I’m reading Cal Newport’s So Good They Can’t Ignore You, and I keep seeing his argument play out in real time at work. Newport says rare and valuable skills — career capital — are what give you leverage. The craftsman builds that capital through reps, not passion. Show up, get deep, get good. The leverage … Continue reading The Craftsman and the Machine
The Challenge From My Son
My son was a couple of days into a 30-day ab challenge when he invited me to join him — and that’s not the kind of invitation you turn down. So I jumped in. And then, because apparently I can’t leave well enough alone, I extended it to 60 days. He got me started. That’s … Continue reading The Challenge From My Son
The Craftsman
I’m reading Cal Newport’s So Good They Can’t Ignore You, and he makes an argument that I can’t stop thinking about. Most people are told to follow their passion. Find the thing you love, then figure out how to get paid for it. Newport says that’s backwards. The craftsman doesn’t start with passion. The craftsman … Continue reading The Craftsman
Twenty-Two
I’ve sold twenty-two copies of my first novel. I’m going to sit with that number for a second, because it means two things at once. First — I wrote a book. A real book. A story I’m genuinely proud of. It has four five-star reviews on Amazon from people who aren’t just being nice. One … Continue reading Twenty-Two
Fifteen Years Later
I ran across something I wrote in 2011 about Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. The idea that stuck with me then was simple: a character doesn’t change unless they go through hard times and conflict. Without it, the character stays one-dimensional. I used Braveheart as my example. I’ve always loved that … Continue reading Fifteen Years Later
