Simplicity in the classroom
I’m back teaching for a few days this week and it’s so cool to be around year 5 and 6 kids here in Gisbourne.
I realised today one of my only responsibilities in the classroom is to show the kids that the world is safe and that they can do anything they want.
It’s that simple, I reckon.
If we can build these two beliefs in our kids then we’ve done our jobe at the most fundamental level.
If you believe it about them, then it’ll come through in every single thing you do and say to them.
What wouldn’t exist
Tonight was one of the latest video uploads I’ve done in a while. I didn’t start making it till 9pm. As the day and night wore on I got increasingly anxious about whether I would have time to make my daily film.
My brain would race between “oh no, this is it! I won’t have time to shoot and edit something AND get a good night’s rest!”
And
“No, this is great- come one, how can I do it in a way that’s quick easy and fun?”
I had to utilise all my positive framing training!
I did make something (yay) about a pillow that changes colour when your head hits it. It’s not going to win me an oscar, but it’s a sweet little concept that I’m glad I made.
I imagined a world in which I didn’t get to make it and I felt sad that the cute little blue pillow video didn’t exist. And then I realised all of my daily films could so easily had not existed had I not decided on this habit two hundred and thirty days ago.
Makes me think what are the creations out there floating, un-made every single day.
A sad thought.
But one that inspires me even more to get to work. Let’s not rob the world of anything.
Weights and what they teach us
I was at the gym today and on the last rep of a shoulder exercise- it was hard. That thing was happening where you go to push the weight and it starts to feel like it simply won’t move. I suddenly thought about the whole concept of difficulty and how all the best stuff is on the other side of it.
It’s rare being a person who can keep trying when learning gets hard. Or when you’re feeling confused and you want to give up. Or you feel like you’ve tried eveything.
Suddenly I saw this final rep as a micro version of this moment we face over and over in our mind.
It’s too hard, I’ll give up.
Instead I tried something different and pushed harder. I thought for sure I was at my capacity, but I was hell bent on seeing if that was true.
It wasn’t and I completed what I had previously thought was a set beyond me.
I love weight lifting because in 3 seconds it can so clearly illuminate something that could otherwise slip by unnoticed.
When you stop scheduling your daily habits
It’s actually a good thing.
It means you just do them and they’re part of your day to day.
You don’t schedule when you brush your teeth but you probably do it most days (I hope).
Don’t clog your calendar, just get on and do your habits because that’s what you do.
Production is a net positive
I believe there is no downside to making things and sharing them with the world. I think its the most generous thing you can do to say here I made this, I hope it makes your life better, or gives you a moment of joy or helps you achieve your dreams.
It’s our responsibility to get out of our own way enough; to make ourselves the best we can be and share that with the world.
Its generous to be unselfconcius.
It’s generous to give without needing anything back.
It’s generous to try your best.
It’s generous to put the work in.
It’s generous to overcome resistance.
Plus-
And there’s a big plus
Think of the person who you become after that much generosity. Think of the skills you’ve honed. Think of the ground you’ve covered and the artifacts you have to show for the journey.
It’s win frickin win.
Production is a net positive.
Ai and the new democracy
I was just talking to my friend about ai and he had this really amazing opinion about where ai will take us.
If ai democratises output and value creation then we will all spend much more attention in the present moment than on seeking and aspiring to future goals.
I like this idea a lot and I’m thinking a lot about it quite a bit.
Is this a version of hiding?
We’re great at hiding from the work. Sometimes it’s obvious like being on YouTube for too long.
Sometimes it disguises itself as something that is more helpful.
Here’s some ways I recently hid.
Brainstorming the next ten articles and the perfect way they will culminate to a congruent career through-line (I was hiding from actually writing the first one)
Learning how to position a hair light perfectly to make me ‘pop’ off of the green screen in post production more easily.
Chatting with AI about how to provide value for prospects instead of just making something for them and seeing how that goes.
The sneakiest hiding is when you can reason with yourself as to why it’s actually helping you. The clue is if it is ultra specific and frilly when you still need to do the ‘meat and potatoes’ work, then it’s probably hiding.
Be tough on yourself and don’t hide from your work.
Value first as a life strategy
There is a concept in business called ‘value first’. It’s exactly what it sounds like, before any business transaction between and buyer and a business, it’s the businesses job to provide value in advance.
If you’ve ever taken a free trial, you’ve experienced value first.
I really like it in business because it’s a no strings chance for all parties to do the thing they all want to do; provide the value and consume it- it’s win win.
It also forces the business to show up as their best; there’s no use giving a free sample that kind of sucks.
This reminds me as well of Steve Martin’s advice to aspiring performers: “Be so good they can’t ignore you”.
He’s talking about value first here. Too often we want to ‘save the goodies’ for paying customers and we lament that ‘if they just gave us a chance, they’d know what I can do!’
Trust me, I’ve had these thoughts as an actor.
I increasingly believe that it’s everyone’s job to do their best, relentlessly and share it for free. And be so damn good they can’t ignore you.
Want to be paid for the thing that you do? Show everyone how great you are at it now. Not so good yet? That’s okay, just keep practicing,
Give value first.
Is this a 9.30 pm problem?
Today was a big day of completing a massive bundle of video lessons, pdfs, images and web pages for my clients- I was excited and sure that I’d be able to have it all packaged up and ready to send out tomorrow morning.
As I came down the home stretch- exporting the last videos – I noticed a problem; some of the source videos had been filmed in higher frame rates than others. Basically, some were exporting in slow motion and others had whacked out colour profiles once exported.
I found myself in a google rabbit hole of fixing frame rates in premiere pro. I’m tired, it’s slow and I consider pushing through for a few more hours to get it done tonight as planned.
Then I look at the time and I look at the complex collection of browser tabs and experimental video adjustments in my Premiere Pro window. This isn’t the time. Is this really a problem I want to be solving at 9.30 pm?
Or am I better to shift the delivery date back a day, get a good night’s sleep and make the fixes in the morning over strong coffee?
We both know the answer.
Goodnight.
Rare and valuable
Good things are made over a long period of time. They come from persistence and consistency.
Both of these are rare and valuable.
Both of these you have access to. It isn’t easy (it’s also not hard)
You just have to do it.