Ben Cuan

Don’t ask yourself where your true gifts lie. Ask what other people seem weirdly bad at.

That thing that compels you all to obsess over the details others overlook, and do it with gusto — that’s heartfelt intensity.

And here’s what I learned from all that: The ones who succeed are often simply the ones who try harder than everybody else. They wake up in the wee hours to write before their first meeting of the day; they turn down social invitations to practice their craft. They kill their darlings; they do the reading; none of this sounds easy because it’s not.

We discussed that what we deem as our “legacy” can, in fact, be hyper-local and intimate. Maybe no one will ever know the details of what you’ve said and done to others, but its subtle or not so subtle effects on another person’s life is rewarding in itself. I sometimes feel that way about writing: it’s less of a mirror or loudspeaker, and more so... See more

I find explaining any actually interesting idea usually requires explaining like 5 subsidiary ideas. If you’re lucky. If you’re unlucky it’s like 25 and either they’re ready for a three hour lecture or you’re not going to succeed.