the start of an idea

When you’re at the beginning, don’t obsess about the middle, because the middle is going to look different once you get there

If you’re looking to create a timeless sense of purpose and to shape the overall mission of your life, then you should use principles. Establishing a set of principles creates a compass to which you can refer whenever something is in doubt or you need to take a stand or evaluate any particular opportunity, behavior, or situation.

"In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts."

Here are some other techniques people use to access and maintain the zone:

• Introducing a long delay between when you do the work and when it is shown to the world. Annie Ernaux writes about this in A Simple Passion, a memoir about how she becomes obsessed in a banal way with a man who is having an affair with her—the thought that others will read

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No one will remember if it was on time, but everyone will remember if it was bad

— Michael Beirut quoting Massimo Vignelli (Typeradio 2/2)