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Be Something to Someone.
The team at Slate put together a great oral history of Pitchfork, the music site that ran from 1996 until 2024, and there was a line in there from Chris Kaskie, Pitchfork’s former president and...
View ArticleTry It. Then Figure Out What You Want to Keep.
A few years ago, I saw Adam Sandler perform live. He was recording what would become his first comedy special in decades, and honestly, I wasn’t sure what I was in for. What I was in for, it turned...
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New Magic in Old Material.
I went to see Colin Hay, the former frontman for Men at Work, perform this week. He was great, as I’d hoped, but what really wowed me was watching him create new variations on old songs. Five decades...
View ArticleGive Yourself a Constraint.
I’ve never played Talking Stick Golf Club, in Arizona, but I’m fascinated by one of the golf holes on their course. The hole, no. 2 on their O’odham Course, measures 500+ yards, and at first glance,...
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A Little Impact is Enough.
We visited South Florida this week, and while we were there, we stopped by this place called Butterfly World. I was so pleasantly thrilled by what we found: A small series of gardens featuring...
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Ask For Advice. Be Willing to Listen to the Answers — Good or Bad.
Every year, I spend a few days with friends who also have their own solo businesses. The offsite, as I’ve come to know it, started with just one friend. It’s grown to a group of four — each of us with...
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Keep Making It Better.
A few years ago, I was working on a project with the team at Poynter. They had a landing page for their newsletters, but it wasn’t very good. There weren’t any details about any of their newsletters —...
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Shift, Pivot, or Sunset?
We sometimes need to make a change with the work we do. The question is: How big a change do you need to make? Sometimes, you just need to make a shift. The change is small — you’re refocusing on...
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You Can Handle It.
My son sometimes does this funny thing at night. He’ll be peacefully asleep when, suddenly, something jolts him awake. The pacifier’s long since fallen out, but he can’t find it to soothe himself back...
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Just Ask The Question.
Before my son was born, I wondered how long it would take before I asked a truly stupid question. Other friends had told me their stories about asking that first dumb question. One friend confessed...
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Thanks for Everything, New York.
I moved to New York at 24. My move-in day was the day of SantaCon. I was young enough to find it kind of charming. (It was not, it is not.) My first apartment had ceilings so low that I couldn’t lift...
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Make Time to Review.
Jon Stewart did this great interview the other day with Matthew Belloni on “The Town” podcast, and this part really stuck with me: Jon Stewart: Post-mortem is the gift to the gods in terms of...
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So What Are You Doing Here?
We moved this month from New York City to Park City, Utah. It’s gorgeous here — I’m writing this as the sun sets, and I’m watching it set from my living room window. On a daily basis, I see people...
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That’s Probably Normal.
On a call today, a client asked me an interesting question. “A few people unsubscribe every time we send an email,” they said. “Is that normal, or is that something that happens just to us?” The good...
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Let Yourself Admire.
My son is obsessed with ceiling fans. Anytime he sees a ceiling fan, and our new home has a few of them, he pauses to admire it. I keep thinking that he’ll grow tired of them — It’s just a ceiling...
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Look Up.
I bought this piece of art today at the Farmer’s Market downtown. It’s a big piece of wood, probably about five feet long, and on it is a carving of the mountains here in Utah. This week, I’ll hang it...
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What Are You Going to Do About That Mistake?
I screwed something up today. My son had an important doctor’s appointment today in Salt Lake City. It was an appointment with a specialist who’s tough to get time with. We booked the appointment a...
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Spinning in Circles.
My son has this funny habit. We’ll take him upstairs to the hallway in front of his room. There will be a few doors open: One to his room, one to the guest bathroom, and one to the guest bedroom. Ben...
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Keep Coming Back to Your Lists.
I have all sorts of to-do lists. I’ve got a list of ideas — “somedays,” I call them — that I want to try. I’ve got notes written down on yellow legal pads and in various Google Docs. I know I won’t...
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We All Have to Make Choices.
My son is a year old, and lately, I’ve been turning down a ton of work opportunities — stuff I would’ve jumped at just two years ago — because I don’t want to miss a moment with him. There are all...
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