“As soon as somebody says you’re spending too much time on something, you’re on the right track.” When I was in high school, I spent every spare moment writing songs. Hours and hours and hours. To the point where my mom would have to flicker the basement lights on and off just to make sure I was still alive. Little did I know, those formative years laid the creative foundation from which my artistic empire was built. While all my friends were getting drunk and laid, I was preparing for the future.Totally worth it. Inspired by today’sLefsetz Letter.

“If you don’t act how you feel, you’re not a hypocrite, you’re an adult.”  Dennis Prager’s lecture makes a strong argument against authenticity. Yes, we should honor and express our feelings. Yes, we should communicate openly with each other. And yes, we should designate certain people to cleanse ourselves with. But we should also be mature. We should remember that negativity is the easy way out. And we should recognize that any asshole can be unhappy. Each one of us is accountable for our own happiness. Not just for the sake of our sanities, but out of respect for the people we see everyday.

“Either all the voices bulldoze us, or we spend our energy building a wall against all of them.” Love this post fromStoryline about art critics. It’s a nice reminder that feedback is highly overrated. For real. I’d rather make whatever want, however I want it, basking in the joy of pure artistic freedom than waste time reading critic reviews in the hopes that taking their advice will make my work twenty percent better. Fuck getting better. Freedom matters more than improvement. Consider my fingers stuck in my ears. I’m staying on the side of the creators, where I belong.

“This urge to merge.” I am, and have always been, marriage material. Commitment is my sword. Fidelity is my default. Monogamy my anti-drug. I think marriage is just plain cool, and I’m just glad I finally found the right person to share it with. In fact, I was close to getting married several years ago. But something inside told me not to pull the matrimonial trigger just yet. Close call. Inspired by the changing face oflesbian love.

“Religion is a theological insurance scam.” Memorable line from Stephen King’s interview on Fresh Air. As usual, it got me thinking. Religion is an attractive proposition because everything comes built in. Faith. Belief. Community. Ritual. Tradition. Answers. Meaning. What’s not to like? It’s the perfect system for satisfying our
essential human longings. I get it. And frankly, there are times when I wish I was part of it. Life is so much easier when you think someone else is doing the deciding for you. The problem is, I’m too rational, too much of a critical thinker and too agressive of a skeptic to buy into religion. 

“I started to see that there was a new way to live, a day job with a steady stream of new challenges.” Just finished Questlove’s new book. Awesome read. I especially liked the chapter about how he got a day job after fifteen years of solo work. Sounds like my life. Minus the afro and millions of dollars, of course. Point being, there’s something so refreshing about having a place to go every day. You can only spend so many years staring at the living room wall. 

“If moments happen, it’s a great show.” Whether you’re doing standup, performing magic, singing karaoke or delivering a client presentation, it’s all about making moments. Choreographic attention. Intentionally creating a physiological response from the audience in the form of a gasp, a laugh, a nod or a fist on the table. That’s the difference maker. Talent and skill are the price of admission. The performers we remember forever are the ones who pepper in the theatrical and practice real showmanship. Inspired by a podcast with Billy Crystal.

“They didn’t wait, they showed up and showed us what was possible.” That’s how David Karp described his advertisers on Tumblr. Which doesn’t make me despise advertising any less, but I can appreciate the spirit of that approach. If I were in ad sales, I wouldn’t sit back hope to get picked. I’d find a cool way to paint a picture of the world I hope to create and make prospective clients feel like temporary citizens. That way, I might actually get an appointment instead of a dirty look.

“Starting work without a contract is like putting a condom on after taking a home pregnancy test.” Brilliant insight from one of the best presentations I’ve seen in years. Looking back, I probably lost twenty or thirty gigs in my career, solely based on my contractual negligence. We trust each other, no need for an agreement. Bullshit. Cross my palm with silver or go find someone else. I’ve been stiffed, scammed and screwed over too many times. Lesson learned.

“How much does your life weigh?” Five years ago, life was a lot different. I had more money, more things, more goals,
more friends, more faith, more productivity, more time, more freedom and more
adulation than I have today. But the thing is, I also had less happiness than I have today. Interesting. Maybe I was wrong about the correlation between life’s mass and life’s meaning. Inspired by theempty backback.

“A restless, hyperprolific artist, seemingly unable to do one thing at a time.” This interviewwith Gary Panter helped me realize something. Focus is wildly overrated. For years, we’ve been poisoned by the fairytale that the secret to success is working with a laser beam. But that can’t be true. The most successful artists and entrepreneurs in the world are the opposite. They worry they don’t have enough arms to do everything they want to do.They keep all their passions in play. They diversify their identities as much as they can. And they’re not afraid to live larger than their labels. No labels, no limits.

“Most young comedians worry about being famous, not being good.” Jeff Garlin’s point makes total sense. Whatever your chosen craft is, being good requires labor, time, patience, rejection, discipline, commitment and grit. But that’s not what people seem to value. Our culture places a premium on instant gratification and hyper-personalization. If it’s not perfect, now and fee, we’re not interested. And the result is, we’re creating a generation of artists who are devoid of determination. Bummer.

“When everybody’s looking for gold, it’s a good time to be in the pick and shovel business.” Fascinating article about the economic implications of legalizing marijuana. Makes me think of my grandmother. She definitely wasn’t a pothead, but she did know how to spot an opportunity. Every time we’d drive through a construction zone, she’d stare out the window and say, “Wow, I should’ve gone into the orange barrel business.” That was my favorite thing she said.

“I’m not sure they were setbacks, so much as life doing what it does.” One of life’s great realizations is that nature doesn’t take things personally. She’s not out to get us. There’s no target on our backs. We’re pawns in her cosmic game of chess, and the sooner we learn to appreciate every move––good and bad––the more enjoyable that game will be. Unless it starts pissing buckets the minute you step out the front door. Stupid climate change.Inspired by an interview with songwriterStephen Kellogg.

“He’s unwilling to be forgotten.” Amazing interview with Billy Crystal. He tells the story of his mentor giving him notes after a performance. “Your act is like Chinese food. It’s really good, but we can’t remember what you ate. You didn’t leave a tip. That little extra
something that’s uniquely you, leave it with the audience. That way, even if the
show didn’t go that well, they have a reason to remember you.” Holy shit. That’s the greatest thing I’ve ever heard. 

“Create something cool first and worry about the business model later.” This is a widely debated issue. On the marketing side, the inherent shareability of products that are just plain cool should be enough to pave the way to profit. But that’s not always the case. Interesting doesn’t always mean income. Meanwhile, on the functional side, if you design something useful, you’re ninety percent of the
way there. So which is it? The world may never know. Another unsolved entrepreneurial mystery. Inspired by this pieceabout Jimmy Wales.

“When you get successful early, you grow to hate your early work.” When I listen to songs I wrote in my teens, I laugh. When read books I wrote in my twenties, I cringe. And when I watch speeches I gave two years ago, I sigh. But it’s all part of the creative process. We can’t be too hard on ourselves. First of all, we did the best we could with what we had at the time. Secondly, everything we created in the past is what brought us here. Lastly, just think how much better the work will be twenty years from now. Inspired by Jeff Garlin’s interview with Aziz Ansari.

“You believe in me, and I trust your judgment.” Believing in yourself is a great start. And it will take you a long way. But having people who believe in you––maybe even more than you believe in yourself––is what keeps your spirits up when life hands you a pile of shit. I never realized that until recently. In the process of planning our wedding, we’ve had this overwhelming feeling that everyone is rooting for us. That they’re cheering us on as a team and supporting our union as a couple. It’s good to be believed in. Plucked from Post Secret.

“The wronger something feels, the
righter it is.” That’s Jerry Seinfeld’s comedy filter. After thirty years in the business, he knows how to spot the signs of solid material. In my own experience, it’s all about the physiological response. As I inhale various words and sentences, my body will tell me if they’re worth writing down. Smiles, laughs, gasps, eye twitches, stomach pangs, crotch pulses, jaw drops, these bodily responses are my filter. I think every artist should have one.