Purposeful Curiosity

The road to long-term success is never a straight line. We can feel tempted to throw in the towel when faced with setbacks.

Ask yourself, “What part of your curiosity project has the potential to affect other people positively?” Once you have that answer square in your head, you can pin it above your desk or in your studio to remind yourself that you are trying to change the world and that your work has real purpose. Changing the world does not necessarily mean curing c

Open to Outside Interests Do they have side gigs or hobbies? The best collaborators are those whose inquisitiveness about life and the world around them doesn’t come as a sense of duty but is genuine. Good collaborators don’t wear blinders. Team members should have interests or hobbies and can draw connections between those activities and the work

To satisfy my own curiosity and push beyond what I know, I have started paying attention to the things that matter to my work. The pendulum has swung back from mindlessly scrolling the internet in my downtime to finding something interesting to focus on and embracing the road less traveled. My own experience makes it very clear: now is the time to

How can we exercise our observation skills? Go to a museum, visit a park, or attend a festival or talk. Force yourself to take a seat and observe what’s happening around you. You can draw your observation in a sketchbook or take notes on your phone or a paper notepad.

Be brave. Set yourself the challenge of having a conversation with one stranger every week (e.g., a dog owner, gym classmate, coffee barista).

A big thank-you to my agent, Ben Clark at the Soho Agency. He has been a great friend and indispensable in helping to develop the idea for this book, capably helping me to navigate the world of publishing, reading my work, and talking through my ideas. I can’t imagine a better agent.

Drucker highlighted how prioritizing helps him make progress during his investigations. “I write down action items that I need to complete, including people who I need to speak with, who can collaborate or confirm some part of a story; research I need to do, including anything related that has already been published; check for previous lawsuits rel

Then look for inspiration by asking the following questions: What if? Am I sure? What’s next? Have I looked closely enough? Have I looked everywhere?

Getting psyched about a curiosity project requires a sense of urgency. You need to tap into your sense of yearning to explore what you find meaningful, and you must remind yourself that this is a time-limited quest. You only live once, after all. When others say, “It cannot be done,” the curious respond, “If we start now, we might be able to do it.