He doesn’t begin with the end, he begins at the beginning. But he begins. It’s hard to get blocked when you’re moving. Even if you’re not moving in the direction that you had in mind that morning.

The practice seeks to make change, but the process demands originality. The practice is consistent, but only in intention, not in execution.

The process demands that we live on the frontier. That we learn new skills, explore new audiences, and find new magic for our existing audiences. As soon as we’ve mastered an approach or technique we begin again, in search of a new and more powerful one.

the last three layers of polish might be perfectionism, not service to your audience. Failure is the foundation of our work.

Which people? Precisely which people? What do they believe? Who has hurt them, double-crossed them, disappointed them? Who inspires them, makes them jealous? Who do they love, and why? “Voters” is not specific. “The Lane family in rural West Virginia” is specific.

The trap is in the generic. In the cloudy persona, the undetermined person, the vague generality.

What do they believe? What do they want? Who do they trust? What’s their narrative? What will they tell their friends?

But you can choose who you’ll reach. If you change those people in a remarkable way, they’ll tell the others. And so begins “who’s it for?”

so we ignore all the others. We ignore the masses and the selfish critics and those in love with the status quo. First, find ten. Ten people who care enough about your work to enroll in the journey and then to bring others along.