PinnedMember-onlyWhy It’s No Longer Ethical to Be “Just a Blogger”Better to be credible in front of a small audience than to be negligent in front of millions. — A few weeks ago, the New York Times released an article entitled Vaccines Need Effective Messengers. Here’s journalist Shira Ovide: “Getting the science right is only one element of having coronavirus vaccines be successful. People must also trust them, and that requires an effective communications mobilization.”Marketing4 min readMarketing4 min read
May 25, 2021Member-onlyI Want to Live In WriterlandEmbracing silence in a world of noise — Lately, I’ve been listening to the High School Musical soundtrack a lot. Some bro on Instagram said it would make me live longer. You’re thinking “oh yeah. That song ‘We’re All In This Together,’ right?” No. The deep tracks. Scream. Can I Have this Dance. Humuhumunukunukuapua’a. I listened to HSM…Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
May 18, 2021Member-only5 Books About Writing That Made Me a Better WriterReferences for everything from note-taking to the history of publishing — It’s odd work, making stuff for a living. Yancey Strickler, one of my favorite writers and thinkers, put it best: “Broadly, I am on the right path. I am doing intellectual work. I spend much of my time thinking and dreaming. Day to day, I’m all over the place.” That’s…Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
May 13, 2021Member-onlyWhy Creative People Constantly Feel Pulled in 2 Different DirectionsBehind the mysterious forces that tug at all artists — I’m on a quest to discover why some people get famous and others get forgotten. Often, this work results in a furrowed brow that will probably become a deep wrinkle. …Creativity5 min readCreativity5 min read
May 10, 2021Member-onlyThe Danger of Chasing FameWhat “celebritization” is doing to everyone with a smart phone. — When you watch an actor on screen, you see at least 3 people. The character being played The public persona they wear “off-screen” The person they really are That’s the sort of bizarre reality worth keeping in mind while watching something like the Academy Awards. Most of these people aren’t…Fame3 min readFame3 min read
Published in The Writing Cooperative·Apr 28, 2021Member-onlyWrite Faster and Make an Impact with These 4 Rhetorical Figures of SpeechWhy do we hate writing tools? — Several years ago, I helped my father-in-law move a couch. (This is something you should never do unless you are serious about staying with his child forever. The twists and turns of marriage don’t compare with the terror of moving furniture.) The chair was a black, wobbly leather thing. We…Writing14 min readWriting14 min read
Apr 22, 2021Member-onlyPeople Are PowerHow a single, random phone call changed my life forever — 6 years ago, I agreed to take a phone call from a stranger. I had no idea what to expect. An interview? A business pitch? An article idea? Was this guy normal? I paced around my queen-sized mattress, trodding across the hopefully-clean hotel carpet. Big drifts of snow were plopped…Work2 min readWork2 min read
Apr 20, 2021Member-onlyStop Worshipping HustleWhen the world floods you with the wrong advice, what do you do? — Generally speaking, the message we are told in order to find success is not “make your work as frictionless as possible.” It’s “hustle your face off.” This story dominates our culture. It seeps into every nook and cranny, every blurb, every billboard. You can’t scroll YouTube without seeing an homage…Work3 min readWork3 min read
Apr 15, 2021Member-onlyWhy Formulas Don’t Fix Creative Work(Even though you still need them) — After refusing to touch the platform for 12 months, I’ve spent 10 days in a row on LinkedIn. It started as a challenge from my friend Tim Denning. We’re building a LinkedIn course together. I’m the on-screen student, asking questions, taking notes. He’s the expert. During lesson 5, I saw…Work3 min readWork3 min read
Apr 1, 2021Member-onlyHow Organizing Principles Guide Your LifeWhat movies, magicians, and a legendary writer taught me about finding a clear path to success — Movie season is like Christmas in the Brison household. Every year, we line up the best picture nominees, grab a pile of snacks, and sit down for waves of spine-tingling inspiration and gut-wrenching despair. The Sound of Metal took both of those emotions to a new level. The story of…Movies5 min readMovies5 min read
