Monday Memo #42
Think long term.
The Monday memo is food for thought to fuel your week.
Hi everyone,
There is no guarantee in creative work. The work must be rewarding in itself. The joy comes through paying attention to yourself, in doing the work regularly. Small things add up over the long haul.
To sustain your creative energy you must be doing something you can do joyfully that is meaningful to you. If you enjoy writing, write a little bit every day. Whatever the thing is, doing it a little bit every day will create a habit and over time you will generate results.
You don’t have to make a living with your creativity to enjoy creative work. In fact it can be helpful to take that pressure off yourself. True creativity is a long path that never ends, a thing you can dig into and that takes a lifetime.
It is a way of living, a way of approaching life. Think of your creative work as a long-term investment that may or may not pay off financially. Success, if it comes, is a bonus. Protect your creative work from financial pressure as long as you can. You’re on a path that no one has traveled before. Take your time and enjoy the ride.
In our last collaboratory, Kevin Farr led us through a four-column exercise to compare our current lived values to the values we aspire to. How do you spend your time? Your day? Your week?
Pay attention to your feelings. What do you do that’s joyful, that matters to you? What kinds of activities completely absorb you, until you lose track of time and even forget yourself? Can you do more of that?
If you are thinking long term you are already ahead of the crowd. Most long-term investments don’t pay off right away. And they can pay off in ways you don’t expect and can’t predict. It’s best not to count on a payoff and to enjoy yourself along the way.
Friendships, social networks, audiences, and a creative body of work are things that grow slowly but compound over time. Small things, done consistently over a long time, can generate big results.
Creative work kindles and sustains an inner fire, a source of renewable energy that keeps you going, nurtures you, and replenishes you.
Creative work is uncertain and unpredictable. It is experimental. Trial and error. You really don’t know what you are doing until you are doing it. The false starts, getting lost and recentering yourself, are all part of the creative process.
The long view, a slow pace, requires you to slow down and notice not only what you are doing but how you feel about it. Good work feels good. It feels true. It feels beautiful.
Protect the space and time your creative work requires of you. Then do the work.
If you’re going to make space to do something for the rest of your life, do something that matters. Something that;s important to you and that you can do joyfully. Because the work itself is the only guarantee you get.
The work must interest you, inspire you, spark questions that you don’t have answers to. Where questions lead to more questions. You have one life. Why not spend it on things that matter and things you enjoy?
Exercise.
Here’s your exercise for the week: think about the long term. What kinds of activities feel good and give you energy? How can you pace yourself for the long term? Consider a small change to your daily and weekly routines, something you can do joyfully, a small routine or activity that you feel you can sustain for the long haul.
See what happens.
Our next Collaboratory.
In this week’s Collaboratory, Maha Baimyrzaeva will talk about the problem with problems, and offer a different way to frame and think about challenges and opportunities.
Become a member today to access this live, interactive session, on Wednesday, September 18, from 9 to 10:30 am Pacific time.
Project studio.
Registration for project studio closes this Friday.
Starting with a kick-off call on October 9, I will run a seven-week intensive I’m calling Project Studio. I will provide a lightweight structure within which we will work together to complete our personal creative projects, encourage and support each other, and hold each other accountable to being true to our creative selves. Project Studio will meet weekly, every Wednesday, from 9 to 10:30 am, starting October 9 and wrapping up on November 20, just before Thanksgiving in the US.
I’m hosting a Q&A session tomorrow (Tuesday, October 1st, from 9 to 10:30 am Pacific time). I’ll be previewing the format we will be using, and this will also be an opportunity to talk about your project ideas and think about how you might structure a six-week creative project. Register here for tomorrow’s Q&A (free).
Project studio will be free for members. If you’re already a member, your registration link is “below the fold.”
But if you’re NOT a member, and you don’t like subscribing to things, you can still sign up for project studio for a one-time fee of $99 here.
Members get access to all events and our archive of emails, videos, transcripts, recordings, and summaries.
As of this week we have 87 members. In 2025, membership dues will increase to $30/month, $300/year. If you join now, you will lock in the $20/month, $200/year rate for as long as your subscription remains active.
If you’re already a member, thank you. You’re making this possible.
More information for members is below the fold.