Anyone can document and share their knowledge. You don’t have to be an expert to help someone else. Learn, show, grow.
Two Key Take Away
- You just have to start. Everyone has to start somewhere.
- Share your work, connect with the world, keep learning.
Book Notes
Chapter 1 – You don’t have to be a genius
Main Point – Its not where you start. No one is special. Just get started and improve.
Summary – Find a Scenius – The myth of lone genius that has inspiration strike is not accurate. Most great ideas/art is created by a group of people through collaboration of thoughts and ideas. Be an Amateur – The goal is to improve. Be a life long learner. The amateur might see things the expert can’t. You can’t find your voice if you don’t use it – If you want people to know about and what you love, you have to share it. Read obituaries – life ends, do something with yours
Key Quotes – In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, then the expert’s mind, there are few – Shunryu Suzuki PG 15
On the spectrum of creative work, the difference between the mediocre and the good is vast. Mediocrity is, however, still on the spectrum; you can move from mediocre to good in increments. The real gap is between doing nothing and doing something – Clay Shirky PG 16
Chapter 2 – Think process, not product
Main Point – Share the process.
Summary – Take people behind the scenes – In the pre-digital age, the process was hidden and only the product matters. Now, how things are done is a great way to connect with your audience, just as much as what is done. Seeing the person behind the product. Become a documentarian of what you do – Share the process, make the invisible visible.
Chapter 3 – Share something small everyday
Main Point – Small things, everyday, add up over time.
Summary – Send out a daily dispatch – Document one thing every day. At the start it can be influences and inspiration. In the middle it can be methods or sharing the work in progress. At the end, share the project, scraps from the cutting room floor, or what you learned. The “so what” test – Don’t post everything, post things you think will be helpful/useful/interesting or that you want feedback on. Turn your flow into stock – Flow are the content in the stream, stock is the value created when seen as a piece of work. Build a good (domain) name – Create and own your domain name and curate that. It can’t be taken away from you.
Chapter 4 – Open your cabinet of curiosities
Main Point – Share your inspirations correctly.
Summary – Don’t be a hoarder – Share what inspires you, that you find interesting. No guilty pleasures – Be open and honest about what you like. Find the treasure in others trash. The most simple object, seen in it’s true light can be miraculous. Credit is always due – If you share others work, credit them, set up a link to their site.
Chapter 5 – Tell good stories
Main Point – Humans connect through story.
Summary – Work doesn’t speak for itself – How much someone likes something, or how valuable it is is deeply affected by what you tell them about it. Audiences are human and humans want to connect. Structure is Everything – Everybody loves a good story. Take people on a journey. Beginning, middle, end. Win, lose, or draw, something happens. Talk about yourself at parties – Be honest with who you are when someone asks. Avoid adjectives. Be clear and precise.
Chapter 6 – Teach what you know
Main Point – Share what you learn. Make people better at something they want to be better at.
Summary – Share your trade secrets – Just because you know the masters technique doesn’t mean going to be able to emulate it right away.
Chapter 7 – Don’t turn into human spam
Main Point – We connect with people that like the things we like and care about the things we care about.
Summary – Shut up and listen – You have to be a fan too. Don’t just give out stuff. Go to things, engage with people about their things. You want hearts, not eyeballs – Be worth following, be interested in things. Share that interest. Be good at things, share those things. The vampire test – If someone is stealing your energy, stop hanging out with them. Identify your fellow knuckleballers – Find the people that share your obsession. Share with them, connect with them, grow with them. Meet up in Meatspace – Meet people in real life. Connect with people on a human level. Turn them into real life friends.
Chapter 8 – Learn to take a punch
Main Point – Only care about what the RIGHT people think of you.
Summary – Let ’em take their best shot – Breathe, no bad review has every killed anyone. Strengthen your neck, the more stuff you put out the more criticism you will face, the better you will be at dealing with it. Roll with the punches – Double down on the criticism, make something they would hate even more. Protect your vulnerable areas – if you work is too raw, don’t share it. Keep your balance – your work is what you do, not who you are. Don’t feed the trolls – The worst trolls are the one that lives in your head. Turn off comments if you have to.
Key Quotes – Compulsive avoidance of embarrassment is a form suicide – Colin Marshall (pg 152)
Chapter 9 – Sell Out
Main Point – Take advantage of your success. Acknowledge that there is a bit of luck there. Grow your email list and give back when you can.
Summary – Even the renaissance had to be funded -Making money is fine. It’s sort of the point. Pass around the hat – You will need to charge for your work, or as for donations to fund it. Build up a following and ask for donations. When you are ready, put a price on it that you think is fair. Keep and Email list – Build an email list. Be clear about what you are offering, daily, weekly etc. Treat them with respect. Make more work for yourself – Keep trying new things, learning and growing. Make things you want to make rather than for a paycheck. Pay it forward – Shout out everyone you can, but make sure its not at the expense if doing work. Don’t become a professional email replier.
Key Quotes – You just have to be as generous as you can, but selfish enough to get your work done – pg 177
Chapter 10 – Stick Around
Main Point – Keep working, keep learning.
Summary – Don’t quit your show – You gotta stick it through. You don’t know when success is going to happen. Chain-Smoke – Keep working. If you get stuck in one project, work on another. Work. Go away so you can come back – Take breaks, mentally, you can’t always be on. Start Over, Begin Again – Always be learning. Once you master something, its time to become a student again.
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Luke McMeeken-Ruscoe 