • Plan ahead: It took me years to figure this one out. You’ll do better work in less time with less stress if you know where you’re going. (Not sure how to have a plan for your creative work, The Focus Course will get you there.)

  • Invest in mentorship, learning, and courses: Because you don’t have all the answers, you have blind spots, and you need someone to cheerlead for you and help you figure things out.

  • Celebrate your progress: When you’re able to recognize that you’re making progress in your work, it helps you stay motivated. Also, journaling about your business and creative endeavors as you go through them today is an asset you can use in down the road as a sort of “advice to your future self”.

  • Sell stuff: You get good at making money the same way you get good at anything else: practice. So, sell early and sell often. This will help you learn about pricing, sales, and providing value to others. It also helps you to get comfortable with charging money for the work you do. Something many of us aren’t naturally comfortable with.

  • Automate / eliminate / delegate as much as possible: It seems everyone know says they waited too long before learning to delegate. This is a great way to break your broken workflow habits and free yourself up to spend your time better. And it’s not just for the sake of being more “productive” at work — it’s also so you can have more down time to rest, think, and be with friends and family.

  • The tools you have are almost certainly good enough: This one applies to the nerds in the room. I’m an incessant tinkerer. While it’s fun to always be looking for the next best thing, it’s also a huge distraction. Maybe it’s my old age, but I’m far more content with the tools I have today that I ever have been. If it works well and helps me do what’s important, then I’m not going to try and replace it just for the sake of change.

  • Always be honest and sincere: This is critical because the best way to build an audience is through trust. Being genuine and telling your story is how you build trust.

  • Work hard, but don’t work nonstop: Easier said than done for many of us. The ideas and action items are never-ending. That’s why I schedule my time off and even plan ahead for how I’ll spend that down time. Otherwise my tendency is to work on just one more thing.

  • Have an ideal reader / customer / client / fan: When I first began writing, there were two specific people who I wrote for. I would always gauge my articles and topics through their eyes, making sure I was writing something that would be interesting and helpful to them.

Now that I’m working on building The Focus Course website, we’ve spent a ton of time defining what our ideal customer looks like. We’re using surveys, personal emails and conversations, and more. It’s a much different approach than just guessing or making stuff up, and it means we’re actually able to help people with what’s most important to them.

  • Take risks: Every time I’ve felt out on a ledge, not sure if something would work, it turned out pretty great in the end. This is not an advocation to be reckless, but it is permission to try something new.

  • Trust your gut: I don’t know about you, but I spend a lot of time second guessing myself. I question if I’m doing things right; if I’m missing something; if I’m even making progress. Other people can give advice and input, but to do your best creative work you’ve got to follow the dream in your heart.

Not to go all Mr. Rogers here, but it’s true. If you’ve got an idea or a hunch that just won’t let go, then focus on it.

Which is why, if I had to boil it all down to what I consider to be the most important advice I have for creative entrepreneurship, it would be this: focus on consistency and honesty.

We’ll dive more into that one tomorrow.

Creativity and Entrepreneurship (Part 2)

Five (Part 1)

It was Monday morning.

My first day on the job. And I was completely underprepared with no idea what to write about.

I felt terrible.

That was exactly five years ago today.

What I did end up writing about has turned into a piece I return to often:

“Writing should be about standing behind your work and truly caring about what it is you have to say,” I wrote. “If you happen to be good with words then congratulations. Dispassionate beautiful prose, however, is still dispassionate. Or, as Anatole France put it, ‘a tale without love is like beef without mustard: insipid.'”

It has always been a challenge for me to write with honesty and passion.

When you put your heart into something and then get criticized for it, that hurts. And so, in a way, we shy back a bit and put just enough transparency into our writing to give it a hint of breath and no more.

To make it worse, once the economic success of this site hinged in no small part on the continued growth of a strong membership base, there was a sudden pressure to write for everyone all at once.

Not only did I feel a great expectation on my work, I had no clue what I would publish on that first day. Or what would come the next day or the next.

(I’ve learned that this is just one of the who-knows-how-many roadblocks there are to doing your best creative work. And that’s something we’ll definitely dive into more later this week because it’s so important.)

In that article from 5 years ago, I shared that though the pressures and expectations were new, I was intent on staying steady in my writing pursuits. I planned to continue doing the same writing with the same focus that had brought me the opportunity to write full-time in the first place.

Five years of that day-in-and-day-out work, here we are today. And things certainly look different.

Back then it was just me with just one website: shawnblanc.net. Now there is a small team of us and a small network of websites: shawnblanc.net, Tools & Toys, The Sweet Setup, and The Focus Course. (Hi, Bradley, Chris, Stephen, Jeff, Josh, and Isaac!)

Yes, the scope of the writing has certainly grown. But I believe the focus of the writing has not.

That focus is still two-fold:

  1. To help you, the reader.
  2. To have fun in the creative process.

If you care about doing your best creative work, you’re in the right place.

I continue to look forward to iterating, improving, and generally upping the overall awesomeness of our humble network of websites.

Perhaps you’ve been here since the very first post. Or perhaps you are brand new to this site. Thank you! I am grateful that you’ve chosen to show up, sign up, and be part of this journey.

This week and next I’m going to be sharing stories and more about the past five years. We’re going to talk about the creative side as well as the business side.

After being in this racket for 5 years, I want to share what I see as the most important things about writing on the internet for a living. How to improve your craft. How to balance work life and family life when your work life is tied to the internet that’s in your pocket.

And, the elusive question I’ve been wondering about most for the past half-decade: Is there a path to creative success?

Five (Part 1)

Fantastic Friday: Read This

Hopefully by now you’ve had a chance to make your cup of coffee. Because this week I have a few articles for you to read with your morning coffee.

But these quotes and articles are special for another reason.

On Monday, it will be the 5-year anniversary of when I began my gig as a full-time, indie writer. To “celebrate” I’m doing something special next week.

Today’s Fantastic Friday links are to particular articles that have been meaningful or impactful to me in some way over the past 5 years.

And, I have to say, picking out just 4 articles was nigh impossible. I had to print out the titles and URLs of at least 100 different articles from my Instapaper Likes and Pinboard bookmarks. Then I put them all up on a wall and threw four darts.* The four items below are the ones that got stuck.

* Okay, not really. But I should have thrown darts. That would have been awesome.

 

1. 1,000 True Fans

No doubt you’ve heard of this Kevin Kelly article, if you haven’t already read it once or twice (or a dozen times — ahem).

Kelly’s proposal is that an independent artist needs only about 1,000 True Fans to make a living. Ideally, the artist has a direct connection with his or her fan base and is able to create art directly for those people.

Over my years as an indie writer, I have tried to be honest and transparent with you: my “true fans”. I have tried to write about things and create things that are as helpful and exciting for you to read or use as they are for me to put together.

And, in my experience, it’s feasible.

Not that I have a count on how many “true fans” are around. But I do know that it takes less people than you’d think to help you earn a living, so long as you’re doing your best to provide as much value in return as possible.

 

2. The Nerd Handbook

I remember reading this article years ago, and I’ve never forgotten about it. Michael Lopp is one of my favorite writers, and his Nerd Handbook article is a riot.

(It’s funny because it’s true!)

If you’re a nerd, read it and weep. Then forward it to you significant other. If you’re not a nerd, you might be married to one, so you had still better read it.

 

3. What Screens Want

Now we come to Frank Chimero. Frank’s writing is clear and incredible. His book, The Shape of Design, is one of my all-time favorite books.

And, as with most of Franks writing, in his article about What Screens Want you’ll find a secret message that’s not so much about design as it is about being intentional with our choices (and loosening up a bit).

Take the time to read Frank’s article straight through on the site. And be sure you’re in a setting where you can watch the short in-line videos.

 

4. How to Get Good at Making Money

This article from Jason Fried is just a little over 5 years old, and I have referenced it over and over again. In short: you get good at making money the same way you get good at anything else: practice.

 

* * *

 

In other news…

Exactly five years ago today, I was taking the day off. Yep. I remember it clearly.

I had just quit my job as a marketing and creative director and was about to start my new job as a work-for-myself, work-from-home writer.

It seemed reasonable to give myself a 3-day weekend before starting my new job. So I took Friday off. Then, on Monday, April 4, 2011, I started my new job as a full-time, indie writer.

Five years later, I’m still here. Thanks entirely to you, dear reader.

Next week I’ve got each day planned out. I’ll be sharing stories about the past five years and more. Can’t wait!

Fantastic Friday: Read This

Just a Question

Next week my family is moving to a new home about 5 minutes down the road.

Anna and I are expecting our third child this fall (!). So we are about to officially outgrow the small home we’ve lived in for the past 11 years.

I’ve been thinking about this massive life transition — selling our current home, moving to a new one, having our third child.

And I was also just thinking about the past few months.

2016 continues to march on, one day at a time.

What were your plans for 2016?

What was one of your goals? Was there a hint of an idea of something you wanted to do?

Three months into the year… how are things going?

Today, I don’t have any answers or advice for you.

Just a question…

If you’re not yet where you were expecting be, what are going to do about it?

 

* * *

 

Speaking of 2016, for those keeping track at home, in just a few days — on Monday, April 4 — it will be the 5-year anniversary (!) of when I quit my job to start blogging for a living.

(Some of you folks have been reading my dorky writing for 5 whole years (maybe even longer). Wow, thank you!)

As I look back at the creative work I’ve done over the past five years, I feel proud of it.

But I also envision so much more that I hope to do, and so much more ground to cover in my skills as a writer and business owner.

And so all this has made me think about what it is that helps us get from where we are to where we want to be.

Not just for my humble journey, but for all of us.

How can you, dear reader, get from where you are today to where you want to be in 5 years from now.

Next week, let’s talk about it. See you then.

Just a Question

Fantastic Friday: Coffee Paraphernalia

Unknown to both my wife and I, our coffee grinder was losing its edge.

Nearly four years ago, Anna bought me a Bodum Bistro Grinder for my birthday. It was an awesome little grinder for a great price.

I used it every single day. Until one day, it broke.

new grinder - baratza virtuoso

We replaced it with the king of the hill: a Baratza Virtuoso.

And wow. The first cup of coffee using our new grinder was a revelation.

Who knew a great coffee grinder was so important? I mean, I knew they were important, but seriously the difference was huge.

In addition to the new grinder, the other (somewhat recent) addition to my coffee arsenal is the Kalita Wave. We’ll get to it in a minute. But I have to say that the Wave has officially replaced the AeroPress as my daily brewer. What a time to be alive.

All that said, this week you get to peek into the four key components of my daily coffee. (Since I keep the list to just four things, one thing had to leave out was my kitchen scale.)

 

1. Crema.co

It all starts with beans. Freshly roasted coffee beans make all the difference.

Here in Kansas City, we have local coffee roasters coming out our ears. Such as PT’s, Broadway, Oddly Correct, Messenger Coffee, Roasterie, Thou Mayest, Parisi, Post, and Second Best. To name a few.

However, you may prefer to have freshly roasted beans delivered to your door. This is great for folks who don’t like going outside or for those who don’t have a great coffee roaster nearby where you can easily get access to freshly roasted coffee.

If you’re searching for a coffee delivery service, I highly recommend Crema.co.

Crema.co is like Netflix but for coffee. You add the coffees that you want to your list, and then you select how often you want a bag of coffee shipped to you.

This differs from coffee subscription services like Blue Bottle, because Crema lets you pick what you get. Where as with Blue Bottle, you get what they’re roasting.

I’ve gotten beans from Crema and I was very impressed. Great service, great pricing, great coffee.

2. Baratza Virtuoso Grinder

This is the grinder we went with, and it’s fantastic. Here at the Blanc household, we like to buy things for life. So we went with a grinder that is excellent at its job, but also should last us for quite a while.

3. Kalita Wave, Pour-over Coffee Maker

As I mentioned last week, this pour-over coffee maker has become my new favorite.

What I like about the Wave is that it can make a larger cup of coffee than my AeroPress (350g+ versus 250g), and I think the coffee it makes is much better than what you get from the v60.

I know everyone says that the AeroPress is super duper easy to clean. And it is, but I think a pour-over contraption like this is even easier to clean. You just dump the filter into the trash and rinse out the dripper itself. There are no moving parts, no lids, etc.

 

4. Double-Walled Glass Bottle

There are about 150 different variations of this glass bottle on Amazon. I’m pretty sure they’re all made at the same place, and everyone gets a turn putting their logo on the front.

What I like about my double-walled glass compared to my stainless-steel thermos is that the bottle is easier to clean in the dishwasher and it doesn’t fiddle with the flavor of my coffee.

Of course, the tradeoff is that the glass bottle doesn’t keep my coffee as hot for as long.

The glass bottle is also great for cold drinks, since the outside of it won’t sweat onto your desk.

 

* * *

What better to go with awesome coffee than something to read? I’ll be sharing some great quotes and articles in next week’s edition of Fantastic Friday.

Fantastic Friday: Coffee Paraphernalia