I’ve never been the best at anything

And other tales of mediocrity

  • Playing baseball.

  • Running fast.

  • Playing basketball.

  • Drawing.

  • Taking tests.

  • General trivia knowledge.

  • Being funny.

  • Making art.

  • Playing music.

  • Being a designer.

  • And I’m sure lots, lots more.

And yet, life goes on.

Status Update

I am so fucking amazingly extraordinarily over talking about stuff. Doing is the only thing that matters. That’s it. You want to talk about it? Go start a podcast.

How To: Designer, Do No Harm

I’ve seen first hand a web design shop do logos that were a disservice to the client, big time ad agencies misunderstand the activism, and hot shot design studios grossly misuse a nonprofit’s precious dollars. They were clearly wrong for the job. They probably knew they were. A little more self awareness and humility would’ve helped. Also some restraint. Good lessons to learn no matter who you are.

Hold Off

When you can work anywhere, at any time, when the urge to create strikes you, why not jump right in? Isn’t that part of the beauty of it, to be able to make something wherever it is you happen to be?

Maybe so.

But maybe this time, you hold off.

Let it build. Build some more.

Then get in there and make, make, make.

See how that goes.

I have a real job, but also, not really

What’s my super power?

Gum.

I mean, working whenever I want how I want to.

That’s my super power.

Which in the American sense, I suppose I don’t really have a job-job.

And having to now join the ranks of the millions of Americans who have to put their kids through school while navigating a sub system built as an add-on to a capitalist economy that really doesn’t care about that education sub system even though the education part feeds directly into the economic part, I have to say it all is quite stupid how misaligned these two parts are.

At least I don’t have a real job even though it makes enough money to call it work. Because if I had to work 8–5 every day at a physical location I’d be real pissed at how the country at large seems to hate me as a worker.

I have a luxury many other Americans do not.

So why does this infuriating system continue to exist?

It’s probably because of money.

Which sucks.

Stop and Feel It

Too often it’s a quick lurch this way and that, get this done and then onto the next. So many responsibilities, not enough time, everything has to keep moving. But what if you could just stop. Hold onto a certain moment and just exist in it. Live it, feel it. Think about nothing else. Uninterrupted. No distractions. Just create this one thing. Pour everything into it and then when it’s over, be done with it.