*Typing*

Finding your voice as a writer (or brand) requires you to try on a few for size.

It’s like buying a suit. You’d never purchase a suit without first slipping it on and doing a few turns in the mirror. Even then, you get it tailored.

Try on what Hemingway sounds like. Do the same with Baldwin, Didion, Woolf, Kerouac, Bourdain—god, I love Bourdain—Fitzgerald, Plath, Steinbeck, Babitz, Morrison and O’Conner. Try them all on. Be greedy.

When you’re first getting started, you will sound like a bad impersonator of these greats. Keep writing, though. Loosen the grip on the pen some. Inject your own beliefs. Your own style. Your own metaphors. Your own personality. Tailor the voice. With time, you will make the voice your own.

When you’re a young writer (or brand), you should always start by copying someone you admire. It’s too difficult to be original. Be patient. Write your heart out. Originality will come.

Side hustles are almost always a distraction from what you’re currently doing. If you’re wanting to earn additional income, the answer isn’t trying something new. It’s doubling down on what's already working.

It’s much harder to convince others to pay you to do something you’ve never done before than it is to pay you more for what you’re already known for.

With that said, I am a huge proponent of hobbies and passions. These are fundamentally different than side-hustles because they aren’t measured in money. They’re measured in enjoyment, expression and presence.

Something our work-centered culture struggles with is feeling like we must monetize and streamline our hobbies and passions. Hence the invention of the side hustle.

Keep your work your work. Keep your play your play. If you want to make more money, double down on your work. But, don’t let your work get in the way of your play.

Death by committee feels like that video of the raccoon falling into a chimp enclosure.

You walk into the proverbial boardroom with an idea you’ve fallen in love with, only to watch it get tossed around like a ragdoll.

For young creatives just starting out, this experience can be quite jarring. Unless you learn to separate yourself from your work, you won’t last long.

It’s not for everyone. Most creatives quit their gigs in advertising after two maybe three years. They find other mediums to be creative in. Mediums where they get the final cut, the final word, the final stay.

Unfortunately, if you want to work on large creative projects with big budgets, you can’t circumvent the committee. In advertising—and really any form of creation at the enterprise level—the committee is part of the process.

Be patient. Be resilient. Be thoughtful. Be mindful about what hills you should die on. Don’t be too proud to admit when you’ve got a bad idea. Don’t be too scared to fight for a good one. Most of all, learn to communicate your ideas effectively. Learn to sell them. Creatives who think they’re above selling have no business in business.

Love it or hate, the committee is part of the creative process.

People get addicted to going viral. Before they know it, they turn into clowns dancing for the algorithm.

I’ve witnessed dozens of incredibly talented writers, artists, entrepreneurs and creators sacrifice originality for virality.

They try and rationalize their decision by claiming they're growing an audience they can later put deep, meaningful work in front of.

But, this rarely happens.

These creatives take one step into the limelight and transform into clowns, selling their souls to feel its warmth.

It never ends. They jump from trend to trend to trend like a bullfrog who can’t swim. The moment their previous party trick runs out of claps, off they go to hijack another. Before they know it, they’re no longer capable of doing purposeful work because it doesn’t receive the same attention.

That’s the cold, hard truth of the matter. Deep work will never receive the same applause as shallow work.

Not to mention, the audience they’ve built isn’t interested in deep, meaningful work. They didn’t follow the artist. They followed the clown. I can speak candidly on the matter because I’ve been the clown. I’ve been the moron dancing in the limelight. We all have.

It’s fun.
It’s fun until it’s not.
It’s fun until nobody takes you seriously.

You are far better off doing work you believe in for people who believe in it too. You won’t experience the same growth as “the guy with the sign”.

But, you will build a career for yourself that has the legs to run the distance.

Never make a decision out of fear. Wait for the fear to pass. With time, the fear will be replaced with conviction. Make the decision then.