Carl Sagan’s Second Wife on the Finality of Death
“…we lived with a vivid appreciation of how brief & precious life is.”
Henry Rollins on The Iron
The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs.
Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.”
I continue to come back to this article and the idea that the things which are hard for us are teaching us — like a sensei.
I’ve experienced this most with lifting weights, so I’ll stick to that illustration, but I’ve also sensed it with growing a business, raising a son and staying married.
When I approach the weight asking, “what lessons do you have for me today?” my whole mental posture changes. It’s no longer a contest, no longer about my ego, a thing for me to win or lose. It’s a relationship between a master and an apprentice.
When I’m in that posture the workout is better, it works out more of me. Also, I do less stupid shit.
In business it helps me not be crushed by a piece of bad news, gets me in the posture where my reaction is more, “ok, what do we learn from this and what’s the right thing to do?” and less, “fuck, my ideas are shit, the world is shit, i’m going to die alone and I have a small penis.”
If you haven’t read this full article from Henry Rollins, I highly recommend it: The Iron & The Soul by Henry Rollins.
Frank Chimero on How vs. Why
“A complex world has made us over-emphasize How-based thinking and education. Once the tools are understood, grasping why to do certain things becomes more valuable than how to do them. How is recipes, but learning a craft is more than following instructions.
How is important for new practitioners learning to avoid common mistakes. Why is for those who wish to push, are not risk-averse, and seek to improve. How is coulda, Why is shoulda. How is finishing tasks, Why is fulfilling objectives. How results in more, Why yields better.”
Frank Chimero on Caring Intensely
“By caring intensely, we can connect to one another in more meaningful ways.”
Timeless Advice from Frank Chimero
Our sense of time is all out of whack. When people link to older blog posts and articles, they’ll maybe call it ‘timeless’ or say some other inane thing like, ‘Old, but good!’ Two years old isn’t old! A two-year-old can’t even wipe his own ass.
Let me let you in on a little secret: if you are hearing about something old, it is almost certainly good. Why? Because nobody wants to talk about shitty old stuff, but lots of people still talk about shitty new stuff, because they are still trying to figure out if it is shitty or not. The past wasn’t better, we just forgot about all the shitty shit.”
These thoughts are good. I appreciate the way Frank pulls back the curtain, reminds me what’s behind this movie studio western town set: same old human stuff… fear, greed and the slight possibility of a connection.
Even that word “connection” is a facade: something we can say right now, something with a sense of meaning that won’t feel too cheap, but not something an actual writer would say. And not something we’ll say in anymore in 20 years.
What would Hemingway say as a replacement? Maybe he’d say, “fear, greed and the remote chance of a fuck, maybe even love.” I’m not very well read. I don’t know.
This article is good and you should read it if you’re in a self-important industry like “interactive design” or “design” or “business.” Hopefully it’ll bring a little more “fucking” and less “connecting” into your work.
David Ogilvy’s Copywriting Process
In April 19, 1955 David Ogilvy wrote this to a Mr. Ray Calt. It outlines his process for copywriting an ad. It’s refreshing and human and I’m grateful for this honest look into his thoughts about work. (source)
Dear Mr. Calt:
On March 22nd you wrote to me asking for some notes on my work habits as a copywriter. They are appalling, as you are about to see:
- I have never written an advertisement in the office. Too many interruptions. I do all my writing at home.
- I spend a long time studying the precedents. I look at every advertisement which has appeared for competing products during the past 20 years.
I am helpless without research material—and the more “motivational” the better.
I write out a definition of the problem and a statement of the purpose which I wish the campaign to achieve. Then I go no further until the statement and its principles have been accepted by the client.
Before actually writing the copy, I write down every concievable fact and selling idea. Then I get them organized and relate them to research and the copy platform.
Then I write the headline. As a matter of fact I try to write 20 alternative headlines for every advertisement. And I never select the final headline without asking the opinion of other people in the agency. In some cases I seek the help of the research department and get them to do a split-run on a battery of headlines.
At this point I can no longer postpone the actual copy. So I go home and sit down at my desk. I find myself entirely without ideas. I get bad-tempered. If my wife comes into the room I growl at her. (This has gotten worse since I gave up smoking.)
I am terrified of producing a lousy advertisement. This causes me to throw away the first 20 attempts.
If all else fails, I drink half a bottle of rum and play a Handel oratorio on the gramophone. This generally produces an uncontrollable gush of copy.
The next morning I get up early and edit the gush.
Then I take the train to New York and my secretary types a draft. (I cannot type, which is very inconvenient.)
I am a lousy copywriter, but I am a good editor. So I go to work editing my own draft. After four or five editings, it looks good enough to show to the client. If the client changes the copy, I get angry—because I took a lot of trouble writing it, and what I wrote I wrote on purpose.
Altogether it is a slow and laborious business. I understand that some copywriters have much greater facility.
Yours sincerely,
D.O.
Here’s some more writing tips on this site, and for all you freelancers out there (or wannabe freelancers), here’s a big ol’ guide about how to become a freelance writer.
Josh Ritter On Being Original
“People beat their heads against the wall trying to be original… When I look at stuff that tries to be original I find something less nourishing than something that is done with grace and admits that we’re all living people that make mistakes.”
Trent Walton’s Advice for New-ish Designers
“Do whatever you can to set the bar really high. Find people who are better than you and follow them. Develop your taste. Develop a goal for where you want to be and if your skills aren’t there yet, that’s totally okay. I think that knowing what good is and being able to strive for it is key because then you’ll be willing to do whatever it takes to connect the dots. Find what you love about your field and focus on that and the details will take care of themselves.”
Brian DePalma on The Problem With Creative Work
“The problem with writing a movie is you’ve got to have a great idea.”
David Levithan on What Matters & What’s Hard
“Things that matter are not easy. Feelings of happiness are easy. Happiness is not. Flirting is easy. Love is not. Saying you’re friends is easy. Being friends is not.”