on doing work that matters
by Elena · updated 21d ago
on doing work that matters
- If everyone is busy making everything,
how can anyone perfect anything?
We start to confuse convenience with joy.
Abundance with choice.
Designing something requires focus.
The first thing we ask is:
What do we want people to feel?
Delight.
Surprise.
Love.
Connection.
Then we begin to craft around our intention.
It takes time.
There are a thousand no’s for ever... See morefrom Apple, “Intention” | Insights and Inspiration from 50+ Great Examples
Elena added 21d ago
- Why do furniture designers keep designing new chairs? We know it's not to solve the problem of "sitting." The chair is simply the medium. The true goal is something bigger: to inspire, to broaden our understanding of what's possible, or express something unique about what it means to be alive today.
from No more boring apps
Elena added 3mo ago
- In times like these, we are all in the process of transformation, and so is the world around us. The Great Work, the magnum opus, is the work we are all engaged in, whether we know it or not. The Great Work is the reassembling of the tiny shards of light into which the universe was shattered at the Creation. Every story we tell, every poem we write... See more
from The Great Work: Alchemy and the Power of Words – Paul Kingsnorth by Paul Kingsnorth
Elena added 3mo ago
what we're looking for is to find work where our work is unmistakably us, where our work is something we can point to and say, "Given who I am and what I see, I made this. I made this for you. Can you please help me make it better?" And when we can do that, our days are totally different than when we're basically sure that an AI is going
... See morefrom Seth Godin — The Pursuit of Meaning, Choosing Your Attitude, Overcoming Rejection, and More by Tim Ferriss
Elena added 4mo ago
- Building isn’t easy, or we’d already be doing all this. We need to demand more of our political leaders, of our CEOs, our entrepreneurs, our investors. We need to demand more of our culture, of our society. And we need to demand more from one another. We’re all necessary, and we can all contribute, to building.
Every step of the way, to everyone aro... See morefrom It’s Time to Build | Andreessen Horowitz by Marc Andreessen
Elena added 4mo ago
when you build a thing you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, but must also repair the world around it, and within it, so that the larger world at that one place becomes more coherent, and more whole; and the thing which you make takes its place in the web of nature, as you make it.
from A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series) by Christopher Alexander
Elena added 4mo ago
- What makes work good is time to read, think, slow down, and create a rich inner life. In other words, good work comes from slowing the fuck down and trusting that good ideas will come through if we give ourselves enough time and space to see them.
Elena added 4mo ago
- Boredom is just “What’s the use?” in disguise. And “What’s the use?” is fear, and fear means you are secretly in despair. So put your fears on the page.
from The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
Elena added 4mo ago
- I tell my students to liberate a certain part of their mind that, because they are good, humble people they may have likely suppressed, and that's the part that wants to be known, that wants to be famous or rich or whatever. I say that part is not entirely separate from the part of you that wants to be a great writer. Which is not separate from the... See more
from Craft Advice from George Saunders by Jane Ratcliffe
Elena added 4mo ago