Purpose & Creativity

“When I get up in the morning and look in the mirror, I reach the same conclusion every time: that there is only one Morten looking back at me, despite my many different titles. We live only one life, in one time.”

I was struck by what Morten says about us having one ‘indivisible’ life, and the dangers of segmenting our life - and our time - into w... See more

feelings are meant to be felt - that’s what they are for. We heal by acknowledging our emotions and test our heart’s resilience by lingering within the unbearable. It is something music can help us do. We find our hearts are much stronger than we presumed, and what we thought was unbearable was nothing of the sort. Music draws forth these subterran... See more

Measure your composure every day.

Let's break this down.

There are two important components here:

1.) The distinction of composure , and

2.) Measurement as an improvement mechanism.

Composure is straightforward enough: it’s the extent to which someone is in control of their behavior.

If we get swept away by our emotions or impulses, we have low composur... See more

Curation leads to expertise. Through curation, you better understand yourself, history, and unlikely connections across fields. Increasingly, we will curate sources and ideas and let AI handle execution or assembly. Honing an ability to curate and arrange these sources will cultivate depth and meaning in your work—tuning the machine to your specifi... See more

"Let everything happen to you: Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final." - Rainer Maria Rilke

What are you doing to reveal the invisible opportunities?

I was recently speaking at an event when a woman in the audience asked me a simple question: "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

My honest response: "I have no idea."

Before you think I'm crazy, let me explain...

Five years ago, I was working in a career that wasn't for me. I was chasing so... See more

There’s a piece of advice I still struggle with, but that I’m more and more convinced lies at the heart of meaningful productivity, successful creative work, and a more vibrant life in general. That advice is: act fast. Move quickly. When you get a good idea, make it your default policy to put it into practice as soon as you reasonably can.