Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 262

Real Leaders Eat Last

Simon Sinek is one smart individual.

To this day, you will hear many business leaders referring to his first book, Start With Why (which is, without a doubt one of the best business books that has come out in the past little while) or his now infamous TED Talk (which is clocking in at over 14 million views - that is not a typo). Sinek is passionate about leaders and what brings out the best in people. He most recently published his second book, Leaders Eat Last - Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't. While his written content is amazing, watching him present and tell stories is to watch a master at work. He weaves unique stories with unprecedented presentation skills. Here, at an event held by 99U (an incredible resource for those looking for creativity, inspiration and innovation), Sinek presents the concepts for his latest book... and it is truly a sight to behold and something for anyone who leads a team to watch, devour and think about.

Take 45 minutes over the weekend and please watch this...

Simon Sinek: Why Leaders Eat Last from 99U on Vimeo.

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Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #186

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:

When tech culture and urbanism collide - Ascent Stage . "This year's International Startup Festival 's theme is, The City and the Startup, and we've been looking for relevant content. This piece by John Tolva argues that tech companies are bad urbanists, and that the old myth of a company 'started in a garage' suggests a suburban bias, even as tech titans live in cities like San Francisco." (Alistair for Hugh).

40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World - A Sheep No More . "I'm a visual thinker, so I love maps. And here's a great resource: forty maps of the world that help you understand a variety of topics. Knowing where Google street view is available tells you a lot about the world's economies; seeing the only 22 countries that Britain didn't invade reminds us of how far the empire once reached; and so on." (Alistair for Mitch).

The Darkest Place on the Internet Isn't Just for Criminals - Wired . "Now that we know that everything we do on the internet is watched by government spies as well as the all-knowing eyes of Google and Amazon, it might be time to start taking privacy seriously." (Hugh for Alistair).

A Glimpse Into The Future of NPR, From It's First-Ever Creative Director - Fast Company . "I'm a bit of a 'radio' junkie, or anyway, an 'audio' junkie, since I do almost all my listening to podcasts these days (using the Stitcher app, mostly). It turns out that most of the 'podcasts' I love are public radio shows from around the world: BBC, Australia Radio National, and NPR. And most of the best stuff these days is coming from National Public Radio, NPR. In the early days of podcasting, NPR really jumped in with two feet. They have continued to build not just an impressive network of 'radio' shows, but a lot of stuff tailored to modern, web-connected podcasty listeners: shows like This American Life, RadioLab, On The Media, Bullseye, and 99% Invisible. What's in store for NPR in the next few years? Read about its new Creative Director, Liz Danzico, and what she's got in mind for our ears. (As a sad sidenote, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, once a source of much tasty audio, has declined to the point that it is hardly recognizable)." (Hugh for Mitch).

How to Build a Productive Tech Economy - The Atlantic . " The Atlantic has an amazing online property called, The Atlantic Cities , that focuses on urban centers and the evolving world and the cities that we live in. This article by Richard Florida (who is the author of The Rise Of The Creative Class , along with many others) looks at cities and their real abilities to turn themselves into a technology hub. We often head mayors and other leaders talk about the need for their cities ad states to become 'the next Silicon Valley.' Well, Florida has some data and thoughts on what is (and what is not) possible..." (Mitch for Alistair).

TED isn't a recipe for 'civilisational disaster' - The Guardian . "There is a very persuasive TEDx talk that is making the rounds titled, New perspectives - what's wrong with TED talks? , that is also an article in The Guardian titled, We Need To Talk About TED , by Benjamin Bratton . I can understand Bratton (and others) perspective, but I just don't agree with it. The fact is that I have been going to TED for many years and believe (without sounding all snooty about it), that it's hard to understand what the event is like until you attend it. I often tell people that the TED Talks (which is what everyone talks about online and watches) account for, probably, five percent of the whole TED experience. It's easy to sit back, watch an 18-minute talk and wonder what that is going to do to truly change the world or solve some of our very real problems, but I thought that TED's curator, Chris Anderson , did a great job of trying to explain to the masses what the conference is really about. For my dollar, no other event has inspired me more. From business success to community involvement and more, I learn so much at each event that I can't imagine having a successful year with TED not being a part of it." (Mitch for Hugh).

Now it's your turn: in the comment section below pick one thing that you saw this week that inspired you and share it.

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amazon

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cbc

chris anderson

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google

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urbanist

wired

year one labs

The Internet Will Break Your Creative Block

Writer's block? Creative block? Can't come up with something to create?

Steven Pressfield hates the words "writer's block." He believes that we're all just fighting the "resistance" to create something (writing, that new startup, a project, whatever). His books, The War of Art, Do The Work and others are all about "putting you ass where your heart is," as he calls it. Seth Godin feels that there is no such thing as writer's block, because we don't have thinker's block or talker's block, so if you write the way that you talk, there is no way to ever be unable to create. I believe that some days the creativity simply flows better than it does on other days. I can't tell you how many times I have done a similar presentation, and on one day everything seems to be flowing wonderfully, then the next day it feels like I have to dig a ditch to string together the most simplest of sentences. I also believe that it's hard not to create so long as you are inspired. The more you see, feel and hear, the more things there are to be inspired be. Be the infovore.

Inspiration is now everywhere.

Of course, that's nothing new (thank you, Internet), but it is something that is often forgotten or dismissed. We used to have to go to the museum to be inspired. Some might go to a concert, a movie, the library, have a deep conversation with a friend at the coffee shop or even hit the local stand-up comedy club. At best, we might be inspired by something we read in a newspaper at home, saw on TV, read in a book, or heard on the radio. If you are tinkering in the right spaces online, it's impossible to not be inspired. Always. Constantly.

Pushing beyond memes, Buzzfeed and Upworthy.

It's easy to get lost in listicles and the bulk of snackable content that the Web provides. Look no further than your Twitter or Facebook feeds for hours and hours of animated GIFs, useless YouTube videos and Reddit randomness. There's nothing wrong with it, but to then turn around and say that you have writer's block or that you're struggling to come up with an original idea, would lead me to believe that you're simply skimming along the Internet instead of digging deep into the treasure trove of amazing, free and powerful content that is everywhere. There have been days that I have looked up at the clock - in the later part of the evening - only to realize that no topic, piece of news or anything has brimmed to the top and had me begging for a keyboard to blog. It's at that point that I turn back to the Internet and start digging in random corners looking for inspiration.

It has never failed to inspire me.

Criticize the amount of content on the Internet. Balk at the true value and merits of it. Do as you will. I can't imagine going back in time to a day and age when I found myself waiting at the local newsstand/magazine store for a new issue of Fast Company magazine to show up in the pre-Internet days. Plus, you would be surprised at just how much of the most juvenile or uninformed content that you come across online can be completely inspiring to get you creating. How often have you read something and wanted to immediately Javex your eyeballs, because you could not believe how stupid a perspective was? Well, guess what? That's inspiration knocking on your noggin and begging for you to set the record straight by creating something with your own twist and perspective on it.

The Internet is the great liberator of creativity. 

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Don't believe me? Go pull up any piece of content (or, feel free to use this one) and write your own little article, post or journal entry about it. If you choose this one, ask yourself what you think about creative blocks, finding new ideas or how to be inspired? Now, share it! If it's not this piece of content, but something, just start with this question: what do you agree/disagree with what you just consumed?

See, it works! Let the ideas flow!

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youtube

Did Google Just Kill Email?

Don't know someone's email address? No need to fret, Google is here.

Confused? Don't be. Let's go back in time to a blog post titled, Is Google+ About To Make Facebook Frown?, from January 2012: "Google has the power (and ability) to make Google+ (and everything being shared within it) the underlying social platform within all of its many applications (Android, Gmail, Google Docs, Picasa, Google Maps, Google News, YouTube, etc...). And - make no mistake about it - both Facebook and Twitter are not fans of having their information indexed on Google." Google just announced that if you would like to email someone and you do not know their email address, you will be able to send them a message through Google+ (if they have an account) and, if they respond to that initial message, you will then have their email address. Along with this, Google recently enabled new functionality on YouTube whereby all of the comments are connected through Google+ (even though this move is upsetting some users).

Everything is social.

So many of the other 800 pound gorillas in social media are doing everything they can to keep a semblance of a walled garden (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc...). Even the ability to embed certain components of these social media channels across other sites still sends any interaction with that content back to the original source. Google+ - as I stated back in 2012 - isn't a real destination, but rather the social layer that will connect anything and everything Google and Android. This is just the beginning, and it could well spell the end of email as we have known it (something many individuals - like myself - might welcome). Imagine the ability to simply communicate in whatever format works? If I wanted to have a Google Hangout with you, shoot you an instant message, email, text, whatever. What if your Google + profile page literally became your unified communications dashboard for everything? Now, combine that thought with the opportunity to ensure that all communications are socially enabled and suddenly, the possibilities become endless. We could see distinct profiles for groups at work, family, friends, people you're interested in... oh, wait, that sounds a lot like Google Circles, doesn't it? One of the main attractions of Google+'s early adopters was the ability to create these circles of relationships.

Suddenly, the picture begins to get a little clearer.

Google can have these many disparate technology platforms (search, videos, word processing, mobile operating system, smartphones, driverless cars, etc...) with different audiences, but so long as Google+ remains the social layer beneath them all, odds are that individuals will - over time - all have some kind of Google+ profile and page. All Google needs to do is keep creating tools, software and utilities that people want to use, and allow them to enable it all through this unified profile that keeps getting smarter and more personal based on what an individual is creating, searching for and connecting to. Currently, you can use your Gmail account to log into your Android device, so it's a small step for Google to change it from your email account to your Google+ profile.

Don't let that creep you out.

Half-joking on that, but we need to face reality. If you have an Android device, use Gmail and search often for whatever, just think about what Google already knows about you. Couple that with a handful of social media-like connections that you make along the way, and suddenly a very robust and powerful picture of who - exactly - you are comes to fruition. Google has also been very aggressive in the enterprise space, so imagine the data and information that is being gathered in that realm as well. How many businesses do you know that would turn away from the opportunity to have the business tools and communications platforms all combined in a fast, cheap and effective manner? Google moves all of the software to the cloud and suddenly small, medium and large businesses are outsourcing more and more of the basic IT solutions to Google to reduce costs, or whatever.

The end of email?

If Google is able to provide a significant value offer in terms of turning your current Google+ profile page into a dashboard for your communications and connectivity, this is a very likely outcome. Most people grapple with their inboxes, so a few tweaks on how we exchange messages, a better way to organize and see who you are connecting with, the ability to easily add others into a conversation thread and some more functionality that has been the limitation of email to date, and this one little tweak gets more and more people simply sending messages through Google+ instead of email.

That may sound radical right now, but it's a logical next step for email's evolution.

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If You're Going To Speak In Public, Please Don't Do This...

Everyone is talking about the Michael Bay meltdown that happened at CES.

I hate the whole "kicking someone when they are down mentality," but this is worth watching if you ever have to present or speak in public...

Ugh... it's tough to watch, isn't it?

Because I am often asked to speak in public and I have a personal passion for the art of public speaking, my email, social feeds and phone have (literally) been a-buzz all day about this incident. I can't imagine how Bay currently feels (if you're interested, he has posted a response on his personal blog and did a brief interview with TMZ). The human side of this is brutal. I would hate for this to happen to anyone. I'm sure he's not feeling all that great about the situation. And, to make it even worse, I feel like even commenting on this incident simply creates more attention to it (which, I am sure, Bay does not really want). That being said...

This incident has nothing to do with public speaking, a fear of public speaking or anything like that!

It's true. Michael Bay was not doing any form of public speaking. He was going to read on stage, live in front of an audience (something that he has never read or rehearsed before). That's not speaking. That's reading. He was going to attempt Public Reading not Public Speaking (these are not the same thing). I write a lot about this particular issue/fear right here: Overcoming Stage Fright. Bay is not a professional speaker. Bay never claimed to be a professional speaker. Still, Samsung paid him and he agreed to this event. The teleprompter either broke or he said the wrong line and this threw off the script and flow. The truth is that none of that matters because Bay broke the cardinal rule of presenting in public long before the wheels of his plane touched the ground in Las Vegas: he did not prepare. Not even for a second. You can tell by watching the video. Regardless of the teleprompter, it's clear that Bay had two speaking points: what is his work day in and day out, and what does he think of the new curved glass TV? He got so flustered that he couldn't even respond to those two questions, so he bolted from the stage. Five minutes of preparation would have changed all of that. Yes, five minutes.

It goes like this...

Here's how the five minute preparation should have gone in terms of giving Bay some direction: "We're going to use a teleprompter and it has our whole script on it. Let's meet 30 minutes before we go live and run through it a couple of times to get a feel for the stage and the interaction between everyone on stage. Technology might fail us, so if it does, let's just be sure that you're comfortable speaking to two key points: what your job is every day and how you work, and what you think about the new Samsung TV. If things really start going bad, be comfortable acknowledging it by letting the audience know that you're a director, that you're nervous but you're also really excited about this new TV and everything it can do." Obviously, nobody wants to be at the point where we're apologizing and letting the audience know that we're nervous, but that is the parachute for moments like this. In that quick five minute conversation, Bay would have had a mental framework, and would have been able to take ownership of the content instead of being paralyzed because he didn't know or prepare any of the content (regardless of the teleprompter).

...And here we are.

Bay is right. In his TMZ interview he said that he had a "human moment." We all have them. Good, bad and ugly. So, what turned out to be a bad day for Bay and an embarrassing moment deserves some empathy, but it's not something that could happen to any of us. It's something that happens when you don't know the content and don't do any preparation. So yes, it's a human moment, but it is a completely preventable one. I write this because it's moments like this that people will point to as a reason/excuse for them to not present ("I don't want to pull a Michael Bay up there, so I better not speak!"). You don't have to be a master presenter. You don't have to be a pro. You do have to have a semblance of knowledge as to what you're going to speak about, and you do have to prepare for it (more on that right here: How To Give A Great Presentation (Seriously). I feel terrible for Bay. I watched that YouTube clip once and could not watch it again. It is very uncomfortable for everyone. What's most important is that it doesn't act as a deterrent for you (or anyone you know) to speak. If you do know your content and you have prepared, and you do freeze up (which can happen), please don't run off. Just stop. Let the audience know that you're human and that you are nervous. Apologize. Nobody will die and no one will hate you. At the same time, also let them know that you have prepared. Then, ask yourself this one question (in your mind): "what did I want to tell these good looking people?" And answer it to the audience.

You will be fine.

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Consumer Electronics Show Is This Week: Wearable Technology Is Ready For Its Closeup

Every morning at 7:10 am, I am a guest contributor on CHOM 97.7 FM radio broadcasting out of Montreal (home base). It's not a long segment - about 5 to 10 minutes every week - about everything that is happening in the world of technology and digital media. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly to SoundCloud, if you're interested in hearing more of me blathering away. I'm really excited about this opportunity, because this is the radio station that I grew up on listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry and Heather B. morning show. Sadly, this week, Terry was out with the flu, but Rob Kemp was there! The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.

This week we discussed:

Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

Wearable technology.

Was Google Glass a failure?

The consumer's desire for everything cheaper and faster.

Google is buying a lot of robots.

Can we imagine life without Google.

Is anyone spying on you via your computer's webcam? Try reading this: Yes, Someone Can Spy On You Using Your Own MacBook Webcam.

App of the week is: BandsInTown.

Listen here...

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When You Do Bad Marketing, Kittens Die!

Episode #391 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

Before you go calling your local chapter for animal protection, please know this: I love all people and all animals. Especially cute, little kittens. So don't blame me that Scott Stratten titled his latest book, QR Codes Kill Kittens - How to Alienate Customers, Dishearten Employees, and Drive Your Business into the Ground. If you were to ask Scott what he does for a living, he might have some kind of funny title like, Chief Consumer Protection Officer, but in reality he has changed from being a marketing critic to a consumer advocate. His other books, UnMarketing and The Book of Business Awesome / The Book of Business UnAwesome were both business bestsellers and QR Codes Kill Kittens is on the same track. What you will quickly learn about Scott is that he cares... deeply... about consumers getting everything they paid for and businesses that can deliver on their promises. He wants businesses to be better. And, that's always a good thing. He's become a close friend and advocate for all things Six Pixels of Separation over the years. Along with being a bestselling author and in-demand speaker, he is also doing two very interesting podcast series. One, is called the UnPodcast and the other is called, The Vegas 30 (both shows features his co-host, Alison Kramer). I'm always excited when Scott agrees to be a part of my show, so... enjoy the conversation...

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast #391.

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alison kramer

blog

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scott stratten

social media

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the vegas 30

twitter

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Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #185

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:

Mapping The Wealth Of U.S. ZIP Codes Shows The Haves Hiding From The Have-Nots - Fast Company . "One of the things I've loved about 2013 has been the rise of visualizations that help convey data--congressional deadlock, the outbreak of conflict, spending habits, and more. The intersection of a connected populace and widely available tools to crunch large amounts of data makes this possible. Here's a Fast Company interactive infographic that shows the rich hiding from the poor, in what Harvard philosopher, Michael Sandel , calls the 'skyboxification' of American life." (Alistair for Hugh).

Nordic Soul Top 100 Albums of 2013 Mix - Sean Horton . "A couple of years ago, I helped run Seattle's Decibel electronic music conference. Decibel is the brainchild of Sean Horton , who is also an amazing DJ and the guy who programs music for a bunch of big retailers and brands. If you want to know what artists and sounds you'll be familiar with three years from now, look no further than his annual lineup." (Alistair for Mitch).

George Saunders's Advice to Graduates - The New York Times . "In short, be kinder. Wise words for all of us in 2014." (Hugh for Alistair).

Structure. Beyond The Picnic Table Crisis - The New Yorker . "This is one of those crazy, long pieces The New Yorker is famous for. In it, explores - in a long, digressive, but highly structured essay - how to write long, digressive, but highly structured essays. Even though you don't know at all where it is headed, you want to stick with it, with the writer on his journey of discovery and exposition. And that is the best kind of writing, for my money, the kind that doesn't tell you where it is going, but when you get there, it all makes sense (and you're glad you stayed till the end)." (Hugh for Mitch).

NSA seeks to build quantum computer that could crack most types of encryption - The Washington Post . "Well, here's a thought: if you want to beat the encryption and privacy game, why not just build and SUPER super computer. One that uses quantum computing. One that is so powerful that it simply glides through all of that private stuff that all of us think is protected by passwords and security. Plus, if let's say you were a government agency that had the resources and capabilities to build that type of system and then have access to everything, who would know? Creeped out? You should be." (Mitch for Alistair).

In Speed Metal, Fastest Drummers Take a Beating - Wall Street Journal . "The technology makes it hard to tell the difference between a human doing a double bass drum blast beat or a drum machine. So, bands that are trying to push the limits of heavy metal (in terms of aggression and speed) are turning to technology when the feet fails. If there's one thing I can tell you about heavy metal (and trust me, I have tons of experience on this topic): the faster it is, the better it is. The problem with that equation is that fans of the genre want it faster, but they also want it to be real. So now, the great debate begins. What wins? Feet or algorithms? And, for the record, Mike Mangini (currently in Dream Theater) is one worthy of checking out -video below)." (Mitch for Hugh).

Now it's your turn: in the comment section below pick one thing that you saw this week that inspired you and share it.

Transitions with John Digweed - 19th December 2013 by John Digweed on Mixcloud

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alistair croll

bitcurrent

book a futurists manifesto

complete web monitoring

decibel musical festival

dream theater

fast company

george saunders

gigaom

harvard

heavy metal

hugh mcguire

human 20

iambik

john mcphee

librivox

link bait

link exchange

link sharing

managing bandwidth

media hacks

michael sandel

mike mangini

nsa

pressbooks

quantum computing

sean horton

social media

solve for interesting

speed metal

the new york times

the new yorker

the washington post

wall street journal

year one labs

What's Your Mother Worth?

Before getting all harsh on me for this blog post title...

This is a fascinating Talks At Google from Joshua Klein. Klein is a hacker. Now, if the term "hacker" scares you, consider him a technologist who is fascinated with systems thinking. Some people may recognize him as the guy who trained crows to fetch lost change (no joke). He starts off this presentation by asking, "what's your mother worth?" and it just keeps getting more fascinating after that. This is all about reputation economics. In a world of Klout, social media and even digital currency, this one is a must see. What are you worth? What's your reputation worth?

Watch this...

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digital currency

google

hacker

joshua klein

kout

presentation

reputation economics

social media

talks at google

technologist systems thinking

The George Costanza Approach To Getting Things Done

Do the opposite.

Do you remember that Seinfeld episode when George Costanza decided to do everything the opposite of what he had done to date? Watch this:

Do the opposite.

I'm not telling you to do the opposite of everything you have done to date, but sometimes the best case scenario or the white paper or the certainty of an expert's opinion could lead you down the wrong path. Case in point: at this time of the year, it's almost impossible to not be inundated with content around how to have the best year ever. It could come in the form of productivity tips, New Year's Resolutions, self-help books, perspectives on diet and exercise and beyond. You see this content in the mass media, on blogs (like this one), in tweets, motivational pictures on Instagram, specific Pinterest boards and more. As an infovore, it has been the bulk of content that I have seen (and been consuming) for the past little while. It's hard not have some of this thinking seep into my own thinking around the type of year that I would like 2014 to be. One of the recurring themes that I have seen, heard and read is to ignore things like email, making phone calls and social media first thing in the day. Many great thinkers (and you can Google it), will tell you that the first thing that you should do once you get up and get your work day on, is to focus and spend and fixed and blocked time on the really important stuff. No email. No social media. No phone calls. Start your day by burying yourself in your work and block out everything else (even if you need technology like Freedom to do so!).

That one gave me pause.

I do the complete opposite. For me to have the energy to think about the big stuff (client strategies at Twist Image, pushing forward our business development plans at the agency or even writing a blog post), I need all of that little stuff off of my radar. Watching the inbox grow or even simple birthday wishes to friends on Facebook stack up over the course of the day, doesn't help me focus on the big stuff. In fact, it has the opposite effect. Again, this is a personal thing (and, it could well be just me who feels this way), but knowing that my inbox has been sanitized and that I've done a quick review on social media tends to make me feel like I'm a little bit more informed as to what's happening in the world, and that my communication for the day is (somewhat) complete. I'm no night owl, either. It's not like I spend my whole day on email and social media praying for a few scant moments towards the end of the day to work on the bigger things, but I do prefer the feeling like I am (somewhat) up-to-speed and not falling behind on those little things. Also, those little things tend to inspire new thinking or spark and idea. They always do.

These experts.

These same experts also tell you to stay concentrated and not to shift from one window to another. So, if you are doing work, don't hop over to Facebook or YouTube (even for a second). There is research that states it can take close to 25 minutes to get back into the groove of what you were doing, so it is a pure loss of efficiency (that most people don't even realize). This may be true, but I find that those mental breaks often help me in finding the right words or different ways of thinking to add more color and perspective. I often need a lot of little breaks because I tend to work best in shorter spurts. As Seth Godin would say, "your mileage may vary." 

Don't play music. Play music.

People love to know how other people work. We tend to believe that how they work has some kind of correlation to the actual output. I'm not sure where I sit on that fence. There are days when music helps me write and there are days when anything but silence can throw off my concentration. There are days when I am fully concentrated and engaged, but the output of my ideas don't seem to find the right flow... and then there's the opposite as well. Again, this is less about process, superstition and other tactics. The thing is to find your own flow and be open to having that same flow find a new river, valley and waterfall to roll into (and that can happen daily). Currently, I am writing this blog post on a makeshift standing desk (that I made using a computer lap desk) with music is blasting along with it. I'm not sure how long I'll last at a standing desk or be able to find the right words with this modern jazz blazing in the background. Today, it works. Tomorrow, it might not. What I do know is that sometimes doing the opposite of what every expert is telling you to do can create something magical (I guess, I'm also telling you to not believe everyone and everything you read and see... including me).

True innovation and creativity is about finding your own path and not trying to replicate what someone else has done (even if you define them as successful), simply because a process works for them.

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