Real humans are weird and contradictory. They have random obsessions that don't fit their "brand." They go through phases. They abandon hobbies and pick them back up years later.

They contain multitudes, and those multitudes don't need to have a coherent narrative thread.

Projects let you be gloriously non-linear. You don't have to turn every... See more

project-based lives

Charismatic and magnetic people are CONFUSING.

They’ve got edges. Beautiful, fascinating, craggy edges that give people something to hold onto. The kind of edges that snag people's attention like a ring catching on a sweater.

They start a podcast about medieval brewing techniques while learning to code so they can personally figure out how to replace... See more

So here's my proposal: Instead of setting goals that feel like homework assignments from a particularly uninspired life coach, start collecting projects like they're Pokemon cards. Let your interests cross-pollinate like they're at a honeybee rave.

Consider this your official permission slip to:

• Have multiple unrelated projects running simultaneously

... See more

Projects let you be gloriously non-linear. You don't have to turn every interest into a side hustle or your entire personality. You can just... have a woodworking project. And a Bollywood dance project. And a project to learn all the words to Nicki Minaj's verse in Monster. None of these things need to make sense together. They don't need to serve... See more

To be adored for your perfection is to live in a prison of your own making. To be admired for your illusiveness, for your mystery? That’s true freedom, showgirl.

Goals are projects that lost their soul to a productivity app. Projects are what happen when your creativity puts on its best outfit and choses violence.

Here's the thing about being completely knowable: once people figure you out, they stop paying attention.

To be adored for your perfection is to live in a prison of your own making.