I write every day because it’s really fun. (That’s my competitive advantage!) Here are three moments that stuck out to me this week: While I was writing this post, there was a moment when I felt as if my brain was struck by a bolt of lightning, “There was something I read about this! It’s […]| Herbert Lui
If you want to fall asleep, the worst way to do it is to try to force yourself to sleep. Instead, conventional advice is to count sheep. I like to imagine a mashup of my favorite TV shows. The idea is to think about something else, and sleep naturally follows. You don’t pursue sleep directly, […] The post Stop chasing positive outcomes, allow them to find you with an indirect approach appeared first on Herbert Lui.| Herbert Lui
Good friends, communities, and families do more than just support each other. They enjoy being around each other and getting to know each other more. Everyone knows they don’t have to be there. That’s what makes it more special. When someone is “bringing the energy,” they are deciding not just to support a project, they […]| Herbert Lui
If an author works with a traditional publisher, they’re using the publisher’s supply chain. They need their book proposal accepted by the publisher. The author needs to apply the publisher’s feedback, even if they don’t agree with it. The publisher will schedule the book’s launch, and the author will follow. The publisher will, hopefully, put […]| Herbert Lui
Being happy is a skill. When you’re making a difficult decision, you can ask yourself this: In 1,000 parallel universes, which decision makes you happier in 999 of them? If the decision makes you only happier on the condition it turns out your way, then you need to consider what’s in your control, and the […]| Herbert Lui
A sense of immediacy means doing something today, now. Not tomorrow, the day after, or someday. Not putting it on a to-do list or into a task management system. Not until you feel ready or confident. Today, now. Backlogs don’t exist. You can delete them. Clear your mind as well. Spontaneity is a driving force. […]| Herbert Lui
A recording artist had started writing a book about creative work. Not long after, he read The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. “Every page made me feel better about my own artistic pursuits,” the artist writes. Then, doubt came over him. Rick’s book was so good that the artist wondered if he needed to write […]| Herbert Lui
In university, I attended a business school. It was good, with a decent reputation, nothing fancy enough to name drop. I picked it because I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do after studying, and the skills seemed flexible enough to apply to all sorts of jobs. Worst case, maybe I would be able […]| Herbert Lui
If you tune into any type of media—traditional, social—you will receive the message that success will fix everything. Except it doesn’t work. Success promises to make you happy, but it can’t. You don’t need to look very far to see a successful person do something a happy person would not. The next time you crave […]| Herbert Lui
“Once you start making things, once you take that leap, you have the same status as any other artist,” Questlove writes in Creative Quest. “I’m not saying that you’re as good. I’m not saying that you’re as important. But all of a sudden it’s a difference of degree rather than a difference of kind.” If […]| Herbert Lui
If there was a recipe for making sure I don’t sleep well, a high dose of caffeine would be a key ingredient. The first hour is great—then stress, anxiety, and rumination surge, continuing through the night. The advantage is, I won’t stop working. The disadvantage is, I can’t stop or rest, even if I wanted […]| Herbert Lui
One of my friends is an entrepreneur with a wide ranging portfolio that spans real estate, franchises, ecommerce stores, and software. Some of these businesses have seen dramatic growth. Whenever we chat, he’ll describe a new business—often two or three—that he’s directly working on. I pay attention because I always learn something new. Sometimes, I […]| Herbert Lui
What’s the most important thing an executive coach can do to succeed? Choosing the right clients. More specifically, choosing to only work with leaders who demonstrate a high potential of success before the engagement. In order to do this, the coach needs to qualify potential clients very intentionally. They decline to work with anyone who […]| Herbert Lui
Raymond Carver, a writing professor and author of short stories, had friends who published their work and apologized for it not being very good. “It would have been better if I’d taken the time,” they would say. Raymond responded: I wanted to say to my friend, for heaven’s sake go do something else. There have […]| Herbert Lui
In the late 1980s, an ad agency created a marketing campaign for Nike. The commercial featured an 80-year-old man running every morning, who says, “People ask me how I keep my teeth from chattering all the time. I leave them in my locker.” Then, a slogan flashed on the screen, “Just do it.” This phrase […]| Herbert Lui
A young man discusses his latest challenge with a philosopher. Whenever he sees another young person’s story of success in a newspaper, he feels a strong sense of envy and frustration. He feels inferior, like he’s less than the other person. He’s reminded of his social standing, his modest education, and even the pimples on […]| Herbert Lui
Beliefs guide the arcs of our lives, usually through stories. These can appear as simple phrases or statements. For example, “Life is a competition.” In this story, the belief might be that there is such an objective thing as winning or losing at life—otherwise it wouldn’t be a competition. Winning is good, and losing is […]| Herbert Lui
One of the best ways to eat less junk food is to make sure you don’t have any in the house. It generally works because you make eating junk food less convenient. If you really want it, you have to work for it. There’s an extension of the original rule: buy less of it, so […]| Herbert Lui
Every day, you have the opportunity to make choices. More often than not, these choices will sound something like: Do I choose the painful, gratifying path, or do I choose the easy, comfortable path? You want to make a change in your life, and you’re too tired after work. Will you wake up 15 minutes […]| Herbert Lui
Starting in the 1990s, Europe and the U.S. outsourced manufacturing to China for a variety of reasons (mostly because it was cheaper). MIT economist David Autor coined the term “China Shock” to describe this trend, which took place suddenly over seven years. While stuff got cheaper, and American companies’ margins got bigger, this disruption also […]| Herbert Lui
Hamza and I recently joined Emil Drud’s podcast Creative Odyssey as guests. It was our first appearance as New Material. I was describing how I thought about blogging, which I described as the trunk of my practice. Emil responded with a good question: what are the roots? Hamza, Emil, and I discussed it for a […]| Herbert Lui
In my 20s, I watched a lot of interviews with artists so I could understand how they found success. I believed I could reverse engineer these paths, and I appreciated this genre of media so much I started making my own by interviewing recording artists and authors. While I learned more than my fair share, […]| Herbert Lui
What makes a person entrepreneurial? Professor Saras D. Sarasvathy believes the distinguishing factor is in the reasoning process. She identifies two types of reasoning: When you think with causal reasoning, you focus on what you want to do—the desired end goal, or the destination—and then work backwards from that. Business leaders, managers, and strategists tend […]| Herbert Lui